Tuesday wasn't anything special. It was just a long finding day with not a lot of success, but hey... The weather was good, the Sun was out, and my tan was on! Gotta think of the positives, am I right?
Wednesday was also a finding day, but with a good ending. No, that "good ending" was not because we found anyone cool, but because we had a dinner appointment with the bishop and his family. Over the 6 months that I've been in this area, we have been constantly trying to visit him and his family and it has fallen through every time! But, we got lucky last Tuesday, and it finally happened. He catered it with these healthy and organic wraps and bagel sandwiches from the restaurant he owns and it was delicious! We were then able to eat it on his back patio, overlooking his huge and beautiful backyard. Such a relaxing way to end a long finding day. He and his wife are literally so cool. I love them! If you ever come to France, you have to meet the Duez family (and dine at their restaurant, Better Primeur ;).
Thursday was good as well. Lots of finding, again, but we also had a rendez-vous with Sylvain and Aline. It went well and they are more serious about getting married now, so that's a bonus. Our finding actually produced some results as well. We found two cool women in the park. They were very interested in our message! I have hope for these ladies, so I can't wait to see where that goes! And we ended the night with fries and ice cream. What a nice day!
The next day was another long finding day with a good ending. To finish our day, we had our district meeting in Lille. The activity was fun, as we did a Book of Mormon escape room that was really well prepared. I have such an amazing District Leader. We also took district pics, as it was the last district meeting of the transfer and we didn't know who would be transferred out. Look for those in my album.
Saturday was another long finding day. A really cool 16ish year old boy approached us in the park and was super cool. He got our number and started texting me lots of questions. We then met up with him later that night, and he was very interested in our church. Here's hoping that that goes somewhere as well!
Sunday was odd. It was the first time in the whole 6 months that I've been here that we didn't have any investigators show up to church. It was kind of sad too, because I thought that it would be my last Sunday (transfer day is this coming Wednesday). Because of this, I brought my camera to church and tried to get pics with at least everyone who was in attendance. After church, we went to Soeur Giuli's house to give her the sacrament. Brother Moerman came with us this time and it was really nice. I also winged another lesson and it went so well that she started to cry! She then fed us another homemade dessert, as per usual. This time it was Peaches and Cream pie. It was so good. Definitely a hit! Then we went over for our rendez-vous with Sylvain and Aline and they were not home. This was sad for me, because I still believed that I would be leaving and I wanted to see them one last time.
Which brings me to today. Surprise, surprise... I'm staying at least one more transfer here. That will make 7 1/2 months that I'll have been here, and who knows? I could stay even longer. It was odd, because I had already said all of my goodbyes to the ward and everything. I was definitely not expecting this. I will be getting a new companion though, so here's to hoping that he's good and I enjoy our time together. I'm definitely going to need all of your prayers, so please feel free to help me out! The good news is that I don't have to stress and pack today, so I'm taking it easy on myself. One step at a time, very relaxed.
One thing I rely on every transfer is hope. Hope that my companion and/or area is good. Hope that I love my ward. Hope that God knows where I need to be. It's all about hope. The lesson that I winged for the woman on Sunday was based on a video (that I had never seen before I shared it with her LOL) about Elder Uchtdorf's mom when he was little. I believe it's called, "A Mother's Hope," in English, but I'm unsure. It was a really good video! I encourage you all to go watch it. This particular member has Parkinson's disease and is having a really hard time with life in general. After sharing the video, I told her about how she was that mom for her children, and how she must now be that mom for herself. Relying on the Lord and putting hope in Him will change our lives! Especially in difficult moments, you will see that hope will make everything better. I know it has for me on my mission, and I know that it can for you all. I encourage you to cling to your hope when moments get hard. You guys can get through anything with the Lord! Get out there and conquer your challenges! I love you all!
Elder Connor Anderson
Us with Batman
Pictures with Ward members because I thought I was being transferred!
Zone Conference
Book of Mormon Escape room for District meeting
Valenciennes
Sylvaine & Aline
The Bishop & his family
The Carcassonne Elders in the Lyon mission finally met with Isabelle-- my referral from Epinal. So happy! Apparently she loves me and they were asking what they need to do to get her to love them too! haha She apparently slipped $40 into each of their pockets as they were leaving!
District Meeting pics
Elevator light malfunction
