Transfer One Complete

Well everybody, I have officially completed my first transfer on my mission with 11 more to go! I have been in France for about 7 weeks now and that literally blows my mind! Next thing I know that will be happening is me coming home at the end of my mission, walking down the escalator, and meeting my family at the airport in Arizona! That's 15 months away though so I've got plenty time left here in France!

Today, we have all been waiting for the transfer news...my district stayed the same! It's so awesome because I absolutely love being in this district! Last Monday night, I experienced my first formal French dinner and let me tell you, I left that mangezvous (rendezvous with amies or members that involve meals) with such a bloated stomach! The food kept coming and coming and I thought it would never end! Soeur Bishop and I left our apartment to catch a tram to head an amies house for dinner. We arrived and situated ourselves at the table, then the food began to come in. We started with the salad, then the main meal which was fish with a corn cake and vegetables. It was so delicious and I was trying my best to be as French-like as I can because I haven't been in a formal dinner like that in the last few week I've been here in Tours. Needless to say, I was already stuffed and ready to move on to dessert but I completely forgot that there was another course before that! The husband of our amie comes out with a plate full of bread and cheese...both were good but at that point my stomach was screaming at me and trying to make a point to me that I've reached the capacity of my eating limits, however the cheese was super good! France is known for so many different kinds of cheese and so far I've had a couple of good choice cheese that have been given to me. Right as I finished the baguette and cheese, I knew what was coming next and by this point I was worried that all I had eaten would not stay in the stomach. Here comes the dessert, a lovely prune tart. Of course, the slice we were given had to be so humongous! I took one bite of the tart and there was something about the taste that made it so hard to eat. I can't find the words to describe it but I kept on eating it to be polite and my stomach was literally going to explode!

Our amie tells us all about the tart and then she goes into the kitchen and brings out one of the ingredients she used in the tart. Folks...Soeur Bishop and I were eating a tart that had whiskey in it. Now, I'm not sure how much she put in because the bottle was nearly empty and I don't know if whiskey cooks out when it's getting baked, so... if anyone would like to do a little research on that for me, I would be grateful haha! So as soon as Soeur Bishop and I see the bottle of whiskey we looked at each other horrified and that's when my stomach felt a lot worse than before. I had no idea what to do so I sat there taking the smallest bites. Thankfully our amie saw that we were completely stuffed and said that we could our food home and finish it the next day. We went home and we had an easy time going to bed and almost had a food coma the next day haha! Needless to say though, the food was amazing!

Miracle of the week:

On Tuesday, we had the opportunity to meet our ami's little brother and it was awesome! This is the ami that has a baptismal date set for August 30! His mother is incredible and his 16 year old brother is a cook! He made the most delicious food for us and we spent the time getting to know the family better. The mother absolutely loves us and ever since her son told her about us she has been reading the Book of Mormon and is proud of her son for the progress he's made! They'll even be there for his baptism! I've come to learn that the gospel is life changing. I've grown up in the church and to see people convert and accept the gospel is such an amazing process to see. This family is getting happier and happier every time we visit them.

I bear testimony that the gospel is something that can bless and bring happiness to families. It has blessed my family in so many ways and it is blessing this family we are visiting. I'm here in France sharing the message of happiness to families and that's something worth waking up for every morning at 6:30. I'm a representative of Jesus Christ and I wear his name on my badge on my heart 24/7. I love being able to testify of what I know to be true even though my French is limited. I can speak enough French to get my point across to the person that I know this church is true and that the gospel can bless lives in so many ways. Heavenly Father is always there for us and He listens to our prayers. The work I do as a missionary has changed me and has helped my testimony grow. I love and miss you all! Have a great week!

-Soeur Hopkinson