Soyez Heureuse!

All right folks, let me just tell you how absolutely wonderful the branch members and amis are in Tours. It's amazing how the Spirit can work through people because there were few times in the week where I had learning moments with our amis and members.

V_____ asked to meet with us because he had something he wanted to talk about. We met him at the church and asked what was going on. He just had a simple question, "How can I be able hear the voice of the Spirit?". He then went on to tell us how we was under the impression that he wasn't receiving any guidance at all or that he could hear nothing coming from the Holy Ghost. We shared a scripture with him that said how the Spirit whispers with a still small voice and that we need to really pay attention to any feelings, promptings, or thoughts we receive. He let that sink into his mind to think about and what he said next amazed me "I think the reason why I can't hear the voice of the Spirit is because I haven't fully repented of my sin of smoking yet, I haven't left that behind yet" (this was all in French by the way so I'm translating it into English). This guy is so golden! After he said that he looked at us and sincerely asked us to help him stop smoking. Sœur Gallant and I told him that we have a program for him that could help him stop smoking but he would have to be willing to go through this program because it's going to be difficult for him. He said that he can do it and since then he hasn't smoked once and is on track with this program so far.

The learning moment for me in this rendezvous was what V_____ said. I thought to myself, "Is there anything that is keeping me from hearing the voice of the Spirit?". I had that question on my mind for a while so the next day, I decided to do my studies on how I can better recognize the Spirit. In Preach My Gospel it tells us that "Many voices in the world compete for your attention, and they can easily drown out spiritual impressions if you are not careful." After that there's a scripture reference in Moroni 7:13, 16-17. Whatever catches your attention, does it invite you to do good or bad? That's the question we must ask ourselves when we have promptings. I know that the Spirit can be a constant guide in our lives if we strive to hear it’s still small voice, pray for guidance, and pay attention to the promptings we receive, making sure that it invites us to do good and not bad.

We saw C______again and we read more of Le Livre de Mormon with her. She's still in 3rd Nephi, when Jesus Christ came to America and taught the Nephites. We read chapter 17 together (in French) and discussed it with her seeing if she had any questions. She told us a few thoughts she had but then she turned it on us and asked us what our thoughts were on the chapter. Sœur Gallant goes first to explain what she liked about the chapter and then it was my turn. Usually when it comes down to me speaking I freeze and my mind goes completely blank for a couple of seconds...or maybe a minute. I began to frantically panic on the inside but then I got a calm feeling when I realized that I shouldn't be panicking at all. I looked over the chapter and pinpointed my favorite part. In verse 5 of 3rd Nephi 17 explains when Jesus Christ looks over the crowd he saw that they were all in tears not wanting Him to leave them. She asked why I liked that part so much. Holding back tears myself I told her that if Jesus Christ came today to heal everyone who is sick and afflicted, to comfort those in need of comfort, and let people come up to hug him I wouldn't ever want Him to leave. I picture myself in the multitude He looks over and I see myself crying, asking Him to not go and stay with us a little longer. After I said that, she looked back at the verse, then to me, smiled and said that she would feel the same way too. I'm glad she is loving our Book of Mormon study together. Every time we read together it's neat to see the 3 of us learn things in our own way as we read together.

One day, Sœur Gallant and I were planning to do some finding for new amis so we were looking over areas where we can do some contacting. We both looked at this one area where not much has been happening and we hear our phone buzzing. V_____ texted us asking if he could come with us to do some finding! It was so cool when we got that text so we told him yes and he told us he had an idea as to where we can talk to people. Believe it or not he suggested to us the same area we were looking at! So we all meet up at a bus stop and the neighborhood was so beautiful! We decided to do some porting but before we started doing that we talked to V_____ about what to do but he told us to not worry because he knew what to do.

We start going from house to house ringing doorbells and we weren't getting any luck. That wasn't getting us down because we were having a good time together! We ported for about 2 hours and we came to an end on our search but before we left the neighborhood, we see a girl sitting on a bench so V_____goes up to her and he was just amazing! He introduced himself and he began to tell her a short story, the story of how his life was changed by two sister missionaries. He pointed at us and explained to the girl who we were and that if she was interested in learning more she could call us anytime and gave her our card. V_____ is just an amazing person. He is proof that the gospel is really life changing. He was super happy that day and he's still doing all he can to go on a mission next year.

We did a passby with a branch member who is my absolute favorite! Her name is Maricel, has two adorable little girls (ages 5 and 7), and is Filipino! She is just a little ray of sunshine as well as her girls! When we arrived at the house the little girls come down the stairs screaming "seesters, seesters!" and jump right into our arms! I love them so much! It's so cute when they say my name too! They'll come up to me and say "Sister Shopkins" and continue the rest of their phrases! My heart literally melts when they say my name! Back to Maricel now, we talk with her and see how she's doing and whatnot. She's been having a hard time lately because work tires her out a lot and she hasn't been able to get a lot of things done at the house. We told her that we can come one day and do some service for her and she gladly accepted it. We asked her if there was anything else we could do for her and she looked at us and gave us a little lesson that has helped my mission become so much better. She told us that no matter how hard of a time she was having, she was just happy all the time. She would be so happy to the point where people would think she had no problems at all. So she told us that there was something else that we can also do for her. In a world where people are having a way harder time than we are, we should put our own problems aside and help others in anyway we can. Then she says "So sisters, soyez heureuse! Be happy! Say hi to people that pass by you on the street!". Ever since that day I've made a goal for myself to really just be happy! I can't remember what the scripture reference is but the main message of it is "by small things, great things come to pass".

Being a missionary doesn't necessarily mean that we always do the teaching. Sometimes it's the other way around, we are the ones who learn new lessons when we need them. There are so many things I've learned during my time here in the mission field. Our Heavenly Father knows us better than we know ourselves. He will put people in our lives and paths to help us grow and learn from them. I'm thankful to be here in France and to have so many opportunities to not just only teach others, but to also learn from others as well.

I love and miss you all! Keep smiling and BE HAPPY!

Love,

Sœur Shopkins :)

samantha.hopkinson@myldsmail.net