Your Book of Mormon

I just titled the email that for fun because we send like a million emails with that title when we do online teaching. I love online teaching. We're teaching this super cool girl from Illinois. She's so special. She really wants to change her life and find peace through Christ in her life that is a little crazy sometimes. I think you'd love online teaching too. 

We didn't make any plans to go to Paris today so get ready for a SOLID summary of the conference Sorry my emails haven't been as in depth lately... It feels so nice to have a pday to clean and to write and to nap. Mission naps are probably the holiest of them all. 

THE ELDER ANDERSEN CONFERENCE WAS SO AMAZING. 

The main thing that I took away from the conference was how I felt being around an apostle. He represents Jesus Christ, a lot like I do as a missionary. It was so inspiring to see how he carried himself in a way that reminded you of Jesus! I want to be like that! Like even when he was talking, he'd hold his arms out and he looked like christus statue. I was like, I've seen that before!! When he first walked in, he talked to and shook hands with each person that was near. He didn't go straight to president Sorensen or anything like that. When we finished taking the picture, he talked to the kids. When we met him individually, he didn't look at our plaques, he waited until we introduced ourselves and looked in our eyes. Don't you think that Jesus would act that way at a mission conference too? I decided that that would be one of my takeaways. I want to make sure that people know that I have a genuine interest in them when I'm talking to them. 

One of my favourite things that president Sorensen talked about was how God often does His greatest works in unseen ways. President shared a story about when his family went to the temple dedication in Las Vegas and it was one of the most important moments of his life, yet no one really knew about that moment. Comparatively, There was a hotel that opened in the same week and it was on the front page of the news paper. I'm learning to cherish more the quiet moments that I have on my mission because those are often the times where God does the greatest work in my life and in the lives of those I care about.  

He talked a lot about how our calls here are not something that we should be sad about God does His work in different ways in different places - and that's not something that we should be afraid of! 

He also talked about the importance of memorizing scriptures that we know are true. There are scriptures that we "know are true and can say from our bones that we believe." We need to memorize those so that we can fall back on them in moments of need. 

Some good one liners from the conference

The temple means that God will never withdraw from France. He will make His purposes known

The lord is building a people who are emerging

They're here, we just have to find them. 

The rest of your life will probably be much more like your life in France than your life in Bountiful, Utah

We need to be vigilant about having a good attitude

The rest of the day I felt like my heart was going to explode because I am so proud to get to be a missionary, to represent Jesus Christ, to share hope and light with people, to help them find peace and answers to their questions. Sometimes the restoration just feels so real, and I get so excited to tell people about it. 

He talked a lot about keeping hope, and having the faith to see miracles! I've tried to apply that and we've definitely seen miracles! Like we found a family tat lives 5 minutes away from the church! 

Other updates - 

One soeur I know is training and it's super hard for her. Her blue doesn't buy the whole "obedience" thing and she hates the visitors centre. So that's been a really hard thing for our dear soeur to deal with, ... why would you come on a mission if you don't want to be obedient? And how can you hate the visitors centre?? 

I bought four pairs of pants!! They're so awesome! 3 from my favorite store - uniqluo. 

The new visitors centre director is AWESOME. His wife is AWESOME. She got here and said "I'm your mom here." In her french accent :) I'm so happy to have them here, and I feel silly for ever having worried about how it would be with them. 

Questions - 

What have you learned in come follow me lately? How have you been doing it with the family? 

Is it your 25th wedding anniversary coming up or something? 

Have you been able to keep going to the temple now that school has started? 

What are your thoughts about trunkiness? Asking for a friend hahaha

What kinds of things did you learn on your mission that you still apply? 

I loved when you said that you wanted us to learn how to receive personal revelation. It reminded me of a video that we show in the visitors centre all the time called "God's plan for families." The dad says to the mom holding the new born "What do you think is the most important thing we can teach her? " And the mom says "That she's loved, that she's a daughter of God, and that we can be together, forever." It's such a cheesy video, but I've seen it touch so many people's hearts. It's not the video that touches their hearts, it's the fact that they're learning that their families can be together forever! And the spirit is confirming to them that that's true. How cool is it to be a missionary and see that happen every day!!

Love you so much!! I hope you enjoyed my notes and learned lots from them... I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Jill

Mission Conference with Elder Andersen

Jill is in the third row, just to the left and behind Elder Andersen

Halfway Point?

Hi everyone! I'm not really sure if my subject line is accurate because I'm not exactly sure what day I'll be coming home from my mission, but it's approximately true :) Crazy right? I still feel like I don't know what I'm doing, but that's mostly because it's not me doing the work. Missionary work is God's work and I'm just doing my little part, trying to keep up with His plans! I love being a missionary and learning how God works. I love the people I have taught and the people I have served with.

France Paris Mission Tip of the Week

When an african momma tells you "tu as grossi!" (you got fatter!) This is a compliment. 

Les miracles du semaine - 

Natasha came to church! She's a super cool lady that loves God so much. The whole ward loved her and welcomed her! It warmed my heart! This Sunday really showed me how much of a difference you can make by being friendly and showing love to people. She has a little baby, and he was sick! So we asked some of the recently returned missionaries in our ward if they could give him a blessing. One of the guys that we asked to give the blessing recently received the priesthood and will be leaving on a mission! It was a powerful moment because they were blessing this little baby that will grow up in the gospel and maybe one day become a missionary himself! 

Freddy was another miracle this week! We had our first rendez vous with him, and he asked about how he could be baptised! He told us about his life before he moved to France and all the miracles that built his testimony of Christ. He really has so much faith, you would have to in order to see the things he has! He had trouble getting here because of legal issues, but after a long time of struggling with the process of moving, he heard a voice as if From heavenly Father saying "You can go now." After that, he made it to France with no problems or obstacles. Even things that should have stopped him were removed from his path, and I know it is because Heavenly Father wanted him to get here so that He could hear the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. God really is so powerful. 

I got pants! Pictures to come. 

Tomorrow Elder Anderson will be coming to our mission and he is going to speak to all the missionaries! I'm so grateful for this opportunity to hear and apostle speak. You'll hear more about that next week! 

Soeur Ackroyd

 An important dog that we met in our favourite store, Sostrene Grene 

 me relating to some art (femme au lettre- woman reading a letter.) (131 Boulevard Carnot, 2ieme etage, le Vesinet, 78110, france)

 Me enjoying some other art at the orangerie 

Some awesome graffiti that can be found all over Paris teaching that Jesus Saves us from our sadness, weaknesses and mistakes. 

A Week of Miracles

Hi everyone! 

I'm writing to you on the historic p day where I buy pants for missionary work! Woo! 

This week was full of miracles so I want to share some of the best ones with you all.

The first one was when Soeur Olsen and I were running late to an appointment already, and then I forgot my public transportation pass at home! So we missed the bus and had to walk to the train. But since I never forget my pass, I thought that there had to be a reason for it, and there was! On the way to the train we ran into one of the people Soeur Olsen taught in her last area named Lucille! Lucille found the church online and chatted with sisters in our visitors centre! She loved the gospel of Jesus Christ but had lost touch with the missionaries. And now shes moved and lives and works right by the temple! This wasn't a huge miracle, it could even be called a coincidence that we bumped into her. But it taught me that Heavenly Father can take the mistakes we make (such as forgetting something essential at home) and turn it into something good! 

Miracle number two was when some of the missionaries from our district came to the temple with one of the people they're teaching. She has faced lots of opposition from her family as she prepares for baptism. Shes not sure she can overcome it, so the elders brought her to the temple to give her an extra boost of strength. We taught her about the temple and how it gives us strength when we need it. We told her how when we make sacrifices for Heavenly Father, He can change our hearts. He can bring miracles into our lives and make things happen that we couldn't otherwise do on our own. At the end of the tour, we showed her a stained glass window of Jesus Christ that we have in the visitors center. The cool thing about it is no matter where you stand, it looks like Christ is facing you. His feet turn, His eyes follow you. It's so cool! Usually, we use this to teach people that no matter where you are in life, He is with you. But when she looked at it, she said, "This means I need to follow His path." We knew it was the Spirit of God that taught her that. The temple has such a power! It has the power to bring us closer to God, to answer the questions of our souls and to strengthen our families. These blessings are there for all people who want them. Heavenly Father is waiting to share them with you 😊

Two of the other miracles we saw this week were thanks to the efforts of missionaries in the past. We started teaching two people who met with missionaries a long time ago. One of them last talked to the missionaries 8 years ago! They're both so awesome. This gives me a lot of hope for the days where all I've heard is "No. Not interested. No." There's a plan for everyone and I'm so happy to play my part. 

One thing I've been thinking of this week comes from the letter I received about my calling as a missionary. It says something along the lines of "greater joy awaits you as you leave behind all other efforts and serve the Lord." This has been so true this week. We had some hard times, but I'm so happy. I love sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. I love helping people know their families can be forever. I love the Book of Mormon. If you haven't already, I invite you to learn about how these things can be a part of your life! 

In other news, the new directors of the visitors centre are getting here this week! They're called the Bourroux family. We're so excited to have them. And I drove on the Champs Elysees for the first time! It went super well! 

I hope you all are having a great week! Hope to hear from you soon!

Outer Order Inner Calm

I ordered a great book by Gretchen Rubin the other day that I'm really excited about. It's called Outer Order Inner Calm. I can't wait to get it!

I read her other book, Better Than Before, and I found it changed my life. It helped me realize what works best for me and to embrace that. I've always been a follower of Fly Lady but I found some of her ideas just didn't work for me.

This year  I decided I will commit to her idea of zone cleaning. I have one area of my house that I work on all week long for 15 minutes each day. It has already made me so happy! Today it was my bedroom. I tidied up, dejunked, dusted and cleaned up my shelving unit in my room. It's amazing what you can do in 15 minutes a day.

It makes me happy every time I go in there!

He's Home!

Oh.My.Heart!!!

Transfer Time

Hi!! It was so fun to talk to you too!! I think it's definitely a missionary blessing that you were so happy during the season. I've loved being here for Christmas. There are all these missionary moms that come to the VC and they have told about how when their kids go on missions a certain spirit comes over their home. And when the missionary is released, it's gone and they miss it! I hope you enjoyed that for Christmas, since it's the only one that will happen during my mission! A once in a lifetime opportunity! 

There have been a few moment in the last few weeks when I felt weird because I knew it was the only time I would live a moment like that, and that I'd be looking back on that moment forever! Some of those times were when we had a goodbye dinner with the Woods, when we had special musical evenings at the temple, when we were eating our crazy Christmas meals... Those are already cherished memories! 

Things have gotten much better in our trio. It was definitely a period of adjustment at first... But either way I look forward to being just a companionship of two again. There's a lot more talking when you're three! I'm staying in my area for the next transfer and I'm getting a new companion named Sœur Olsen. I already know her and love her. I lived with her for two transfers before, and she's amazing! She used to call her friend (who didn't know how to read) every night to read the book of Mormon to her. She called every night at 10 pm, even though it was her personal time and even though her companion didn't always want to. I'm so excited to serve with her. She's the type of person to just do the right thing because it needs to be done, and not expect a big deal to be made about it. It's going to be great. 

There were A LOT of changes that happened in the visitors Centre this transfer. There was a sister who will be going home, a sister going on an outbound to Belgium, and a sister coming back from her outbound. In a few weeks, a missionary that was delayed will be getting here and Sœur Ethington will train her. 

Today we went finding with the new missionaries! It was amazing! I went with a Sœur from Lethbridge (she came on her mission from Langley BC.). We had such a miracle! There's something about people that are fresh on the mission that brings MIRACLES. It reminded me of my first day! Our little blue came out of the mission office and the first thing she said was "I'm just going to go at this with no fear" and that's exactly what she did! She bravely stopped people and paid very very close attention when I stopped people. You could tell she was learning as much as she could possibly take in. There were about six people outside for the 17 équipes that were walking around the office. We walked past this one man and I figured I'd let her start up the conversation. She said a brave, "Excusez moi," and told him that we were missionaries, here to talk to people about Christ. Unlike the majority of the people we talk to who are in an typical Parisienne rush, he said "I'm listening." We told him a bit more and he told us how he's recently begun to find hope in Christ, but what he's found hasn't quite been the right fit for him. So we told him about the restoration and how the church of Jesus Christ is restored now with a prophet who speaks for God. He also told us how it hurt him that some churches deny people the blessings of baptism. I shared with him the experience of my friend that got baptized recently, and he talked about how he wanted that for himself! He loved it so we exchanged numbers. Five minutes later, we got a text from him saying. "Thank you so much for this encounter that was all but a coincidence. Best to you and may the spirit of Christ direct your path." This was such an exceptional experience but it really taught me that if we want them, God will put miracles in our path.