A
lot of change happened this week, but I'm so excited that I got to be part of
it all! By the time I email next I will be in Montreal Canada!!!
En
Tous Cas (Anyways)
Saturday
(Juillet 1):
It
was Canada Day, but since the stadium of Fire was having their fireworks show
it was an honorary Fourth of July for my district, as they wouldn't be in the
country for the real Fourth of July! As it was basically our last class
together, Soeur Wall took us outside and we all sat in a circle and said one
nice thing about everyone. At the end, she took out a picture of Jesus and we
all went around the circle bearing our testimony of Him in our lives. The
Spirit was so strong and it was a really good way to end.
Afterwards
as zones we talked about religious freedom and then went and watched the
firworks from the our buildings (the new buildings have nice big windows, so it
was really cool!) and we got to stay up for an extra HALF AN HOUR! Hahaha
totally not worth it, but it was something special.
Sunday (Juillet 2):
We
sang our song for the rest of our zone. Elder Hall and Soeur Stucki did the
arrangements for the music and Elder Moore conducted. The song is called a
Missionary's Farewell and is mixture of "I'll Go Where You Want Me to
Go" (French, 1 verse), the entire EFY Medley (in english) and the last
part of "God Be With You 'Till We Meet Again" (in french)... It was
honestly so good.
Then
that night our entire zone sang "Souvien-Toi" which is a beautiful
hymn only in French that I would challenge everyone to look up! It was really
hard, because it felt like I was going with them. Afterwards, I helped my
some of my district pack up. 😥
Monday
(Juillet 3):
Everyone
left! It was so sad, I didn't cry (but only because Soeur Ortiz told me she'd
punch me if I did 😂) Then Frere Brooks and I
dropped them off at the bus and walked back to our classroom. Even though it
was hard saying good bye (and awkward being a district of 1) it is such a
blessing to get one on one time with my wonderful teachers. We set goals and I
worked on pronunciation, teaching, grammar, conjugation, you name it!
Funny
moments:
I
couldn't say the word gagner (to win), so Frere Brooks was trying to find a
word that sounded like it and we came up with "gagner like
kayne" 😂
Tuesday
(Juillet 4):
THE
FOURTH OF JULY! Kinda uneventful in terms of 'Merica, but we did sing
"Battle Hymn of the Republic" for choir which was super cool! It was
the version that the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sings!
I
also got to know my new district better (plus they're all going to Montreal)!
Soeur Ramhill and Soeur Hunt are my new companions, both really funny and
amazing people. Hermana Garcia and Soeur Ashcraft are the other sisters in the
district!
Hermana
Garcia is from Mexico and will be serving French, Spanish and English speaking,
Soeur Ashcraft is hilarious and is from Idaho! The other Elders in our district
are Elder Fourie ( from South Africa/ Australia and speaks fluent
Afrikaan) Elder Kim (from South Korea, speaks fluent Mandrin and Korean)
Elder Christensen (from Moroni, UT), Elder Bishop (Idaho), Elder Bunting (UT),
Elder Menzel (from Germany knows Soeur Gruse) and Elder Davis (from
Provo)
They're
so great! I'm not with them a whole ton (other than the sister's), but they're
all amazing and are going to do great things in Montreal!
Wednesday - Thursday - (Juillet 5-6):
I'm
sooo french fried! I've learned so much in the last few days! I'm learning
French one on one for 6 hours a day which is amazing, and exhausting! My
teachers are absolutely amazing!
With
Frere Brooks I've learned all the tenses in French (including Plus de Parfait
and Futur Anterior, really easy, but I was really excited about it) that was
the longest conversation that I've ever had all in French! I think I know a lot
more than I think I do, and it takes me a while, but I can almost say anything
I want to say. Honestly the gift of tongues is so real. I see it especially in
the brand new missionaries (my district) they learn so much so fast, they
inspire me every day to keep trying!
Usually
we just read from the Book of Mormon and I translate verses and ask questions
on grammar! It also helps with pronunciation, and learning how to explain
doctrine to investigators. Yesterday we identified the Passe Simple ( a crazy
tense that is only used in writing), so many grammar rules and new words come
from just reading! The Book of Mormon is seriously the best book.
Yesterday
Soeur Wall and I did door approaches. Basically I stood outside my classroom
and Soeur Wall would come to the door and pretend to be a different person each
time. It helped so much with my confidence. Some people were super nice and let
me in, others were closed off. One time Soeur Wall came to the door as an
American, and I honest to goodness couldn't do a door approach in English 😂 (not that it's any better in French)
Afterwards
we talked about my experiences and Soeur Wall bore her testimony of the power
of "porte a porte" (door to door). Honestly I was so touched, and it
really gave me a new perspective on missionary work.
I
guess my spiritual thought for this week is to make sure that your humble and
teachable. There's a reason that Heavenly Father gives us weaknesses, because
it helps us rely on Him and come closer to Him. I was having trouble with being
prideful this week. During our Book of Mormon reading we read in Alma 5, and
even though I couldn't understand it all, many great conversations came out of
it!
This
work is hard, but it is so worth it, and I feel so blessed to be apart of this
and get to know so many amazing, wonderful, Christ-like people.
Love,
Sister Smith
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