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Wow... I don't even know where to start with this past week. The reason I'm writing today is because we had our Zone conference yesterday and our interviews on Sunday and I'll get to that, it was really good! I guess to sum up this week, I will just say that I went on 3 exchanges and weird things happen on exchanges... who am I kidding? Weird things happen when your a missionary!
So the week started off with an exchange with Elder Duffy. He was in Bordeaux Zone with me and I love him so much, he always makes me laugh so it's a lot of fun to be around him. We went to visit a less active member of the English ward who needed yogurt but was sick. We went and got her some yogurt and we thought of a good message to leave with her: we are like yogurt. Ça veut dire, the process that makes yogurt begins with a perfectly fine dairy product, and then they let it grow bacteria and ferment a little bit. Finally after a while of the yogurt going through a tough process, it turns into the wonderful thing we all love to eat! (It sounded a lot better when we explained it haha) and as with us, sometimes in life we have to go through some processes that may ferment us a little, but in the end we are better for it. (Little did I realize that I needed to learn this lesson myself as well). We passed some less actives and potentials in our ward as well, and in Suisse, there are not sonneries, there are only codes to get into buildings. If you don't know the code you can't get in unless someone lets you in. Well, miraculously we were able to get into every building, and then get the code for them! We found some less actives that haven't been seen in a while and a couple told us they would come to church, and they did! For dinner, we went to a "nice" Indian restaurant, except there was no one else in there and they had some weird Bollywood going and we just ate our food so fast and ran away haha!
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We were also able to go give a blessing to a little girl in the hospital. She has some mental handicaps, and her mom is less active, but she had surgery on her back, so her mom called and asked us to come. I was able to bless her, and it was such a cool thing to bless a little child, especially one that's already perfect. I was able to relate through the spirit to her and her mom that she chose to come to this imperfect body, and that she is a blessed daughter of God.
On the way out of the hospital, we met a Sri Lankan man who needed help finding the hospital so we helped him. We got on a tram and then a few minutes later took our connection and he was just sitting on it somehow and he was like "bus 10" and we were like "uh... ok come with us" so when we got to the stop with the connection for the bus he was like "no way José" and then he didn't get off and we are sure he never found the hospital haha.
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On my second exchange, it was with a younger elder named Elder Wall. As we were talking, we figured out that we have the same birthday of the same year. Then we found out that we were born in the same hospital. It was a lot of fun. He's a marine, so he told me all about boot camp. We were able to pray and follow the spirit to find people to talk to and pass. One of which was a super cool woman with a baby that we contacted on the tram. We talked about eternal families, and Christ and she gave us her phone number with a commitment to come to church! It was a great exchange, and we topped it off by eating raclette in our apartment. Raclette is a traditional regional food, boiled potatoes with cheese that we melt ourselves in a little machine. Then you add meat and whatever else. It's really heavy haha. The next day for lunch, we ate a ton at a members house and I felt like I was going to pop.
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So President and Soeur Brown came for interviews and Zone conference, and they came with an assistant, Elder Underwood. They called and asked us if we wanted lunch and we said yes of course, so Elder Pesnell and I went to a Mexican place with them and it was so fun to catch up and have great fajitas! I love the Browns so much, and I am so appreciative of the chance I've had to get so close to them on my mission. On Sunday I was able to have my interview with him, and I asked some questions I had. For the last part of this week I was really discouraged and confused. Elder Pesnell really helped, and my interview with President changed everything. He shared with me a quote by CS Lewis that I wish I had but don't have yet.
It talks about how God is making us from small cottages into large palaces or temples. If someone could look that up and send it to me please, I would love that. It's a much better analogy than yogurt hahaha! I finally figured out in my interview that my whole mission, my whole life actually, Heavenly Father has put me in situations where I feel helpless and then He changes me and qualifies me for them. I can't believe I've never figured this out before! He knows so much better than me what I need, and it's only by Him changing all of the things that make me comfortable that I realize my dependence on Him, and that's when I grow. It's a process that I'd take the privilege to compare more to destroying and constructing a building than making yogurt hahaha. In any case, it's always for our good, I have no doubt of that!
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Zone conference was good, and it was so fun to have the zone together! I love them all! We presented for an hour, and it was completely conducted by the spirit, because we didn't get to half of what we planned! Haha it was a great ending to a super week!
I love you all! Happy February! I can't tell you how much I love my frenchies, my faith, my family, and my Father. I am eternally grateful for this mission, and this life I have been given to fulfil! Hooray for fermentation, hooray for reconstruction!
Avec amour,
Elder Hall
Your Favorite Missionary
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