Ethiopians and Lost in Translation

p day on lake Geneva! 

I find myself asking how it's possible that time keeps on passing when I am trying so hard to slow it down! Haha another week flew by... it was a good one! It started off in Lyon and then ended up back in Geneve (c'est normal). The work has slowed down a lot since last transfer, as our ami pool kind of shrunk during vacation time here, but we are trying to find some new people to teach! First, I'll give the rundown on my companion:

Elder Hoffmann is a super hard worker, he speaks great English and is really funny. Because my way of speaking and my vocabulary is kind of different than other English speakers, I say a lot of stuff that he doesn't know, so then I teach it to him. For example, this week he learned:

"Howdy buckaroo"

"Hoity toitty"

"I'm gunna punch you right in the sucker"

"Dirty, rotten, good for nothing..."

And I learned this: "T'es dans un etat d'arrestation. Bouge-plus! Jevais te tirer dessus!" But that's only for extreme cases 😉 hahaha

Other than that, we get along great and I feel that my French is really improving!

So, in Lyon we went to MLC, and it was really cool. We talked about a topic that is near and dear to

Office elders (I am the grandpa)

my heart. If you know me, you may know why I liked it so much... FAMILY HISTORY!! So our mission goal for this transfer is to help our recent converts, less actives and members find ancestors to print and bring to the Paris Temple dedication (which will conveniently be the last Sunday of this transfer, May 21!) we have already been able to bring 2108 amis to partake of the sacrament last transfer and 30 baptisms as a mission! The Lord is truly pouring out his Spirit on our mission and His Work. It's amazing to watch! And already, I have been blessed to have found ancestors who need ordinances done, and even to find that some of my ancestors are French! Quel bonheur! Hahaha

church in black and white 

Something else that was fun that happened this week was in the genre of contacting. So I was sitting on the bus and this man comes and sits down next to me. I felt that I should talk with him, so we started talking, but in English. He told me he was from Ethiopia, and is new here. We talked about Christ and families and he gave us his number, his name is Darge. Well, we also fixed a rdv and he came to get a tour of the chapel. He likes what we teach and is down to learn more. He even said that he is going to teach us how to make Ethiopian food and he wants to exercise with us at the park. He's super cool! But then, we started meeting all the Ethiopian people in Geneva! We meet 2 more back to back, one was even when we ran into Darge and he was teaching us some words in Amharic (the language) and this other guy was like "I'm from there too!" It's funny how as soon as you find one type of person, you find them all!

We also did service for the Volpicellis (shrubs have never looked so good), we had 3 giant meals in the course of 8 hours (an African meal, a Mongolian meal, and a Spanish one), and we have had a lot of RDVs with less actives. It's fun to work so much with members!

Geneva Zone!

Something that I want to share is just the power of the gospel. Thanks to the gospel, I have seen lives change, my own life has changed, I am able to testify of the power of the priesthood, I am able to exercise the power of the priesthood, I feel happiness and reassurance that nothing in this world can bring, and I see the eternal perspective on small problems and small successes, I can love those I serve while serving with love, I can overcome any trials, weaknesses and faults that I am prone to have. I love this gospel and everything it has made of me. I am so lucky to be able to share it with everyone!

I love you all! Have a super fantastic week!

Avec amour,

Elder Hall

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