7/18/2016 0 Comments All Corners of the Earth...Hey Family!!
This week flew by. We had two exchanges back to back and every day was just completely booked. It was so cool! I love sharing the gospel. I wake up in the morning so giddy every single day just to be a missionary. Even on the days I'm dead haha. This week I have been in an EXTRA happy mood. The other missionaries I serve with found it funny because they said they didn't know I could get any more "smiley" than I already always was haha. I recently started a new 40 day fast and the theme of my fast is "Choose to be Happy!" So, for the next 40 days I will be fasting from unhappiness, negativity, sensitivity, anger... Anything that keeps me from being positive! It is very similar to my first 40 day fast of the year when I fasted from negative thoughts or speech. But, I've found that you can never work it too much! It's been absolutely incredible how happy I have felt by just saying out loud every morning, "Je suis trop heureuse aujourd'hui et je ne sais pas pourquoi!!" Translation: "I am SO happy today and I don't know why!!" It's actually become quite a joke in the apartment because they can always guess what the first thing that comes out of my mouth is going to be. Sometimes I even say it a few times just to convince myself haha. But it always works! :) Something I have learned on the mission is just how to laugh. No matter what happens, you can always find something to laugh about. Even if it's just laughing at how crappy the situation is! "As we look for humor, seek for the eternal perspective, understand the principle of compensation, and draw near to our Heavenly Father, we can endure hardship and trial. We can say, as did my mother, “Come what may, and love it.”- Elder Wirthlin I have really made this a goal of my mission that I also hope to carry with me through the rest of my life. Recently I was on exchanges with a sister and it was really hot and humid outside so we wore our very very lightest clothes. Then, all our rendezvous canceled on us, there was no one who would listen to us, and we were super lost (Getting lost seems to be becoming a fairly normal part of our agenda). She looked at me and I just knew what she was thinking..."how could we be so unlucky?" Just then... BOOM! The wind comes in, the temperature drops like crazy, and it starts POURING! Hahaha we were drenched!! At this point we were soaking wet, freezing, lost, and no one would let us inside. Well, there was only one thing to do in a moment like this. ;) I started laughing and singing my own little parody of the primary song "Pioneer Children" Hahaha. Confused for a minute, she just stared at me, then she laughed and joined in! In fact, we couldn't stop laughing! We were actually bummed when the sun came back because we were so enjoying our crappy situation hahaha. We ended up seeing so many miracles that day! I am actually going to have to transfer the majority of them to my next email so that this doesn't become more of a novel than it already is. I need to have time to share my FAVORITE miracle!!! This week we experienced probably the most beautiful miracle I have ever experienced in my entire life. The miracles seem to be getting more and more miraculous the longer I stay on my mission. At this rate I don't know how they are going to get me to leave this place when my time rolls around haha. I am getting quite attached. Because my emails are posted on my blog, all names in the following story have been changed to insure the safety of our Amis. Last week we had a second rendezvous fixed with Sammy but sadly, she got really sick and wasn't able to make it. Very concerned, we prayed for her and then decided to give her another quick call to see if we could get ahold of her. She picked up! Turns out, she had been in the hospital all night :( As she spoke you could just hear that she really wasn't doing well. But, I was so touched because even though she was sick and in the hospital, the only thing she asked us to do was to pray for her husband who was going through a "sad time". It was such an example to me of what it means to have Charity. Even during her time of pain and suffering, she was searching for ways to lighten the burdens of others. That night while I was praying for Sammy and her husband Nicola, I remembered Sammy asking if there were missionaries in Iran who could teach her husband. In that moment, a series of images came into my mind. I saw my companion and I sitting with Sammy in front of a computer screen as we taught the missionary lessons. As the image became more clear I realized that we weren't just teaching Sammy but that we were also skyping with her husband. The spirit filled my heart with warmth. I couldn't wait to present the idea to Sammy in our rendezvous the next day. The next day we had a finding day in Valenciennes and we went out on splits with the members to do some contacting and we saw SO many miracles. For the first 5 hours I went with an adorable member named Sophie and we taught 17 member present lessons and found 3 new Amis. It was so amazing. Then, on the train home, after seeing ALL those miracles... I just got hit by this awful grey cloud. I didn't understand why I was feeling so sad but suddenly I just felt like crying. I held it in as I reached for my scriptures. I began to read and pray and recite my "Je suis heureuse" over and over again until I eventually got so exhausted that I fell asleep. When we arrived back home I woke up feeling a lot better. Even though I wasn't feeling "top", I knew I had to find the strength to push through because those clouds always come right before a big miracle! Sure enough, Satan had good reason to be scared of us going to our rendezvous with Sammy! We headed straight to Sammy's house from the train station. She had spent the day preparing a traditional Iranian meal and had it all waiting for us. When we got there she had the tables all set with beautiful dishes and yummy Iranian food! But, my favorite part was walking in and Hearing Sammy say, "So, I hope it's okay. I told my husband more about you and he asked if you would be okay if we skyped him after dinner so he could be part of the lesson and prayer too." You can only imagine how thrilled I was to hear that. OF COURSE WE CAN SKYPE HIM!! The lesson was in English so I actually ended up teaching the whole thing. It was such a special experience for me to be able to teach the Plan of Salvation in English for the first time. But it was even more special to see the glow in Nicola and Sammy's eyes as they just absorbed every single word that left my mouth. The spirit was so powerful as we taught about God's plan for the eternal happiness of each of his children. We read in the Book of Mormon together about baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost, then, my companion with the little English she speaks says, "Is this something you want to have forever?" Without hesitation, Nicola replied with a strong "Yes". We went on to read the next verse when the people are invited to follow Christ's example and enter into the waters of baptism. Then we asked if they would also follow this example. Again, with no more than a small pause to process the question, they said, "Yes". The joy and gratitude that I was filled with in that moment from head to toe was indescribable. I found myself sitting with my companion in front of a computer, teaching someone in Iran; a part of the world where if you convert from the Islam to Christianity, the government orders for you to be killed. Yet, despite the danger, they continue pray and read the Book of Mormon because they know it is truly the Lord's Church here on the Earth, and they will do anything and everything to follow him. I remembered the words of the scriptures that tell us there will come a day when the gospel will be preached, "in all the world for a witness unto all nations (Mat. 24:14)." That time is now. Through the blessing of the Internet, and other technology, the message of the restored gospel is being spread to millions of people all over the world. My wish is that we will use these wonderful inventions to fulfill the Lord's commandment and to preach the gospel to every creature and prepare the way of The Lord for his second coming. "For, verily, the sound must go forth from this place into all the world, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth--the gospel must be preached unto every creature, with signs following them that believe. (D&C 58:64)" I love you and wish you all a wonderful week, keep searching for miracles because they happen... Even CHEZ VOUS!! (Even where you are!) Avec Amour, Sœur Wyson
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Tracie WysonI feel very honored to have had the opportunity to serve as a full-time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the France, Paris Mission. Archives
April 2017
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