5/23/2016 0 Comments Voici, Mon email :)Bonjour Family!
I can't believe we are already in our third week of the transfer... Time is passing a whole lot faster than the time it takes me to think of a clever opening line for my next email. So, looks like I will be sticking to the typical "Bonjour Family!" for the time being ;) We kicked off the week on exchanges with our sisters over in Belgium, followed by the tasting of my very first Belgian waffle!! I can't say it compares to French pastries but it was still pretty good ;). I think we were a little too excited to try those waffles because as soon as we got to Belgium we excitedly jumped off the train and ran to Hagandaas... Leaving our backpack with ALL our stuff in it on the train... Glasses, clothes, electric toothbrushes, passports, etc. We got to the bottom of the escalator and saw the Liege sisters and immediately realized what we had done. We turned around without explaining anything to the sisters and we just sprinted back up the escalators. We got back just in time to watch the doors close and the train drive away... Shoot. You can imagine we said quite a few prayers as we tried to keep calm and work everything out with the information desk. Miraculously, the same train came back from Germany that night and our bags were still on it in the EXACT place we left them!! Miracles happen... Even in Belgium! ;) Luckily we had the chance to redeem ourselves to our sweet Liege sisters who were so patient with us through all that chaos hahaha. Apparently exchanges are there to help us teach the sisters what NOT to do hahaha. Soeur Vanauker and I had the chance to go teach a cute couple about the restoration and they were incredible! They gave us like 10 referrals and then fixed another rendezvous with us! We missed our bus on the way home so we made a quick change of plans and decided to do a little contacting until the next bus rolled around. We only made it about 5 steps before we were stopped by a combination of the voice of the spirit and a woman screaming at her kids. I'm not sure which one stopped me first haha. But, we felt prompted to stop, so we whipped around and knocked! She was still pretty fired up when she answered but softened up dramatically when we began to teach about soiree familial strengthening the family. She opened up so much and even invited us to come back next week to have a family night with her family. Before we left we asked if we could pray for her and her family and she was extremely open to it. We asked what we could pray for and then she looks up with tears in her eyes and begins opening up about how she just finished chemo therapy and it had taken a big toll on her and her family. It was such a tender moment. As we left I remember that I happened to have two Belgian chocolate bars in my purse that were given to me a few minutes earlier and I was able to give them to her two little kids. They were thrilled :). It was such a sweet miracle. We even finished just in time to catch the next bus :) Our second day of exchanges I was with Soeur Andrews doing a few pass-by's. Neither of us knew our way around and I am directionally challenged. But, we managed to get where we needed to be... or so we thought. We knocked on the door and then a man answers ... This was definitely not the ami we were expecting... Hahaha. Apparently this was actually not the house we were looking for haha. Although, it turned out to be a huge tender mercy because the family that lived there ended up being really interested and invited us back!! What are the odds!? Our third day of exchanges was back in Lille with the Lille sisters. We taught some really cool people during that exchange! Soeur Johnson and I even found a new ami from Ukraine who told us that she had been praying for years and years to be able to find a way to be closer to God and that she felt he had finally given his answer by sending us to her. It was so sweet :) It only got cooler from there, we introduced the Book of Mormon and then she was like, Oh!! Wait!... She ran into the other room and then came back with a Book of Mormon in Russian that was given to her by her brother, who just happens to be a member in Ukraine!!! What!? It is absolutely incredible how prepared some people are!!! :) She made a joke about not being "dunked" (baptized) right away and I jokingly said... "I was actually thinking tomorrow?" Then she said back... "Well why not today?"...Hahaha we can definitely make that happen! ;) She hugged us so tight before we left. It was nice to get a hug :) Saturday I got reeeeaaallly sunburned because we drove out to the coast for a big service project put on by our stake. We were out in the sun all day and I didn't think to put on sunscreen because I don't usually get sunburned. Well, I have gotten really white on my mission hahaha. So, as a result, now I am really red!! We spent the entire day working in a refugee camp and oh my goodness... What a humbling experience. I felt so sheltered walking into that camp. I honestly had no idea that such places existed. I wasn't sure how I felt at first because we had to take off our name tags and tie fluorescent colored bands around our arm for our security before going into the camp. It kind of made me feel like I should be scared. Though when I got into the camp and looked around at the hundreds of homeless families and young children, my heart just broke for them. They weren't mean or scary, they just wanted friends. They were so thrilled when we would look at them and simply say "Hi". Any one of us could have just as easily been born into a life like that. I wish everyone could have had that experience. Walking around picking up trash in a refugee camp enclosed by enormous grey walls and barbed wire, with families sleeping in plywood shacks no bigger than a small closet. How much more grateful we all need to be for the things we have been blessed with. The most touching part of it all... Talking with those people, they were all so so happy and so grateful to the Lord that they were able to leave their horrible situations in their own countries and come to this instead. This camp is a blessing to them. I can't imagine how horrible their lives in their old countries had to have been for them to want to come live like this. But how beautiful it is that they can be so happy while having so little. I have been so inspired by these people and I feel honored to have had the opportunity to serve among them. Well, I have lots more to write but it is going to have to go to next week's email because we have lots to do! Hope you all have a wonderful week and remember how blessed you all are, no matter what your current circumstances are. :) Xoxo- Soeur Wyson
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Subscribe:
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
|