Week 2 -- Squirrels, Persimmons, and Apostasie

Week 2 -- Squirrels, Persimmons, and Apostasie

November 2, 2017

Hello family!!

Greetings from Madrid! This week was really super duper good.

Mom:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I'm so sorry I forgot to tell you last week. I told Frere Thia and he said he emailed you for me! Which was super nice of him. The teachers here are awesome. I hope your birthday was absolutely fantastic! Dad said you got to go hiking with your sisters. That's awesome!

I'm taking all my pictures on my tablet. It is very easy to send them from there.

Elder D'Angou, from Quebec, is the only Elder who has not yet been in the field.

Elder D'Angou and Elder Bize are both going to Paris with me, but none of the sisters.

I don't have bedbugs, they were actually tiny ants. But we got help and we're pretty sure they're gone now.

So, I leave for Paris on Tuesday morning at 10 something. I will get to email again Monday. Yay!

All of the French elders are determined to properly say the word "squirrel" in English, but none of them can do it. It is hilarious. Elder Weimann is particularly persistent. Every now and then, even during study time, I can hear him saying "skuhwwul" under his breath. However, I can't laugh too much because they are very kind about our (lack of) French speaking skills.

I have discovered a new delicious fruit! They're called persimmons and I'd heard of them before but never eaten one. They taste kinda like a plum, but also totally different. I eat them almost every day. They look kinda like bell peppers.

Every time someone in our district makes a goofy mistake, we say "apostasie!!" which sounds stupid but its actually really funny. Like when Elder Patea was so excited to go to lunch that he forgot Elder Bize. Or when we make French errors that totally change the meaning (and sometimes the doctrine) of what we're trying to say. Or if someone steals the ball from us in futbol. 

Last P-day we went to downtown Madrid (called Sol) and it was awesome. After being shown some cool architecture, we got to wander around with our district and eat ice cream and stuff. Soeur Chinain and I bought some postcards (coming soon!) Elder Weimann was in a wheelchair for the first half and Elder Bize was pushing him, but then Elder Bize got tired and Elder Weimann was tired of sitting so he used his crutches, and Elder Patea pushed Eldler Bize in the wheelchair for the next hour. It's times like these that I remember that despite their excellent French, powerful testimonies, and experience in the mission field, I am working with eighteen year old boys here.

Last Saturday I had a powerful and wonderful experience in the park. I was paired with Hermana Strand, who is Norwegian, and who is scared stiff of proselyting. Last week everyone she talked to had been really unkind to her  and she didn't want to go back. I had been praying all week long that we would be led to people at the park who were prepared to hear our message, whose hearts had been softened. Hermana Strand and I prayed together the night before, too, and I think it made her feel a little better. But at the park, it was AWESOME! Everyone  we talked to was so kind  to us, even those who didn't want to hear what we had to say. But so many of the did! The first man we talked to spoke only Spanish, but we understood just enough that he was asking us if he could have our book! (Of course he could! And a brochure, too) He thanked us, opened the Book of Mormon, and started reading it immediately.

Then we talked to an Austrian couple who had heard of Mormons and also accepted a copy of the Book of Mormon. Later, we met a man by the lake who was taking pictures with Spanish manikins. He said he believed in God and would take our picture with the manikins for free (por missionaras). He accepted a Book of Mormon and asked where the closest church was, and if they had meetings on Sunday. All in Spanish, but we got enough to help him out. Hermana Strand doesn't know any more Spanish than I do, so it was pretty incredible that we were talking to all these people who didn't speak English and were able to articulate our message to them. And understand them, too! At the end, we met a girl from Canada who is backpacking through Europe and were able to share our testimonies with her and give her a copy of the Book of Mormon. She said she didn't believe in God, but her eyes lit up when we told her how happy the book made us.

Anyway, those were the four people we were able to share the Book of Mormon with, which was pretty cool, but there were also six or seven other people we spoke with who accepted brochures or pass along cards, and they were all kind and gracious. It was an incredible experience. I have never had so many strangers open up to me like that in the space of an hour and a half. And I had several CONVERSATIONS in Spanish, and I DON'T SPEAK SPANISH. I knew God had truly answered my prayers, and was leading us to exactly who we needed to talk to, and helping us use our rudimentary Spanish to share how precious the gospel of Jesus Christ is to us.  I know this is his work. I know he will help us when we pray in faith and go forward with everything we've got, even if it doesn't seem like much.

I had an interview with President Packer this week and he asked me what I liked most about the MTC, and I said it was how much easier it is here to recognize the presence and promptings of the Spirit. He said, "A lot of missionaries think they have to give that up when they get home, but it's not true! You won't be set apart as a missionary, but if you really read your scriptures daily, and pray for guidance from the Spirit, you can have it for the rest of your life." That  really touched me and I know he's right. 

I love you all so much! I am going to send pictures. Let me know if they come through. Thanks so much for the emails and the prayers. I can feel your support.

Love,

Soeur Alice Jensen

With Soeur Boudin before she leaves.