31 Jul 2013

Our neighbor died so that we could find someone to teach.

This week was really cool. We spent most of the week in a hotel because the stench was unbearable from when our neighbor died. We had no idea when the police would let someone go in and clean. So Elder Bria got us all set up in a air conditioned hotel and he told our bishop about it and Bishop sent out an email to the ward that said that they needed to provide us meals both lunch and dinner for a week and to treat us like their daughters. So awesome! Within a day after he sent that out, we had all of our meals set up for the next week! The members are so amazing! Friday, we had diner at the Bria's and they text us that morning asking if we had any amis (investigators) we could bring with us. We don't really have any so we said no but I thought about a inactive YSA and Soeur Loder was thinking of him too so we invited him. It turns out he was at the beach with a friend and some awesome YSAs that day. He called us from another YSA's phone and said that he couldn't come. We got kinda confused so we texted back asking who called and the YSA told us that Edvin had called us and he didn't know why. We told him it was because we invited him to dinner. He took that and encouraged Edvin to come and said he could even bring his friend with him.
We talked to the YSA later in the day and decided that we were just gonna focus on fellowshipping Edvin at dinner and not pound a lesson into him. BUT, when we got to dinner, Edvin asked us to teach him and his friend about the plan of salvation and temples! His friend, Sacha, is AMAZING. In fact, both Edvin and Sacha are fantastic! Sacha said that the reason he wanted to learn more about the church was because of Edvin. So Edvin is inactive and still doing missionary work! We taught them and it was a great lesson and they both came to church on Sunday and we will teach them again this week!

That;s just one miracle from this week!

Thanks for the emails they are all so helpful!

Time is going really really fast! I'm excited and scared to find out what is in store for me next transfer. I am afraid that I might end up training a Blue (aka Greenie) and that terrifies me but at the same time I think it would be a really good chance for me to learn and push the boundaries of my french. I hope I don't get moved but with my track record, its definitely possible.

I think my french has improved significantly this transfer but it still needs  a lot of work. I am definitely a lot more comfortable with it.

Last thing. I love to read talks and stories so feel free to send me that kind of stuff cause I can print it out and read it during the week. That can apply also for anyone who wants to write but doesn't know what to say also. Also I request/demand Jordan and dad and Tom to write me. I especially want from them mission experiences. So get on it!!

Jusqu'a la fin!

P.S. Fun fact: Edvin was baptised by one of my teachers from the MTC! Small world!!

TAN LINE!!!

22 Jul 2013 {Zone Conference Pictures}

Here are pictures from recent Zone Conferences.  Can you spot Soeur Young?? 

22 Jul 2013

No big updates from Soeur Young this week. She has 2 more weeks until transfers and is loving her time in Nice.

Crazy story though. Apparently there was an elderly women who lived in the apartment next to them and she passed away, but no one realized it for a couple of days. Soeur Young said it literally smelled like death in their building.

On that note, I heard this poem at church yesterday and thought Soeur Young's blog followers might enjoy it as well.

After All We Can Do
By: Elder Robbie Pierce (2000)

I’d been in that hole for a very long time –
In the dark and the damp, in the cold and the slime.
The shaft was above me; I could see it quite clear,
But there’s no way I ever could reach it from here.
Nor could I remember the world way up there,
So I lost all my hope and gave into despair.

I knew nothing but darkness, the floors, and the walls,
When from off in the distance I heard someone call,
“Get up! Get ready! There’s nothing the matter!
Take rocks and take sticks and build up a fine ladder.”
This had never occurred to me, had not crossed my mind,
So I started to stack all the stones I could find.

When I ran out of stones, the old sticks were my goal,
For some way or another I’d get out of that hole.
So I soon had a ladder that was really quite tall,
And I thought, “I’ll soon leave this place once and for all!”
Then I climbed up my ladder, it was no easy chore –
For from lifting those boulders my shoulders were sore.

So I worked and I climbed and at last had to stop,
For my ladder stopped short – some ten feet from the top.
I climbed back down the ladder and felt all around,
But there were no more boulders nor sticks to be found.
I went back to my ladder and started to cry.
I’d done all I could do; I gave my best try.

But in spite of my work, in this hole I must die,
And all I could do was to sit and think, “Why?”
Was my ladder too short? Or my hole much too deep?
Then from way up on high came a voice: “Do not weep.”
And then hope, love, and faith entered my chest,
As the voice said to me that I’d done my best.

He said, “Nothing’s the matter. There’s reason to hope.
Just climb up your ladder; I’ll throw down my rope.
You have worked very hard, and your labor’s been rough,
But the ladder you’ve built is at last tall enough.”
I climbed up the ladder, then climbed up the cord.
When I stood at the top, there stood the Lord.

I’ve never been happier; my struggle was done.
I blinked in the brightness that came from the Son.
I fell to the ground; his feet did I kiss.
I cried, “What can I do to repay thee for this?”
He looked all around Him – there were holes in the ground.
They had people inside, and were seen all around.

There were thousands of holes that were damp, dark, and deep.
Then the Lord turned to me and He said, “Feed my sheep.”
Then He went on His way to help other lost souls.
And I got right to work, calling down to the holes,
“Get up! Get ready! There’s nothing the matter!
Take rocks and take sticks and build up a find ladder!”

It now was my turn to spread the good word.
The most glorious message that man ever heard.
That there’s One who is willing to save one and all,
And we’ve got to be ready when He gives the call.
He’ll pull us all out of the hole that we’re in,
And save all our souls from death and from sin.

So do not lose faith; there is reason to hope:
Just build up your ladder; He’ll throw down His rope.

-Shayna

15 Jul 2013

Nice is fantastic. I love the ward here so much! I feel like I am making a bunch of progress as far as my French and actually getting to know the members.

Last Monday night we had a FHE at a member's home and both their sons speak English because they served missions in England and the US but the parents only speak a little English. So they mentioned we should try to speak more French to them than English in order to help us with our French. And we still spoke some English because we were asking questions about translations of words or grammar but at the end of the night Frere Manas thanked me for speaking in French. That blew me away because I didn't really think that I had spoken that much French but I guess I had.

Another day I was contacting a lady on the street she asked me where I was from and after I told her she told me my French was really good! ...then of course I promptly forgot all my French. ha-ha

Oh I have been asked to give a talk in august...hopefully I am still here. Of course I wasn't given a topic so I need to figure that out...I have to say though, having a full month's warning is much nicer than the MTC being picked out of the congregation with no warning.

Jusqu'à la fin!

Some pictures for the Toure de France:

-Shayna

8 Jul 2013

We celebrated the 4th here too. We had a Zone meeting and had a good American BBQ. :D

Things have changed again...I'm getting kind of tired of saying that. I'm still in Nice and I love it here. But now I am in a Trio again. Sr Bentley's Blue (aka Greenie) showed up and she and her blue got sent to replace elders in a town close to Tolouse so I am here in a trio with the other set of sisters here--Soeur Loder and Soeur Whitt. President said I get to stay here so my guess is that IF anything else changes it's that they send me a companion but I think it is more likely that it will stay the way it is for the rest of the transfer.

The tour de France was kind of cool. There were a TON of people and watching people ride bikes is not as exciting as it sounded. I didn't see a whole lot of it though just the starting line.

Sr Bentley is from Highland, UT she is related to Elder Holland she is only 1 or 2, transfers older than me. She is hilarious and reminds me of Marissa Elder. Soeur Loder is from Beaver Creek, Ohio. She is a convert, neither of her parents are members. Soeur Whitt is from Holiday, UT.

Yes our apartment is for 2 sets of sisters. Hopefully sometime this transfer they find us a new apartment this one is kind of small.

So now I am up to 6 companions this transfer...

There is a Senior couple here. They are fantastic! The Bria's have a blog I think it might be the one I read before I came out.

There are a lot more English speakers here because it's a big tourist villa and I guess cruise ships stop at the port here, so we translate sacrament meeting (by "we", I mean the missionaries, not me. My French isn't quite up to par yet). They have an EnglishSunday school class too. It is nice to have more English speakers around.

Nothing exciting happening this week or at least nothing that I know of yet

Jusqu’à la fin!

-Shayna

2 Jul 2013 {The Gypsy Missionary}

You know how I was in Grenoble last week?? I got moved again. Now, I am in Nice! Our area covers Montaco and we are right on the coast. The weather is hot but it gets nice a cool at night though the bugs for some reason are making a meal of my feet while I'm asleep. C'est ne pas grave.

So I've made some records this week... 3 cities, 5 companions, 7 weeks. One of my companions only for 6 hours. and only in Grenoble for 4 days.

A) First Transfer: Montpellier, France
B)Second Transfer, Take 1: Grenoble, France
C) Second Transfer, Take 2: Nice, France

Here's what happened -- apparently a couple of the blues (aka greenies) that were supposed to come in this week are having VISA problems so I am taking the spot of one of those blues here in Nice and my companion Soeur Bentley is AMAZING! I love her so much already! I feel like I will learn a lot from her!

However we have no idea when that blue is going to get here. President said it could be a week or it could be a month. And I have no idea what is going to happen with me whenever that blue shows up. President calls me the Gypsy missionary. I know there are definitely a couple reasons I was in Grenoble as long as I was though. I hope I get to do a full transfer there eventually.

I'm emailing today because the Tour de France is coming through town today so we switched our p-day to today so we could see it. Its not till later so I guess I will tell you about it next week.

I decided that the reason France is weird is because they have no good translation for awkward or awesome so they just don't understand those two very important things.

That's kinda all I got for this week. lots of moving around not a whole lot of other interesting things.

Love ya lots!

-Shayna
**Note: We have updated pictures, but there are some technical difficulties.  Pictures are coming soon :)