A New Companion and Lighting the World with Cupcakes (update #20)

Bonjour et joyeux Noël!!!
So first things first, my new companion is Sœur Annabelle Wilson, straight out of the MTC, from California!!!

She is awesome and I'm so excited to start working together :)) Our first week together has been a blast! It was her birthday on Saturday, so we celebrated with some French pastries, going  to Fêtes des Lumières  (Festival of Lights) in Lyon with all the Lyon missionaries and President and Soeur Brown, and we did some serious work with the travail missionaries and met our goals even though we only had half the week together!! 

She hasn't really taken French before so suffice it to say, I have a lot of hard core language studying ahead of me this transfer! We have a lot of learning and growing to do together and I'm excited to get started!

#mishspiration this week is something I've been meaning to share for a long time: ÉCLAIREZ LE MONDE!!! (Light the world). Aka the church's Christmas campaign this year.

If you haven't seen this video yet, go watch it right now. If you've already seen it multiple times, still go watch it right now. No matter how many times we share this with Amis and members, it never gets old and never fails to bring the spirit.

I love the beautiful juxtaposition of Christ's life and what we can do
in our own life.
     Je suis la lumière du monde (I am the light of the world)
     Vous êtes la lumière du monde (you are the light of the world)
     Éclairez le monde (light the world)

I feel like this just sums up the reason I came on a mission, but also the reason all of us are on the earth. Each of us has so much potential and so much light to share and it's the little things we do that bring us closer to Christ. That slowly help us become like Him.

In other news, I volunteered to make 200 cupcakes for a mission conference next week so I guess #cupcakesbycamiFrance is now a thing.  :)

Baking is such a comfort to me and I'm so grateful that I get to do it here as a missionary! And I love that there are always ways for us to use our random little talents to serve others. There are a lot of things about missionary work that I'm still learning and still have a lot of room for improvement on  (language, lessons, edifying members with every visit), but, by golly, I can make some mean cupcakes. I have faith that as I work hard God will help me overcome my weaknesses and make them strengths but in the meantime, I'm going to do what I can and work some magic with butter and sugar and love.

Thank you for all your love, support and prayers! Every letter and email means the world to me even if I don't always have time to reply.  Je vous aime trop forte!!

Have an amazing Christmas and ÉCLAIREZ LE MONDE!!
Avec tout mon amour,
Soeur Cami Goold

Cami and a sweet little girl, Sovergna, from the ward. Cami referred to her as a good friend! 

All the new trainers waiting for their "bleus" to arrive from the MTC

All the trainers still waiting for their blues.  

Soeur Wilson 

Pictures from the Fêtes des Lumières  (Festival of Lights)

This celebration is held each year in Lyon to pay honor to Mary, the Mother of Jesus. 

The mission president and his wife took all the missionaries serving in the city of Lyon there and it looks like took them on a boat ride.   She didn't describe it, but based on my research likely on the Saône or the Rhône River.