Monday, December 19, 2016

JOYEUX NOËL (Update #20)

JOYEUX NOËL TOUT LE MONDE!!
 I don't have a whole lot to report on this week except to say that
it's been amazing! The cupcakes turned out even better than I hoped
and the zone conference with Elder Sabin (area general authority) was
SO GOOD! 
It was so fun to have all the other missionaries here in Lyon
with us (including Soeur Kelley and Soeur Jones!!!!) sometimes it's
easy to get caught up in the daily grind of missionary work and these
conferences are always great reminders of WHY we're here and that
we're all in this divine work together. Not only do we have the very
God who created us and the entire universe. Not only do we have His
son, Jesus Christ, the Savior of all mankind. but we also have
prophets, President and Soeur Brown, and about 200 other missionaries
just in the south of France working shoulder to shoulder with us. Not
to mention the thousands of other missionaries throughout the world!

(Shoutout Elder Holdaway, Elder Crain, Sister Harrison, Sister McGlinchy, the other
Sister Goold, Sister Teasley, soon to be Sister Powell and all the other
incredible missionaries that are such amazing examples to me)

And in addition to that we also have the millions of members that make
missionary work a life style and not a calling, who support us and our
Amis.

I've been studying the Christmas story in Luke this week and something
that stood out to me was the part when the angels went and told the
shepherds to go visit Christ. I think I always assumed that when
Christ was born, everyone in the whole world knew about it and was
excited and worshiping him, but I don't think it was actually like
that at all. Sure, there was a new star in the sky, but how many
people actually knew what that meant? The angels had to go around and
spread the "glad tidings of great joy." It's just the same in today's
world. The hope, joy and light of Christ is just as real today as it
was the day he was born, if not more real because of the life he's
lived since then. But not everyone knows that. It's our job, or really
our joy, to announce the joyeuse news of the gospel. It reminds me of
the third verse of "les anges dans nos compagnes" (angels we have
heard on high I think) which is our mission song:
"Ils annoncent la naissance du rédempteur, roi d'israël. Et dans sa
reconnaissance la terre chante avec le ciel"
What a beautiful thought that heaven and earth are singing together in
joy and gratitude to share the greatest message of hope with all the
world.
Words cannot express how grateful I am, especially in the Christmas
season, for my Savior Jesus Christ. He truly is the light of the world
and the only reason that I wake up every day, at 6:30, thousands of
miles from my loved ones, speaking a foreign language to absolute
strangers, and I couldn't be happier about it. Christ lives. He loves
us. He was born for us, lived for us, and died for us. And in him
there is hope and light and love that is somehow infinite and enough
for every single one of us. Don't ask me how, all I know is that it's
true and that it works.

Thank you for your light and joy that you spread to those around you
and to me. I wish you the Merriest of Christmases and hope that you
feel the love that God has for you and your families in the beautiful
time of year. I love you!

Et souvenez-vous, ÉCLAIREZ LE MONDE!!

Love,
Soeur Cami Goold


Fun things this week:
Soeur Wilson's first trip to Fourviere!!


Seeing Soeur Jones and Soeur Kelley

Ward Christmas Party, SO CUTE. Love little French kids.

Delivering little flowers to some of our French mothers because we
can't call our real mothers.
Christmas caroling with the Famille Brenders!! No pic but was SO FUN!
We went and visited a bunch of less actives who live out in Bourg en
Bresse with them and their 6 KIDS. They are such a perfect family,
also they're moving to Idaho soon so they love practicing their
English on us (and we always respond in French to practice too haha).
So sad we forgot to take a picture. funny story with the caroling, we
went to sing at a less actives house who nobody had met before except
me. There were two doors on the floor so we picked the one I thought.
As soon as she opened the door I knew it was the wrong one but nobody
else knew so they just gave her the cookies and sang as if it was.
Meanwhile I was trying to contain my laughter and decide if
I should say anything. At the very end they figured out that it wasn't
actually a member of our church and that she was Muslim so we left her
with our card and let her keep the cookies. Pretty funny hahaha





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