And They Did Give Thanks.... (update #68)

Bonjour tout le monde!!

The weeks are honestly flying by over here in Toulouse.. we've been running left and right and just having the time of our lives. This week has been super exciting but before I update you I just wanted to document a simple but powerful experience during church on Sunday.

This Sunday was the primary program in sacrament meeting. Always the best Sunday of the year. For the opening hymn we sang "En Sion, pays si cher" (don't worry about what that means). Anyway, during the chorus of the song we sang the words:  "entendez-vous la musique, de ces douces voix d'enfants? Confiants et pleins d'amour, ils font monter chaque jour vers le ciel lemurs chants joyeux et innocents."

The English version doesn't do it justice, but it's basically asking in a much more beautiful and poetic way: "do you hear that music? Do you hear the children singing with confidence and love their joyful
song to heaven?"

I'm not describing the situation very well, but as these beautiful words filled the room I was just suddenly overcome with an overwhelming sense of gratitude for everything my mission has brought
me. For this opportunity to live amongst the French people, to share my heart and my testimony with them, to be a witness to the perfect love Heavenly Father has for his children, to hear the beautiful music of the gospel with all of my heart and soul.

Does every moment feel like that? Of course not. But when we let God be in charge of our lives, no matter what arrives, at the end of the journey I think our overwhelming emotion will always be gratitude. And I'm just so grateful that God is patient enough with me to carry me through the moments when maybe I forget the gratitude emotion and focus on all the negative ones.

This Friday will be our tri-zone Thanksgiving conference and I'm so excited!!! I really wanted to make something to hang up (it's in our chapel so we're in charge of decorations) so I made this little quote thingy today...

but anyway, I just wanted to share this scripture: "They did raise their voices and give thanks to God."

I love its beautiful simplicity and I love the power of true gratitude. In the words of President Uchtdorf (a modern day apostle) "true gratitude heals the heart and expands the mind."

They may not celebrate Thanksgiving in France the way we do, but the spirit of giving thanks is all over and I'm just so happy to be a part of it.

As for what happened this week...

First and foremost, Lucille had her baptism interview and is SO EXCITED to be baptized on the 2 of December!! They announced it in church on Sunday and she was just glowing and beaming from ear to ear.

God is so good to His children when we are faithful and patient.  Lucille has been through a lot in her life and she's been searching for the truth for a long time... and now she's found her place where she feels at peace. And she is so full of excitement and energy for the gospel... it's incredible.

Speaking of her excitement for the gospel... she's already being a missionary! She invited her little sister, Léa to church last Sunday. Since then we have taught Léa twice and she has also decided to get
baptized!! I just love that when we feel the joy of the gospel, it's just natural to share it. I wish all of you could meet Lucille. Honestly, she is just the kindest, happiest, wisest human being.

Changing the subject, another weird/ fun thing that happened this week is that our friend Lou followed us around for an afternoon while we taught lessons and went contacting. Lou is a journalist and is not a member, but she's writing an article about how Mormons live their faith in Toulouse. So she followed us around for a day to get info/ pictures for her project. We were kind of freaking out/ super nervous, but it actually ended up being a really cool experience... because absolutely nothing changed having someone watch us. It kind of made me realize how normal being a missionary has become and how much I love doing it.

We also had an exchange with the Montauban sisters this week. Soeur Driggs is the absolute coolest person and we have so much in common.

So fun to spend the day with her :)

well... I think that's all I have to say for the moment.

Sister Gowans is incredible. Chill and funny and such a good missionary. Toulouse is the best. I hope you are all doing incredibly well and enjoying all the sweet potatoes and stuffing and homemade rolls this week. Happy Thanksgiving!!

Love,
Soeur Cami Goold

This is a picture of the missionaries in the Toulouse district, sitting on the number of chairs that equals the number of transfers they've been on their missions.  So fun to see Cami on the tall end of things!  

FHE with a family in their ward...