Je suis heureuse d'être heureuse (update #16)

Bonjour tout le monde!!
The title is a quote taken from the testimony of a recent convert, David. His testimonies are always colorful and a sometimes a little worrisome, but this line has become a new motto of mine. "I'm happy to be happy!" Amen! And last time he recited some catholic prayer to Mary so this was definitely an improvement :) he's awesome. Et je suis heureuse d'être heureuse!

So this week has been DOPE. Our mission has really been focusing on working with members this transfer. One of the number goals this encompasses is teaching lessons with members present. 2 weeks ago Soeur Kelley and I set a goal that was more than triple anything we'd ever done up to that point. We didn't know exactly how we were going to do it, but we worked and prayed a lot the last two weeks and we met our goal!! And there's no way we would have come even close if it were left to only the things we planned. God gave us paths to walk and people to teach and members to teach with. I love this way of doing missionary work because it builds our relationships with our ward and our Amis, and it integrates our Amis into the ward.

Us with Soeur "M" before she moved away

Before my mission and even in the MTC I really struggled with the numbers. "It's not about the numbers" and I would always get annoyed with how much they stressed setting number goals and "key indicators." Well, I sit here today with a new testimony of number goals. Without this goal to teach lessons with members, we would not have had Soeur Smurthwaite at our lesson with Cani, she wouldn't have been there to help him overcome his fear of his wife not accepting his baptism, and he might not be getting baptized the 26th of November. It's not about the numbers, it's about the people. It's about Cani, it's about the famille "B", it's about the members of the Val de Saône ward. At the end of this week, I'm not happy because we taught a bucketload of lessons with members, I'm happy because grâce à those lessons, we've built stronger relationships with countless people, our Amis have progressed more than ever before, and we feel motivated to keep working our butts off. Anyway, missionary rant over.

4 of the cool lessons we taught this week:

Famille "B"(wife was an inactive member and dad is catholic). There was insane traffic and we were driving with the "N" couple because they don't have a car. It took us 3 hours to make the 1 hour journey. I would make that trek 100 more times for the "B" family. We made them a family parcours au temple poster and we gave it to them (shown below).

Showing each of their individual paths to be able to go to the temple and be sealed for eternity as a family.

 With the N's we testified of eternal families and the love of God for their family. The dad claims he's not interested, but he always says "you teach good things" and he always joins us for lessons now. He's going to come around one day. Today in church Soeur "B" gave the opening prayer and this was her third Sunday in a row at church. 

 
Lesson with Cani and Soeur "S". Together at the church we addressed Cani's questions and concerns about being baptized. Having Soeur S's testimony and French to help us was invaluable. At the end we asked him how he was feeling about it and he replied "est-ce qu'il y a une raison de faire attendre?" To which we of course replied no. He will be baptized November 26 at 10 am. It was announced in priesthood yesterday. He's really starting to make friends and become integrated into the ward and it makes me so happy to watch.

Felix taught with Diogene (both from the Congo). Felix is an ancient Ami who is super busy so we don't get to teach him very often, I've only ever met him once at the beginning of last transfer. We planned on just teaching a good solid rétab, but as we started talking to him it became clear that we needed to teach the atonement. Soeur Kelley and I didn't even need to look at each other to be on the same page with this change. We talked about Christ and his atonement and shared Alma 7:11. Diogene is so cool. He's 20 and a convert of about 3 years, shared his powerful testimony and experiences with the enabling power of the atonement. I don't know that Felix will suddenly decide to start coming to church and meeting with us again, but I know that the spirit was there and he felt it.
We stopped by the house of one of our bishopric members to leave cookies and talk about the ward. He wasn't there, but we had an amazing conversation with his wife and her mom. During which we found out that her mom is not a member. Her exact words were "pas encore." (Not yet). We talked a little about her questions and concerns with the church and bore testimony of how the church has changed our lives. Because we took the time to get to know her first, she really trusted us and said she wants to get together again sometime. 

Other moments this week:
- Soeur Kelley and I have laughed to the point of tears multiple times this week and I can't even remember why. Sorry, I'll try to be better in the future.
- In a lesson Cani asked us "how can I share the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ with my children in Africa?" SO COOL. He's. It even baptized yet and he already is being a missionary. Cani is literally awesome.
- Cani always tells everyone we meet that Soeur Kelley and I are his "meres spirituelle" (spiritual moms) hahaha. I love it.
- a homeless kid who always begs on the street near one of our Amis tried to give us a coke and when we ignored him he left it outside of the door so it was waiting for us when we came out of our lesson...okay.
- FRANCE IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACE IN THE WORLD. Sometimes I forget how cool it is that I get to live here and I want to just always appreciate it.

When I got my mission call to the France Lyon mission I knew it was where I was supposed to go, but I was excited to see why. This week I feel like I'm starting to see why. Sitting in lessons with Cani, with the famille "B", with Stella, I see why I need to be right here, right now. And I think they're teaching me more than I'm teaching them.

Je vous aime avec tout mon cœur!!
Soeur Cami Goold

a gift we made for someone's birthday

A sidewalk chalk  message for the birthday girl

They have these  little "Mairies" (courthouse) in every town.  This one with the French flag shutters struck us as particularly cute!  

Analogy of the Cake (Update #15)

Bonjour bonjour!! Well this week officially marks 3 months en tant que missionnaire et tout va bien! I cannot believe how fast time is already going by.

#mishspiration  (The Analogy of the Cake)
"Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith that amiracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men"

This week we've started to see a lot of the fruit of our labors...and by that I mean we've been working really hard the last 7 weeks to get the work going in Val de Saône and this week we've seen A TON of huge miracles. The funny thing is, that most of these miracles came totally independently of the work we've been doing. 

It's so obvious that God has His plan and His own timeline and we just have to do what we can in the moment to be His hands. It's almost like us and God are baking a cake together. He has the recipe and he's telling us what to do one step, one ingredient at a time. He has a picture of the final product, he's tasted it before. But all he gives us is one tiny little step at a time. we cannot even begin to comprehend how beautiful and delicious the cake will be at the end. We just have to trust him when he's telling us to add a 1/2 teaspoon of salt, to talk to a random person on the side of the street, to make cookies for a neighbor. Because if we never did the little things, we would never get to taste the cake.

ANYWAY, long and potentially confusing analogy aside, what I'm trying to say is that God has a plan for us. He knows our faith and he knows our potential. He has greater things in mind for us than we can possibly imagine. If you don't believe that yet, keep doing the little things. Keep following the petit steps one by one, reading the scriptures, praying with faith, seeking the spirit, and one day you WILL taste the cake. 

Sorry, guess even as a missionary I can never truly leave behind the #cupcakesbycami mentality hahah.

Miracles: 
Here are a couple of the faith building, humbling miracles we've seen this week:

At the end of our rendezvous with the famille "B" (partial member family) and the "N"'s (new Tahitian couple in our ward) we sang the song "Love at Home". We had just testified and talked about how God blesses our families and can help us be together forever. The husband (catholic) never really participates and claims not to be interested, but throughout every rendezvous he inches closer and closer until finally he's joined us in the circle. As we were singing the closing song I watched his face light up as he looked around the circle at his wife and two daughters singing.   The gospel is changing his wife and daughter as they return to church and it's changing him to see that change. This is why I came on a mission. These celestial moments where I can literally see the light of the gospel changing people's lives.

Baby and 11-year-old sweethearts  from the "B" family.   She said that the baby is her "best friend" and the "cutest little thing alive"!   The 11-year-old likes for Soeur Goold to braid her hair. 

Rendezvous with "L" this week. She's preparing to go the temple. She testified of Christ and the truthfulness of our church. As we talked I could literally SEE the difference in her between now and when we first met her trapped in that little elevator. She was carrying her burden all alone, she was full of fear, she wasn't happy. As she gradually comes back to Christ her face is lighter, she is happier, she is remembering what it means to share her burdens with the Savior and turn to him. The gospel works. I don't know exactly how, but it works.

"C" This is the man who miraculously showed up at stake conference this week. After teaching him 2 more times it has become so clear that God has been preparing this man for the last 46 years, and now he is ready. He told us he was ready to become part of our church and he wants to stay in our church for the rest of his life. His baptismal date is November 26. As missionaries we cannot convince anyone with our teaching to join the church, they're either ready or they aren't. It's so humbling to see that this really is Gods work. He knows "C", he knew that Soeurs Long and Hendrickson would contact him on the bus, He helped him find his way to stake conference, and now He is helping us show "C" the path to the temple. This is His work, we are just trying to be His hands.

Message for all of you: 
Friends, family, loved ones: God is real. He loves you. He has a plan for you. Faith isn't easy, but it is so worth it. I am seeing little seeds of faith grow and change people's lives. I'm seeing the light and joy that only Christ can bring fill their eyes. I'm seeing that change in myself. If you find yourself not knowing where to turn in life, turn to God. He's always a safe place to place our bets.
"Ask and he shall receive, knock and it shall be opened unto you"

My personal goal this week:
Being motivated by faith and not fear.
Not fear of being a bad missionary, fear of not living up to my potential, fear of disappointing my family, fear of not following God. While these fears aren't necessarily bad things, I'd rather be motivated by faith.
Faith that God has a plan for me and the people here, and that he will show me the way. Faith that Jesus Christ is our Savior and that every single person I talk to can benefit from the message. Faith that if I do my best in every moment, God will make up for my weaknesses.
In the simple words of the savior: "fear not, only believe" (ne crainds pas, crois seulement)

I love you. Je vous aime beaucoup.
Soeur Cami Goold.

Other happenings:  

More pics with the "B" family

This picture was taken at an art museum in Lyon.   Her and Soeur Kelley taught two lessons to the workers there and Cami got asked out by both of them.   

Soeur Goold is the new driver for the companionship and was very proud of her parallel parking job.  Apparently her Virginia driver's license has some kind of reciprocity with France and she can get a French driver's license soon.   

Some kind of missionary meeting.  She didn't say what or where it was. 

I also have a video of her eating a chicken foot, but I can't figure out how to share it yet.   I'll keep working on that and potentially include it next week.  :) 

Hangin with the Blues! (Update #14)

Bonjour tout le monde!

As per usual, I don't have lot of time, but this week has been SO COOL!

This week, we had "Bounce Back" conference, where all the bleus (new missionaries) and their trainers came back to Lyon for a conference with President and Sister Brown.    That means that our awesome MTC district was reunited and I got to have another sleepover with Soeur Jones.  Sooooooo fun!


Our MTC district re-united at Bleus Conference.


It was so nice to see Sister Jones again!


Crazy there are this many "new" missionaries in the Lyon mission!

Love living in Lyon (close to the mission home), because when all  the other missionaries come for conferences, it's like they're all coming to my home!

It's so cool to see how far everyone has come since the MTC.  Something about spending time with Soeur Jones just reminds me that everything is going to be okay.  Literally love her so much.  It's just so cool to see how we're both struggling with some of the same things and having such similarly funny experiences with French and missionary life, but we're both going to be okay!   Soeur Jones is seriously such an inspiration to me on how to always be improving and working, but also to just live in the moment be present.  She really knows how to just appreciate what's happening in every given moment and that's one of my goals; to enjoy every day, every conversation, every experience of my mission.    Because France is amazing and the French people are even more amazing, my heart is so content to be here amongst these incredible people in this beautiful country.

Miracle:  
On Saturday, one of the other sisters said they met someone on the bus in our sector that knew the missionaries.  We had never heard of him before.  Later that night we got a call from someone asking where stake conference will be the next day because he wants to come.   Unfortunately he got lost and  kept texting us for directions during the conference.   An hour after the conference started, he was still completely lost in Lyon and he was ready to "laissez tomber" (let it drop), for today.    In that moment, I just said a prayer with all the faith I could muster that he would somehow find his way there.   10 minutes later, Cani Rwagasana walks into stake conference!!!



Afterward, we went and talked to him and he told us about how  he had met the missionaries a long time ago, but his spirit "wasn't ready."   He also told us how he is ready to change his life now.    (Cool side note:   A lot of the talks at stake conference were about how the gospel can change us! )    We asked him to start praying that his heart will be ready to receive the truth of our message and he said he would asked for us to pray for him too.    We're meeting with him again tomorrow to start the lessons with him.

Crazy, that in the last seven weeks we've done sooo many hours of finding people to teach through door-to-door and street contacting, talking to hundreds of people in the process, and the ONE who is ready and want to learn more literally came to us.   God definitely works in mysterious way, but it's also pretty clear that His way works better than ours.  So grateful we aren't expected to do this work alone.  I'm just His hands.

Other Miracles:
Luzia and Alexandre came to stake conference! She's been to church two weeks in a row and I really think she's starting to change.   From that first miracle encounter in the elevator six weeks ago, to the strong relationship we have with her today, it's so cool to see that God sees the full picture!   He knows what needs to happen today so that six weeks, six months, six years own the road, something incredible will happen.

Other Happenings: 
The Macedonians:   We had a cool lesson with a group of students from Macedonia (in English) on Sunday!  Then we randomly ran into them in Lyon today on p-day!   So fun!



Cool French experience:   Someone at stake conference gave  talk in Portuguese which was then translated into French.  The juxtaposition between a language where I could understand nothing and then French, where I could understand almost everything, brought tears to my eyes.  I hadn't realized until then just how much I've learned and how much God is clearly helping me in this process.   Just 12 weeks ago, listening to French would have been like listening to the talk in Portuguese and I wouldn't have understood a thing.    And now I can somehow understand.    And I promise you that it has very little to do with me and a whole lot to do with the fact that God is helping me communicate with His children that He called to serve.

Je vous aime!!!   Merci pour tout ce que vous faites et bon continuation!
Love,
Soeur Cami Goold

 

 

 

 

                                  Me and Soeur Kelley with Soeur Jones and Soeur Holmgren.

 

 

 

                                                         Cool wall mural we passed.

Still Kicking Down Doors in Lyon (Update #13)

Bonjour tout le monde!!
This week we received our first transfer calls along with the EXCITING
news that Soeur Kelley and I will be staying together in Lyon (Val de Saône area)!
So exciting. And to express how exciting this is, let me tell you a
little more about Soeur Kelley (something I realize I've totally
neglected to do).

Soeurs Goold and Kelley will stay companions!   

I forget you don't know anything about my life unless I tell you.
Anyway, Soeur Kelley is AMAZING! 

Exactly what I needed in a trainer.

She's sooo laid back and gets along with everyone but also works so
hard. We've really been focusing on building relationships with
members and porting prayerfully and we've seen so many miracles
together. Also have had lots of laughs along the way (usually about me
doing something stupid hahah). Soeur Kelley has such a powerful
testimony and has really learned how to teach simply but with power.
I've already learned so much from her and I'm excited to have another
transfer to keep learning :) She's been on her mission since January
and has had 7 companions in 7 transfers. Yes, you've done the math
correctly, that means I'm the first companion of Soeur Kelley's entire
mission that she has stayed with for more than one transfer. (This
says nothing about me and everything about how easy Soeur Kelley is to
get along with). I can't believe I've been so blessed that my first 2
companions have quickly become lifelong friends.

We've decided that our relationship is like that of a mom and toddler.
She can understand everything I say and often has to translate for me,
just like a toddler speaks in absolute jubberish but somehow their mom
knows exactly what they want. We have a really good system worked out
where we meal plan together, I cook and she does the dishes. Thus far
it's been perfect :)

Cookies she baked for ice cream sandwiches for  Soeur Burton's birthday

So Saturday morning while Soeur Kelley was in the other room the phone
rings with an unknown number. Usually I always let Soeur Kelley answer
but I figured I had no choice so I picked up and said "oui, bonjour?"
Well, turns out the call was for me. It was our bishop asking if I
could give a talk in sacrament meeting...TOMORROW. Of course I had to
say yes. With 9:30 church, one day to prepare, lots of porting to do,
and a 10:30 bedtime, I was a little stressed. Beforehand I just prayed
that God would help me communicate in spite of the language barrier.
That the Holy Ghost would shar my message. Well, my prayer was
answered. My talk may not have been beautiful, but everyone said they
understood perfectly. And as I always say: "si vous pouvez comprendre,
je suis contente."

READ HER TALK HERE.

Some funny Comments on my talk:
- Your French is good but your accent is terrible! You talk with your
mouth instead of your nose. Proceeds to imitate my speaking by widely
opening and closing his mouth. (Old French man visiting from Paris,
his daughter proceeded to tell me that this was a huge compliment
coming from him).

- You sounded like an apostle. (Diogen, YSA, about 20, from the Congo,
baptized about 2 years ago)

- instead of saying we knock on doors I accidentally said we kick down
people's doors the whole time hahahah. One of the members pulled me
aside after and made this very clear. Frapper dans Le port means to
kick down the door, frapper à le port means knock on the door. Good to
know.

Other laughs:
--This week we were out driving to a less active's house when suddenly
someone honks at us. We had no clue why so I said "maybe he was trying
to pass you" except instead I said "maybe he was trying to baptize
you." Didn't even realize what had happened until I looked over and
Soeur Kelley was dying of laughter. Well.... sounds like I'm
officially a missionary ;)

--The same day while porting someone told us the usual "j'ai pas
beaucoup de temps et ça m'intéresse pas de tout" (I don't have time
and I'm not at all interested). We always just smile and tell them:
thank you and have a nice day, except this time I said loud and clear
"aujourd'hui" instead of "au revoir" (I shouted at her "today!"
Instead of "goodbye") hahahah.

--We were at our lesson with Jeremy walking back to the car (he always
likes to walk around when we have lessons) when suddenly our phone
rings. Soeur Kelley takes a couple steps away to answer and Jeremy and
I are just standing there when suddenly I look down and see a HUGE
bright green bug on my leg. I thought it was a praying mantis. It was
just a grasshopper. But I shrieked and started hopping around in
circles and Jeremy was just dying of laughter and Soeur Kelley was
sooo confused on the phone. Then Jeremy killed the bug... I felt a
little bad, but not too bad. Hopefully it goes to bug heaven. (Is bug
heaven a real thing? If it is I hope it's really far away from human
heaven, that would be A LOT of creepy crawly flying insects)

Soeur Kelley, Cam, and Jeremy the bug killer

Cool things:
Porting miracle, we only had an hour to go porting before we wanted to
stop by and visit a member (Soeur Simonet, awesome, forte member.
Reminds me a lot of my mom in her personality and dedication to her
calling. She visit teaches 15 people. 15. Because there are 139 women
on the ward list and only 31 are (mostly) active. She visits 7 every
month and writes handwritten letters to the other 8. Wow. She says
magnifying our callings and loving our neighbors selflessly is how we
show God our gratitude. And man does she live by that statement. Also
Soeur Simonet went to BYU and speaks perfect English. We always speak
French though so she can help me.) anyway, we went porting and really
tried to follow the spirit, one step at a time. We drove to a
neighborhood then felt like we needed to drive to the other side of
the ville, drove there, did a couple laps around the roundabout then
chose the rue to go down. Turned into a little cartier and started
porting. As we started knocking on doors the image of a rue we passed
driving into the neighborhood came into my mind. I told Soeur Kelley I
didn't know why but I wanted to go there... So we did. The first door
we knocked on was a young girl (maybe 17) who has never believed in
God, but was really interested in why we believe. You could tell she
saw something different about us and is looking for something more in
her life. She doesn't want to keep meeting with us now, but she
promised us she would start seeking God through prayer and scriptures.

SK, SG, Ana Sophia, and Soeur Carvalho

#mishspiration
God doesn't always tell us the exact neighborhood or house we need to
go to, but if we let him, he will guide us, one little direction at a
time. Sometimes that means blindly taking the first step so He can
show us the next one. Like the blind man in the New Testament who
hears that Christ is coming and immediately stands up and runs toward
Christ while "Christ stood still in the way." We cannot sit still, we
need to stand up and take those first steps (sometimes blindly) to
meet Christ in the way. And the promise is that if we come to him as
he comes to us, through faith we can be healed.

Je vous aime!!!
Soeur Cami Goold

Saying goodbye to the Sweeney's in the mission office.  They are neighbor's of my grandparents.