Week #9 May 5th

Dearest family,

I hope all is well and the springy sun is coming out to stay! Summer will be VERY hot here in Montpellier. It'll be great! 

This week was a great week in the lives of a missionary :) I'll focus on a few key points :) soooo....

Zone Conference. Super cool. We have this great new formula for finding people. We are really wanting to work with members. We want to meet their friends. Not to baptize them right away but to become their friends, and then baptize them. Really though. The people we find on the street are way less likely to stay active, not to mention even get baptized in the first place, when compared to member friend converts. We are really excited :) It'll work. Members in France struggle with member missionary work. It's hard when you are surrounded by not just other beliefs, but when it's 47% atheist. So basically no belief. Sad. They will get there though. It was a great great conference. I always am filled with so much light after.

J is doing well. In the past two weeks I have seen a change in her and a growth in testimony.  We love her. Her baptism is set for this Saturday.She is like my mom here in Montpellier. Always telling me how to properly care for myself. And feed myself. Love her. 

We had a couple first lessons. R is Evangelist and very practicing. She reminds me of American Christians actually where you just have to accept Christ and you're saved. She is so sweet though and so sincere. But her understanding of the necessity of authority for baptism and prophets isn't yet there. She is so practicing and so set in her ideas so it was challenging. It was an interesting experience. It reminded me of some conversations I had with some friends from school about religion. This other girl we met was so cool. C. She is hopefully going to meet with us next week again. She is catholic but doesn't really know whet to believe. She is our age. Some days she believes in God, other days she doesn't. We'll see.

We are still trying to find people. After J baptism we won't have much work so that is our focus and we hope that our member's will have the courage to help us. :)

Anyway, that's about it. We found a miraculous less active who loves the church and wants her family to be baptized so bad. She is only in Montpellier for a month longer though :( and her family is in Carcassonne. That's it. 

I love you all. This work is true. God lives. Christ is our Savior. Happy Cinco de Mayo. or Happy Cinq de Mai en Francais. I love you all. 8:30 am, May 11. Mother's day to confirm :) see you then. I love you :) 

Love, Soeur Roberts

Montpellier Week #6

Dear Family,

Sometimes in life things are going too good and so Heavenly Father needs to give us some things that will test our faith and show Him that we are willing to do whatever He says. 

This week had some ups and downs. A is completely dropped. Unfortunately he convinced himself that the spirit he felt when he decided to get baptized was just psychological. I think he was expecting a column of light.. Maybe in the future. E has been laying low. She hasn't really been responding much to our calls or texts and we haven't been able to have a lesson with her for 2 weeks. We decided to finally go pass her and she didn't answer at first so we waited and prayed that we'd know what to do. She then comes out and graciously accepts our company. Cool :) so we just catch up a bit and say a little prayer. She said she was going to come to our ward activity and didn't and then she ditched us at church and hasn't responded again. The period right before break ups are hard. We hope and pray that she will recognize the spirit. We had a couple other bummers, but they were more along the lines of miracles one day and the day after was the bad news. That's okay :)

J is doing good. Yesterday she had an interview with the bishop and it went super great. She is really ready and doing great.

Miracle time! So we had exchanges and I was with a sister who served here 6 months ago so we were super busy seeing all these people. One of which is A, whose story is incredible. The sisters taught her after she referred herself after staying in Utah and meeting the missionaries and gaining a testimony, etc. But then life got the best of her and contact was lost. So we have heard how cool this girl was but never got a hold of her. Soeur H comes, calls her, and she answers! she had been in New Zealand and Germany and doing life and apparently she is having quite the trial right now with being accused and betrayed. So I got to meet the infamous Au and she still has a testimony and wants to get baptized the only problem is that she has no sense of urgency. When it comes it comes so it is our job this transfer to help her understand that she needs to do it now. She is sooooooooo incredible though. I hope we can really work with her.

We had a lesson with G who was a former Jehovah's Witness. He has been searching for a church for a while. He is super super cool and seems really prepared, but we need to make sure his intentions are honest. We showed him the church and he was so excited to start reading the Book of Mormon! He asked such good questions too, which is always nice. He really is so cool. It was such a miracle!

Anyway, I may feel a little down. It's crazy how the work just goes so up and down sometimes. But me and Soeur Mod are working hard and I know that our efforts are not wasted here among these people. I love this Gospel so much and I just want everyone to be happy like I am because the only reason I am happy is because of the Gospel :)

I've been studying prayer, guidance and being more in tune with the Spirit and I can already tell a huge difference. The Holy Spirit is real and He guides us when we are worthy and willing. I love you all. I know this church is true. I know God lives and Jesus Christ is the Savior. Remember the last week of His life and all the things He did before His Resurrection. I love my Savior so much. I love you :)

Love, Soeur Roberts

Montpellier Week #5

Hello,

Let's start with conference. Best thing ever. The spirit was so string. Are we all going to take Elder Ballard's advice? :) And love one another like our beloved Prophet said. I hope you all felt the spirit as much as I did. We had a family come watch a part of conference too so that was so miraculous. We want to baptize them :)  

SO this week was good. I had two exchanges and those were fun, although it is a lot more tiring than it seems. I love all the girls i work with. We were able to teach J.  She has her date for the 26th of April :) And it is quite solid. She came to all of conference on Sunday and she LOVED Ballard's talk which is funny because it was totally on missionary work. She really wants to help her brother find the gospel so we are trying to get the missionaries in Guadeloupe  to find him :) J is great. I love her.. 

E accepted the law of tithing! She is incredible. She wasn't able to come to conference because she suddenly very ill, but we're going to watch it with her later. I love E so much. She is so cool and so prepared. I pray that she recognizes that. 

M V came to conference too :) She loved conference it, especially the woman's session. She is so sweet. 

A has decided that he just wants to come to church and not take the missionary lessons. SO we'll wait with him. Or give him to the elders. :) He has potential.

We had fun contacting experiences. This one guy was talking to me about the horribleness of man and that's why God doesn't exist so i so graciously decided to explain free agency that God gave us. And he said that's the problem. Man gave himself agency and that's why there are problems. Oh no. That's Satan's PLAN! He literally wants to follow Satan's plan! It's fine. Then we met a Brazilian atheist. How rare is that. Then these two super cool college girls. We'll see. It was fun though. I love Montpelier. 

Anyway, there were other miracles I'd love to tell you but I have little time. If they turn into something bigger I'll let you know :) 

I love you all. I love the Gospel. I know it is true with all my heart. This is where we can find true happiness, eternal happiness with our families. I LOVE YOU.

Love, Soeur Roberts

Montpellier Week #4

Dear Family, 

So I'll start with STL stuff. It's really fun, but so incredibly tiring. We have two exchanges a week so we have to give all our energy to those two sisters and the rest we are just exhausted. The sister's we are over are generally really great. We got Aix en Provence, Nice, Toulon, Perpignan, and Carcassonne. I went on an exchange with a sister last week who has a lot of the struggles I had. Homesickness, feeling like she wasn't reaching her full potential that God planned for her, and just not knowing where to start when making goals to improve. I was able to help her which made me feel really good. I loved being able to give her advice about how I'd overcome similar struggles. I really love this calling. I don't know if I'll stay of not, or stay with Soeur Mod, but I would love to. It's been super great :) I absolutely love this place. So much.

SO this week was another great one :) We started out  with a zone conference with a guest Elder Lund from the 70. It was really great. He focused on the Gospel of Jesus Christ, mostly faith. It was a really nice conference and the spirit was very strong. It just testified to me more that I made the right decision coming on a mission. It's always fun leaving those conferences on a spiritual high, surrounded by missionaries all around the south of France sharing the Gospel. 

Our investigators are doing really great. She is still set for a date in April and we pray for her to have strength :) 

E is doing super also.  What a miracle. She is incredible. We had a lesson on the Atonement, and we are trying to build her faith in Christ as her Savior. Of everything. I love E. 

A is incredible and I love him so much! He has come so far and he understands the Gospel so well now. It's awesome. He is set for April too. I'm so excited for him! He is the funniest guy ever. Gosh I'm so happy.

Let's see. F! She needs the gospel. She NEEDS it. Everyone does but she does a lot. She came to church on Sunday and we had another mini lesson. She loves us. She feels the spirit with us. I want her to understand that she can only get that true spirit through the restored Gospel. She is confused. I love her and she could have such a better life. She just randomly stopped smoking too. What will power. Seriously. She is so strong, but she feels so weak.We really hope we can keep working with her. 

Anyway, I just want you to know how much I love you Mom and Dad. You are a constant strength to me. France is such a different world. I'm so grateful for the home I grew up in and the things you taught me. SO GRATEFUL. I know my life is changed because of the Gospel. You can just see the difference with families who have the gospel and the families that don't. It's so sad. 

I love you. I know this church is true. I know God and Jesus Christ live and still talk to us like they did anciently. There is a prophet on the earth. The Book of Mormon is true. There is only one way to true, eternal happiness. And it doesn't cost any money. It's only through the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. Only through this Gospel. I love you :) 

Love, Soeur Roberts

Week #3 Montpellier

Dear Family,

Another incredible week in Montpellier, it's true! 

A is doing great. If you remember, last week I said he texted us saying he was no longer interested in learning more. Anyway, he came to church still and then Tuesday on exchanges we taught him :) It was incredible actually. So usually we call nightly yo follow up on his reading, but Monday things were just a bit crazy so we couldn't. Then during the lesson he said he was happy we didn't call because he had a surprise, aka good news. So he goes on to explain how at church on Sunday he felt the spirit for the first time, he wanted to answer and participate. He reflected the next couple days and came to the conclusion that he was ready to be "well applied" in the church. He wants to be Mormon. naturally we gave him a baptismal date and it was so exciting! He has been doing so well, and keeps all his commitments. We love A. SIDE NOTE: He did sewing for his occupation so on Thursday there is a sewing class for RS and we were supposed to have a lesson and we get there and he starts helping all the RS with their sewing projects. It was hilarious. And we had the lesson after :) 

M  is doing well.  She is adorable. She told the JW's that she was going to keep meeting with us because we were nice to her and more tolerant and with God. Ohhh yeah. Plus she fells the spirit :) 

E on the other hand is doing awesome too. We foresee a few trials, but she'll get there.We visit her daily too to give her courage. She is so strong it is incredible. She has some personal struggles, but she came to church; it's challenging to be around big groups of people. I helped her make dinner one night and it was a super fun bonding experience. She comes from a completely non believing background. I love E so much. She is probably one of the strongest people I know. 

J is still great. I love her. She started doing my hair in sacrament meeting.

F is doing good too. We saw her and it wasn't a huge lesson, just super quick tour around the church and a tiny lesson, but she said she always feels better when she is with us. She is so great though. She has a lot of faith and sincerely wants to know  truth but it is tough because she doesn't like division religion brings. She isn't yet there to the idea that there is only one true church.  She'll get there :) 

Anyway, I'll stop there for now. I love you all. The church is true and we are so blessed to have this knowledge of truth in our lives. Je vous aime tous :) 

love Soeur Roberts

Montpellier Week #2

Dear Family,

I love Montpellier so much! Not only because the weather is absolutely incredible, but because there are so many people who are ready for the restored Gospel. It's really cool. 

So at the beginning of the week all the ZL's and STL's went to this training meeting thing in Lyon and it was really cool because President introduced to us a new way to contact. We are using a questionnaire! It has only four questions on it and they are yes or no answers. We were able to go out and practice it a bit. It was magical. Not only were people more willing to talk to us, it led into so many cool conversations, and even phone numbers, and even lessons! It works miracles. We have been using it all throughout the week too. It was really touching because President said "The Lord told me to do this." I'm really grateful for the inspiration he receives for our mission.

So I had my first exchange on Wednesday and it went quite well! We had a lot of fun. I went with sister Jackson who is actually from Calvin's mission :) She is really great. We went to Sète which is a bit farther out of Montpellier to go have a lesson with A in one of our members home. We watched the 20 minute restoration video and testified about it and the Book of Mormon. Because he is a bit slower, we call him every night to follow up on his commitments and he will ask us questions and we'll have mini lessons. It really helps him we think. BUT on Saturday he texted us and was like "I don't want to know the gospel anymore, Bye." But then he changed his mind. So he came to church on Sunday and was really touched by the lesson in Gospel principles class. We really hope he can just feel the spirit. He prays the way we taught him (he is catholic) and he even waits a bit for a feeling/response, but hasn't received one yet. We pray that Heavenly Father will answer his prayers. He really wants to know which church is true. 

J is committed to baptism and she is pretty solid. She has a Preach my Gospel and reads the lesson before we teach her, she's pretty great. A little nervous about actually getting baptized, but she can do it. MV is still smoking so we are really trying to buckle down. We are going to start the program the church has. But she needs to be serious first. She wants to quit but sometimes wanting isn't enough. I want peanut butter really bad, all day every day, but does wanting it get me anything? No. SO, we need her to start acting. We hope to make some headway on that this week. 

NEW NEWS. (haha new news... get it?) SO E. She is quite the miracle. My first week I texted her, never meeting her, not knowing very much about her, and we set up a lesson. Unfortunately that day she had to cancel due to something, I don't know what? Sad. So I continued to text her, with no response for a week and a half, believing probably because of Satan that she hated us. Because people will randomly decide they hate us and that we are devils. Which we so aren't! But she texted us Friday and was like "I am so sorry some crazy things happened. I'd love to have a lesson today." WOW!  We go to her house, first thing she says is something along the lines of  "I'm not Mormon, not yet" and have a super quick lesson on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Because she had perfect answers. We asked her about faith and she understands better than I do. Then repentance. Again better than me. The only thing she didn't really get was the symbolism which she finally explained to herself after she talked for a couple minutes. She then explained how baptism scares her, and how she doesn't feel clean enough. So she goes to the bathroom and Soeur Mod and I do comp telepathy. She comes back in and ask her to be baptized and she said yes. Just like that. So her date is May 8 2014, her favorite number and month. Incredible. And after she just so happened to tell us she really wants to quit smoking. Miracle again. Then on Sat we watched the long Joseph Smith, Prophet of the Restoration" with a family and the spirit was blasting the room. She had tears throughout. She is so cool and we pray she stays strong. 

The Gospel has the power to change people's lives into something they never thought was possible before. It is a Gospel of change for the better. I am so grateful for it in my life and now I get to bless others lives. I love My Savior and Father in Heaven. I love you all!

Love, Soeur Roberts

Montpellier Week #1

Greetings from Montpellier, 

Where I have seen the sun everyday I've been here!

I'll start with answering your questions :) So Dad: We have about 8 exchanges (that means 16 sisters) we are going to be doing and they will all be here in Montpellier. So we aren't taken out of our ville, but we just don't get to work with each other very often. About 2 exchanges a week. The work here is a bit slower than one would expect, but it's started to really pick up recently which is great. We have two pretty solid investigators, but of course everyday we look for more. We get to church by a bus. It's nice and easy. Mom: Sister Mod is one older than me, she is senior comp and she is a great worker and we get along super great. I love her. It is so warm! I didn't hardly wear my jacket at all this week! 

Anyway, this week was quite fun! It is weird being so foreign to a city because I was in Bordeaux for like 6 months. I don't know where anything is here, but I'll get it soon enough. I got to meet our wonderful amis! J  is so great. We had 2 lessons with her this week. She has a baptismal date for April 12 i believe. I love her so much already. we pulled out a General Conference talk from Uchtdorf's "We can do it now" and she was just silent. The spirit was so strong. It is amazing our words of truth can calm a troubled heart and just bring the spirit in so strongly. 

Then I met MV She is literally an angel. She has some bad health problems with her neck and wears a neck brace, and has to for another year. If she moves her neck wrong in just one slight way, she will be paralyzed. She has a pretty incredible story. She has the faith to move a mountain. She is an angel. So so so sweet. She also has a date for the end of march and we really hope we can help her. I love her. At the end of our lesson, she prayed for me! It was so sweet :) 

We also got a new ami this week named A. He is a funny one. Sister W contacted him weeks and weeks ago and they tried to set something up but he said he needed to reflect. And often that means they aren't interested. But he texted us Wednesday! It was a miracle. So we had a lesson with him on Friday and it went fine. He is very interested in how the spirit works. He has never felt the spirit before he told us and he wants to know how he can. We asked him if God and Christ appeared to him what he would ask and he said the exact question as Joseph Smith. Can you believe that! He is catholic at base but is really searching for truth. He doesn't understand why there are so many churches and only one bible, etc. He came to church on Sunday too. We have high hopes for him.

Montpellier is really great. The ward is incredible. They actually are very proactive in missionary work. They love us as missionaries and the Bishop is just awesome. There are  some great ideas we want to get going to help strengthen the people here and bring them to the Gospel. I am so happy to be here. We have our first exchanges this week so I am a bit nervous but I know with the help of the Savior, I can do it. 

Anyway, I love you so much! I sent some pictures from Eysines and of S baptism again. Just for kicks. 

The Gospel is true. I was reading a general conference talk by Adrian Ochea I think called "Look Up" from October and he said how we need to stay away from those things that contradict the veracity of Jesus as the Christ and Joseph Smith as a prophet and it really hit me. It is so important. When we read anti Mormon stuff, or just associate with things that deny the truthfulness of the Gospel, we will begin to doubt. Our testimonies cannot grow in that type of mind set. Look up. Read the scriptures and pray. I really loved that. We can't be steadfast and participate in material or be with people that take the name of the Savior or God in Vain or distort sacred truths. It just makes room for Satan to get in and make us doubt more and more the faith that was once so strongly embedded in us. So I invite you to look up. The gospel is true and always will be, no matter what anyone does or says. I know that to be true. I love you all!

Love, Soeur Roberts