Serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in northern France, southern Belgium and Luxembourg.

Monday, July 20, 2015

Tell everybody I'm on my way

You guys.
So the announcements for the transfer happened and I'm going to...Belgium! It's a city called Liège. Elder Wheatley, my trainer, has been there for the last three months; he's leaving and I'm replacing him! I know we'll have awesome people to teach because he is one of the most diligent missionaries I know. As for him, he was called to be a zone leader in the middle of Paris, which is also really cool.
As for this week in Antony, the biggest news is that Maria, the awesome Haitian woman found by Elder Harris, is going strong. She's been to church the last two Sundays, we see her and her family at least twice a week, and last night she fed us Haitian food! Flashbacks of 2011 for sure. In one of our lessons this week, Elder Harris spoke up and pointed out the Spirit that was in the room. He asked the whole family if they could feel it. Silence followed for a few seconds, then Maria just looked around, raised her hand and was like "I can feel it. Not sure about them." Haha. She's great. We're working with her husband and son as well, but she's definitely progressing the fastest.
Also, a cool miracle: so we got a call from a lady in a hospital in our sector. She's a member of the church from Tahiti who came to France just because of the more advanced medical care here. She's been suffering from an illness that's kept her confined to her room in that hospital for the past 4 months, and when we got there she told us that she didn't know when she'd be able to go back home and see her family. The reason she called was for a blessing of healing, which we were able to give. A week later we returned to give her the Sacrament, and guess what? "My health has improved, and I'm doing well enough to fly back to Tahiti in 4 days." Stop and think about that. Four months in a bed without knowing when she can go back home -> Priesthood blessing -> flying out 12 days later. Thanks to her huge faith and the power of the Priesthood, this devoted disciple of Christ can see her family again.

Anyway, this email is kinda short but next week will be full of a bunch of new experiences! Stay tuned.
Loves!

Elder Stanford
I saw the Arc the Triomphe on my last P-day in Paris.

...

Hey family!

Thanks, Mom, for the letter! I got it this week. I love to get letters and I definitely get the most out of any missionary I know. It wasn't zone conference (which is when I normally get mail), but luckily I live with ZLs, who stop by the mission office every now and then.
Dad, you're in Japan, is there anywhere you haven't been? Good Gandhi. I predict the next LNG meeting will be in Istanbul. I know you've got a lot to get done, but don't work too hard!
The girls have always been ready to do anything we've done. Mowing? Calaway? Stampede? Rugby? I'm sure if we owned a ranch they'd be castrating the calves along with the rest of us. Go you, Little Girls! (That will always be your title. Until you have little girls of your own. Or you castrate a calf.)

Hannah, don't worry about talking too fast during your talk; it happens to everyone, including me. When you give a talk, just remember to pause slightly more frequently/for slightly longer than you think you have to. That usually does the trick. The reason you don't feel like you're talking that fast is because when you're in front of people, your brain is going a million miles an hour and your mouth just wants to keep up. And everything seems slower because your brain is going fast. (Same reason everything goes faster in the morning--because your brain is slow.) #science.
Emma, don't worry too much about your wisdom teeth! I know that doesn't sound like much, but I'll pray for you too. If you're anything like me, you'll recover pretty quick. And you have the same parents as me so like...genes and stuff...yeah. #science. But when it's over, I can definitely see this being a blessing so worth the small period of suck. (PS don't suck anything after the teeth are pulled. That makes everything go wrong.) It's a lot like the revelation to Joseph Smith in D+C 121 --

7 [Emma], peace be unto thy [mouth]; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;
8 And then, if thou endure it well, [your mouth and jaw will be in considerably better shape]; thou shalt triumph over all thy [teefs].

Pretty sure that's scripture.
Also, I'm so happy to hear you worked with that girl and with the missionaries! Keep doing that. Nothing would make me happier than to hear that you guys are all helping the missionaries in your area. They absolutely need your help, so offer to do anything they need you to! 

Love you all!

District pictures of my fourth transfer in Antony


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