Friday, November 25th, 2016
Hey everyone!
As I write this, I am on yet another train. I
couldn't tell you how many trains I've taken just since getting to Namur. But
today was a little more special. If I weren't so brutally tired, the mix of
emotions from today would be a little overwhelming.
So today we woke up at 4:00 AM to get to Paris on
time for a multi-zone conference with a 70, Elder Homer. It was really cool and
reminded me a lot of the conference we had with Elder Kearon in January (which
only feels like a couple of months ago, by the way). We got there on time for
9:30.
There were a few reasons that it was an emotional
roller coaster today. One was that, since we were combined with two other
zones, there were many friends that I've made in the mission field that I got
to see for the last time. I'm leaving in about four or five weeks and it's
pretty certain we won't cross paths again before I get on the plane. Many happy
reunions and sad goodbyes.
Secondly, on the train ride to Paris, I learned that
I would be giving a "dying testimony." That's when each missionary,
at the end of his mission, gets the chance to bear his testimony at his final
zone conference. And every time a missionary sees a dying testimony, they
think, "that will never be me." (I still remember one that I saw in my
first few weeks when the Elder Tryon, who only had a few weeks left, said that
after all the experiences he'd had on his mission, "I can look you in the
eyes and tell you that I know God is there." That testimony really
touched me. But I looked at him as a first-transfer missionary and said
"that will never be me.") And then it sneaks up on you. I didn't
think I'd be doing it, though, because we usually don't have time at big
multi-zone conferences...so I was totally unprepared. Definitely cried at the pulpit
for the first time in years. Overall it went well, though. Not sure if anyone
filmed it...sorry, Mom. (To make up for it, I sang in a little musical number
that should definitely be on Facebook soon.)
I also got all teary when we all sang the opening
hymn ("Called to Serve" #classic) because I realized that I wouldn't
be called to serve much longer...yeah, it was rough. And don't try saying that
"every member a missionary" means that nothing will change when I get
home. Nothing can replace full-time missionary service. I was a mess
inside.
It was a super uplifting conference, though. Elder
Homer talked about a missionary he knew who finished his mission with regret
because he hadn't done what he had been called to do. He encouraged us to never
let that happen to us. I realized that for these next 4 or 5 weeks (whatever it
is) I need to work harder than ever and be more obedient than ever.
John 9:4
I must work the works of Him that sent me, while it
is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
D&C 45:2
And again I say, hearken unto my voice, lest [the
end of your mission] shall overtake you; in an hour when ye think not the
summer shall be past, and the harvest ended, and your souls not saved.
I've taken "your souls not saved" to mean
that there may be souls who aren't saved if I cut myself any slack from now
until the end of the harvest. Why disobey mission rules or stop working now,
when as soon as I'm released I can ignore the white handbook and take as many
naps as I want? Haha. I can listen to music and sleep in when I get home, but
the miracles can only happen here and now.
---
Monday, November 28th, 2016
Just a couple more things to mention. Sorry to bore
you guys with long emails.
So! I got to do a couple of baptismal interviews!
The first was an amazing Belgian lady named Nancy. She is so cool! It was the
sister missionaries in Nivelles who prepared her for baptism (well, it was the
Lord wayyyy before the sisters ever got there, but ya know what I mean). She's got
three kids and is pregnant with numbers four and five. I won't tell her
complete story, but let's just say that interviewing her gave me a
stronger testimony that this is God's work. Without His direct intervention
multiple times in her journey, she would not have made it here. I can already
feel that she'll make the Nivelles ward stronger by her presence and
membership.
The other was another Belgian lady named Christiane.
She is in Charleroi. I won't tell her whole story either, but she's had a
million and one struggles, notably in the health department. Both she and Nancy
have husbands who are non-believing, but they are committed to living up to the
truth that they've found. Super super cool.
Funny story of the week: we were doing some porting
and we came to a building with a bunch of sonnettes. (What are those called in
English? The intercom things you ring to talk to people in their apartments
before the building's door can be unlocked.) And despite the fact that the only
thing less effective than porting is sonning, we went for it. And one guy was
particularly unhappy with us, for some reason. As though we ruined his whole
year by taking 10 seconds of his time hahaha. Luckily, we didn't talk to him
for very long (his choice, not ours).
So we kept going. A short while later, a police car
pulled up and the policemen said "Hey, we got a call from a man who told
us that someone rang his sonnette and offered to have a gospel conversation and
a prayer with him. Was that you?"
"Uhh...yeah?"
"ID please."
._.
While the one guy looked at our IDs and called his
homies, the other guy just chilled with us and made small talk about what the
heck we were doing all the way in Belgium. (Despite my French passport, the guy
knew I wasn't born there because my accent still hasn't improved...in fact, it
may have gotten worse since the beginning.) Really nice guy. Eventually he was
like "I see nothing wrong with what you're doing, it must take courage.
That guy who called us clearly just had nothing better to do. Good luck
boys" and gave us our ID back and they drove away. And we got back to
porting. So nothing super dramatic happened, but I got the cops called on me!
Only the second run-in I've had with them on my mission, the first being when I
got patted down for drugs in the suburbs of Paris. (Anyone remember that
story?)
We taught Virginie and it was awesome! Again. One of
the best parts about teaching her is that during the lessons, I also get cool
personal inspiration as we teach. We taught about repentance and randomly (by
that I mean it wasn't planned at all) compared it to cleaning your kitchen.
Sure, it may seem easier to just avoid it because it can be an unpleasant
experience, but avoiding it never made anyone happier. The feeling that you get
when you walk into a freshly cleaned kitchen, where there is no clutter or
stains, where everything is clean and white and sparkly and has a hint of lemon
smell...imagine that feeling, but stronger, and on a spiritual level. That's
what repentance brings. As usual, she committed herself to do it before we even
asked.
I promise we have other amis and I love them all
too, but I just can't stop talking about Virginie. She has made so much
progress over the past couple of months. Before, she didn't know that God loved
her (heck, she wasn't even sure He existed); she had no idea how to pray, or
why, or to whom; she didn't understand why she had trials. She began by saying
a prayer all alone—but she was too scared to address Heavenly Father, so she
just said it "into the air." Then she started praying to Heavenly
Father, but she couldn't bring herself to ask Him for any blessings for
herself. And now, not only is she comfortable addressing Him and asking Him for
things, but she trusts Him enough to put her whole difficult situation into His
hands. It's been amazing to get to see that progress. She's expressed a
complete change in the way she sees trials: now, she looks at them with hope
and confidence instead of despair.
Bon. You have other things to do besides reading
this, so I'll cut it here. Transfer news this week! I'll find out if I'm
staying in Namur until the end or if they'll move me for the last two weeks of
my mission. Which would be dumb, but not unheard of. Either way, I'll be in a
three-missionary équipe for the home stretch.
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| Sticky tack dinosaurs. |
 |
| Playing ping pong against an 89-year-old man at soirée familiale. This guy was part of the Belgian resistance against the Nazis in WWII, you think he can't face you in table tennis? |
God lives. He cares about you. He wants you to be closer to Him and you can be if you try.
Much love,
Elder Stanford
Mission française de Paris
PS Look at this meal I made! I thought you'd be proud. Homemade spinach garlic béchamel with courgette, céleri-rave, carotte, brocoli, lardons et parmesan. Voilà.
PPS The service initiative for Christmas is great!
We have a mini one for missionaries, too.
I'm so excited! Let's go #ÉclairerLeMonde !
