It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...‏

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Beautiful French countryside. 

Street board.

Missionary work is really boring.  #not

Salut! 

Timing this week has been insane. This week feels like a year long. I don't really know how that happened! But last Monday feels like FOREVER ago! I can't believe it is already week 5 of the transfer. That freaks me out. Soeur L and I are so determined to stay in Limoges for Christmas!! I will be so sad if I leave. I am really hoping to stay. Also, Limoges apparently goes CRAZY on the Christmas lights because they are hanging them up absolutely everywhere. This ville is going to be lit up in December. I am so stoked. I love the Christmas season!! I can already feel that it is going to be a little harder at Christmas, I am sure I will miss home a little bit. But not enough that it could ever make me not thrilled out of my mind too be doing what I am doing! 

The highlight of my week was definitely Zone Conference. We only have interviews with President every other transfer, and this transfer is interviews so I was just like thrilled out of my mind to talk to President. Especially because I had some specific things I wanted to talk about. It is really cool to go into interviews with questions, because President Roney is just pretty much all-knowing and it is so fantastic. He is someone that has already, and is going to continue to change my life. We talked for a long time about everything.  I walked out of our interview pretty much skipping. It just made me feel really good to know that President really does think I am a good missionary and really trusts me and he is proud of the work we are doing in Limoges! 

We are still focusing on finding people like crazy here in Limoges. We have not been able to really get in contact with any of our amis or even our potentials. It is really frustrating. Like obviously life is busy but I am just so sick of hearing people tell me they are too busy to hear our message! If only they actually understand what we were actually trying to share with them. More happiness than they could ever imagine. I think they would have time then. Haha. 

We did have a fantatstic finding activity this week though! We had Stake Conference here in Limoges this weekend (Yes, I went to my very first Stake Conference!! Haha) So we had 6 elders who came to stay here with the Limoges Elders. So 8 of us missionaries went out street boarding on Saturday, and it was such a blast! I just realized you probably don't understand that. Street boarding is just where we make a board that says something...honestly it could be anything, just something to get peoples attention, and then we go somewhere super busy and just go crazy talking to people! I am pretty sure we each individually talked to at least 100 people, and we only had like 45 minutes. Missionary work is just such a blast. And we passed out a bunch of Book of Mormons, and got some numbers!

I am also super stoked for our Thanksgiving activity this week.I will defintiely let you know how it goes in my next email! We are expecting a huuge crowd. A huge crowd of amis, that is. So I am stoked. Also nervous because I am making yams, stuffing, and mashed potatoes..haha. Not sure how it is going to work with my french ingrediants, but I am going to do my best! 

I am sorry I don't have more exciting things to talk about this week! Just know that I am on top of the world! I am so grateful for all of your support. It lifts me up everyday.

I get to see God's hands in my life every single day. I have made a goal to start writing down more of the little blessings that I see everyday, because there is literally so many things that I see every single day. I know that my Heavenly Father loves me and has His angels walking with me! 

I love you my wonderful family! I hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving! Don't miss me too much. We have the rest of our lives to spend the Holidays together, and I only have 18 months to serve the Lord. And I have got to make the most of it.

Je vous aime! Je vous souhaite un bonne semaine!  Love,
Soeur Magleby

Outdoorsy me. The horse actually like got nasty and spit allll over me and I DIDNT even freak out.

Also this week we had the best member experience in the WORLD! Also Soeur L was in heaven, haha. We have an English family in our ward who own sooo much land annnd have 19 acres. So while the Elders did some heavy labor we went and hung out with horses. ;) It was SO much fun!

C'est la vie

Last week we had a beautiful P Day and took a wonderful walk around the river!

I went picture crazy. It was one of those just absolutely perfect moments in life. This is the cathedral from the other side, the same one I sent a picture home a few weeks ago.

I'm just like....really happy. Haha.

This is how happy I was to get STUFFING!!! Yay!! Thanksgiving!!!!!! Haha.

Limoges is beautiful.

 

So I was really smart this week and made a list of all the things throughout this week that I want to tell you. Yay! I love when I do that. Haha.

 

For starters, MIRACLE WEEK. You know how I keep saying we had a bunch of opposition but I knew that meant that miracles were coming? The miracles definitely started happening this week. I learned a really good lesson this week.

 

So in our weekly planning, we made a really specific goal that we wanted to teach one lesson a day. We wanted to teach ONCE at least every single day. So we prayed for this goal like crazy. And worked as hard as we could to achieve it. And even though we didn't quite reach our goal, because we did our best, we were blessed so much!

On Tuesday, we had a really hard day. We decided to go out porting into this one neighborhood that we had tried before but didn't have a lot of time. So, we went back. Full of hope we would teach our one lesson for the day. Annnd we didn't. And it was pouring. And freezing cold. And we ported for almost 4 hours with absolutely no success. And we actually lost a potential ami. So we got home that night just exhausted. And sad that we had not accomplished our goal.

 

You will only receive a witness after the trial of your faith

 

Tuesday was our trial.

 

Wednesday was our witness.

 

We went to pass an ancient ami that we had found in our area book. A man opened the door. He said the girl we were looking for was in the apartment sleeping. We then proceeded to talk to him for 45 minutes. And say a prayer. And teach him practically the whole first lesson. Our lesson for the day! This man is amazing. We are teaching him tonight, and I am so excited! He is from Algeria, and talked to us a lot about all the scary crazy stuff he saw going on there. And how it made him no longer believe in God. He doesn't understand a religion where God would allow such bad things to happen. And we shared our message with him. And I saw his entire face change. It was SO amazing to be able to share with him the positivity of our message. And to promise him blessings. Promise him that he has a father in Heaven who loves him. And that life is meant for us to be happy! I could tell it is something he has been looking for, for so long.

 

I will let you know next week how our lesson goes tonight!

 

Something fun that we have been doing a ton of this week as well, is service! Serving the Elders. We have this fun thing going on with us and the Elders. It started the first night they got here. They had had a really long day, and they did not even have a fridge in their new apartment. So we brought them dinner that night. And they were so grateful. And then they came to our apartment and cleaned our kitchen and checked for cockroaches. Still feel indebted to them for that. And then from then on...we have literally been serving each other as much as we can. It is such a blast. We buy them pastries. They buy us éclairs. We go print off tickets for them at the gare and heart attack them. They buy us brownies. IT is SO fun! And this week we did a really fun thing, and we made them a huge lunch, because they were in desperate need of a warm meal. Their electricity bill was not paid. Which means they have been literally freezing in their apartment. It is really, really cold here. We felt so bad. So we made them chicken noodle soup and hot chocolate. Haha. It is just something that we have been doing that has really made me LOVE service even more!!

 

 

There is also something really cool that I have been thinking a lot about this week. I have said to you a lot of times about how amazing it is how much I have made such a better relationship with my Savior. And that I know him better than every before. And this week I have been thinking a lot about that, especially in my studies because I have really been focusing on studying the Savior's life. I have been reading the New Testament like crazy and also reading Jesus the Christ. It has been amazing. And there is this crazy thing that happens when I talk to people about Christ. And I honestly can't really explain it. But it's like, Christ is such this big figure in the world. Everyone knows who He is, whether you believe in Him or not. So it's like, when I talk to people about Christ, whether it is on the rue or in a lesson, people know who I am talking about. And I ask them if they believe in Christ. And we had this moment with Bill where it really hit me. He said he believes that someone named Jesus Christ lived, but he is not sure who he really was. And as I sat there and testified to him about who Jesus Christ was, I can't even explain to you how it feels. It feels like I am talking about my best friend. Someone I know really, really well. It is almost like I want to turn to my side and ask "Was that good? Did I explain your life correctly to him?"

I can't even explain in words how LITERALLY I feel Christ walking with me every single day.

 

He is my best friend. He is my older brother. He is my Savior.

 

This is such a sacred time in my life. Where I get to spend all day doing His work. But I know no matter where we are in life, we can all make our lives sacred, and have the Savior walk with us. Every single day.

 

All we have to do is seek Him.

 

And He is there with us. Always. He is in our midst. As a representative of Him, I can promise you that.

 

I love you all so much! I feel your prayers. During all the hard times.

I think of you, and your love and support. And it keeps me going.

I love you all! Have a wonderful week!

Love,

Sœur Magleby

PS BIGGEST miracle of the week, we have not seen cockroaches in 5 days!! Ahh!! It is seriously a miracle!!

And there goes another week

Bonjour tout le monde!

I hope you all have had a wonderful week!
 

Honestly this week was kind of one of those that just happened. Haha that is the only way I can use to describe it. It happened. Another week went by. But it was definitely a really good week!
 

Right now the hardest thing for me in Limoges is we just really are not seeing any fruits of our labors. I have been starting to realize how spoiled I was in Pau. Just working like CRAZY and barely having a second to breath we were teaching so many lessons. But now all I feel like I have been doing for the past two weeks is getting a whole bunch of rejection. I am just like super craving to teach the Plan of Salvation or something, it has been way too long....haha. #missionaryproblems
 

I am having so much fun here though, besides not seeing an incredible amount of success. Because I have faith that it is going to come. I really just feel that we are so close to huge miracles. It is just going to take a lot of faith to get there. But we can do it! This week we did a lot of traveling. Thursday we went to Bordeaux for Zone Training. Which was such a good day. Because I FINALLY got my package, and also got to talk to the Elders in Pau and they told me about how all my amis are doing! It was so good to talk to them and to know that they are working really hard, it gave me a lot of comfort. I told them they better baptize Y-- at the end of this transfer.
 

And then on Friday we had such a fun night and we got to go to the musical night that the Elders did! I think I may have said something about them last week. I don't really remember. But it was in a ville an hour away, and we didn't have anyone to stay with but then miraculously our ami told us that she wanted to go and that she would drive us! It was so fun! So that was a cool night. Got to see a bunch of missionaries. And their music night was good! But..it was also just their first night. And one of them was sick. The one who sang. Haha they did a really good job though. The whole time I just couldn't help thinking about how they really badly needed someone who can play the violin really well. Or sing. Or both. Too bad there isn't someone like that in this mission......cough cough.
 

And then on Saturday we spent all day traveling AGAIN because an équipe of elders in our district had a baptism! It was really cool. It was actually the first baptism I have been to on my mission. So I was excited to finally witness one!

 Gosh this work we are doing is just so amazing. There is nothing in the world like seeing the look on someone's face when they come out of the water. Nothing. There is no words that can describe the happiness this Gospel brings. That's definitely something I have learned here. I sure hope the next baptism I get to witness is here in Limoges!!
 

I realized I have not told you yet about Lindsey! Lindsey is actually our engagé. Which means she has a baptism date. And she is just the sweetest girl in the world. I love her so much. And she honestly is so prepared. But she is just a super busy université student so she barely has time to see us. So that has been our biggest problem. But I know that she is going to be baptized. She already knows its true, I can tell. She just is actually like super smart so she kind of over thinks everything. It is really funny. Her questions blow me away sometimes. It is so fun.
 

This week we made some really awesome goals, and we have already been praying for them like crazy. I just love waking up in the morning and wondering what amazing miracles I will get to see that day. Man, I really just have the best life.
 

The war with the cockroaches is still raging on. Haha. We can't figure out how they are getting in our apartment, because we figured out they aren't actually COMING from our apartment. So we have pretty much just gone with killing them with raid and buying traps and trying to catch them. We declared war. Today I accidently stepped in a trap and exlaimed "Dang it I just trapped myself! We are totally losing!" Haha. So yeah it sucks. But honestly it could be worse. I was talking to an elder this week who had bed bugs. Much rather have roaches.
 

This girl who is preparing for a mission soon asked me this week "I want you to honestly tell me, what is a mission like? Like really, HOW is it?" And honestly for a second I didn't know what to say. It is so hard to answer that question. But I have been thinking about that question a lot this week and trying to answer it for myself.

A mission is really, really hard. Harder than I ever imagined. Ever. It is nothing like I ever expected. I don't really remember what exactly I thought a mission was like before I was actually on one. But it is definitely not what I thought it would be.
 

A mission has taught me so much. I have learned so much more than I ever thought I would. About loving people. About the Gospel. And about myself. I honestly look back on my pre-mission self and wonder if I even HAD a testimony. I feel like I honestly did not know anything before my mission. It is so funny. I think I have just grown so much.

I never knew how real the Savior's Atonement is. I mess up a lot as a missionary. And sometimes it is really hard. But I always have the opportunity to become better. To become the kind of missionary that I know all of you think I am...haha.

I just want you all to know how happy I am here. I have never done something so hard. But I have never done something so amazing in my entire life. I will never, ever regret this decision. This year and a half is literally changing my entire life.

I literally could not be happier.
 

Okay maybe if I didn't have roaches in my apartment. Haha.
But even then. Life is amazing.
 

I hope you all take a moment this week to really notice just how much God has blessed you. And how much He is really a part of your life.
He loves you so much.
This Gospel is everything. Don't ever take it for granted.
I love you all more than I could ever even say.
Sorry I didn't have any huge miracles this week. But there are so many amazing miracles that happen everyday. I wish I had time to tell you all of them.
Just know that angels walk with me.
I love you so much. Bonne semaine!

Love,

Soeur Mag

La pluie, les cathédrales, et..... cockroaches.

I tried to take a picture everyday this week.

This day I got a white chocolate bar. With speculoos in it. I was stoked. Haha.

It's the little things.

I JUST REALIZED I NEVER HAVE MENTIONED SPECULOOS.

Okay so you know cookie butter? It is literally that. Well, they have actually cookies of it too. And then they have spread. And it is literally the same as cookie butter. Super popular here.

It's the best. 



Moi et Soeur Loder! 



We look really angry in this picture...but honestly we were just trying to be funny.

We were really, really wet.

At the point that umbrellas don't help. Haha.

Bonjour!

Some weeks I am really smart and make a list throughout the week of things I want to say. And some weeks I forget to do that. ...this is one of those weeks. So I apologize beforehand how unorganized this letter is about to be.

 

Rain. And more rain. And just when you think it can't rain any harder. IT DOES.

That's a pretty solid way to describe my week this week. Haha. Sometimes I love it. Sometimes I end up walking in puddles in my shoes and kind of a little bit I just want to die.

 

But all in all, this week has been great! Well. Opposition in all things, of course.

But nontheless, it has been great. I just absolutely love Limoges. It has been super freezing here though. And I don't know if I mentioned this, but it has rained a lot too.

BUT, I love it. And I love my companion so much. We just work so well together. And she is hilarious. She always keeps me laughing. We are just really similar in a lot of ways. We have a lot of the same interests, and the same way of working. So it is so great! Also it is really fun to teach with her because she is a recent convert of about 4 years. So it is so cool to see how much she can relate to our amis. Also she loves deep doctrine. We have had some pretty intense companionship studies this week...my mind has been blown quite a few times. It's fantastic. It is so fun to study SO much about the Gospel and increase my testimony and knowledge so much... and then go out and start from square one when we teach people.

 

I am engaging all of you to go find and read a talk this week called "The meaning of the Atonement" by Cleon Skousen. Of course, I can't write an email without an engagement. Haha. But if you have not read this talk before...go read it. But beware, it might just blow your mind. It changed my entire view on the Atonement though. It is absolutely amazing.

 

I decided that I really want to get serious on studying The Atonement this transfer. I just feel like I could study it for the rest of my life and still not come even close to understanding it. But it really increases my desire to serve so much. If only we could all understand more fully what our Savior did for us. I think if we all actually understood it and applied it to our lives... what an amazing change we could see in ourselves.

 

So that is my goal this transfer! And it already has been amazing studying every single day. 

 

Also my companion is a lot more brave at killing cockroaches than I am. Which has really saved me this week. Last night I went into our kitchen, innocently getting some food to eat. I moved something on the shelf, and about 15 baby cockroaches came flying out.

 

Any of you that know me probably can predict how I reacted.

It wasn't pretty.

 

It has been so annoying having to live with them!! BUT we have this miracle called the Elders. Haha, have I think I may have mentioned before how much I love serving with Elders...but honestly. They save us. So they are at our apartment today trying to see if we can get if figured out. If not, I'm moving. Haha. But honestly it's fine, I just hope we get if figured out so I can eat my food in peace and not wonder if maybe I am getting a bit of extra protein in my diet...(dad taught me that one. Just a little bit of extra protein, right? Haha)

 

I hope you all had a wonderful Halloween! I really missed it here. But honestly on Halloween we had SUCH a fantastic day! I can't even tell you why. It wasn't like we saw this ridiculous miracle. There has been a lot of opposition going on here. We can feel it. But I really believe it is because the work is about to take off.

But Soeur Loder and I just felt like we were walking on clouds all day on the 31st. I think it was just a really happy to be a missionary type day. And it is soo beautiful here in Limoges. So many fall leaves and colors everywhere. And, even though it isn't huge here in France, there were little kids dressed up all over! It made me so happy!

Also, there was this beautiful moment where we were trying to pass a potential ami...knocked on all the doors in the apartment building, couldn't find him, so we walk out and walk down the street a little bit, turn the corner, and BAM huge cathedral in front of our face. It was so great because we weren't expecting it. I will send you a picture! It was just one of those tender mercies.

Cathedral we ran into! Not even a picture of the whole thing..I couldn't fit it all in one picture.
Also someone was playing the organ inside like crazy. It was fantastic. 

Being a missionary in France is the greatest thing of life. I still can't get over it every single day how lucky I am.  Satan has been messing with my head a bit this week. Trying to get me to be lazy and almost wish I wasn't on a mission at times. It has been a little hard. But honestly...he is so silly. Trying to get me to think for a second that I wouldn't want to be here. Yeah, it is honestly ridiculously hard at times. And a lot of times I really miss my old self and my old life. But I am doing the work of our Father in Heaven. I am standing in place of His son. I am so grateful for this experience. I am changing so much. I am so extremely blessed that I get the opportunity to be here. 

And most of all, I am blessed to have such an incredible support system.

You all mean the world to me. I love you all SO much.

Please keep praying for me.

I am praying for you.

I hope you all have a wonderful week. And most of all,  I hope you all know that your Heavenly Father loves you. He is literally only a prayer away. He is always there for you. No matter what.

Literally, no matter what. I hope you never forget that. 

Je vous aime!! Je vous souhaite un bonne semaine! 

Love,

Soeur Magleby

 

P.S.  I miss root beer a lot.

And peanut butter. Haha.

Peanut butter is only an American thing. So they have like tiny jars of it at some stores but for like 10 euros on the international aisle.

But its fine.

We get crepes.