Opposition in all things

Went to Lyon for Bleus Conference this week!! Got to see my whole MTC District. Wow have I missed them. It was so SO fun to see everyone!! And I always love going to Lyon. It is a three day trip for us from Pau..but it is so fun! I am so grateful for all the amazing missionaries we have here!

Our stop at McDonalds in Monpellier. Just had to show all you americans what French McD is like...
this salad I had literally tasted like fast food version of pasta magherita. Haha it was so good!




Our apartment...hehe

 If there is anything I have learned this week, it is about opposition. I once heard someone say "If you aren't having opposition, then you aren't doing something right."

Then boy have I been doing so many things right! Hehe. I really do believe it though. I feel like so many amazing things are about to go down here in Pau. But before all the miracles happen, Satan is trying his hardest to pull people down. Too bad it is not going to work though.

 

Opposition this week looked a little like this. We moved into our new apartment Saturday. I am not sure what I was expecting when I walked in the door...but when we walked inside, we saw that it was completely empty. Except for a lot of boxes of Ikea furniture. I know this happens all the time to missionaries because obviously no one else has time to put all the furniture together, but wow has it been hard for us. Because not only do we have to put all our furniture together, but we just literally had nothing. And also the apartment was disgusting. And we were so busy with our schedule that we have not had any time to really put it all together yet. It has been one of the most humbling experiences I have ever had. When I went to bed Saturday night, sleeping on a mattress on the floor in an empty smelly apartment with nothing in our kitchen but bread and cereal, I realized just how strong this mission is going to make me. I have never been through something so hard. So that has been the hardest thing for us this week. But we have had a truly amazing miracle come to us by the name of Elders! I am so beyond grateful to have Elders in Pau.

 

It just makes me feel so much safer knowing that we have the priesthood here with us. So, the Elders are super amazing and are actually going to set up like all our furniture tomorrow because yeah...two soeurs setting up a bunk bed. I am not sure if that is even a thing we can do. And then today we finally went grocery shopping! And bought cleaning supplies! And at the end of this week we will be having a washer delivered to us. So things are fine now. Amazing, actually. Like I said, opposition comes. But all you have to do is overcome it well. God takes care of His missionaries. We will be just fine. It has just been really hard.

 

We have also had a lot of opposition with the members. I can't really go into a lot of detail, but we had a young adult inactive member come to us and wanted to have a rendez-vous. So we did thinking it was going to be an amazing thing and that he was ready to come back. Like I said..no need to go into detail, but he pretty much spent an hour telling us how he has come to realize that our church is Satantic and he is leaving the church. He even was trying to convince us that we should leave our missions. A lot of the things he talked about kind of shook us up a bit. But honestly..it was an amazing experience. Because he literally said "Is there any hope that I could get you two to think about leaving your missions and leaving the church?" And my response to him..wow, I have literally never testified like that in my entire life. In that moment, I very literally felt like a representative of Jesus Christ. It was so crazy. I testified as hard as I could. And I felt the authority to do so. It was amazing. I felt so strong. It really was an experience that showed me just how much I really do love this Gospel. Because to anyone who is wavering in this Gospel, a lot of the things he said could have really brought someone down and make them question the church. But I walked out of there having an even stronger testimony. My testimony to him was powerful but simple. I told him that there is absolutely no way I will EVER in my entire life leave this Gospel, because I know with everything in me that Jospeh Smith was a prophet. And because I know that, I know that this church is the one and only true church. And that I have a Savior. And I KNOW that Jesus Christ is my Savior and Redeemer. Because I can feel Him with me. Especially right now. He is literally walking with me.

It was simple...but brought me so much strength.

 

You don't receive a witness until after a trial of your faith. I have had trials recently, but it has only made me stronger.

 

I know this sounds absolutely silly to say after all I just did, but honestly the mission is getting easier. It gets easier everyday. This transfer has already been so much better than the last. Because I am not scared to talk in French anymore. And being a missionary is starting to become more of just who I am, and it is in my nature now just to talk to everyone I see about Jesus Christ! It really just gets easier everyday. And there are hard times. But there are so many people in the world praying for the missionaries everyday. I try to never let myself forget that. And I can honestly feel it. And I have the Lord on my side. I literally feel angels surrounding me as I testify to the world of Him.

 

I have the best job in the world. Satan can do all he can...but light will always overcome the dark. So there is my inspirational thought for the week. Haha.

I love you all so so much!! Can't tell you how grateful I am for your prayers.

Don't worry too much about me...only enough to keep praying. Ha.

Je vous aime BEAUCOUP!! Have a wonderful week! I will see you soon!

Love,

Soeur Mag