16 August 2016 - Week 40: Figuring out Magenta

Bonjour ma famille!

This week.... We were really just trying to get to know the secteur, which can be fun but also a struggle, haha. Soeur Caress and I are in the Magenta secteur itself, not VDC, but we're back in the Magenta Ward. We both started our missions in VDC, actually. And everyone (the members) here thinks we're twins... Haha but that's okay 'cuz that's a real sign of unity, right?? Je blague!

So this week we've been going through the area book and the ward list trying to figure out who all the amis, recent converts, and inactive members are. It's nice that I already know a lot of the members, so going through the ward list and knowing who's active or not is easier. And what we're trying to do is help the ward clerk update the ward list, so as we find people (or not) we make notes on the list and he'll change things in the system. Then we get a new ward list! yay! haha There are some things that can make a missionary happy, but a really good, up to date ward list is top! I sound like a complete dork, but I have really understood the importance of good record keeping because of my mission. 

So far, we've had a lot of cancelled lessons, which can be disappointing, but we've also had some really sweet lessons. We met this ami, Bernadette, who is family with members in Mont Dore, and she already has a testimony of the Book of Mormon and prayer. We're just trying to help her get to church. Luckily, the church is just down the road, so transportation isn't an issue because she can walk, but she said that every time the missionaries invite her to church, it rains that Sunday, so she never goes. This Sunday if it rains, we're gonna bring an umbrella and walk with her!! :) And we saw this other ami, Malia, who's been an ami for about 17 years... She had made beignets for us and so we ate and then shared a scripture and a prayer with her. She has a bit of a mental handicap, which is why (in my opinion) she isn't baptized yet. But she's so sweet and just lonely and wants a friend. Next time we're going to find a mami from the ward to come with us to see her. 

In our secteur, we have a car because we're STLs. It's a Toyota Yaris and it's tiny but it's better than something bigger because the roads are smaller here than up in Koutio. I'm really glad we have a car, though, because Magenta is literally ALL hills and I would die walking. (I'm so out of shape being in the car btw.) Need to do more sport....

Being an STL in the south is more work than the north because there's more sisters, but it's been great so far! In the next two weeks, we have our 4 exchanges. For two of them I'll be staying in Magenta with the newest sisters and the other two I get to go back to VDC and also see what Motor Pool is like. It's nice that Soeur Caress and I both have permission to drive the car (usually it's just one) but because we're STLs and we both have licenses and experience driving, we can both drive. So each day we just say, "Can you drive today?" haha or we switch off. It's way easier to plan the exchanges when you don't have to worry about who can actually leave the secteur so that we can still use the car. Anyway, I'm excited for the exchanges and the chance I'll have to get to know the sisters better. I've been in the north for a while, and I haven't had the chance to talk to all of the newer sisters who came more recently. 

We had our zone meeting yesterday and it went really well! All the trainings went together and to me, that's a testimony that the Spirit was there when we were planning. Like, we had asked one of the district leaders to give a training on courage and he ended up talking about the armor of God and using the sword of the Spirit. And our training was about obedience and how the rules are our armor that protects us. When he first started talking about the armor, Soeur Caress and I were thinking that it's super awkward to talk about the same thing. But then I realized that that's because the Spirit was there and led us to talk about the same things because that's what the zone needed to hear. So that was a cool experience and not actually awkward. :)

So, that's my life right now! Sometimes figuring out a new secteur makes me feel like a detective, so it's fun. I like putting the puzzle pieces together and figuring out who's who and what's what. Just call me Soeur Holmes! haha Or Soeur Drew because Nancy Drew is the #1 detective hahaha :)

JE VOUS AIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Keep praying and keep writing!!!!!!!

Soeur Matheson