21 September 2016 - Week 45: Find Like Crazy!

Bonjour! Ca va?

Thanks for all the birthday wishes! I had a great birthday! it was a normal missionary day, but I opened my presents and a lot of the missionaries called me and sang to me in French, English, and Tahitian, haha, that was awesome. Mom, I love the dragon! C'est tres mignon! We didn't make the cake yet because on my birthday another set of sisters made a cake for me, so we were a little caked out. We're saving it for a special occasion.

So our catchphrase for September is "find like crazy!" because we're getting ready for the month of miracles in October! And this week we have a lot of stuff in the works because we were finding like crazy last week. But we weren't finding in the normal way--contacting. We were working with the list of sisters in the ward searching for inactives. As we were looking, we found some old amis that used to be taught by the missionaries. We're hoping to be able to teach them and that they'll be ready for baptism in October! Also, another inactive sister (who's gonna come back to church on Sunday!) told us that her daughter's husband and his parents are interested in learning about the Gospel, so we're having a big soiree tomorrow night with them. Yay for potential amis! :) Oh yeah, and there's a member who lives in our same apartment building whose husband isn't a member, but she said we can plan a soiree and see how that goes! So for us, the more effective way to find is through the members, so we're working on that and our relationships with the members.

Our amis with the baptismal date, the Falevalu family, are doing better and working their way toward baptism. They have to quit smoking--that's the biggest problem. But the mom and the daughter came to church on Sunday (we actually walked with them, so that was awesome). The daughter loved it, and the mom received a testimony during Sacrament meeting that she needs to join the church and she needs to make the necessary changes to do that. The crazy thing is that right after she had that experience and made that decision, her neck suddenly got all stiff and blocked up so that she could barely move. She feels like it was Satan trying to attack her and stop her from changing. I'm so happy that she was able to recognize the difference between the Spirit and Satan. And I think now that she's had this testimony, she'll be more able to quit smoking. And the dad has taught himself to read and he's been reading the Bible in Futunian. We challenged him also to try reading the Book of Mormon in Tongan. There's no translation of the BoM in Wallisian or Futunian (yet), but Tongan is pretty close so he'd be able to understand well enough. It's just a little progress, but I know that if they continue and if they ALL come to church on Sunday, they WILL be ready FINALLY for baptism in October! Miracles!

So we're excited because there's a lot of stuff in the works this month with amis that could potentially get baptized in October! We just need to keep working and keep believing in miracles! :)

Je vous aime tous!!! Merci beaucoup pour votre soutien! [Thanks for your support!] :)

Soeur Matheson

This is from when we went to the WWII museum with our district!

We found some really good strawberry eclairs! Yum!

Cute gifts from mes soeurs for my birthday

Soeur Caress in the Yaris

14 September 2016 - Week 44: Staying in Magenta! And a lesson with the Ghandi of Lifou :)

Bonjour ma famille!! Ca va?

Donc, we got the transfer news and I'm staying in Magenta with Soeur Caress! So still STLs and all that, too, haha. Things are going a lot better here in our little secteur and I'm excited to stay and see what else we can accomplish here during this transfer! 

So this last week, we had a district activity and we went to the WWII museum and it was pretty cool. New Cal was affected a lot by the war because the US used it as a naval base. In fact, people here still really love Americans because of all the help the US gave back in the day, haha. So when people find out you're american, they immediately love you. JK not really but the people here super like America. Anyway, during the war was when there was all of the culture-mixing because a lot of people came/were brought here during the war. And now there's still tons of "metissage" (mixed races/cultures) because of the war.

This week went a lot better in terms of missionary work! We were able to see a lot more inactives and actually we have been teaching this inactive man who's from Samoa but joined the Samoan circus when he was younger and then he met his wife (who's from New Cal) when she went to see the circus. They got married in Vegas, haha, and they have a little boy and they live here in New Cal. He works for her father building houses and they're also renovating a house for them in Robinson. The funny thing is is that he doesn't speak much French so we talk to him and teach him in English and it's WEIRD! But also fun to see what it's like to teach in my native language. And if y'all are wondering, I feel like it's way too easy to teach in English because I can actually say all the words I want to, haha. Anyway, this inactive really wants to come back to church and do the right thing, but his wife and family in law don't really want to have anything to do with the Gospel, so it's hard for him to get to church and all that. But he's really trying and it's so great! 

We also finally got to see a recent convert that was baptized in July by the other sisters. He's a fisherman and he works out at sea for about 15 days at a time and then "on earth" for 3-4 days, so it's hard to get a hold of him and know if he's en mer ou sur terre, haha. But we finally got to see him and he's solid! 

Oh yeah, on Monday, we were going to see an inactive sister but we ended up knocking on the wrong door (don't know if it was just us being dumb or if it was divine intervention) and this big guy from Tiga (an island next to Lifou) opens the door. Definitely not the little inactive sister we were expecting, haha. We were kinda flustered and awkward and were just gonna say, "Oh sorry, we knocked on the wrong door" and leave, but he recognized us as Mormon missionaries and he said he wanted to talk with us. Woo hoo! So we scheduled a time to come back later in the day, went to the lesson with the inactive, called a member to come with us to the lesson with the man we met (and it's so cute because this mami is always so willing to help us out), and we went to the lesson. It turns out this guy really likes studying philosophy and religion a lot and the lesson was a little all over the place but we invited him to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it. So hopefully we'll have a new ami who progresses!! 

We have big goals for the month of October/the month of miracles and so September is supposed to be a big finding and preparation month for that. We need to find like crazy! Soeur Caress and I have had to drop amis and others are still not really progressing and we want to find the elect! So we are making goals to get out and find and do all we can to have miracles! :) 

Oh and to explain the "Ghandi of Lifou" thing: The mami that came with us to our lesson is Soeur Waia and she's from Lifou. Apparently she was involved in some non-violent protests/resistance in Lifou (like front lines) and people called her Ghandi, haha. She was telling us the story and she was like, "They were calling me Ghandi and I don't even know who that is!" So funny :) But honestly you would never think she'd be part of that kind of thing because she's so small and nice and cute. 

So I hope y'all are doing well!! Thanks for all the birthday wishes and the love! I'm excited to open my package, haha! I've been waiting for weeks! :)

JE VOUS AIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Soeur Matheson

7 September 2016 - Week 43: Not lots of time to write!

BONJOUR!!

So I don't have tons of time to write (comme d'hab) but I will do my best to fill you in! 

We had zone conference Monday and Tuesday with President and Sister Granger and the APs. It was great and definitely inspired by the Spirit! None of the things were new concepts, but definitely a much-needed reminder of the things I need to do to be a fantastic missionary and have miracles. Our goal for the month of October is 180 baptisms within the mission, and in New Cal the goal is 25! We believe we can do it! We have a month to be finding, teaching, and preparing our amis for baptism in October. Last Wednesday, we actually set a baptism date for a family of 3 (mom, dad, daughter) for October 8! We are so ready to help them change and be ready, but they still need to put in a little more work on their part. We were going to walk with them to church on Sunday, but when we got to their house, they wouldn't answer the door or their phones.... Depressing, but I don't want to give up on them!

Last week we also decided to drop some amis who are "eternal amis" or have been taking the lessons and not progressing at all. So fewer lessons and more finding. But yesterday, we actually chased down a lady to go talk to her and it wasn't totally awkward and she was super nice. Not interested, but nice. But now I know that it's not too awkward to chase people down, and if that's what we need to do, we're gonna do it!

So there has been a change in rules about using cyberbases outside of our secteur so I may or may not be able to email next week. President is making a decision about that and we'll know soon. But if I can't email, I'll write a letter! haha

Je vous aime beaucoup!! Vous me manquez! Et joyeuse anniversaire Charlotte!! Bonne semaine!!!!

[I love you all so much!! I miss you! And happy birthday, Charlotte!! Have a good week!!!]

Soeur Matheson

Pics from Zone Conference:

New Caledonia Missionaries
Photo credit: Sis. Granger

My district (plus the Glades)

All the New Cal missionaries

All my Tahitian soeurs!!

The South zone (laughing uproariously at something!)

31 August 2016 - Week 42: Still feelin' like a mom

Bonjour ma famille,

So this week was completely ridiculous and jam-packed full of surprise STL duties due to some problems going on with the sisters that I can't really talk about.... So my email is gonna be short. I am definitely learning how to be more caring but also hold the line when it comes to handling these situations. Soeur Caress has helped a lot and we've found that we complement each other well. And I just want to say that I am very grateful for our zone leaders and all that they do and how much they care as well. They're great to work with!

So we didn't get to do much actual missionary work this week, which was a bummer! But on Monday, we had our exchange with Yahoue and Soeur Sorenson and I were able to go out and work all day and it was great! We were focusing on finding the inactive members and correcting the ward list to help the ward clerk. We found a lot of people who had moved, or whose addresses in the listing weren't complete, but we did find a couple of people and so we'll be able to help them now! And we saw one inactive sister named Anaise who's really sick and so the elders came to give her a blessing and she was so happy and grateful. It was so great to see that! :)

And right now we're preparing for our big zone conference next week--both zones and President and the APs will be there. And we're giving a training... haha so much to do! And this transfer has just flown by! wow. 

So that's been my life lately. I'm doing well, sometimes stressed, but ca va aller! [but that's how it goes]

Je vous aime! Bonne semaine!

Soeur Matheson

Pics!

1-2) The beach at Magenta--we needed a quick break this week so we went to the beach and it was very beautiful. 

3) With Soeur Snow and Soeur Utia--they're the cutest!

4) And I have a billion selfies of Elder Tauotaha (one of the zone leaders) cuz he always steals my camera.

24 August 2016 - Week 41: I feel like a mom!

Bonjour ma famille et mes amis!

Hey good news! I made bread this morning and it's really good! :) We have started making our bread because it's way cheaper. And for breakfast it's great to have freshly made bread to go with your Milo :) I really love Milo now. It's basically hot chocolate, and when you have some good bread to dip in it, c'est parfait!

And I do feel like a mom as an STL [Sister Training Leader]. We take care of the sisters, and we feed the hungry elders (mostly the zone leaders) when they're super busy and don't have time to go home to eat. Soeur Caress et moi, we are the moms of the south zone! We're starting our exchanges with the sisters, and I love getting to have the time to get to know the sisters more and how I can help them better. 

For the secteur, things are getting better! We've met with some amis who have been amis for YEARS (one of them for 17). We meet with them, but they don't progress very much so not very high hopes there. BUT Monday night, Soeur Caress was with Soeur Snow for our exchange and they had a lesson with this family (father, mother, daughter) who have decided that they're ready to change and get baptized! Woo hoo! Miracle! So we're going to see them 3x a week and help them get to church and get ready for baptism! The mother and father need to stop smoking, so that'll be hard. But, if they're really motivated, I know they can do it!

Also, we're still working with the ward list to find inactives and correct the addresses and all that. We actually went looking for one inactive family at this apartment, but they weren't there. We were about to leave, but then I remembered seeing that another member lived in the same building but it didn't have the apartment number. So we looked at the mailboxes outside and VOILA her name is there with her aparment number!! so we go up and knock and she's there! At first, she just said she's never going to church again, but then we talked in the doorway and we even said a prayer with her and she said we could come back to visit! Yay! That was a miracle! Also, she said that the door to the apartment building is usually locked but it wasn't that day and so we had been able to go up and find her! Miracle! :)

I know that this is God's work! He is always there helping us do His work as long as we're obedient and listen to the Spirit. The Spirit is so important in this work and we always need to be worthy of it. Mom, thanks for sharing your experience this week. We had an experience like that, too, when we were planning for the exchanges. We felt that we had to have an exchange with a certain companionship before the others and that a certain sister had to come to Magenta. And now we are aware that that was exactly what needed to happen to better help the sisters and their situation. It's amazing to have experiences like that and we need to always remember these testimonies, especially when times of doubt come. I know that God knows each and every one of us individually and that he answers our prayers and that we can be the answers to other people's prayers if we're seeking to serve by the guidance of the Spirit. 

Je vous aime beaucoup!! Passez une bonne semaine! [Have a good week]

Soeur Matheson

Pics

1) A sunset from our balcony

2) That's Ouvea, one the Loyalty Islands, when we flew back from Vanuatu. I hope you can see it haha!

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