Bonjour à tous!!

Today is the beginning of Transfer 2!!! I cannot believe how fast the first transfer went! I feel like I just got here yesterday stilll! This last transfer was really good. Full of stretching and growing and progressing!

WE FINALLY SET A BAPTISMAL DATE WITH LENAIG!!!!!!!!!!!!! Like it's actually official now :) I cannot tell you how happy I am!!! I am just so thrilled for her!! Seeing her faith grow has been an incredible experience. She really gets it. So many of our investigators really don't so it's fabulous to see someone who really understands and who has a sincere desire to follow Christ. It's absolutely amazing. I love her soo much!!! 

So this week we met a woman who invited us to attend a meeting of the Disciples of Christ. She said that they just talk about Christ for 4 hours. So we went for the last hour. So we could meet with her afterwards. And it was very very different. There was about six women and then a pastor. And he was yelling like crazy! He was so animated and I just was astounded! How can these people feel the Spirit when he's yelling like that? And then they all started praying and sobbing and singing together. It was very uncomfortable for us. During their prayers the pastor went around blessing them. However, two of the women apparently sinned and he punished them by not giving them blessings. Afterwards he made them come up to the front and apologize publicly and I just kept thinking this is not how God is. He is kind and gracious and repentance is a personal process! It was really terrible because during that meeting I felt the Spirit leave and it was scary!! After all the praying though they each shared their testimonies of Christ and the Spirit came back. They are such good people. They love God and they know Jesus Christ is their Savior! If they understood our message I know they would take it in heartbeat! After that meeting it made me appreciate our Sunday church meetings so much more. I always took for granted the Spirit we can find there. It is so peaceful and so calm. I really do love it!! Even though here I can't really understand the French, the Spirit is still the same :)

So this week we are fasting to find those people who are ready to accept the gospel. All of our amies have dropped us and our searching yields no results. but. It is a new week! And I just know that we are going to see miracles!! I know the Lord is with us in this work. He walks with us everyday. I know He knows each of us personally and these people! It's just a matter of following the Spirit and finding them! And I know this week we will. Heavenly Father is going to help us. :)

We taught about repentance and the Savior's Atonement this week with Lenaig. It was a really good lesson. Through teaching others and being out here on a mission in general I have been able to deepen my testimony in the Savior's Atonement and the repentance process. Sometimes we may feel unworthy to access His Atonement or we may think we're too far gone or that we simply can't because we've messed up too bad. But I promise that the Savior is begging us to use His Atonement. He wants us to embrace and accept the gift He has given us! The Savior's Atonement covers not only our sins but also our sufferings and afflictions-everything we experience in this life, He experienced. So repentance is not just for the big sins but for overcoming our weaknesses. Through repentance and thanks to His sacrifice we get to start over every single day. We have the ability to pick ourselves back up, brush off and try again. We can learn from our mistakes and progress every time! I am so grateful for that! I know that His Sacrifice makes up for all my inadaquecy. My Savior's grace is sufficient for me. And I cannot express how grateful I am! I am so glad I don't have to stay the way I am! That I can improve every day striving to do what's right and when I mess up I get to try again. Isn't that incredible? I am so grateful for my Savior. I am so grateful that He came into this world for us. I am so grateful to be out here and to have been given the opportunity to share this truth with everyone I meet! It's absolutely amazing to be a part of this work. It is so hard. But it is so worth it. 

I am so grateful for all your prayers and your support and love! It means so much to me. I love you all!! 

Avec amour,

Sœur Hawkes