Bonjour à tous!

This week was amaazing! We started doing the Easter Contacting just like President advised us to and we were so stoked to see how it would work out!! I just knew we were going to see so many miracles and find so many new amies!! And then we started.

We had anticipated receiving rejection as usual but had hoped and prayed for many many people to say yes! But by the end of the week we had only received ONE. Her name is Christel. And I love her! We knocked on her door and her husband answered, I introduced us and he said let me get my wife she speaks English and shut the door. So I was all sad because clearly my French wasn't good enough. But then his wife came out and I tried again in French and we ended up talking quite a bit and she invited us to come back!!!!!! So we will call her today to set up the time :) :) it was really great!! But she was the only one and I had hoped for more. So Sunday night when we sat down to count numbers I was really discouraged. Surely we hadn't done our part. If only I had more faith we would have seen more miracles! I prayed and prayed for forgiveness and comfort. And this morning as I read President Poznanski's weekly email I received the answer to my prayer. He shared a quote from Elder Scott that says:

 "Even if you have the strongest faith, God will not always reward you immediately according to your desires. Rather, He will respond a piece at a time with what in His eternal plan is best for you. Your continuing exercise of faith will forge strength of character available to you in times of critical need. Such character is not developed in moments of great challenge or temptation. That is when it is used." 

And I knew right then that I had done my part, that Heavenly Father was proud of the missionary that I am and that I did have the faith for those miracles but in His design it wasn't time for them yet. So even if we aren't receiving the answers to our prayers that we want or seeing the miracles we expect it isn't necessarily because our faith is too weak or we aren't good enough. We just need to trust the Lord that He has a plan for us and He knows what He is doing :)

 

I am SO SO SO excited for General Conference this weekend!!! We weren't able to watch the General Women's Meeting but they will play that for us this weekend during the Priesthood session. I seriously cannot wait to get that spiritual nourishment!! although it is going to be in French...hopefully with the Lord's help I'll still be able to get out of it what I need despite it being in a foreign language! This week we are going to focus on General Conference and preparing ourselves as well as our amies for it! Soeur Bennion and I decided to write down questions that we would like answers for and to invite our amies to do the same. Soo I would like to invite all of you to write five questions down that you are seeking answers for. And I know that you will receive the answers to your prayers this weekend! Yesterday we had lunch with the Family Devinck and the Elders and it was SO fun and the Elders shared a message about General Conference. It has three parts. 1. Prepare 2. Listen 3. Act So we need to prepare ourselves spiritually to receive the guidance and revelation that Heavenly Father is just waiting to give us. Then we need to listen carefully and attentively to what the Spirit whispers to us throughout the conference and lastly we need to act upon what we learn and apply it in our daily life. When we apply what we learn it shows Heavenly Father how much we appreciate His guidance and it will help us along our path back to Him. I am so grateful for General Conference and for a prophet here on the earth today. I know that the messages we will hear are inspired by Heavenly Father and we will receive the answers we desire and the spiritual nourishment we need! I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who gives us so much!! 

Thank you for everything! I love you all and keep you in my prayers always! 

avec amour soeur hawkes 

Here we are with a chunk of bread. A member in our branch Pierre made the missionaries bread and the elders ripped it in half and gave us a chunk so...yeah it was great :)

Bonjour à tous!

 This was a week of MIRACLES! It was soo great!! We got a new amie, had five RDVs in one day, had zone conference, Soeur Bennion's birthday, played a flute and piano duet in Sacrament Meeting, succeeded in running for trains, and met some really cool people porting! It was a really good week! 

So Friday was Zone Conference in Le Mans and it was SO good. Exactly what I needed! It was so great to see Soeur Denning again and to talk with President and Soeur Poznanski. We got some really great counsel and new ideas for finding such as Easter Contacting! I am so thrilled. Until the end of April we are going to be testifying specifically about the Resurrection of Christ and why that is important to us! Our mission's goal is to have 125 baptisms in two transfers!! I am really excited about this new challenge! It's really cool to see all us missionaries come together on a challenge and I can't wait to get started with the Easter Contacting! Already we have seen miracles from it! 

Also at Zone Conference they shared insights from the conference Elder Christofferson had with the missionaries in Belgium. He talked about keeping our hearts pure and sanctifying ourselves. He said we need to build a barrier between us and the world today in order to stay close to the Spirit. He emphasized the need to repent daily and the enabling power of Christ's Atonement. I am so grateful to know that each day I get a restart to do and be better than I was the day before and to have the grace for all my weaknesses! So Zone Conference was just the spiritual feast I needed and I am so grateful for all the things I learned there! The change from Angers to Tours hasn't exactly  been an easy one but it has definitely been good. It's been a big blessing to me to really come to know for myself how aware God is of us and the fact that He puts us in places for specific reasons.

 Kelsie shared an amazing quote with me today that i absolutely loved!! Elder Neal A Maxwell said  " The same God that placed that star in a precise orbit, millennia before it appeared over Bethlehem in celebration of the birth of the Babe has given at least equal attention to placement of each of us in precise human orbits so that we may, if we will, illuminate the landscape of our individual lives, so that our light may not only lead others, but warm them as well." I have come to know for myself how true that is as I have adjusted to life here in Tours. I do miss Angers but Tours is my new home now and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else :) 

I also found a great quote in my studies this week that I want to share! It's by Elder Perry! 

"We can't predict all the struggles and storms in life  not even the ones just around the corner but as persons of faith and hope we know beyond the shadow of any doubt that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true and the best is yet to come." 

No matter what happens in life our Savior has been there before us. He has already experienced everything we will face in this life and He is always to help us through on our paths of struggle. There is always reason for hope when we know that Christ has "risen from the dead with healing in His wings." As I have faced trials here in Tours I have turned to my Savior and I know that Heavenly Father hears and answers my prayers and that Christ is always there to offer us the enabling power of His Atonement. I know that Jesus Christ is mighty to save and I am so grateful for this knowledge and the opportunity to share it with the people here in Tours! 

avec amour soeur hawkes 

                                       We went to the Park Zoo last Monday and saw kangaroos!

                                               I got to see Soeur Denning at Zone Conference!

 The Infamous Tours Religeuse and a Vanilla Eclaire (We went all out for Soeur Bennion's birthday and my six month mark!)  Me trying to eat the Tours Religeuse no worries I didn't eat the whole thing myself! 

Bonjour à tous!

This week was absolutely wonderful! Tours is beautiful and I am loving it more and more everyday! I think I have settled in quite nicely here and Soeur Bennion is really great! We laugh all the time together and we teach really well together too she is absolutely incredible and I am so glad we get to be together! 

We had exchanges in Torcy on Thursday and Friday and it was exactly what I needed. I had been having a hard time adjusting to Tours but I learned so much and we had such a great time! I was with Soeur Wade who is actually my half sister in the mission. She was half trained by Soeur Foster so we talked about all the wonderful times that we had each spent with her! Soeur Wade is amazing and she gave me so much great advice about adjusting to a new ville! She had actually served in Tours her 4th transfer too so she knew exactly where I was coming from. I had been pretty homesick for Angers but she reminded me that I only have ONE chance to be here in Tours as a missionary to help the people here. I have to cherish every single day! Heavenly Father has given me this time here in this ville and I have to do my very best to help the people here!

 

On Saturday Maria was baptized!!!!!!! It was such a great day!! She does not look super happy in her picture but I promise she was beaming the whole day she was just glowing with happiness. I love her so much even though it is really difficult with the language barrier. A member from Blois came down who speaks portuguese too and translated for Maria so it was perfect! It was such a beautiful day and I was so grateful to have been a part of it!

well um. that's all! Thanks for all your support! I am so grateful to be a part of His work. It is such a huge blessing in my life. I know i am an important aide in God's work to help His children come back to Him, but I really feel I am the one most benefiting from my mission. I just love this work so much! I cannot believe that tomorrow is my six month mark!! WHAT. Time is flying by way too fast!! I only have a year left! Before I know it, it will be all over! But I am so grateful for the time that I do have and I cannot wait for the miracles to come in the next year! love you all!!!

avec amour soeur hawkes

                                                 Exchanges in Torcy with Soeur Wade!

Maria was baptized!!!!!!! It was such a great day!! She does not look super happy in her picture but I promise she was beaming the whole day she was just glowing with happiness. 

Bonjour à tous!

 

I am now in my second ville!! I am writing this email from an Internet Cafe, that is a new experience for sure...but Tours is absolutely beautiful!! I love it so much already!! It is really different than Angers but I know that Heavenly Father put me here for a specific reason so I'm really excited!

My last day in Angers on Tuesday was really great! We went porting in a neighborhood and found a new amie! Her name is Abou and she is so sweet. We knocked on her door and I explained we were missionaries here to help strengthen her faith in Christ and then asked her who was Christ was to her. She was stumped by the question and admitted she didn't know much except He was the Son of God. We talked a little more and then she let us in. The longer we stayed the more comfortable she felt, and she opened up about her testimony of prayer and expressed her desire to learn more about God and Jesus Christ. It was so cool! We prayed with her and set up another RDV! That night we went to the Family Regnier's with our amie Danielle and had an FHE. It was SO fun! We watched the Retab movie and talked about it then ate quiche and cake and played games! It was so much fun and I absolutely adore the Regnier family. It was so good for Danielle to feel the wonderful Spirit that was in that home. And now she has a baptismal date!!!! Soeur Denning set it up a few days after I leftI I am so excited for her! I was so so sad when we left but I know we will always stay in contact!! It was the perfect last day in Angers!

On Wednesday, I met Soeur Bennion at St. Merrie and we went off to catch our train. We got just a tad bit lost though and finally found the train station and we were booking it for our train with all my heavy bags and suitcases, I was running so hard and panicking because I didn't want to miss it so we were running and praying and just as soon as we hopped on the train started moving. So we started our transfer out with MIRACLES!! and it just keeps going!! We have so many amies and we are getting so many lessons it is absolutely nuts!

Tours has a branch, not a ward so we are few but strong. I love our Branch and I can't wait to help it grow and grow!! We are having a baptism this Saturday. Her name is Maria and she is from Portugal and doesn't speak any French. The last sister missionary who was here would speak portuguese with her and translate at church. Unfortunately, I don't speak any Portuguese! So our last few meetings have been interesting, it was really cool to see the Spirit work with us and even though we couldn't communicate very well we could all still feel the Spirit. We are working on finding translators so I pray all goes well this week!

The sister missionaries have only been in Tours not about 10 months now so there is a LOT of work to do. This ville is booming with people to talk to and places to see! We are seeing so many miracles everyday and although adjustments are hard I have seen Heavenly Father's hand in every day. He is helping me out so much! He has helped me out so much with the language and all of the sudden I'm not stuttering or searching for my words in lessons as much anymore. He has really blessed me to be able to help the people here! I miss Angers a lot. It was my home for so long and I loved those people with all my heart. But I know that I am supposed to be here in Tours and Heavenly Father has given me a love for these people already! And before I know it I'll be homesick for Tours instead of Angers! Soeur Bennion and I were joking and said by the end of our missions all our heart will be here in France!! It's so true though that we really give our hearts to this work as missionaries and what a blessing that is! I am so grateful to be a part of this work and I am so happy to be in Tours!

Thank you so much for your support and prayers! I love you all so much!!

avec amour soeur hawkes

                                                  I got to see my mission mama at transfers!

                     La Famille Regnier and our amie Danielle (who by the way has a baptismal date!!)

                                                                      Transfer Day!!

                                              Soeur Bennion and I safely on our train to Tours

Bonjour ma famille! 

I am being transferred!!! I'm moving to Tours!! It's about two hours East of Angers so I'm not going too far but I am leaving my bleue ville! I can't believe it. My heart hurts so much to leave everyone here and especially my companion! But I know that Heavenly Father has a plan for me and I am supposed to be in Tours! I know that is where He needs me and so I am really excited for this new adventure! 

This week was really really great. We saw so many miracles it was an incredible last week together! On Saturday night we decided to go visit one of our amies that lives about an hour or so from Angers. We took the bus and planned it out perfectly so we could take the bus home and be on time. Welll we didn't actually know what stop to get off we just thought we'd watch for it. We ended up getting off too early and walked about forty minutes looking for Leanelle's house. While we were walking, Soeur Denning's shoe broke, the sole came off and she ended up walking on her tights! It was so hilarious! I've added a picture of the result. We were laughing so hard at the ridiculousness of our situation. We were walking along the highway in the middle of the French countryside completely lost on a Saturday night and Soeur Denning had one shoe! But we found Leanelle's house and she told us she got home just five minutes ago and if we had come any earlier we would not have found her!! Miracles!!! Then she told us she had a really hard week and everytime she has a difficult time the missionaries show up!! So it was definitely a tender mercy that we were able to come be with her that night and she accepted a soft invite for baptism!! Heavenly Father definitely watches us over each one of us and knows our needs perfectly! 

This week I studied a lot about grace and I discovered this great quote:

"If we exercise faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ the enabling power of His Atonement strengthens us in our moment of need and His redeeming power sanctifies us as we put off the natural man. This brings hope to all especially to those who feel that recurring human weakness is beyond the Savior's willingness to help and save. In His mercy, He allows for improvement over time rather than demanding immediate perfection." -Elder Craig Cardon 

I absolutely love that and I know with all my heart that the Savior's Atonement makes up for everything. His Grace is Sufficient. It was a tender mercy that my farewell talk was on grace. That experience and the things I was able to learn while preparing for it prepared me for the challenges I have faced here in France. I know that the Savior knows me personally. He suffered for me and He knows how to comfort me. The enabling power of His Atonement has strengthened me many many times out here and I know He will continue to support me as I adjust to my new ville. I know that we can do all things through Christ who will strengthen us if we just exercise faith in Him. I am so grateful for the knowledge I have of this wonderful truth and even more for the opportunity to be a missionary and to share it with everyone here! 

Thank you so much for your support and prayers. I love you all soo soo much!!!

avec amour soeur hawkes 

                                                 What remains of Soeur Denning's shoe.

  Sunday night Soeur D got a call from the Assistants! She's training! That's when we knew I was leaving and we both cried for a while. and then took pictures because we don't have enough together yet!

                                                           Angers District Transfer 3!