Love should be our walk and our talk

Bonjour à tous!
This week was a lovely week here in France. We saw so many miracles
and had so many wonderful experiences! I am so grateful for so many
opportunities every single day to express my beliefs and share my
testimonies with others. It is the happiest thing for me to see the
light come into people's faces and to see the Spirit touch their
hearts. Missions are so beautiful!

So this last week we were sitting at the bus stop after a rdv and this
man comes up and starts talking to us. They always start with,"are you
from America" with a thick accent ha but we chatted with him and he
asked us our beliefs about God of course and he mentioned that he was
atheist. So we asked him some questions about that but then he was
firing question after question at us of how we could possibly know God
was there. And I suppose that he was trying to shake us from our
beliefs and convince us that we were crazy but instead I just felt
this warmth well up inside me that I knew that God is real and He is
there and He loves and wants to talk with us. And I felt a sadness,
that this young man didn't know that, even though before this life he
did, he had already chosen to follow Christ, that's why he's here! But
he lost sight of it I guess, as it is easy to do in this world but
this man, Adora (he's from Syria) had some genuine questions and we
were able to talk with him and share our testimonies and I know he
felt the Spirit. We gave him the elders number and maybe someday he'll
be able to find the truth that he's looking for. As for now, we've
planted a seed :)

Soeur Bradley said something really beautiful a few weeks ago that I
loved, she said that "we as missionaries are here to help people along
their spiritual journeys back to God." In some ways we do that by
teaching them the lessons and they get baptized but often it is in
small ways that we help them. By smiling and saying bonjour, by
helping them carry their groceries, by teaching them to pray or even a
small lesson but we never see them again. I think that in many ways it
is the small things that we do that matter most because it was the
small things that helped our golden investigators become so ready to
accept the gospel! No effort is ever wasted and it is by "small and
simple things that great things are brought to pass."

For example, tuesday night we went porting and we met a young man,
Remi who seemed to be struggling a little. We asked him about God and
he said he wasn't necessarily a practicing believer and it had been a
long while since he had prayed but when we offered to pray with him,
he accepted. As we prayed with him I felt the Spirit so strong and I
really hope he was able to as well. It was a wonderful tender mercy
for me to be able to pray with Remi and to feel a portion of God's
love for him. that's the best part about missionary work. is feeling
God's love for His children. I love being an instrument in His hands
and being able to help others feel His love. So many people here don't
believe in a loving God. Yesterday we were able to see Lea, finally
and she had some great questions about Heavenly Father. She wondered
how He could always listen and answer her prayers if there were so
many people on the earth. I was so happy to be able to testify to her
that no matter what as soon as we call upon Heavenly Father, He is
right there listening to every word we say and He will ALWAYS answer
us. No matter what. Because He loves us and He wants to communicate
with us. Lea was so relieved to hear that, I am glad we were able to
meet with her and soothe her worries and help her feel God's love.
We've moved her baptismal date later so she can prepare and I really
hope I will still be here in Tours so I can be there.

My favorite part about being a missionary is feeling His love. For me,
for my family, for my amies, for strangers on the streets, for the
members, for other missionaries and for the people we meet everyday. I
can't  believe how much love He has for everyone! I love being a part
of this and I am so grateful that I get to be here to experience so
much love. I've learned that truly love is everything. Love is why I'm
here, and so it should be my motivation for everything I do. President
Uchtdorf said, "Love is the guiding light that illuminates the
disciples path and fills our daily walk with life meaning and wonder.
Love is the measure of our faith, the inspiration for our obedience
and the true altitude of dsicipleship. love is the way of the
disciple." As he says, love should be our walk and our talk. When we
love others more than ourselves we can feel joy and peace. I have
found on my mission that the way to be truly happy is by loving
others. There's a quote that says "We become most ourselves when we
are most true to God and to one another" and the way to do that is by
loving other people. "Since all love emanates from God we are born
with the capacity and desire to love and be loved only as we feel
God's love and fill our hearts with His love can we be truly happy." I
am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for letting me be here and to
experience so much love. It is such a wonderful blessing to be here. I
The Beatles had it right, all you really need is love.

avec tout mon amour, soeur alicia hawkes