The Lord doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called

The news is in. Transfer 9 has begun. And Soeur Hosking will be leaving for Nancy to be an STL. And I will be going to Paris on Wednesday to pick up my new companion who will be coming fresh from the MTC! I am so thrilled! I don't know anything about her yet but I am so excited for her to come to Liege. Also they are opening up Liege 1 again so we are back to four sisters in Liege!! All of the members were SO excited when we told them on Sunday. I am pretty happy to go back to taking care of just one branch, it definitely lifts a load off my shoulders! 

So this week we went to find a referral who had ordered a Book of Mormon online that we had received, however, she lived really far away in a little town I hadn't heard of but Soeur Hosking and I love adventures so we hopped on a train and went for it. After a 20 minute train ride, a 1 hour wait, and a 30 minute bus ride we found ourselves in Hannut. We located her house and rang the doorbell. Marie-Therese answered and I introduced ourselves, she was so surprised to find that the church had sent missionaries instead of just mailing a copy of the book to her. She let us in and we had a wonderful discussion. She is SO golden. She had so many amazing questions and she kept saying how she didn't understand why there were so many different churches if there is only one God.  She was so excited to read the Book of Mormon. It was too perfect! I cant wait to see her next week! After we left we headed back to the bus stop and realized we had missed our bus and the next one wouldn't be coming for another hour. So we decided to catch the bus going the other direction and find a train station and just take a train back to Liege. So we arrived at a train station walked and realized everything was in Flemish. We couldn't understand anyone or anything. I felt like a bleue again. We were on the Flemish side of Belgium. Which is also outside our mission boundaries. But a train was coming in an hour and there were chocolate waffles in the vending machine and we had just found a new amie so it turned out alright, as it always does. I love all the adventures I have with Soeur Hosking, life is never dull with her. Being with her has really taught me to just let my worries go. She has helped me to simply live in the moment instead of worrying about the next one that's coming. I am so sad she is leaving but I know we'll always be best friends and the people in Nancy need her more than I do now I guess. Yesterday we went to say goodbye to a member and he said that loving is also letting go. If we never say goodbye that is really selfish because other people need them too. I love that idea. It takes away the sting of goodbye a little bit. I am so grateful Heavenly Father let me be with Soeur Hosking here in Liege, I have learned so much from her and I am so grateful for her in my life!

So Nephi is basically my hero. I began rereading the Book of Mormon recently and I love to read about how much faith and trust Nephi has in God. It is absolutely incredible to see all the hard tasks the Lord gives him and Nephi's like sure I'll do it. Whatever you want, I'm there. My favorite is when the Lord commands him to build a boat and he doesnt even hesitate he just says, tell me how to do it and I will. And then his brothers come in and they're making fun of him and Nephi says this, If God had commanded me to do all things I could do them. If he should command me that I should say unto this water, be thou earth, it should be earth; and if I should say it, it would be done. And now, if the Lord has such great power, and has wrought so many miracles among the children of men, how is it that he cannot instruct me, that I should build a ship? (1 Nephi 17:50-51)

I absolutely LOVE that. Nephi is so good at remembering the past and the miracles God has already wrought. He has so much faith and so much trust. He has seen the Lord deliver him and his family so many times and he knows without a doubt God will continue to guide him and help him. I want to trust God like that too. I want to yield to His vision that is higher and holier than my own even when and especially when I don't see a vision at all. I am a little bit nervous to train a new missionary but I know that if God can help Nephi build a boat I am pretty dang sure He can help me take care of Liege and my new companion. I am so grateful that I know my Heavenly Father is there and that He loves and knows me. These past two transfers in Liege I feel like God has been trying to teach me to let go of my need for control and hand it to Him. He has been trying to teach me to trust Him and be happy and hopeful even when I don't see the solution. And now He is giving me the chance to put into practice what I've been learning. He's much too kind. :) I am so grateful to be a missionary. I can't believe how fast the time goes and I am eternally grateful for this opportunity that I have had. I have learned and changed so much and I feel much happier than I ever have before. I love you all so much and I am so grateful for your prayers and support! 

avec amour soeur hawkes 

We did service with the Elders on Saturday, we took down wallpaper and painted the outside of the house. It was so fun! especially trying to find the member,s house because she lives in a forest! we were walking through all the trees and old abandoned houses it was pretty creepy. Elder Jones said,"if her house is covered in candy I'm out!!" haha it was a great adventure, a last hurrah all together. 

I adore Soeur Hosking so much. 

                                               and those elders in the back photobombing...oh la

Soo we made cinnamon rolls except we ran out of cinnamon... so we put speculoos spice in it and I was super worried but all the Elders LOVED it so I guess it turned out alright. 

Selfie! 

This has been one of the funnest transfers, I love soeur hosking so much, she is definitely one of my best friends now! I cant wait to visit her in California next year!

Stranded in Landen. On the Flemish side of Belgium. Outside our mission. oops...

We got SO dirty. covered in plaster and paint and dirt 

It took so long to get the paint off!! we had to run home and scrub really quick so we could make it to our rdv that evening. #alwaysinahurry 

When you're perplexed about which turn to take... kneel down.

So this week we went into Paris for legality for Elder Mosley and I and it was quite the adventure. Tuesday afternoon we ran home from Brussels to pack our bags then we got ice cream with the Elders. On the bus to the gare to catch our train we realized we had two minutes to catch the train. So we busted out the doors as soon as the bus arrived at the stop and we booked it into the gare and we missed the train by a few minutes. So we ran to the info desk and learned that if we caught a train to Brussels that very moment we could catch a train from there to Paris, so we ran to our voie and jumped on. We joked and laughed until Brussels where we once again ran for our train, only when we went to get on the train we realized the tickets were GONE. So the Elders ran back retracing our steps to find them but to no avail. So we ran along the train with only two minutes before it left looking for the manager and explained the situation all of us sweating and heaving. He looked at us and told us to get on. It was a miracle!! We spent the first 20 minutes of our train ride discussing the probablity of him being one of the three Nephites, I mean he had long hair and a very kind disposition. We said a prayer of thanks for being able to be on our way to Paris. Once we arrived, we parted ways and got to the Versailles Soeurs apartment around 11. We fell right to sleep and the next morning headed into Paris for legality, but once there we learned that they wouldnt be processing my type of paperwork on Wednsdays. But a very kind worker helped me put all my papers together and we dropped them off at the Church's visitor center so the Paris Elders could take care of it for me. We ate tons of delicious food and then Elder Mosley, Soeur Hosking and I followed Elder Strauss around while he shopped and we told embarrassing stories and laughed our heads off in the middle of Nike. I am so grateful that we had those Elders with us, they took care of us and made sure everything turned out allright despite all the unexpected changes that kept happening. 

When we finally got back to Belgium we started exchanges right away and Soeur Whisler and I went to see Gwen and Prince. We began teaching the Plan of Salvation and they were so excited about it! Prince kept saying that he believed there was something after death but he never could figure out what so he was thrilled about the brochure we gave him. I adore them so much, they just eat up everything we give them and they are so excited to get baptized! I cant wait!! 

Sarah is doing well, she is still on track to be baptized and she seems excited about learning everything. We have an FHE set up with a family in the branch this week so I am excited to begin integrating them into the branch. 

So Thursday evening Soeur Hosking were waiting at a bus stop and we started singing a Relient K song to ourselves because we were bored and talking and laughing in English and an older couple came up and asked us in accented English where we were from! We explained we were American missionaries for our church and they started asking us questions. When they found out we were the Mormons they told us they always thought Mormons were straight faced, straight laced closed doors people. But because they met us they know we are happy loving people willing and ready to answer any questions about our beliefs!  Singing songs is a great way to get contacted haha and that wasnt the first time either and probably wont be the last! 

Saturday we went to the Fete de Wallonie which is basically a county fair, there were concerts and lots of booths selling so much Liegiose food, it was so great! We ate a lovely dinner there and our waiter was Tony from Italy. He asked us where we were from. (sometimes I am really grateful for our thick American accents!) We explained who we were and what we were doing and he took a seat to talk to us about Jesus. He was so hilarious! we gave him a plan of salvation pamphlet and he remarked the beautiful picture of Jesus on the front and explained to us that because Jesus was a jew he could not have been that beautiful. He was a real riot but he promised to read the brochure, planting seeds! I love it :) 

It was a lovely week full of great adventures and wonderful miracles! At the beginning of the week I was stressed out of my mind wondering how the week would go and praying that everything would happen smoothly and that I would be able to take care of our amies. There were certainly stressful moments but God was with me every step of the way and He strengthened me when I seemed to falter. Elder Holland talks about trusting God even when it is hard and submitting to His will even when it seems painful to us. He asks, "When we see the Savior again will we be able to say, that we yielded to a vision higher and holier than our own even when we may have seen no vision at all?" I absolutely adore that. Do I yield to a vision higher and holier to mine? Do I trust Him even when I can see no way out of my problems? Do I follow His words even when I cant see the reason why? I feel like since I have been in Liege I have been learning more and more everyday to trust my Heavenly Father. To trust that He knows better than I and that He can take care of me and my family and my amies better than I could. Sometimes things happen and I dont know why. Doubting thoughts creep into my mind and I find myself wondering why God would let something like that happen but then I remember alll the times He has helped me in the past and I look at my life and all I see are His tender mercies and evidence of His love and I know that He will take care of me just as He always has. I know that God is there. I know that we are His children and He wants so much to take care of us if we only let Him. He is always there waiting for us with open arms to come to Him.

avec amour soeur hawkes 

So it was Elder Mosley's birthday, so during our lunch hour we decorate his apartment entry way and suprised him!!   He was soups happy!

Also this weekend was La Fete de Wallonie. It was basically a county fair for Liege! we ate such good food!! 

Exchanges with Soeur Whisler!! 

Rain rain go away!! 

Chipotle for lunch in Paris!!!! 

We found rue de la bonne aventure on our way to the Versailles soeurs apartment  (street of the good adventure) we thought it was very fitting

On the train to Brussells where we'll catch the train to Paris...oufti 

on our way to the gare after running home to pack bags for Paris!!! 

There were some nuns in the gare!! haha can you see them standing behind us? everyone in this country ALWAYS thinks we're nuns!! not quite haha 

PARIS!!!!

Be of good cheer, the future is as bright as your faith

Ohh la la. We had such a rough week!! So many people dropped us and I felt like my heart was taking a beating this week!! But as they say It is always darkest right before the dawn. And the sun came shining through yesterday afternoon. We set THREE baptismal dates!!!!! 

The first one is 12 year old Sarah. Her mother Virginia was baptized 22 years ago and they moved to Liege aobut a year ago and just never found the Church. Last week she saw the Elders at Carrefour and practically hugged them she was so excited, they gave us her number and we saw them on Saturday. They were so excited to see us and we just laughed and talked the entire time. We also invited Sarah to consider being baptized. She really wanted to but wasn't sure so we invited her pray and went back Sunday afternoon after church. We talked about Baptism and all the details and she said she didnt know. After a little discussion we discovered her only worry, that there would be strangers at the baptism, as soon as we told her we would not let any strangers come she was visibly relieved and so excited to be baptized! So she is going to be baptized Oct. 11 :)

And then we went to see Gwen and her friend Prince. We had invited Gwen to pray aobut her baptism a few days before and she must have talked to Prince about it because he asked us if he could be baptized! So we set them both for October 19th! Miracles are everywhere here in Liege!! 

Well. Thursday is my year mark. So I have been reflecting a lot the past few weeks on the year I have spent as a missionary. It has been incredible. It has been so difficult and there have been times my heart ached so much I thought it would shatter into a thousand pieces but I have also felt the healing and enabling power of my Redeemer, Jesus Christ. I have learned that the Savior knows us perfectly and personally. He is there for me every single day every single moment. It is a truth that is way too easy for me to forget. Sometimes when I read the emails of everyone, my heart hurts a little because I want to be there with them so much! But then I remind myself that I have already been gone a year and I only have a few short months that rest. And they will fly by and soon I'll be at home longing for those members back in Europe and all my amies and recent converts and I try to remind myself to cherish every moment that I have. It is not easy. Especially since lately I feel like Satan has been attacking me, my companion and our amies and recent converts at every turn, and its easy to long for something else. But I look back on the year I have had, and I see my Heavenly Father there, every step of the way, I see the things He has taught me, the miracles He has shown me and the people He has put in my path to help me learn and grow. And I look ahead and think well, He has taken such good care of me so far, I think it's safe to say He'll continue to do so. 

love soeur alicia hawkes 

The signs we find in the country...

The Elders made us banana bread and we may or may not have eaten the entire loaf in one day.

We took the road less travelled...

Looks like Soeur Hosking punched me in the face...

Don't worry. She just ran into the elevator door with a package in her hands and I took a frisbee to the face at Samedi Sports haha! 

She forgot her badge so she borrowed mine! twinners!! 

I got to hang out with Soeur Bennion at Zone Conference on Tuesday!! I adore her!  

I am legal in Beligum!! 

God will make a way when there is no way

Bonjour à tous!

On Friday we did a finding day with the Mission of Lyon. All day long every 30 minutes we would pray for all the missionaries to find 1000 new amies in one day. And then we spent the entire day contacting and porting. It was exhausting but so rewarding. By 11h00 we had already taught three lessons and had a new amie. Our new amie is Anne-Katherine. She actually contacted us on the bus Wednesday night and we set up a rdv for Friday morning. When we went she was so sincere and attentive and soo excited we were there. We invited her to church and to FHE as well! Later we met a woman who was born in Madrid Spain and we helped her carry her things to her new apartment. I love that as a missionary we are able to step into peoples lives for a moment.

Well for the rest of the day we did our best to find new amies and we went porting and got rejected and met many wonderful characters. At about 8h30 we were starting to tire out but we decided to knock one more door before catching the bus home. And we met Madelina. She is from Romania and has a beautiful family and really wants to meet with us! She is so wonderful and we are meeting with her next week! 

On Sunday night we ate with an American family that just moved here from Utah and it was one of the funnest sunday nights of my mission!! Their family reminded me so much of mine! everyone is so rambunctious and talking over each other and asking mom questions over and over, vying for attention showing us all their toys and animals. And we ate roast and potatoes-classic American sunday night dinner. It was like having a piece of home. I absolutely adore them!

Our week was wonderful but exhausting, I am so grateful for all the wonderful miracles that we saw and the people that we met. I love being a missionary more than anything else, I feel so so blessed to be living in Liege and to be able to serve the Lord! My mission means everything to me! 

I'm sorry this email is so short but i love you all!!! 

avec amour soeur hawkes 

S.o first we found this lovely little spot. and then we actually found
the road we wanted but we had to go through the sketchy staircase
first

sketchy staircase...

We got eclairs on Friday. They're not the same in Belgium! we'll stick
to gauffres.

This is our canadian district leader. he's basically our best friend .
I'm in the process of converting him to USU rather than BYU haha wish
me luck!

Waiting for the bus. again. But I bought new shoes! 11 euros. Such a steal.

Soeur Hosking and I wore matching bows to district meeting. comp unity
for the win!

It's our favorite ad!! "I do what I want" 

So on Sunday we all matched without  but unfortunately Elder Mosley
missed the memo haha poor guy!

Soeur Hosking received moustaches in the mail...we had so much fun
this morning taking ridiculous photos.

Our break the fast feast on Sunday after church. Delicious.

This is St. Lambert, on the other side of the palace. Welcome to the
bus system of Liege.

We tried to take a picture in front of the palace but a random man
ruined it a little hahah oh well Sr Hosking looks good so it worked
out.

Sketchy staircases always lead to good adventures!

The place was full of old ratchet homes so naturally our first instict
was to port!!

And by golly we ported it! (i never did learn to stand up straight, sorry mom!)

We found the home of a famous dead painter at the top of the sketchy staircase!

Continue in patience until ye are perfected

This week was so good. Being a missionary in Liege is such a huge blessing!! 

Here is our Tuesday in the words of Soeur Hosking:

TUESDAY: District Meeting! Now that Belgium is all one zone we all meet in Bruxelles for district meeting. That takes most of our day, which is a struggle, but we make it work! And it's always fun to go into Bruxelles as a district. We got to meet the 4 Elders that are in our district but a different ville, lets just say that we are going to have a lot of fun this transfer :) We have two Bleu's in our district! I'll show em the ropes ;) So on our way home Sr.Hawkes and I were chilling in the Gare awaiting our train when at the last second the Voie changes! We have to sprint across this fairly large Gare and we have 3 minutes to do it. I am proud to announce that we made it. I jumped into the train as the door was closing and I felt like I was in a spy movie. "I think we lost him, the package is safe and aboard the train. Stripling Warrior over and out" Anyway, we had a lesson and it was so cold and rainy our ami made us wait in her house until right before the bus came. Meanwhile she fed us snacks and warm herb tea :) The TV might have been playing and we might have seen that they did a study about if fist bumping, handshakes, or the kisses on the cheek they do here spread less germs... They think kissing does. Oh how I adore this place :)

it was a preeetty good day! anywho

Wednesday evening we went to walk across this really pretty bridge and contact. But, instead of us doing to contacting we got contacted. Twice. By men. (Side note: men in Europe are creepy. Well, not all of them but a good amount) The first one started talking to us and then told us as he was leaving to tell our branch presidents son hello... We were like whaaaat? We told the Elders to look for him in their phone. Then this guy stopped us on the street. We had a really good discussion about the Gospel with him! We got his number and he asked for ours (we slipped him the Elders) and he told us we could talk about it over a cup of coffee sometime. Uh, no thank you. We called Elder Jones to give him the referral and could not stop laughing because in the middle of the contact we had laughed and when he asked why we were laughing we go, "The Gospel just makes us so happy!" We told Elder Jones about this and he tells us to "Stop being so gosh dang flamboyant!" We have too much fun. THE GOSPEL JUST MAKES US SO HAPPY OKAY? 

On Saturday we went to see Patricia who recently was baptized. She had been really struggling with health problems and also with her nonmember husband. She told us all of her worries and struggles and we listened sincerely and the whole time I was praying that we would somehow be able to help her feel better and say what the Lord wanted her to hear. We shared scriptures and personal experiences and testified of the strength from the Atonement of Christ. All of the sudden she began to cry. She said over and over "oh I feel so much better, thank you so much" she explained that she finally understood why it was so important to read the scriptures! I was a tad bit suprised because that hadnt exactly been what we were talking about at the moment but it was a lesson for me that it honestly does not matter what I say. If I have the Spirit; our amies and anyone else we talk to will hear exactly what they need to. It was a huge testimony to me that this work is so much bigger than me! I just show up each day ready and willing to work and the Lord does the all the real work. Just like Bishop Stevens said in General Conference, " the miracle of the Atonement makes up for the imperfections in our performance." Because of His Atonement, my small and imperfect efforts are enough. Soeur Bradley used to always say, " God can draw straight lines with crooked sticks" I may be a crooked stick but with the grace of my Savior; it can be enough. 

Another lesson I learned from Patricia was the need to recognize negative and destructive thoughts. She had really been struggling because she was listening to the lies that Satan kept insisting were true. As she shared her worries with us, we explained that any negative thought that comes into our minds is not from God. Our loving Heavenly Father would never want us to beat ourselves up or tell us that we make too many mistakes. She seemed almost shocked to realize that her negative thoughts were from Satan and not God! Sometimes it can be so hard to make that distinction. I was thinking about that all weekend and it's something I have been trying to defeat my entire mission! I found a quote by President George Q Cannon that helped open my eyes. He says, “Whenever darkness fills our minds, we may know that we are not possessed of the Spirit of God. … When we are filled with the Spirit of God we are filled with joy, with peace, and with happiness, no matter what our circumstances may be; for it is a spirit of cheerfulness and of happiness. The Lord has given unto us the gift of the Holy Ghost. It is our privilege to have that Holy Ghost reign within us, so that from morning till night and from night till morning we shall have the joy, the light and the revelation thereof.”

I love the idea of being filled with joy and light from morning till night! That is what Heavenly Father has in store for me if I only recognize my negative thoughts and change them for empowering ones! I think that is one of the greatest barriers to my happiness, is listening to Satan's lies! Brigham Young said, "if a negative thought comes into your mind, tell it to go to Hell because that's exactly where it came from." ha love it! totes def my new way of living. 

So a few weeks ago I mentioned some less actives we had seen and how miserable they were. Well this week we went to see Laurence again and she was so much happier! We asked her what had changed and she said after we had left she began to pray daily again! Prayer is so powerful!

On Friday everyone bailed on us again but we decided to go out contacting and on a whim decided to pass by an amie, Staline who we had lost contact with. She was home and we had a killer lesson about faith and repentance. It was so cool and the Spirit was so strong! We are hoping to invite her to baptism this week! There is a reason behind all the frudges for sure! The Lord knows where we are really needed. 

Well my time is about up today but please know how much I appreciate your prayers and support! i love you all so much and I pray for you daily! 

 quote for the week: 

"The work of our missionaries is a magnificent expression of God's redeeming love." -Elder Christofferson

avec amour soeur hawkes

Christelle is one of my favorite people! she is moving to Colorado this week so we met one last time last week and had a beautiful discussion about the Book of Mormon. I am so excited for her adventure in the states! 

Verviers

                                Soo we did a pass by a little train ride away and found some lovely buildings!                                     

On the bus to FHE