May 30, 2011
Happy French Mother's Day yesterday!
I'm starting with the end of the week today. So, it's P-day. Sister Williams and I went to the Musée de l'Orangerie and saw Claude Monet's Water Lilies. It was beautiful. It's crazy to think that he was able to create something like that when he was nearly blind.
The best though was as we were walking to the museum. The museum is housed in the Tuileries, right next to the Louvre, looking out on theEiffel Tower , Place de la Concorde, and down the Champs Elysees at the Arche de Triumph. I pointed out how cool that view was and Sister Williams said, "We are so freaking lucky! We're walking on, like, five million year old side walk right now!" ha ha (Moments like that never cease to remind me how much I love being her companion) I'm not sure the side walk is quite that old, but the history that we get to see on a daily basis is just incredible. We really are the luckiest missionaries in the world.
Current thoughts on this coming week:
-Wednesday, I hit my six month mark. I'm freaking out about that a bit. I still can't believe time's flown by so fast.
-Saturday we'll be getting the transfer email. I can not believe the transfer is almost over!
Now, as for the last week...
Planning a baptism is crazy! This baptism honestly felt like Christmas; it was SUPER exciting, but seemed like the build up took a lot more energy and time than the actual day would. I love Christmas, but it's kind of a relief when it's finally over. Well...baptisms are JUST like that.
It was more of a daunting task than I thought it would be to stare at the ward list, try and figure out who was active and then make seemingly endless phone calls to set up the food assignments, prayers, talks, etc. But after a couple of stressful days near the beginning of the week, we got the majority of those program details ironed out the best we could. (Even though it meant that Sister Williams would be making aLOT of pasta salad and I'd be making a ton of brownies ha ha, still...ironed out all the same.)
I'm starting with the end of the week today. So, it's P-day. Sister Williams and I went to the Musée de l'Orangerie and saw Claude Monet's Water Lilies. It was beautiful. It's crazy to think that he was able to create something like that when he was nearly blind.
The best though was as we were walking to the museum. The museum is housed in the Tuileries, right next to the Louvre, looking out on the
Current thoughts on this coming week:
-Wednesday, I hit my six month mark. I'm freaking out about that a bit. I still can't believe time's flown by so fast.
-Saturday we'll be getting the transfer email. I can not believe the transfer is almost over!
Now, as for the last week...
Planning a baptism is crazy! This baptism honestly felt like Christmas; it was SUPER exciting, but seemed like the build up took a lot more energy and time than the actual day would. I love Christmas, but it's kind of a relief when it's finally over. Well...baptisms are JUST like that.
It was more of a daunting task than I thought it would be to stare at the ward list, try and figure out who was active and then make seemingly endless phone calls to set up the food assignments, prayers, talks, etc. But after a couple of stressful days near the beginning of the week, we got the majority of those program details ironed out the best we could. (Even though it meant that Sister Williams would be making a
After the program assignments, we switched our focus to the baptismal interview. Like always, Philomene has a crazy work schedule, only allowing us one day to squeeze the interview into. Luckily, the day that worked for her was the same day as our district meeting - meaning our district leader, the one who normally should do the interview, would be in Paris Paris
She was supposed to meet us at the church at 2:00. At 2:30 we started getting pretty worried having not seen her yet and she wasn't answering her phone. She HAD to have that interview and we didn't know when she'd be able to do it if not then. Our district leader hung around as long as he could, but by 3:30 they had to take off.
Super frustrated and confused as to what had happened, we headed home to grab something for dinner before heading to the hospital to check on Sister William's ankle (she sprained it in January really badly and it was swollen and bothering her again.) No sooner had we walked in the door, saw theParis
Tender mercy #2: the zone leaders (the elders in our ward) were on exchanges with the assistants that same day. Since we'd had district meeting, we'd heard their plans for the day. One companionship took up a shift at the visitor center. So, while the district leader had leftParis
On Friday, Philomene had her very last rendez-vous with us as an amis before becoming classified as a recent convert. We didn't need to teach her anything. We just wanted to go over the program with her and have her try on her dress, etc. She was right on time *huge sigh of relief* (we never really know with her) She showed up wearing a brand new wig. I greeted her at the door and complimented her on it. She gave me the, "Well duh. I'm getting baptized. I have to have a new wig response ha ha. She's so funny. =) When she tried on the dress she immediately started spinning and strutting around the room. I wish you could have seen it. We were all just laughing and loving every minute together. As missionaries, we feel the Spirit in every rendez-vous, but it's usually a very "typical" (if you can call it that) spiritual feeling. But the Spirit in that room was so different that night. Clichéd though it is to describe it this way, the only way I can explain it was that it was a feeling of true happiness! The feeling was just joyful in that room! I loved it!
Saturday theParis
We met up with theParis
On the way home from the baptism we had a...weird encounter on the metro. A TON of guys came running onto our car right as the doors were closing. Most of them had a baby bottle full of alcohol tied around their necks with metallic ribbon. All of them were wearing shirts that said "Oliver et Jessica." One guy was dressed like a French maid and was carrying a bonsai tree. French maid with the tree: that's Oliver. He's the groom. Apparently his bachelor party consisted, at least partially, of running on the metro singing at the top of their lungs, stomping their feet and filming the reactions of the rest of the people on the car. And every now and then Oliver would shout that "I have a bonsai tree!" Holding it over his head. Um...not sure I quite understand...ha ha. We weren't terribly disappointed when at one station, one of the guys shouted "Change!" and they all went running off and switched to the car in front of us. There's a typical Saturday night in the Parisian metro for you.
She was supposed to meet us at the church at 2:00. At 2:30 we started getting pretty worried having not seen her yet and she wasn't answering her phone. She HAD to have that interview and we didn't know when she'd be able to do it if not then. Our district leader hung around as long as he could, but by 3:30 they had to take off.
Super frustrated and confused as to what had happened, we headed home to grab something for dinner before heading to the hospital to check on Sister William's ankle (she sprained it in January really badly and it was swollen and bothering her again.) No sooner had we walked in the door, saw the
Tender mercy #2: the zone leaders (the elders in our ward) were on exchanges with the assistants that same day. Since we'd had district meeting, we'd heard their plans for the day. One companionship took up a shift at the visitor center. So, while the district leader had left
On Friday, Philomene had her very last rendez-vous with us as an amis before becoming classified as a recent convert. We didn't need to teach her anything. We just wanted to go over the program with her and have her try on her dress, etc. She was right on time *huge sigh of relief* (we never really know with her) She showed up wearing a brand new wig. I greeted her at the door and complimented her on it. She gave me the, "Well duh. I'm getting baptized. I have to have a new wig response ha ha. She's so funny. =) When she tried on the dress she immediately started spinning and strutting around the room. I wish you could have seen it. We were all just laughing and loving every minute together. As missionaries, we feel the Spirit in every rendez-vous, but it's usually a very "typical" (if you can call it that) spiritual feeling. But the Spirit in that room was so different that night. Clichéd though it is to describe it this way, the only way I can explain it was that it was a feeling of true happiness! The feeling was just joyful in that room! I loved it!
Saturday the
We met up with the
On the way home from the baptism we had a...weird encounter on the metro. A TON of guys came running onto our car right as the doors were closing. Most of them had a baby bottle full of alcohol tied around their necks with metallic ribbon. All of them were wearing shirts that said "Oliver et Jessica." One guy was dressed like a French maid and was carrying a bonsai tree. French maid with the tree: that's Oliver. He's the groom. Apparently his bachelor party consisted, at least partially, of running on the metro singing at the top of their lungs, stomping their feet and filming the reactions of the rest of the people on the car. And every now and then Oliver would shout that "I have a bonsai tree!" Holding it over his head. Um...not sure I quite understand...ha ha. We weren't terribly disappointed when at one station, one of the guys shouted "Change!" and they all went running off and switched to the car in front of us. There's a typical Saturday night in the Parisian metro for you.
Sunday finally rolled around. We gathered up our huge list of things we needed to take to church and headed out the door. When we got there, two of our amis were there, and a bit later Edinton and Anbu walked in, but...no Philomene. If I hadn't been all week (and trust me, I had) now, I was stressed. Sister Williams stepped out into the hall to call her. The problem with calling Philomene is that she tends to decide when the conversation is over and then just doesn't answer after that. So you have to get as much specific information out of her as fast as you can. Sister Williams came back in, looking rather confused, sat down next to me and said, "She's at home making a cake. She said she'll be here at 1:00, and...something about her niece being sick." What?! 1-We REPEATEDLY told her that we'd have food and she didn't need to bring anything, and 2-What niece?! She hasn't mentioned any family in France Congo
Sister Williams called her a few more times during church to try and talk her into coming sooner. No luck. One o'clock it was. So...stressing out a bit as to when she'd actually be showing up (Africans tend to have this thing where time doesn't really mean anything to them) we started getting the font and food ready while waiting for her. 1:00...no Philomene. 1:15 I called her. When she answered there was a ton of noise in the background and she answered by immediately shouting into the phone "J'arrive! J'arrive! J'arrive!" ("I'm coming") It wasn't angry shouting, just flustered shouting, if that makes sense. I asked her if she was on the metro. I couldn't understand her answer. Between her accent, the background noise, and the phone cutting in and out, I was having a very difficult time understanding what she was telling me. So finally I just said, "Will you be her by 1:30, yes or no?" Happily, she said yes. I confirmed her answer with her again. So...1:30 was the new goal.
At 1:45, theParis
While running from the front door, where we were watching for Philomene, to the font at the back of the church, I grew to really hate the endless, "Where is she?" "Is she coming?" "How far away is she?" questions I got every time I passed the members waiting for the service.
By 2:30 I'm stressed to the max. Sister Williams and I had been standing on the sidewalk again waiting for her. Despite our copious amounts of silent prayers we'd both been offering all day, I knew we needed to go find a room in the chapel and pray together. I didn't voice that to her, but I headed inside and she followed. Before we even turned the corner, the two elders in our ward came walking the other direction. Elder Gilmore said, "Still nothing? We were thinking maybe we should pray or something." So the four of us, found a class room, shut the door and got on our knees. When we were done, we headed back up to the main doors. Neither Sister Williams nor I could tolerate standing in front of the doors on the sidewalk any longer. It was killing us. So we stood at the end of the hallway leading up the the doors. Elder Gilmore walked out the doors. The doors had barely shut behind him when he turned and looked at us through the glass giving us two thumbs up! Absolutely ecstatic, Sister Williams and I literally ran to the door! SHE MADE IT!!!! Not only did she make it, but she had a huge cart of drinks and a bunch of baignets she had made. And she's just adorable, she had her new wig, new shoes, a new necklace, and a new dress. (and we found out later, when we were helping her get dressed after being baptized, she even bought brand new underwear. I know I've said it easily a thousand times already, but she's just the cutest thing. She went all out. And she looked great! =)
The second we saw her, we were SO SO SO happy and Philomene was SO angry. She went off on how everything was going wrong all morning long. "Satan doesn't want me to be happy! Satan doesn't want me to get baptized! The very day of my baptism, the very day, and he's still trying to stop me!" (At least she recognized where all the opposition was coming from.) She explained to us all the things that had gone wrong. When she finally made it into the metro, she thought she was in the clear and would make it to the church on time (that's were the "j'arrive!" "will you be here at 1:30" phone call came in.) But right after that, someone committed suicide, blocking her train. Being in the metro, she didn't have service, and not knowing of the accident, we had no idea what had happened. She told us she got SO mad when that happened and she sat on the metro, fuming at Satan and told him to stop. He had no right to get in her way. Somehow, she was able to make it out of the metro and get help from someone to get her to the chapel.
So...again very late, but all the same, SHE MADE IT! And once again, the power of prayer is just the coolest thing ever!!!
Sister Williams called her a few more times during church to try and talk her into coming sooner. No luck. One o'clock it was. So...stressing out a bit as to when she'd actually be showing up (Africans tend to have this thing where time doesn't really mean anything to them) we started getting the font and food ready while waiting for her. 1:00...no Philomene. 1:15 I called her. When she answered there was a ton of noise in the background and she answered by immediately shouting into the phone "J'arrive! J'arrive! J'arrive!" ("I'm coming") It wasn't angry shouting, just flustered shouting, if that makes sense. I asked her if she was on the metro. I couldn't understand her answer. Between her accent, the background noise, and the phone cutting in and out, I was having a very difficult time understanding what she was telling me. So finally I just said, "Will you be her by 1:30, yes or no?" Happily, she said yes. I confirmed her answer with her again. So...1:30 was the new goal.
At 1:45, the
While running from the front door, where we were watching for Philomene, to the font at the back of the church, I grew to really hate the endless, "Where is she?" "Is she coming?" "How far away is she?" questions I got every time I passed the members waiting for the service.
By 2:30 I'm stressed to the max. Sister Williams and I had been standing on the sidewalk again waiting for her. Despite our copious amounts of silent prayers we'd both been offering all day, I knew we needed to go find a room in the chapel and pray together. I didn't voice that to her, but I headed inside and she followed. Before we even turned the corner, the two elders in our ward came walking the other direction. Elder Gilmore said, "Still nothing? We were thinking maybe we should pray or something." So the four of us, found a class room, shut the door and got on our knees. When we were done, we headed back up to the main doors. Neither Sister Williams nor I could tolerate standing in front of the doors on the sidewalk any longer. It was killing us. So we stood at the end of the hallway leading up the the doors. Elder Gilmore walked out the doors. The doors had barely shut behind him when he turned and looked at us through the glass giving us two thumbs up! Absolutely ecstatic, Sister Williams and I literally ran to the door! SHE MADE IT!!!! Not only did she make it, but she had a huge cart of drinks and a bunch of baignets she had made. And she's just adorable, she had her new wig, new shoes, a new necklace, and a new dress. (and we found out later, when we were helping her get dressed after being baptized, she even bought brand new underwear. I know I've said it easily a thousand times already, but she's just the cutest thing. She went all out. And she looked great! =)
The second we saw her, we were SO SO SO happy and Philomene was SO angry. She went off on how everything was going wrong all morning long. "Satan doesn't want me to be happy! Satan doesn't want me to get baptized! The very day of my baptism, the very day, and he's still trying to stop me!" (At least she recognized where all the opposition was coming from.) She explained to us all the things that had gone wrong. When she finally made it into the metro, she thought she was in the clear and would make it to the church on time (that's were the "j'arrive!" "will you be here at 1:30" phone call came in.) But right after that, someone committed suicide, blocking her train. Being in the metro, she didn't have service, and not knowing of the accident, we had no idea what had happened. She told us she got SO mad when that happened and she sat on the metro, fuming at Satan and told him to stop. He had no right to get in her way. Somehow, she was able to make it out of the metro and get help from someone to get her to the chapel.
So...again very late, but all the same, SHE MADE IT! And once again, the power of prayer is just the coolest thing ever!!!
The service was wonderful. They had to dunk her five times though. (Her knees kept popping up.) But she didn't care. She was just laughing and smiling the whole time. When we were helping her get dressed she said, "I had a good shower today." Confused, we both just said, "What?" To which she replied, "Well...I went in five times! It was a good shower!" and then started laughing. Flip I just love her. ha ha ha =)
She was SO happy. She kept telling us, "I'm a member now. I'm finally a member." The whole time, just grinning from ear to ear.
As we were eating after, a woman with three girls and one boy, who Philomene called her "family" walked in. (I put family in quotes because we're still not sure if they are actually related to her. She's African. Everyone in her world is classified as family.) They got there around 5:00, and were shocked that she's already been baptized. When Philomene told them it had already happened the woman said, "What?! You said it was at 2:00!" Like I said, time doesn't mean the same thing to Africans. They were shocked that, three hours after it was scheduled, it had already happened ha ha. But, great news, they want us to teach them now! And the whole time they were talking and eating, Philomene kept saying stuff like, "When you're baptized..." and "After you join the church too..." And they were cool with it. We'll see what they think after we start teaching them, but they're at least starting off on a good track.
PHILOMENE FINALLY GOT BAPTIZED!!!!! =) =) =)
Stressful and crazy though it was, it was absolutely worth it!!! I'm SO happy for her!!! If I spend the rest of my time out here without ever seeing another baptism or having a single progressing amis, it would all have been worth it just for her!!! =) If you don't meet her in this life, you absolutely will in the next one! You'll just love her. I certainly do. =)
There's my week in a nutshell. I hope yours was even half as wonderful - hopefully a bit less stressful though. ;) I love you! Have a great week. =)
Love
~Kim
She was SO happy. She kept telling us, "I'm a member now. I'm finally a member." The whole time, just grinning from ear to ear.
As we were eating after, a woman with three girls and one boy, who Philomene called her "family" walked in. (I put family in quotes because we're still not sure if they are actually related to her. She's African. Everyone in her world is classified as family.) They got there around 5:00, and were shocked that she's already been baptized. When Philomene told them it had already happened the woman said, "What?! You said it was at 2:00!" Like I said, time doesn't mean the same thing to Africans. They were shocked that, three hours after it was scheduled, it had already happened ha ha. But, great news, they want us to teach them now! And the whole time they were talking and eating, Philomene kept saying stuff like, "When you're baptized..." and "After you join the church too..." And they were cool with it. We'll see what they think after we start teaching them, but they're at least starting off on a good track.
PHILOMENE FINALLY GOT BAPTIZED!!!!! =) =) =)
Stressful and crazy though it was, it was absolutely worth it!!! I'm SO happy for her!!! If I spend the rest of my time out here without ever seeing another baptism or having a single progressing amis, it would all have been worth it just for her!!! =) If you don't meet her in this life, you absolutely will in the next one! You'll just love her. I certainly do. =)
There's my week in a nutshell. I hope yours was even half as wonderful - hopefully a bit less stressful though. ;) I love you! Have a great week. =)
Love
~Kim