Week 65 (4/4/27/20): Avez-vous pensé à rentrer dans les ordres ?

Hello everybody !
You'll all be happy to hear that I haven't killed the rose bush yet, and I've had tons of fun moving it back and forth between the back room and front room every day, so it gets plenty of sunlight. I've decided to name the rose Eponine. Because she's such a fabulous tragic character in Les Mis, doomed to an unhappy ending, much like plants in a missionary apartment. Because she'll probably end up dead after I leave... which is tragic, but what can you do ? Just because something isn't going to last doesn't mean it's not beautiful.

We have enjoyed finding and posting quotes, and Sœur Pulman painted one so it looked cute. And it spread pretty well, considering we didn't boost it ! So we'll mess around with that more in the future. It's cool to think of random people where never met being touched by something we post.

We also started talking to two new people this week, that we met on the last post we boosted. We called both of them this week, and we had some great starting conversations. One of them is catholic, and before he knew that I wasn't catholic (while we were still chatting online), he asked me if I'd considered being a nun. I joked to my companion, "actually, that's my day job." But all joking aside, he's a really cute old man who loves discussing religion and the bible, so it was really fun. Other than the fact that he has a really hard accent and talks super fast. But I know I can't get mad, because my international mtc district would always say I was the hardest to understand because I talk so fast, so now I'm just getting a taste of my own medicine 😅. It's just extra language study !

It's weird how much this whole quarantine lifestyle still feels bizarre, and yet how normal it's becoming. I think by the time it finally feels normal, we'll be heading outside again, but I feel like life just tends to be like that 😂

Love you tons !
Sœur Cate

A member is learning to do fishing knots 

Proof that i have not yet killed my rosebush

Week 64 (4/20/20): What to name a tiny rose bush

Hey everybody !!
I'm enjoying being in Perpignan, it's so much fun to call members and remember working with them before. We did a lot of calls this week, and it's beautiful to feel the spirit as we share messages of peace with them. And being encouraged by them in return. 😊
Work with amis comes and goes, but that's true when we're out of confinement too ! I'm not seeing a ton of success right now, but I figure we'll just keep trying a bunch of different things, and God will help us do His will. 😂
This week I worked on studying discipline, because let's be honest, it's very easy to let discipline slip in a quarantine. 😅 It made a huge difference in my week ! I wasted a lot less time, and my studies became a lot better (I'd been a little less serious with them recently, because I was having trouble staying motivated), and I saw soooo many blessings ! I really immersed myself in my study of Isaiah, and even though I'm probably only understanding a thousandth part of what's there, it's POWERFUL. And having the time to ponder afterwards while cleaning has just been such a cool blessing. I love the wide view Isaiah gives. Humans have such a short term perspective, but I feel like Isaiah helps me understand God's perspective a little bit more. He's such a loving God. A wise God. A thoughtful God. An organized, methodical God. A patient, merciful God. Who wants to see us become the best that we can be. It's actually calmed my anxiety a bit too, because when I start to get an inkling of just how much He knows, and how well planned out this entire earth's history is, I worry less. It's SO much bigger than me and my influence. I'm a grain of sand in a universe of beaches. I can't mess this up. All I have to do- all that's expected of me- is to work hard to glorify my God and follow the commandments with the highest degree of obedience that I'm capable of. And push to be better. The big stuff, the world trends, plagues, international obstacles and pieces I don't see fitting together ? That's not my problem. God's got it all under control.
That's about all... OH ! I bought a tiny rose bush !!! It makes me very happy. I still need to come up with an overly pretentious french name for it. Stay tuned. It's the little things 😁
Love you guys !
Sœur Cate

Week 62 (4/6/20): 🦎 Lizards and conference, I'm a happy girl!

Hey everybody !!
How about that conference ? I had so much fun listening to it from my apartment, it's the first time I've listened to everything in english on my mission ! And I really like English when I'm listening to something for a while. I loved hearing about the temples announced in Dubai and Shanghai, it's incredible to see the Lord opening doors for more and more people to have access to learn more about this incredible gospel. We really do live in the last days that prophets saw and dreamed about. They're real, we're here ! What a blessing for us to see prophecies fulfilled.

Speaking of prophecies, I've had a lot of fun studying Isaiah. I asked God for some direction, something to use my time well, and God said to study Isaiah. Because I have some time to devote to study, it's actually been really fun. Between the french and english translations of the bible, the commentary in the book of mormon and the doctrine and covenants, and the seminary and institute manuals, I have plenty of places to start 😁

Ok, my weird fun thing of the week: I love lizards. And I found a stretch of a road while we were out walking, with all these little lizards sunbathing !! So we were walking along, and we'd hear them darting off into the brush, and sometimes I could see them, and it made me really happy. Sometimes you just have to take joy in the little things. 😂

Love you tons !
Sœur Cate