Elder MacArthur's Mission to France : 11-16-15

Bonjour everyone! I had an interesting but wonderful week. Here's what happened:

Events I experienced:
Monday was a little painful. I wore some French shoes that I picked out of a dead pile, and they...are not comfy. Also, I shipped a package back to the US and it was expensive. That hurt most of all. But other than that it was a wonderful p-day. (And apparently the stuff broke. Great.)

Tuesday was great! We had 3 lessons, 2 new Amis, and we gave out a book of Mormon! We helped these people with their genealogy, and I had an interesting conversation with the wife of the man doing the family history stuff. She talked to me about contraception for some reason haha. She said her husband came from a family of 10 kids and I got the explanation as to why..."Back then, there was no radio, no tv, no movies, Internet. You got up early, went to bed early, and...voilà!" Good to know, lady.

Wednesday was awesome! We had district meeting, and then Elder Hoopes had an exchange in Carcassonne. We talked the whole day in a Sean Connery voice haha. It was glorious! All we had to do was a bunch of passes but it was still really awesome and fun!

Friday was great. We had a great lesson with our ami Seb, he's really awesome. Unfortunately, he told us today that he didn't want to join a church, but he said he would come to church next week. Hopefully the spirit works on him and he changes his mind! We spent a good bit of time searching for halal candy for a Muslim friend. Apparently he eats chocolate though, so we ended up buying him some chocolate. Not sure if regular chocolate is strictly halal, but anywho, as we stopped by an epicerie, we found a guy who knew our ward mission leader! And his friend used to have a Book of Mormon but lost it when he moved from Montpellier. So we were able to give him a book and our card! It was a cool miracle.

Saturday started off on a blue note. Due to a terrorist attack in Paris, we were told we were to stay in the entire day! A little later, we received clearance to leave. But the areas in the south-east of France (us, apparently) have a 6:00 curfew, same as the Marseille Elders. So that's gonna be weird, having to go home once the sun sets.

Sunday! It was awesome. I gave a talk on agency, it went pretty well. I also got major compliments on my pink cravate. It is a belle cravate I must say. We had a rendezvous with our ami Iri! It went well, she got a little caught up on 2 Néphi 2, but we helped her understand the Book of Mormon a lot better. We also asked some youths for directions, and ended up giving a street lesson! It was pretty cool.

Lessons I learned:
My ponderize scripture for this week comes from Moroni 8:16 and 21: "Wo be unto them that shall pervert the ways of the Lord after this manner, for they shall perish except they repent. Behold, I speak with boldness, having authority from God; and I fear not what man can do; for perfect love casteth out all fear...I speak it boldly; God hath commanded me." My first mission president's wife, Sister Roney, talked a lot about having "holy boldness." These scriptures exemplify that attitude. I love the axiom "perfect love casteth out all fear," it is so true! Nothing but the pure love of Jesus Christ can expel fear of man and the wiles of the devil.

Embrasser and embraser. The first verb means to kiss. The second means to set on fire. Be careful! Haha that's just a fun little tidbit for ya.

(free) Advice I have:
"Let the scriptures be your guide, and you will never find yourself traveling the road to nowhere." ~Thomas S. Monson. Very simple yet profound advice from President Monson!

"Pray like it all depends on the Lord, and work like it all depends on you!" ~ Gordon B. Hinckley More wonderful advice from a former prophet. Whenever I pray more, I can see that my work as a missionary improves. It is the same for all of us!

"Some Things We Have Learned Together" by Elder and Sister Holland. An incredible talk. Perfect for people who are either married or about to be married, or thinking about getting married. Watch/listen/read that talk. I have the audio and it is incredible. Top 5 talks ever given, à mon avis.

Please pray for the people in Paris. It means the world to them, all the support they are getting. If anyone needs prayers, it is all those affected by these revolting attacks.

Thanks so much! I love you all. I appreciate all of your prayers, and I encourage you to get on your knees and pray for our French brothers and sisters. Thanks much and God bless!
Love, Elder MacArthur