Maren's Mission to France: Week 9 - "Keep Your Chin Up Sunshine"

Maren being introduced by Soeur Hopkins at zone conference

FAM!

Another week, and today another month down! I can't believe that it's been only two months but I also can't believe that its been TWO whole months. I don't know if that made any sense.

We're going to a chateau today- Azay-le-Rideau - so I don't have enough time to tell you guys everything that happened this week but it was a REALLY good week. My journal is good though - so next week I should have time to fill you in on everything.

Charlemagne's Tower

Last P-day we were tourists and wandered all around the old part of Tours, saw Charlemagne's tower and a basilica that used to be connected to the tower but is now separate and there's a city street that runs between them. It's so crazy how the old and new are so interconnected. It's just normal to be in the middle of a city and run into a building or wall or something that's hundreds of years old.

Then we went to a birthday party for this girl in our ward. She turned 11 and her mom just invited us to come. Just us and her and her husband who isn't a member. It was so fun haha but it was sort of odd, she's just going to have these random American sisters in the background of her 11th birthday party pictures. She gave us one of her balloons, which we carried around with us to our next two appointments haha, and then it popped when we were walking home because it hit a thorn from a bush. It was tragic.

We also went and saw Antonia that night, she's AWESOME. Sr. Bradley and Hopkins contacted her and she sang Ave Maria for them. We're not exactly sure where she's from/ what her whole story is but her dad was Italian, her mom was Ukrainian/Czech, she speaks like 8 languages including French and English, with an Italian/Ukrainian accent, so our lessons are usually a confusing mix of both. But she grew up in the circus (apparently that was still a thing) as a trapeze artist and then she was a dancer, and now she's a singer. She's so cool. She also LOVES us, she calls us her angels and told us that God sent us to her-- yes, He did Antonia. She also came to church with us yesterday and LOVED it. She's the best.

Tuesday not much happened, a lot of things fell through and then we went to Nantes for our exchange. We had first class for our train! Not sure how it happened but it was awesome!

With Sr. Richards

Wednesday exchanges in Nantes, I was with Sr Richards, she's been out about 10 months and she's incredible. She really understood a lot of the issues I've been having and gave me some great advice. Told me some things I needed to hear and I've been telling myself, but I really didn't want to do. It was good. Sorry that's ridiculously vague. We also got patisseries, first eclair in France. Sr. Richards' birthday was Friday so she was celebrating by getting a patisserie every day.

Thursday, weekly planning... then a lesson that night with a member there. It was good, but I had this werid moment where I just thought - I am in France. Listening to a French conversation. In a French family's apartment. What it going on!? It wasn't in a bad way. It was just super weird. haha

Friday, zone conference! It was great to meet with President and Soeur Babin, they made me feel just so cared about and so loved. Soeur Babin gives great hugs. That night we saw Antonia again and taught her a little bit about the Retab ["retablissement" - restoration]. She already had a Book of Mormon from some elders who met her before and that was great to talk about more. She also asked if we had a Russian one to give to her friend AND WE'D JUST GOTTEN A RUSSIAN ONE at zone conference THAT DAY! and Sr. Hopkins couldn't remember who it was for originally so we're going to go with MIRACLES!

Saturday we met with a woman named Joy who had received the lessons before but then had gone on vacances [vacation] and fallen out of contact, she was great. Her daughter has apparently read almost the whole Book of Mormon so we're super excited about that!!! Had my first crêpe too, so so fun.

Sunday SOOO good. Antonia came to church, we got a bunch of things done, we got a Branch Mission Leader and set up times to coordinate with him. We went home for lunch and dinner and made a list of all the things we had accomplished because there was so much that happened. Felt pretty good about ourselves. Then we went and taught a little lesson to a less active woman named Hadiza and she took us on a walk down by the river close to her apartment. We sang I Need Thee Every Hour. Yes. I sang. Again. It was really nice to see her and talk to her. She's great.

And now today - we're going to a castle, teaching Antonia again tonight!

Overall, very very crazy week and next week is going to be even crazier. We're going to Bourges for our district meeting which is this cute little town about two hours train ride from here and I AM SO EXCITED!! District meetings are so fun.

Love you so much family.

Motto from this week: "Keep your chin up sunshine" -- from one of the sisters at zone conference.

LOVE YOU and miss you like crazy

Soeur Hansen

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE you guys