Week 57: Sorry that I didn't write yesterday, I'm not dead I promise!

Hello!

 

I am very sorry that I did not write yesterday; it was a strange p day because of Thanksgiving. Our zone got together to have a Turkey Bowl and have a Thanksgiving dinner. The reason it was strange is because we also had district meeting yesterday too, so when we would normally do emails we were at the church. The reason for having district meeting on P day is so we could take the hours from 6 to 9 that we normally use for proselyting and have and extra long p day. It was a lot of fun, I really love playing football I've found. I even scored a touchdown yesterday. For our Thanksgiving dinner we had a bunch of rotisserie chickens instead of turkey; there was one per companionship, so we are going to be eating chicken for at least two more days.

 

I am loving Versailles; it is so pretty; I have started taking lots of pictures and I will send them next week because the computer I am on is very slow and I don't trust it. But I live super close to the Palace of Versailles; we walked past it at night and I got some lovely pictures; though as amazing as it is, temples are so much more beautiful.

 

The ward here is wonderful, there was a relief society activity on Saturday and we helped set up and prepare food; it was so fun, it is so nice to be in a place where things function smoothly. We have a new ward mission leader and he has some big plans that he is putting into place, I am excited to be a part of it.

 

It is so nice to have a companion that speaks French fluently, I can already feel my French getting better, it is easier to speak; and I am starting to think in French too. It is fun because she is trying really hard to learn English, and her accent is so cute! So we mostly speak French but there is a little English thrown in there. The transition from English to French was really easy for me and I am grateful for that. I think Heavenly Father has blessed me a lot because I had two people ask me if I was French; and they were French people that asked!!!! It definitely helped me have more confidence.

 

I am sorry this is so short, but because we are in the same district as the office Elders our P day is usually on Saturday, so I will be writing again on Saturday.

 

Love you lots,

 

Gaelin

Week 56: I'm Going to the Promised Land for Christmas!

Hello Everyone, BIG news this week, I am leaving Belgium on Wednesday because I am being transferred to Versailles, France!!!! Yes, the home of the legendary Palace of Versailles build by none other than Louis 14, the sun King himself. It is probably one of the most beautiful areas and soooo French. I did exchanges there just a few weeks ago and I cannot wait to go back. It will be interesting because the Mission Office and Mission Home are in Versailles as well so there are about 8 elders plus the Mission President in our Ward. That means I have to behave myself. My companion is going to be Soeur Emilcy, she is from Guadeloupe and speaks French and a little tiny bit of English. I am happy that I get to go to Paris for Christmas again. Hazzah!

This week has been a really good one as well, I feel like we really helped people this week, we met with a lot of members as well as amis. I love helping people, and I feel that we did a lot of good this week. I think sometimes all people need is for someone to show them that they are loved and remembered. That is the beautiful thing about love, the more you give the more you have.

We visited Lili and she was just glowing. We talked about Priesthood and the Auxiliaries of the church, she had lots of good questions. Her husband was there too, they are so cute together. We asked her if she felt different since her Baptism and she said that she is much calmer and that she doesn't get as angry as quickly. They are so full of light, I just love them. I always leave their house so uplifted and happy. Seeing them gives me hope for the future. It makes me want to try even harder to find families that are ready for the gospel. The happiness is multiplied when it is shared in a family.

We went and visited an American member on Tuesday, she gave us A&W Rootbeer to drink and a can to take home. I think the last time I drank Rootbeer was January so it was a wonderful treat. Europeans don't like Rootbeer, they think it tastes like cough syrup. I, however, adore Rootbeer it was a heavenly to drink it again, I do love America.

We had some miracles this week with a woman named Jacqueline, a single mom from Brazil. We were at a rendez-vous with a member, who hadn't been to church in about 2 month because her husband was sick. We had a really good discussion about the power of the Book Of Mormon. She is the gospel principles teacher and she said that she was going to be at church on Sunday. As we were leaving the rendez-vous we got a text saying someone needed to talk about Jesus, we had no idea who she was but we only had some porting planned so we went to her house. Jacqueline is having a lot of struggles because she isn't legal to work. She said that she didn't know what to do, and something told her to call the us, so she did. She hasn't had contact with missionaries for about a year and a half. The Spirit was very strong as we talked about the prayer and the Book of Mormon and healing power of the Atonement. We saw her again Saturday and talked about agency and forgiveness and about baptism. We shared the passage from Isaiah about Christ being a man of sorrows and antiquated with grief and that with His stripes we are healed. It is amazing to me the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Even just sharing about it brings the Spirit. Jacqueline and her 4 year old son, Alexandre, came to church on Sunday. Soeur Kabango came to church and taught an amazing powerful lesson about the nature of God. Afterward she talked with Jacqueline and gave her her phone number. It was just what Jacqueline needed to hear. I am grateful that God is in charge and that He trusts us enough to let us help one of His daughters. For me the miracle was how everything fell into place to bring us all together so that we could each get the help we needed.

I feel like I say this every week but I am amazed every week just how much I love the Gospel. It truely is the source of happiness, I see the change it makes in people's lives. I am so grateful that I get to see the change and help share the light.

I hope that you Thanksgiving is full of happiness and too much food. I'm not sure what I am going to be doing for Thanksgiving... If we don't get invited anywhere I am totally going to make my own, Soeur Emilcy won't know what hit her!

Much love always!

Soeur Gaelin Turney

Week 55: Wonderful Wonderful Week

Hello everybody!

This has been a rockin' week. Last Monday we went to the planetarium and watched a show about the violent universe. I love planetariums, it was fun to see how much I remembered from my astronomy class, quite a bit actually. I did learn that in 2036 it is possible that the Earth will get hit by a large asteroid. Isn't science great! I think my favorite part was the free star chart with the winter constellations, in the mornings we go running in a huge park by our apartment, and I can actually see the stars, I can usually find Orion. The order and grandeur of the universe makes me even more sure that there is a God and that He is in control of my life.

Wednesday we had Zone Conference in Lille, France, with Elder Kopishka, the European Area President. He and his wife are from Germany and they both talked with us. Soeur Kopishka is super sweet and very smiley, she had us sing "I am a Child of God" and think about what the words mean to us. I am a child of God and He has sent me to Belgium, He gave me an earthly home with parents kind and dear. I was fulled with gratitude for the family that I have and the opportunity to be here in Belgium teaching people. At the very beginning Elder Kopishka had us write down questions we had or desire of what we wanted to get out of the Conference. He promised us that if we were open to the Spirit, then we would receive answers. Then at the end he had us read over what we had written down, all the things that I had written down, I got answers to or I learned. It is amazing how that works. He also challenged us to promise our amis the same thing when we invite them to church.

He also talked about our dreams, our vision of our mission before we came, what we saw ourselves doing in France. Then he asked us about our vision now, how it has changed as we have come in contact with reality. Then he challenged us to remember our dreams, to not bury them, but to hold onto them. He gave me a lot of things to ponder on and to assimilate. It was a very powerful spiritual day, and it helped me a lot.

Saturday was Lili's baptism. It was so wonderful. Elder Garcia and Elder Marquez helped us a ton, they got the font ready and printed the programs. Lili was cute she was nervous about wearing the baptismal clothes in front of everyone, but she soon got over it. We were able to get a lot of members to help us with the program, and even more came. She asked if there were always people at the church on Saturday nights and I told her that they were there for her, I think that she was touched.Lili's husband, Jean Claude gave a really good talk about baptism, I was so happy to see them together. I am excited to see them grow together in the gospel. I think the baptism helped more people than just Lili, I know that it helped me. Their family is so cute I cannot wait for them to be able to be sealed together for time and all eternity. She was confirmed Sunday, I love this gospel so much. It brings me so much joy!

I love you and with the the bestest week ever!

Soeur Gaelin Turney

Week 54: Oh What a Week!

I don't even know were to begin with this week, it has been so strange and very busy. Tuesday we had district meeting and exchanges. The zone leaders gave a training on acting with faith the things that our mission president tells us. I guess there are some missionaries that are having a hard time adjusting to the changes that President Poznanski has made. We read in 1 Nephi 17, I got a bit of a different message. I need trust in God and in His power. He has given me commands as a missionary and I have to have the faith that I can do them and that he will prepare a way for me. When I don't have faith I am limiting God's power to help me succeed.

After district meeting I we went to the train station and met the Versailles sisters. Soeur Emilcy and I went to Versailles and Soeur Jorgensen, Soeur Woodward and Soeur Ingraham stayed in Brussels. When we got to Paris we had an interesting time getting to Versailles, we had to go from Gare du Nord to Chatellet to La Defence and then to Versailles. Soeur Emilcy has only been in the area for four weeks so she didn't really know her way around but she had directions. Together we managed to get on the right train to get us to Versailles. It was dark on the train ride out of Paris and we could see the Eiffel tower all lit up, it was so beautiful, I felt like I was coming home. We went to the church for a lesson, but the man didn't come and didn't answer his phone, so we walked home. The streets were misty and it was like every movie you've ever seen about France, quaint misty streets lines with trees. It was chilly but not too cold, the perfect fall evening. I was basically overcome with happiness. The next morning we went contacting and met a really cool Chinese guy named Ling. I then made Soeur Emilcy take me to a real French bakery and I got us a baguette and pain au chocolates for lunch. Then we headed back into Paris to catch our train to Brussels.

Later that evening we had English class and we had two new people come, Jacob and James. They are from Nigeria and really nice. We taught them the first lesson and they are going to come back next week for English class and another lesson.Yay!

Thursday we went to Lille, in France, to renew my French legality, we spent quite a while waiting for the Namur Elders who have very bad luck with trains. It was very strange to thing that I have been out long enough to need to renew my legality. On the train home Soeur Woodward got a call from President Poznanski telling her that she was going to be leaving the next day to go with Soeur Dawson back to Liège. We were very sad, so we went home so she could pack and she left at 10am on Friday.

Saturday our ward Relief Society had an activity about using beans and lentils in food storage and we were fed four or five different dishes made from dried things, including split pea soup, which was delicious. Then the other ward was having an open house so we went to help, we went out and handed out flyers and tried to get people to come in, a few people actually did. After the open house they showed a movie about Joseph Smith and the translation of the gold plates. It was good, but I was a little weirded out by the fact that Hyrum Smith was played by a guy in one of my singles wards at BYU.

Yesterday was amazing! We invited our amie Laura to church, and when we went to pick her up she had a young man with her. She said he was a friend of her sons and that she had run into him on the way to the bus stop and asked if he wanted to come and he said yes. His name is Marcello and he is from Brazil. He really liked church, testimony meeting was especially good, with no tirades or strange proclamations. We had a mini lesson with him after because he couldn't stay for all of the meetings. He is amazing! What is even cooler is that we had a rendez-vou with Laura at 7:30 and we met him again right outside her apartment. He is actually going to be moving in with them for a little while so he was there for that lesson as well. He is the kind of person that you can look at and you know that he is good.

Lili was at church with all her family again, and she passed her baptismal interview so she is ready to be baptized this Saturday. I am so happy! Souer Ingraham was talking to her husband, who is already a member and he said that he was so happy too, She has met with many missionaries before and she decided that she was going to listen to us. I am so grateful to all the other missionaries who taught her and prepared her for us. I know that it had nothing to do with me. There is a quote from the restoration movie that comes to mind. It is Joseph Smith Senior who says, "The Lord answers in his own time but He does answer." I know that that is true, the Lord's timing is sometimes hard for me to accept but I know that He know what is best and that if I trust Him things will work out for my good.

Love and Blessings!

Soeur Gaelin Turney

Week 53: Bone-jour, that is a French Skeleton joke, hahahahaha!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Today was beautiful, we had pancakes for breakfast, and there is a costume party tonight for the young single adults. I am going as Hermione Granger because it is still missionary appropriate and it is a costume. I love Halloween, though it is still a fairly new holiday here in Brussels. The ward had a Halloween party on Saturday, it was very funny to see all of the things that people were wearing. They don't seemed to quite get it yet but they try hard. There were a lot of costumes that were people wearing strange combinations of clothes. There was lots of food and face painting, and a donut tied to a string eating contest. Elder Smith, Soeur Ingraham, Soeur Woodward and I competed and I barely won, Elder Smith was quite chuffed that I beat him, but there will be another contest at the young adult party and he was thrown down te challenge so I have to beat him again this evening. I think my favorite costume was the Bishop, he was dressed up like the mask, that Jim Carey movie where he has the green face, it was very funny.

This week has been really good but not at all the way we planned it.We got a call last Monday saying that we were going to be getting a third companion on Wednesday because one of the sisters went hope for health reasons. Our new companion's name is Soeur Woodward. She is from Washington state and is charming. She loves Harry Potter and laughing. It is fun being in a trio again, though I had to adjust a little. Soeur Ingraham and I were finally getting into a rhythm that was working well, but change is good and Soeur Woodward is a really good teacher. She definitely keeps things interesting, she is spontaneous and bursts into song just as often as I do. It was an adventure trying to figure out how to organize all the furniture and add another bed and wardrobe, but we managed okay and still have room for activities.

Elder Marquez's birthday was Sunday, so I made him a birthday cake and brought it to Samedi Sports, have to replace all those calories I just burned off. He is a huge Harry Potter fan, he has been wearing Hogwarts house ties everyday for the entire month of October. So I made him a snitch cake, like in the sixth book I think it is, anyway, he loved it. He almost had tears of joy in his eyes. Samedi Sports was really fun too, we played American football, I scored two touchdowns. The field was muddy so you got dirty every time you touched the football.

We had a rendez-vous with a less active member, Marie-Angeles. She is from Spain and in her late 60s. When we showed up the Spanish Elders were sitting at her table. They looked kind of sheepish for being there. They had stopped by to see how she was. Marie-Angeles didn't mind at all, she fed us soup and told lots of stories half in French half in Spanish. Everyone except Elder Garcia was very confused. It was fun though, I like teaching with Elders I have only had a couple lessons where we have joint taught but they are always really good. 

Lili is doing so well, We talked about following the prophet and we asked if she would pray to know that Thomas S. Monson was a prophet. She said I know he is a prophet,so why ask for something I already know. I didn't really know how to answer that, she has so much faith. She came to church for the first time this Sunday, it was so wonderful to see her and her husband and all their little children together. Her son is five and so cute, he sat next to Elder Smith during Sacrament meeting and they drew pictures together. I can't wait for them to be able to go to the temple together and be sealed forever!

I have been studying by topic this week, I like cross references and finding treasure in the topical guide. There are so many wonderful things in the Bible, I feel like i don't know the Bible very well at all, but i don't feel like reading it straight thorough would be very effective at the moment. So the topical guide is my friend. One of the things I studied was the love of God. I found two ways to look at it. It is the unconditional love that god has for all of us, his children. His mercy and patience, but it is also the love that we have for God. I want to be better at expressing my love for God. How do you tell God that you love Him? The best answer I found was keeping the commandments. That is how we show God that we love Him. It is interesting to think about, why do I love God, how do I love Him and how can I increase my love for him. I suggest reading 3 John chapter 4. Its wonderful.

I love you all and hope that your Halloween is wonderful!!

Love

 Soeur Gaelin Turney

Week 52: I've passed the summit and am picking up speed on the descent

Heeelllloooo Nurse!!

Well, basically this week has been amazing, we are starting to see the fruits of our labors. We have started teaching three new people and this next week is full of rendez-vous. I'm very excited for it. It has been very cold these past few days but it is supposed to be sunny and about 55 all week so it won't be too bad.

Lili is still going strong, we taught her about keeping the Sabbath day holy, and she was like yeah I should do that, I'll keep the Sabbath day holy. She is so great, I can't wait for her to come to church this next week.
Moses is one of our new investigators, he is African and speaks English and Dutch. I think it is the first time I've met a Dutch speaking African that didn't speak French, its cool, except he keeps sending us texts in Dutch that we can't understand. We have to keep finding people on the street that speak Dutch and French so they can translate them for us, they always look at us a little strangely. And who could blame them, two Americans in long skirts asking in broken French what a text message says. I'd look at us funny too. Ah the life of a missionary! Moses is cool, but we are going to have to pass him to the elders, which makes me a little sad, but at least our Elders are cool, so I don't feel as bad.

I saw a building that was "To Let." I am of course still four years old and laughed really hard about it. It made me think of the book on tape that we have called The Headmaster Went Splat I think. In it there is a very silly discussion about "to let" and I thought I should mention it.

Well, I am officially old, I reached my one year mark on Thursday. It does not seem possible to me that I have been gone an entire year. It is a little bit mind blowing. I only have six months left, that's 4 transfers, that's only 27weeks, that is no time at all!!! AAAArrggghh!! I have always felt that time is a strange thing, but as a missionary it seems to be even crazier in its pacing. These week has seemed so long and yet this transfer is half way over already. I guess the only way to deal with time is to take today and make the best of it. Sister Staheli once asked us to think about what we did yesterday. She asked if what we did brought us closer to God or not, then she said, how are you going to use today in relation to yesterday. Are you going to be better today than yesterday? I think one of the things I am coming to understand is just how important now is. The choices I am making right now effect who I am becoming. Is what I am doing right now of value? Now is really all we have. learning to use now to its fullest isn't always easy, but I am learning.

We have done some porting this week, porting means knocking on doors and asking people if they want to hear about the gospel. I think of all the ways to contact it is my favorite. People generally either say "Ce ne m'interesse pas" and shut the door, or they listen for at least a little while. We found two really cool people, Carine and Laura, both of them are Belgian which is extra special. Europeans are difficult to get to open up about religion, we usually have the most success from people who are from other countries, so two Belgians is special. Carine is a very strong Catholic and she works with the archbishop of Brussels, but she actually let us into her house for a little bit, I think that was the first time ever that someone has done that. She asked us lots of questions about being missionaries and she took a pamphlet about the Restoration. She was so nice, and it was so refreshing to meet someone who loves God and it doing her best to help others find him too. It was just really neat to meet her, she said that we could come back anytime, little does she know that we will in fact be back.  Laura is cool, she is probably 17 and is studying architecture and interior design. She seemed very interested in what we had to say and took a copy of the Book of Mormon. She said that she was going to share it with her parents because they are interested in that kind of thing. (I hope that is a good thing) It is just exciting to have someone be willing and even a little excited about the Book of Mormon. I don't meet to many, so when they are receptive it makes me really excited.

We also started teaching a girl named Ingrid, she is from Peru and works for a member of our ward. He invited her to church and then her and all the missionaries and some other young adults to his house for lunch. He lives kinda far away from the church so Ingrid and his to kids and Soeur Ingraham and I rode in his car and everyone else took the train. Ingrid is really amazing she has a Catholic background but doesn't go to church, she is looking for a way to be closer to God. She really liked Relief Society, I think she is lonely as well. Our lesson went well and there is at least one of the young adults that speak Spanish. So she was able to socialize a bit too. She is already planning on coming to church next week and seemed excited about the Book of Mormon too. It is a little overwhelming to have so many people to teach but its a good kind of overwhelming.

We found out today that we are going to become a threesome on Wednesday. Last week a sister had to go home because of foot problems, so her companion is going to be coming to work with us. I am really excited, her name is Sister Woodward and she is pretty cool, I had exchanges with her once and we got along really well. One thing is for sure, a mission is not boring, there always seems to be something crazy going on. I love it though, even when things are hard, I know that there is a reason I am here and I know that things will always work out in the end.

Tout mon amour,

Soeur Gaelin Turney

Week 51: I Love Pioneers and Mangez-vous

Happy Monday everyone!! I realize your Mondays aren't quite the treat that mine are, but I hope yours is good anyway.

This week has been a busy one. Even though neither Soeur Ingraham nor I went anywhere this new transfer, they are always exciting and tiring. On Wednesday we helped the new sisters get settled into their apartment. The other sister companionship got "whitewashed," Meaning both missionaries get transferred, so the two coming in have an interesting time figuring out how to get around. It sounds very stressful and tiring, I hope it doesn't happen to me. Anyway, we helped Soeur Larsen and Soeur Emilcy get their luggage to the train station, and then later helped Soeur Murray and Soeur Smith get their luggage to the apartment. We are going to go to Grand Place together and get them gaufres so they can experience Belgium at its finest.

Lili is doing well, we had two rendez-vous with her this week. We talked about the Plan of Salvation, I think it is my favorite lesson to teach. There is so much hope and comfort that comes from knowing where we come from where we are going and what our purpose in this life is. I can only imagine how lost I would feel without this knowledge. Lili said that she had never heard about it before, but she loves it. We gave her a pamphlet to read before our next lesson. She read it, and she was so excited to share what she learned. She especially liked the part about Adam and Eve, how the fall was part of the plan and that it was because of agency, our ability to choose, that we are here on the Earth. Because they ate the fruit, they could experience good and evil, and she was so glad that they did. She also thought it was interesting that it was Satan's choices that caused him to become the devil. I was so impressed with all the things that she learned from the pamphlet. Her comment about it was that "it was a little book but there is a lot of information in it." The second lesson we taught was about the gospel of Jesus Christ, where we teach the first principles and ordinances of the gospel, faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. Her husband, who is a member, was there and he was a big help. He testified about faith and about the gift of the Holy Ghost. It was funny because Lili hasn't told her husband yet that she is getting baptized, so there are all these connections and things I want to make to her and her baptism but I can't really because he doesn't know about it yet. My favorite part was at the end, we made her a calender to help get her ready for her baptism, and we had to give it to her without letting her husband know what it was. They were sitting on the couch next to each other when we handed her the paper with BAPTISM!!!! circled and colored really big on it. We gave it to her and said that it had some activities that are going to be happening in the near future, to let her know what we want to focus on for the next few weeks and if she has any questions to call us. I was dying of laughter on the inside because I don't think Soeur Ingraham quite got it, because it was in French. Lili looked at it and folded it a little, when her husband tried to see what was on it she told him it was not for him. I am so excited for their family. Lili told us that she and her husband were just married at the commune and not in a church because they wanted to be of the same faith and then get married in their church. The idea of them getting sealed in the temple just fills me with joy. If there is one thing that I know is true it is that the gospel blesses families.

We have been working with the members of our ward a lot lately, aka eating dinner at their house. But it has been good we have at least three referrals from members in the works, so I am excited. We ate with the Mema family and the Petersons this week. The Memas are a young couple with two little boys who are very energetic and very much little boys. It was so fun to just listen to then and be interested in what they had to tell us. Sister Mema is American and he is Albanian. We talked about missionary work and about the blessing that we receive in our own lives when we are actively trying to share the gospel. They had some pretty cool stories to share about their experiences.  The Petersons was a treat, they are on a special mission for the church as representatives to the European Union for the church. They have all kinds of crazy stories about important people that they talk to every day. Their job is the make people aware of the church and build relationships for the church with different countries. They Lord is really helping them meet people, Soeur Peterson for example met the Ambassador from Slovakia at the gym. They like us because I help them with their computer, mostly I teach them how to blog. We count it as service.

Saturday we had a special treat. There is a member in our ward who is a Professor of communications at the local university, so he is really good at organizing things that are church related that would also be interesting to the public. This time he organized a free screening of 17 Miracles, it is a pioneer movie that came out recently in America... I guess... not really sure how well known it is. Anyway, we invited some amis and less active members to come to is and Laura, our British ami, and Bernadette, one of our less actives and her son Nathan came to the movie. And because our ami came we got to go too. So I got to go to the movies on Saturday!!! The 17 Miracles is an amazing movie, I cried several times, it is heart wrenching in some parts. It was so good, but also kinda weird because I've been along parts of the trail that they traveled and that were in the movie. It made me a little homesick for pioneer trek, weird. I loved the movie and want to see it again, their faith and confidence in God, astounds me. I hope that if I was ever asked to do something that difficult that I too would have the faith to carry on. It made me think about my goals and the cause that I am striving for. Zion still can and should be our goal. I want to try harder to follow the pioneers example to be faithful until the very end and to be continually pushing and working to get to Zion.

Much love,

Soeur Gaelin Turney

PS I'm turning 1 this week. One year ago on Thursday I went into the MTC, CRAZY!!!!!!