Week 4 - Guyane Francais (French Guiana or FG)

Wow!!! This past week or so has been the craziest of my whole life! Im also typing on a french keyboard, which is a little tricky, so sorry for any typos here :)

So Ill start from where I left off last time- in the MTC! My last few days there were so good but also really sad. I grew so close to my district, my teachers, and my zone. It was really hard to say goodbye! On our last day there we went to the temple and had a jam session with some other girls who were playing the ukulele, it was really fun!

Sunday night we had an amazing devotional-- all 12 of the apostles were there! Elder Cook spoke to us. It was one of the most spiritual experiences ever, it was so great to see them and feel their love for the missionaries! :)

I also got to meet my new mission president, pres. Fisher, in the MTC! He and his wife are soo so nice, Im excited to get to know them better! I love them already!

On Monday morning I flew out to Barbados with another Sister who will serve on the English islands. I was so happy to have a companion with me! I was freaking out in the airport haha, it was just a crazy feeling knowing that I was really doing this!!

All our flights went well & we met another French speaking sister on the way during a layover, she is super sweet! We also met another Elder, so we had a small group :) I thought I would be travelling alone so I was happy to be with them!

We got into Barbados pretty late! Even though I was really nervous, when I got off the plane in the rain into the thick Barbados air, I was just indescribably happy. It was definitely a blessing!

President Herrington, who just got released as the mission president, picked us all up and drove us to the mission home! Its a super nice place-- lots of the houses in Barbados are really run down and most people are very poor. But the mission home seems like a castle haha. I actually spent the night in a hotel with the French speaking sister (S. Erasmus) because other sisters who flew in from other MTCs were in the mission home. But the hotel was nice, and I slept like a rock!

The next day we were trained by the mission president and met the office staff; who told us our travel plans- I found out I would be serving in French Guiana with Soeur Krocher! Sr. Krocher is from Switzerland so she is a native French speaker, which has been a blessing! I got to skype with her on Tuesday, which was fun :)

On Wednesday I spent the day in Barbados again with some other sisters-- we did a little contacting and visited the two sweetest old ladies I have ever met. They live in very humble conditions, but they are so so kind. One of them gave me this crystal figurine, i was really touched by that.

On Thursday, I flew to French Guiana (FG)! I had a really long layover in Martinique (6 hours) but I just read and it was fine.*

I got into FG pretty late as well. The Zone Leaders, Elders West & Nakamura, picked me up. Theyre really friendly and dorky guys, haha, they helped me feel more at ease while they drove me to meet Sr. Krucher in our apartment!

Anyway, I dont have lots of time, but my time in FG has been pretty good! My biggest struggle right now is actually the french, which suprised me. I guess since I didnt use it in the MTC and with the accent, its been hard. I dont really understand most things and Sr. Krucher does most of the talking. Basically all we do right now is contact. Most people here live in really run down and shady apartments or off of really muddy roads in old houses or shacks. That was a bit of a shock for me, and I feel a lot of compassion for these people. Im excited to improve my french so I can talk to them more and express my love for them.

We havent seen much success-- I havent met with any investigators yet. Basically all contacting in the hot sun all day, and we dont have a car or bikes so I get so exhausted by the end of the day. But even though the work is hard and I cant communicate super well, I am happy and Im just trying to be patient. The others in my zone (we have 8 missionaries in FG-- 2 sisters & 6 elders) are super funny and nice. Theyre slowly starting to feel like family to me and its been good :)

My first Sunday was hard because I couldnt talk much to the members, but I bore a really short and simple testimony in testimony meeting, so I feel pretty good about it. The members are so friendly and have very strong testimonies. Some of them tried to speak a little English with me, that was sweet & funny :)

Some random tidbits:

°Saw a guy just walking around in his underwear in Barbados

°A kinda creepy guy stopped me & Sr. Krucher in the street the other day and asked us some really weird & inappropriate questions... I felt super uncomfortable & a little scared honestly. Apparently the sisters here enounter a lot of creepy men like this, which makes me a little nervous. Ive just gotta use my street smarts & my self defense skills if necessary haha. I think Im gonna work on perfecting  my evil glare to scare them off lol :)

°Everyone walks around with umbrellas all the time-- mostly to block the sun but also because it randomly pours sometimes. The other day my umbrella broke and I got soaked, haha! But it felt good to cool off :)

°We do the "bisous" here (the french cheek kiss thing)-- it was a little weird at first but now im pretty used to it. When I come home in 18 months Ill have to remember not to kiss people when I meet them hahaha!

Alright I think thats all ive got time for! I love you all & being here has shown me just how much love God has for each of us. Never hesitate to turn to Him-- He knows you perfectly and can hep you through any trial!!

Bisous,

Soeur Gardner