Week 27 - Christmas Carols and Transfer Call Nerves!

Coucou mes chers amis!! :)

This was quite the rollercoaster of a week for me haha. But right now I'm on a high of happiness so all is well!!! :)

On Tuesday we had a great district coucil and in the afternoon we got to work with Sister Baksh. She is an awesome member who is from English Guiana, has Indian heritage but has lived in FG for over 20 years. She is the sweetest lady ever and it was SO fun teaching with her! Her life is very interesting, her and her husband were actually wed through an arranged marriage. She talked about some of the struggles that came with that, but gave Soeur Morrell and I some suuuper good marriage advice for the future. We had a great time with her :)

Wednesday we spent some time in Mont Lucas, a poppin apartment complex full of lots of jolly Haitains and many adventures haha. As we walked around contacting that afternoon we saw one of our friends riding around on his bike holding a little snake in his hands haha. It was honestly pretty cool but slightly spooky :)

We also had a really tender mercy on Wednesday. Something had happened during that day with one of our friends that Soeur Morrell and I were very concerned about. We didn't feel like we knew enough to really handle the situation as it needed to be handled, and we were just really at a loss of what to do. But then, out of the blue, President Fisher, the mission president, calls us and says he just felt like he needed to talk to us!! Soeur Morrell and I knew right away that the spirit had guided him to contact us to help us through this tough situation. He gave us the counsel and encouragement we needed, and my testimony of the power of the Holy Ghost really grew in that moment. I know without a doubt that God's aware of us and takes care of us :)

Thursday we had apartment inspections with the Magnys, an older French couple that take care of the missionary apartments! They're the sweetest elderly couple on the planet and gave us some chocolate too :) We also saw some reeaaallyy cute kittens while contacting and THE CUTEST PUPPY I'VE EVER SEEN that was 2 weeks old (being walked by 2 little girls who were really competing with the puppy for cuteness). Haha I think Heavenly Father knows how much I love baby animals and definitely places them in my path to give me the boost of happiness I need! :)

Firday was a pretty normal day, we did contacting and Soeur Morrell and I had to teach the French class last minute. That was stressful, but we made it work and it was actually pretty fun!!

Saturday was INSANE!! We had an AMAZING lesson with a woman from Haiti. She really felt the Spirit during our lesson and was getting goosebumps while we talked about Joseph Smith seeing Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. She said that she felt it was true! I felt really prompted to share a scripture with her as well, 1 Nephi 3:7. As she read the verse, tears filled her eyes and all she could say was, "Merci." She has some hard things going on in her life, but that verse gave her the hope that God will always prepare the way for us to accomplish what He commands. I felt the Spirit so strongly in that lesson as well and hope the Gospel will continue to bless this woman's life. 

Plus there were FIVE BAPTISMS!! Four young men under 15 got baptized and one man in his 20s named Santiago. It was SOO cool to see more potential preisthood holders join the branch!! I was super happy! :)

On Saturday we also got TRANSFER CALLS!! I really really was getting the idea that I'd get transferred and was getting so anxious to see where I'd go!! SO anxious to the point that it was getting close to our bedtime and the Assistants to the President STILL hadn't called to let us know where we'd go, and I had to hide under the bed from all the stress hahaha (picture of me under the bed will hopefully be sent out to everyone haha). Finally, the call came, and I got the happiest news!! I'M STAYING IN GUYANE AGAIN!!! That means I'll get to spend Christmas here! I am SOO happy to have at least 6 more weeks in Guyane :)

On Sunday, before church was super stressful for several reasons: people asking us last minute to walk to church with them, some friends not even showing up and us walking into sacrament about 5 or 10 minutes late, as the branch is scrambling to find a piano player and ask me to play as a I walk in, but I have noo idea how to play the hymns they're singing so all I can play is the first note haha. Plus Soeur Morrell is giving her first ever talk in French so I'm trying to be a good support to her, plus we have some other friends there who I need to help integrate.... wow, missions definitely are not always sunshine and roses. All that now seems like not too big of a deal, but in the moment I just felt really overwhelmed and had to have a bit of a cry to myself while all the newly baptized members were getting confirmed from the day before. But hey, crying is carthartic and life goes on ;)

On Sunday evening, all the missionaries went into downtown Cayenne with some members to carol and hand out pass-along cards and invites to the Dec 23rd sacrament meeting. That was the BESSTTT. I love Christmas caroling and was so uplifted by that time we had!! One of the young men took my camera and took literally a hundred pictures, so I'll try to pick some of the best ones out for you all hahaha. There's also a couple videos, I'll try to attach at least one too :)

And this morning was soo awesome as well!! We had a little breakfast picnic consisting of baguettes, pains au chocolat and juice with our zone in a park by the ocean! A couple of the Elders play guitar and they got to borrow one from a member, so we also just sang some songs together and played some sports, then got Chinese food. It was a good and uplifting time :)

Then Soeur Morrell and I went CRAZY spraying our little plant box on the balcony with Ant Raid because the ants were going insaaaane again. We are turning into ant-killing maniacs haha. Luckily there were no pretty flowers in that plant box and just a bunch of weeds (missionaries don't got time for gardening!), because there are no more living organisms in that dirt hahaha :)

Well I think that about wraps up this week!! All in all it truly was amazing and I'm so happy to be where I am. It's of course not always easy at all, but missionary work is soo fulfilling and I have lots of loved ones supporting me :) Thanks to you all for your love and kindness! A couple of you have asked me for my address, so here is where you can send my mail:

(contact Morgan's mom if you need the address)

I LOVE YOU ALL!! Keep building the Christmas spirit by lighting the world and giving as Christ gave :)

Hugs,

Soeur Gardner