Week 32 - I Love You All!!

Hello friends n family!!

This was a very abnormal week actually. A lot of things happened, so I'll just get right into it!

Tuesday:

We had a car accident!! We were on our way in a ton of traffic to drop off a member, Morgane, who had worked with us that day. We were running a little late for district council that night, so we were in a bit of a rush. Traffic ahead of us was stopped so we were stopping as well, but the car behind us didn't get the memo that everyone ahead had stopped, and he drove right into the back of us! We all screamed and pulled off to the side. Luckily, NO damage to our car and nobody was hurt (thank goodness, because Morgane is pregnant!). The other guy wasn't so lucky though, his car got pretty wrecked. Right when all this was happening, the district leader called us and asked if we have any whiteboard markers for District Council.We don't have any so he asked us to drive to a Chinois really quick to buy some. Haha so I had to tell him we'd just gotten in an accident and he freaked out asking a ton of questions, but I just had to tell him that we're fine but we gotta go to call the vehicule coordinator haha. So we got everything figured out, it was a miracle Morgane was with us to help us communicate with the guy because I don't have much car accident vocabulary! He was very nice though and we were able to be on our way again pretty quick.

We made it to District Council and it was actually very cool, we had some members there to practice teaching with. Soeur Morrell role played with Frère Leno about overcoming a cigarette addiction. Frère Leno was an alcoholic before he was baptized, but has an incredible story that after fasting and much prayer and hard work with the missionaries, he quit drinking in a month and hasn't even wanted to drink since. So it was great to practice teaching him and hearing the advice he gave us!

Wednesday I think was a pretty normal day, but then we've got Thursday..

First, while we were contacting somebody, another man walked up and started flirting with us in English, with a super thick French/Caribbean accent. Those accents are impossible to understand so luckily we didn't catch much of what he said. But then, a few hours later, we saw the same guy AGAIN as we were driving. He pulled up next to us on his bike and started blowing kisses. We got outta there reeeaall quick hahaha.

Then, that night, as we were leaving another lesson (with Morgane AGAIN), Bruce (the truck) ran into a wall while he was backing up. He got a little crunched up but nothing too serious. We did have to call the vehicule coordinator again though. Poor Sister Layne...

On Friday not that many weird things happened, but we did have some more not-so-pleasant conversations with a couple men. We also had a lesson with a man from Chile who knows the missionaries really well. He's been reading the Book of Mormon and we think he's really sincere and has lots of potential to progress towards baptism! His name is Fransisco.

Theeennn Saturday happened haha. ANOTHER problem with Bruce! As we were pulling into an apartment complex for a lesson, Bruce's back tire hit a pothole or a curb or something, and when we got out we heard air coming out of it. Soo we had to call Sister Layne once more, and the Zone Leaders to help us change the tire. The Zone Leaders were trying to change the tire in the BURNING hot sun, and the thing would not budge. It had somehow gotten rusted to the car and no matter how hard we tried it wouldn't come off. Soeur Morrell did our best to keep our Zone Leaders cool by fanning them and holding umbrellas over them and buying them cold water, but they were still swimming in sweat after working on it for about an hour. We ended driving back to our apartment on a COMPLETELY flat tire (not a good idea, would not suggest it), going about 2 km/hour hahaha. So we were on foot the rest of that day, and for all of yesterady as well. Today we took the car in to get the tires changed though and all is well (after the Zone Leaders trying several more times to get the tire off, and FINALLY succeeding after getting a running start and knocking the flat tire out with the spare hahaha. Wish I'd gotten that on video).

Sunday was a very hard day for us. We got some terrible news about one of the wonderful, amazing members here, Frère Moise. He was just baptized in April, a little before I got to Guyane. He's married, his wife is expecting, and they have another adorable little girl. When I say he is the nicest person I've ever met, I'm serious. He came here recently from Haiti and it has been very hard for him and his family in Guyane. The legalization process is very difficult, and they're very poor. But despite all that, he is always smiling, always gives the warmest handshakes, and genuinely concerned about how everyone he sees is doing. He has a big heart and a very strong testimony of the Gospel. He loves working with the missionaries and LOVES the Book of Mormon. He had the opportunity since April to baptize two people himself and I can imagine how much that meant to him.

Unfortunately, at the end of church on Sunday, a member of the branch presidency announced that Frère Moise has gone missing after doing some sort of swimming activity with the Red Cross in Kourou, about 45 min away. They were midnight swimming in a river early Sunday morning. At about 4 am Soeur Moise got a call from the Red Cross that Frère Moise had gone out of their sight and after much searching they can find no trace of him. Still, Frère Moise hasn't been found and no one is sure exactly what happened or if he's passed away or not. But the entire situation has been very heartbreaking for me, and for the entire branch. It's one of those harsh reminders of how very precious life is and how quickly things can change. We still have hopes that as the branch unites in fasting, prayer, and search efforts, we'll be able to at least have more information about what happened and where Frère Moise is. 

I was able to find a lot of peace amongst this situation while reading 3 Nephi 10 and 11. In 3 Nephi 10, Christ talks about how He gathers and loves His people as a hen gathers and loves her chicks under her wing. I was touched by the almost motherly love that the Savior has for us and it was a testimony to me of His true nature. The Savior is caring, nurturing, and compassionate. He knows how we feel when we go through hard struggles like this, and He is there with open arms to comfort and heal us.

After this experience, I want to do my best to turn outwards towards others. I know that everyone around me has gone through, is going through, or will go through very hard experiences like this. I know, without a doubt, that the Gospel and Atonement of Christ will bless their lives eternally more than anything else could. I know that turning outwards and serving and sharing the Gospel with others is what will heal my broken heart as well.

I love you all!! I know this email is probably hard to read, but I want to be real and genuine with you all about what I'm experiencing. Don't worry about me though, Soeur Morrell and I are convinced that there is a huge miracle coming our way in the near future!

I forgot to mention a couple other funny things from Sunday:

-A young guy with a reaaallyyy swollen black eye walked up to us. We were honestly a bit intimidated and offered him a pass-along card. He rejected and pointed at our sunglasses and told us that he wanted them. Haha so I didn't want annyyy trouble and just handed my sunglasses over to him, and he went on his way wearing a cheap pair of stylish leopard-print sunglasses lol.

-We met an amazing woman named JosiAnne who loves the Gospel. She talked to us for a long time about how much God loves us, how proud He is of us for being His servants, and just bore a strong testimony of the Savior and the Gospel. Her warmth and love were very needed after the long day we had had, so I was extremely thankful for her :)

Love and hugs to you all!! I cherish each and every one of you. Have an amazing week!

Soeur Gardner