Hey everyone! It was a good week filled with lots of big and small unexpected miracles and experiences. Our investigators are doing good but most weren't available at all this week so we didn't really get to see them. So, naturally, we did a lot of finding. I wanted to share an experience in particular that we had Thursday night. It was Elder Willett's bday and we wanted to celebrate, so for dinner we took M to a restaurant, but it ends up that all the restaurants dont' serve dinner til 7! So we just went and got kebabs haha. But afterwards, we passed by a girl that told us to come back when we were knocking doors one night, and since we had M with us, we decided to go pass her so we could actually enter when we got there. No one was home when we went, so we just started knocking doors in the same residence to show M what finding is like. A big hefty middle aged guy opened up at the second door we knocked on. I explained that we had a message about a living prophet and asked if he had a few minutes for us to leave him a message, adn he said "yeah, come on in!" Just to put this in perspective, I've never been let in while knocking doors in Bergerac. It's true that we haven't done a lot til recently, but still, we were shocked! So we all walked in and he sat us down and he just left us there while he went and finished up some food in the kitchen. He came back in and said hehad half an hour. So we prayed and started talking. His name was N, by the way. He explained had just recently found his faith in Christ and I could just feel the Spirit right from the get go in that lesson. He bore testimony about how Christ had changed his life the last few months. He was just so prepared. We taught the restoration and the Spirit didn't cease. He accepted everything and even said that the Book of Mormon completes the Bible before we even explained that it does. All of us, including M, bore testimony and we invited him to be baptized the 17th of December and he accepted. Before we left, he said "il y a une chaleur dans mon coeur" (there's a burning/heat in my heart) and he said it about three times within the space of a few minutes. He thanked us so many times, and we finally left, all of us basically on teh verge of tears because we were so happy. We walked a little ways, and then put our arms around eachother in a circle and prayed (M said the prayer) for N. (We call him Frere N(Brother N) because it sounds like Pere Noel (Santa Clause) haha). I honestly don't remember many details of the lesson, apart from the burning he said he had in his heart and the extreme joy that I felt. I wrote in my journal about it, and didn't really know what to write, which I thought was weird, because it was the best lesson I've ever taught in my whole mission. All I wrote was that I felt a joy that I've never felt anywhere else but on my mission. My mission means everything to me. I don't think I ever really knew what joy was before my mission. I've never really understood what it means to love others either. Not that I do now, but I'm starting to understand a lot more what love is, and I pray that others will feel Heavenly Father's love through me as I serve them.
The next day, we went for the follow up appointment. We found a chair on the porch with the Book of Mormon on it and a note on the door that Noel had left saying he didn't wish to continue. It broke my heart. That Book of Mormon on the porch and that note taught me many lessons. I know Heavenly Father loves Noel and that he will accept the Gospel one day if he listens to the Spirit. I wrote him a note saying the Book of Mormon was a gift and he can keep it. He'll read it.
Last Sunday we fasted and prayed to find a family to teach. We didn't find a family knocking on doors or contacting. Actually, didn't really find anyoen this week. But our fasting and prayers were answered without us even realizing it. Tuesday, V T called us up out of the blue and invited us over for dinner with her and F (it had been quite a few weeks since she talked to us. We've been passing her house and calling, but no answer.) We got there and she explained everything that happened and why she has been avoiding the church for so long. She just opened up right in front of us without us even asking one question. Then they grabbed their book of Mormons and said, "So, what are we going to read tonight?" and we had a lesson and then ate together. She said she wants to see us still and talk about the Gospel, it's just the members that she avoids for the moment because she was offended by somethign that happened at the talent night awhile ago. We walked out of there just thinking "how in the world did that happen?" It wasn't til the next day that I realized it was the answer to our prayer. It's true that it's not a full family because it's just V and F, but it's a family! But it's not over yet. We had promised F that we'd make her a pie Friday because it was her bday, but thursday V called and invited us to come eat at her son's house Saturday night for a surprise party for F. So we went and it was us, V, F, two of her friends, and V's son K, his wife, and their kid. We had a great opportunity to get to know K and his wife and it went so well. We're hoping and praying that we'll be able to continue to see them and be able to teach them. It's crazy how despite all our finding efforts we find hardly anyone from it, but it seems like when we're making the efforts, we find new people, even if it doesn't come directly from our efforts. The Lord is definitely at the head of this work and he knows if we're doing our best to find people and baptize them, and he rewards us accordingly.
L went to Paris all week and might be gone for 3 months over there. It was pretty hard news too since we had set a baptismal date with him as well, but we'll see if he stays. He's not sure. But anyways, I've gotta go. I hope you have a great week! Love you!
Love,
Elder Tudor
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