The Beginning of the End. Boom!

Michael i put that boom in there just for you. i hope you like it.

 

So i know everyone is itching to find out where I will be dying! drum roll please....

 

GRENOBLE!!!! with SOEUR GARDNER!

 

aka, nothing has changed. I am okay with it though. I freaking love this place and I am really happy that I didnt have to pack and then repack 6 weeks later... ahhh can you believe it... six weeks!!!!! Its so crazy that I am finally coming to the end. We ate dinner with Melanie and her family last night and we were talking about how when we were together I felt like my mission would NEVER end. And now just like that here it is. Granted I still have a lot of time left and I am still going to work freaking hard to be the best I can be! But still its coming up quick.

 

Caroline said she was excited to hear about my french easter. It was wonderful. I have no idea what happened last year on easter but apparently it wasnt that great because i dont remember it. This year however was very memorable. Soeur Gardner and I went all out and made egg shaped cards for all the members in our ward that said joyeuses paques and then we made the elders make cookies for the members. So we passed them out and the members were very happy that we were showing them so much love and some of them in return gave us easter candy. Holy crap. SO MUCH CHOCOLATE. We felt so very loved. After great church meetings we went home and pretty much had chocolate for lunch... then we had some planning to do and then we were on our way to the Lala's when we contacted this American guy. He is here on business, but originally from Boston. I am pretty sure we made his day. He was upset that he had to be away from his family for easter but had skyped with them and stuff. We had a good conversation with him but he was not interested in learning more. BUT now he will have a good memory of Mormon missionaries and how he met some on easter in france! Then we ate at the Lalas and had duck for dinner. It was really good and I think the first time I ate duck. I dont know if that is traditional for a french easter meal but it was good. And yes they do have the easter bunny here! They even have the day after easter as a holiday. EVERYTHING was closed today, minus museums and stuff like that.

So I dont know if it comes with age in the mission or because my testimony has been strengthened a lot lately but I have gotten really bold in my teaching. I am sick of just dancing around sensitive subjects. I am getting very to the point and really calling people to repentance. I may need to calm down but for the moment its working. Vaber texted us today after our rdv with him this morning saying that the spirit had revealed to him that the book of mormon is true. I then asked him, Okay then... if the book of mormon is true what does that mean to you? He then responded with a smiley face and said. Joseph Smith is a prophet and the Church of Jesus Christ is true.

NAILED IT!!!! Oh man you guys. I cant even express how much joy this brings me finally seeing someone get it. This gospel is so true. It makes so much sense. It has the answers to everything. People that think we are a sect or that think that we are stupid are just so lost in the darkness of the world. WE HAVE THE LIGHT! WE HAVE THE TRUTH! I beg of my family members that have not yet accepted this gospel to accept it. There is nothing more in this life that will you bring you the same happiness.

 

So because this is getting long and I am again being super bold I will leave you with a funny story.

So in church yesterday, this 7 year old american girl, Allie, was looking very beautiful. Her mom had curled her hair and she was wearing a very pretty dress. Rightfully so because it was Easter. Anyway, Jared, the 2 year old that I love, said to his mom, Mommy, that little girl over there is very pretty, kiss? Haha he wanted to kiss her and he walks over to Allie and just stares up at her waiting for a smooch. We told Allie that he wanted a kiss and she got very red and uncomfortable. She decided to settle with a hug. It was so funny because Soeur Gardner and I realized how scary it would be coming from the US to a country where kissing is a much bigger deal, and to have someone ask you to kiss them. But to Jared it was more so normal. And to us as well, it has become very normal. I am probably gunna come home kissing everyone. I actually feel very awkward when i dont kiss people, for example, the Americans here that dont like to bis. Anyway just a cute little story.

I hope you all have a wonderful week and do everything you can to prepare for General Conference!!!!!! So stoked!!!

loves,

Soeur Kimberly Addis

Happy Birthday Michael, March 25, 2013

And Happy Easter...

 

 

so so so. today is monday week 6. you know what that means. friday is transfer calls and next monday is transfers! I have NO IDEA what will happen to me. I have been here in Grenoble forever but then again I only have one transfer left so I could stay. Only time will tell :) Im really anxious to find out where I will be "dying".

mom: I have seen the mormon message of Aina before, Reine is her real name but she goes by Aina. I actually watched it in the MTC and then it was funny to then become companions with her sister. I totally forgot that there was the video of them and that to missionaries they are famous and then an elder was here a couple weeks ago to do dans baptismal interview and Aina, Loic and Jared were at the church for something and he was freaking out being like OMG thats the couple that has a mormon message, then he got a picture with them haha. So pathetic. And yes mom French is a beautiful language. It isnt as pretty now that I am practically french... but I do love the LaLa girls accents.

 

So i have a list of things to tell you. I was prepared this week.

 

I will start from last week. Last wednesday we met Vabers WIFE. You know the one that is against the church. It was awesome. She was actually really nice to us and we were of course very nice to her. She didnt join us for the lesson but were taking baby steps here.

Friday at lunch time we ate with Soeur Planeta. Yes my sweet little mamie. She is 90 and she cooked for us! I am pretty sure she hasnt cooked for missionaries in years but she loves Soeur Gardner and I a lot! Ew, you know how I dont really like eggs. Well I ate a fried egg, i think thats what it was, the one that still has a liquid yoke, oooo I wanted to gag but I ate it because I LOVE THAT WOMAN! So then friday night we taught an atheist. It was the first time I actually taught someone that was atheist. It is really hard because there is no base whatsoever but she is very open and likes learning about other religions. We'll see how it goes.

So then the best day of the week, Sunday. Since we are in france there is always something that is somewhat mind blowing that happens at church. A family that just had a baby on monday, yes a week ago, brought their baby to church yesterday. CRAZY I know. I was shocked and had to share that with you. Then last night. We were eating a special chinese, real chinese, meal with dan, some of his friends, and our dmp and his family, the Bartas. Well it was all going great. Dan and his friends were preparing the meal and told us that we could not help so Soeur Gardner and I decided to play with the two oldest boys, ages 6 and 4.5, the two younger boys were taking a nap. We first basket ball. I was the hoop and they used a little foam ball. Standing up it made a good height for a hoop. Anyway our DMP and Soeur Gardner thought I was stupid to let them do this but I enjoyed it. Its been so long I have played with little kids that I dont really mind. Then the best part. We played hide and go seek, or cache cache. It was so fun. The youngest, Adam loved being the finder and he was so funny when he found us. I know the fact that I had so much fun is kind of pathetic but at least that means my nieces and nephews will love me when I get home. Okay so then the dinner was ready. And guess what I freaking ate. Goat and Pig Foot. So gross. Chinese people loving eating animal fat. I had half a plate left of stuff because I wouldnt eat the fat. I am so glad I did not get called to a country where they eat things that would make me vomit. You will be surprised to see what kinds of food I like now... I have become more open however not that open.

 

Anyway that was pretty much our week. Its sad to think that this could be my last week in Grenoble. I have really loved this city. I dont know what will happen but as I told Soeur Gardner that whatever happens I am going to be happy because I know it is where the Lord wants me, with whoever he wants me to be with and at the right time. Missions are the greatest.

I hope you always remember how much I love you and that I think about you everyday multiple times a day... not too much that it becomes distracting.

have a wonderful easter sunday and study each day the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Use a study journal. It makes reading the scriptures that much more interesting, and then next week I will tell you my favorite quote about that.

love you.

Soeur Addis

Photos February and March 2013

DAN WAS BAPTIZED!!! March 18, 2013

Hi to all of my loving family.

So I dont have tooo much time to write. But this week was great because, DAN WAS BAPTIZED!!! It was so great and he is so great and Soeur Gardner is so great. Everything is good. Thank you all for your prayers for him. I am sure they helped him to have a wonderful week and to be fully prepared for his special day.

 

Soeur Gardner and I both spoke and Soeur Gardner also sang. We actually spoke in english and then had members translate since we speak with Dan in english. It was cool but at the same time I felt like I didnt really say all I wanted because I had to stop between my sentences and have someone translate. But whatever. The spirit was there!

When I asked Dan how he felt he said, "I have never felt better" There were a good amount of members there and there was tons of food. Lots of Dans chinese friends were there so that was super cool and then we had another one of our amis there, Sylvie, she is a new ami from this past week. Hopefully things will continue to progress with her as well.

 

Vaber, the poor thing is going through a really hard time. His wife is really against the mormons. Please pray that her heart will be softened. We will hopefully be seeing him this week in his home. He was the one that invited us and said that he wants his wife to at least meet us and hear what we teach, even if she is sitting in the other room. I really pray that she has a change of heart because Vaber has changed so much and he really needs the gospel.

This past week we also had conference. It was great we got more goals and inspiration and a new goal is to contact 50 people a day. Doable but still a challenge. It was great to feel so uplifted and to get more steam in me since I am coming down to the end.

 

Anyway. Everyone seems pretty stoked about SC. Its not too far away I know and I really am excited too but trying not to get too excited. Soeur Gardner and I decided that we should probably start running every morning for morning exercises. It is starting to get warm, even though it may or may not have snowed this morning.

Not much else to report. Sorry my emails suck nowadays. I dont know what to tell you about.

love you all

Sister Kimberly Addis

springtime is a comin' March 11, 2013

So fam bam. Yesterday was probably one of the best days of my mission. It pretty much brought my whole mission together in 24hours. I am going to tell you about it because I loved it so much.

Well like every sunday it was the sabbath day. Woke up at 6:30 and said my morning prayers. I prayed that Heavenly Father would show us a miracle that day and very specifically that someone would come to church today that was not a member but wanted to learn more. While getting ready for church we got a text from a YSA, Alexandra. She told us that she would be coming to church with her aunt and little cousin,from Paris, who were not members of the church and who were interested in learning more. I had not even stepped a foot inside of the church building and my prayer was already answered. At 8:10 we ran out the door in order to catch the tram and bus to church. Well it was a beautiful sunday morning and we decided that we did not need to wear our winter coats. We get out to the tram and I realize that I had forgotten my transportation pass in the pocket of my coat, I thought it was no problem and that I would just buy a ticket from the machine...well I had NO CHANGE, so my companion searched for change in her bag, no luck either. So we decided to walk to church. Not the longest walk, just a little bothersome. But it was a beautiful day. So we went back to the apartment grabbed my card, so we would have it later, and started our walk to church. After arriving to church we were only a couple minutes early and so we stood to welcome the rest of the members in. Well this one lady comes in says hi and walks straight passed us and up the stairs. None of us recognized her so I asked a member who she was and he said he wasnt sure either. I thought it was really interesting because she looked like a gypsy and I didnt know any gypsy looking members. In relief Society she was sitting next to a member and talking to her like they were long time friends so i figured maybe she was from a different ward or something. After a great lesson I over hear a counselor talking to this member and then the mysterious woman. She was in fact a gypsy and apparently she wanted to talk to the "pastor" so she could ask him for money. They directed her towards the bishop and although he told her that he couldnt just give her money they invited her to stay at church and eat with us afterwards because we were having a linger longer.

 

So anyway. Good meetings and all that but best of all was during sacrament meeting. There was a huge Italian family visiting, majority of which are not members. The Grandpa however is a member and so they were all there. Well the Bishop was speaking during sacrament and pretty much was just teaching them. He told them all about the Book of Mormon and where it comes from, why we have it, and then he was teaching them about the Plan of Salvation and telling them how they can be with their loved ones for time and all eternity. Then my favorite part. Bishop Simoes asked the missionaries to stand. So of course we did, Soeur Gardner and I next to each other and then the Elders just a couple of rows behind us. And he said to this family, who we are and the fact that we are called of a God to be here serving for 18 mos to 2 years and the fact that we are young but qualified and that if they had any questions they should come to us. Well while he was saying all this I was just so overcome by the spirit. I had never been so proud to stand as a representative for Jesus Christ and then it hit me that I would not be able to do that for much longer. That my time is short. I teared up but was still smiling knowing that I have been so blessed by my Heavenly Father to be HIS missionary here in Grenoble. What a wonderful privilege I have.

So then later that day we had our linger longer and there are three American families in our ward, two of which have moved in since I have been here so we were sitting with them and Soeur Gardner and I were just going crazy to be with Americans that werent missionaries and to laugh and have a good time with them. Okay I was the one going crazy but it really did feel so weird. Its gunna be strange to be home.

 

After church and the linger longer we went to visit our little Soeur Planeta. She is a 90 year old less active that I have adopted as my own grandmother. She is a fireball and has forgotten a lot of the teachings of the gospel and so when we teach her it is as if we are teaching an ami. She was very hard in the beginning but we have softened her up and although we have to be firm with her and may not tell her the things she wants to hear she still loves us and we love her very much. And then we came home and did our weekly planning session. Anyway it was a good day and one that complied so many missionary things all in one. I loved it. I am sorry this was more of a journal entry. I plan on printing this out and posting it into my journal, haha.

Awkward...

yes, that did happen this week. yes i was shocked, and no my companion did not understand what she said when she told her she had peed herself. hahaha one of the funniest moments of my mission. We were with a less active that we were both meeting for the first time. Soeur G, she is your typical old lady, missing several teeth, wears color tinted glasses and has a hard time hearing/understanding when we speak to her. Anyway so we arrived and she was not very happy to have us there. She was tired and in pain and didnt really want us there but she let us stay anyway. Anway so we had a good little time talking to her and getting to know her story. Then when we were getting up to leave I went and looked and the pictures of her children and grandchildren and trying to make her feel good. After she told me who everyone was I turned to get on my coat. Soeur Gardner then went to bis her and said something to her. As I was getting my coat on I hear her say, I just peed hehe. I looked at the floor and yup, sure as heck she was standing in a puddle of pee. Soeur Gardner didnt say anything and I had no idea what to do. I didnt know if she wanted help or if she wanted us to leave or what so i just kind of kissed her goodbye and left. Then as Soeur Gardner and I were getting in the elevator I asked her if she realized what she said. She hadnt so I just started laughing and told her that she peed and that she was standing in a puddle of her own pee. AWKWARD. I realized afterwards I probably should have been nicer about it and cleaned it up and asked her if she needed anything. Next time that happens to me, I will know what to do.

So i dont really have time for a real email today. Our district is here and we are supposed to go to the Bastille, an old military fort in the mountain side. En plus, the computer hasnt been working well, so I havent been able to really write that much.

Just know that things are going well. Dan and Vaber are still a go for their baptisms in the next couple of weeks. No new amis. Cold is now gone, after several long long days at home.

Freaking about the mission coming to an end. Really would rather not think about it.

Sorry I havent written anything spiritual. I promise I study and feel the spirit everyday I just am having a block right now.

Anyway, have a good week.

Love
Soeur Addis

 

welcome to the family, Elliot Michael Farmer!! February 25, 2013

He's handsome. I love him already. Cant wait to get home and snuggle these two little bundles of joy. Being an aunt is such a blessing especially when you want to have your own family but are not quite there. So thanks sisters, for bringing into the world little creatures that I can love and enjoy! Also I really like the name. I am somewhat jealous because I as well wanted to use the name Michael... i guess we have someone in the family with that name or something... and Eli. Its something I discovered I loved while reading in the Bible Dictionary. Anyway. Good solid pick from the Farmers.

Thanks for all the emails full of love and support this week too. As I am nearing the finish I need to remember why I am here and that I dont have much time left to give it my all. I want to return home with no regrets. Knowing that I have left it all on the field, as Michael said. So thank you for reminding me of this in an inspiring way. Not a way that makes me want to get on a plane tomorrow.

So we had a good week here in Grenoble. Soeur Gardner and I both have some killer colds but we are working hard to keep healthy and at the same time work hard. Things are still going great with Dan. His baptismal date has moved to March 16th because it is a significant day for him but hes great. I love seeing someone become truly converted to the gospel. Vaber is also progressing toward his date of March 30th. He has to quit smoking first and his wifes heart should be somewhat softened before he enters the waters but I know the Lord is all powerful and that he can do whatever is necessary to help someone come into his fold.

Besides these dates things are kind of the same. The two families we were supposed to go see turned out to not be so great. The one lady was totally against us coming when I called to confirm and the african lady seemed kind of skeptical. She said they were going on vacation which could very well be true because it is a school vacation right now, but we'll see.

Anyway. I better get going. I love you all and hope you have an awesome week.

love
Sister Addis

P.S. Give Elliot kisses for me :)

seriously, still no baby...February 18, 2013

I cant believe that this baby isnt here yet! I am sure it is even worse for Caroline but still, gosh cant you make him or her hurry up?!

So how is everyone. As I said yesterday I loved hearing about Savannahs baby blessing, en fin, and that mom is doing well. I got an amazing Valentines day package from the Jessop's, be sure to thank them for me, and several letters because I was at the office in Lyon and picked up my mail. I love hearing from my friends and hearing how everyone is doing. Its crazy that in a few short months I will be back into this thing called life. I dont know how I feel about it. It stresses me out. I also got a great email from Lisa. I love her. I miss her. I cant believe who she is dating! But none the less I am very happy for her! Dont plan a wedding without me ;) Also got letters from Elder Edwards (most faithful penpal I know), Sora Kelly, Allie Merrill :D, and my friend Irma Wilde who is serving in Portugal. It was a good day. I have a lot of letters to write!

Also, if you havent heard yet, Elder Hughes,who was here in Grenoble with me, returned home today and Elder SANCHEZ replaced him. Yes THE Elder Sanchez, Derek Sanchez. We saw each other for the first time last night and it was super weird. It has been AT LEAST three years since I have seen him and when he first started talking the first thing that came out of my mouth was, oh my gosh, your voice is so deep! Haha No longer the little deacon that I remember. Anyway after thinking that I probably wouldnt ever see him during my mission we are now serving together in the same ward. SUPER WEIRD. but cool i guess.

Oh and duh, you are probably wondering about my new companion! How could I forget! Soeur Devan Gardner. Fort Worth, Texas. BYU Art Major. Voice of an angel. That pretty much sums her up. Not really. She is super cool but then again I just met her yesterday so I cant make an conclusions right away! We talk a lot together. We laugh a good amount together. I think its going to be a good transfer.

So missionary work is awesome. This week is the ward Carnaval Activity on friday. Next week Dan is supposed to get baptised, which may need to be pushed back a week or two and then Vaber is getting baptized the 30th of march. SUPER COOL! MIRACLES EVERYWHERE!!! Speaking of which. We had a really cool day on wednesday. It was a special day for the Lyon and Paris mission. It was dedicated to contacting and porting, we werent allowed to have rdvs and then starting at 10h30 we, the missionaries, and all the members prayed every half hour. It was amazing. The day one went by so fast and two it was so powerful. Soeur Klingaman and I found two families while porting that Soeur Gardner and I will be going back and teaching tomorrow. Super cool. I love missionary work when the members and the missionaries work together. Its so much more powerful and so much more enjoyable.

Anyway. Thats my two cents for this week.

I love this gospel. I know that its true. If I didnt I would have given up a long time ago. But because I know it is true I have been eternally blessed and these people that have decided to accept God and change their lives have also been eternally blessed. What a wonderful blessing!

I love you lots.

xoxo Sister Kimberly Addis

Grace..., February 11, 2013

Grace, its not the light at the end of the tunnel, its the light that gets you through the tunnel

This is the first time and hopefully the last time that I am writing to you barefooted... There is tons of snow here and my boots have had it. They are soaked... so I took them off and am in the process of warming and drying my feet. Dont worry I am at the church, not a random internet cafe.

Anyway. Hi. How is everyone? Mom said that they had some snow in NJ also. Makes me feel a little bit better about the snow, however it sucks either way when you are a missionary. I dont know how missionaries do it in places like Russia or Canada. Needless to say, I am ready to be transfered to the south. Transfers are next week so there are some chances that I will be writing you from a new location next week.

So this week. What is there to tell you. It was crazy chaotic. I think I am ready to have a family of eight girls or something insane. I honestly dont know what the mission is preparing me for but I am sure it is something a little ridiculous. Anyway, we had exchanges this week. It was good. I was with Soeur Thompson. Shes great. Shes another one of those missionaries that I took out on her first day contacting and stuff in Geneve. We had some fun together. We went and saw a lady in the branch in Chambery who was hilarious. She had Soeur Thompson and i rolling. Just to give you a little picture of why we laughed so hard, imagine an older little lady, around 70 years old, frizzy short red hair, big gummy smile, literally two snaggle teeth on bottom. Oh goodness she was a ball. So full of love for the gospel. The members here in France are wonderful.

About our amis. Things are going. Dan has a baptismal date for March 2nd, i think I already told you that. Vaber is still doing well but unfortunately cannot come to church because his wife is in the hosptial and Julien is showing sincere desire however he is typical college student and has troubles waking up sunday morning for church. I think that about sums up everything.

Little spiritual thought: I was listening to a talk from Brad Wilcox this morning called, "His Grace is Sufficient". It is a good one. All of you should listen to it. Its actualy from a devotional at BYU so I dont know how you will find it but try. Not only is he funny but he has a good way of explaining things. I have been better trying to understand the Savior and his role in my life. This devotional helped me to do so. I hope it will for you as well.

Sorry my life is kind of boring and I dont have anything interesting to tell you. I love you all and hope you have a happy valentines day.

love

Sister Addis

My Boyfriend's Name is Jared*, February 4, 2013

Hey hey family,

So its been a good week. I have been trying a lot harder to be a better missionary and its paying off...slowly. This past week we had zone conference so we were in lyon. This week we will have exchanges for two days because Sr Klingaman and Sr Kohler need to go to Aix for their legality. It will be interesting. This transfer is almost over and i think i will be leaving Grenoble. I will be sad to leave. This ward is wonderful. Really makes me feel like I am at home. Speaking of home I got letters from the Edwards today, the activity day girls, and Soeur Couillens. I still have yet to read them but I am very grateful to have them.

Anyway... this is later in the day. We just had pday with our district. Ate, had a ping pong tournament and other stuff. I got screwed and didnt get any time to finish emails so this is it this week. I hope that everything is going well with all of you.

Caroline good luck with the baby. Hopefully its comes soon. Michael good luck with the job. If you dont get it, know the Lord has a plan for you. Everything will work out, dont worry!

I love you all. Have a wonderful week. Read Alma 32 this week and thing about how you can better make your tree of faith grow. I was going to talk about that today but its clear that I dont have time...

keep calm and carry on,

Sister Addis

"Jared is Melanie Lala's 2 year old nephew"

Recent Photos, January 2013

              1) Foie Gras burger, which Sr. Addis says is 'gross'; 2) Gingerbread Houses she and Sr. Klingaman made at Christmas and 3) Sr. Addis, as the youngest at the Jan. Relief Society activity participating in "Gallette de Roi". Notes and photo from memeber Nanette Davis:
They have a "gallette de roi" tradition for the new year. The youngest person is actually supposed to get UNDER the table and say who gets the next piece of the big pastry. That way they don't know who is getting a big piece. Soeur Addis just covered her eyes and called out the names. Too bad I couldn't get a picture of her under the table :) She was awesome!

No Bise!!

Happy Monday sweet family and friends!

How is everyone?! Especially Michael, I am praying for him and this certain interview! Hope everyone has had a good week. Allie and the girls went to the beach so it probably hasnt been too shabby. Freaking 80 degrees. Not fair! I was thinking the other night to myself that I never want to live in a really cold place, then I remembered when I get home I am moving back to Utah. I guess after I finish school I will never live in a cold place. Its just not worth it.

So funniest story of my mission. Get ready to laugh. Several days ago I met a man on the bus. We were going to visit a less active. I was tired. He walked up to me and asked me about my plaque. I told him that I am a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints...all in french of course... and then he asked me if I was allowed to get married, a common question when they see that we are "sisters" people think we are nuns, I told him yes after I am done with the mission. I will serve for 18 months and that after I can get married and have a family.

I then quickly turned it from myself to him. I asked him if he was believing and what he believed. I asked him if he wanted to learn more about Jesus Christ and his teachings. He said yes that he was interested. So i gave him our number with our card and asked him for his number. I then asked him why he was interested in learning more about Jesus Christ. He said that normally people that have drug problems or addictions can become purified by converting to religion. He admitted that he has a smoking problem and he would like to quit. We arrived at our bus stop so I told him to have a good day and that I hoped to see him at church. I know this all sounds kind of innocent but he was very close to me when he spoke and a little creepy.

Anyway. I was planning on calling him yesterday to set up an appointment. Well after going out to the same area of town we were on the bus home. It was late and we were tired, cold and wet, it was raining and we didnt have our umbrellas. I was sitting looking out the window, there was only my companion and me, and maybe one other person on the bus, when I feel and see someone out of the corner of my eye sit next to me. I turn my head and notice that it is my friend Stephen that I met the day before on the bus, so I say hi, and then without any warning his face with puckered lips coming bolting at mine. I dont know what to do, I am against a window and I have no where to turn. I am a missionary and a man is about to kiss me! Needless to say I havent even kissed a man in over 15 months... I was freaking out inside. I had my gloves off because I was warming up my hands so as he leans in I throw my glove up in front of my lips and say SORRY we dont do the bise (the kisses). He then looked down at my plaque and said, "OH I didnt even recognize you, when you said hello I thought you were my girlfriend! Im sorry, youre right sisters dont do the bise. " I then gave him one of my most awkward and uncomfortable smiles and said it was okay, but in my head I was thinking, you thought I was your girlfriend?! I clearly have a visible chunk of tag on that says I AM A MISSIONARY! NOT YOUR GIRLFRIEND! Remember the same tag that attracted you to me in the first time. Anyway he then promised that he would come to church next week, multiple times, and Soeur Klingaman and I got off the bus. It was one of the funniest moments of my life. Almost as funny as the time I peed in the bidet. Soeur K and I had a good laugh about it afterwards.

Anyway. I am sorry I am not very spiritual today. I promise I am a missionary. We just hadnt had a lot of progress lately. Except Dan came to church yesterday and even though we havent been able to meet with him the Lord is still working with him and he is reading and praying almost everyday. He says he wants to make a decision within the next month. This is wonderful news! At the same time I did tell him that he cant put a time limit on the Lord but at least he has a goal in mind. Vaber we saw and also had a good rdv with. The lord is working well with him also. Hopefully i will have some more spiritual things to tell you next week!

I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week doing whatever you do.
Sister Addis

P.S. picture of the foie gras burger...gross and the gingerbread village sr nish and I constructed and decorated. two old pictures that i never got to send.

Life is like a Watermellon, January 21, 2013

sweet and juicy...sometimes you get a seed, but you have two options when that happens... choke on it and be dramatic and rediculous or spit it out and keep on enjoying the freaking fruit.

I dont know what brought about these wise words of Sister Addis but i like them.

SO! How is everyone?! Having a good holiday I hope! MLK...great man... to bad holidays mean nothing in missionary vocab, just that everyone is going to be out of town and none of your amis want to see you. At least thats how it is here in France.

Anyway. Life is good. Pretty much the same. The ward is still the bomb, absolutely love these members. We did not get to see any of our amis this week. It was awful. But even with a horrible week with no numbers, life is still good and I am happy. Its amazing how the Atonement can make up for even stupid things like that. How wonderfully blessed we are!

Sorry I dont have that much to tell you this week.

Super cool that Allie ran that half in DisneyLand. That would be fun to do next year. I will have to start training for it when I get home! Also if it were possible to like things on email I would have liked that mom and caroline both told me that you are in the process of finding a house to rent at the beach in SC! so excited for that sucker! Sad that I wont give my home coming talk right away but its cool. I wont mind being tan while giving my home coming talk haha.

Cant believe that baby Farmer is getting so big and will be here, well there, soon! Super exciting also! Speaking of babies, I was wondering if Savannah has been blessed yet and why I havent seen pictures from that day!?

 

Well cool I dont have anything left to tell you about and my time is cutting short. Sorry this was an awful email I have been super distracted, Soeur Klingaman has some serious family problems going on right now. Please pray for her and her family!

I love you all very much! No one responded about goals for 2013! Man, why do I even write these emails!
xoxo
Sister Kimberly Addis
P.S. I made that life is like a watermelon thing up myself.

Four Months Till Death, January 14, 2013

heyyyyy! how is everyone this lovely 14th day of January? Can you believe that in four months I will be HOME?!?!? I cannot believe it. Time is seriously flying by!

I love you all so much and was very happy to get on and see all of your emails today and have some fun pictures and videos to look at! Thank you so much.

So the biggest news... WHERE IN THE WORLD IS SISTER ADDIS? Still in Grenoble! Still with Sr Klingaman. Clearly the Lord has some more work for me to do here and some more things that I need to learn from Soeur Klingaman. I am happy. I love this ward. And actually my whole district stayed the same so its kind of nice to have more time all together. Elder Hughes will be going home at the end of the transfer so we are enjoying helping him finish out strong! Also I dont know if I already said this but this transfer will only be five weeks long. So in about a month we will have transfers again. Kind of crazy I know.

So today I think I am feeling good because I am in jeans...we are going to do some service right after emails. I must say it is super weird to be in public in jeans. I am not used to having something to thick around my legs and supporting my butt. However looking at myself I look so normal. Its weird.

Second biggest news from this week. I burned my hand. Bad. It is healing fast. Really fast. I am shocked that the Lord is helping it heal so fast. Mom is probably freaking out. I am fine. I will explain my very blonde moment. So it was our dinner hour and I was working on making home made envelopes because I wasnt really that hungry. Well while I was in the study room I didnt realize that Soeur Klingaman was cooking something on the stove. So about a half hour later I went in and decided I was a little hungry and was going to make something. I saw that something was in the oven but I was very confused as to why the stove top was so warm. I lightly touched the back right burner and thought to myself, wow the oven makes our stove top really hot. Then I touched the front right burner and SCORCHED my hand off. At first I was just like holy freak and shook my hand. Then I realized it was really hot and put my hand under water. I was being super impatient so I decided I would hold a glass water bottle that was in the fridge, while I continued to work on my dinner. Well so this was at about 8:30. Needless to say I slept with my hand attached to the glass water bottle because it was still burning at 10:30 when going to bed.

Unfortunately it was my right hand. So of course the next day at church when all the men put out their right hand to shake mine I had to explain that I could not shake their hand because I had burned mine. So when all the ladies in the ward found out they all asked me what I had done and what I had done to take care of it. I told them and then as in response to some I learned some home remedies to take care of burns. It was pretty funny. Well the best part was the bishops wife. She is wonderful, and I love her. She got mad at me for not calling her and asking her to bring things from home to help heal my burns. Because she and several other women were very worried about my hand she decided that we were leaving church to go to the pharmacy. Haha. It was more dramatic than it should have been but it was amazing to see how much the members here love and care for their missionaries.

Like i said. My hand is healing very fast. There is nothing to worry about:) I am pretty sure the prayers that have been said and the creme i have been applying constantly are taking care of it.

Another funny story from church yesterday. It was at the end of Relief Society and the first counselor had the ladies who had birthdays that week stand. Well one was an old lady, Soeur Reine Mollard, that will be turning 86? Well after saying happy birthday to them Reine said, Can I ask for something for my birthday? And with a chuckle the counselor said, Yes of course! Then Reine said, will you all sing happy birthday to me? Haha. It was so sweet. I guess it had been a long time since she had had someone sing her Joyeux Anniversaire.

Another good story from yesterday, but a little more spiritual. So a inactive women in our ward died last week. The Bishop is in charge of the funeral and he asked us to bring the hymnal to her husband so that he can see the songs that were selected to be sung. Of course we would tell him that we would be more than happy to do it. So we took down the address and found our way there. Well it was around 6 oclock and it was already dark. The family also actually lives in what we call a "red zone". An area that is a little more dangerous. <meaning a muslim neighborhood> The bishop told us that they lived near a bad area but he said that where they live is fine. Well it wasnt fine. It was right next to the bad neighborhood and it was dark and scary. In france the street signs are awful and you have to walk half a block before you can find out if you are actually on the right street. So we were doing this trying to find their apartment building. The first building we saw was 29, so normally that meant that the building 14 would be on the other side of the street and more south. We kept walking south but could not find the building 14. I then felt that we needed to go back and look at the building that was closest to us. I told Soeur Klingaman this and she asked, "Why?" Its true it probably didnt seem logical but instead of arguing I just said, "Because I feel like it." So she accepted and we started walking towards the building. Well as we were walking up the stairs we saw the number 14! It was our building. I realized then that even though it was not a huge profound feeling of inspiration, it was the Spirit, working with me in its quite whispers. We could have been wandering around forever in the cold, dark and not so great area, but because I listened to the Spirit, we were protected and able to get the things done we needed. What a wonderful blessing.

So fam bam, I dont have much left to say. Told you all of my good stories for the week. Still loving life and loving the mish. I love helping people. It brings me such happiness to focus on others more than myself. What are some of your goals for 2013?

Sorry no pictures again this week because we are at the internet cafe again. Maybe next week?

Love you to pieces, all of you, even the dogs.

Soeur Kimberly Addis

It's Chopstick Week!, January 7, 2013

Sooooo. This week Tom will turn 34? And Addison is turning 3! Wow what a wonderful week it will be for the steeles! Happy Birthday to the two of you, I love you both very much and wish you a wonderful year!

I know you are probably wondering what my subject line means. Heres the explanation. Saturday afternoon I go into the kitchen preparing something to eat before starting my fast. I go to grab a fork and low and behold there are only chopsticks... So I say to my companion, very funny, where is the silverware? She then replies in excitment, Sr Addis, its chopstick week!!

Well what does that mean? That means that Soeur Klingaman has hidden all of our silverware and that we have to use chopsticks anytime we eat. If you are my family and you remember me loving eating with chopsticks, you have an awful memory. I hate chopsticks. I could never get it to position right on my fingers. Knowing how much I hate this and how I am supposed to learn and grow on a mission I decided not to argue or beg for the silverware but to be a good sport and try it. Well the first meal was no problem. I was eating rice... This morning however when eating cereal was a little more bothersome. Oh well. I refuse to argue anymore. I am learning humility everyday and to stop doing the things I want to do even if I believe I am right. I will probably be a pro at the end of the week of eating with chopsticks. P.S. its kind of a work out for my hand.

Mom asked about Pierre. No we havent been able to see him yet. He got called into work the day we were supposed to meet with him. The other guy from the bus Fatah. We met with him the other day. Talked about who we are and why we are here, what his expectations are and why he wants to learn more, also learning about him and his background. What we like to call a lecon 0. Anyway. He is a muslim Algerian man that has been trying to get to the United States for the last several years. Well he wants to go to NYC and I guess I made him a little envious by saying that I grew up and live not too far from there. Sunday he surprisingly came to church and he was sitting next to Sr. Klingaman. I was sitting infront of her and kept hearing him say when does the meeting end, I want to talk to you. Well so after the meeting ended we went into a room to find out what he wanted to talk about. He looks at me and says, Addis (sometimes people say Addis because they think it is my first name), you are from New Jersey right? Close to NY? Well when you get home can you send me an invitation so I can get a visa to come to the US? Haha I was so shocked. It was not what I was expecting at all. Sr. Klingaman told him that I would be going back to school, I wouldnt be in NJ and that it doesnt work that way in the US. I dont know if it was a lie or not. I dont know how it works in the US, but it makes a funny story.

Hm. So another thing about this week. It was New Years. Well after we did emails we were at the church and the bishop invited us to stay and eat dinner with the Single Adults and then we would go home before the dancing began. You would think we were privleged to stay but I honestly wanted to throw up. We started by eating olives, gross. Then the meal came out, a little salad with RAW salmon, and fois gras. For translation of fois gras, stuffed duck liver. Sick huh? I can not find a better way to describe it than by saying canned dog food. And you just eat it on a piece of toast. Oh my word I could not stomach it. I gave Sr. Klingaman some of my salmon and then spread the smallest amount of fois gras on some toast. Luckily we had to run and catch our bus, dommage, I couldnt finish my meal!

We also had an exchange this week. It was great. I was with Sr. Pfost, who is serving in Lyon. We were here in Grenoble and had two lessons. One with Vaber and one with Dan. Vaber's lesson was great. He realized during our lesson that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that it is just as important as the Bible. HUGE DEAL. He was sitting there taking notes about everything we were saying and his feelings. Super cool. For Dan it was the first time we had seen him in a while because he has been traveling. It went well also. We taught out the apostasy and did a little time line with him on the white board so he could better understand. He liked it. He just got back from sweden, and seeing the Northern Lights. That is something I would love to do one day!!

Anyway. This is the last week of the transfer. I could be emailing you from a different place next week. Or we could be staying together for another transfer. Who knows. Next transfer however is only five weeks long. Mom had sent information from Elder Adams. I know TONS of sisters are coming in in April and May. It will be insane!

Not much time left, nor much to say. I will have to send some pictures next week. I am on a random computer in an internet cafe so i dont want to get a virus on my sd card.

Love you all. Pray for you everyday. Tell me if there is anything in particular that I can pray for.

xoxo,

Sister Kimberly Addis

Happy NEW Year, December 31, 2012

Salutations family.


Sounds like everyone had a good week. Relaxing full of laughs and love and time with the family. Its what Christmas is mostly about. Cool. Well I had a good week. More growing, its good for me. Had a cool experience that I wrote about to President Roney so I may just be doing the wonderful copy paste right now.

Lately I have been feeling like I have been having a really hard time feeling the spirit and that I havent really been an instrument of the Lord. It was really really getting to me, I may have cried about it a time or two. Anyway, yesterday I had an incredible very sacred experience. It was something that I have never experienced before. We were doing personal study and it was getting towards the end of the hour. I was reading in Daughters of My Kingdom when I thought of an ami that we have that lives just down the road from us. I had a very strong prompting to call her. I did just that but there was no response... I deceided that maybe it was just in my head. Then, not even two minutes later I felt a very strong prompting, as if someone were speaking to me, say, Go to her apartment. I thought I was going crazy. She didnt answer her phone, she wasnt really a progressing ami and we were at the point of dropping her. I told Soeur Klingaman about my feelings and she said okay lets go. So we cut our studies a little short and we got our coats on to leave. I was not in any hurry until I felt this same voice saying "dépêchez-vous" (hurry up). I then told Sister Klingaman about this and we started moving faster, almost jogging down our road to this amis home. When we arrived she was not home. I was so confused. How could she not be home. I had these promptings telling me very clearly exactly what I needed to do. Was I really making it all up in my head? Am I seriously that bad at feeling the spirit? We left the building and started for the tram to go to a less actives home. On the way there Sister Klingaman contacted a man that did not let her speak very much but he was telling her why we need a restoration and that the true church of Jesus Christ has been lost and changed. I was not right next to her for the contact so I dont know much else about what was said but they exchanged numbers and we will hopefully be seeing him and his family in the coming week. Maybe I did listen to exactly what the spirit was telling us to go to Esthers house but maybe it wasnt Esther we needed to see. It was the fact that we were in the right place at the right time to meet Pierre. I dont know what will come of this but I do know that Heavenly Father has us do things that we do not always understand. We must be willing to listen and obey the promptings of the spirit. That is when true miracles occur.

I have been praying for miracles to happen very fervently lately. Today another cool experience happened. Actually about an hour ago. We were getting off at the bus stop to come to the church to do our emails. We were in the back of the bus and the same time we got off a man got off the front of the bus and he said, hey! you're missionaries right? I wont lie, I was kind of like oh no, whats he going to try and argue about... but he didnt he told us that he was taught by the missionaries a little over a year ago and that he really liked it. We asked him if he would like to learn again with us and he said yes. Wow miracles! I love that when we pray for something and the Lord knows that we are truly waiting for the response he will give it to us but if we are not ready to receive hes not going to give us anything!

Um so Sister Klingaman likes to right down the stupid stuff I say, since I have nothing left to tell you, I will share some of my famous quotes.
"its funny how that light can turn me on... um... i mean... its funny how turning that light on can wake me up..."
"I've never had zucchini with bread....oh you mean zucchini bread?"
" I dont want to get married right after my mission, but I dont want to be single forever. I'll just live with my parents"

Well I must admit. I think I have become more blonde on my mission. Or maybe its just more apparent to me. Who knows. Either way, I am learning and thats the point of missions right?!

Sorry I dont have any inspiring words to welcome in the new year! Someone watch the ball drop for me! I will be sleeping like a little baby. No fun parties or anything tonight. We are not allowed.

Love to you all!
Soeur Kimberly Addis
     

A Demain (: [until tomorrow], December 24, 2012

How are you all?! I hope you are having a wonderful Christmas Eve and enjoying time with each other. I am missing you but taking in this wonderful experience of being a missionary at Christmas time in FRANCE. Do you realize how cool that is? Sometimes I reflect on how super blessed I am to be serving my Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ and I look at where I am, in France and I am dumb founded. I just live in France, no big deal. Anyway I dont want to brag and make you all jealous. One France we will all come here, it will be just like Home Alone 2, without leaving someone in NYC. That would be cool huh? Speaking of Home Alone I have so much to tell you.

Okay so this week. It was super. We were in Geneva, oh my word how I love that city. I was able to see Myriam and Eduardo. They even gave me a little christmas gift, super sweet. It was a day full of laughs, love, and missionaries. We were so many and my favorite part may have been hanging out with the Tahitian Elders, while waiting for the train, and singing and playing guitar, man they can sing. And then of course seeing Eduardo and Myriam was wonderful too. Eduardo and I had a nice little chat about his testimony and some things that he is having problems with. It breaks my heart, but I know that while I was there I did all I could and I know that he had a testimony when he was baptized, but there is no way that I can do anything about his free agency. So yeah then in Geneva we even had time to go to the swatch store and then buy some swiss chocolate, I had left over francs. President gave us aprons with the mission logo on it and then everyone signed each others. Apparently this is something he did in his mission many years ago here in France and he wanted us to have the same thing. Then he also gave us cds that have the approved music we are allowed to listen too, a little bit more than before, it is pretty much all MOTAB and instrumental. I am so sick of MOTAB already, I will never want to listen to it when I am home. Also we were given a cd pictures that all the missionaries sent in, so thats kind of cool, I still have yet to see what is actually on it. Mom I got your packages, one from the office and then the stocking stuffer one actually arrived today so I will open that tomorrow. After we leave here, we are at the church, we will be going to the Lala Hariniaina's for Christmas eve. The Elders had no where to go so I made Mel invite them. Haha. So we will be there tonight, and guess what. I asked President if we could watch a movie with them because that is their family tradition and he said yes. So we will be watching HOME ALONE! Only my favorite Christmas movie. It will be super funny to watch in French though. I am excited, if you cant tell.

So now that I just got all my Christmas jitters out I have a cool story to tell you.

So this past week was kind of weird. I was feeling not very missionary like. We had two lessons last monday and then nothing on tuesday or wednesday or THURSDAY. It was so slow. Then friday we finally had a lesson with Vaber. I think I have told you about him. He has been an interesting ami. Very different from anyone I have ever taught. Well any way, since Soeur Klingaman got here he has become more humble and more willing to do what we ask. He has even stopped smoking and some other commandment breaking. He is really progressing. At our lesson before we even started he asked how baptism was done in the Mormon church. I was surprised. We had already talked a couple times about this and he has always said that he was already baptized he doesnt need to be again. Well after presenting him the baptismal font and talking about how it worked we sat back down and he asked about if he needed to be baptized a second time. We read several scriptures with him and talked about how a baptism must be done. It was super cool. At the end of our lesson after talking about the 10 commandments and the law of chastity, he asked if he was ready to be baptized mormon. I was shocked. VABER? Asking to be baptized mormon? We told him that unfortunately he was not yet ready but that it would come. Long story short I really saw that very day how the gospel of Jesus Christ changes people. It is so incredible. I love this gospel so much and I am so grateful that I have commandments from my Heavenly Father to guide me to be happy and return to live again with Him someday.

Another blurb. This morning I reread the talk from President Uchtdorf The Merciful obtain Mercy. It is so good. Please read it again. Especially as we are in the Christmas spirit. It is a great time to forgive others and show them our love. Also with New Years coming I have already made a resolution to no longer gossip about people, even if what I am saying is true! Hopefully you are all enjoying yourselves and having a wonderful Christmas! I love you all so much and cannot wait to see you tomorrow, via Skype :)

Love,
Sister Addis

It's the Most WONDERFUL Time of the Year, December 17, 2012

Can you believe just a week until it is Christmas eve! It came so fast. I am loving the spirit of Christmas and loving being a missionary at this very special time of year.

For some business. This is what is going down in a week. We will be able to do some emails next week but wanted to get everything organized now. Christmas Eve we will be at the Lala Hariniaina household. We will celebrate until the wee hours of the night, we are allowed to be out till 11:30. Then Christmas Day we will be going to their home around noon for a Christmas Day meal and love, and then going to an American families home, the Davis' around 4 pm. There we will be with the Elders and the Davis's and we will skype and or call our families. Being my considerate self I thought that Skyping the family at 7:30 pm FRANCE TIME would be good for the rest of you, including the Steele family on the west coast. Remember I am six hours ahead of EST, 8 ahead of MST and 9 ahead of PST. Tell me if this needs to change. Mom I need the information with the card again, especially how to call from outside the US. Please fill me in on this. Thanks. Brother and Sister Davis' asked that whoever we are going to call on skype request their skype name so that we do not need to sign on to our own skype account. Dont ask why, I dont really understand either, but its their computers so I am not arguing. They gave their emails for this so that they are easy to find.

 

I think that is it about that. Let me know by next week any questions that you have already thought of and I can try to have them ready to answer so that time is not wasted. I only have an hour. I am very excited to see you all. Dont be surprised if I cry my eyes out, Its been a REALLY long time. Also please dont make fun of my english. I dont speak that well.

So about this week. It has been good. A growing week for myself. Its going to be a growing transfer. I am learning a lot about myself. Because Sister Klingaman and I are the same age in the mission the talk of ends of the mission seems to come up more often than any of my other companions. I will be totally honest and say that I am really scared of life after the mission, School, Marriage, Family. I dont like to think about it. But each week during companion inventory I ask my companion to give me one thing I can work on. Soeur Klingaman has asked me to get more excited about marriage. So following through on my commitment I read a talk this morning about Becoming Goodly Parents, by Elder Perry. It was great. I really loved how he gives clear examples of things we should do to become better parents and to strengthen our families. I know that my mission is preparing me for marriage, and raising a family in the gospel. I am so grateful for my mission. I will be very sad to no longer have the missionary spirit with me when I am released.

Enough of that. Things with our amis are good. Julien is still progressing. This is our last week with him before the Christmas Vacation so we really need to make sure he is feeling the spirit and ready to be on his own for two weeks without anyone telling him what to do or without his normal things that help him to be close to the Lord. Dan our wonderful Chinese friend was in Poland this week for a Conference but he was at church yesterday and we will see him tonight before he leaves for another Conference in Sweden. It still boggles my mind that we are so close to all these countries that it is no big deal to travel to Sweden or other countries. Vaber is going. Quit smoking, as far as we know, and becoming more humble.

This past weekend was the Ward Christmas Party. It was great. I truly love this ward so much. Saturday before the party all of us missionaries went out with ward members to go visit less actives and sing Christmas Carols. It was such a wonderful time. I loved being with the Bishop and other members and feeling the spirit of Christmas together. On Wednesday we are going to GENEVA!! We will be having our Christmas Zone Conference there, The zones of Lyon, Geneve and Lausanne will all be there. It is going to be so great! I am also going to email Eduardo, Miryam, Tatiana and Soeur Spirig to tell them I will be there and hopefully will get to see them! Especially Eduardo and Miryam, I heard they were having a hard time. Its going to be a great week. I am sure I will have some good stories for you when we talk.

Mom asked about Christmas Decorations here. I think its better in the US. Maybe I am biased, but I miss the US for Christmas. It might just be that I am a missionary too and I the only Christmas music I get to listen to is MoTab but either way its great. People do say Happy Holidays here. There are tons of Muslims, Jews, JW and all that so there is still reason to say it. Plenty of people that do not celebrate Christmas.

This is getting long and I am running out of goods to tell you. We are emailing early today because we will be going to a Castle and to visit some historic sites today, one of which is a Napolean statue. Anyway. I hope you all have a great week and remember to love the missionaries in your wards. Its not a very easy time to be away from home.

Love,

Sister Kimberly Addis

Elders Are My Life Savers, December 12, 2012

The elders here are the best. I dont know what I would do if I was in a ville without elders.

Soooo. its been a good week. Minus the fact that I am super sick at the moment. At least I was able to keep from getting sick so that we could sing for the funeral and for relief society on sunday. Not like any of us are super good but aparently it sounded good all together. The funeral was great. Brother M. was a divorced man almost 67 years old. He has two kids, a son and a daughter, and both are not active. His ex-wife apparently still lives here in Grenoble but I dont know if she was even at the funeral. I was also told that it has been quite some time since the daughter had talked to her father and only recently Ben, the son started talking to his father again. Yesterday at Church the Bishop reminded us that we never know when our loved ones are going to leave this world and that we should ALWAYS show each other the kind of love that the other person deserves. It was a pretty eye opening experience to me that I want to be nice the everyone so that if anyone every dies I will have good memories with them and that they know before they part that I love them. I love you very much, all of you!

Christmas is coming fast, in two short weeks we will be skyping. How wonderful it feels to prepare to see your faces again. It has been a long time and I am very excited. Still not sure exactly what time we will be skyping on Christmas day but that will be more fixed next week I believe. I think we might be going to the Lala Hariniaina's both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Here the bigger event is Christmas Eve, with a huge feast and all your family together. It will be really funny to experience a French Christmas.

Updates on our investigators. Julien is still doing really really well. He comes to church, family home evening, institute, and we have rdvs with his about three times a week. Last week we taught him the Law of Chastity and he accepted it so easily. He said that it was kind of logic, that it made complete sense and that he would follow it. Its amazing how accepting he is to everything we teach him. We are just praying still that he will be able to FEEL the truth. That he will have his own testimony of these things.

Dan is also doing well. He is just so dang busy. We only get to see him about once a week. He understands that he needs to get baptised and wants to he is just trying to learn more before he commits himself.

Our other great ami, Vaber. He is a pill but I love him. On Wednesday I called him to ask if he would be coming to help the ward with there Christmas show. He said he would and so then I asked him if we could see him before or after and he started thinking. He then tried to tell me that he would be making his decision to stay in the Catholic church, that the Mormon church was too hard. It was a total cop out. Anyway I said that we would talk to him at the church and we would see him in a little bit. When we got to the church he still wasnt there yet and in my heart I was just praying that I would be able to say that words of the Lord.

He finally arrived and it was very awkward to try and start the conversation but I knew I had to. I asked him questions to try and better understand where he was coming from. Besides many other things he said that there were too many rules and that he liked having his cigarette whenever he wanted and not feeling guilty and blah blah blah. So I asked him how long his happiness lasted after each cigarette, maybe 15 minutes, he then said not even, maybe 5. I then was able to testify that the commandments that God gives us are so that we can have eternal joy. Not just 5 minutes of pleasure. After proving many points, not in a debating way, I purposed that he take all of our lessons before deciding. That for the next three weeks he really learns what the church is all about and why we have it. He agreed. We had two awesome lessons with him last week. The first one being the Restoration and then the second the first half of the Plan of Salvation. The spirit is working with him. I can see it. I know ultimately it will be his decision but I know what I am here to do and that is to teach people the gospel so that they can have that choice. Please send your prayers this way, for Vaber, Dan and Julien. I know that these are three souls Heavenly Father is longing to have back in his fold. I am more than priviledged to particpate in their journey.

I hope that you all have a wonderful week and are feeling the Spirit of Christmas. We learned yesterday from President Monson that the Spirit of Christmas is sharing the love of Christ. What can you do this Christmas season to share greater charity unto others?

I love you all,
Sister Addis