Zone Conference brought to you by Nantes District

This week was fun! We went on African safari trips, saw castles, got a golden referral and had zone conference!

Wednesday, we went to Bouin to visit a member who wanted to know more about the temple as she is preparing to go for the first time :) she was so excited to show us around her whole area.

Thursday night we went down to Rennes early for our interviews with President. Then next day we had zone conference and President brought his whole family! It was so fun to see them all. They're so amazing and well behaved. Our assignment this week leading up to zone conference was to write a 3-5 minute talk about virtue because we might be chosen to give it. We didn’t know who he was going to pick so we had to be prepared just in case.  I was nervous that he was going to pick me. The night before I heard that the talk was supposed to be in French, I had written my whole talk in English and then translated it to French a few hours before. Fast forwarding through the first half of the conference, our district was going to be singing The Spirit of God in French for the special musical number after lunch. Speaking of lunch, we had McDonald salads which were pretty good. So afterwards they announced that we were going to be singing and then I would give the opening prayer and then I was chosen to share my 3-5 minute talk. While the other Elder, who was also chosen was giving his talk, I realized that it didn't need to be French but I had already deleted my talk in English and so I ended up doing it in French.  So, maybe…bonus points? LOL. I totally had a feeling that I was going to be chosen. It went well, and it was fun overall.

Best story of all happened earlier this week. We got a referral from the Lyon mission. The call came from Elder Ruben who I actually know from my private school days at Carden! We chatted a bit.  It was such a coincidence. The referral he gave us was a woman from Nigeria. She met the church when she was living in Nigeria. She was helped by a man who was very kind, and who invited her to church and she said she really liked it. So, when she moved to Toulon she was searching where to find the church! She went to general conference there, then she just moved here to Nantes. She said she was searching for the church here but still couldn't find it. Until we got the call from the Elders in Lyon we wouldn't have found her and helped her! We met with her Saturday and she is so awesome! She remembers a lot from past missionaries and she even came to church and made some other Nigerian friends. She seemed like she loved it. We set a date for her baptism for the 25th of this month and we really think it will go through! She's excited and so are we. We know God led her to us and the church. Pray for her as she continues to have a desire to learn and progress!

Anyways that's my week! Hope you have a great one. Love you all!

Avec amour, (with love,)

Sœur Hunt

Our member friend, Melanie in Bouin

Low tide in Bouin

Pirahnas

Never fully rested

I speak Spanish like a baby...?

I have come to the point in my life where every time I see a lake or a river (I don't care how dirty it looks), I just want to throw myself in it. This describes how I feel 99. 5% of the time. It's so flippin' hot. 

Hope you all are taking great care of yourselves amidst the perspiration. I know I'm trying! But besides all the heat waves in our apartment and our often semi heat strokes as we walk the streets, we had a pretty great week! 

I'd like to start by talking about the wonderful people I meet called my amis! First there is an 8 year old named Kylian who we saw last Thursday and he's so cute and pretty darn smart. He's already starting D&C. His family is a less active but they're starting to come back to church. They're all so amazing. The dad is preparing himself so he can baptize his son! They served us Escargot (snails) so my companions could try it for the first time and I could have it again. It was a fun time :) 

Later that week we saw an ami who was seen before by Sœurs but had lost contact with them. His name is Antoine and he's from Africa. He has great, great faith. You could tell in his prayer that he really was grateful to meet with us and that he really wanted to know just like Joseph Smith the truth for himself. We taught him the whole restoration and it went so well. I can say that it was one of the times that I had the gift of tongues. The words just flowed and more came to my remembrance when I needed it. I felt like I could’ve expressed myself so well. We were all so happy on how it all turned out in the end. The spirit was so strong. The only problem is that he has a bunch of health issues that prohibit him from coming to church so I ask all those who take an interest and read my weekly novels, to please pray for him so that he will be able to come :) thank you beaucoup. (very much)

We also met with Mary and Bryce again (our amis progressing to baptism) and it went well again. They live really far from the church as well, and they don't have a car. The transportation doesn't run very often at all on Sundays so it makes them have to wake up early so they can take 50 trams and buses to be to church on time, barely. So also please pray for them! 

I'd love to share more about all the people I met but you might try and find a way to block my emails from coming somehow. So moving on to a wonderful family home evening Friday night with a couple of members and our amis except our amis didn't come. But it was still really great. Remember when I said that our ward is very diverse? How we have Spanish and English and every African dialect... Well these two members are from Peru and the Dominican Republic. One speaks pretty alright French and the other speaks like none. So we really wanted to accommodate them. We sang sweet hour of prayer in Spanish and one of the Elders who's crazy smart did his whole spiritual thought in Spanish. He only took Spanish in high school. I don't know how he knew that much from just learning in high school... No one learns that much from just high school. Anyways it was awesome and I bore my testimony in Spanish as well: “Yo sé que Dios le ama.” (I know that God loves you) Yup I'm fluent! Then afterwards it was a bad idea to tell them that I was partly from Spain and that my grandparents and my mom speak Spanish fluently because they interrogated me about why I didn't know any Spanish! I responded back sheepishly saying, “Yo Hablo Español un poquito”... (I speak a little Spanish) One responded back saying that I spoke Spanish like a baby... I'm not sure the meaning behind that but I'll take it as a compliment. 

Something that I learned this week is that God really does work through small and simple means. Every time I go contacting on the street and leave a contact I always wish that I could've left that conversation knowing I did more, could've said something that wouldve convinced them, or just something crazy that would’ve shocked them into believing. But then I think, us humans are always looking for some big miraculous miracle or vision where we see God... But it's not like that. I learned that people have choices. All I can do is testify so they can be convinced by the whispering of the spirit. All I can do is strengthen my own testimony to help them more fully. There is no other way. It's a trial of faith. We must learn by faith and act on what we know. I'm very thankful for the choices I've made that have put me where I am today. I can't even begin to explain my gratitude for this gospel and all that it has done for me in my life. Take time to bare your testimony this week to someone who might need it, or take time to strengthen a part that is lacking in your testimony so that you will be able to help someone who is struggling themselves. 

So yeah that's my week! Love you all tons and tons. I hope you all had and have an amazing week. 

Love

Sœur Sarah Hunt

P. S. I really love art museums

French pastry from Paul's Boulangerie

Our amis, Bryce and Mary

My latest Salmon dinner creation

Made melted Brie in a bread bowl with roasted potatoes

We're not always popular outside the US

In a dark room at the museum

I love art museums!

No quite right.

Good vibes!!

Salut !! Not a whole lot happened this week so I'm going to just get down to business :)

We had a great lesson with Mary and Bryce, and yes Bryce came this time! We set a baptismal date with him for the same date as his wife. He was so excited, it was a great lesson! We then saw them again Saturday which was a miracle in disguise. They absolutely loved the Plan of Salvation and couldn't wait to hear more.

We had exchanges this week and we had the amazing opportunity to go to Rennes. It is the most beautiful place ever. It really felt like a dream like, I didn't think it was actually real for Rennes to be that beautiful. It was really fun to be there and see my blue again and just have lessons while walking around the amazing city.

Just a quick thought that I'd like to share with you. There is a quote I really like by CS Lewis and part of it says, "Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny..." I like this quote a lot because it's a good reminder for me, that whatever I'm going through is going to help and benefit me for the future in some way. Makes me wonder what God has prepared for me. I know God knows everything and wants the best for us.  The trials you face are probably really hard right now but take heart in the fact it's preparing us for something even better. God never gives us something we can't handle, remember that.  Whatever we're facing, we can get through with God's help. If we want to be like God we must work for it, it’s not supposed to be easy. We're going to look back and say, I made it. We did it and now we have peace in the fact that we endured to the end with a few scars as reminders of our strength and power in overcoming all things. It's going to all be worth it in the end. D&C 123:17

I love you all and I hope you have a great week!

Avec Amour,
Sœur Hunt

In Rennes with Soeur Burrup

Exchanges in Rennes- Sarah's bleu (greenie) is wearing the glasses on the right

Exchanges in Rennes

 Rennes, France

Rennes, France

Diagon Alley -Harry Potter inside a mall

"Best ice cream ever"

Soeur Morrison

Nantes, France

Nantes, France

Being trained part 2

Coucou de Nantes tout le monde! (Hiya from Nantes everybody!!) Wow life is so much different here. I'm so incredibly happy to be with my “mom” and “sister” again. Apparently, I wasn't done being trained so I was put back with Sœur Giles.  Haha JK.  Actually, the reason we're together is because last transfer no Soeurs left and only one Soeur came in so there's an odd number so we're a trio for now but Soeur Giles goes home next transfer, then it will be Soeur Morrison and I left here most likely. I love being in Nantes, it's a different life for sure. Much bigger and so many more people. I love it here!

I'd like to skip back a few days to transfer day before I got to Nantes. We were traveling in a group through the métros in an area I wasn't familiar with. As part of the transfer plans I ended up having to travel alone to Nantes. My companions weren't coming to pick me up. I had trouble with my luggage trying to carry it all by myself. Once I got to the trains I didn't know which train it was, so I asked a worker which one was going to Nantes while pointing at one train and the guy who worked there said it was the one I was pointing at. So, I got on with much struggle and finally got into my seat only to discover I was on the wrong train. So, I had to grab my bags very quickly before the train I was on left with me on it. I got out and realized that the train I was supposed to be on had just left 2 minutes prior. So, there I am without a phone or Wi-Fi and all by myself in a huge Gare (train station) ... I mean just my luck. I ended up having to exchange my ticket and waited 2 and a half hours before the next train left for Nantes. I finally got on the right train and it was smooth from there on out. I figured out the Wi-Fi on the train to tell my companions through messenger that I'd be late but that I was safe. Boy what a crazy transfer day it was.

Anyways I'm here in Nantes and I love it. It's so fun to reminisce all the stories from Nancy with Sœur Giles and with my other companion (sister).  We get along super well.  I love her, she's so funny.  We have a lot in common. 

On Friday we met with one of our amis named Mary and her husband's name is Bryce and they have one little girl. They're from Nigeria which means they speak English which is very nice. We met with Mary and were able to listen to a couple chapters in French on her computer because she doesn't read super well.  Afterwards were able to teach her about having the spirit and she said she really wanted to have it. We thought that was a perfect opportunity to ask her to be baptized so she could receive the gift of the holy ghost. We set a date for August 25.  It was super! I haven’t met Bryce yet, but my comps think that he'd agree as well and would be baptized together on the 25 of August! 

It was very fun getting to know the members at church.  It's a pretty big ward. I bore my testimony along with introducing myself in sacrament. Our ward is very diverse. We have Spanish and English and every African dialect. It's exciting! The bishop told us that our district speaks good French which made us way happy. The day before I got the best compliment in the world. When I was introducing myself to a member for the first time she asked me if I was French because I have a really good accent! I was very happy. First time I'd heard that. There is still always lots to learn but I'm happy to hear that I'm on the right track. 

Well, that's it for the moment but I know next week will be awesome and so fun! I love you all very much and I hope you have a great week! Make sure to keep praying and put your trust in him. He's always there for you and will guide you to do the things you need to do. Have a great week! 

Love Sœur Hunt 

Soeur Giles, Soeur Morrison and Soeur Hunt 

Family Reunion - Soeur Giles (far right) goes home in a month

Outdoor cafe in Nantes

"Nantes is so beautiful!!"

Cathedral Saint Pierre and Saint Paul (4 photos)

Nantes City streets