BLUE FIRE

Oh my HECK I have never been more in love with Carcassonne!!! I have a feeling that this is going to be an extremely miraculous transfer. Soeur Richarson and I have decided to really focus on obedience and diligence, and I know that as we try our hardest to put in our effort, the Lord will make up the rest and bless us with success!!

Alright I can't wait any longer to write the most amazing miracle so that will be first and then I'll write about Soeur Richardson after. :)

Christian is an infinite ami that started meeting with the missionaries 8 years ago and has been faithfully coming to church ever since - however he has always refused to get baptized. He has received all the lessons and knows the church is true, but I think he takes pride in knowing that he is "different" from everyone else in the ward. Last Sunday I went up to him and just started talking to him, eventually he said, "You and your companion should come over and meet with me sometime this week." UHM....OK!!!! Christian hasn't let missionaries come and talk to him for years because he doesn't like how everyone pushes him towards baptism. When we went over on Tuesday, one of the very first things he says is "I've been thinking about baptism." (with no prompting from us) "How about 2033?" We laugh kind of nervously and then he said, "Just kidding, I'm ready for October." After EIGHT YEARS of investigating the church, Christian is finally going to be baptized!!!! And the most amazing thing is that we didn't do ANY pushing! I'm so excited for him!!

Amazing miracle, huh? I couldn't wait to share it. Now I'll talk about my WONDERFUL companion!!! I can tell we are going to do soo well together!! I can't wait to see what the transfer has in store for us!! So here's a little summary of Soeur Richardson. She is from Kaysville, Utah. She plays the piano beautifully (thank heavens because playing the piano in Sacrament Meeting gave me a LOT of anxiety). She also sings alto so we harmonize when we sing hyms - its really fun. :) She is SO kind to me!! She always makes sure to compliment me on things I do well - speaking of which she thinks I'm really good at cooking (I know you are all shocked to hear this). She is also REALLY talented at speaking French. She gave a talk on Sunday and it was SO GOOD. She is so so sooo wonderful. I'M SO LUCKY. Also, I love that she has faith in my high goals - I like to have seemingly impossible goals and let God help us fulfill them. :) Well there are many other things I love about Soeur Richardson, but you'll just have to hear about them as time goes on. :)

Soeurs Richardson et Everett

I want to talk a little bit about BLUE'S CONFERENCE. We got to go to Lyon last weekend for this and it was SO GOOD. I feel inspired to work so hard this transfer because I know that it's possible!!! And I know that the assistants like to call this excitement that I have "blue fire," but I can assure you its NEVER GOING AWAY. I will have "blue fire" my ENTIRE MISSION. It was also really fun to be in Lyon because I got to see my Mom. :) She is a SISTER TRAINING LEADER, I'm so proud of her. :') One of the office elders told me that she put up a fight about which sisters stayed in her apartment the night before blue's conference. He was really confused why it mattered so much who stayed with her, then he looked at the list of sisters, rolled his eyes, and said "Ohhhh I get it. Fine. You can have the Carcassonne sisters." YES. Thank you Soeur Vidal. :)

I read an amazing talk by Elder Holland this week called "Lord, I Believe." While I was reading it, I found my mission motto: "All things are possible to them that believe." I know it sounds cliché, but it's TRUE and I love it!! Keep praying for me and the people in Carcassonne! We need all the prayers we can get so we can keep seeing miracles!!

I love you all so much!!

Soeur Everett

-The scripture for this week is 3 Nephi 15:21-22 - I have found a lot how important it is to people with a Christian background who already believe in the Bible to find that the Book of Mormon really does COMPLIMENT the Bible, it doesn't replace it!! I love these scriptures because it is a wonderful example of how the Book of Mormon is used to clarify passages in the Bible that could be interpreted so many different ways. My testimony of the Book of Mormon has grown so much on my mission, I have never loved the Book of Mormon more in my life than I do now, and I love that I have this opportunity to share it!! If you don't read the Book of Mormon every day, DO IT. It will bless your life!!

I'M STAYING IN CARCASSONNE!!!

I AM SO HAPPY!!!!! I really really wanted to stay here for another transfer and I'm SO GLAD that this is Heavenly Father's plan for me!!! I am going to KILL IT this transfer in Carcassonne. I can just feel the miracles waiting for me and Soeur Richardson! :) (No I haven't met her yet, she gets to Carcassonne at 5:30!) Soeur Bayles is off to Tarbes and Soeur Beeny is staying here with me!!! She's getting a sister coming from Chambery and my companion is coming from Dijon! We are sooo excited to meet them!!

Weekly planning from my favorite spot in the apartment

Since Soeur Vidal is now not my companion anymore, I want to make a little "Ode to Soeur Vidal." Soeur Vidal is definitely one of the best missionaries I have ever seen (and I'm not just saying that because she's my mom). Everywhere she goes the people LOVE her!! She is so real with everyone, she's not afraid to be bold, but she has such a loving heart and ALWAYS finds opportunities to serve. She was only here for 6 weeks but the ward here loves her so much and they really do trust her! I'm so glad that I got to serve with her so that I could better learn how to gain the trust of members and also our amis! I'm really sad that I only had Soeur Vidal for one transfer but I know she is going to be a phenomenal Sister Training Leader and that she is going to bless the lives of so many sisters. :)

Soeurs Vidal et Everett on train

WATCH OUT LYON. Oh one more thing for Soeur Vidal. We were in Montpellier teaching an ami of the sisters there and Soeur Vidal was SO happy to be there (she served 6 months in Montpellier). After we taught the lesson we got to go streetboarding with all the missionaries that are in Montpellier (there were like 6 equipes there, it was way fun). While we were there I was just contacting people left and right (streetboarding is pretty much my favorite thing to do as a missionary so I get super energized when I get to do it!!) One of the Elders came up to me and said "Wait a second Soeur Everett...you're a blue!?!?" and then he turned to Soeur Vidal and said "Great job Soeur Vidal." HAHA!! So true! The missionary I am now is all thanks to her!!

I really don't remember if I've talked about Kristi before, but a few weeks ago I contacted him on a bus coming back from Limoux. We had a really really good conversation and I talked a lot about the plan of salvation and he absolutely LOVED it!! After he got off the bus, Soeur Vidal turned to me and asked "did you give him our card?" I FORGOT TO GIVE HIM A CARD (super shameful). So on Tuesday we were on exchanges and Soeur Bayles and I were walking through Centreville and she turns to me and says "is that the man you contacted on the bus back from Limoux?" I FREAKED OUT and practically ran after him (haha I'm super embarrassing sometimes), he was really happy to see me and I had my second chance to give him my card!!! I'll let you know what happens with him. :)

Piñata (made by Elders, destroyed by Sister)

Wow we have quite a few miracles this week, but I can just give you one more?? There is this wonderful Brazilian family in our ward - the Bentos. They have been inactive for quite a while because their house is so far away from the church. But Soeur Vidal and I had the idea to call them and see if there was a time when we could get together with them and the Phelipes (the Brazilian family that we teach). We all got together and it was SO GOOD. The Bentos and the Phelipes are now BEST FRIENDS! So now we reactivated a wonderful family AND our amis have really good friends at church!!!! :)))
 

Well family, its been a crazy week and I am sooo excited to see what next week brings with a brand new companion!!! I'll be sure to tell you all about her next week!!! I just have one request! I have really learned the power of prayer since I've been on my mission. Every morning, we pray for all the investigators in our mission that have a baptismal date, its a really cool experience. So I was wondering if during your family prayers at night you could pray for my amis! I can give you their names and what to pray for, and I know I'll see miracles when you are all praying for them by name as well!!

Here's the scripture for this week!! D&C 130:2. I've been thinking a lot about eternal families since being away from you, and what I love about this scripture is that it says that the same family we have here now will be together in eternity, but will be coupled with "eternal glory." How wonderful is that! I love that I know I will be with my family forever one day with eternal glory, and that as a missionary I can help others have this same blessing that I do!

Train station in Perpignan (where mom had her kidney stone in 1989)

I love you all so much!! Keep teaching with the missionaries and giving them people to teach!! :)

Soeur Everett

I LOVE CARCASSONNE (Week 11)

Soeurs Vidal et Everett

BONJOUR!!!

I am sooooo scared because this week is TRANSFER CALLS!!!!! However, I will start off the letter with huge news..... on Saturday President called us and talked to Sister Vidal. I was DYING the whole time we were teaching English class to know what he said, but she wouldn't tell me until after!!! Afterwards she told me that the reason why President called early was because he wouldn't be making the calls this coming week, and he wanted to tell Soeur Vidal personally that she was going to be a SISTER TRAINING LEADER IN LYON!!!! I HAVE THE BEST MOM EVER!!! Really though, I've been sooooo blessed to be with Soeur Vidal and I know sooo many more Sisters need her in their lives as well, so I guess I'll have to share. :( But now I'm even more nervous for calls because I know for sure my companion is leaving, but I have no idea if I'll be leaving too! (President Roney loves white-washing villes...)



Bezier District: Elder Peel and Elder Wolfenstein are our Zone Leaders (Montpellier) Elder Bowers (DL) and Elder Davis (Bezier) Soeur Sarmiento, Soeur Floisand, Soeur Receveur, Soeur Schultes (Perpignan) and of course me, Soeur Vidal, Soeur Bayles, and Soeur Beeny!!

This week was filled with so many miracles!!! I don't even know which ones to share or where to begin!!! I'll start with my wonderful Brazilian family, the Phelipes. :) Last week we went over to their house and were teaching them a little bit about the life of Christ. (They've already had all the lessons since they've been seeing the missionaries for a long time so now we teach them from the gospel principles manual.) When we got to the part about baptism we had to be bold. We told them how important baptism was and that they needed to be married first. Soeur Vidal even pointed out to them that they were living in sin right now. Our boldness really got to them. They told us that all they had to do was wait for Andersons papers to leave the army to come through and they could probably get married in a few weeks!!!!!!!!!!! That means they can be baptized RIGHT AFTER. Originally they were going to wait until next summer so they could have a huge wedding in Brazil with all their family, but after talking with them they realized that they really needed to get baptized and that they could still have their big wedding in Brazil after they get married here!! Seriously, we were going crazy with excitement.

Soeurs Vidal and Everett with Elder Bowers (and the thrift store tie we bought him)

Miracle TWO!!! Yesterday we were out contacting (we needed 114 people to reach our weekly contacting goal). We had already been contacting for a long time, since it was raining yesterday and its not vacation time anymore. But we decided that instead of taking a break we would reach our goal first! (Thats always when Heavenly Father really works miracles, isn't it?) We came across one of our eternal amis, Christian! He stopped letting the missionaries come over a while ago, but he comes to church every sunday faithfully for about 7 years and he just won't get baptized! But while we were talking he really softened his heart because we were just helping him resolve his concerns about baptism. I think the reason why he doesn't want to get baptized really revolves around him feeling too pressured by the members to be baptized and he wants to decided for himself! But of course Soeur Vidal says, "Well, we knox you're ready to get baptized, so how about this weekend?" AND HE SAID MAYBE. This man has been seeing the missionaries for 7 YEARS. So tonight at FHE we are going to try to confirm the baptism!! PLEASE PRAY FOR HIM!!

The Awesome Equipe of Awesomeness!

Well I don't have too much more time so I'll just stop with 2 miracles! Things are so wonderful here in Carcassonne!! I don't know what the Lord has in store for me for next transfer, but one thing I know is that if I stay here, I will be extremely happy. :)

Alma 13:24 - I LOVE THIS SCRIPTURE. It's true that the Lord is truly preparing the hearts of His children to receive the message of the gospel!! But it's up to US to share what we know with everyone that we can! Please please please go out and teach with the missionaries!! I know how much they'll appreciate it. :)

Je vous aime ma famille!!!

Soeur Everett

Living the Dream!!! (Week 10)

Wow I feel like I have so much to tell you and once again SO LITTLE TIME!!! I'll do my best :)

So this week we got to go on exchanges with the Sister Training Leaders! It was super fun and I absolutely LOVE travelling!! I learned a ton from Soeur Mata! I think the most important thing she taught me is to talk to everyone! She told me something that stuck out to me. It was that she hated to see people pass by without talking to them because she wants to give EVERYONE a chance to have this happiness that we have! How great is she!? So I did a lot of chatting with people even when it was in awkward situations like on buses (I don't know why bus contacting is so awkward for me!)



Personal Scripture Study

So here's our miracle this week!!! We were calling numbers in our area book under "potential investigators" and everyone who has been on a mission knows that usually there is not a whole lot of success that comes from that. So we were calling numbers and the second person we called said "sure you can come over!!!" We were shocked. When we went over we found out shes moving to Normandie soon (bummer) but we offered to help her clean up her house before she moved and she ACCEPTED (French people never accept service...ever). I think she was super touched by our service and we're hoping she can get baptized before she moves!!! If not I know she'll get baptized soon, she's so ready!




Cassoulet!  Yum!

Okay a couple side notes. Last Sunday I had to be the ward pianist in Sacrament meeting for the first time EVER. And I realized that I don't know how to play any Sacrament hymns because I've never had to know them!!! So I sight-read one...but it went well!! I didn't have any before-notice that I was playing last Sunday, so now I'll be ready for next week!!!!


We ate CASSULET!!!! It was SO good!! I couldn't believe I liked it since it was mainly beans, but I DID!!! (Thank you Dad!!)

Another funny thing... apparently since being on a mission I've started sleep-walking and sleep-talking? On Saturday I woke up not feeling well at all and Soeur Vidal demanded that I take a little nap. Afterwards we were talking and she mentioned something about me going to the bathroom in the middle of my nap and I told her that I didn't. She told me that she heard me get out of bed (from the other room) and heard the toilet flush and everything! I was the only other person in the apartment sooo it had to be me. And I have ZERO recollection! (I'm turning into a sleep-walker like John!!!!!) :O

Feria Carcassonne this weekend!!!!!! (we didn't go but we got free bandanas!!)

 

Soeur Vidal always wants to take pictures of me... (by the way, most of the pictures I send come from her camera because her camera is SUPER nice and takes amazing pictures... plus she's always the one wanting to take pictures anyway!) 

 

Another side note.  The other sisters in our apartment are awesome!  Soeur Beeny (19) goes to BYU and she is SOOOO FUNNY!!! We have so much fun whenever shes around. She loves singing and cooking and she did theatre all growing up. Shes in her second transfer but her french is so good and shes super confident. I just love her!!  Soeur Bayles is 25 and she finished college in England before coming on her mission! Shes been out a little over a year and she is SOOO NICE and so genuine. I feel like nothing bothers her at all... She is so wonderful.



This picture was was taken on the Ferris Wheel!!! Which they just took down today :(

Oh my goodness thank you SOO much for sending your talk to me dad!! Pleeeease post it on my blog!! I read it this morning and I was just crying!! I can't believe I missed it!!

Side note for Lizzie, Johnny, Anna, and Will: you should realize now that you have the best parents EVER. I don't think I fully realized how amazing they were until I was out here on a mission! They really know what they're talking about, so my advice is to trust them. :) (And no they didn't bribe me to write that.)



I made the most BEAUTIFUL planner yesterday before bed!!! I'm in love with it!!

Well I love you and miss you family!! Thanks for all your letters!! They seriously make me SOO happy when I get them, I LOVE hearing from you!!!

Je vous aime!!
Soeur Everett

P.S. Almost forgot to add these scriptures!!! They're INCREDIBLE, you're all going to love them. Moroni 7:28-32