May 21, 2019

Bonjour mes amis! This week was lovely. We had a lot of great lessons. Actually a lot of our amis took some big steps. Kessie told us out of the blue that she received an answer that she needs to start coming to church. We had been practically begging her for such a long time and she wasn't budging so we kind of dropped it... So when she told us that we were both kind of screaming for joy on the inside Haha. We also had two lessons with Thomas who we met on exchanges. He's such a sweet guy. We had a breakthrough with him because he is very opinionated and really likes to talk. Super sweet though. Anyways, we showed him general conference talks and we watched part of one from president Nelson and he was totally hypnotized (and who can blame him, its president Nelson!) He was softened and humbled and told us that he felt like he found an answer. We also had a lesson with Carlloick and Nathalie, (but mostly Carlloick because Nathalie had to step out) I love this kid! He is so so spiritual and hungry for truth. He just lit up when we talked about the story of the iron rod. I have a lot of hope and see a lot of potential for him. We hope they will come to church next Sunday. We also had so many service opportunities with the members. I love serving! I feel a lot of love for the members here and of course I love our anis something fierce! I dont really want to leave now but I honestly have no idea what is going to happen this upcoming transfer. There are lot of changes coming. President Phillips will be leaving us in July so next month will be our last zone conference with him... It makes me really sad. But president Low sounds incredible and in July we will be merging missions with Halifax! I am so excited for that and honored to be able to serve in the same mission as my daddy. To think we could be walking down the same streets in just a few months! Wow... I also hit my half way mark on Wednesday. I can't believe that. 9 months down, 9 months to go. It feels like a dream. It goes by so fast and sometimes not so much. I love being here. Every day I see new things to be grateful for. I would never have learned French if it weren't for my mission. I would never have met these beautiful people. I can't imagine my life without them! I love my mission and I love the people! But most of all I love my Savior because he made it all possible. He gave me everything so I am honored to give him 18 months. I love you all and hope all is well! Much love, Soeur Bates