On The 10th Day of Christmas

Dear Family, Friends, and Collegues (you know which group you fall in)

This week has been fairly uneventful. Lots of Porting. Lots of Porting. And Lots of Porting. However we did get the opportunity to have a couple of wonderful lessons so I can't really complain. 

Speaking of complaining....it is SO HOT HERE!! You think you know heat because you've lived in Arizona, and you think you know heat because you've lived in muggy Virginia but then you combine the two and that is La Reunion. Mom, if Googleweather told you that it is 84 degrees it is straight up lying! We have a thermometer built into our car and we've been getting readings of 32, 34 and even 36 degrees. Which are ALL in the 90s. I'm telling you folks it is HOT. Then whenever people talk about the weather and how it is hot, everyone, everyone tells us "La chaleur, il commence". Which means "The heat, it's starting." Starting?! Whewww, you've got to be kidding me! Although luckily, someone informed me that it doesn't actually get hotter in January, it just gets more humid. Oh good. The rain has held off this week, which is unfortunate since that is the explanation for the extreme heat. At least we don't wear pants or ties I guess. 

We are gearing up for Christmas season here too. My companions and I have found a "12 Days of Christmas" collection of stories and like to read them each night at dinner. It really seems to help bring the spirit of Christmas. We also found decorations in our apartment so actually have a 3 foot high tree with lights and everything! For the most part though it doesn't really feel like the holiday season because life is going on as normal, plus it's ninety degrees outside everyday and we're sweating through our shirts. This Thursday is the Branch Christmas party and it's supposed to be quite the party! We have invited EVERYONE we know, so hopefully that will pan out. I truly believe that if some of these amis could come and feel the spirit that the church and the ward members have to offer, they would have that strong desire to know more and have that spirit in their lives always. It's this Thursday so I'll let you know how it goes. 

Some people here have put up a tree and some lights but not nearly as much as in the US. Mostly everything we do is bigger and over the top (if you can believe that!) so things here in Reunion are a lot more toned down. And the tree is always fake - though I have seen some pine trees growing out here. Interestingly enough, even though some people put fake pine trees in their houses the real Christmas tree in La Reunion is the "Flamboyant" which is this tree with red petals all over it - I'll try and send you a picture. The people here say the color of Christmas is red because of the flamboyant and the letchis.

The work is going sort of slowly since we don't have many amis to see and are porting all the time but that's because you just have to find the right people. Hopefully after this Christmas party we'll see things pick up. My companions and I keep telling ourselves that we are in the "quadrant of miracles" so now it's only a matter of time before we start seeing them.

Soeur Stewart

Christmas!

Dear All,

First, the senior couple here has a blog all about the mission and missionaries. Apparently she puts up pictures of us pretty frequently so if you want to see more than what I send (or don't send) out - check it out! I don't know the address but I have heard a quck google search will make it come up fast.

Second, I have no real exciting news. Everything is still progressing slowly slowly. Three of out amis came to the Christmas party which was great!! And one of them is starting to come to church now! So we are really happy about that. His name is Hughes and he is so great.

Thirdly, the rain I have been waiting for finally came!! And it came practically all in one day! There was one day this week when it just POURED. You would have thought someone was dumping buckets from heaven. Luckily it started up around lunch time so we were inside and then we called our zone leader to ask what we should do since we were just supposed to know on doors that whole day. He said it wasn't very safe to drive and to try and stay in until things lightened up. So that was pretty crazy.

Lastly, we got invited over for Christmas dinner! YEAH! We are so happy because originally we were just going to eat by ourselves at home which would have been fine but it's nice to be around peoople! We have been invited over to a member's house and then I'll be able to skype from there so everything is working out like a dream.

I am SO grateful to be in this church. I KNOW that this church has been restored by the Lord Jesus Christ, through his intermediary Joseph Smith the prophet in our Latter-days. And I am so grateful to be a part of it and know this truth. I am grateful to know that through the gospel of Jesus Christ it is possible for all of us and ALL men to come unto Christ. To take upon us His load and to come "into His rest". We have been promised a glorious destiny if we can but change our hearts to be more loving and more Christlike and obey our Heavenly Father. I know that this life has a purpose and that we are known and numbered unto the Father. These truths are a REALITY. And so is the eternal happiness that we can have one day. During this season of Christ, seek Him. Come unto Him by being a more devoted and loving disciple. He gave the greatest gift of all - hHis life and His example. Give Him the best gift you can in return. Give Him your Heart. 

I LOVE you all and pray for each one of you!! Have a very Merry Christmas!!

Love,

Soeur Stewart

Zone Conference

Hello All!

So a really exciting week! Elder Renlund and his wife came with President Adams and Sr Adams this Wednesday to talk and teach us at Zone Conference and it was SOOO AMAZING!! Elder and Sister Renlund both taught us full interactive lessons. They were moving around the room and asking us questions and it was so enlightening. I was just so grateful to have the opportunity to learn from a general authority. You can tell they are such diligent servants of the Lord! So that was really great, I took away a lot of things that I've been trying to implement in my missionary life or in my character. 

But the greatest lesson that I got out of it is this: If you imagine a graph where attitude and effort are on the axis there are four different quadrants.

Bad Attitude, Bad Effort

Bad Attitude, Great Effort

Great Attitude, Bad Effort

AND

Great Attitude, Great Effort

He said this last quadrant is called the "quadrant of miracles" And he shared a story about his brother who was a REALLY hard working missionary but was kind of down about his mission because it was in Sweden and no one ever listened or got baptized. He said that in the last three months of his mission he changed his attitude and pushed himself in the quadrant of miracles. Those last three months his companionship had as many baptisms as their whole mission had the year before! He said that we ALL have to work to put ourselves in this quadrant and that many times throughout the day we are in all four! But that as we work to have that hope and optimism that comes from faith in Christ and work hard too, we begin to see miracles. I was so inspired by that and everyday have started praying for help to stay in the "quadrant of miracles". Mostly I need to work on my attitude because it is so easy to trudge through the work and just get things done without staying completely upbeat or optimistic.

There is not too much to write about because we still don't have any solid amis. So we did a LOT of porting this week - almost 16 hours. We are hoping that some of the people we met will prove to be really interested in the gospel and want to hear our message. 

I had a crazy allergy attack this week! One morning I woke up and it was like BAM!! Suddenly my nose was running and also stuffy and my head felt like a million pounds and my throat was starting to hurt. While we were walking around all day I had to carry multiple packets of tissues and I was quickly going through them. It was not fun. It took me pretty much all week long to get back to normal. I don't know what it was that suddenly triggered it because everything has continued as normal here but I was really struggling this week. Mostly I just thought I was going to die because I couldn't ever breathe! Not literally ever, I could breathe through my mouth. However, I have been blessed once again with health so now I'm back to normal again!! Yay! I am incredibly grateful and know that it is a blessing from the Lord.

I have had such an amazing testimony boost about PRAYER! Guys, it is so real and so powerful! I know that Heavenly Father listens to us and is there helping us. I also know that if we ask humbly and in faith for righteous desires he can help us accomplish them. I have been working so hard on taking my weaknesses and worries and opening up and talking talking talking to my Heavenly Father about it. Because if we want to develop a quality or ask for strength in an area of our life, the best place to start is with prayer to our Heavenly Father. He knows us perfectly. And he is just waiting to help us out or give us a blessing but we have to ask in faith first. It's like the scripture in 2 Nephi 32:9. We should pray unto the Father first that HE may consecrate our efforts so it can be for the welfare of our souls. I think that is SO powerful! Also you have to find and read an address by Elder Bednar called "Ask in Faith"! As one of my Christmas gifts, please do this for me! I know that I have a lot of weaknesses and I'm working on them but the best way to work on them is to council with the Father first and then to get up on your feet and put it into practice. Already I have seen this principle played out in my own life. And it can be anything: more courage to share the gospel, a greater sensitivity to others feelings, knowing what to say when you get a missionary opportunity, more patience, the ability to think more positively, or being less critical and having less negative thoughts. The Lord wants to help you develop Christlike talents and attributes and they are a gift from Him. Who better to help you change your character than the one who made you! Anyway, that is my testimony of prayer!! So everyone, make sure you say them every day and make sure you MEAN them!! Be completely honest. Tell him about your biggest worries, your fears, the things that bother you. Talk to Him.

I LOVE you guys!! Hopefully I'll be able to tell you more about the progressing work soon!

Soeur Stewart

More Pictures

A GIANT Papaya

So this week was actually fairly exciting! We had district meeting at the end of this week which was great! And also means that I was able to meet President Adams for the first time. He and his wife are really great and a very nice couple. They come to the island about every 6 weeks. So we'll be seeing them again soon.

We had a couple of great lessons! Some of our lessons go great and some not that great. But I love it when they are absolutely phenomenal and you can tell that person is intently listening to everything you are saying and having the spirit testify to them. That's happened a couple of times and it is so powerful. We had a couple of lessons that way this week and I just love it when our amis say "il faut que je lis" because you KNOW they felt the spirit. And also you just want to sing out loud because THAT'S what you've been trying to get across all lesson long!! Hahah but it's nice. Not going lie though, it's really disapointing when some people accept some of our message but have no motivation to ACT on it. Like people will tell us that they believe that it's possible that our prophet truly talks to God but then won't come to conference to see it themselves. It makes me want to ask them - Aren't you at least a little CURIOUS to hear from a person who claims to speak the words of the Lord and who this whole church of 15 million people support?? But that's ok. Some people aren't ready I guess. Anyway it's still all going good!

We were porting in an apartment building and there was this lady watching us. Like just chillin out on the balcony staring at us. She was this short very tan slightly round lady with a really sour face and dark expression. So we say 'bonjour' as we pass and she starts muttering to herself while backing away and rubbing her hands. And mostly we were all really confused and sort of scared but we just keep on going. Then as we continue porting on that level we see her sneaking glances at us from around a corner and we were spooked but keep working. Then we go to pass her in the hallway again and she jumps at us while yelling and we stopped stock still. And she mutters something and points at her head. So by this time we're freaked out enough to decide to get out of there and as we continue walking past her to leave we hear her turn and start following us REALLY closely. We don't want to turn and look but we can hear her flip flops flopping RIGHT behind us. We started seriously picking up the pace and practically run down the stairs out of the apartment building. And then when we paused on the floor down to see if she was following us we hear her jumping up and down right on the spot above our heads next to the stairs and then starts moving again. And we just ran out of there practically as fast as we could. 

We had a lesson with a lady named Soeur Sebastian and at the beginning of it she asked me if I was Reunionese. Which I get at least once a day but normally every person we talk to for a while always says that. But I said no no and then when we were introducing ourselves I said "Je m'appelle Soeur Stewart" And she was like "How did you pick up your American Accent so fast?! And I said "no no I've only been here four weeks" and she said "you picked it up in four weeks?!" So then I had to clarify from the beginning that I was in fact American just like my other two companions and had only been in Reunion for four weeks. We still have communication issues everyday. Mostly people always second guess that I really am from the US and not Reunion. I guess cause my companions are both white and then all the Elders are too and I look so islander that they are just like 'really? Are you really from the US?' 

During that same lesson we told her that we needed to go. (Because people LOVE to talk and will just talk TO you for 30 minutes at a time) So we said we need to go and she was like "oh would you like something to drink" Just to be polite you know. And we said oh that's ok, we're good. We should probably be heading out and she looked at me with these sharp eyes and said "You aren't thirsty?!" Like it was unthinkable. And we were already running late. But I didn't know if this was one of those you-have-to-eat-and-drink-everything-on-a-mission type of circumstances so I just lamely tried to say "Oh we're fine" and then she said "I'll go get some juice" So then we had to chug down the THICKEST mango juice I have ever had in my life in about two minutes because we were already late to our next apt. And we did it and then all felt kinda weird afterward....

So we were at an amis house way up in the mountains and he has this amazing garden. Well the member we brought with us was talking about how in Madagascar they make this really good fruit salad with green papayas and its so delicious. And since he had a whole tree of them the member asked if she could have one. And he is incredibly nice (and lives alone so he doesn't have anyone to eat his garden with) he was more than obliging. And he decided to send us home with a yellow one too. It was HUGE. I will send a picture. So all of us were really looking forward to eating this delicious tropical fruit that came straight off the tree. And we got it home and chopped it up and took a few bites before we realized...Papaya is desgusting. It sort of tastes like...sweet with a lighter fluid aftertaste. Gross. Anyway we were REALLY dismayed to find that now we had a watermelon/pumpkin sized papaya and hated all of it. So we left it as a treat for the missionaries during a meeting and everyone else seemed to like it just fine. So it all worked out.

One of the nicest advantages to being American on this island is that that fact alone pulls people in. Most people have NEVER met an American in their entire life especially not on Reunion. So they are really interested in why we are there. And even more interested when we are tourists. So that's pretty cool. But this week we found the most enthusastic response yet. We walked up to this girl to ask for directions, who was probably 16 or 17 and she asked us where we were from. When we said The United States she screamed and sort of started acting like a big fan. She kept saying "America!! OH MY GOSH" And then she yelled up to an apartment above us and started calling people down saying "These girls are Americanes!!" And she just kept screaming when she said America. It was pretty wild. I feel like I have a small idea now of what it would be like to be a celebrity. 

Anyway, those are the stories from this week. No baptisms yet but we still have four investigators with dates. The earliest one is on the 9 of november!! 

Sister Stewart

Airport Terminal

We finally got to listen to conference this weekend! Which was great but now I'm anxiously waiting to get the English talks because my comprehension in French is still way limited. Especially for 8 straight hours. We took the same breaks as the US but still that's a lot of listening to french. I still managed to get a lot out of some of the talks but most exciting was our investigators!! We had SIX come!! It was amazing! It is so funny how on the mission my perspective on things are changing. Conference was great but there wasn't a talk that went by without me thinking of an investigator. I am becoming so connected to these people so quickly because EVERYTHING we do out here is focused on them. We talk about our investigators. We plan what we're going to teach them. We call them. We pray for them. We think about them. Instead of focusing on what conference could give me, mostly I thought about how conference could benefit our amis.

 

It finally RAINED!! Yay! Not tons but at least a bit. The first rain actually came while we were up in the mountains. The really pretty part of St. Denis that sort of makes me feel like I'm in Peru? I sent a few pictures last time. So we were trying to port up there which is a nice change from down in the city because all the buildings up there are these really nice houses and it's cooler and there is all the pretty vegetation. So we were walking around the streets yelling into the gates and all of a sudden little by little it started raining. And normally walking around in the rain isn't that enjoyable an activity but we have been looking for rain for quite a while and it is just so pretty up there that we were overjoyed to be out in the rain. Plus it was a light rain. On our way back to the car we all decided to imitate Gene Kelly and belt out "Singin' in the Rain" while doing little hop-skip- dance steps. It was amusing and lots of fun for us.

 

We had this incredibly touching lesson last Tuesday and the spirit was there so strong. We could tell that our investigator had some "besoins" and concerns that she wasn't telling us and we prayed before hand that we could be sensitive to the spirit and discern what they were. Then during the lesson I felt prompted to tell a story about my mom and her choices to be strong in the church and the affect that has had -- ultimately leading to me serving a mission. She started crying a bit and told us all about her concerns and worries and how before she wanted to stop meeting with the missionaries but now she knew she wanted to keep meeting with us. Honestly it was the most touching lesson we've had so far. It was so so awesome.

So one of the funniest stories from this week was when we tried to take our car to the car wash. So we go to this car wash in a gas station and the senior companion in our trio told us we need to go in to buy a car wash and then do the whole drive through thing. So we go in and buy a code to punch in to start the car wash. We get back in our car and one of our companions runs and punches in the code before getting back in the car. And as the wash is starting up, I'm starting to think about how this is going to work since it's not like the tunnel car washes in America. Instead there is a big roller in the middle of the wash that moves forward and I'm starting to wonder how the roller is going to fit perfectly over the car and not just smash into the windshield because it's too low or something. So we're slowly starting to drive into the car wash as I frantically try and decipher the directions in French and both of us newbies are looking at my senior companion who says she's never done this before and we don't know what to do! And then the man waiting in his car behind us comes out and taps the windshield of the drivers side. We roll down the window and water starts spraying inside since we are half in half out of the wash and the man tells us we were supposed to put our car in BEFORE starting the wash....So we felt incredibly stupid but it gave us a good laugh. So we had to do it all over again.

 

One of our investigators is called Jean - I think I told you about him and his story last week. Well he is still doing amazing. He keeps coming to church and is so excited to meet with us and is just absorbing the gospel like none other. Well this week he came to our English class and towards the end one of my companions were talking to him since everyone else was still finishing up. And she was just asking if he smoked or drank (because we were planning on teaching him the parole de sagesse the next day) and he said not really and she just told him "ok just curious, there not very good for the health but we'll talk about it more with you tomorrow" Then when we showed up to the lesson the next day and are officially starting to teach him the word of wisdom he goes "yeah, I already thought about what you said last night and decided to quit smoking. I've already quit" And we're all amazed. But we want to make sure he understands that this is a law of God and not just some health advice and he says "I know, I know. I'm not going to drink or smoke or have coffee or tea" and tells us that he has told his friends the same thing. Then he starts talking about how amazing it is that Joseph Smith was a new prophet of God. And he says "I find this really interesting, Joseph Smith say God the Father and Jesus Christ" We were a little bit like "yeah, we told you that...." and he says "Joseph Smith said 'I saw a pillar of light above my head, above the brightness of the sun. One called me by name and said 'This is my beloved Son. Hear Him.'" And we are now looking at each other with our mouths open because our ami just quoted the first vision!! This guy is INCREDIBLE. Like we can't believe how prepared he is and how accepting he is. It's insane. I feel like other people won't believe that there are investigators this perfect out there or that the mission isn't hard or something because of Jean. 

 

Anyway, that's probably all I can think of for this week! And Mom, for the most part I've been doing my hair half the time up and half the time down. But now when it is down it makes me REALLY hot if we're walking in the sun. Also the "delta breeze" here is a coastal wind - which is nice for walking and porting but bad for hair. 

 

Mom can you PLEASE send me all sorts of recipes?! Mostly anything that is quick AND CHEAP and hopefully can be found in France. What are those two bean stews that you do?! Also a pumpkin pie recipe and curry chicken!! We have been recycling the same three recipes and its getting old and I don't have anymore! And one of those was hamburgers... Also if you could send me crossfit/no equipment workouts! That would be awesome! Mostly just tons of recipes. 

Love you!!

Mission Pictures

Family and Friends

Family and Friends,

Mom, that does sound like a pretty busy day - although I think some of ours might still top it. 

The other day we had FIVE investigators in church!! It was amazing! Usually we are bowing and scraping for ONE especially because half of the people who say they will come don't and then the other half don't have transport. But then yesterday there were FIVE!! We still have the four baptism dates we are working towards and they are going amazing! 

One of the men who is getting baptized in November is named Jean (John) and he is so great. At first our companionship gave him the nickname "cancellation Jean" because he canceled on us so many times. They found Jean porting and then set up an apt to see him later. Since he's a single man they had to get a sister to go with them from the ward so they arranged all that. But then when they got there he was gone! He missed an apt at his own house. But he called us and apologized saying he forgot so we set up another rendez-vous. We asked a different sister to come with us, found someone who's schedule fit and then went over to Jean's. And guess what. He wasn't there. So we were pretty let down because its tough asking people to come with us and take time out of their schedules and everything just to be canceled on. So the third time we set up a rendez-vous we ephasized how important it was that Jean not cancel and actually BE there. And that time he was. And we taught him a really good first lesson and he came to church two days later. And after that we invited him to be baptized and he accepted and he's been a stunning investigator! He reads all the little pamphlets we give him and the Book of Mormon everyday! And he asks to pray in every lesson and already he's begun telling his friends about the gospel! We are just blown away! 

I have not actually been up and seen the ocean up close since I've been here in Reunion. Which is disapointing even though I can't even get in anyway. But it turns out that NO ONE gets in the ocean. Everyone is terrified because of the sharks. Which actually has a lot of sense since there have been several shark attacks lately. But we asked someone about if they ever get in the ocean here in St Denis and they were like "What? Are you crazy?" They told us we would die before we even got in. Like that they wouldn't even walk near the beach in case a shark was going to jump out of the ocean and take a bite. So most people go to these little inlets to swim instead where there are chains or something. 

But I trust them since just yesterday there was a story about a dog being eaten by a shark. The sharks here are just weirdly aggressive or something....I guess its a good thing I'm not even allowed in the water.

We are in a drought right now in Reunion so even though its the rainy summer season its actually not raining at all. Which is no fun. Apparently its been a long long time since theyve had to wait this long for the rain and people keep talking about how weird it is. All I know is every day it is getting warmer and warmer and more and more humid and no rain.

Church here can be a little crazy. Mostly just Relief Society. There's only like 12 women and regardless of the lesson topic it turns into this free for all debate. Almost all the women are late 40s or older and a lot of the time it becomes a "What's wrong with this generation" sort of "discussion" Except no one really waits to hear each other out. Everyone has these long responses and everyone interrupts each other and it sort of feels like watching a political debate. Except there are no sides. Just everyones opinon. Not even that much disagreement just people want to keep saying their opinons. In different ways. Over each other. It's crazy.

English class is going good! We had 7 people at the last one and we keep passing out flyers and telling people about it each week. It really is interesting how hard it is to teach a language you know perfectly. Mostly because you can't explain everything and you can say "In this circumstance you should say it this way" because there are so many different ways and choices in the English language. But we really like doing it.

I am working on taking more pictures! Cause right now I don't have many....sorry. Also are you making sure to send this out to everyone? I want to make sure my mission friends are getting it too since I don't have any time to send individual emails. 

Also I am really excited to hear about the girls events! I can't believe Kiaris already on HP 5, maybe when I get back we'll do a family trip to Harry Potter World before Kalen leaves huh? Kalen keep it up with the volleyball and remember to bleed BLUE! Forget about Princeton, its lame. Kylee keep working on personal progress because it's really great to build your testimony! Don't let everything pile up to the end! Also Kylee and Kiari you should play the Nancy Drew games because they are SO fun!! And my companion and I talk about them once a day and our favorite memories! Just don't get too obsessed with them and make sure not to break them because I will want them when I come home :)

Also if I could ask one favor...Kylee if you could check my facebook and see if I've gotten any messages from my friends with their email addresses. Specifically Etienne Landron and Daniel Rellaford. If not could you message them and ask for their email address? Thanks! 

I LOVE YOU GUYS!! And hope all things are going well! Exciting news: I'M A MONTH OUT!! I have officially been out in the field for a month by the end of this week!! How crazy is that?!

Sister Stewart

My Companions

I'm going to try and respond to all the questions I've gotten and send in a picture this week so hopefully I don't run out of time. 

Ok so Reunion is great! I'm not as in love with it as I am France and Paris but I'm hoping I get there. So a little more description of what I see day to day. I am in the largest city of Reunion, St Denis which actually isnt all that big. Its probably not bigger than the city of Rocklin but idk because I'm just guestimating here. You should google up my facts. But mostly all day we're walking around apartment buildings because it also isn't very "city like" because there arent any skyscrapers or like busy busy traffic. I mean its an ocean town so its probably more like SoCal then it is like New York for sure. The biggest store/mall-like thing that they have here is called Carrefour and its basically like a Super Walmart - but a little classier and it has like a yogurt shop nearby and a clothes shop so that is the biggest shopping place. So if you are trying to think of a mental picture of me then just imagine me walking up steep curving streets of San Francisco but knocking on apartment buildings in Southern California...if that mede any sense. I've heard there are some really nice parts of town up on the mountain but we are walking around and finding people and porting at pretty run down apartments and most are government housing (you know because France is socialist so everyone I think can afford to live in some place). Some are pretty gross I'll admit and I wont even start on the smells. But it's all good. We ride the bus several times a day but then we also walk a lot because we still need to get to specific houses from bus stops and sometimes its more efficient than waiting for a bus for 30 minutes "ain't nobody got time for that" 

I'm actually really proud of our companionship because we just take the bus and plan around our schedule and walk up long hills and thats what we do. Not really any whining or complaining. Usually I'm the one who's dying the most because I am not used to walking up mountains but you know I survive. And then one day my companions wanted to run down and then BACK UP our mountain for our morning excersize. Halfway on the way up I had to tap out, so Sister Packer would run to the corners and then jog in place while we walked up. I sort of felt like a wuss but also I couldn't stop thinking about what intense excersize it is to RUN UP A MOUNTAIN. So then I felt better. Plus I ran all the way down and was sore for three days after - I couldn't walk straight because my hip flexers were so sore. I absolutely LOVE my companions. I'm in love with my companionship. A little description of them.

Sister Packer - has been out 6 months and she's our trainer and she's awesome. She is the one that gets us to run up mountains. I asked her how she does it and she just said "Well I hated running when I got here but then I needed a form of excersize so I started doing it and when you get used to walking everywhere running is no big deal" Which made me laugh so hard because I doubt I'll be able to do that no matter how much walking I do. She's really mellow but also totally helps lead us in lessons and everything. And she's always doing little things to help out like she does the dishes all the time without ever saying anything - we'll just have finished dinner and I'll think "ahh we gotta do that" and she'll already be halfway done. And probably 3-4 times I've waken up and she's made me breakfast and she's made all of us something different based on our likes. I get yogurt and granola :) She makes our companionship light hearted and fun. She also loves One Direction and Taylor Swift so we love trying to remember our favorite songs and rock out to them. We just got down "Best Song Ever" because we couldn't remember all the lyrics - especially because she never heard it before she left so I taught it to her! :) And it was indeed the best song ever haha

Sister Gardiner - is also the best. She was the first American sister to go to the Ghana MTC and I was the second so we instantly bonded over that. She was a violin major at BYU and she brought her violin and she is AMAZING. Every now and then she'll take it out and play something and she can pretty much play anything from ear so I can request things and she'll play them. Dad you'll be glad to know that she brought the essential collection of Joshua Bell and he's signed a couple of them so we have that. She and I are constantly cracking each other up and we both have said how we're a little nervous about the rest of our mission because we have SO much fun out here. We have this running joke that she and I are like the same person because of all our uncanny similarities like get this: SHE PLAYS NANCY DREW COMPUTER GAMES!!! We have spent quite q few hours tqlking qbout all of them and our favorites and all the funny things. Clearly we were destined for friendship.

That is just the type of this perfect missionary trio - we are the new three musketeers. I hear all companions get sick of each other though so hopefully that's not our case and in 3 months I'm not telling you how crazy we drive each other.

We only serve in one branch so that's all I've met and the members are great. There are quite a few families and then some older couples - last week we had 74 people there! It felt full. Everything is very normal - except we bisous all the women when we greet them. And Sister Hart always leaves lipstick on us on accident and she never notices - so thats a running joke. I have only eaten at 2 members house. I think its been a lot more frequent in the past but it just depends. 

The first time I went over to this families named La Tchan (which is so ironic because in french its pronounced la chinois which means chinese and they are chinese. I thought my companion was joking the first time she told me their name) and we were starving because it was nearly 2 by the time the food was ready and she brought it all out and I thought "I hope this is enough" Because there were two of them and their two investigator friends and a set of elders and us three girls. And so I dug in (it was super normal food, potatoes and green beans and pork and salad and bread - of course there is always bread) and everything was delicious. I finished my plate and Sister La Tchwan was like "oh eat more, eat more" so then I took a little bit more because I had pretty much taken what would fill me up. And then when any ones plate was clear or looking empty they would say "oh but eat more, eat more - Elders you must be hungry!" And everyone was stuffed but somehow there was more food! And they would look right at your plat and right at you and say "oh but you should eat more, don't you want more?" And us sisters tried to put the pressure on the Elders and say that our tiny stomachs were full but the Elders probably could eat more and the Elders meanwhile were trying to take only two potatoes at a time and eat them because they couldn't fit anymore in! Hahah it was quite funny. 

So for the most part no crazy food stories. We almost always make our own dinner and we have been packing or eating out. When we ate out we found an amazing chinese restaurant!! Although one thing about the food here is that they love this thing called Pimiente. And its basically a pepper that they make into a sort of salsa:sauce. But there are tons of types of pimiente: green and red and whatever else. And sometimes it just looks like tomatoe salsa but it is NOT. It is SO SO hot. And they love it! And they put it on practically everything! Like every restaurant is like - do you want pimiente on that? Even for sandwhichs - and that chinese place I just talked about. So I will try and send some eventually and you can see what I mean. Also just google it. 

I don't know exactly how conference is going to work here - my companion said that we have to wait a couple of weeks and then we watch it another weekend later once they have the dubbing in French or something. I don't know but if so I am REALLY going to miss listening to the voices of the prophet and apostles. Already we have some old talks that we listen to and I just miss hearing Thomas S Monson or Jeffrey R Holland - they just have the best voice! But I'll let you know how it goes. It sounds like really good stuff for the kids are happening. Grandma and Grandpa told me that they're coming over soon and that Kalen will be on his Princeton visit? Crazy stuff. 

I loved getting Ariah's e-mail!! She's so peppy and enthusiastic and I'm so glad she's loving Mexico so much!

Every week I think of a thousand things to tell you guys and then I come here and try and type on this wacky keyboard and I get only 35 percent of it out. But the most exciting news WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A BAPTISM!!! There is a woman here who has been an investigator for like 6 years and has had a REALLY strong testimony and even said she wants to go on a mission but hasnt gotten baptized because her family disapproves. Even though shes like 24. But we talked to her again and testified to her of the importance of baptism and how she should follow how she feels. If she has a testimony and feels like baptism is the right thing then she should do it - we also shared tons of scriptures. And at the end of the lesson she set a date!!!!! In two weeks!! Also one of our amis (investigators) came to church!! We only taught him one lesson and he already came! Which is like huge because we still have difficulty getting members to come! Plus we have taught some super amazing people and we feel really good about. These people are interested and open - it is so amazing and exciting!! I can't wait to tell you more solid good news. But we are inviting 5 more people to baptism this week so hopefully some accept!!

Also sending pictures is close to impossible because we are working with dinosaurs soooo I'm working on it

I AM STRONG

After I wrote you I told my companions about how I was feeling and they recommended that I speak to one of the counselor's wife who lives in the apartment under us. They have been SO understanding and SO supportive. I know I couldn't have continued on without them! Honestly, they have quickly become such good friends and even feeling heavy and dispirited they have made me laugh at 10:00 o'clock at night after a long hard day - and they have stayed so optimistic while still listening to my feelings with sympathy and understanding. Long story short - they are amazing and exactly what I needed. 

When I spoke to Sister Heap I told her all about how I was feeling and she has been like our mom here. She checks up on us and will feed us from time to time. Since the moment I stepped off the plane she has been telling me how glad they are I am here and what a great addition I am to the work. She also has been equally concerned about my bags and offering to get me things from day one in case there is anything I really needed. She keeps saying what a "trooper" I've been and how impressed she is with my attitude. So I thought it really good to talk to her and tell her how stressing this situation has been and how after 9 days I felt at cracking point. She had some really good things to say to me. First, she was of course completely sympathetic repeating all the sentiments I've already said. Second, she pointed out that this was not "my" trial - that (like Dad said) this was simply a man made mistake and sometimes these things do happen. The consequences of my baggage had nothing to do with what I was doing "wrong" or a "lacking" in attitude. Third, she told me that regardless of my baggage issue I would probably be having many of these same sentiments - not to the same degree - but that I had something to blame my homesickness on. And most importantly she asked me what the Savior would say if he were sitting across the table listening to me. Would He tell me to give up? No of course not. In her words she said "You've come too far and gone through too much not to continue". Perhaps, she told me, this was one of those times when one has to do the unthinkable. One simply has to submit completely to the Lord's will and say "Ok, if this is how you want me to do it - OR - if this is how it's going to need to be done because of the circumstances, then that is how I will do it. I will carry on regardless" 

And she was right - it did seem unthinkable to me. The idea of carrying on without everything that I had so carefully and meticulously packed seemed so hard - possibly impossible. Even though the mission home said that they would help me start to replace everything. And even when I told the Heaps how nervous I was about my retainer or medicine they simply said "Well, we have a really good dentist/doctor in St. Denis - we can take you to him. And we'll make sure we get you set up" That night I thought about what she said - especially about the Savior. Because I thought about what you guys were saying back home. And I thought about what I wanted. Did I really want to come home? I thought exactly what Mom wrote me - I would be so frustrated that I hadn't pushed myself through this. And I decided that I had two choices. I could either stop crying and stressing about it and come home. Or I could stop crying and stressing about it and stay there. 

And the next morning I woke up and put on my same navy skirt and went out and did the work. I decided to stay. And I decided to do it with only one pair of shoes, one pair of socks, and two sets of undergarments and clothes. And I knew that bit by bit we could start acquiring the rest and I let go of my bags and the only earthly possessions I had. 

And that night my bags were returned to me.

I thought I knew what people meant when they said you go as far as you think you can possibly go - and then one step further and then THAT is when the Lord helps you. But I didn't. Know I do a little bit more. When we read Ether 12:27 in a lesson today I felt the spirit bear such a strong testimony to me of the truthfulness of that verse - especially in application to the past week. 

I just need to express my gratitude and give credit that the mission home has been working so hard on getting my bags back. They had one Elder spend this whole weekend on calling the airlines and tracking them down. Yesterday he spent more than FOUR hours on the phone trying to find where they were and then getting those people to tell other people where they were and that they needed to be moved and put on a plane. The mission president himself called me to tell me they were working on the problem and to encourage me on. I might have felt alone but there have been so many people helping me - I hope you know I haven't been left in a lurch. 

So I am 100% staying. And I am happy. And I was BEFORE I got my bags - but the Lord decided to help me out and bless me with them anyway. I just got permission to write this e-mail to tell you how much better I am and that my bags were returned - from now on you'll have to wait every Monday. Hopefully you can wait that long! And Dad and Mom, your e-mails were really encouraging even though I got them today. Even out here it should be impossible to forget the support I have back home. And yeah Dad, shit happens - and it did for me. And not everything that happens is a blessing or a trial from the Lord - sometimes it's just an error of men. But we keep going. And He'll keep helping us. 

Love,

Soeur Stewart

Reunion Life as a Missionary

Ok so Reunion is great! I'm not as in love with it as I am France and Paris but I'm hoping I get there. So a little more description of what I see day to day. I am in the largest city of Reunion, St Denis which actually isnt all that big. Its probably not bigger than the city of Rocklin but idk because I'm just guestimating here. You should google up my facts. But mostly all day we're walking around apartment buildings because it also isn't very "city like" because there arent any skyscrapers or like busy busy traffic. I mean its an ocean town so its probably more like SoCal then it is like New York for sure. The biggest store/mall-like thing that they have here is called Carrefour and its basically like a Super Walmart - but a little classier and it has like a yogurt shop nearby and a clothes shop so that is the biggest shopping place. So if you are trying to think of a mental picture of me then just imagine me walking up steep curving streets of San Francisco but knocking on apartment buildings in Southern California...if that mede any sense. I've heard there are some really nice parts of town up on the mountain but we are walking around and finding people and porting at pretty run down apartments and most are government housing (you know because France is socialist so everyone I think can afford to live in some place). Some are pretty gross I'll admit and I wont even start on the smells. But it's all good. We ride the bus several times a day but then we also walk a lot because we still need to get to specific houses from bus stops and sometimes its more efficient than waiting for a bus for 30 minutes "ain't nobody got time for that" 

I'm actually really proud of our companionship because we just take the bus and plan around our schedule and walk up long hills and thats what we do. Not really any whining or complaining. Usually I'm the one who's dying the most because I am not used to walking up mountains but you know I survive. And then one day my companions wanted to run down and then BACK UP our mountain for our morning excersize. Halfway on the way up I had to tap out, so Sister Packer would run to the corners and then jog in place while we walked up. I sort of felt like a wuss but also I couldn't stop thinking about what intense excersize it is to RUN UP A MOUNTAIN. So then I felt better. Plus I ran all the way down and was sore for three days after - I couldn't walk straight because my hip flexers were so sore. I absolutely LOVE my companions. I'm in love with my companionship. A little description of them.

Sister Packer - has been out 6 months and she's our trainer and she's awesome. She is the one that gets us to run up mountains. I asked her how she does it and she just said "Well I hated running when I got here but then I needed a form of excersize so I started doing it and when you get used to walking everywhere running is no big deal" Which made me laugh so hard because I doubt I'll be able to do that no matter how much walking I do. She's really mellow but also totally helps lead us in lessons and everything. And she's always doing little things to help out like she does the dishes all the time without ever saying anything - we'll just have finished dinner and I'll think "ahh we gotta do that" and she'll already be halfway done. And probably 3-4 times I've waken up and she's made me breakfast and she's made all of us something different based on our likes. I get yogurt and granola :) She makes our companionship light hearted and fun. She also loves One Direction and Taylor Swift so we love trying to remember our favorite songs and rock out to them. We just got down "Best Song Ever" because we couldn't remember all the lyrics - especially because she never heard it before she left so I taught it to her! :) And it was indeed the best song ever haha

Sister Gardiner - is also the best. She was the first American sister to go to the Ghana MTC and I was the second so we instantly bonded over that. She was a violin major at BYU and she brought her violin and she is AMAZING. Every now and then she'll take it out and play something and she can pretty much play anything from ear so I can request things and she'll play them. Dad you'll be glad to know that she brought the essential collection of Joshua Bell and he's signed a couple of them so we have that. She and I are constantly cracking each other up and we both have said how we're a little nervous about the rest of our mission because we have SO much fun out here. We have this running joke that she and I are like the same person because of all our uncanny similarities like get this: SHE PLAYS NANCY DREW COMPUTER GAMES!!! We have spent quite q few hours tqlking qbout all of them and our favorites and all the funny things. Clearly we were destined for friendship.

That is just the type of this perfect missionary trio - we are the new three musketeers. I hear all companions get sick of each other though so hopefully that's not our case and in 3 months I'm not telling you how crazy we drive each other.

We only serve in one branch so that's all I've met and the members are great. There are quite a few families and then some older couples - last week we had 74 people there! It felt full. Everything is very normal - except we bisous all the women when we greet them. And Sister Hart always leaves lipstick on us on accident and she never notices - so thats a running joke. I have only eaten at 2 members house. I think its been a lot more frequent in the past but it just depends. 

The first time I went over to this families named La Tchan (which is so ironic because in french its pronounced la chinois which means chinese and they are chinese. I thought my companion was joking the first time she told me their name) and we were starving because it was nearly 2 by the time the food was ready and she brought it all out and I thought "I hope this is enough" Because there were two of them and their two investigator friends and a set of elders and us three girls. And so I dug in (it was super normal food, potatoes and green beans and pork and salad and bread - of course there is always bread) and everything was delicious. I finished my plate and Sister La Tchwan was like "oh eat more, eat more" so then I took a little bit more because I had pretty much taken what would fill me up. And then when any ones plate was clear or looking empty they would say "oh but eat more, eat more - Elders you must be hungry!" And everyone was stuffed but somehow there was more food! And they would look right at your plat and right at you and say "oh but you should eat more, don't you want more?" And us sisters tried to put the pressure on the Elders and say that our tiny stomachs were full but the Elders probably could eat more and the Elders meanwhile were trying to take only two potatoes at a time and eat them because they couldn't fit anymore in! Hahah it was quite funny. 

So for the most part no crazy food stories. We almost always make our own dinner and we have been packing or eating out. When we ate out we found an amazing chinese restaurant!! Although one thing about the food here is that they love this thing called Pimiente. And its basically a pepper that they make into a sort of salsa:sauce. But there are tons of types of pimiente: green and red and whatever else. And sometimes it just looks like tomatoe salsa but it is NOT. It is SO SO hot. And they love it! And they put it on practically everything! Like every restaurant is like - do you want pimiente on that? Even for sandwhichs - and that chinese place I just talked about. So I will try and send some eventually and you can see what I mean. Also just google it. 

I don't know exactly how conference is going to work here - my companion said that we have to wait a couple of weeks and then we watch it another weekend later once they have the dubbing in French or something. I don't know but if so I am REALLY going to miss listening to the voices of the prophet and apostles. Already we have some old talks that we listen to and I just miss hearing Thomas S Monson or Jeffrey R Holland - they just have the best voice! But I'll let you know how it goes. It sounds like really good stuff for the kids are happening. Grandma and Grandpa told me that they're coming over soon and that Kalen will be on his Princeton visit? Crazy stuff. 

Every week I think of a thousand things to tell you guys and then I come here and try and type on this wacky keyboard and I get only 35 percent of it out. But the most exciting news WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A BAPTISM!!! There is a woman here who has been an investigator for like 6 years and has had a REALLY strong testimony and even said she wants to go on a mission but hasnt gotten baptized because her family disapproves. Even though shes like 24. But we talked to her again and testified to her of the importance of baptism and how she should follow how she feels. If she has a testimony and feels like baptism is the right thing then she should do it - we also shared tons of scriptures. And at the end of the lesson she set a date!!!!! In two weeks!! Also one of our amis (investigators) came to church!! We only taught him one lesson and he already came! Which is like huge because we still have difficulty getting members to come! Plus we have taught some super amazing people and we feel really good about. These people are interested and open - it is so amazing and exciting!! I can't wait to tell you more solid good news. But we are inviting 5 more people to baptism this week so hopefully some accept!

Dear All

Dear All,

A few quick facts about Reunion:

There are 5 branches on Reunion - no wards.

They are in the 5 biggest cities which are St Marie, St Pierre, St Paul, St Porte, St Denis

The biggest branch is St Denis and average attendance is in the 60s

The smallest branch is St Paul which only averages in the 20s most Sundays

There are nearly 600 members in Reunion but only about 250 are active - so we do a lot of reactivation work here

I am in the biggest city which is St Denis and has 5 missionaries stationed there. My companionship of three shares it with a pair of elders

There are only two missionary districs and only 18 missionaries total on the island right now. 5 sisters and then 13 elders

 

Reunion itself is a fairly small island. Most of the cities are on the outskirts near the coast with the exception of only two towns. There are three "cirques" on the island. Which are where volcanoes imploded and now are valleys - you'll see them on the map. Inside some of the Cirques are some people who live there but it is impossible to get inside the cirques by car so many of them have never seen the ocean. Don't ask me what its like up there because I havent been yet so I have no clue. But I'm pretty sure that even without car access people still live fairly modern lives - its not like tents and tribes up there still...at least so I think. All the missionary companionships on the Island have a car - except for those who have gotten in an accident recently and lost their privelidge... which would be my trainer. So we walk and take the bus everywhere. If you look at a picture of St Denis you'll see that the city is built into the side of a "hill"/ montain. So many of the streets are like those in San Francisco - steep steep and windy windy windy. Our mission is a "porting" mission so our mission goal is to have 20 porting hours a week. Porting is zhen ze go door to door or try and contact people on the street. So we do a lot of that and a lot of walking. The apartment is pretty nice and we definitely have a shower and everything - it's like living in France. Sorry I didn't get pictures up this week but I'm working on it. We hiked up to a waterfall today for a zone activity (which includes both districts = all the missionaries on the island) It was super beautiful - can't wait to show you!

Love,

Soeur Stewart