Week 52

Bonjour a tous,

It has been a good hot week here in Gwada. Lots of biking and a little bit of car driving this week. We had the fun oppourtunity to have Sister Hoover with us for a couple days while her companion was in Barbados for MLC (Mission Leadership Council). Crazy to think that this week marks one year of me being in the mission field! Friday marks one year ago that I flew to French Guyane as a terrified little new missionary to meet my trainer. Time flies. It has been a great year! I have learned so much since that day. I have learned a lot this week too.

The Spirit is really a language we all can understand if we are open to listen to it. We are teaching a really cool father and son who come from Haiti. The son speaks both Creole and French but the father only speaks Creole. For the most part I can understand him but speaking Creole is still a work in progress for me. We had the blessing of having an awesome sister from the branch who is also from Haiti with us during the lesson. It is cool to see how even though we cannot always communicate the best, the spirit can always communicate clearly. It is never us who really teach, it is the Spirit. If we don't have the Spirit there is no way we can teach. We gave this man a Book of Mormon in Creole, that will really be the key to his conversion, as it is with everyone, to read and pray to know the truthfulness of these things through the Holy Ghost.

Speaking of reading the Book of Mormon we are teaching an awesome couple Marc and Ketlee, and they have really taken reading the Book of Mormon to heart. Every time we go by and follow up on their reading they always share with us the passages they have found. All we did was ask them to read and they have taken it to heart. They have found some awesome pasages in the Book of Mormon and have been sharing them with each other. Ketlee was able to come to church yesterday but Marc has been sick so he was not able to come. We stopped by that evening to have a lesson and they shared with us what they had been reading and Ketlee had shared with Marc some things from church as well. I love to see how the gospel is becoming more a part of their daily lives!

Sister Driggs and I have been thinking and talking a lot about the temple this week. Especially as we have been teaching some families. We followed up on a family we contacted last week. We had a small lesson with them at their gate. As we were reading Moroni 10:3-5 the Spirit was there. When we were talking afterwards we were both thinking the same thing as we were talking with them, " This family will look so beautiful in the temple". We are excited to see their journey to that point. After that lesson we went to visit a recent convert family who recently moved into our area. We talked about the importance of making covenants and the people of Ammon. We talked more about the temple with them and were able to answer some of their questions. Their excitement is growing to go to the temple!

The temple brings a kind of joy that is more powerful than anything else; We were talking about it as we were biking home. We can't explain the joy, but we want everyone to have it! Go to the temple! Here they can only go once a year because the closest temple is in a different country. Take advantage of this great blessing to have a temple so close!

The gospel is amazing and brings more hope and joy than anything else. God knows his children and loves them and takes care of them in His way and in his time. Keep living the gospel joyfully. Have a great week!

Bisous,

Soeur Banks