Found jalapenos, no baguettes in sight

Writing you from a train right now, this p-day is going to be weird because we have the interview with the president at 3 which isn't normally on p-day, so we had to bump some of our other stuff to another day. Grocery shopping, mostly. Hurrah for pasta and canned beans! We budget super carefully for groceries, because missionaries, and never stop for snacks or stuff except for one thing on p-day, so today we got Steak-n-shake which turned out to be cheaper than almost anything else we've seen here, gotta remember that (and it actually had a bathroom, also important to remember here) and we might possibly stop for a patisserie later since dinner won't be till around 9. 

New discovery: croissants aren't a pâtisserie, they're a vienoisserie, which the only difference seems to be one is acceptable to eat at breakfast and the other might get you a weird look. Why, I can't tell you. Chocolate is fine for breakfast but strawberries aren't? Who knows. I feel like I need to apologize to pastry for my rant, though, it was an innocent bystander in my stance against croissants. 

(Macarons, mom might fly to France just for a real one as she has not EVER been able to find one comparable in the USA)

Today: Steak and shake, got a jalapeno burger and there was music! "Find me" by Birdy and a few other good ones I knew. 

People were really nice to us around Sacre Coeur, where we were, because they saw the name tag with "Soeur" and we were by a cathedral. We don't proselytize around other houses of worship, as a move of respect, so we just smile and wave when they say "hi sister!" On the train or bus or other places we can explain a little and invite them to find out more (YAY finding!)

I think I'm blending in just enough as long as I don't talk because a few people have asked me if I speak English before just starting in on it. As soon as I talk, though, there's a fair chance some excited person will want to practice their English with me. That's been a help a few times with finding because if I break a social rule by talking on the train they figure I'm new and don't know I'm being weird. Sometimes they humor me and chat, and we can invite them to the Visitor Center or something. Soeur Oules sometimes gets an unspoken reaction of "you should know better, you're French." 

Shorter email this week, sorry, but I'm grateful for all the emails and pictures of cats and people. We got to meet a very excellent little cat at a lesson, and I can't tell you about the ami besides that she's awesome, but I can tell you that the cat made the lesson an adventure. He was in that awkward cat teenage phase and really wanted to play in my hair, and then he tried to Spider-Man his way up Soeur Oules and got himself evicted from the rendez-vous so we could focus on teaching the Restoration. 

Our area is huge, it took us an hour and a half of trains and busses to get to an appointment the other day. It went awesome, though! Members are the biggest help in missionary work, and we have some superheroes in our ward. We want all our loved ones with us and knowing the joy we know, so we are PSYCHED when somebody gets to come learn!

The Lynn couple were in Grandma Nama's ward and knew her well, they were happy to find out I'm her granddaughter. We talked about her today while I was waiting for my interview. She would love a lot of this here, I'll bring an egg back if I get anything for a souvenir. 

(Ana thought an egg would be a very strange souvenir and once she said it, yes, so did I, so the explanation there is Grandma Nama, Barbara, collected beautiful decorated and rock eggs which were willed to Alyssa because she adored them and gave Grandma several from her travels. This makes much more sense than simply bringing home a French egg doesn't it?)

(The Lynns)

Ether 12:27 is still one of my favorite scriptures, and we've been using John 14:18 a lot too. "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you."  People are tired, and grumpy,  and sick, and sad, and done with winter. They're frustrated and need peace, and they come to the chat and the visitors center a lot because they just need something good in their lives and they saw something that got them to come there. The French version of the verse means "I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you." I love it as much as the English versions, for different reasons. 

Challenge #1: 

This is a video, in English, I love. It's meant for Easter but I use it all the time to teach people a strong message very quickly. 

Christ is always there for us, and we can always find comfort, in the good moments and the bad and the blah. The challenge is to find somebody to share this video with, or on your Facebook, or in a message to somebody, it's a good way to remember. 

Same video in French, if missionaries or mom want to use it. 

Challenge #2: help the local missionaries. Referrals, Facebook messages, whatever they need the members to do right then or even just encouragement, please go for it. It does more than you could ever think. Who are we relying on to help us endure to the end? Who are the new members staying with when the missionaries leave? It's the ward. People need to know they're loved and remembered by the people around them, too. God tends to answer our prayers through other people. We can be that answer if we're willing to try.

 2 Nephi 16:8, right?

Okay, gotta go, but I love you all and good luck. Bisous!

(laundry)

Why on earth would you keep a log?

(stained glass at the temple Visitor Center)

We were reading "adjusting to missionary life" as a companionship. Soeur Oules has fantastic English, but every once in a while a word just doesn't compute, because English is mean. Turns out we have a LOT more words in our frequently used vocabulary than most other languages, and we love random adjectives and anything can be a verb if you try hard enough. Good times.

Anyway... it suggested keeping a log for a week if you were experiencing physical symptoms of stress. Soeur Oules paused mid sentence and then asked why on EARTH somebody would think keeping a log for a week would reduce stress. Took me a second to click with the mental image of somebody keeping a random huge hunk of wood in their apartment to reduce stress. She had a fair point. How would keeping a log reduce physical symptoms of stress? To quote her, "Oh no, my arms are so tired and sore, why could this be happening, could not be this LOG I'm carrying around all the day?"  

I got to use star trek references to sort it out, it was great. 

We have new investigators and an awesome young guy we've taught twice at the VC with his Elders committed to be baptized! He got to sit in the waiting room and pray And he said he saw water and God's hand reaching down and inviting him to come to him. He's got the coolest story and testimony, I can't share it because of privacy but we're psyched for him. And we're teaching a few people ourselves here plus a few on line! Facebook is a HUGE blessing for missionaries, we have some calls we can only do on Facebook for investigators in Canada or the US who aren't ready to meet in person yet. 

Little kids are hilarious here because they are so solemn when they get to shake your hand at church. It is their big grown up responsibility. They also say please and thank you and try very hard to hold the door, though they might need a hand with that sometimes. It's incredible seeing the difference between raising kids with the Gospel and not, more stories for later but the families are so cute at church, French and American and Tahitian and everybody. 

Oh, church! We have three young missionary companionships, two sets of Elders and us, and a few senior couples all in our ward because of the Visitor Center and office. It's great because the ward is over 300 active members and the members are so active in missionary work with us! We work with the ward mission leader every week to set up a plan. We can't work without members, just like we can't endure to the end in the best way possible without each other. Members help us teach amis, they help us find, they make people feel loved and included in the ward. 

Challenge #1 of the week, find somebody in the neighborhood and serve them somehow. Bake cookies, invite them to family home evening, have their kids over to play so they can go on a date, give somebody a hug, any of that Christ Like Love stuff we're super socially awkward about. Find a way to help somebody remember they're loved and included. 

We've been gifted the joy of the heaviest snowfall Versailles has enjoyed in at least five years and a few people have said 20. They are NOT equipped for snow. At all. Busses and trains stop running, cars stop driving, no snow removal, it's a good time. Grateful for the MTC helping me remember how to walk on the ice, and even more grateful for the rain and sun that washed most of it away last night in time for p day. Kids and dogs looked like they were having the time of their lives, though, so that made it good.

Challenge #2! Post a song or LDS media video on your Facebook or another social media page with a short message of how the thing talked about brings some joy or peace to your life, or provides answers. I'm loving the "Mormon beliefs" videos on gospel library and Mormon.org!

Please link Join the Dance. It's been stuck in my head for two days. 

And I recommend scripture Moses 1:6: "And I have a work for thee, Moses, my son; and thou art in the similitude of mine Only Begotten; and mine Only Begotten is and shall be the Savior, for he is full of grace and truth; but there is no God beside me, and all things are present with me, for I know them all."

It's on the wall at the MTC, too. What does our Heavenly Father have planned for us that we don't know yet, and how do we get there?

I'm still trying to figure out how to work petting dogs into my finding approach, So if anybody has any ideas I'm down. I met a very nice dog the other day with a name I couldn't pronounce, but he got us a good conversation. 

Challenge #3, pet a dog for me. Or a cat. Llama? Maybe not a fish, but that's your choice.

I've got to go so we can visit sacre coeur, but I love you all and I'll talk to you soon! Somebody remind Max and Amari and crew I have a blog? And family? And ward? 

Also, microfiber towels are the BEST. Literally saving some of my clothes. And anti theft shoulder bags. And good shoes and insoles, and two wheel suitcases, because cobblestones. Humidity is mean, shoe polish is a fact of life here. Like mascara...

One last random tangent: On the chat people keep asking the same questions and it's sad and a little frustrating to think that so many people don't have what we know, and they want to understand. They might seem angry at first but when they realize we're responding with love and sincerely believe what we're telling them, a lot of them change or at least calm down. The questions are good, too! They may seem a little rude at first, but they have a good point. It's like the mock trial stuff I used to do. Think of why they might be asking the question and it's a lot easier to answer. The guy asking super weird questions about the temple and stuff turned out to be a devoted Christian who was genuinely worried we were offending God with secret combinations, but as soon as I explained that we hold them sacred, not just secret, like how we don't curse with the Lord's name or get to casual about important topics, he calmed down and wanted to understand more. He got that. 

There are still some chats we need to end, or people coming on just to be vulgar or angry and we can't engage that, but we can listen and follow promptings to know if there is something we can do.

People want to know they're loved, listened to, and remembered. It is a human need, we've known it forever and proved by science, like touch or sunshine being good for your mind. The message of the Gospel is that our God, our Heavenly Father, loves us, and that Christ loves us, and because they love us and want us to learn and come back, we have everything else we have. From laws and commandments to sunshine and flowers. Like President Nelson said in the press conference, we can always respond with love.

Good luck, I love you all, say yours prayers and read your scriptures! Bisous!

Soeur Amott

Mailing Address 

Les Missionaries Versaille Centre

Soeur Alyssa Grace Amott

1, rue Pierre Clostermann

Le Chesnay, 78150

(machette or model of the temple insides, this is visible in the Visitor Center)

(PERSIMMON!)

Everything Smells Like Croissants

(Soeur Oulés and Soeur Amott)

Everything Smells Like Croissants
Like, everything. Literally everything. Croissants, cigarettes, bread, perfume and cologne, mildew and old stone and buildings, the mall we went to today had two butcher shops and a fresh fish market and a lot of bakeries, but more on that later. On the plane ride they served croissants with jam with breakfast, and my clothes and hair smelled like them for the whole day until I could shower that night. Thankfully, I haven't actually encountered one since then. I think my animosity towards croissants probably stems from motion sick plane rides and being handed a strong smelling, buttery, greasy croissant. They're always really lovely when I actually eat them, but... still. 

That's my only complaint, though, and its about my general dislike of a specific pastry, so take it for what you will. 

If anybody sees my wallet traveling around SLC sans moi, I could probably use that here, as it has my debit and credit card. I'm more miffed about the paper crane that went rogue inside the wallet, though. I can replace a card eventually, and the wallet once I get a card, but I can't do anything about the crane. I just hope whoever got the wallet also enjoys the granola bar they took with it. Got us a great opportunity to meet with several sweet people in Atlanta, though, and a good workout in the airport, and I didn't buy all the junk food I'd planned on, so I'm going to count it as a hidden blessing I'll figure out eventually. 

D&C 84:81-84, 

81 Therefore, take ye no thought for the morrow, for what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, or wherewithal ye shall be clothed.

82 For, consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they toil not, neither do they spin; and the kingdoms of the world, in all their glory, are not arrayed like one of these.

83 For your Father, who is in heaven, knoweth that you have need of all these things.

84 Therefore, let the morrow take thought for the things of itself.

Everything has been taken care of so far, even the tights that didn't fit at the start of the mtc fit now so I don't have to replace the ones the ice chewed up yet, and the Soeur Closet coming by last night with a wool scarf. A sweet Elder going to Argentina didn't finish his sushi and offered it to me at the airport and I didn't have to borrow any money. Everything works out with the Lord's help and the kindness of other people. And, on that note, I'm making an effort to share what I can, too. We've all been given talents and time and a little extra of something in our lives that we can share, even if it's a hug or Soeur Bossel just now playing music we all love.

(a snowy morning from the apartment)

Challenge #1 for people at home: Find one thing to share or way to serve this week, write it down when it happens, and then if you feel like it send me or another missionary am email about it so we can learn from it too. The Lord often acts and blesses people through the actions of his children on the earth, so you never know what little thing or paper crane is going to change somebody's day.

I'm writing this right now from the tiny room in the VC where we get to talk to people around the world by chat and phone. Ive almost got the French keyboard down, but luckily most of my chats are still in English. A lot of people like to ask deep questions in the middle of the night, which is our early morning, so that works perfectly. We're the only ones in the entire world online for an hour a day so that's a little crazy sometimes, still a good time though!

(Visitor Center chat room)

My trainer companion, Soeur Oulés, is from the south of France and has been out for four months. She's a big fan of superheroes, loves captain America and Wonder woman, makes weird faces, and cooks the BEST roasted sweet potatoes with "bacon fumé."

Her only flaw is that she likes Zucchini, which seems to be a common issue in France. Naming it a courgette doesn't make it any tastier. We eat a lot of it with rice, corn, and beans canned in tomato sauce. 

So, in France they call les nouveaux missionnaires "bleus," not "greenies." The french army would historically issue beautiful blue uniforms to new soldiers, and you could tell the new apart from the old because their uniforms weren't faded or stained or worn. We're still clueless and blue, but it's a good time!

Running out of time again, but challenge #2 is to invite somebody you know and love to meet with missionaries, go to an LDS visitors center, or read the Book of Mormon. Families should take a family night at the Visitor's center and bring a friend! It's a good time! Show people you love them!

The VC is amazing. I love the stained glass of Christ by the front door, with his arms open in welcome, and the statue of Christ in the gardens. You can see it from anywhere in the garden. I'm too short to read his hand still, so I feel like a kid next to it, but it's a beautiful reminder that he's always there. In a loving way, not a weird way. We also have one of only four open models of a temple in a visitors center, which is a HUGE help. People come from all over who want to see the temple and we can show them the model and explain that they can't go inside the actual temple because it's sacred, not secret, and that's why we have the Visitors center and the maquette. 

(Visitor Center missionaries and open temple model)

We get people from Everywhere on chat, calls, or in the temple. We've been so busy we haven't even had a chance to go to finding yet! Hopefully we can tonight, that's why I'm hurrying with the emails. And sorry if you're waiting and hoping for my English to get bad, I'm using it all the time here at the VC so probably going to improve it, if anything. 

Little kids are very solemn about their grown up privilege to shake your hand at church on Sunday. The Versailles ward is the biggest in France, we have three sets of missionaries here! It's awesome! 

Thanks for the emails, cat pictures, and prayers. I love you all, and I'm glad I'm out here. We promised to find our brothers and sisters and bring them closer to Christ, and we full time missionaries can't do that alone. I'm grateful for all my friends and family I have at home, and I miss you. I'm out here because I know our heavenly father loves his children and wants them to come back to him. Even if that means I need to eat zucchini and have my hair smell like croissants.

À bientôt, je vous aimons, tout le monde!
Soeur Amott

(our apartment)

(plenty of light is a blesing)

(McDo, tastes a lot healthier here.)

(After healthy groceries, we got snacks for the week and raspberry-and-some-sort-of-flower body wash. "Spicy" flavor chips for me, "northerner" for Soeur Oulès)

https://www.mormon.org/