Digging out the rocks?

This week was busy, but good as always. I did something weird to my leg so now I'm the reason we're doing area book finding for a few days, but we've found a few new amis from it so we're good! 

The members I mentioned in the email last week were awesome, and they surprised us with dinner after the lesson which we hadn't planned for but it was cool. They made us "completos" which the mom described as "a little like hot dogs but a whole lot better," and we taught a 7 year old about the gospel of Jesus Christ and Baptism with a butterfly. It was a good time. 

Zone Conference was this last week and it was also great. We watched President and Sister Nelson's youth event and applied the 5 challenges to missionary work, and then we had an activity on Family History and how it can help people stay active, feel the spirit, and find blessings in every part of our lives. We also got called out with "you can't bear testimony of it if you haven't done it yourself" and we were challenged to find one of our own relatives, cousin or grandma or anyone, who hasn't had their work done yet and to send it to be done or take it to the temple next time we go.

After that I found out that our family tree work is really, really, really thoroughly done (good job, family?) So I'm still looking during mealtimes but mostly I'm just finding out stories about family. 

But honestly though, we take it for granted so often that baptisms for the dead are a thing and then someone finds out they can be baptised for their dad who died when they were a kid and they thought they'd lost, and they find out that they can be a family forever, and they can record stories and photos and share it with their brothers and sisters and it changes everything. Letting people know why we have temples, why it really matters that we can go in them, and that it's the way to come home, etc.

So, explanation of the title for the week: We've heard a lot that some missionaries are teachers, some are finders, and some are baptisers. So, some plant the seeds, tend them, and harvest them. But the new quote I've heard is "somebody has to go get the rocks out of the field first." That's... a lot of we've been doing lately with visitor's center and online work. And, as always, family history. Peoples hearts are softened, members or visitors or friends, and they have a greater desire to work together and find more of that peace and the bit of the spirit they felt there. 

I really loved the talk from the last conference, "Family History and Temple Work: Sealing and Healing," by Elder Dale G. Rebound. ALSO! The super cheesy but cute "Earthly Father, Heavenly Father" video on lds.org. 

Aaand happy father's day! Tell Papa we taught someone online from Salzburg, Austria, and dad knows about Peruvians. 

Fun random things of the week:

-Michelle came to Church and surprised us with african Beignets (totally not healthy but greater than any patisserie) 

- We had a Veillee and the elders played "Oh my Father" on two violins and piano and it was amazing, if I find a recording I'll send it next week.

-An ami of the St Ouen soeurs brought Bissap and Jus de Gingembre and it is a great day 

-I found out the only branch in Senegal is literally 10 minutes from where I lived for a month 

Challenge of the week: Okay so long story short here are 100 ways to do member missionary work that Soeur Oulès, Soeur Sedrick, Soeur Marteeny and I came up with. Follow the instructions and have fun and send me am email to follow up on how it went?

100 ideas for member missionary work

Every member is a missionary, right? Most of us just need to know where to start. Remember the advice given in Alma 37:6-7, that by “Small and Simple things are great things brought to pass.” This list of 100 ideas for member missionary work has small and simple things, and some things that might take a little more faith and courage, but the Lord will help with those too!

HOW TO START: Read 1 Nephi 3:7, pray for guidance, and highlight 5 things you can do right now to start helping your friends. Pray again, and mark 5 things you can do by the end of this year! Keep this list somewhere easy to see to help you remember that missionary work is fun, easier than we think, and blesses us and all those around us! Remember the blessings promised in Mosiah 18:8-10.

1. Give your friend a Book of Mormon
2. Give someone a Book of Mormon with your testimony written inside
3. Share a Book of Mormon story with someone
4. Take a selfie with the Book of Mormon and share it with a a favorite scripture on social media!
5. Ask someone to help you memorize a Book of Mormon scripture and quiz you on it
6. Read your scriptures on the bus- share a scripture with someone sitting near you
7. Set a few nights a week for phone scripture study with a friend
8. Have a scripture study with a new investigator, convert, or less active member
9. Give a missionary pamphlet to a friend
10. Study a missionary pamphlet, and give a missionary pamphlet to a friend as well as sharing a message from it
11. Learn to talk about the restoration/Plan of Salvation in under a minute- the missionary challenge- and share it
12. Draw the Plan of Salvation for someone
13. Plan a family service project
14. Invite a friend over for dinner and talk about a gospel principal- For example, why we pray over our food.
15. Invite your friend over for dinner- And the missionaries!  
16. Invite your children's friends to family home evening
17. Have a family home evening with a friend
18. Have a family home evening with a new convert
19. Invite an investigator over for family home evening with the missionaries
20. Offer to help someone hold their own family home evening
21. Share the “Proclamation on the Family” with someone!
22. Share “The Living Christ” with someone
23. Have a family history night with someone
24. Have a family history party with several friends or neighbors!
25. Have family history night with the missionaries or ward FH specialist
26. Invite them to make an account on familysearch
27. Invite them to the family history center
28. Talk to someone about why we care about family history, and eternal families. This is a great chance to share your testimony of the Plan of Salvation!
29. Bring a friend to the temple grounds
30. Go to the temple with a new convert or less active member
31. Share a temple pass along card with someone you sit next to on the bus or train
32. “Check into” the temple on Facebook next time you go
33. Share a temple pass along card with a friend
34. Invite someone to a ward party
35. Have a picnic with a friend by the temple
36. Invite someone to a veillee at the temple
37. Invite someone to another fireside
38. Invite someone to attend church with you, and sit with them there
39. Invite someone to a church service activity
40. Have a movie night with a church movie and invite a friend, or several
41. Openly talk about one of your principles
42. Explain to someone why you don’t drink alcohol the next time you refuse it
43. Share a church event on social media
44. Invite a friend to a church event on social media
45. Share a favorite gospel oriented quote on social media
46. Share an LDS media library video on social media
47. Share that video with a friend in person
48. Invite your friend/child’s friend to a primary activity
49. Talk about baptism to someone
50. Invite friends to a/your baptism
51. Do an act of service for someone
52. Bake cookies for someone who needs some love
53. Call someone you haven't talked to in a long time
54. Go and visit someone sick or elderly
55. Listen to someone's stories
56. Visit someone who didn't come to church today
57. Visit a less active or part-member family, see how you can help them
58. Go to a lesson with the missionaries
59. Help the missionaries teach a lesson in your home
60. Welcome the missionnaires’ investigators, introduce yourself
61. Befriend a new investigator
62. Post a selfie with the missionaries, mention who they are
63. Post a favorite hymn or sacred music on social media
64. Send a favorite hymn to a friend
65. Send EFY music to someone
66. Sit next to someone sitting alone in church
67. Sit next to someone sitting alone on the bus or at school
68. Volunteer to do a musical number in Sacrament meeting and invite someone to watch you
69. Record yourself singing a hymn and post it to social media
70. Sing a hymn on the bus
71. Go on splits with the missionaries
72. Have a General Conference party
73. Talk about mormon.org to someone
74. Invite someone to visit Mormon.org
75. Invite them to chat with missionaries on Mormon.org
76. Share a gospel topics essay on lds.org with someone who has difficult questions
77. Do a school project on our church
78. Invite someone to Young Men’s/Young Women’s
79. Share a conference talk with a friend
80. Draw a favorite scripture or quote and share it with someone
81. Share that drawing on social media!
82. Have the article of faith in your bag (or memorize them) and share them with someone who have questions
83. Make a card for someone and write a scripture/Gospel quote in it
84. Like and share a General authority's post on social media
85. Pray with a friend who is having a hard time
86. Be nice with someone when others are not
87. Have a picture of Christ as a background or in your wallet
88. Give someone a picture of Christ with your testimony written on the back
89. Bear your testimony to someone
90. Make a craft (that shares a gospel principal) to give somebody
91. Teach a friend how to pray
92. Have a scripture study with your friend
93. Help a new investigator or less active member have nightly prayers, over the phone works great!
94. Bring someone to English classes held by the missionaries
95. Invite a friend to come with you when you go on ministering visits
96. Pray for your friends, and to have love and charity for them,
97. Learn to greet someone in a new language so you can talk to a new neighbor/convert/investigator
98. Talk about blessings to someone who needs help
99. Give someone a chapel tour with the missionaries
100. Invite people to Saturday sports with the ward.