July 10, 2018
Hey, I don't know about you...
But I'm feeling like I will have that song stuck in my head for the rest of the year.
Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes, it was honestly pretty awesome. We had the Visitors Center council thing that morning, we taught a few lessons and got let into a lot of buildings while finding (well, I'm not interested, but since you're here anyways you may as well try my neighbors! Come on in!) Which is a first!
Honestly though, the best gift was getting to teach a lesson on the Plan of Salvation to someone who had recently experienced a loss and getting to do service for her afterwards, and I also got am email from someone whose mother my Grandpa baptised on his mission. That was awesome.
I love being by the temple every day since it reminds me that baptism isn't the end goal, it's temple blessings and a happy eternal family and support for your whole life and into forever. Baptism is the door to every other huge blessing and covenant we can have.
TRANSFERS: My fifth transfer in the Mission Français de Paris will be in...
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VERSAILLES!!! 
I'm not moving! And neither is Soeur Sedrick so we're hoping I can stay the rest of her mission in the same Ville! I'm going to know where EVERYONE in the ward lives, and there's entire cities in our sector that I've never been to so this is awesome.
For those that don't know, we have 5 sectors attached to the Visitors center sisters and we can be transferred to any of those. Last update is that we're probably spending all of our missions in one of those 5 since its been crazy busy and they can't afford to send any of us away, and I'm happy about that since I love being at the center. It does get pretty crazy, and we only get half the day in our sector while still having to do all the normal missionary things, but it always seems to work out in the end.
I found something this week that I can add myself! This is "Following God," a summary of our beliefs on following God and I love how it connects the commandments to guiding lights. Once people understand that the commandments aren't just a list of "no's" but they're really a guideline to blessings, they want to follow it. They might not understand why we're not supposed to do the thing, but they understand the blessings they want, so they'll do it. I mean, missionaries do a lot of the same things. Why can't I wear pants Instead of skirts? I don't know, but I want to get the blessings of obedience, so jeans can wait. Video: https://www.lds.org/media-
A question someone asked this week that I really loved was, "What would you be willing to give up to go inside of the House of the Lord?" The person being taught said they would give anything, they'd give everything if it meant they could go. When they realized that they were right next to the temple they wanted to go in as soon as they could.
Most of us are lucky enough to live really close to a temple, chez-moi I can see one from my street! What would we be willing to give up to go to the House of the Lord? For me I'd probably just have to give two hours of Netflix, or maybe a hike. I mean, ça va. To take my friends to temple square it was sacrificing a half hour at the mall across the street, if that even counts as a sacrifice since that place is amazing. Honestly, though, what can you do to bring your friends to the temple grounds? Or to help them feel the spirit there?
I found a few more awesome bible videos!!! (Also I am SO EXCITED FOR the Book of Mormon videos coming out this fall!) but my two absolute favorites are probably these two:
Young Jesus Teaches in the Temple: https://www.lds.org/
The Greatest Commandment: https://www.lds.
Missionary Challenge: Watch those and find a way to share one with somebody. A coworker who likes the bible, a kid, a friend, Facebook, ministering, whatever you feel like. If you find a favorite, feel free to send it to me!
Ether 12:27 Is still one of my favorite scriptures, and I've been given a few chances again lately to put it into practice. We get lots of opportunities for weakness so we can ask for help making them stronger. I still don't like approaching random people on the street but I need to, so I'm getting to learn about that now.
I love you all, I hope you have a wonderful summer and are looking forward to the school year! Bisous, bye!!!
July 23, 2018
This week has had a lot of exciting moments, as always, and has been pretty busy! I don't have a ton of time to write this weekly but I'll try to hit the main points.
I am SO excited for this Ministering emphasis, and as I've studied Preach My Gospel and the last few conferences it's mentioned a lot before it was officially a thing. Now even Preach My Gospel and missionary council involves a lot of ministering type language, not just in the preaching the gospel kind of way, but in living it. We can't just say "this is a good thing," we need to live it, and show the joy that we do find in the gospel, and have a personal testimony of it, and have stories about it and experiences.
It would have been amazing to be a ministering sister before I graduated from young womens and I am so excited for all the young sisters that will be able to do that. I want any of you who might see this to know what an awesome opportunity that will be. If we could bring you on missionary splits, we would. You have talents and gifts and special energy that is needed, and wanted, and unexpected and you can use those! You can sing, play music, do dishes, send text messages and little facebook hearts, entertain kids at church, find a cute youtube video to put a smile on someone's face, put some paper hearts on a door, just about anything, and you can love your companion, too. So, maybe you're 14, and your companion is 40, and your sister you're visiting is 80. My companion is a short southerner who wants to major in animation, and we work together.
Our Primary President asked us to direct the music last week in primary so the kids could get to know the missionaries a little, that was an awesome idea. We sang "Families can be Together Forever" and now we mostly have it memorised, too! Mostly! Kind of... We'll get there.
I'm glad we've seen a few people the past week that said my French was better than last time we talked, or talking to primary kids might have made me question it. Tu/toi is a whole new world.
In addition to paper cranes and butterflies, I've added boats to my origami skill list. I have no idea what to do with this, but kids seem to like them, so I write a scripture on it and tell them to read it for family night.
MISSIONARY INVITATION: Find a gospel quote, scripture or conference or whatever it might be, and share it somehow. My companion draws them and posts them on facebook, I get them referenced on.. paper boats... somehow... and you can do anything you want! I hope I see some of them too! (Special thanks to those who have been saving and mailing them, they're all on my wall!)
This is a really well made video that ties in the story of the Good Samaritan with modern life. It isn't often we see a situation this obvious, but they pop up around us. https://www.mormonchannel.
Everyone in the video was going through a hard time, and had a valid reason to stop and not help, but somebody needed to. One person had compassion.
Alright, out of time but I love you all and I'll see you soon, give hugs, say your prayers, read your scriptures!
-Sœur Alyssa Amott
July 30, 2018
This week was a little nuts, but everything worked out and was cool in the end.
Two big events of this week:
1. The Music evening, la soirée musicale, where we planned on a high number of 120 and instead had 200+ people in the patron housing lobby watching almost 40 missionaries perform songs and hymns about the Gospel. That... was a surprise, but a cool one. Every missionary companionship brought at least one person they were teaching, and members brought their friends, and it was crazy but awesome.
(I think this might work to watch it, from momma)
The favorite musical numbers of the evening seemed to be "la paix en Christ," there is Peace in Christ, sung by the sister missionaries
And "Joseph Smith's First prayer," on violin and piano by Elder Chang, Elder Laurie, and Elder Morphis. (Mom, can you find a version of this on youtube for the blog thing?) Elder Morphis shared a short testimony afterwards and it was really good, and the music was a testimony on its own, too. Everybody was paying attention during that song.
The other ones a lot of people loved were "I am a child of God," which the audience sung with us for the closing song, and "Be still my soul," which Sister Marteeny sung. She sings opera, so it was awesome.
2ND BIG THING: Sister Reyna Abuerto of the Relief Society general presidency just popped by the visitors center on Thursday to see it. Her son had served in this mission a few months ago and they wanted to visit! She's amazing! We'd all watched her new Mormon Message videos and loved them, and her talks, so she just kinda had a fan club around her while she saw the Stained Glass of Christ and everything. (Pro tip, Stained Glass by Cherie Call is an amazing song.) She is so, so sweet and loves her family, and the insights about the glass and so many little things that we have to help people see were immediately clear for her.
Side story: With the Stained Glass of Christ, there's a special thing in the design where no matter where you are in the room, if you can see the glass He is stepping towards you and looking at you with His arms open. It's so cool, because it really shows a clear symbol of how much He loves us, and how he's turned to us all the time, we just need to turn towards him to notice it.
Back to the other story: one of my favorite talks is by Sister Aburto, it's "With One Accord" from this last April 2018 conference. https://www.lds.org/languages/
Video for the week: The Music of the Gospel. I LOVE this Mormon Message, and it is extremely true. One of the things we work the hardest to do is to help our amis feel the music of the gospel, we want them to find friends and love and support and to feel the spirit so they can feel the music, and know that they're welcome, and not just awkwardly walk around and try to be like everyone around them that they don't understand.
I didn't say a whole lot about the week or zone conference or anything but it's still awesome and I'll catch up someday, have fun and read your scriptures and I love you all!!!
GO FRANCE WITH THE NATURALS!
La Mission Francaise de Paris
Soeur Alyssa Grace Amott
131 Boulevard Carnot
78110 Le Vesinet, France
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