A Redhead Mormon Missionary in Paris: The First Email!!

Here is what we have all been waiting for...drum roll please...the first email and pictures from our very own redhead missionary!!
Bronte's Own Words:

So, Yes, I missed my first flight talking to someone else at LAX. Go figures?? That is so me. But five hours later, I arrived at the MTC, gave Bree a huge hug and walked in....

Wow, I couldn't believe how strong the spirit of the MTC is! My worries, doubts, concerns all melted away and I felt at home. And I got my very own missionary tag! Here's a picture of missionary badge. No, you're not dyslexic, in french the word for "sister" is spelled s-oe-u-r. The "o" and the "e" are joined.

My companion is Soeur Tippett! She's from Georgia, went to BYU Idaho before her mission and loves to dance! It was as if we already knew each other. Weird, huh? Having her as a companion has been the biggest blessing because she is so dedicated, humble, kind and spunky. She keeps me focused and on task! We've already had some wonderful experiences in the MTC together.

Wednesday was our first day and Friday we taught our first lesson-- IN FRENCH. It was one of the most scariest things I've ever done. We teach volunteers who are native french speakers. In french an investigator is called " Un Ami de L'Eglise" or a friend of the gospel (Isn't that a Wonderful name?). We messed up So Badly! All we could do after words was laugh it off. Our sentences were so rough, I wasn't sure what our friend was saying sometimes and I think we might've assigned her some random chapter in the Book of Mormon to read?? Honestly, it was all a blur haha.

But we stuck to it! That night we worked extra hard on our next lesson and focused on simplifying and going by the spirit. We had a wonderful experience the next day! We'd invited her to pray about the Book of Mormon the other night but had forgotten to teach her how to pray. So we thought we'd go from there.

After Soeur Tippett and I explained how to pray and demonstrated, we taught her about the Spirit or "Le Saint-Esprit." Brigitte (that's her name) asked us how we feel the spirit. Soeur Tippett and I did our best and we had to use a lot of hand gestures and motions to get the message across (hugging ourselves, smiling, etc.) We explained that the spirit brings peace, joy, and love. It's God's spirit. And then we invited her to pray. She began very slowly and simply, but after only a few moments the spirit just filled the room and we all felt it. It was so beautiful. Brigitte and I both had tears in our eyes as she was speaking. It gave me hope knowing that the language of the Spirit transcends all other languages. WOW.

So contrary to popular belief, missionary work can be fun. It can be SO FUN. We all work so hard, but there is a great sense of comradery and we laugh off our mistakes. Big time. We speak french all day and, by now, I have so much trouble speaking in English!

What can I say? I just don't think there's any other way to describe the feeling you get as a missionary until you are one!

So this week I heard about something cool called dearelder.com. You can write letters, have them sent, printed off and delivered to the MTC throughout the week. Elder Chaffer and Soeur Shields in our district have been getting loads of them this week, so Soeur Tippett and I want to see if we can change that! haha. Give it a go! I think it may be a buck or so, but it gets there faster and is easier than sending a letter.

I love you all so much and I can FEEL your prayers! If you have any fun questions to ask me, please send them and I will do my best to answer them.

So in my district, I'm known as the Soeur that "everyone knows"! haha NOT TRUE. But since being here I've run into so many people from BYU and some from home including Tanner Skousen, Jason (forgive me for forgetting names in general), Brother Maples (that's what his tag says!), Brian Benson, Elder Preswitch several more people from my ward, classes and dance department. It's so fun!

Much Love,

Soeur Hopkins