A Redhead Mormon Missionary in Paris: Mom, We Live in a Forest

Finally after all of her traveling Bronte is finally in France!! Yeah so exciting!!!

Dear Family and Friends,

I hope you all had a great 4th of July! We had some fun at the MTC watching fireworks, eating ice cream, staying up later and still getting up early :) It's a good thing we've got a great sense of humor...

This past week or so has been a solid bluuuuuuuuurr...Yes, even some of my pictures are blurry too! We had our last weekend at the MTC and it was fantastic. I'm so grateful for everyone that I met there and for all of the growth and experiences that happened while I was there. Monday, we left the MTC and walked out into the big bad world. Wow, it's something else now...

Here's some highlights:

-Took the trax to salt lake and while I was getting my luggage on, the door starting closing. Stopped it with my foot and back (no worries, it was a flimsy door)

-Ran into my Dance Professor at the airport flying to Paris! Whaaa?

-Lost my passport in Paris. Really, it was embarrassing. But we found it in the glove compartment on the flight we came in on.

-Got stuck in the door going back into the luggage retreival area

-Met my new companion! And my first area is in TOUR in the South of my mission

-Realized that everyone in France smokes

-No car. But that's ok..we ride the bus systems around here

-Everyone dresses like a punk out of the 90's...really.

-It is absolutely gorgeous here. So Beautiful.

-Our branch is about 30 members. Il est petit.

-I don't speak nearly as much french yet. But that's no suprise. I can get by pretty well.

-There's about a million and 1 cats here. I've started taking pictures just to keep count.

Mom, we live in a Forest! There are so many trees here. And weeds. I just wanna take out a weed wacker and buzz the entire property.We live in what the Sisters refer to as "The Tower of Tours." Just some tall apartment complexes outside the main city. And not too far from us in the Chateau De La Branchoire. It looks like Pemberely in France. Gorgeous.

My trainer (aka "mom") is Soeur Bradley and she's from Victorville, California. I'm so blessed to have her as my trainer and we get along very well. Which is just an added plus. We've had a great week of firsts and I'm absolutely loving it. We taught lessons, contacted, went "bati-ing" (batiment is french for a building. so we just go door to door contacting). And yes, we've had good lessons, bad lessons and even someone tell us we were brainwashed. So french...

Today is what the French call "La Jour De Bastille" or Bastille Day. It's their independence day.I got a wee bit excited so I sported my red, white and blue to the ex-treme today. And it's been great. I was thinking about all of the things I've learned this week to tie into the FHE lesson we're teaching tonight.

As we celebrate the Freedom we enjoy in our countries--United States, France and, I think, Canada this month, I think about our spiritual freedom. Jesus Christ is the ultimate liberator that enables us to move forward, embrace the future and be freed of what is holding us back. It's really So beautiful.

Please visit link: http://easter.mormon.org/

Je sais que mon redempteur vie. Et je vous aime aussi. J'espere que vous sauvez ca.

My world has suddenly gotten so much bigger for me and I'm working on taking it in. Kind of like drinking from a fire hydrant. You can only drink a little and the rest just blasts right past you (not talking from experience haha). I will tell you more about our zone and area next week. Meanwhile, stay groovy and write me. And yes, I will write you back. :)

Soeur Hopkins

P.s. Thank the Barlow sisters for sending the Plan de Salut puzzle. It was the best suprise I've had yet! And I sat on the floor in my apartment reassembling it maybe 5 times because it was So. Much. Fun.