Week 1 Transfer 11 (Jacob-Nice)

Very good week. Elder Davis and I were able to take a nice week just to work really hard before all the different meetings and other fun stuff take away from the capacity to have a real full week. We did lots of fun stuff. One, we contacted to the border of Italy! We literally met a man and fixed a RDV and then the next guy we talked to spoke italien! It was very crazy! Fun little adventure! It is amazing here in Nice how wide wide varieties of people you meet!! Just in the actual city of Nice we find more English speakers often than French!

But luckily we find people that actually live here, otherwise we would have no one to teach! One of the awesome lessons we taught this week was to our family man the doctor. He is super cool and it was a miracle lesson because we had fixed a rdv for Wednesday, and then immediately started to look for a good solid member with whom we could teach this great lesson.. Unfortunately could not find anyone that was free for the time and date we had fixed!! But finally about 1 hour and a half before, we had the feeling to call one last member who we knew was working but decided to call anyway. Well it turns out that he dropped everything (he had tons of work, tons of family priorities, and plenty of other little worries) and came and taught with us! It was incredible! We were literally so grateful for a member who was so willing to sacrifice to come and push foward the work of the Lord! It probably could have been very easy for him to join all the other busy members and we would have taught our amis all alone, but he didn't, so we were blessed by his sacrifice! But anyway, we taught the lesson and after the member told us that he had forgotten to fast and was so doing that day.  To add, this family, after stake conference, had fixed a goal to pray for and have a missionary experience that week. He said that although he had not had a missionary opportunity of his own, he looked at our call as the opportunity that the Lord had given to him for the week, so when it came, he took it! 

I loved the example that he set and as Elder Cook was giving his talk in the Priesthood session, it brought to my mind the same experience. I loved his talk because he talked all about how many things there are in the world that distract us from reaching our true goals, and how often we know what our goals are but do not act in order to achieve these goals. He spoke of young men wanting to go on missions but spending their time playing video games and young adults wanting to get married in the temple but spending their time dating those who would not be temple worthy. I thought of this experience and how often the prayers we express to our Heavenly Father are the same, "Father, help me to have missionary experiences", and then we go about the week and do not recognize those that come to us. It helped me to realize how my prayers might need to change to lead me to change my actions rather that to just be a checklist like the groceries.

I really enjoyed all the many other conference talks that were given! I hope to be able to watch the last session (Sunday night) sometime and I cant wait for the Ensign! (Do you think you could send me a copy when they come out?)

I loved especially all the amazing testimonies given of living prophets and the Prophet Joseph Smith. I am so grateful for the Book of Mormon and the peace that it gives me when I read it. I know that the words given in general conference answer the questions that we ask ourselves, because I did it, and it worked. I know that God loves and cares about us. I know that Christ is Savior and Redeemer of the world.  I know that I have no more time, mais je vous aime (but I love you).

Con mi amor,

Elder Pettingill

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