So can we talk about this whole time change thing? Yes, I enjoyed the extra hour, kind of, of sleep that I got. Except for that moment when I woke up at 5:30 (what used to be 6:30) and my body yelled, "GET UP IT'S TIME TO GET UP!" No what stop huh noooooooo. So much for an extra hour of sleep. Unfortunately, also with this time change comes an earlier descending of the darkness, and as a missionary, that isn't necessarily preferred. I'm pretty sure people in France see the dark night and think to themselves, "Bed time!" No, not bed time. It's like 6:00. You don't even eat dinner until like 8... But anyway, we were doing some good old knocking around (you know, on the doors) last night, and we had a very sweet moment with a lady who, from what the spirit let me in on, just had her husband leave her and her 2 year old daughter with no house, no job, no money, and is now living with her parents in a time of desperate need. The sweet spirit that was there during the prayer that we left with her stayed with me all through the night, and even though it was dark and cold and dark, I felt so happy. She, her name is Florina, actually said something else that really touched me:
"You girls are really brave, did you know that? It's dark out there. No one wants to be out in the dark right now. You must really know it's true, huh?"
Yes, I really do. And I hadn't ever really thought about the fact that us, as members of Christ's church, are each doing just that. We leave our places of warmth and refuge, and we go out into the darkness. And all because we really know it's true, and we really know that what we have provides a light, lighting the way to that place of warmth where Christ is waiting. It's all kind of beautiful in my mind.
What I learned from this experience is that I don't ever need to be afraid. We do things all the day long that are scary and weird and awkward and uncomfortable that any normal person would never ever do. And sometimes I don't want to do them. But now, whenever I walk down a path that seems dimly lit and a little sketchy and think to myself, "What the heck are you doing?!" I stop. And I remember those sweet words of Florina telling me, "Vous êtes courageuse, est-ce que vous saviez ça?" And then I remember that I am brave. Why? Because I have the coolest body guard on my side--one who will never lead me astray; one who will always protect me no matter what; one who knows how to see, even in the dark.
And we all have Christ by our sides. I know very well that the gospel of Jesus Christ sometimes requires us to do things that are scary, and we're unsure or awkward or uncomfortable and we ask ourselves, "Why the heck am I doing this?!" Do you know what I'm going to say?
"You are really brave, did you know that?" And then I'll remember why.
I love you all so much! Have a fantastic week :)
Soeur Katie Pettingill
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| our awesome chinese soirée familiale with our amie and a member :) |
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| YAY I LOVE FALL |
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| this is what this man decides to do to celebrate les vacances. :) |
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