Onto legit missionary business so I can remind you all and
myself that I am a missionary and not just Emily anymore. So last week I sent
home some pictures of my sad shoes. I WALK A LOT!!! I always heard of stories
of Elders in South America walking holes into their shoes but I NEVER thought
that would be me… It is me. I feel like an official missionary now but then I
remind myself that I just bought cheap shoes last minute before my mission
which is probably the cause for them only lasting 4 months! So having a growing
hole in the shoes that I wore everyday was kind of getting old and gross when I
think about all the places I walk and how many people pee on the streets and
cigarettes. So I decided to give shopping another try. I figured if I just had
to find one thing and a pretty specific thing then I would be able to do it…
Challenge ACCEPTED! So for PDay we went to Paris and the Mall at La Defense.
BIGGEST MALL EVER!!!!! Any normal girls DREAM but since I am not normal I just
got really overwhelmed and bored pretty quickly. We pretty much only went into
shoe stores and luckily being a missionary it narrows done my shoe options a
bit so we were able to be pretty effective. Before my mission (probably after
too) I would never shop or buy anything but if I HAD to get something then I
would think about it for a good month or two and then go back to the store a
good 7 times and really just thinking if I needed it and it was a big long
process that frustrated my mom and sisters. I no longer have such a luxury of
taking my time so I was on the hunt. After only a few hours and a few creepy
men in the mall I FOUND MY NEW SHOES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They were part of Soldes so
I got them for cheaper SCORE! And they seem pretty solid. I told myself that I wouldn’t
wear them EVERYDAY so they would last longer but it has been a week now and I
think I have worn them 5 times! I am just really breaking them in and getting
the bloody scab on the back of my heel to get used to the shoe. I love them.
They seem pretty sturdy and should last me until I can finally wear boots again
in the winter! I am quite proud of myself for buying something in such a timely
matter and now I can be like oh yeah these shoes... I bought them in Paris!
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| The new shoes! |
I can cook. I will just say it again because this is a huge
deal…. I CAN COOK! My future family
will not starve!!!! My companion has adequately trained me and I will survive
on my own now!!! You can all give her a big thanks after my mission when I wow
you at family functions and friend dinners! I am so impressed of the things
that I have learned. Yes I have learned a lot spiritually BUT the whole cooking and shopping thing were skills that I was in
much need of learning! I think my mom and sister Jessica will be the most
impressed because really it is night and day with me! Before my mission I could
only make mac and cheese from a box and boil an egg. But now I can come up with
meals on my own and feed 8 elders! Our meals always consist of lots of tomatoes,
peppers, onions, herbs and just really good stuff! I enjoy cooking too! Life is
good in the food department!
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| Emily cooking hot dogs! |
Vaccance is the WORST!!
My parents were always really good about taking us on vacation and showing us
the world but it seems like people here take it to a whole new level. They
leave their homes for several weeks and months at a time! I am all for getting
out of touristy Paris and Versailles but people are gone for a long time! It
has made the work a bit difficult. Entire neighborhoods are empty. Apartment
buildings are closed down and so porting is hard. Our teaching pool has become
smaller because everyone we were teaching has left until September so we resort
to porting but they are all gone and the few people that are still here are
leaving in a few days! So I am
realllllly looking forward to September when people come back! You would think
that this would make me sad or discouraged and it can be but at the same time
me and my companion have never been better!
We laugh harder than we have ever laughed, talk to each other more than ever
and have really just become GREAT FRIENDS!
The Lord really does bless us in ways that we don’t expect and I am very
thankful for being blessed with a friend as a companion right now!
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| People's houses while they are on vaccance |
I love the ward here! LOVE
it!! We are 99.9% sure that my companion is leaving on August 7 at
transfers because she has been here since she started her mission in March and
it is just time. So we have wanted to say good bye to some of our favorite
people. Last night we went and saw the Grenier family which is my FAVORITE family!!!! I love them! Frere
Grenier is our DMP and so we see him a lot and we just think he is the coolest!
He does the translating of conference and stuff into French for ALL French speaking places and so now
when I listen to conference talks in French for language study I know that it
is his voice! Sœur Grenier is the member who owns the spa that we went to and
she is also a GREAT cook and so
eating with them last night was a treat! They are such a cute couple and really
just love each other. They have a son on a mission in the Alpine Germany
Mission. Then a son who is my age named Raphael who I just got to know last
night and is really cool. Then they have a daughter Elisare who reminds me so
much of my sisters! We love spending time with them and they speak English
really well so it makes it nice for me! Even though my French is improving
slowly I am still not myself in French yet so I REALLY love being around the Greniers where I can joke and be
sarcastic IN ENGLISH and be myself! But
then I realized that there is a lot about me that I need to change and that’s
may be why I got called to learn a language so then I wouldn’t be able to be
myself so easily and be embarrassing. Anyway it was a great end to the week and
I and my comp came home just so happy and loving life!
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| With the Grenier family |
I say this every single week but it is true and the truth
can never be repeated too much… I LOVE
BEING A MISSIONARY!!! I feel like I am learning and being blessed waaaay
more than I ever thought possible. I know that it probably is hard to notice
and maybe I am just tooting my own horn but I really have changed for the
better. I feel like each day I become a better person and a better version of
myself. I still have LOTS and LOTS to learn but I am so happy for the
things that I have learned already. My four month mark is Sunday and I can’t
believe that I have been gone for four months. I just know that the next 14
months will continue to be so amazing and I can’t imagine how much more I will
learn and grow! I am so happy and feel so loved and good all the time!
Thank you all for your love. It really means so much and the
support is great! Please continue to pray for all the missionaries in the world
and for you yourselves to have missionary experiences!
Love,
Sœur Emily Johns
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| Where Emily saw the naked man a week earlier! |
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