Yugoslavs and Tahitians

Well it is that time again where I stay up all night with nerves and then am a crazy wreck all morning knowing that transfer emails are coming... Well they came. But I am going to make you all read the whole thing before you get to the good stuff!

Last week we celebrated soldes by a quick trip shopping! Don’t you worry my fashionista sisters... I am going again today and spending the full 4 hours shopping. I am changing I tell ya! Last week I got a couple of new shirts and a big scarf so I can look more French! But the best thing that I got and by far the greatest investment is CREPE FLIPPER!! So now all my family and friends at home will be able to eat better crepes chez moi! We tested it out last night with our midnight snack of a crepe party... it works!!

So after the HARDEST week of my mission last week... I had one of the greatest! So being a missionary means that we tend to be creepy. If we see a house with toys outside... Knock ASAP because a family and stuff like that. But this week we got our ultimate creep on. We were driving on Tuesday night in the car to go find some less actives and Sœur Hill said ''DO A U TURN ASAP'' and I was like why? and she was like I saw a family walking down the street. She swore that it was a mom and dad and two little kids. So you bet that I used my Professional stick shift driving and flipped that car around, while obeying all of the traffic laws that I don’t know. We went around the round about a few times to try to see which street they took but then we saw them. So we drove and parked a bit away and then tried to casually walk down the street to them. While standing right Under the French version of the Voice with a smiling Mika, we talked to them. We introduced ourselves and immediately the dad said stop and that he doesn’t speak French. Turns out that they are from the old Yugoslavia and speak Serbian and are trying to learn French. The mom Fatima remembered A LOT of English from 25 years ago in school. So Sœur Hill entertained the two kids ages 8 and 3 with her stickers while I talked to the parents. The coolest thing happened!! Instead of us asking if we could have their phone number and if we could come to their house to teach them, THEY ASKED US!! The dad Elvis as in Elvis Presley and he laughed too when he told us. He asked us for our card and if he could call us and the Mom Fatima asked if we could come to their home on Thursday to teach them! SCORE SCORE SCORE! Looks like my companion creeping on the family down the street is actually my companion receiving some sweet inspiration!

So we went on Thursday to their building but they weren’t home but we knew it had to just be a misunderstanding and left a note saying we would be back on Saturday afternoon. We came back and they were all there and soo cute! We can really only teach Fatima right now because the others don’t speak enough English or French but Fatima is so great! We saw her again yesterday and we have ordered the Book of Mormon in Serbian!

Our Portuguese family just keeps on loving us... WE had FHE with them on Monday and turns out that they had gone grocery shopping for us! We came home with all this food that will just add to the food storage of Cholet! They are great and once again Maria and Joaquim were at Church and sustaining newly called people! I am not sure if they understand that they aren’t official members of the Church yet but they will be soon enough! Their daughter Fatima and granddaughter Lucie are just the greatest! WE had our first RDV with just them on Friday because they are usually just at their parents but it can be hard to teach that way. It was beautiful! Lucie taught her mom how to pray and Fatima gave a great prayer! They are seriously some of the greatest people that I know!

Yesterday was my final Sunday in Cholet! I am pretty mixed about it because I have really grown to love Cholet! The members and people here are top notch and I would do anything to be in a ward just like the ward here in Cholet! The greatest news is that they are officially in the process of getting their own chapel! The plans were approved by the mayor and now they just have to hope no one protests it! So family be ready to go to the Chapel in Cholet when we come back!

President called this week and asked what we thought about sending elders into Cholet and taking the sisters out. That kind of put a big twist on things because we didn’t know if we would both be leaving or what. Also Sœur Hill is now on her last transfer and that would be hard to just do one and one BUT she is staying in Cholet. I AM LEAVING! I am going completely to the West of France near the coast to the city of Rennes. It is the smallest city in the world to have its own metro system! I went there for stake conference and it is by no means small! BUT BUT BUT I am going to be having a Young companion. Sœur Tane from Tahiti who is going into her 3rd. Another car in Rennes but I hope I don’t have to drive it! Looks like I am going to be Learning French and how to dance like an islander! Wish me luck!!

I LOVE being a missionary! This happiness and joy that I have with me all of the time is the greatest feeling in the world and to be able to share it with others is even better!

Thank you all for the love and support!

Love,

Sœur Emily Johns

Emily with Moran and  JeanLuc