Surprise!

I don’t even know where to start. This week was CRAZY!! 

On Monday night AND Tuesday night we had a slumber party with the sisters from Lorient aka soeur Melville and Allredd! Every time that I see S Melville I am happy and consider myself lucky to have done two transfers with her! It is crazy that she trained me and we just had a sleepover with my bleu! Her grandbaby!! So double sleepover was fun!

WHY did we have a sleepover?? SISTERS CONFERENCE!! On Tuesday ALL of the sisters in the mission met in Paris for the conference. I had gone thinking that it would be a spiritual conference and we would come out much better missionaries... SPA day was more like it! Being with ALL of my best friends like Denning, Melville, Hunsaker, Foster, Elliott etc. was heaven!! AHH I am still on cloud 9 from that! The first hourish was a spiritual part and then we had yummy lunch but after that is when the party started! The Elders were all pretty jealous that we got a conference but I don’t think they would have enjoyed the activities as much as we did! We made crafts and pretty cards, had a makeup lesson with Soeur Grenier and learned how to be a fashionable sister missionary from Soeur Poznanski! LOTS of free products and accessories! I left with a few pairs of clip on earrings (still don’t have my ears pierced) rings, bags, and so much more! It was soo fun! Being with Soeur Grenier again was very nice! It helped by her emailing me beforehand telling me she would be there! Boy do I love that lady! It has been like 9 months since that I left Versailles and I have seen her several times since then! Gotta keep those friendships alive! 

In the chaos of having soo much fun with my sisters and HAVING to get Panini’s and crepes after we may have missed our train. We had to get on the next one and me and Soeur Williams were separated in our seating... I was a PROUD trainer when she knew exactly how to travel in France on her own! Baby steps! 

On Wednesday the elders gave us nice pastries in centreville and I was excited to eat it in the comfort of my own home until we met Sylvaine....I was sitting at the bus stop in peace when a woman came and stood in front of me and just stared at my lap... she then said 'that looks really good' and I said I hope so. Not even thinking that I had just met the cookie monster. Then she asked 'Can I taste it?' I was a little bit shocked but I have seen a lot of crazy things in the past year that this shouldn’t phase me. So I broke off a piece and she was very happy. But she kept staring and then she ASKED FOR MORE!! I gave her a bit more and we just chatted. We sat on the bus together and had a nice conversation and when I got off I left the pastry with her and I don’t know if I have seen a happier 55 year old! It really is the little things in life that make us happy! I am on 6 months to sexy anyway and so she really helped me by eating my pastry!

On Thursday I became LEGAL!! Doing second year legality in France is not normally super complicated unless you live in Rennes. Elder Turley and Wood who are here with me have both been rejected several times and we have kept getting more and more paperwork and the office has talked to my parents and really we have worked HARD to become legal... Well on Thursday it was my lucky day! I either got a really nice man or my pink envelope was the trick! He was so nice that he even let me mix my photos up so that I could use the prettier ones on the official stuff and keep the ugly ones for myself! I think I am the first missionary to successfully become legal in France from the Rennes Prefecture! I can now stay in France for the next 6 months legally!! WOO HOO!! 

Okay so Friday was the craziest day of my mission. A real rollercoaster! Soeur Williams had been dealing with some personal things and it really took a dive! So we tried to go on with our day and while waiting at the church for an rdv that didn’t happen, president called and talked to each of us. He said that Soeur Williams would be going home with a medical release. She was distraught and literally begged for another transfer but president thought she should be home. So we had accepted that she would be going home this week and tried to go on with our day and make the last few days good. She had decided that whether she had 3 days or 16 months left that she would change and start to love her mission. I saw that change ASAP and it was great for the rdv we had. Right as we left the RDV we got another phone call from president. He talked to me and he said that as he was in the middle of emailing the Area President in the 70 to have Soeur Williams medically released and sent home he decided that he would give her one more transfer!! A HAPPY companion is what I had! She would be transferred to another ville and kind of start over fresh! It was a crazy afternoon!  A wakeup call like being sent home is exactly what she needed because she really has done a 180!

So I will be staying in Rennes for another transfer until the end of May with Soeur Wade!! I am so excited and just know that I will be laughing until I cry every single day with her! We have so much fun already just by the random times we see each other! I can’t wait! Soeur Williams will be heading north to Valencienne and I am happy for her! 

It has been crazy and I can’t help to feel like I failed a little bit and wasn’t able to help her in the way that she needed but I know that we learned a lot together in our 6 weeks and I am a more patient and loving person because of her! I really hope that she will be staying on her mission until the end! I will always be proud to be her trainer! 

I am excited for this next transfer and I just love my mission so much! I am happier than I have ever been! 

Thank you all for your love and support!

Love

Soeur Emily Johns