Natalie May 27, 2013

Dear family,

Wow it was so great to hear from everyone! Sounds like an incredible week. I was thinking about you all yesterday all day and could feel you. I have never felt that before like that. it was such a blessing and tender mercy. Loge it sounds like you did incredible. i read your talk and loved it. i was waiting for the LOLR reference and sure enough you didn't' let me down. Loge you're going to be unreal. I'm so excited for you. Can you believe this is it?? 

This week in Tours has been great.  The work is still tricky trying to get everything going, but it's been awesome. It has been a testimony to me that God is here in Tours, France! We had our first district meeting on Tuesday. So we took an hour train to the city of Poitier.  We had to buy some eclaires for it so we went into this little bakery.  We got all the way in there and our American cards wouldn't work.  But there was this random lady in there who came up to me and asked if I was a mormon.  That was insane! Seriously, most people here don't even believe in God let alone know who the mormons are.  But i was able to tell her that yes i was and i was a missionary.  Turns out she had visited Utah with some friends and had seen Motab and loved it there.  We talked with her and she was interested in learning more.  She has member friends and wanted to know more.  So we gave the reference to the elders in that city.  Another experience we had this week, we were going to a rendez-vous with a lady and for the 3rd time she wasn't there.  So we were walking out of the apartment and this random lady passed us by.  My companion grabbed her really quick and asked her if she believed in God and she said of course! We talked to her for awhile and she asked us if she could come to our church on sunday.  Things like this happened over and over this week. Such a testimony to me that God is on our left and right hand.  This is His work.  Sometimes we may not know why we go to a random patiessirie but God does.  He is putting people in our paths all over.  The trick is being worthy to have the Spirit with us to know who they are. I love it though. It's been such an adventure of a lifetime already.

This week i get to travel again for district meeting.  Then I get to go to PARIS on Friday and Saturday for exchanges!!!!!! I"M SO EXCITED> And guess who I'm doing it with?? SISTER HOOVER! you'll have to tell the Benches.  My companion and I will arrive on Friday then stay the night in Paris and go tracting under the Eiffel Tower. It's cool because they just opened Paris for sisters so we're the first sisters to do exchanges there in awhile. I'm so excited. So expect some cool pics hopefully!

This week has been a huge wake up call for me.  I am SO grateful to live in the United States of America. I went to my first branch council on Sunday and it was very different.  The members don't really understand their relationship with the missionaries and there was a lot said that opened my eyes.  Church here is very different.  It's still the same gospel, but the church is a little different. haha Each sunday my companion and I say a prayer of gratitude for the homes we've been raised in and the wards that we grew up in. I'm grateful for the freedoms we have at home.  My companion and I were talking yesterday while we were on the bus.  Europe is great and so fun! There are a lot of interesting people everywhere. But there is a different feeling here.  It feels different and it's hard to explain. But it has made me so grateful for the people we live by and the things we've learned from growing up there. 

I've been reading Jesus The Christ and it's been so incredible to see that He is our unifying factor.  Sometimes it's hard to find similarities with people here. But honestly when you stop and think about Christ, then you see similarities everywhere.  I know that He lives and testifying of Him has brought me the most joy out here.  He is why I'm here.  Today this cute little old french lady starting talking to me on the bus.  We had the funnest conversation.  She'd heard my companion and I speaking English and said she could understand a little! i told her that I'd just been in France a few weeks and couldn't speak french very well and told her that I could teach her English and she could teach me french. it was funny and she laughed.  We talked more and she gave me her info! She noticed that we were different and she said she was shocked to see such young women be so impressive.  It was a fun experience and a blessing that I could actually speak back! Hopefully I'll be able to contact her this week and meet with her.

Well mom happy birthday this week! i haven't forgotten about your package. I'm going to Paris and will hopefully send it this week. 

i love you all so much and miss you! but am so grateful for your love and support.

good luck this week with all the crazy changes! loge you will be incredible! excited to hear from you.

LOVE YOU ALL

Sister Cameron

100% no regrets i've promised to give more