Logan January 27, 2014

good day

wow that is cool for parker and abby. that is crazy. i will be past a year when they leave. 

mom my asthma is fine i take my meds everyday because if i dont it is bad but if i take care of it in the morning i am fine. so i have a little routine. i actually ate vegetable cookies this past week. but that is the extent of my veggies. haha the members dont feed us that much and eating healthy is pricey. but i will try mommy. 

em i am glad you liked my letter. i love to use the old type writer. it is pretty fun. i would bring it home with me but unfortunately it is a little heavy so it may not make the trip. 

we went bowling last monday. i twas fun. i won. ha. i bowled a terrible game though. i remember the days before the mission when i went bowling almost every other day for 2 months for school. i lost my form. 

there was a fire in our town. it was crazy i have some photos.

whole place is pretty much gone. i feel so bad for the families who lived there. it was an apartment building. it looks like they lost everything. but the firefighters did save half of the building. it was super cool. they did a great job. i am pretty sure there were no fatalities.

this is my crazy district.

 

 

 unfortunately my glasses broke this past week. but being the eagle scout that i am and my basic macgiver skills i fixed them using a paper clip. i know impressive.

so yesterday sister bellman came to church. background on her. she is a less active member who has been smoking since she was 13. she is like 70 now. she finally quit and she finally came to church. it was so great. she seemed more confident in herself and she was feeling the spirit. she would go up to people and say, hi i quit smoking! haha she is a little crazy but we love her all the same. 

there is a hymn that we dont sing often that i really liked.  does the journey seem long is the title. i was really touched by the lyrics and the music also. i highly suggest that you all take a look at this one. 

1. 1. Does the journey seem long,
   The path rugged and steep?
   Are there briars and thorns on the way?
   Do sharp stones cut your feet
   As you struggle to rise
   To the heights thru the heat of the day?
2. 2. Is your heart faint and sad,
   Your soul weary within,
   As you toil 'neath your burden of care?
   Does the load heavy seem
   You are forced now to lift?
   Is there no one your burden to share?
3. 3. Let your heart be not faint
   Now the journey's begun;
   There is One who still beckons to you.
   So look upward in joy
   And take hold of his hand;
   He will lead you to heights that are new--
4. 4. A land holy and pure,
   Where all trouble doth end,
   And your life shall be free from all sin,
   Where no tears shall be shed,
   For no sorrows remain.
   Take his hand and with him enter in.

it is my prayer that we remember that Jesus is always there. He will always be there for us.  I am so pleased that i can share this message with all i come in contact with. I love you all and pray for you each day. and as my grandfather Cameron says "may the Lord take a liking to ya". 

elder cameron

que la force soit avec vous

Natalie January 27, 2014

Hello everyone!

This week was so great. Man I'm loving life. It's a dream out here! So Wednesday I arrived in Paris to get my new daughter. We had a training from president and all the trainers sat on one side of the room. Then all the new bleus came in and sat on the other side. It feels like I was just over there on that other side. The minute I saw her, I knew she was mine! My bleu's name is Sister Richards and she is the cutest thing ever. She's from Tremonton Utah and is 19 years old. We get along so well and are already working our tails off out here. She has such a desire to work and be obedient and have fun in the process! And we're doing that. I LOVE IT. This week the rain has started to pick up and many nights we've been out in the pouring rain for hours knocking doors and loving every minute. It's been a blast.

We've already seen so many miracles. A few weeks ago, Sister Rybin from our home ward wrote me asking me about one of her friends living in Valenciennes that she knew years ago! I found out that she lives down the street. About a 2 minute walk! So this week we were able to deliever a letter and talk with her. It was so much fun. She's the sweetest lady ever and was so excited to hear about Sister Rybin. What a tender mercy! We will be able to visit her more this next month. Here is a picture of us at her home!

We also did a lot of finding in my city the Quesnoy. It was so fun! We walked and walked for a couple of hours knocking doors and contacting people. We found a lot of great people and we found a family! They asked us to come back so hopefully there is something great there. I love that city so much. And I have a dream of opening a branch there. We're going to work so hard and knock every door in that city. I feel so led in that city as if people are leading us exactly where to go. I have such a connection to it! I was wondering if you could research it maybe and see if we have any ties to it? I don't know what it is but there's something or someone special there. I can feel it every time I step off the train there. It's so special.

This week we had a Rendez-vous with Kathy. It's been hard because she isn't keeping commitments because she has no time. She is a single mom going to school, working, and doing an internship. We're at a loss to know what to do with her. We know that she knows it's true, she just has a hard time trying to make time for it. Which is understandable. This week had a rendez-vous with her and explained sacrifice and how God will always remember us. He'll never leave us alone or leave us in the dark. We will continue to work hard for her. She could use some extra prayers! That would be appreciated. Kaprice is still in the US and our other amis have been a little busy. So it's been a week of finding! And less active work. It's been great.

We have 3 new missionaries in Valenciennes. The elders white washed in. One of the Elders is Elder Ireland! He actually did an exchange with Loge in Canada before he came out here while he was waiting for his visa. Small world isn't it! I also met a few other elders who knew loge this week. It's fun that our missions are so connected. Elder Ireland also has a blue so we're a great bleu ville with a lot of fire and desire to work! We have a goal to create more unity in the word and work hard for them and with them. We're so excited and are working closely with some incredible members.

One of them is Claudine. She just returned home from her mission in DC about 6 months ago and is getting married in May. She's busy with school and wedding things but always sacrifices time for us to help us with anything everything. She's incredible and I want to be like her and work with the missionaries when I get home.

Well this week i also said goodbye to my mom Soeur Miller at the gare. I can't believe how fast time is flying. She was in my spot when she was training me. Time is flying. Loving every minute of it.

This week we were asked to study Elder Kearon's talk "Come unto Me with Full Purpose of Heart and I Shall Heal You" to prepare for his conference on Wednesday. I'm really excited. You should read it too. This is one of my favorite lines so far, "Our Savior is the Prince of Peace, the Great Healer, the only One who can truly cleanse us from the sting of sin and the poison of pride and change our rebellious hearts into converted covenant hearts. The Atonement is infinite and embraces us all. The invitation given to the Nephites, when He ministered to them as the resurrected Christ, is still in force for you and me: Have ye any are sick among you? Bring them hither. Have ye any that are lame, or blind, or halt, or maimed, or leprous, or that are withered, or that are deaf, or that are afflicted in any manner? Bring them hither and I will heal them. Not one of you has thrown away your last chance. You can change, you can come back, you can claim mercy. Come unto the only One who can heal, and you will find peace."

He's coming Wednesday and I get to play the piano for a special musical number! Wish me luck!

Well I love you all. Glad you got your seeds dad! I hope you enjoy them.

Hope you have a great week and know how much I love you! Working for you.

Love

Your Sœur Cameron

100% No regrets I've promised to give MORE

 This is our 3 generation picture! Soeur Richards, Me, My mom Soeur Miller

 One of the big cathedrals in our city at night!

Meeting Sister Rybin's friend! 

Logan January 20, 2014

happy happy birthday daddy dear. happy days will come to you all year, if i had a wish then it would be a happy happy birthday to you from me!!!!!! thanks dad for being my dad. i wrote a poem for you

my father is the best

he is better then the rest

he has a green thumb

and he's really not dumb

he is my friend 

my friend to the end

so here is to you

dont go coo coo

i composed this in about 13 seconds so forgive me for the rhymes. a little elementary. but father thank you for all you do! you are a great man and you honor your priesthood. thank you

oh let us turn our thoughts today to martin luther king

and recognize there are ties between us

all men and women living on the earth

ties of hope and love 

sister and brotherhood.

we are bound together in our desire to see the world become

a place in which our children can grow free and strong

i forgot the rest

but i love this man. martin luther too

 how are all y'all doing?? this week was a good one. we had a ton of less active recent convert work. it was fun. we read the book of mormon a lot with this old guy names jean guy. he is a great guy. he has a good heart. unfortunately he is old so he forgets somethings, like commitments we leave with him. but hey life goes on right. 

one of our lessons we went to richard's house he showed us a playlist he made for when his girlfriend will return to him and repent of her sins. it was really funny but it had some great songs on it. all from the 80s and he was shocked that i had a fairly good knowledge of this time period when it comes to music.

this is a picture of nice wooden shoes that a less active had. she is super funny. her name is sister donna. and every time we go she makes us food. and it is always super tasty. and she is a little irreverent.... haha but she is super funny.

I had a really spiritual experience yesterday. i watched a mormon message at a priesthood meeting for the stake where an 18yr old football coach gave a blessing to his player. the spirit hit me super hard. i am 18 too you know and i have this same authority with me. it was really cool to see. not many eyes were dry in the audience.

well catch you later! have a great week. have a great birthday daddy!

elder cameron

Natalie January 20, 2014

Well hello everyone!

First off, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDIO!! I hope you have a great great day. You have a little surprise on its way in the postal service. Sure hope it gets there soon! I sent it last week. Hope you enjoy it!

So I got the news yesterday that I will be training a new bleu! I'm so excited and have felt God preparing me for someone. I'm excited to go pick her up on Wednesday in Paris. She has no idea what's in store for her out here! This mission has completely changed my life upside down and all around. I can't wait for her!!

This week has been incredible. And I also got some other exciting news!! I'll give you a little flashback. On May 18, 2013 Soeur Miller, my trainer, and I walked in the rain for hours contacting and finding. It was my 2nd day in France and we were there with no amis, and no potentials. We had talked to 30 people that day with no one that was interested. I was overwhelmed, missed home, and was dealing with a huge culture shock. As we got on the bus, we had the impression to contact a woman sitting down. We told her who we were and why we were here. And she listened. She told us she was searching for God, her husband had just been killed in a war in Africa, and she was here in France alone with her 11 year old son and no one else. She had nothing. We testified to her that God had found her, by sending us to her. That was the day that we found Anne-Marie Lily. We invited her to come to church the next day, and much to our surprise, she came. We continued to teach her and her son William throughout the rest of my time in Tours. We set many baptisimal dates and she accepted, but always backed out last minute. My last week there, little they decided to be baptized. We met them in town to go with them to the church. Anne-Marie met up with us and told us she wouldn't be baptized, but William told us that he would be. Anne-Marie had to go get off the bus to come to the baptism later. We were on the bus with William devestated. We asked him if he wanted his mom to be baptized and he said yes! We asked him what we could do to help her. And with his 11 year old faith, said, "I will get baptized, and I will receive the Holy Ghost. My mom will see the difference it will make in my life and she'll want it too." And so he did! He was baptized that day, receieved the priesthood not long after he turned 12 and has been passing the sacrament in Tours ever since. I got a call yesterday from my trainer. It is her last week on her mission. She told me that Saturday, exactly 8 months to the day after we found Anne-Marie, she was BAPTIZED!!! Words cannot express how happy and overjoyed I am! This work is real and it's on His timetable, not ours. The spirit is the true missionary and we are just His hands. I love Anne-Marie Lily! And I don't know if I will see her again in this life. But I know I'll see her in the next. With her husband and little William by her side. Oh how beautiful it will be! President Monson said, "Through your dedicated service at home or abroad, those souls whom you help to save may well be those whom you love the most" Oh how true that is!

This week has been full of that! We went and worked with our member Soeur Trouillard all day again. Each month she gives us a full day! Her only day off. She comes and drives us to our rendez-vous and teaches with us. She's incredible! We had a rendez-vous with an ami who is struggling because she just lost her father to causes from his job. She was mad at God. Soeur Trouillard's uncle was literally going through the same thing that very day! And she was able to testify to our amie and bring hope to her heart. It was incredible! and such a testimony that God sends people in our lives at specific moments to help us.

We also found a lot of great people this week! We found a girl last night who was so impressed that there are young people who believe in God! We will be teaching her this week. Man the work is on FIRE here in Valenciennes! I'm so excited for the new bleu coming in and for all that is in store for her.

Life is great! And i'm so happy. I'm so grateful for this opportunity and for all that I'm learning. My life will never ever be the same! Well I love you guys. Hope you have fun celebrating dad's 70th birthday...woops...;sorry bout that. Know that I'm singing to you from over here! I'll eat crêpes in your honor.

LOVE YOU

Sœur Cameron

100% No regrets I've promised to give MORE

the shire and le quesnoy!

Logan January 13, 2014

hello there.

this week was pretty good. our street got shut down at 11:00pm. saturday night. that was pretty crazy. there was a small fire in an apartment building across the street and down a little ways. so we went out on our balcony and got the chairs and the hot chocolate and watched it for a bit. felt a little apostate but hey that doesn't happen everyday. i got some cool pics and a funny video. unfortunately it may be too long to send home.

 you can even see the firetruck with the giant ladder. they didn't end up using it. the cause of the fire is currently unknown. 

also i think natalie may find this lady familiar soeur cunche all the way from france!

 wow look at that. she is a super nice lady. it was fun to talk to her. she said, "oh soeur cameron elle est magnific. je l'aime." and then i said moi aussi. haha 

i now have a testimony of keeping journals. so a missionary that is in mont saint hilaire right now called me and asked me a question about a lady that we visited. i could not remember her name and so i said hold on a minute i will check. and then i found it in my journal. that is why we are a record keeping people my friend. he needed something and because i committed to keep a good record i had it. that was neat. so keep writing. 

we had a great sabbath day. first i met sister cunche. then they asked me to lead the music. you know me always willing to lend a hand so i did with a lot of energy to keep the spirit of the hymns. haha. kelly our investigator was making fun of me afterwards. haha he is a super funny guy. unfortunately he is not making a ton of progress.  then this man gave a talk where he quoted bob marley. i was laughing the whole time. it was a really good talk. it was about being happy and not worrying... so you can probably guess what he quoted. then a girl gave a talk about how she stood up and said no to alcohol. it was a really touching talk. she is the only active member in her family. she is 16 and her dad doesn't talk to her anymore really because he is "too busy" with work. but she has  a really strong testimony and loves Heavenly Father so much. it was a great talk. 

well i love you all a ton! and i pray for you every day! with out fail. i hope you have a great missionary week! ha yeah

elder cameron of the shire.

Natalie January 13, 2014

Well G'day my dear family,

Thank you so much for all of your emails and for the updates. I'm so happy that everyone is doing well. Things here are going really great and so beautiful. Surprisingly it's not that cold. This past week we had a really cold day, but besides that it's beautiful. It was supposed to be the coldest winter and was supposed to break records. I guess it could still happen, but it hasn't come yet! Counting my blessings. knock on wood.

So this week I went on one of the funnest adventures of my life! When I came in on my first trainride into Valenciennes, there was a small countryside city that caught my eye. Every since then, i've been thinking about it. And this week, we finally had a day to go out! So we bought train tickets, put on our adventure boots, got a map, and went out! This is Le Quesnoy. And this was our first look.

The city is about 1000 meters square...exactly...aka super SMALL and it's surrounded by these ruins. They are barriers set up during war.

This was a random path we followed. During WWI, the city was saved by New Zealanders who came and defeated the Germans. They built a huge memorial in their honor surrounded by this beautiful wooded area.

then...we went to the SHIRE. check this out! We went down another path, and we ran into this.

Don't worry, I ported it to see if Bilbo was home...he wasn't.

We went and ported for a few hours and found a few people that want us to come back! My goal is to port every single house in the ville before I leave. I'm so excited! There is something about this ville. There is a special spirit. I can almost feel the ancestors of the people that live there now. It's super tiny and reminds me of Stars Hollow. I can't get enough of it. This week we'll be going back to continue the work. I love it!

This week we also had a rendez-vous with our ami Kaprice. We committed her to be baptized and she accepted! Her date is set for the 22nd of February. happy bday jess almost. she's so great and is really progressing. She is going to the states for a week so if you could keep her in your prayers that would be great. We have 2 baptism dates rolling on right now. Both hopefully for the end of February. We are finding new amis like crazy! And the work is picking up. I LOVE IT; Having the time of my life.

This week we also found out that our new mission presidents got called. President and Soeur Poznanski will be finishing their mission in July, and our new Presidents are french as well. They are from the Evry ward which is in my old district! We've heard great things. Man I don't know how I'm going to handle saying goodbye to the Poznanskis. They have changed my life in more ways that I will ever know. They are some of my heroes and I love them so much. They have changed the church here in France and have served with all of their hearts. i want to be like them.

Well I love you all so much. I hope you have a great week adn know that you are in my thoughts and prayers! Keep calm and carry on!

Love
Soeur Cameron

100 % No regrets i've promised to give MORE

ps sorry the pics didn't upload. i will try to send them seperately! LOVE YA

Logan January 6, 2014

hi there. elder cameron here.

i am staying in chomedey for another transfer with elder Duran. huzzah! i like chomedey even though it is in english. 

this week was a good one. we went to a members house for new years and the little kids attacked us for the whole night. haha it was funny. there is this little girl she is 4 and she already has that canadian accent. ''i am getting big eh?" haha it was super funny. i laughed real hard. 

we went to a less active ladies house for a lesson and she was making fun of her grandson how he is too light on his toes. haha we were laughing really hard. she is a super funny lady. 

hey em guess what i did. so being in canada i am exposed to real maple syrup. so one time we ate spaghetti and i decided to eat it like elf does. so i put maple syrup on it. it was delish! you should try it 

we got in contact with pauline again. had a great lesson with her. she said she and remeline her cousin are going to start coming to church. i sure hope they do. she is a great lady. she is so willing to help and to make food for anyone! she tells us that often. i just want to cook for lots of people she says haha. she is great.

I got some really sweet gloves.

Natalie January 6, 2014

Well hello everyone!

Thanks so much for all of your emails and news. Can you believe I hit my half way mark this week? Man I can't believe how fast time is flying. I'm loving every second of it! This week was crazy busy and felt like it was a couple of months! We had district meeting, exchanges, new year's parties, lots of lessons, and great miracles! I will tell you about some of them;

So a few weeks ago I told you about finding Vincent and his wife Elizabeth. Well, we had a rendez-vous with them this week. Vincent is very intelligent and knows a lot about religion. He was born Catholic, then became Evangelical slash protestant and a whole other array of different religions. It's kinda weird. He has studied our religion extensively which isn't always the best thing...haha. In our 45 minute long rendez-vous, he brought up every single contraversial topic that is brought up at our church. Every single role play situation I've ever gone through in Mission Prep came true. haha Polygamy, black's and the priesthood, joseph smith's wives, BOM not being consistent, and the list goes on. His critisism started to hurt. I thought of Loge and our mission prep adventures and laughed. At first it was pretty exhausting and frustrating that every single "hard situation" in Mission prep and the MTC was coming true (shout out AF East Stake Mission Prep program), but then I remembered what I've always learned in those situations: OPEN YOUR HEART THEN YOUR MOUTH AND SPEAK. So I did. With a power that wasn't mine. I boldly testified that I was only 21 years old with poor french, and had never studied religion before. But I could stand before God and say that I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the only true Church on this Earth. And that in the coming day, our Savior will come back and reign again, and that's why I'm here. Not to convince people or fight with them, but to testify and help them prepare for when He'll come again. We testifed that he'll have a chance to stand before the Savior one day too. We testified of Joseph Smith, of the Book of Mormon, and living prophets today. I'll never forget the Spirit burning in that room confirming that what we were saying was true. I saw it in his eyes that he felt it too. He got scared and started telling us that as young people in our church we could make a difference and revolt or ask questions against our priests and leaders to question the contraversial points of docterine in our church. haha we kindly told him it wasn't necessary and excused ourselves from his home. I'm not going to lie, he was good. He had hard questions. But not at one moment did I doubt what I believed. The Holy Ghost was with me every single moment giving me comfort and words to say. I will forever be grateful for Him and the friendship we have. Through the strengthening and enabling power of the Atonement, He turned a weak little 21 year old girl into a mouthpiece with power and authority to stand up against a brilliantly educated man. And that, is a miracle of a mission. I know that power and authority is real! Because I felt it, and I used it. I love that feeling, and it has changed my life.

The rest of the week was so much fun and full of great experiences. For New year's day we went to the Duez family. He is our DMP aka ward mission leader and we work closely with him. He is amazing! And reminds me of what dad will be like when he's an old grandpa. His little prances and jokes and such. I love being in their home. We had a real 4 hour french meal with them. It was the best meal I've eaten out here! Escargot, beef, potatoes, cheese! ah all courses were unbelievable; We spent the day with their children and grand kids after. Such a tender mercy. Made me miss all of you guys and think of our family gatherings someday when we all have kids!

We also ate with the Copola family! They are Italian and are so much fun! They have twins who are around 16 years old. We were talking music and they told me they loved Imagine Dragons. I told them some of the band members were members and they FLIPPED. it was so cool. Then I told them that my sister was friends with one of them and they flipped even more. Cool to see the affect that Dan and his band are still  having on the world. They are really big out here in France.

Well it was weird hitting my half way mark. Honestly I am just so grateful to be here as a missionary. I look back at these past 9 months and I am so grateful for the one on one moments I've had with my Savior and all the time He's spent with me. My mission has meant the world to me. In so many ways. The miracles I've seen, the people I've met, the experience I've gained. I wouldn't trade it for the world. Everything--every moment has been a gift from God, and is evidence of His love for me. I'm so grateful that I have 9 more months of this incredible ride and experience to serve others and bring blessings to you. I've loved every single day of my mission and I've been so bleseed. My life will forever be affected by my 18 months in the Paris France Mission! 2nd half...HERE WE COME!!!

 These are my favorite patisseries right now! speculos mervielleux! so so good. Got them to celebrate! 

And this is our porting experience out in the beautiful country! fields and fields of green. AH i love it.
Well i love you all so much. And i can't thank you enough for letting me be here. Thank you for your love and support and all that you do for me. I really felt your prayers this week! Stronger than ever! It was so powerful. I'm so excited for this week to go find teach and baptize some people! Love it.
LOVE YOU ALL
Soeur Cameron
100% No regrets! I've promised to GIVE MORE!!