Logan February 24, 2014

well hello my family.

well I have a a neat story to start things off. So I told you about how we went to sister donna's mothers funeral last week. well we visited her this week and she told us a story about how she had prayed that we would be able to make the funeral. It was cool because we got this super strong prompting that we needed to go. I can remember during studies the day after we found out that she passed away that we needed to go. and turns out we were an answer to her prayer. she was having a really rough time with the loss of her mother and so we were able to strengthen her testimony of prayer, and she strengthened my testimony of following the promptings of the Holy Ghost. It was a great experience. We love sister donna. she is great. she reminds me of you mother. 

2nd I was committed to ask you all a question from my district leader who happens to be my comp. so you will have to answer. so here it is. What specific blessings have you seen from obeying the law of the tithe. Now think long and hard. and then let me know because i really want to know. 

mom i eat salad all the time. when we go to members to eat. so like 1 or 2 times a week. that is a lot, comparatively speaking. how are you mommy?? eating healthy??

so basically i heard a phrase this week that mr mower taught me in the 11th grade. i didn't know that people actually said it until this week. the real mcCoy is the phrase. haha i laughed really hard. Finally something from school i am applying. 

so yesterday at church there was a little boy telling about his experience that happened the last week for primary activity days. he heart attacked the door of a single lady in our branch. it was really nice of him and he did a great job telling about it. but at the end he said, "we had to do it yesterday because my mom didn't really want to do it any other day." haha it was super funny, he just sold out his mom in front of the branch. haha. he is a funny kid. 

our recent convert david is progressing. slowly but surely. he is an interesting man. this last week he asked me if the gathering of israel with just be a spiritual thing or physical, then he told me about a video he saw on the internet about something. so long story short i flipped open to the articles of faith and shared the one about the literal gathering of israel, and then he said, so are we not to believe everything we read on the internet? haha i almost laughed but i kept my composure and said, we should pray about what we are confused on david.

so we went to our all time favorite restaurant in all of laval, marathon souvlaki. where they sell greek food. because a d.a. canceled on us. so i was sad because of the cancellation but all of the sudden i looked at the tv in the restaurant and who should be playing a match of soccer but two of my favorite teams chelsea and everton. so we may or may not have glanced over at the television every so often to you know check the score and stuff haha, i consider it a tender mercy of the Lord. I miss soccer a lot. i kind of want to try out for uvu's team when i get back.

i think that the spirit keeps us super warm here in canada. dont worry mom it was like 6 celcius. so it was warm.

love you all 

elder cam

Natalie February 24, 2014

Hello Everyone!

What a week! It has been one of the craziest weeks of my mission. Such a learning experience and I'm definitely not the same person or missionary that I was a week ago.

We had a pretty crazy week. We had a lot of difficult situations, but through each one we learned so much! And now, we can laugh about them. We were rejected more than we ever have been before. We were not only rejected, but rejected pretty hard. People were extra mean this week. haha But we took it as a great opportunity to practice, ya know just in case we have some problems of getting rejected in dating. I was told I was fat and that I needed to watch what I was eating, got my butt slapped, I was spit on AND mocked in the same moment, we were laughed at and made fun of, all of our rendez-vous fell through, and our amis ignored us. It should've been really hard, but through the Atonement, we made it through! And in each hard moment, we had a ray of sunlight. Something to help us through!

Throughout this week, we learned that this work is impossible without members! They are the key. The only way to keep investigators is to have a member involved. The best way to find investigators is through the members! I can't get enough out of it. We've been struggling with that, in how we can help the members understand that. We fasted and prayed to know what we could do, because what we were doing was not working! We were a little discouraged. So here is my challenge! Each day, pray for a missionary experience! Find out who the missionaries are in your area and contact them to see if there's anything you can do for them! I know that if you pray specifically, God will lead you to people who need us! That is the best gift you can give to a missionary.

Friday, we had interviews with President and Soeur Poznanski. We fasted before to receive answers. oh man. It was absolutely incredible. They are 2 of the most inspired people I have ever met. Soeur Poznanski met with me and built me up. She reminded me of the things I've seen on my mission. I didn't tell her about our week but she somehow knew! She's so close to the spirit. She gave me incredible advice and things that I can do. It amazes me how well she knows us. She loves us all individually and personally. President was incredible too and from the moment I stepped in the room I felt his love! He told me we were put in this area to build the ward and help change their mind set and attitude towards missionaries. He told me that he knew we could do it! And we were there for a reason. he gave me great advice of things we could do.

Then we had zone conference. Soeur Poznanski talked about Alma's story in Alma 8. When he was teaching in Ammonihah. He was rejected and spat upon and cast out.

9 Now Satan had gotten great ^ahold upon the hearts of the people of the city of Ammonihah; therefore they would not hearken unto the words of Alma.  10 Nevertheless Alma ^alabored much in the spirit, ^bwrestling with God in ^cmighty prayer, that he would pour out his Spirit upon the people who were in the city; that he would also grant that he might baptize them unto repentance.
sound familiar??
Then, an angel appears to him. the same angel who first appeared to him and changed his life.
15 Blessed art thou, Alma; therefore, lift up thy head and rejoice, for thou hast great cause to rejoice; for thou hast been faithful in keeping the commandments of God from the time which thou receivedst thy first message from him. Behold, I am he that ^adelivered it unto you.
 16 And behold, I am sent to ^acommand thee that thou return to the city of Ammonihah, and preach again unto the people of the city; yea, preach unto them. Yea, say unto them, except they repent the Lord God will ^bdestroy them.
So Alma went back, and he continued to fight. And at that moment, we decided that we would too! Just like Alma, I had an angel too; actually i had two! And they both told me to head back and return because I can do it! So we will. I know that we're close and we're going to find someone incredible!

We also had stake conference and surprise! It was all on member missionary work! It was so KEY. It's the only way! We need members! Some of our members spoke, and it was so inspiring. I sure do love them all.
Here is a little video from Elder Oaks and Ballard about their visit a couple of months ago! It gives you a little info on our area and such. Thought it was cool.

https://www.lds.org/prophets-and-apostles/unto-all-the-world/unto-all-the-world-hastening-the-work-in-europe?lang=eng&cid=email-shared

Well I sure do love you a lot. and i felt your prayers this week! I am so grateful for your support and the examples you are to me! I'm excited to head back and try again and find these people that are ready to progress. Wish me luck!

Soeur Cameron

100% No regrets I've promised to give MORE

pic of these cute kids we ate with this week

me and sarah! a young woman in our ward

staying in the Lille apartment! we all matched

Logan February 17, 2014

so i know you are all wondering, except for jess because i just told her. i am staying in chomedey for a 4th with elder duran. that is crazy! how neat is that. i am happy i love this branch and all of the people here. it is a swell place to reside.

i got my package and i wish to thank you ever so much. you are so kind and i loved the fun treats that are only found in america, land of the free, and home of the brave. i was in much need of some candy. so thank you. and the blouse fits great. it is like it was tailored for me.

this week was really something. probably the best week we have had in a really long time. it had its ups and downs. but overall it was  a five star. maybe 4 and a half. but i like even numbers. so  we will stick to 5. but 5 is an odd number but it is a whole number. so i guess what i am trying to say is i like whole numbers not just even numbers. there are pros and cons to even and odd numbers. but i will get into explaining why this week was a 5 star week. 

 but before i do i just want to say that i am glad our dad holds the priesthood. and that he is worthy to act at all times. so way to go dad. i think you are swell. 

so i went on a split this week with elder johnson. some call him baby face johnson. you can imagine why.  if you can t i will tell you why. it is because he looks younger than he really is. he is really natalies age but he looks like he is 17. i like him a lot. he is our zone leader who we affectionately call zone lord. it was fun though we had some good times and we also went to my very favorite restaurant of all time marathon souvlaki. and i ate beaucoup. 

right after our split was over we had zone conference. and lets just say it was amazing. we talked about justification and sanctification and the aaronic and melchezidek priesthood. it was super cool. i will gather my notes and write a little more about it next time.  but what  i loved about it was that we are justified when we are baptized and we are sanctified when we receive the holy ghost. and there is a lot more but it was super cool. read doctrine and covenants 20 and 89 and 84. super cool. 

 

at zone conference the fleet coordinator gave his testimony. it was his last time at zone conference before he goes home. he actually lives by the temple. right across the street from the ortons. how neat is that. he and his wife are the best. but in his testimony he said, "i love missionaries. i love when two elders go and hit each other on the chest. in any other situation i would think they were two homo-sexuals. but it is good clean pure love." he is a funny guy. haha kind of odd.  but he has a great testimony of the gospel. 

then the next day we went to sister donna's mothers funeral. it was really strange. her mother was catholic. and all of her family except for donna. but it was really good that we went. i love sister donna. she is so nice to us. we always make her laugh too.

so we spent a lot of time in montreal this week haha. kind of a strange week. but it was good. 

then we had branch conference this week. it was tellement bon. best sunday so far in chomedey no doubt. elder duran and myself sang a primary song in sacrament. a child's prayer. it was super neat. all of the members loved it haha. basically we do whatever the branch pres tells us to do  haha. he is so great though. our stake president gave a great lesson about if we love Jesus. then he would not have to ask us if we have done our home teaching ect. it was a very good lesson. we watched the talk that elder holland gave in the october 2012 conference. so this week i commit you all to ask yourselves: do you love Christ. do you show your love? do you have to be asked or do you accomplish all that is expected of you. that has been going through my head this past week. I love Jesus. I know He lives. I know He suffered for our sins. He is the Saviour of the world. He is my brother my Kind and my friend. I love you all and i pray for you everyday. without fail. 

Elder cam

here have a picture

Natalie February 17, 2014

Hello everyone!

This week was pretty crazy. We had a lot going on and the time flew by!

We were in Lille for District meeting, then Wednesday, we went out with the Pierache family all day to visit members who lived far away. Our ward boundaries are HUGE and it takes several hours to get to some members homes. So they took the day off again to spend 8 hours with us. They are unbelievable!

We visited our Bishop's home this week. They live a good hour away from the church. Their son got baptized this week so we planned a special lesson for him on missionary work. We're going in each family's home in the ward and presenting a family mission plan to help them in their missionary efforts. It's been really great! We made the plan a little more adapted to Sam for his baptism and typed up an offical mission call for him calling him to Salt Lake city leaving in 2024. It was pretty fun. He opened it up for everyone and we asked him what he would need as a missionary and went through what he could do now. Then we showed the little video from the Hastening the Work broadcast of "I'll go where you want me to Go" with the family who does missionary work. It was so cool and the spirit was strong. I have a huge testimony of member missionary work. It's the only way!

We went to Samuel's baptism this weekend as well. They asked me to do a musical number and that was fun! It was incredible; Jeremie, the bishop is the only member in his family, so they took it as a missionary opportunity and invited their family who aren't members. it was beautiful and so powerful to see their willingness to serve. They are an incredible family. There were a TON of people there.

I also spent my Valentine's day in Belgium! It was a blast! I got to go with one of my best friends out here, Soeur Holmes! She is from Provo and is incredible. We're going to live together some day! But we had an incredible experience with a lady the Elders passed them. The Elders had found her from a referral from her neighbor. She and her husband had tried for years and years to have a baby, they finally got pregant and she had their baby. Her husband passed away a week later unexpectedly from cancer. Needless to say, she was in a pretty dark place. She is one of the sweetest ladies I've ever met. They taught her a little bit of the plan of salvation when they taught her the first time. But they decided to pass her to the sisters and we had a joint rendez-vous with the Elders to pass her over. The spirit was so strong as we testified of the Atonement and that Christ made it possible for her to be with her husband again. She just sobbed and cried and we felt so much love for her. I had a scripture come to me that we shared with her. It's Jacob 2:8

          "And it supposeth me that they have come up hither to hear the pleasing aword of God, yea, the word which healeth the wounded soul."

She just cried and cried as we testified to her. It was a tender moment on my mission and one that i'll never forget. We felt so much hope for her. It was an incredible exchange and I even got to eat my first Beligum gaufre (waffle). And see the little peeing boy! One of the most famous things in Beligum. (weird i know)

But we're excited for this week to have more time to continue to contact all the people we found last week! Excited to spend more time in our ville. We also have interviews with President and Soeur Poznanski. It will be one of our last ones. I'm excited to learn from them. they're incredible

Well I love you all a lot! And i hope you have a great week. thanks for all of your support, love and prayers. They are felt!

LOVE YOU

Soeur Cameron

100% No regrets I've promised to give more

Logan February 10, 2014

hello all.

This week was good. the lundquests took us out for dinner. it was tellement bon. that means really good. i sat next to maggie the 6 year old. i found out she stole 100 dollars and then her dad caught her and she got all her toys taken away. she has to earn them back 1 chore at a time. so she told her mom she was going to clean her parents room. so she went in and found her toys and took them haha. i was laughing pretty hard. maggie reminds me of myself. she is a crafty lady. 

I finished the Book of Mormon this morning. what a great book. I underlined the 5 points of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. it was super. I learned a lot of things. I have the goal to read the whole thing in one week. i have been reading like crazy. so hopefully i can keep on track. 

our less active we are working with just blessed their baby. Cederic did the blessing. so we got to hang out with him all day. he is hilarious. justin knows what i am talking about. he was asking about you just btw. it was a great blessing though. hopefully this will jumpstart them back to activity. we have been meeting with them a lot and they really want to come back. 

sister donna is this lady in our branch who is less active. she is super funny and she feeds us once a week. i love her a lot. she is like a grandmother to me. unfortunately her mother passed away this week. it was super sad. she was really close with her and so if you could keep her in your prayers that would be swell. She is a great lady and does a lot of good. she was going to make it to church this last week but her mom died on saturday night. 

I havent gone knocking in a really long time which is weird because in my first area we did everyday. but we had to go this last week because we had absolutely nothing else to do. so we were kind of sad but we did anyways. but we found a nice guy named hamd. one thing about quebec when you knock is it is hard to find anyone to even talk to you for more then 10 seconds. and on top of that we are surrounded by greeks and jews and muslims. so it is a little more difficult. but on the last house we knocked this guy opened and we got his number and so we will keep you posted. 

sister bellmen, the lady who quit smoking, is on her 21st day free of smoke! how great is that. she has really come far. 

this next week is transfer calls. so i will find out if i stay or if i go. if i go there will be trouble, if i stay there will be double. haha

well here are some photos for ya

the heart donut. how neat is that. i love tim hortons.

the pancakes are the 3 rings given to the elves.

trying to get the copper club international. so far it is working.

Natalie February 10, 2014

Hello everyone!

Wow. I don't even know where to start. This past week has probably been one of greatest weeks of my mission so far! I think Ammon describes it best, "my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God." Every single day this week we saw an incredible miracle, showing us that God is near.

It all started on Monday. We have an FHE each week with some members to bring some of our amis. Its hard to get amis to come, so for the most part it's us and some great members. This week however, our ami Erika came! She's the one who brings a new friend each time we teach her. It was so great! We played games and ate crêpes and she loved it!

Tuesday was incredible. Me and Soeur Richards made a goal to contact EVERY single person that we would see throughout the day! Every single person. So we did it! We contacted cool french teenagers, even a woman riding a bike, old women, you name it! We literally contacted every person we crossed paths with. It was incredible! It was incredible to see the faith of Soeur Richards! Her first couple of weeks here in France. She has completely put her fears on the alter and has given them to God. We were on our way to bring some cookies to a member that was sick, and there was a girl who looked about 13 on the bus. She looked pretty nervous and kept looking out the window. We kept smiling at her, and happened to get off the bus the same time. We looked down the street and her mom was taking pictures of her. It was the first time she ever took the bus home alone from school. It was the cutest thing ever. We knocked on the door of the member but they weren't home and the mom of that girl was outside her door. Knowing our goal, we walked over to the woman and contacted her! She was super nice and I asked her if she had just 5 minutes for us to share our message with her. She happily let us in! And 5 minutes turned into an hour! It was incredible! She was super open and SO kind! She asked so many questions. She has travelled to Jerusalem multiple times and for a gift, she gave us salt from the dead sea and a candle that was blessed in Christ's tomb. Crazy right? We got her info and she invited us to come back!

Wednesday we had Distirct Meeting, and after taking the train home and doing our 12 week
program we had only 3 hours to work that night. Right during golden hours! So we knelt and prayed to find people and be used by God. We left the church and had the feeling to visit a certain ami. So we crossed over to the other side of the road and ran into a girl, we contacted her and found out that she was muslim. We testified of Jesus Christ and she asked us who that was. We looked into her eyes and testified to her that He was HER Savior and Redeemer. That He knew her and He died for her. It really touched her and she told us she wanted to know more. So we got her info. Miracle #1 We left her and got on the tram to go visit that ami. There was a woman on the tram that was just GLOWING and I knew we had to talk to her! So we walked over and moved to sit by her and contacted her. it was only about 5 minutes before we had to get off, but she was interested and we got her info. Turns out she came to church yesterday and is GOLDEN! She came to all 3 hours and was loving everything. She told us she'd been searching and searching and never agreed with the docterine of other churches, but is excited to read the Book of Mormon and pray about Joseph Smith. Miracle #2! When we got off the tram after talking  to Lucette, a man stopped us and said he'd been listening to what we were saying and was really touched and wanted to know more. So we got his info and passed him to the Elders! Miracle #3 We then went to drop by at another amis house because the other one wasn't home. Anastasia, our other ami wasn't home either, but her sister was home! And we were able to meet her and talk with her. Miracle #4. Then we contacted a woman walking from her house named Janette! She was super kind and really open and wanted to know more. Miracle #5. Then it started to pour! It was raining and raining. We had about a half an hour left, before it was time to go in. We prayed that we would be made strong enough to hold it out before going in. All of a sudden, we looked up and found Marie! The woman we found last week. We hadn't been able to get in contact with her after we found her. It was a miracle and we taught her on the street. Miracle #6. As we walked up to our apartment, the bells from the church struck 9. Unbelievable. That's 6 people that God put in our path, after we prayed that we would be avaliable for Him.

Thursday, we went to the Quesnoy again and followed up on a woman we found. Her name is Jessie and she let us in! We had an incredible lesson with her and she's really interested. She had a lot of guilt and weight on her and she looks so desperate for anything that will set her free. We testified of God's love for her, and the hope that this gospel brings to the wounded soul. It was like she hung on every word. We're already close with her and it feels like we've been friends forever. We're going back this week and will continue to teach her. I'm so excited!

Friday we met with Kathy, our ami who has a baptismal date! She's so busy with work, school, internship, and being a single mom that she doesn't have a lot of time for anything else. We promised her blessings if she would make the effort to pray and seek God's love. Saturday, she prayed throughout the day and read the Book of Mormon. We prayed for her too all day and could really feel God's love for her.

Saturday, we visited Mary France and Didier, our recent converts. Didier played the organ for us. A good little arrangement of "yesterday" and "hey jude" thought of loge. haha we pumped them up about family history and even showed them our family trees. It was really cool to see the spirit touch their hearts to find their family.

Our mission goal right now is Doctrine and Covenants 64:33-34

 33 Wherefore, be not aweary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great.

 34 Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind; and the willing and obedient shall eat the good of the land of Zion in these last days.

Me and Soeur Richards fought to give our hearts and willing minds to God this week by being exactly obedient. We fought to be where He needed us to be and find who He needed us to find. We were just His hands as He directed us to His children. Words can't express how grateful I am for a loving Father in Heaven, who knows us! Who loves us! and wants us to be happy. We felt such joy as we found this week and taught.

 16 Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel.

He pretty much summed it up for me. Word.

I love you all. so much! Working for you. See the beauty.

Love,

Soeur Cameron

100% No regrets I've promised to Give more

salt from the dead sea, our view out our balcony. Beautiful France

Our view from our balcony.

Salt from the Dead Sea

Logan February 3, 2014

bonjour

in response to the lecture that mom gave me: i am truly doing well. my asthma is well too. i don't need any for a good 2 months. maybe 3. so don't fret one bit.

so just got word that my dad, in the mission not biological, is engaged. i am slightly upset that i will not be able to attend. but i am happy for the guy. he is a great man. 

thanks for the package. i haven't gotten it yet but i shall thank you in advance. 

this week was alright. we had a lot of cancellations. but we did get 11 lessons with a less active or recent convert. so that is neat. 

i went on a split with our zone leader elder williams. he is great. he hails from park city utah. i went to his area which is called kirkland. we did service at this old folks home. i got to call out the numbers when they played bingo. it was super funny. the lady in charge was impressed with my enthusiasm. how neat is that? so you can imagine how i took my job very seriously. lets just say it wasn't the most productive to find souls to come unto Christ. but it was fun. there was one lady who was asking me to take her to her room. she didn't want to eat dinner. but i said i couldn't and elder williams pushed her back to the table (she is on a wheel chair) and as he started she yelled out, "Oh no that is the wrong way! i am going to throw a fit" haha i was trying super hard to not laugh at the comment. 

after we had a sleepover! the zone leaders had us over one night then they came to our place. i styled elder johnson's hair. lets just say it needed some work and he asked me how i got my hair so fluffy and soft. so we did some work. hahaha dont worry i am not gay. i just have style. 

i had to play the piano in church yesterday. so we struggled through the 3 hymns that i know how to play haha. so i think i will start practicing on pdays for the future. just in case. haha but i think i am getting better. i am starting to understand theory kind of haha.

here have a  picture or two. this is at sister donnas house. she is super nice and really funny. and she has great food. i love it. and this is my reaction when she pulled out the carrot cake. 

mommy i ate beans! and i didn't not hate them. not my favorite still but i am growing up. haha

elder cameron 

i wrote a poem. it is kind of weird but tell me what you think

thou hast taught me to trust 

so trust in thee i must

i believe in redemption

and thy plan of salvation

so help me dear Saviour 

change my behaviour 

accept me in thy holy place 

change me with thy love and grace

Natalie February 3, 2014

Hey everybody!

First off, thank you so much for the package!! Man you did WAY too much. I loved everything so much and can't believe you did that. Thank you thank you. The American candy has been muchly enjoyed and devoured and muchly appreciated! Forgot how much I love that stuff. Also, mom your quote was incredible! I have been studying that chapter in the scriptures this week and the quote was exactly what I needed! Thank you thank you. So inspired. Also I LOVE the necklace! Thank you so much! Cute story. I wore it to church yesterday, and I have this little gang of little girls and they came up and asked me what it was and where it was from, so i knelt down and explained to them that it talked about faith and what faith was. They were the cutest things ever! And they loved it. Thanks mom. It was so special. Such a great reminder of my word!

This week has been amazing. It was SO warm today! In the high 50's with so much sun! I didn't wear a coat or anything. It was crazy and beautiful. How is the weather at home? We haven't had any snow yet! Everyone said it was going to be a crazy winter but it's surprising us all. We also had our conference with Elder Kearon! It was INCREDIBLE. Seriously, that man is unreal. He just did the conference led by the spirit, and we all learned so much. I'm glad you got to see the musical number! That was totally an answer to prayers. We practiced like 5 minutes before for the first time. They were incredible! The spirit was strong;

During the conference, Soeur Poznanski started preparing us for our new mission president and his wife. I can't believe how selfless she is. They have 5 months left and they're already thinking of others. Man.  It was really hard for us, and it will be a hard day for me when they leave. i can't imagine what they are feeling. They have given everything they have to this country and to this work. President spoke to us and said, "Thank you for saving my people." Man. There wasn't a dry eye. The Poznanskis will continue to change my life forever. I'm so grateful I had a chance to get close with them out here. I love them so much. Soeur Poznanski surprised me by calling me this week personally to thank me for playing in the conference. She's unreal.

There are also so many incredible members in this ward and I'm becoming really close with a lot of them. The Pierache family is one of them! They are incredible and are always willing to help us. They are converts of about a year and since the day of their baptism they haven't stopped giving. This past week, they gave us a day out of their week to visit members. the member we visited didn't have money to make us a cake, so soeur pierache made one to bring, after she had already fed us a big lunch with her own cake; the woman's incredible. This week they also are taking off a day to go out with us for 8 hours to visit people. I Can not believe them. They have changed my life and have become family out here.

We visited a family going through some challenges and the rendez-vous was fun! But it was long. French people love to talk. We left feeling like we hadn't done a lot! In testimony meeting, the woman got up and bore testimony of "two angels" who came to her home and changed her life and the situation she was in. We talked about covenants and what we can do to have peace. She shared our message with a friend, and the friend went to church for the first time in a long time after her husband had been diagnosed with cancer; MIRACLES. God will always use us.

We were also out porting this week. We were on our way home and had 5 more minutes. So we prayed we could find someone, and we started walkingn and ran into a woman! We contacted her and she was the sweetest thing ever. She loves americans and invited us to her home so we could teach us because she was looking for a community to learn with. miracle! Her name is Marie and we're hoping to see her this week.

We also went back to a woman we found a few weeks ago. She invited a friend over that she thought would be interested, and she found out that one of her closest friends that just passed away was a member in another ward in France. Coincidence? I think not! We're excited to teach her more.

Well, Life is beautiful and I'm so happy. We're working hard and waiting for these people to finally decide to progress! haha I think that's the hardest part of missionary work, agency.

But I won't give up and I will continue to fight! Today is my 10 month mark out here on my mission and I'm pumped beyond belief that I 8 more to work hard and fight for this.

I love you all so much! Thank you again for your kindness and the package. made my whole week. Hope you have a great week. Love ya

Soeur Cameron

100% No regrets I've promised to give MORE

this is my street! my window view.

my mtc comp. first time we've been together in 9 months!

this is the view from my window! down the street.

this was our lunch! woot woot!

my package!! loved everything in it

this is the church building! only the bottom floor

aren't we so blessed to have chapels in the states??

this is a beautiful french street we walk down everyday

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!