For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also...

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Sorry this week isn't super detailed, it went by really fast and I was very busy. We started by having a super fun soirée famille with the young adults and played games, and they wanted us to do it in English, anyway we had a super fun time, and our amie who is a young adult came and she had a blast. So we now have them scheduled for every Monday! Then Tuesday was zone conference and we went to Paris. It was a really good conference, but we were a little late with trains so that's why I was in the back in the photos I'm sure you've already looked at from Facebook lol. I had the best interview ever with Soeur babin, I LOVE HER, she really is like another mom to the missionaries. We just talked about my testimony, and the change that happens to us. Then I talked with President and mostly just about going home, he told me what to start doing, and I'll send another email with more detail, I think you have to call SLC. Missionary department travel. Anyway, after a long day of us being one of the last for interviews, we finally made it to the gare, and voila our train left, so we all had to take the train to Orleans, and then it's like a fork that splits to Bourges and Blois, but when we got to Orleans the train only kept going to Bourges, so we took the Blois elders and walked across town to the big gare, where they found the next train didn't leave for a good 1.5 hours. None of us had had dinner or water since lunch in conference and it was 9 at night, so we told them if they chilled in our parking lot we would give them some water. So we all kinda sat there in our parking lot waiting for their train lol they didn't get home until 11. Yikes! But he was the DL, so I don't think that was a worry. Then Wednesday and Thursday we went to NOGENT for exchanges. It was super cool to see the ville again, and I got to see the bishop, and some members I worked with that we're like, "Soeur Stevens! We thought you would be home by now! How long has it been?" Hahaha thanks guys, I love them. Oh and a member I knew from Rennes got his mission call to Indiana Indianapolis mission, and was visa waiting in NOGENT so I got to see him too! Then on the RER ride we were sitting next to this guy who was Asian and speaking some other language, I was like eh, maybe mandarin? Nope. It was Cambodian lol (sorry Andrew). But I asked him, something about RER and he saw my plaque so he started asking questions, he speaks English more than French, and I asked him if he knew the Elder missionaries. From what he said it sounded like he had known them, but he said no he'd never met them, just seen them every week since he'd moved to France. He said, "I see them all the time always laughing and smiling, but it's not just that, they have a genuine happiness, I can't find that here in France." It was awesome! So we gave him our number and I hope it goes well! He was super curious about us though, all from just seeing the missionaries always with a smile on their face. He taught me a lesson that day, sometimes missionary work really is just a smile to a stranger. Then Friday we saw more miracles, a guy stopped us while he was on his bike and asked if he could take our lessons and learn more about us.. Ok.🏼🏼 im feeling on top of the world haha. Saturday came and went just as fast, and Sunday we got to meet some non practicing members thanks to an elderly couple, and a missed appointment lol. Lots of stuff happened, and once again full of miracles, and learning opportunities. I still find there are so many life lessons I need to learn, and so many ways to learn them here. I just feel like sometimes 18 months there is no way I can learn everything I need, but hopefully I'm getting something. 

One big lesson this week: 

"Oublie toi, et va travailler" forget yourself and go to work. I realized at the beginning of the week, I was kinda thinking about home, and reading through emails of all the fun things my friends were doing back home, and I think a little piece of my heart was there, because that was where I had placed my treasure. 

3 nephi 13:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

At first I thought maybe it's just going to bit a bit of a rough week, but after a couple days, I realized there was something different. It was me who was making myself suffer. It was because I was focusing more on myself, than I was on others. One thing Soeur Erickson taught me was, you can be the best missionary on the planet and find x number of investigators in a week, and have x number of lessons, but the real questions is "how much time out of everyday, when it's just you, do you think about your amies, and your members?" That is the real test, and I don't think anyone is a perfect missionary, but I do believe what we choose to spend our time on says a lot about our character, and if we begin to choose to think of others instead of ourselves, it can lead to a whole lot happier life. I had started to think more about home, than the blessings I had in front of me. When we put our treasure(time) on others, there will our hearts(happiness) be also. Anyway, that is my rant, thinking about others leads to actions to help others, which leads to changing lives, "The only limit you have is the one you set yourself, we'll never know our full potential unless we push our selves to find it"  -Travis Rice

Love you tons,

Soeur Stevens 

Random Pics Ashley sent

Le Château de Chambord

Characteristics and Goals God has for you...

So at district meeting this week we did an activity to help us
remember why we are here and what our potential is, but the potential
God sees in us. He asked us two questions, the first,
What are the characteristics God wants you to be or to have? And the second,
What are the goals God has for you? Then we went into different rooms
and read our blessings and wrote down what we thought were our
answers, it was a really fun activity, I think you should try it!


Characteristics God wants you to be or to have:
-shining example to others
-light to those who know me
-keen mind
-understanding heart
-have the art of healing and helping
-intellectual and intuitive ability to see into minds and hearts
-strength and ability to sit in judgement of others
-sensitivity
-awareness
-compassion
-love
-righteous judgement
-move through this life with grace
-ability to good without calling attention to yourself
-peacemaker and arbiter

Goals God has for you:
-my testimony to become a consuming fire within me
-dedicate my life to the service of the gospel
-complete my task which I was sent here to do
-succeed at anything I set my mind and heart to
-called upon to preside in the Kingdom of God
-invited to council with others
-give strength to those who need it
-mend the broken hearts
-proclaim gospel of Jesus Christ and bring home to Zion those who
would embrace it
-invoking powers of priesthood in my future home.
-create a sanctuary of peace and security in the tumultuous times to come.
-look upon generations from covenants I make in temple
-come forward in the first resurrection
-embrace Heavenly Father and hear,"well done my good and faithful servant"
-lay upon the alter a life worthy of all acceptation, and all emulation.
-future is bright with hope, there is nothing within reason you cannot
accomplish.

Meaning of Love

I was talking to some other missionaries discussing our life after the mission, and how nervous we were to start our lives again, they had read this article, and given it to me. I feel like it's everything the mission tries to teach you about love wrapped up into an article. Lol

I did however realize that love is controllable, and when we do our best, we can determine our happiness with others.  

The Meaning of Love

The Meaning of Love 

 Clark Swain 

 A song tells us that “love is a many-splendored thing.” In a humorous way love has been referred to as a supersaturated solution of sentimental slush. It has also been described as an insane desire to squeeze orange juice out of a lemon. Throughout the centuries poems have been written, songs have been sung, mountains have been climbed, and battles have been fought because of love. Even murder and suicide have been committed in the name of love. We do not always think in an accurate way about love. One of the incorrect and irrational attitudes we tend to have is that love is merely a mystical feeling, a mysterious power that takes over; and when it comes, we “fall into it,” helpless to control it. We are prone to think that it can vanish as mysteriously as it came and that we are helpless to prevent its leaving. A number of months ago a woman came to me for counseling. She explained that she had fallen out of love with her husband and had fallen in love with another man; she and the new man were considering divorcing their marriage partners so they could marry each other. Each had several children--ten children were involved--and yet they were considering giving up these children and their partners because they had fallen in love with each other. The woman felt that she was as helpless to learn how to love her husband once again as she was helpless to terminate her love for the other man. Another individual who came for counseling told me that he was thinking about divorcing his wife because, he said, “I don’t think I love her anymore,” as if it were impossible for him to do anything to change his feeling. Such a person needs to learn the meaning of real love. We need to stop thinking of love as a mysterious power that has control over us. We need to think of love as a way to treat other people, rather than as something that happens to us; then we will begin to have power over our loving. Those who conclude that love cannot be defined--that there is no way to explain it and it is something we cannot understand--are those who think incorrectly about love, who think of it as a mystical feeling, a mysterious power, a trap into which one may fall. Those who think of love as it really is can define it, explain it, and understand it. It helps if we think of a person as being loving, or if we think of one as either having ability to express love or lacking this ability. One of the most important things to look for in a marriage partner is the extent to which that person is able to express love. And in preparing ourselves for marriage, one of the most essential characteristics to incorporate within ourselves is the ability to give love as well as to receive it. This ability begins in childhood, in the loving care of a mother’s arms. To illustrate, a city boy went to visit his cousin on a farm. He watched carefully as his cousin milked the cows, took the milk into the house, ran it through the separator, and then took some of it back to the barnyard where he gave it to the calves. Finally, with a tone of enlightenment in his voice, the city boy said, “Oh, I see what you do. You put it into them when they are young; and when they get big, you take it out of them.” This is the way it is with people and their ability to give love. The more love we give a child in his younger years, the more ability he will have to give love throughout his adulthood. When parents give love to a child, they are helping him develop loveability. Babies and children need love just as they need vitamin C and whole grain cereal. It is impossible to give a baby too much love. One who receives insufficient love may become retarded in his physical growth and his personality development. He may become emotionally and physically ill. One of the important reasons for giving an abundance of love to a child is that it helps him develop self-esteem--appreciation, respect, and love for himself. And the more fondness one has for himself, the more able he is to give love to others. The selfish person isn’t the one who loves himself; it is the one who has negative feelings about himself, who is self-centered, who is focusing on himself, trying to overcome his misgivings about himself. One who is at war with himself does not have peace of mind; he has inner conflict. If we can help a child develop self-love, then he is likely to be free from inner conflict and free to give kindness and love to others. In one study recently, people were asked to indicate what they loved. Ninety-two percent said they loved children, 86 percent said they loved God, and 66 percent said they loved animals, but only 33 percent said they loved themselves. We need to stop thinking that it is wrong for a person to love himself. The Bible doesn’t say, “Love thy neighbour instead of thyself”; it says, “Love thy neighbour as thyself.” (Matt. 22:39. Italics added.) If a woman says, “I know my husband loves me, but he hardly ever tells me so, and he seldom shows affection,” it is possible that this man grew up in a family where love was seldom expressed. It is important for parents to tell their children often that they love them and to physically express love to them; and a husband and wife should frequently show love to each other in the presence of their children so that their children learn that to feel love alone is not enough--it must also be expressed. Many persons have not grown up in loving families; they still can learn to love, however, by learning what a loving person does and by making an effort to do those things. Dr. Erich Frohm, in his book The Art of Loving (New York: Harper & Row, 1956), defines and explains what a loving person does. A loving person cares about the loved one. Parents who really love their children take good care of them. A person who says, “I love flowers,” but who doesn’t water and cultivate his flowers, really is not loving his own flowers. A person who says, “I love dogs,” but who doesn’t feed his own dog, is not giving love to that dog. Loving is caring. A loving person respects other persons. A part of respecting people is not to force them. It may be necessary at times for an adult to force a child to do something against his wishes; but when two grown people are relating to each other, if there is love between them, there is no force. We may try to persuade a person to see our point of view, or we may try to convince him to do something we would like him to do, but if we really love him, we do not force him. A loving person responds to others. Since some people have more ability to love than others, it is reasonable for us to conclude that some people have more ability to respond than others, but we can learn to improve our responses. Loving is empathizing, trying to understand how the other person feels and letting him know that we understand. A loving person has concern for the welfare, progress, and happiness of the loved one. He not only has concern; he does something about it by making his resources available to the loved one. Loving is giving. It is the giving of material things to others, but even more important, it is the giving of one’s time. Among the gifts a father gave to his son for Christmas was a letter that read: “To my dear son: During the coming year my gift to you is one hour of my time each day for you to use as you see fit.” Isn’t this an act of love? Loving is giving, but what about a person who becomes upset because the gift he receives is not as fine and luxurious as the gift he has given? This person has a bargaining approach to giving. A true gift of love is one that is given with no strings attached; it is given with no concern about what will be received in return. Who is richer: he who has much or he who gives much? The giver is the richer, for he always receives for having given. Consider the parent who gives abundantly to his children by educating them and helping them maintain good health; then, when they grow up to become happy, productive adults, they are able to give more in return to their aging parents. The builder who gives extra time and effort to build an excellent house gains satisfaction from the contentment of the family that lives in it. The actor on the stage who gives extra preparation and exertion to his performance receives from the audience their approval and applause. An important dimension of loving is that the loving person also makes a conscious effort to receive. He is willing to receive not only physical gifts but also suggestions, advice, and acts of kindness. Have you ever known a person who will not allow you to do anything for him? who will not even permit you to open the door for him but always insists that you go first? who will not allow you to pay for refreshments when you are accompanying him on an outing? A person who is not willing to receive deprives others of giving. Receiving is an important part of loving. Loving is sharing. Have you ever seen a rainbow or a beautiful sunset when you were alone and thought, “Wouldn’t it be lovely to share this with someone?” Or have you ever been alone during a time of illness or trouble and thought, “Wouldn’t it be consoling to have someone here to share this experience”? Loving is forgiving. A loving person forgives one who has wronged him, and he also forgives himself for mistakes he has made. Guilt feelings can have some value in motivating a person to stop whatever it is that is causing him to feel guilty. To keep the guilt feelings beyond this point only interferes with a person’s effective living and happiness. It is a mistake for one not to forgive himself for something he has done that he considers to be wrong. Another word for love is charity. Thus, when Paul tells us what charity is in the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians, he is really explaining what love is. A loving person suffers long and is kind. His love is of long duration; he envies not. He is not puffed up. Arrogance, boastfulness, and conceit are not his ways; he is humble. A loving person does not behave himself unseemly; he thinks no evil; he bears all things; he endures all things; and he is not easily provoked to anger. A loving person does not hold a grudge against others; he realizes that to do so is to bring more harm to himself than to them. Real love is basically the same in all human relationships, whether between a grandfather and a grandmother, a newly married couple, or a mother and her child. It involves caring, respecting, responding, empathizing, having concern, giving, receiving, sharing, forgiving. Notice that these words we are using are verbs, and verbs denote action. Loving requires action. A person who says to another, “You have killed all the love I ever had for you,” does not understand the art of loving, because nothing can kill love; if it dies, it commits suicide, because love is not a measure of the one being loved, but of the one doing the loving. Whether or not we give love should not depend on another person’s attributes and behavior. It may be easier to love one person than another because one may be more charming, more pleasant, and more physically attractive. But our loving should not be determined by the nature and the behavior of another person; it is not just a feeling--it is a way of treating a person. If a person is mature in his ways of loving, then for him love is not blind. Mature love sees more, not less; but because it sees more, it is willing to see less. The mature lover is other-centered in his loving, not self-centered. He is patient and willing to prepare for a good marriage. If a man and a woman are mature in their way of loving, their love relationship will enhance their growth as individuals. What about being in love? It is possible that a couple may have great capacity to give love as individuals, but they are not in love. Perhaps they have different backgrounds and interests. He’s from the country and she’s from the city; he’s interested in ranching and the out-of-doors and she’s interested in travel and music. He is Catholic and she is Protestant. He desires to have children and she is not interested in having a family. Thus, even though each may have great ability to give love, it would not be wise for them to marry. Maybe you are wondering if you are really in love with your partner, if the two of you have a genuine love that will stand the test of time. If there is admiration between you, if you agree on most things, if you cooperate instead of compete, you are probably in love. If you feel comfortable together and can relax and be natural, you are probably in love. If you feel proud to be seen together in public, if you have similar interests, and if you really trust each other’s loyalty, you are probably in love. If you enjoy one another’s company so much that when you are apart you have a longing to be together, and if you have feelings of deep affection for each other, you are probably in love. The more of these dimensions that exist in your relationship, the more resilient and lasting your love is likely to be. Love does not consist of gazing into one another’s eyes, but of looking outward in the same direction. When a man and a woman have learned to do this, though they are two separate persons, a state of inter-person fusion exists between them so that in a real sense they have become one. Each feels toward the other, “I am all for you and you are all for me.” Thus, love is truly “a many-splendored thing.” 

Dr. Swain is associate professor of marriage and family life at Montana State University and marriage counselor for the district court. He serves as Young Marrieds leader and assistant general secretary in the Aaronic Priesthood--Adult in Bozeman Ward, Helena Stake.

This weeks thought and quote on happiness.

« Le véritable voyage de découverte ne consiste pas à chercher de nouveaux paysages, mais à avoir de nouveaux yeux » Marcel prost 

Causée:

My dear brothers and sisters, my message for you today is that there is a different path than ones of fear and doubt or self-indulgence--a path that brings peace, confidence, and serenity in life. You can’t control all of the circumstances of your life. Things both good and challenging will happen to you that you never expected. However, I declare that you have control of your own happiness. You are the architects of it.

      I can still remember these wise words pronounced by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf during the last general conference:

      “The older we get, the more we look back and realize that external circumstances don’t really matter or determine our happiness.

      “… We determine our happiness.”

      No, your happiness is not really the result of the circumstances of your life. It is much more the result of your spiritual vision and the principles upon which you base your life. These principles will bring you happiness regardless of the unexpected challenges and surprises you will inevitably face during your journeys here on earth. 

Wish you could see what I see even for a day!

Monday: 

Went to chateau chambourg! It was super fun, and the couple we went with was a hoot, she reminded me of aunt Amy. Then we went and did some emails, I got all your photos and saved them, we went and taught our less  active "my little one" haha.

Tuesday: 

Well we started out late, but Dad that recipe you have of grandmas brownies has come in handy, we were in charge of district dessert, so I made some really fast, and it's like the one dessert recipe you can make in France, did I ever tell you guys how different the cooking is here haha. Anyway we got ready and got out the door with 4 minutes until our train left, sprinted to the gare and we were running on the platform as the conductor blew the whistle, and we jumped on right as the doors closed haha it was pretty epic timing. Anyways, we went to Blois for the day, first for district meeting, then for contacting. It was super fun! We talked to soooo many people, and out of the 3 equipes we got 3 lessons and 7 contacting cards given out... HUGE success for Blois! Anyway, we then met back up and ate a sandwich and talked about it. Oh man, everyday I fall more in love with this country, mission life, and I have found so many wonderful friends here! We then took the train home.

Wednesday:

We went to Marie's for our lesson and taught Priesthood and auxiliaries. It went really well. It's kinda really hard to explain to our amis why there aren't any women in the first presidency, then why women can't have the priesthood. But we testified our the role women do play in the church and on the earth, I think it went ok, but it was one of the harder lessons I've had just because there isn't really an explanation as to why women don't have the priesthood, it's just faith. Then on our way to do pass bys we met the Bourges elders in the gare traveling through Orleans. We talked for a second then the gare guys came. Well that's what we call this crew of dancers who do break dancing in the gare, they are pretty good too lol. We watched them for a while, and then Elder Merrill was like, "man this is better than step up" hahahaha. We also had our DMP meeting, and finalized plans for a movie night Soeur Kemp and I organized, and since we were there I used the computer and guess what! I turned in my scholarship for Utah State, so let's pray that I will get that. I asked Elder Merrill (who went to Utah state before, and he's going to be there after) if a lot of students got the scholarship, he said, yes they really try and give it to everyone. He knew at least 8 people, so I'm really praying that that will go through. 

Thursday:

Well we woke up and did our studies. Then we went down to the immigration office right next to the cathedral and waited forever, then one of the dates was wrong on one of the papers so after all that they didn't accept it. So we called the office and she said they would email us directly with the right paper, but we had to wait a good thirty minutes, so we ate subway on the cathedral steps, it was a nice break, but it took until 4 until we got everything and then we just did pass bys until our appointment with a less active family. 

Friday: 

Round 2 legality haha. And she got it! Haha after we visited a less active. And weekly planned 

Saturday:

Went and taught some Amis haha and more mission stuff! Lol 

Sunday:

We went to church and translated for a German family who were there on vacation visiting all the chateaux near by. They were from Hamburg, we got to talk to them about the Berlin mission a little too. It was cool to see what other European missions were like. Then we went with S.Javoy and taught one of our amies. Then we went and tried to do this pass by and ended up in what kinds looked like a Brazilian ghettos haha where the streets are about as narrow as a Mini Cooper, and all gravel, with doors and paths that lead in all directions. Haha sometimes I wish you could see what I see even for just a day. Then on our way back we were waiting at the bus stop and there were tons of cars going by, so we decided to make people smile, that was fun, in the 10 minutes we waited we got 15 smiles! Haha I love my life. 

Monday: 

Today! We cleaned, went shopping, prepped for the coming week, and oh we will be in Paris for a couple days, conference, then exchanges... IM GOING BACK TO NOGENT THIS WEEK! So stoked for that! I get to see my blue ville again! Oh and next week I'm going to Bourges. Fun stuff planned for the transfer.