Week 3 - Versailles

Bonjour ma famille,

Well, that's sure exciting to hear about Julie's pregnancy! and I'm still waiting for pictures of Conner :)

This week has been great! On Monday we had the visitor's center and for the first 2 hours we go out and contact. While we were walking around Paris a group of about 10 people yelled out, "Missionaries!" We knew right away that they were not French. A couple of Mormon families were here from Florida and they treated us like celebrities B); they wanted a picture with us and everything. We have done a lot of finding and contacting this week in fact we only had two scheduled appointments this week. All day yesterday we were out and about Versailles finding and got a couple of phone numbers and gave out 3 copies of the Book of Mormon (so far this week we've given out 10). I gave out my first by myself on Monday on the train. I talked with a man named David. To start the conversation I asked if I could practice speaking in French with him (it's a great way to start talking to the French people because they are more than happy to help you with that). He of course asked me why I was here and I explained that I'm a missionary and then I told him about the Book of Mormon and gave him a copy. He said he would read it and he had a big smile on his face as he opened the Book. He doesn't live in our area, so I didn't get his information, but I totally forgot that I could have passed his info. on to the other missionaries. Hopefully he finds them, but I have learned from that to get their information anyway. The rest of the week almost everyone I have talked to has either spoken English or can't speak French or English! I keep thinking, "Heavenly Father, this isn't helping me get any better at my French." But it is slowly coming along.
On Wednesday we taught Julia again and she almost dropped us! She told us she was grateful for all we had been doing but she wasn't ready to change. Then each of us bore our testimonies to her about the Book of Mormon and promised her it would help her, because she's been really busy lately and a lot of hard things keep coming up. I then told her about Grandpa Reeves and how it took him six years after marrying grandma to join the church. What made him want to get baptized? He read the Book of Mormon! I started crying as I told the story, partly because I love Julia so much and we know how much the gospel can bless her and her family's lives, and because I realized how grateful I am that Grandpa did read the Book of Mormon and now our family is sealed for all eternity. We then challenged her to read the Book of Mormon every day for one week and to pray about it. We will be going back this next Wednesday; I have been praying so hard for her.
I'm sorry about Stacy, she will be in my prayers and I hope that everything goes well with the surgery. I was also very sorry to hear about Billy Yates. It was a shock and very hard at first because all of those feelings come back of what it's like to lose a family member. They will also definitely be in my prayers. I sent an email to Allyson for them and hope they can get it soon. We are so lucky to have the gospel in our lives and know that this life is not the end. We will continue on and can one day return to our Savior Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father and live with them and our families for eternity if we do what we are told so many times in the scriptures: come unto Christ.
Let us all continue to do what Billy, Emily and missionaries invite us to do, and the Savior himself. (Moroni 10:32)
Yea, acome unto Christ, and be bperfected in him, and cdeny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and dloveGod with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be eperfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.
I love you all so much and hope that you are all well! Let this great work continue forward until we can all bow down at the feet of Christ and he will say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."

Love, Sister Valerie Reeves

ps. I'm staying in Versailles! Transfers are next week and President Staheli is keeping me and Sister Larsen in Versailles. I am a little nervous though because Sister Gappmaier is going home and Sister Larsen has only been out here for 2 transfers, but she is very amazing at her French, we just both depend on Sister Gappmaier though. It'll be a challenge but I'm excited. I definitely need to start speaking up more. Love you all.