Conference, pigeons, hexes

This week was a great one, lots of memories and friends made.

We had our last conference with President Roney and his family and it
was so great! He talked about the fruits of the Gospel and how
overcoming trials and hard things in life are what life is all about.
Our circumstances don't matter at all, just what we do with them and
how we choose to change from them. Beautiful testimonies were shared
and the spirit was felt. I think the greatest thing we all felt was
the enormous amount of love the Roneys have for us and the great
influence they have been on each of our lives. Even though I've only
known them for a few months, I feel as if they're a part of my family.
We exchanged contact info and gave our last hugs (yes, even
President!) and said our goodbyes. President joked, eyes brimming with
tears as they were walking away, "the Atonement doesn't cover
goodbyes, we just have to cry through them." It was a tender moment!
We know we will be in contact though, and we're excited for our new
president to arrive.

On the way to the conference we waited in the train station at
Marseille for a time. We were all nicely coiffed and dressed because
it was our last chance to take pictures with President.  So naturally
that was the day that a pigeon decided to poop on me. It was
wonderful. I felt things fall on me and my first thought was I really
hope that was water. Then I looked around me and there was green stuff
everywhere. It was vile. And it was on me. So we found the bathroom
and cleaned off my blazer and then I washed my hair in the Marseille
train station bathroom! Classyyy. Hahaha not the best thing to happen
to me but it was pretty funny.

Other interesting things this week: I was finally treated really
meanly by a scary woman while we went porting. She started screaming
at us and chased us off of her porch haha. Then a few days later a
woman started hexing us as we were walking down the street. We passed
her and she was chanting stuff at us and then we kept going and she
kept going too and started getting louder and louder and yelling after
us. Hahah my companion was running away so fast! It was scary.

We have one amie here in Cannes and I finally met her! She's super
cute and her name is Carla and she is GOLDEN. Except still doesn't
want to get baptized haha. But she's read the Book of Mormon four
times already and knows everything is true and has no doubts about it
at all! She's amazing and has so much faith. If we could only help her
by taking that next step of faith towards baptism.

I have to tell you about this member of the ward who we call Mama
Gentil. She is 85 years old but is basically the mother of the ward
and keeps the ward going. She has three sons in the ward and all of
their families, but she is everyone's grandma. She takes care of
everyone, especially the missionaries! She's he cutest little old lady
but very demanding. We went over there this week after our lunch and
she preceded to put a large plate of food in front of us and looked
into our eyes and commanded us to eat all of it. We were terrified!
And so we had to eat it all and we were already so full! Haha she is
crazy but the best. I don't think she believes in agency but we'll
forgive her for it. She never stops serving.

We went with her to go see another sister in the ward who just got put
in a home and is almost completely blind. It was the cutest thing to
see Mama Gentil, an elderly woman who barely had the energy to walk
down the street to visit her friend, endlessly serving this sister and
holding her hand and bringing her melon and cherries and talking with
her and encouraging her and then the reminisced together about the
ward and moments they had together. It was so tender. It was actually
one of the sweetest "fruit of the gospel" experiences, as president
was talking about, I've had on the mission. It's little moments like
that that life is all about!

Today we are in Nice for district pday and we went to Eze, a little
village with an amazing view of the Côte d'Azur. It was seriously so
beautiful! I took a few pictures with the iPad but mostly with my
camera. So I'll have to send them later when we have computer access,
since right now we're just at MacDo.  I also have lots of pictures
from conference but alas, later.

This week take the time to visit someone elderly! Whether it's your
relative or someone who is lonely in a nursing or retirement home,
visit them and talk with them. By small and simple visits marvelous
moment are shared.

Happy 80th birthday, Grandma Gale! And happy birthday to Julianna on
Thursday! Love you both and hope you have great days :)

Je vous aime!  Bonne semaine!

Soeur Melissa Hurd

Cutest young teens in our ward that like to try to speak English with us

Eze!

6 Months Ahh!!

I LOVE CANNES. Seriously it just always smells like flowers here and it's so pleasant!  I will admit the weather is very humid and sticky and hot but it is still just so nice to be here.  I cannot complain.  Everywhere you look it's just white buildings and beautiful architecture and I love it.  The ward here is awesome!  I already had the pleasure of meeting several members throughout the week, and then Sunday I met so many more.  Everyone was kind and welcoming.

I LOVE SISTER HOLMES.  We've just had a blast together so far.  She reminds me a lot of our cousin Erin so naturally she's just the most pleasant companion!  We get along super well!  She does MirandaSings impressions all the time and it's hilarious and just like Juna's right next to me doing the same thing haha.  I am scared she'll leave next transfer because she's already been here for three!  We are always laughing and having fun!

Yes, in a few days I will have reached my six month mark.  I remember when Allison reached hers when we were together and I was thinking, wow, she's so far and such a great missionary and speaks amazing French!  Aaaand now I'm there and still feel like a bleu.  Scary how fast the time goes!  On the plus side, some people told me I sounded like a French person when I speak so I'm getting there hopefully.  

This week we have our final zone conference with President Roney :(  I'll admit, it is very, very sad to think of our mission without the Roneys.  Even though I've only served with them for 6 months, they've made a huge impact on my life and I admire them in so many ways!  I can see the impact that President has made on our mission the past three years and I know it's forever changed for the better.  Although it will be sad to part with them, we'll be in touch throughout the years.  I'm excited for President and Sister Brown as well!  I know they're the inspired leaders to be here at this time and I'm excited to get to know them and learn from them.  Later this transfer we'll have a zone conference with the new president and we'll be doing interviews!  Cool.

This week I've been studying a lot about finding people because in Cannes it's hard to find people that want to hear about the Gospel.  And guess what?  It always comes back to families.  I know I've put the plug in for family history several times already in my letters home, especially because we have Project Elijah that we're working on as a mission, but I'm doing it again.  Families are SO IMPORTANT.  I was reading Allison's talk she gave on Mother's Day in Nice and it was so great and so true.  Mothers (and Fathers) are to bring up their children in light and truth and if they don't then a child's life is changed forever.  They will forever wander in darkness, searching for truths, searching for true happiness, trying to find it here and there and maybe for a time they will think they have found it.  We know that greatest happiness comes from families and that working towards success in families is the most important thing we can do in this life.  Everyone...call someone in your family right now and tell them how much you appreciate what you've learned from them.  

I think next Sunday is Father's Day in France....I'm not sure if it's the same in America or if it was yesterday, but either way, I LOVE YOU DAD.  I frequently think about the advice you've given me before and during my mission and all the lessons you've taught me my whole life.  You always know what to say.

I read a talk this morning about patience and there's a story of a young son whose dad owned a motorcycle shop.  One day they got a new shipment of several shiny new motorcycles.  They lined them up one by one in a row.  One day the boy did what all boys do and got on one of the motorcycles.  He even started up the engine, then decided he probably shouldn't so he got off.  When he got down, he knocked over the motorcycle and then watched as it knocked over the one next to it, and then each one went down like a string of dominoes.  The father heard the commotion and came out and saw what happened.  He slowly smiled and said, "Well son, we better fix up one and sell it so we can pay for the rest."  Ah!!  What a perfect father!  What incredible patience!  I would have blown up!  I think about my own dad and I know that after a long, exasperated sigh, he would say the same thing.  I'm so lucky to have a patient earthly father and perfectly patient Heavenly Father.  

Je vous aime!!

Soeur Melissa Hurd

Scenes from the ward talent show!!

Frere Benedetti dancing with our amie Huguette! So cute! :) :)