Bonjour!

This might be a short email cause I don't have much time, but it's
been a great week! We got transfer calls New Year's Day and Sister
Grant and I are staying together :). We were 95 percent sure that
would happen given our homeless situation but it was good to hear it
from president's voice all the same. We're so excited! This will be my
fourth in Ecully, which is the longest I've stayed in an area. It's
wonderful though because I have more time to really get to know each
member of the ward and strengthen relationships with everyone else
we're working with. Ecully is really such a wonderful place and the
ward is fantastic.

I don't know when Allison we'll be done with her emails, but I'll let
her tell you what she's doing 😊. So it's official, we won't be
serving together again before she finishes her mission as this is her
last transfer. But neither of us are complaining--we've been SO lucky
as it is to have been comps once already and to have spent so much
time in the same city together, and now to be even living in the same
apartment (it might take them a while to find us a new one).

It's the new transfer so some missionaries went home today! Soeur
Baggs, Soeur James, and Soeur Holmes who was my companion in Cannes
all left. :( it's so sad to say goodbye. They were all wonderful
missionaries and the mission will definitely not be the same without
them. It was hard saying bye to Sister Holmes who has been serving in
Lyon for the last two transfers! She's so cute and we always had so
much fun!! But we'll all reunite one day. ☺️

This week has been really great as far as helping people prepare for
the temple! Two of our recent converts and another woman who was less
active are all preparing to go in February.  Then Wednesday Allison
and I did an exchange (super fun to work together again!) and we
visited a woman who was baptized several years ago but had never gone
to the temple because she started to get cancer after cancer. Now her
health is at a point where she'll be able to make the trip also in
February--she was sooo excited to tell us! She's adorable!! Then
yesterday we had a rdv with another recent convert who we've been
trying to help get to the temple but she hasn't been able to because
she's been living with her boyfriend. She told us yesterday she
finally just ended the relationship because she knew what she had to
do and that the temple was more important. We were sooo happy! She
said she's felt peace and serenity about it ever since, and has names
of deceased family members ready to take to the temple. Miracle!

Yesterday we had a really special lesson in relief society about being
united as sisters. They introduced it as the theme of this year. As
testimonies were being shared, I was thinking about my own testimony
of being united as sisters in the church, daughters of God. In the
years before and during my mission, I've had experiences working with
other woman who were very different from myself. Yet I realized that
one of the most cherished things I have in this life is the
relationships I have built with woman who were younger, older, and
sometimes several decades older than me. Some of these woman have
lived completely different lives (and a lot more of it) than mine, yet
somehow we're able to bridge these gaps and become the best of
friends. Unity is only possible through Christ, whose love knows no
bounds and surpasses all understanding.

On that note, I got the testimonies this week that I asked for for
Christmas and it was the BEST gift. I've read the testimonies several
times each and appreciate all those who participated. It is so
interesting to read and learn about the person and feel closer to them
because of their closeness with the Savior. Again, He bridges those
gaps of differences all through the love He has for us and the love we
have for Him. Thank you enormously for this precious gift!

I love you all and hope you have gotten around to fixing goals for the
new year. Let's be better disciples of Christ! Let's live the gospels
as conspicuously as we can!

Bonne année!

Sœur Melissa Hurd

When the heater stops working...boil water

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