Breaking Traditions! Yea!

Dearest peoples,

      First off! I'm staying another transfer here in Dunkerque!   Elder Porter is still my companion.  I am breaking two traditions; by finally having a companion for more than one transfer, and I am staying in a ville for three transfers! 
    Also I already e-mailed the pictures of my suitcase to the missionary mall.  They are sending a new suitcase thing to y'all! Yes, I know they can't send it overseas....and yes I know I will need to buy a new one.......poopy!  
    I don't have much time but I have letters for LeAnn and grammy and mom that just need to be sent off! I got's to get to some rendezvous so I will catch up with y'all on Monday!

Sorry I have no time to type today!  We have got to leave and catch a bus. 

     Real quickly: Yes I have gotten LeAnn's letter!

     Oh miracle!  We randomly saw Tao on the street this week.  Apparently he sold his phone and didn't have a copy of our number.  We were able to see him and teach him twice.  Plus, we were able to pass all of his information off to the church members in China .   It just so happens that he will be living right by it, and can be baptized there.  Woot!

     Ummmmmm my big suitcase is destroyed.  Don't ask why, because I was just cleaning some things and putting away my winter stuff and opened up a surprise of shattered suitcase.  I will try and send those pictures to y'all soon.  I don't have my cord with me now, but heads up, because I might get to have a free one sent to the mission office from the missionary mall....?   If not, I will buy a new one.  I figured you could ask them for me.  I will e-mail y'all on Saturday because that is when we will get transfer emails ....got to go love y'all lots! And I wrote lot's of letters for y'all, so forgive me for being brief!!!!!

                                            Elder Lyons

Tough Week!

Well, I don't really know where to start. This week was pretty tough, but I have learned a ton. I keep growing and learning in the gospel, but sometimes I have a hard time seeing if anybody else is having as great of a time as I am.

     We did a ton of porting this week.  We also visited all but 10 people in the area book to see if any of the dropped investigators were still interested. Especially since nobody, stinking, updates their area books!!!!! You probably won't recognize me when I get home because I am kind of an organized freak now!

    So anyways, we went through at least 50+ names of amies, half of which had moved and didn't have numbers.   Those ones weren't good, but we just took those houses as normal porting experiences when the people we were looking for had left...... they still weren't interested. Then, half of the remaining half were less than excited to see us.  We've narrowed it down to four people who are interested in us coming back. And now the area book is all neat and tidy and divided into separate villes and who is interested and not!

     We did a ton of less active work as well.  Let's just say I have had more success, with pretty much anyone, than these less actives.  I have had some of the most rude reactions out of them......kinda sad but life goes on!

    The thing that was disappointing though, was that we have not seen Tao for 2 weeks!!!! He kinda just disappeared off the planet and I am worried that he might already be gone.  Hopefully, we can see him at least one more time before he leaves.  He can be baptized in China! They just so happen to have a branch right next to where he will be going, and we have left him all of the information to get there.  But, I would still feel more comfortable talking to him and getting his coordinates to give to the church there!

     Also Tia's baptism is indefinitely post poned. The reason we fixed the date in the first place was to see if she was really as interested as we thought. Sometimes it was really hard to decipher her feelings! I felt really impressed to ask at the end of a rendez-vous if she felt good about her baptism or if she was worried about it, because she likes to hide her feelings.  I knew from experience, that no baptismal date is solid until they are in the water! Turns out that she is SUPER nervous about what her family will think.  In China, they will pretty much disown you if you believe in God, and you will bring dishonor on the family if you practice religion.  She has kinda been putting her butt on the line as it is. There are a lot of other cultural problems as well, but I think that is the biggest one. Anyways, she came to church and we started a lesson there by asking if she had made a decision yet.  If, parents aside,  she even wanted to be baptized, or if she needed more time.  We just wanted HER to decide not us! However, our lovely DMP or mission leader, jumped in and basically told her that we only wanted her to be baptized because of our pride, and that she should take some more time to decide when to be baptised.  BUT, to be baptized before she goes back to China.  I love our DMP to death, but sometimes I wonder!

    Tia still wants to learn more and agreed with being baptized before she goes to China.

    Anyways, this week was very stressful.  I briefly questioned the effectiveness of what I have been doing here.  I learned, probably the most valuable lesson, this week in studies and throughout these experiences. I have been studying a ton on Charity and how I can be more charitable,because honestly, France just needs a big stinking hug! I felt like, if we could just love em to death, miracles would happen. And one did. As I was reading in the gospel principles on charity I come across something very interesting. It said something to the lines of: if you want to be charitable and love others, you must learn to love yourself. We are commanded to love others as ourselves.  Just as you can only help someone obtain a testimony as strong as your own, you can only grow to love someone as much as yourself! That really hit me, because I think that was the biggest thing I struggled with before my mission. I never really respected myself for who I really was, and who I really am. If someone did something wrong to me, I hardly ever took it out on them, which is good.  But, I almost always took it out on myself. I liked to take the blame for everything, and it sometimes really got me! BUT, I am a child of God and have inherited God like qualities and have the divine potential

    I love you, and I hope all of you are well. Have a super week and I will catch ya'll laters!           Elder Lyons

Already 4 weeks into this transfer!!

Bonjour tous!

    This week was super tight! So first off, I got grandma's package of spices....(or maybe it was LeAnn's).....in any case, it was much appreciated.  I am always super grateful for all the awesome things my amazing family does for me (temporally and spiritually)!
     So the first day out this week, we were waiting for the bus and a young student came over and started asking us who we were, and why we are here, and what the difference between us and all the other religions are!

    First off, we were little startled because we can go tracting all day telling people the answers to these questions, and not find one soul who wants to learn about God or n'importe quoi else!  BUT here someone was, asking us these questions!  SO, we told her ( her names Isabelle btw ) about the restoration and how we have a living prophet, and the same organization of the primitive church of Christ. And we told her that we even had a Book she could read, and pray and ponder over to know if that message was true.

    We didn't say much more than that.  She said," cool.  Why don't you take my number and call me so we can talk about this more.  When we meet, you can  tell me all of what you believe and stuff."  OK, why not!
           God is preparing people everywhere!  He does it in His way, which is why it is SO important to be obedient and prepared for the moments( just like these) so that we can help those that God has prepared for His gospel!
           We have also had a few rendezvous with Tia and she is just amazing! I don't know what else to say! She exemplifies that childlike faith that was talked about in conference! She does her best to understand and learn what she can.  Whatever she doesn't get, she will ask question's about, pray, and just accept it ,so long as it is from God!

    We are so excited for her.  She will be more than ready for her baptism on the 16th!

     We, unfortunately, didn't get to see Tao this week because he was super busy.  He is still on top of the game and keeping his commitments.We will keep ya posted!

         Well, I have found something harder than contacting and porting or pretty much anything I have faced so far.   Helping the less actives with their worries and getting them to come back to church. So far, after about an hour of porting each day on old members houses, we have found one that wants to come back to church.  The only thing holding her back, is that she lives far away and is a single mom with 4 kids, and no car.......kinda feel her pain. Other than her, we have been screamed at, had doors shut in our faces before we can even figure out if they are the right people.  It was a little sad. I wonder what made so many people fall away?  I think they just need a hug or something!

     Well, if there is one thing I learned during conference, it was that I need to be more childlike! This childlike faith and charity is EXACTLY what Dunkerque needs to get the work growing!  One thing I thought was interesting: The relationship between faith and charity. Both are ACTIONS! Faith is centered on Christ and the other is His most desirably quality! Charity is necessary to obtain to enter into Gods kingdom as well as the first! Also, if we did not have hope, these two would not happen! Thus: hope, faith, and charity are the ultimate goal to achieve in this life!
     Well I love all of you and miss all of your pretty faces!

     Natters my favorite food here is their bread and cheese, and .....anything in their patisserie shops! I love y'all lots and have a most wonderful week!
                                        Love, Elder Lyons