SISTER MARTINA THOMAS: ¿month 9? WHAT

November 7th

bonjour mes chers amis!!!

What a fun week here in good ol` Canada. (and yes I am aware of the élections this coming week, EVERYONE talks about them here, and as soon as I tell them I`m America ohhh man they`re ready to talk my ear off, but then I kindly say that I have no opinon - because we can`t voice our political opinions as missionaries - and then they continue to talk about their own opinion, sometimes rather loudly, its fun)

LAST MONDAY I FOUND A PIZZA SHOP THAT SELLS PIZZA

THE SIZE OF MY FACE

AND IT`S NOT EVEN EXPENSIVE AND IT TASTES GOOD.

I WAS SO HAPPY.

(don`t worry I wont get toooo fat here, we run around from bus to metro,

so I`m getting my exercise)

street art in real life (my favorite picture of all time, ever. I love Sister Johnson)

We found a few new investigators, thanks to some other missionary teams on the island of Montréal, and we had some amazing lessons!

First, I want to talk about Panh. He`s from Ivory Coast (btw, Africa is my new favorite continent, THEY`RE READY FOR THE GOSPEL) and we took a member with us and we planned to talk about the Book of Mormon. On the metro ride there I was ready in my French bible and I thought about the verse every missionary knows in John 10: 16:

And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one Shepherd.

And as I pondered that on the busy and loud metro my mind turned to the scripture in the Book of Mormon, 3 Néphi 15: 21 where Jesus Himself declares who His other sheep are,

And verily I say unto you, that ye are they of whom I said: Other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one Shepherd.

These two scriptures provide the perfect link from the Bible to the Book of Mormon. These two scriptures prove that these two Holy books stem from the same God and are meant to have the same purpose, to turn us closer to Jesus Christ. The one being the testamant given by the people who lived in Jérusalem, and other parts of the middle east, and the other being the testimony given by those who inhabited the Americas at the same time, two records born and engraven for our benefit in these days, to give us a source of consolation and comfort. I am so grateful for them. And it was perfect as we explained this principle to Panh. He loved it. He was raised Catholic and was familiar with the Bible, and when we made the link between the two he was immediately interested in the Book of Mormon and what it contained. We read some of the Introduction (https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/introduction?lang=eng) together and helped him understand why the Book of Mormon is important. We bore sincere testimony of the Book of Mormon, and of it`s divinity, and it was beautiful as the spirit filled the room and touched our hearts. AHH I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY

some of our favorite sisters <333

Okay, and then we found another great investigator, thanks to other missionaries (who proselyte in Spanish) being in the right time at the right place, opening their mouths, named Jose. Who is also from Ivory Coast (aka my favorite place). He`s wonderful. We taught the message of the restoration and he accepted all of it. And he said it was because he knew we spoke the truth. He said he knew he could trust us because of our countenance, our demeanor, the way we acted and spoke, it all resonated to him as evidence of the truthfulness of our message. That was cool. He too was also very excited to read the Book of Mormon and ponder it`s message for himself. PRAY FOR THESE PEOPLE.

And okay, lastly, our investigator Amadou is doing soooo good! He should be baptized soon, and he`s really growing his testimony. We attended a baptism with him this last Saturday for the English ward in the city and he really liked it. Afterwards he said that he «felt something deep Inside» that he was «touched» by watching another person make sacred promises to God. Sister Torres and I are soo optimistic for his future. After the baptism was over we went to eat with him at this African restaurant where he ordered us a dish called tchap (pronounced chap) and it was really good. Lots of rice. and fish (I think). And we got this ginger drink and it was SO SPICY. He kept saying it was «bon pour votre santé» (good for your health). So know that I`m staying good and healthy here in Montréal.

my African feast!

happy hearts and happy stomachs

This week really was good. Difficult at times, but really a week that caused us to grow and to stretch and to reevaluate how we can become better. And I`m so grateful for that. That Heavenly Father has given me this time to really grow into the person, and missionary, who He wants me to be. chaque jour, je suis tellement reconnaissante d'être ici. L`eglise est vrai, je le sais sans doute.

à la semaine prochaine!