Changes: Transfer & Senior Comp.!

Hello hello !! 

Yes oui c'est officiel ! Je suis à Cholet. C'est une très très petit ville sud du Paris. ( Yes it’s official I was transferred to Cholet, a very very small village south of Paris!) It is so cute that's for sure.  Another change I am now Senior Companion. Currently for P-day we are going on a LONG run and I could not be more excited. I told my comp how much I love to run and she was like ok well we are going to find a park and you can run around it while I sit, how does that sound? I was thrilled and shocked. So that's what we are doing :)), we even found some goats on our run. Then we have to do a bunch of other important stuff like get a blender and get my permit stuff for the voiture because yes I am driving !!!!! Faîtes attention!! 

Monday was so fun, we went to me Louvre again with this super cute French couple Aude and Ansemle. Interested in the church (; 

Then a member took us bowling and I will admit I was super good the first round, but my mojo really hit an early peak because the second round their little girl was definitely putting me in my place that's for sure. Paige I should have gone bowling with you and nice all those nights in Provo. 

Then that night we met with the Mestre's. Oh how I love them so much. They remind me so much of home because they are related to Mike and Sandrine Nakata in the Woodlands. Sweet Soeur Mestre bought me dairy free muffin things for the morning. I am so blessed. 

Okay so transfer day was so crazy. We woke up and Soeur McDonald immediately started making cinnamon roles because il fallait. 

Then we were off. We walked 4 rues de là bas. We walked all down Paris with my suitcases. While we were trudging, looking like little goobers, i tripped into a puddle of water. So that was fun. 

Soeur Peterson and I greeted graciously at the gare (station). Then travelled a long 4 hours to Cholet ( we had to change trains and things like that). 

We had an immediate rendez-vous with this member Ven Phen who doesn't speak a lot of French. She's from Thailand. She made us eat I think 5 kilograms worth of rice and veggies. I just about died by the end of the night. She kept saying tonight we mange (eat) and I was like Ven tonight I die from rice.  

Anyways, the next few days were a big adjustment. Going from such a big city to Cholet was super hard. BUT WOW. this place has so much to offer. Heaven Father has really shown me that these past few days. 

Miracles that I saw : 

While I was in Nogent on Tuesday, i ran into a long lost ami whom I gave a "for the strength of youth" pamphlet to, he told me that he and his family are ready to listen to the Gospel. I hope he does !!! 

In Cholet, we were driving back home from a member’s house and we passrd a FIELD of SUNFLOWERS. It was absolutely insane the sunset was so beautiful 

Made me grateful 

Got a blender today to make smoothies

I improved on my French a ton in just a couple days. Like substantially grown  

My comp loves pink lady apples 

I went for a run today and it felt so amazing 

I ate super healthy this week 

We have a member that gives us tomatoes and cucumbers every Sunday so that saves a ton of money 

An tout cas, I'm super grateful to be here. 

Also we have a baptism next week already !! Lol. His name is Oresti and he is such a gentle disciple of Christ. He is going to build up the kingdom of Zion I can feel it. 

But we are planning a ton for that with the ward, they are all so inviting and amazing. Never seen a more put together ward. An tout cas, we will be preparing for that this week. Keep him in your prayers ! Also, Joel, our sweet all Joel. He's going to have an operation this week. So keep him in your prayers as well. It was hard saying goodbye to him. He gave me a photo of him and Mathis and said he will never forget me. It was such a moment. I know we knew each other in the pre-earth life because I have never connected and loved someone as much as I love Joel!!!! What a saint. 

Anyways, got to go. 

But I'll leave y'all with this little thought I had: 

I read in second Nephi 5 yesterday morning. That chapter is sooo cool. These people are true examples of how to live the gospel. First off, how inspired did Nephi have to be to be able to construct another Temple ???? Wow. I was really taken back by that. And also, how complete is it, that the Prophets, such as Nephi, use teachings and blueprints from prophets who lived before ( In regards to the temple of Solomon). It's so interesting making the connections in the scriptures. It reminded me a lot of the ward here. They are so amazing and because they take after the Lord, THEY ARE LITERALLY as the people of Nephi, gathering the children of israel, living continually in peace because of their obedience. 

And side note, they all were like you're lactose intolerant??? Oh we will work with that. The whole ward is in on it. They are making a game out of it to find recipes for me. It's so amazing. I am so blessed.  Anyways love you all so much!

Soeur Dunkley 

Also new address !! 

Soeur dunkley les soeurs missionaires 

94 rude de lorraine 

49300 cholet france  

WORLD CUP WINNERS!! ALLEZ LES BLUES (GO BLUE) !!

Hello everyone, thank you so much for your emails, love and support. I am so grateful for everything you all do for me ! 

This week we had so many miracles happy but unfortunately I have no time to write them so just know that God provides when we act on our faith. 

This Sunday was so INCREDIBLE. First off ALLEZ LES BLUES ( GO BlUE). Yes yes i know it’s official. France is number one in the monde ( World). Literally we all four walked out on our balcony and shouted and sang with our neighbors. It was absolutely precious. First time we felt united. So today we had to be in by 17h00 or 5:00 for our safety during the coupe de monde (World Cup Finals).  Also i think it was set so we wouldn't watch the game lol.

So we went to church, had a wonderful discussion on the Saint Esprit, and then went finding. We were in noisy le grand, and because of the heat we decided to go porting. Upon entering into this building we met a man named frank with a fat dog. Super sweet guy but told us not to bother coming to his door. Anyways, after many flights of stairs ( no elevator), we hear someone beneath who said "did they leave???" Followed by frantic footsteps, it was that same guy! He handed us a bottle of strawberry juice and said bon courage, with-i kid you not- the most tender side smile i have ever seen ( Paige Frank's you know what im talking about ). It was so sweet. We wrote him a note with our number and left. 

THEN on the train, we met this less active member who gave us a brownie and MY FAVORITE THING EVER, it’s called tableau and its basically this veggie couscous mix from the grocery. Anyways super happy about that. Tomorrow is transfers so we thought we would do something different. We made a giant TENT FORT THING in our big room and did a group scripture study inside. I made popcorn and we talked about what we studied that day. I talked about how the holy ghost brings us gifts and talents. But in order to receive those gifts and talents we have to actually be worthy of them. Which was interesting to view it from that avi.

I’m getting transfered !!!!!!!!!! What!!!!!!!!!!! This is nuts! I’m going to Cholet France, its west of France just next to the ocean. So, i will be cold. That’s good to know... haha everyone pray for me. But I’m so excited ! My new colleague is Soeur Peterson. She is super cute. 

For Pday we went to le louvre with ode and anselme. They are so cute. She reminds me of me lol. Then we went bowling with some members. 

Really weird transition right now. Leaving my blue ville :( but it’s okay because guess what the work continues !!! 

Trust in the Lord always !!! 

Soeur dunkley 

Growth in the Gospel and Growth in the language!

Bonjour Americans !!! Happy fourth ! 

We had P-day Mardi or Tuesday because we went to the Temple today wowow !!!! It was so surreal. Truly one of the most spiritual, magnificent feelings i have ever felt. The work that takes place in the Temple is truly consecrated, holy, eternal work. I can’t describe it. I am very grateful i got to go. 

Wednesday we had le spectacle !!! It was truly such a breeze. The dancers were insane. And super lively. Yall they had so many cowboy scenes and i was just shouting all the words to the songs it was so fun. Joël and tristan (a member)  kept laughing. Walli ( german man we met, said his name was Walter, but the next time we saw him, he told us these ministers started calling him Walli; oh and he also goes by John and Emmanuel in other countries)  came again and he brought us smoothies and redbulls lol... we were like walli you can’t keep buying us food !!!! Lol he just laughed and said "well im gonna keep doing it." He loves church though so it’s great. He also doesn’t have a phone so it really shows how much integrity he has. Whenever we say ok be here at this time, he’s there with food. But anyways he gave me the nickname of sunny dunny. I thought it was the cutest thing. He gave nicknames for every missionary. I just hope the members don’t make that stick because I need to be called Soeur Dunkley you know ??? 

Afterward the spectacle we had a BBQ outside our apartment. We made hot dogs and s'mores :) it was incroyable. I will show pictures 

I would also encourage you all to read Alma 46. Specifically verses 10- 16. Imagine this imagery. We are given so much. Being outside of this country I see a différence. There are so many who don’t have the liberties we so loosely hold. 

Saturday we taught Maria about the Word of Wisdom. It was one of the best lessons I have ever had. Wow. It was funny because she was like guys i buy the most expensive café ( Coffee)... that stuff has got to be good for you it is heaven sent. We were like but it makes you tremble when you don’t drink it !!! Then she laughed and was like yeah lol. Anyways, I was really nervous about the lesson, i prayed soo so much the morning of for some guidance because I wanted to be direct but sincere as well. At the end of the lesson, WHICH WENT SUPER, I bore testimony, that you WILL gain SO MUCH if you put aside cafe and alcohol. I promise that these so called hidden treasures we hear about, they exist. God is constant, but it also has so much knowledge he is willing to bestow upon us. He is willing to give us the perspective that so many lack. Something not of this earth at all !! How crazy ! I believe this to be so true. 

The spirit was so powerful. She said she will try with our help and with God’s help. Keep her in your prayers. 

Sunday was bliss. We had church as usual, had 5 amis (Friends) which was just as great, and afterwards, went to a members house to teach a lesson that night. We taught them about keeping the foundation on Christ ( Helaman 5:12 would you think anything less ???) Anyways, we played Jenga with them and wrote little words like prayer, going to church and honesty  on tape and taped it to the blocks. And when they took it out, the foundation fell !!! Gah oh no !! Lol, but the kids LOVED it. It was a great way to i guess teach a 7 and 4 years old about the importance of honesty. After we sang love at home together and the spirit FILLED the room. It was truly amazing. The parents both started crying and the kids settled right next to us (: Clement (their son) gave me a bisous :') 

But this week to say the least was quite spectacular ;) lots of spiritual growth and growth in the language ! We had zone conference Tuesday and it the inspiration received there is always a pleasure. Not to mention I got my favorite sandwich and macaroon afterwards. Keep sending ideas for family home evening activities!! Also any scriptures on the Savior. I am trying to have more peace in my life and one way i can do that is through learning about him. So keep them coming. :) 

Love this gospel so much, and II love you all. I’m grateful to know that I have a Celestial Father that loves me so so much. And he loves you too :) 

Sunny Dunny 

Miracles!

Bonjour bonjour ! 

Oh  la la !! Cette semaine était bien passé ya'll. Vraiment c'était trop bon. Mes jours préféré sont les jours charger. Remplir d'oeuvre. So good. 

First off today for P-day we went to the. Musée de l'armée. So that explains the pictures. 

We also ate at this vegetarian healthy restaurant, some lady convinced us it was divine. Pricey but divine. 

Okay to start 

Monday night we went finding. I have to say it was one of the weirder nights. First, i contacted this guy who pulled out a bag with what looked like a fish eye.... yes, you should have seen my face i was jaw dropped and everything. I was trying to talk about prophets and he just whipped out this fish eye thing and started eating. Anyways, we continued on in Vincennes and met this guy who had long hippie hair from Belgium. Sweet man, told us his name was Walter. Anyways he asked us a bunch of questions about the US and about TX and how we were so young... and then me to go to sacre coeur with him , he quickly corrected himself and said shoot i probably can’t since you’re on a mission right ? and i was like exactly ! Plus I've already been! But if you want to hear about the gospel here's our number! He was SHOOK that we gave it to him. Lol, he spoke English and moved like artists do, super slow and with rhythm You get the picture.  We will hear about him later on in the week 

We also had a great leçon with a member Iris who kept putting on Whitney Houston lol. Mom you would have loved it. We ate amazing salads and talked about the Temple, all with sweet Whitney in the background. What a way to bring the Spirit. Haha, don’t worry we asked her to change it. She said yes after 3 songs. Ca va. 

Thursday we met these two sisters, who came from Africa, and their kids. They completely rejected our message at first, but randomly... something changed. Neither of us remember what we said but after they were both like give me that book we are coming to church. We were stunned. Stay tuned for more info ;) 

We also met with this recent convert named Fanny. She is the cutest, she’s SO STRONG. She’s in a wheelchair and her family hates Mormons so she has to catch ride everywhere to go to church and such, so it’s pretty hard to meet with her but grâce à Dieu,  we are able to meet once a week at a park. We read "a summer with great aunt rose" together and it was so tranquil. Out on the grass near the flowers. You could clearly feel the spirit there. I loved it. 

Okay, Friday soeur Bakly and i literally ran around our whole sector for this one women, we were helping her prepare a marriage. Afterwards we made American cookies and taught her and her nonmember friend. It was so fun and also sweaty, working that cuisine in the heat is a trying task. Lol 

SUNDAY ALSO KNOWN AS THE DAY OF MIRACLES 

I just have that one song in my head, "i believe in miracles" if you know the tune then great. Anyways, we had again all our amis (friends) at church!!! 7 !!!! Seriously what!!!! Maria, and her two kids came and Roana- her daughter- was completely welcomed with open arms by the members. Joel, who came and prepared his testimony for testimony meeting, so cute, he wrote down every member that he has ever come in contact with. I was helping him, then Anne Felicita and Helenore, the two sisters we met !!!!!! Ugh they were so fun. They went to Paris on accident, just from mal use of transportation, but they STILL CAME to church !!!! THATS the spirit ladues and gentalman. Et puis, funny story, but saturday i was trying to call Joël, and i accidentally called a differently Joel on the phone. Well, we ran into him the next day ??? Coincidence ? No?? Then low and behold he just shows up at church ! Great blessing. 

Last but not least, and the most surprising of all, Walter, the German man, shows up. Out of the blue!! We had NO contact with him he just came. Lol, he stayed forever and brought Soeur Kennington and i sandwiches lol. He was so sweet and told us that he thinks he’s going to try and live out of a "decked out van" in paris, so we can continue teaching him. Don’t worry we handed him to the Elders that’s for sure. Lol 

But basically it was just such a blessing. That Sunday i kid you know everything was in line with Gods plan. I know things do not happen by coincidence. 

One thing I love about God’s timing, is that he is actively  working on us to prepare us for a time when our faith is tested. These people are prepared! And i can’t wait to see what’s in store for them 

Sunday night we went to Beatrice's house. She invited us and said I’m trying to set up my cousin and my husband’s cousin, so can you set up a spiritual thought about eternal marriage? We were like… What lol. Ok we will prepare something. 

Well we didn't feel we should go that route because everyone at the party was a nonmember except for Beatrice. So we prepared to talk about Alma 7. When we got there, first off, it was so awkward because Beatrice’s husband, Alvin, was filming the whole thing. He kept telling me to shout 'y'all.' Mais, with time it got better, and frank, Alvin's cousin, was super into learning about the Mormons !!! We talked a lot actually about Cain and Abel. Very interesting subject. But after we discussed Moses chapter 5 about their prosperity. It was super awesome. 

Following the dinner, we taught all 6 of them about the Book of Mormon, It was soooo powerful! We read from Alma 7, because it talks about Jesus's life and his gospel. Two very important pieces of info. 

One thing i am so grateful for is the guidance of the Spirit. He is with us every step of the way. 

I encourage all of you to strive to keep the spirit with you by choosing to be an open vessel. Pray to be virtuous and humble and you will be guided !! 

Love you all!! 

ALSO. If you have any cool fun family home evening ideas for teenagers or young kids,  or good recipes feel free to Send a quick email !!! Help a sister out!

Till next time!

Soeur Dunkley 

Bus Crash!

Bonjour à tous ! 

C'était une bonne semaine that's for sure. 

We had such a fun busy week. It's like that all the time but you know this week was special.

First off last pday we played spike ball. It was absolutely just the best. Played it for the first time in forever.

That night we have a rendez vous with a member family, and on our way we got into a CAR CRASH. It was nuts, we were on the bus, talking to this women, when suddenly the bus slammed and everyone fell. There was a car that swerved out of the other lane into a pole, his whole front end was demolished. Right after the crash he just left !! What !! Mais ça va, ça va. The rest of the night was great. 

*funny highlight 

We bought a watermelon this week ( pastèque ) and we were wondering what makes a good watermelon!! We thought we could turn it into a good contacting skill, so Every time we saw someone with a pastèque we asked them what makes it ready? And then we somehow transition into talking about Jesus Christ, we have received some really positive results. 

Thursday was so fun, we did OFII, which was a physical we needed to receive, and guess who was there... my entire MTC district :`) 

Yes I saw soeur Larsen and yes I had the best sun dried tomato baguette of my life. Afterwards we got free yellow kiwis it was wonderful. 

That night we literally had the best finding experience. Because soeur bakly and I have to go on a lot of exchanges, I get to practice my French a ton ( we were both in the same incoming group ). And we just had a great experience sharing our testimonies of the book of Mormon. It was truly powerful. 

SATURDAY. 

Okay so we went to the temple with Joël this Wednesday and it was super amazing. Felt the spirit so strong. But two days later we get a call from Joël and he said that frére Lethuaire called and asked if he wanted to go again to the temple this Saturday, so we went again !! Lol.i And when we went y'all was so cute he wore all white.

 But I kid you not, I KNOW that the priesthood is the restored power of God. 

So we went the second time feeling a bit timid, because we weren't sure what exactly we would teach him. We decided to create a family search profile so he could set up his family tree, he is SUPER interested in that. Anyways,  before that happened, frére Lethuaire asked him if he wanted a priesthood blessing, and he said bah oui! He received IN THE TEMPLE a priesthood blessing from two amazing gentleman. It was truly amazing. There were lots of tears. Then we sat in the waiting room and were reading together in the scriptures. He sat next to me and asked about the sacrament prayers. I told him, Joël !! You can bless the sacrament ! You will be able to have that power and authority! He was stunned. 

Shortly after that I ran into sandrine nakata 's father and cousins !!! We all got a picture it was super. I don't remember who but one of them told me to wait to get married haha. It was funny. 

Sunday 

Sunday was bliss, but I will say I gave one of the WORST contacts of my life... And it was in ENGLISH. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't speak !! Ugh it was the funniest thing, the couple was so patient and they actually said they were super interested so we're meeting with them again this week. I'm not joking I said maybe four words a minute it was so dreadful, but we were all laughing. 

It reminds me of that one scripture in doctrine et alliances that states he will give a portion of his knowledge to those, and as I thought about it, I was meant to talk to them at that moment. Because honestly if it had been anyone else they would have said heck no what language is this girl speaking? 

God works so many miracles. I am so grateful that I can SEE THEM ! I'm so gratefful that I'm aware of his hand in my life ! 

I love this gospel it's so true ! 

Miss you all, thanks for your Love 

Soeur Dunkley