1st week in France! May 20th 2013

Okkkkk apologies in advance I am using a French keyboard which is different than an American keyboard soooo if I begin running out of time here is the key to decifer my email 

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d'accord (ok)

Soooooo I know you are all dying to hear what’s going on sooo I will start off my trainer is Soeur Howden and she is PERFECT!! Like my comp in the MTC was super great too and I miss her dearly actually like tons but I LOVE Soeur Howden as well, some fun facts is that she went to high school with me she is only a month older than me so we were both babies of our grade, she has only been in the mission for one transfer and her French is soooo good!! it really is but she talks really softly so I can barely hear or French or English so sometimes when we are contacting the people don't hear her! haha so she hasn't even finished training yet and she is training me because there were so many missionaries that came in this last transfer, I will be way honest I cried myself to sleep for the first time on my mission because I did not understand how this was going to work, she was sooo young and quiet and we were going to a brand new area which means we were going to be contacting loads and so far that is what scares me the most and I have the hardest time with, so everything was brand new for the both of us and I was terrified to be completely honest,,, but my premonition was correct again the morning we found out who our trainers were I told my comp I thought I might get a young trainer but I had no idea I would get one that was 6 weeks old to the mission… Oh annnnd we are serving in Perpignan which is literally on the border of Spain so they want us to learn Spanish too… Which I was excited for because I wanted to learn Spanish so I could speak zith beau when I got home but I would rather learn it not on my first transfer in France,,, so a green trainer which if your new in the mission you are called a blue not a green,, so we are both blue we are kind of opening a new area and I am learning Spanish… Hahah so you can imagine my terror!! butttt it has been going so so well!! She is sooo perfect for me! So on to the events of last week

So we arrived in Lyon on Tuesday morning barely making our last connection from London to Lyon but they held the plane for us which was great we met our mission president when we landed and they were sooo great!! His voice is soooo much higher then I was expecting!! We ate baguette sandwiches which I had missed sooooo very much!! Oh it was delicious! Then we found out that we had to do some legality stuff in Lyon but not until Friday so basically we just killed a bunch of time in Lyon for the week, so ze arrived Tuesday and got acquainted with Lyon a little bit and then we went to dinner at pizza pino!! For those of you who visited me on study abroad… You ate at pizza pino!! It’s sooo dang good so I was pumped!! Then we just went home and went to bed because we were exhausted, then the next day we did studies at the mission office and then went on a fieldtrip to see this cool cathedral in Lyon that sits on this hill that over looks the city its really really pretty, it rained nearly the whole week here so the city was kind of misty but it was auite a viiew, then we just killed more time at the mission home and then zent to sleep,,, it was pretty uneventful until we found out who are trainers were and where we would be serving which happened thursday, so we met at the church in ectully where they gave us a training and then after they called us up one by one and gave us an envelope with the name of the city and sister who would be training you,,, it was like opening up my mission call all over again!! Then later that day we went contqcting which was scaryyyy!!! Beau how did you do it?? I was soo timid to go up to random people and talk about the gospel in my imperfect French and surprisingly I understooD NO ONE!! I wanted to cry and when we were practicing door to door I almost did but my trainer was sooo sweet and just hugged me and was like you are doing sooo well do you want to do this door I was like ummm no but I will ;) haha so yeah that is my goal this week to get over my fear of contacting buttt cool story so my legality was Friday so after that we went out working with the sisters in Lyon and we were porting (door to door) and it was our last door and we were promoting a shoe drive for the church so this old lady anszers the door and tells us she lives alone and has a gimp leg and never leaves the house so she has no shoes to give nor can she come to the activity so I just start baring my broken testimony that she is a child of god and that he loves her because she was saying how her life is pretty much over because she can't do anything so I found that testimony to be appropriate and then my comp helped me ask her if there was anything we could help her with and she said no but that she was glad we stopped by so ze told the sisters in Lyon to take her cookies and go visit her… Awesome potential investigator, it isn't that cool of a story but it was an answer to my prayer because I finally got to testify and I felt like I was able to lead the conversation and she was nice and let me speak slowly and she just listened she was sooo nice!!! Anyways on to my actual city!! PERPIGNAN

This place is amazing!!! butttt we are in Lyon again because my comp had to come to a conference for like a check up on half way through your training thing I don't even know I just know I have to come with her;) so we left Lyon on Saturday and fixed up our apart,ent for 4 people instead of 2 and my apartment is sooooo cute by the way!!! So darling and sooo perfect ahhh I will send pictures!! So yeah we got to go to church and have half a p day before we came back to Lyon today!! butttt the ward in Perpignan is PERFECT!! Oh my gosh they are so so strong and the bishop and his family took us to Macdo (Mcdonalds) on Saturday night to get ice cream I am starting to understand soooo much more French now!!! My trainer is sooo good at filling me in when i don't understand zithout being patronizing… Like I said she is perfect too!! So yeah we went to church and I am now the ward pianist so thank you mom for keeping me in piano lessons;) haha the relief society was pumped zhen I went up to play haha and thennnnn our amis (investigators) came to church so I got to meet them and they are sooo cool they are for sure getting baptized before I leave here I already get these random promptings for them I can see now how you can move missionaries around a lot because as soon as you get there you just start feeling so much love and concern for the investigators that are left in your care,  so yeah we taught them and I zill tell you all more about them next week when I have more time and I know more about them, then in sacrament meeting I introduced myself and bore my testimony in which I said je sais que jesus christ est mon fils,,, which means I know that Jesus Christ is my son instead of my brother,,, Yeah so that is embarrassing  and I didn’t realize it until this old man in the ward came up and corrected me haha appartently he is a huge jokester so he loved it and he looooovvveess me now he jokes with me all the time,, I can't help but think that testimony was inspired to be wrong for a reason,, I feel like the ward just laughs at my and knows I am a real person and I am trying so then that night we had dinner at the bishops house!! They made burritos;) haha some good Mexican food on the first mangez-vous (dinner appointment) and they were sooo nice!! I told them I wanted to be a dietician and so for dessert she brought out this delicious chocolate pudding they have here and a bowl of fruit and I was like thanks but I will have the pudding and she joked and was like I didnùt knoz if you zould want fruit instead;) ohhh they are soooo nice!!! I canùt wait to bring you back to meet them!!

Anyway I must sign off!! This has taken me forever on this keyboard and there are tons of mistakes soooo sorry about that!! Thank you for all the love and support!!! Next zeek should be less stressful and good not crazy of an email!! Sorry it’s kind of all over the place! 

Love you!! 

Soeur Mod

May 14th She Has Arrived!!

We received this after she had arrived in France:


Dear Parents,
We are happy to let you know your daughter arrived safely in Lyon.  She was met at the airport by President and Sister Roney.  After arriving at the Mission she had lunch, had her picture taken, took care of paperwork, and had an individual interview with President Roney.  Tonight she will have dinner with President and Sister Roney as well as the other missionaries that arrived today.  She will stay at a hotel in Lyon tonight.  Thursday she will meet her new companion who will be her Trainer. Then she will have training with President Roney and the Assistants to the President.  After the short training she will leave with her companion to go to her first area.  We will send you her address and companion's name sometime Friday.
Please see today's photo in the attachments.
Thank you for sending us such a fine young woman.


Mission Secretary

All the missionaries that arrived in France on the same day as McCall.

McCall and her mission presidents: Brother and Sister Roney

McCall and her pretty much next door neighbor companion Sister Howden! went to high school together and pretty much grew up with her.

May 11th

Are you online?? Its so great we have to contact the first day we get there...I am freaking out.... like freaking out! Oh my gosh its going to be sooo nuts! My letter home is going to be so good next time! I have a pit in my stomach thinking of walking up to a French person and starting to testify in my imperfect French about the gospel and then have them respond and not understand.... Ahhhhh it’s going to be such a rush! I have nearly cried a million times today thinking of separating from my companion... she is a saint and her dad sent me the sweetest notes with a talk that he wrote! Go look it up its my Matthew Richardson called teaching by the spirit or something! Its sooo good! Oh man I am going to be a missionary in France in like a matter of days! I can't believe the Lord is allowing me to teach his children... I fell so unqualified but I know through Him, I can do all things... I know my faith is going to be tested but I know its what I need! I am sooo scared and sooo pumped to start teaching and testifying ALL over France! They won't know what hit them... the life of a missionary is soooo hard to describe.  The things that happen and the things we do are NOT normal in anyway... and I can't describe it.  We spend all day everyday talking about the power and love of God.  We wake up every morning with the same goal for 18 months.  Before I came in here it sounded so mundane and I didn't comprehend it.  Now I wake up every morning thinking, "Work hard because the church needs you in France.  Soak up any advice you can get because you will need it this is going to be hard but you will love it."  Its crazy that us missionaries thrive off of days that ultimately lead to rejection.  But we do it because an entire day of rejection is worth it to find one child of God and teach them about a simple boy who lived a simple life who brought about this simply magnificent church through the power and love of God.  I know this makes no sense it doesn't to me either but I can see why people don't want to leave this life already! Wish me luck! Talk to you on Monday!

Love your Blondie

Week 5!

Hello all!!

Thank you so much for all the love and support! I have gotten some packages and dear elders this last week that have been awesome! So much love coming from home I love it thank you!!!

So to start off the week we got a new teacher! It wasn't my teacher from last week which I was bummed about because she was awesome but it was a brand new teacher her name is Soeur Judd and she is pretty cool.  A little odd but such a fun investigator to teach! Her French is really good and it makes me pay really close attention in our lessons with her! We had an awesome experience this week when we were teaching her. So we have been trying to use our study times more effectively and not waste them and the weather has been BEAUTIFUL so we go outside to study! It’s been great! So we went outside and we prayed to see what we should teach her.  After the prayer, as usual things came flowing into our brains and we set up this awesome lesson about the importance of the Book of Mormon and about feeling and recognizing the Holy Ghost.  So then Sister Richardson was like let's pray about it and see if its right... we have never done that before... I know bad missionaries we are.  So I was like cool lets do it!  So we prayed and everything felt right and good so were like ok sweet. During language study we decided to practice the vocab for this lesson and we would have it all done.  We had the perfect scriptures and everything! Then when we gave the lesson she didn't keep her commitment and in Preach My Gospel there is a quote by Elder Holland that says if someone doesn't keep their commitment to read the BOM be devastated! Don't take no for an answer! So we did just that! We were like “ohhh you didn't keep your commitment? Shoot, this book is so so important!” and we just started baring personal testimony about it and showing her scriptures and testifying that it will change her life! By the end of the meeting, she was like I don't know if I can but I want faith like yours and we were like you totally can… start reading:) then we committed her to come to church and then as we were leaving she was like so what have you seen here in France we were like nothing really... she is like but your in France? We were like were not here to sitesee and she was like you talk about that book everyday and we were like yup its that important read it! hahaha this is all fake because she is our teacher but it feels so real when the spirit is there and real testimonies are being shared! It was awesome! I loved it so much! We are going to plan each lesson like that from now on!

We got new missionaries this week as well! One of them was on study abroad with me, Sister Bradshaw! She is going to Tahiti! We get all the missionaries going there! They are here for 12 weeks.... kill me! But we got to show them the MTC and introduce them to the rules and what is to be expected as far as our zone goes.  It was fun to take them around and have them be like “Where do I eat again? Where can I work out?” I am like “oh let me tell you I am a seasoned veteran of this place:) haha PS beach volleyball rules:)” haha they are like huh? But yeah on Thursday we went to their “Meet the Branch Presidency” meeting and that is where our branch presidency gets to know them and give them the rules again and basically just give a firehouse of information.  Then he has them go around and introduce themselves and bare their testimony.  They were the SWEETEST testimonies! My heart was like beating out of my chest! It has been awhile since I heard testimonies in English! I miss my native tongue sometimes:) So then the branch president looks over at my companion and I and was like “why don't you two share your testimonies too.?”.. I was like I can barely breath right now I can't speak! So when I stood up I was like guys... I mean missionaries you all are amazing and I can't even speak right now! I know I am supposed to be here too... blah blah my testimony that was sooo shaky because I was feeling the Spirit:) oh ya! The spirit is the best thing ever!

Then you will never guess what happened... At church on Sunday, I accompanied my companion and Elder Angel in my district to the song Lead Kindly Light... I was shaking soooo bad when I got up there.  They asked me to do it and I agreed when we didn't know if we would actually get a chance to play.  Then Friday, Elder Angel was like its happening get ready, I was like WHAT??? In two days are you crazy?  I have to mentally prepare myself for like weeks for something like this!  So I told my companion... I know people could accompany you two much better than me but don't let me back out, make me do it.  She is like same for me, I NEVER sing in front of people I am like well.... if we crash and burn at least we will do it as a companionship:) she is like yeah for sure except you could be the reason I mess up if you mess up the notes for the Alto... hahaha I am like thank you now I won't sleep tonight! haha it was funny! But it all went well! My hands shaking the whole way through it! I have seriously got to get over that fear! It was just in my branch of like 40 people.... not that big of a deal! haha oh well it was cool! Then we had Mission Conference, which is like zone conference and it was good but a tad boring and we got chastised for the temple walk and other rules we were breaking.  It was fast Sunday too and I miss the days of sleeping your fast Sunday away so you don't remember how hungry you are! By 4 I thought I was going to die! Then after our temple walk we had district meeting which is like Sunday school.  Our district leader forgot to ask someone to teach so he was like can you two teach... we were like right now? And he was like ummm yeah.  We are like uhhh sure what's the topic... Enduring to the end! Ok yeah let me just whip something up for you! haha but it went actually REALLY well! She and I have so much chemistry when we teach! I will miss her so much in the field! I even got choked up again in my testimony at the end! What is happening to me! haha still haven't cried baring my testimony but I am sure it is coming:) haha The whole district after was like wow if you two teach like that in France, I am really impressed! We were like oh no its much rockier trust us! haha we got a lot of compliments which was comforting since we just made it up on the spot!

Then that night Chad Lewis came to the fireside! oh my gosh he was incredible! He played for BYU and for the Eagles I think? Ya his whole talk was like a pep up talk and it got me SOOOO pumped to get out there! He is such an awesome guy! He and his wife were so great and I just ate every word up that he said! He started off and was just like "who are you? Who are you?" he just raved about how many people there were here! He had a whole slideshow with pictures pertaining to what he was talking about so it was so entertaining! We had a really boring speaker last Tuesday so it was soooo nice to get a fun one last night! One of my favorite things that he said was that "Your mission starts here and it never ends.” He also said "When things get hard don't you dare come down off the hill, don't come down off the wall" I was like sooo fired up! haha I am totally that missionary now that is like front lines ready for the field! haha so dumb but whatever its my life now! I wish you all could have been there it was amazing! Then we watched legacy right after which is SO GOOD! Oh my gosh I do not remember that movie! But it’s about the pioneers and I was like crying through the whole thing like how the heck did they do that? How did they have that much faith to endure all they did for the testimony of one man and his ability to translate one book? The Lord knew I wasn't tough enough that's why I was born now and not then, but I have SOOOO much respect for those people oh my gosh.  They are my heros! Anyway This week was a GOOD week if you can't tell already:) loving my last couple of days here just trying to soak them all up! Pray for me that I stay focused! I am pumped to get out there! Can't wait to meet my trainer ahhh so excited! I ran out of time today so this is kind of short... comparatively to my others:) haha but just know I am doing well! Love you all and miss you!

Soeur Modersitzk

1st Picture: McCall and the girls in her district.

2nd Picture: McCall and some new sister missionaries that come in! Along with girls from her district.

Week 4!

Hello all!

Sooo crazy our schedule got switched up because of spring semester and since the teaching jobs here are technically an on campus job we adjust to them.  I now have class at 7 in the morning dinner at 4 in the afternoon and no waffle temple Tuesdays... so ya not in love with the new schedule but hey I only have 2 more weeks of it:) so my new P day is Monday!

My life is extremely repetitive... I do the same thing everyday but I have really been focusing on the language this week and trying to expand my knowledge. We had another "district inventory" yesterday but this time with the branch president because he talked to my companion and I about our district and we were like we are kind of struggling.  So he came into help us and ended up calling a new district leader.... the old one thinks the gift of tongues will save him in the field.  I politely told him yesterday that God can't bring something to your remembrance you have never learned... for example the subjunctive tense in French.  He was not all that pleased with my response but I just smiled and said well if you need help with the language you know where to find me:) so ya things in our district are kind of the same which is unfortunate but as I have been told in my prayers and scripture study every time I express frustration to the Lord... "The only person you can change is yourself."  Sooooo that is what I have been trying to do and my lessons went SOOOO well this week.  My companion’s French is coming along sooo well! I have had her start off our lessons and give the first vision story and then I follow up with the questions and clarification.  The other day we were teaching our teacher who was actually a sub and my comp started to cry when she gave the story and the spirit was sooo strong.  Her French was broken but the simple testimony of it all was so powerful.  This sub has been an answer to prayer because she has worked with our companionship specifically and told us what we can do to progress while the rest of the class remains a little stagnant.  We got done with our lesson and she was like wowwww that was amazing.  The spirit was so strong. She uses really difficult vocabulary and we got so stumped by her a couple of times in lesson and I haven't been stumped once yet... it was a humbling experience. But I loved it because she points out the places we need to read in the scriptures to find a good answer to a difficult question or she points out grammatical errors we make and she is always like, "don't make that mistake next time:)" she has been great I am sad to see her go.  We are getting new teachers this week because of spring semester so it should be a nice mix up maybe?

Then this week in TRC... which is the thing when we teach members who speak french and it’s like visiting/home teaching appointment? ya'll remember that?? ya well this week I got my friend Anna. It was fun to teach her and our lesson was on revelation through the Book of Mormon.  My new favorite scripture is one I found for the lesson! It’s 2 Nephi 31;3! Go read it its so good! Anyways she had her mission call and was just about to go open it! I am like ahhhh its the best thing ever! She did study abroad right before me in Paris and when I got my call she is like you literally got my dream mission.  I am like I know I got everyone's dream mission including my own:) she got called to temple square.... which is super cool but I can imagine she was hoping to speak French! But I am excited for her and I have heard she is excited about it!

Then on Sunday we heard from two amazing speakers.  We heard from Sister Oscarson for Relief Society and she is the new young women's president.  She was soooo great! We always go out and meet them afterwards and my comp is a rockstar because her dad is Elder Richardson of the Sunday School presidency and so she knows them all and I am the awkward companion in the background like star struck that they see the prophet of the Lord like all the time! haha its great! But anyways she talked to us about Jacob 5.  It was such a good talk but at the end I don't remember a lot about what she said only the fact that she was blown away by how many sisters were here and it gave me so much satisfaction to be sitting among all these wonderful girls who heeded the call of the prophet.  She said we were an inspiration to her and her program because the girls she has stewardship over will be the next us.  I thought that was cool.  Also fun fact about her... she got called to be a mission presidents wife when she was 25!!!!!!!!!!!! 25!! can you believe that!! She was pregnant! they served in Sweden... like how crazy is that! then that night we heard from elder Allen who is the managing director of the missionary department! he was soooo hilarious! Like sooo funny and told all the Elders that they might as well write their girlfriends off now before they have the chance to do it to them! haha and he was like you sisters all probably left guys and i bet they all wait for you:) haha it was soooo funny! Beau Alan keep waiting please:)He talked about having one foot home and one foot in the mission... he said by the end of this week I want all of your feet to be here! He read over Alma 26:27 and we never even got through the whole verse because he kept stopping after every little phrase! it was sooo good! I loved it! He got me way pumped to be better this next week!

Anyways my parting thought is from my personal study this week! 2 Nephi is sooo great! Sooo full of good stuff! Chapter 8:12,13 it made me realize after hearing all these devotionals about the lengths the church is going to preserve the name and rep of the church that we are at serious war with the adversary and never at any time have the organizations of good and evil been so strong.  The Lord worries about each of us everyday that the devil will win but at the same time instills in us such faith that we will come out on top. 

Ally cat look at 2 Nephi 8;24--- you wear the beautiful garment now:) use them as a protection against Satan and unlike me get used to them faster and they will be such a blessing to you! Anyways I love hearing good thoughts from you all! I love the updates in your letters and you all always give me such encouragement and an uplifting thought at the end of your emails and dear elders! I love it so much it makes my day! Thank you all for your love and support! Wish you all a good week!

Love,

Soeur Mod (my district and teachers have resulted to this name because the full thing is a struggle to almost all of them) The guy at the temple today struggled SOOO badly with my name and when I left he was like you will find the cutest young man with the last name of Jones and he winked:) I was like ahhh I already did but his last name is not Jones hahah!

PS. we did proxy sealings today for little kids because that is the only we can do as missionaries when it comes to sealings and it was the coolest thing!! Loved it so much! Even though I didn't get a temple waffle afterwards:)

McCall and her companion on vacuum duty:)

McCall trying Spicy Cheetos for the first time! (she hated them..)

Not usually a soda drinker.. looks like the MTC will change some people.

She was never a morning person.. and the missionary wake up is wearing her out:)