Week 63 | Lyon, France

Bonjour!! 

France is officially on vacation haha! Everyone in France gets like atleast 2 months of paid vacation and 70 percent of them choose to take it in august!? So even some stores close because people are not there to work them or shop in them. It has made for an interesting finding week this past week as everyone is "going on vacation for the month of august". But it is ok, there are still plenty of people here in lyon that need the gosple!!! We are always on the search for new amis and did a lot of  finding one day this week, for some reason we were just getting hut down left and right, i seriously coulf not believe it, it was unbelievable! We would look at each other, my copanion and i and be speechless! There is not a problem getting up the courage to open our mouths and talk to people, that is there, but even more important than that, is what is going on behind the words! It is a battle to keep the faith in these times. It is a choice and it takes a lot of work. We read that faith is dead without works, when i think about that it makes so much sense. Without work, our faith really does die. We worked really hard to keep our faith that day and it was 8:50 at night as we were on the metro heading home. We started to talking to a man named fred who is from Congo. He was soo Nice!! We got off the metro and talked to him until 8:58  until we had to hustle to make it home on time! He was the reason we battled to keep out faith during the day. It is so funny that we can have a day as hard as we did, get home at 9 and laugh and be happy and excited to plan for the next day haha, it kills me! It is not logical!!!! It is kind of crazy!? But is just how it is, faith is not logical, it doesnt make sense, but we are happy when we choose faith! I love my mission folks.

Real quick, so i have seen a lot of funny things go on during church haha, but yesterday was priceless! An ali of the elders who is a chinese student got up tp bear his testimony, it was so nice about the importance of serving others and then he said i would really like to say thanks to an elder that has served me and been very special to me, lets give a round of applause for elder frost, as he put his hands in the air and started clapping, funny thing is half the ward started clapping haha!! My comp an i could not stop laughing!! Life is beautiful! I lvoe you guys so much have a great week!!! Thanks for all your support!

Love sister Kupfer

Week 62 | Lyon, France

We had such a great week here! There was so much work, between service and teaching and finding I loved it so much!! We had a really cool miracle, a couple of weeks ago we met a man named Hubert, he had met the missionaries a few years ago, but was really busy and didn't have time to talk much at that moment. THen a week later we were heading to another rdv and met this man in literally the exact same spot haha, he started laughing and was like "wow" we should probably meet and talk more shouldn't we? We are teaching him in about an hour! Ill let you know how it goes! 

We felt really inspired this past week to look back at a couple of amis we had dropped because they weren't progressing, papie and dessy, we called them and they were both waiting for our calls!! They had both been reading in the BOM and had really good questions for us!  We drew out and explained the Plan of Salvation to happy, just an overview so he could see it all, and when we got to the spirit world he said "but how could those people accept the gospel?" We have to be baptized. Yes! Best question! We explained briefly about baptisms for the dead. He loved it! Miracles are happening! I am so happy to be a missionary! This church is true, i know it. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and we are the most happy when we do what he has taught us ! I love you all!! Thanks for all that you do for me!

Love Soeur Kupfer!!

Mona and Moon were baptized on SUnday in Toul France by the Paris Sisters!! We called Mona on Sudnay and she was soo happy! She is the cutest lady ever! She was so happy! It feels so good that so many people got to take part in her miracle! 

Week 61 | Lyon, France

Hello Everyone! Foot update, the cast is off, a miracle!!! My foot feels good and i am just trying to get it stronger now haha! This past week was crazy, it was a good thing i got my cast off on tuesday because we did 3 days of service for some members that had emergencies. One lady is in a divorce and needed our help moving her huge house by herself. Wow, so much work, but she is amazing, her testimony is rock solid and i have learned so much from her! I am so grateful for her example during one of the most trying situations ever! This week we had to travel to Gex to finish my papers so i am legal in France, it was kind of a bummer because we were out of our area for an entire day and on trains and stuff. But the Lord blessed us with a miracle! We got home to Lyon around 820 at night and when we got off the elevator in the Trains station there was a man there waiting for us. He saw us on the train and wanted to know more about our church. We went and sat at a little table in the train station and taught him the Restoration. He had so many good questions and we were both really praying hard the entire time that our responses would be guided by the spirit. He was taking notes the entire time and took the BOM and promised he would start reading that night. He lives in Paris so we has to pass his information to the missionarys over there, but it is amazing to see how the Lord works! We were a little down about having to be gone all day form our area, but the Lord needed us to on that same train as this man so He would have the opportunity to hear the restored Gospel that he so obviously thirsted for! Who knows what will happen with him, but I know that it was not by chance that we met him!

Mona called me this morning and she is doing so good! Her and her son Moon are getting baptized the 27th in that little cite of Toul up in the Paris mission. She is so sad that we cant go up to it haha, but she is so excited! She told me that she got her first calling, she will be making the sacrament bread for the branch every week, she makes delicious bread from tunasia! They are a lucky branch to have her! 

I know this Church is true and that our Loving Heavenly Father is mindful of all of us. He has blessed us all so much and is ready to pour so many more blessing out upon us! I love Him! I love you all and hope that you have an amazing week!!

Love Sister kupfer

14th of July, France independence!! Still had the crutches this special day! A bunch of missionaries went and ate at best bagles! It was amazing! they sold so many american things!

Sister roberts and i eating our bagles!!

We waited and watched the fireworks from this spot! It was so pretty!

THat is a member cindy that HAD to sign my cast, since it was coming off the next day i figured why not haha...

Welcome to France!! 

This is another crippled missionary.

Well maybe we waled too much this day haha.. Cankels!! This one is for Erik, i know how much he loves them!!

This is the xray they did right before they took the cast off. Things are improving!

Week 60 | Lyon, France

Bonjour! Happy France Independence Day!

This week has been interesting! I am so grateful that I had been studying Elder Uchtdorfs talk "Grateful in any circumstances" Because it came in handy this week! We got a call from Mona Tuesday morning, she told us that her 74 year old mother had kicked her and her son Moon out of the house. Why? Because Mona would not Deny that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God. Mona was lost, and not sure of what to do, but said " I am putting it is Jesus's ands, He will help me". Her only option was to go back to Toul (a little city in france) where she had a house. She was devastated because all she wanted to do was be baptized on the 26th. So with the last of her money , she bought train tickets to Toul for her and Moon and left. They Got to there home there, and with no money were unable to turn on the electricity or water. We got in contact with the sister missionaries over that area and shared information. They went to see Mona on Friday(a 2 hour drive, they have a car)  and Mona was waiting outside her house, Book Of Mormon in hand. Her biggest concern was getting baptized the 26th. They talked about the difficulties which were eminent in getting MOna and Moon to church, there in only a small branch there and no members live near, train would be the only option, but Mona had no money. (One of her other sons has been in the hospital for the past 9 months and all of her money has gone to that). Mona was devastated. Saturday afternoon she called the sister in Toul and said i am getting on a train so be to church on sunday. She rode dirty (she didn't pay haha!!) Sadly she got caught, but a Christlike Member came and paid her ticket and drove her into Toul.  THey held a ward council that night and the sister came in half way through thinking they would have maybe found a solution of how to get mona a moon back to their House, but they were wrong. This Branch is determined to do everything they can to further the work of the Lord. They put Mona dn Moon up in a Hotel until wednesday (it is holiday weekend here and all social help offices are closed). A less active member offered and extra house he has for them to live in for the next 4 to 6 months until money starts coming in. The relief society is going to be taking them meals. ANd Mona and Moon will be baptized, now the 27th of July, monas birthday! This Woman truly left all she had to Follow the Savior. Never before has she heard or read Christs counsel to leave everything and follow Him, but her natural instincts of pure Faith pushed her to do just that. She walked through the unknown holding onto to her and now is in the light and things are much more clear! When we got the phone call on Sunday morning from the Paris sister missionaries explaining all of this we were filled with so much joy, Joy i cant put into words! Before that joy, there was much confusion and worry for her. It is so amazing to see The lords work accomplished as we all work together, we are on one big team!

Tuesday night I got a phone call from Sister Stevens, my old companion In Annemasse, Frere Coquio passed away. My heart fell to the ground and i just couldn't believe the words i was hearing. He had an infection in his foot and 3 weeks later he passed away completely unexpectedly. I had to lean on the Savior this night, and plead with Him to console Soeur Coquio who loved her husband so much. He was one of the best men i have ever met, he was like a dad to me. He sacrificed so much for the church and did everything he was called upon to do. How blessed are we to know that endings are not endings, but like Elder Uchtdorf said, "temporary interruptions". I know that the Church Of Jesus Christ has been Restored and because of this fact, we can live with those we love forever, I am sure of it! Life is so beautiful through the eyes of the restored gospel. Sometimes our circumstances are hard, and that is ok, but with faith we can look past the challenges that confront us!  I love you al so much and am so grateful for all you do for me! Have a great week!!

Love Sister Kupfer

ps. July 5th the whole mission set the goal to have a bapitsm at 6pm. There was 22 baptisms that took place that day!! Last year we tried for 50 and got 24 the entire month of July. There is increased faith in our mission and it is tangible! Because of the huge success of July 5th President is letting everyone stay out until 12 tonight to watch the Fireworks for Independence day here! All the missionaries will be together with some members. Go do something Frenchish today to celebrate! Love you!! 

Week 59 | Lyon, France

Bonjour!! 

I am staying in Lyon With Sister De Oliveira! We are so happy!! Get this news out of they way, everything is good with the foot, i go in on the 15th to get it checked again, all is well:)

Mona is amazing! She finished the BOM in 12 days and knows it is true, she said she couldn't stop reading it because of the feelings that she had whenever she picked it up. She has restarted it and is reading it more slowly now to understand the stories more. She is engaged to baptism for the 26th of July! She oves everything we share with her and understand so clearly the need for a restoration of Jesus Christ's true church! Her family now knows of her decision, and she isn't in any danger, but they think she is crazy and there is tension at home because she lives with her mother and a sister that don't agree with her choice. She has complete faith that the Lord will make it all work out, and is looking for a new apartment right now. Her faith is unbreakable! She made us tunisian food the other night (that is where she is from) and it was soo good! I love her!

Elder Niel L. Andersen and his wife came and talked to the 4 wards her in Lyon yesterday! It was such a cool experience. We were in a big conference center and the spirit was super strong. Elder Andersen talked about the church in france. He there are more members in french speaking africa than there are members here in france, but that we cant get stuck up on those things. The LOrd knows what he is doing and the work is moving forward in the way He wants it to. He talked a lot about his dealing with government leaders and the temple construction. I n one case as the church was trying to get the "ok" to build, they were talking to a leader and he asked them, "do you believe in the holy spirit?" Elder Andersen responded, "yes, we certainly do". The leader said, " i don't know anything about it, but i do know that there is something pushing me to sign this paper". Then he signed it. It has taken 15 years, but we cant ever stop believing that miracles can happen. It is always in the Lords perfect hands. What if Moses stopped believing just a second before parting the red sea, him and his people would have been slain. We have to hold on and believe and the miracles will come, because that is what the Lord wants for us. I love you all have a great week! 

Love Sister Weak Foot!

v v v District meeting!

v v v Sister Opokumensah made "apple pie" for us for the 4th of july haha! i love her!!!

v v v This was our water last week! 

Week 58 | Lyon, France

Soeur Gabrielle, she is from ethiopia, she is amazing!! the funniest lady i have ever met!  When she was little she ran away from home a lot because she liked to explore, but she always got caught and sent back to ethiopia haha, then when she got older she moved to australia and learned english then moved to france! her stories are priceless!!!

THis is yoann! Our ami from senegal! He is going back for 2 months, it was so sad! he is super cool and is studying chemical engineering here in lyon. We will keep in contact with him!

All the missionaries in lyon went to presidents house for pday today! it was so much fun! i couldnt play volleyball, but I did play a french game called petenque, i am not sure hot to spell it, but president kept making fun of my handicappedness. I felt at home. 

Their house is beautiful!!!!!

Soeur Doe and I! 

You can see the foot is healing! Just not quite all the way yet!!

Bonjour!

Get the "weak foot" news out of the way. We wen tot the hospital this morning, i was so happy because i thought they would take my cast off to do my xray and that my foot would have some freedom, but they just did it with that cast on haha! Lame. The doctor says it need 15 more days in the cast. It is ok. It is all for my good. I wont miss this opportunity to learn a good lesson from having a bat attitude. All is well, it doesnt hurt. I just get a lot of funny looks and strong shoulders!

Mona, mona, mona. We met with her twice this week. THe first time to watch finding Faith in Christ. She absolutely loved it and really felt the spirit so much, she believes and knows that Jesus is the SOn of God. It is huge because in her previous religion they believe that Jesus existed, that he was merely a prophet, like the others. The spirit was really strong. We met with her a second time for just a few minutes because we had to meet her outside and it was about to rain (cast + rain = wearing a trash bag over my foot. Which we have already done, but this time we didnt have a trash bag....haha a little trashy) She was already into moroni, that had been 1 week. She knows the BOM is true. SHe came to church the next day and loved it, the bishop announced a few baptisms that will take place this next saturday and she leaned over and asked a question about it. We asked if she would like to be baptized right there and she said Yes. We still have a lot to teach her, but she is so humble and so willing to follow Christ. I really love her! It is so amazing to see that the Lord is aware of diligence we have been trying to show even though i am a little handicapped. He has been so good to us! 

This sunday Elder Andersen is coming to lyon! President daughter is getting married in the switzerland temple the 5th and he is going to seal them, then He is coming to speak to the 4 wards here in lyon! We are so lucky to have the opportunity to hear him twice in just 1 month! I can not wait! He truly loes these people and speaks french great! 

I am so grateful for our Savior Jesus Christ. I truly know that he loves us and that he successfully accomplished all that His Father asked Him to do. I know that we can be forgiven from our sins and become better through His atonement! He makes the impossible possible! I love you all so much. I know this church is true! It is the path to true happiness and peace, because Christ is the center of it all! Have a great week!

Love Sister Kupfer

Ps. We get transfer calls tomorrow since president will be so busy with his daughters wedding this weekend. I will let you all know what happens!! I love you!!!

Week 57 | Lyon, France

A less active member (who isnt all the way there) invited some of the missionarys for a tarte for her birthday! she is so sweet!

There is a man way up there, there has been a festival(yes sadie a festival, festivals make me think of you haha) going on this past week! there is wierd things going on all the time, i guess this was part of it.

Creepy Cast Photo

The pieces she was cutting were so huge haha. The chinese ami of the elder told us he had food up to his throat and looked like he was going to throw up-poor thing haha!

me with the crutches!

Since last week was a little crazy with the little foot incident i didnt get to tell you about our Elder Andersen Conference in Nice! It was an experience that changed my life forever! When Elder Andersen walked into the conference center of 270 missionaries he brought such a powerful presence with him, his call of apostleship was undeniable! He had us all come up and shake his hand! He talked about how "building the church in france is quite and adventure and it takes a lot more than baptisms here, it takes generations". He said, " if you're wise you'd take life a lot broader than you do." We get stuck in the moment, but really we need to readjust the lens we look through and see life with a more eternal perspective. He also shared with us some really good counsel when he said, "get out of your minds that you are in a tough mission-it is just different". Ever since he has said that I cant get that idea out of my mind. It applies so every situation in life, we have to "get  out of our minds that we are in a tough situation-it is just different". LIke right now with my foot, it is just a "different situation"haha! He really focused on the fact that we need to increase our faith in this mission if we want to baptize more. He told us, " we have to believe that the Lord will help us do things that nobody else will believe we can do". We have to believe the impossible in order to have the Lords miracles. He explained that it wouldnt be easy and said, 3 Im sorry, this is just how miracles work- you have to live with disappointment. This is the training of disciples. We have to fight through difficult waters. I am challenging you to believe". In one of his previous talks he explained that faith is not just a feeling, but a choice. We have to choose faith. An Apostle of God told us we needed to choose faith to move the work forward. It is a challenge, just as he said, but that is just how miracles work! He also talked about our role her in france is yes to baptize, but it is also really to strengthen the peoples faith in God, Jesus Christ, and the plan of salvation. Simple things such as the fact that God lives, that we can be forgiven of sins, that the families are eternal have to be at the front of our minds as we speak to people on the street. HIs testimony of the Savior strengthened mine, I know that He knows that Jesus is the Christ. I know that he is called of God and has the authority to testify of our Savior with power from on high. Together we sang our mission song, Anger we Have heard on high, there were angels singing with us in that room. It is something i can not deny. It was a day that will always leave a burning in my heart!

This week we have been able to work hard still and God has been so merciful we received 3 referrals of really cool people who live in our sector from other missionaries and another lady actually called us wanting to meet. We met with her on saturday. Her name is Mona, she is about 60 and is a non practicing muslim. She was very sick last week and had been stuck in her bed for 2 months and her son (who met with the missionaries here in lyon a couple of months ago) said he would pray for her, he prayed with her a few times in the name of Jesus Christ, something new to her. The next night she had a really interesting dream, that i cant interpret, but she felt Christs love and the next morning was able to walk, ever since just wants to know who He is. SHe called us the next day after being able to walk because her son had given her a pass along card with our number on it. We taught her saturday and read from the BOM of Christ, she loved it so much and agreed to start reading, and praying in the name of Jesus Christ. She came to church yesterday and was smiling the whole time. The closing hymn is Sacrament was i believe in Christ and I heard her singing every word, and there was a really special spirit. After wards i was talking to her about how she felt and she told me she felt so light,  and that never in her life had she been somewhere where she has gotten to hear so many people talking about the Savior. We will see her again tomorrow, i will let you know how things go! I love you all so much and I now that God knows us. I know we are weak and nothing, but that with faith in God and Jesus Christ we are capable of doing things that nobody else  will believe we can do! 

Love Sister Weak Foot (my new name from President)

Click the link to see what Elder Anderson talked to us about: https://www.lds.org/church/news/elder-andersen-visits-construction-site-of-paris-france-temple?lang=eng&query=elder+andersen