Coup de soleil aka punched by the sun:)

That is pretty incredible that Josh has been called as district leader and senior companion! I know the feeling of inadequacy! He will be awesome and help everyone in his district to get fired up about the work. We all know he's qualified and going to do amazingly well.

Things are just chugging right along in Versailles! We met with Jeremy a couple of times this week. He came to the church for a tour and will be there for stake conference tomorrow. He has such incredible faith. He is struggling a bit at the idea of having a living prophet but he is fasting tomorrow for his answer. I'm right on board with Josh about desiring people to be able to receive a testimony for themselves. Thanks for your prayers on his behalf. I hope that Josh's ami was able to feel the spirit and understand for himself.

We had an incredible rdv with C last night. She is still working toward knowing for herself as well. We read Alma 7 with her and asked the questions, why do we need Jesus Christ and what can i do to venez et allez? Her testimony is growing. In the words of Sr Gifford, 'we exhorted her with all the tender feelings of loving missionaries.' I think you're right mom. She may need to take her time and continue to search for herself. She knows that we love her and that is the motive for everything we do. We're going to keep praying and keep meeting with her until she gets there.
We also met with L this week. He is the guy that we met my first night here. We met at the chateau and had a really powerful rdv. I got BURNED thus the coup de soleil:) He had a lot of questions about repentance. He asked about degrees of sin and talked about how there are degrees of forgiveness. We talked about the role of Jesus Christ and how, no matter the sin, we ALL need the Atonement. It can be a small or big but that doesn't change the fact that not a single one of us can be clean without the Atonement, without Jesus Christ. It was cool to see him begin to grasp the idea that he can be forgiven for his past. We read about the anti-Nephi-Lehis and how they went from being the 'most lost of all mankind' to 'they would suffer even unto death rather than commit sin.' repentance is such an incredible blessing. I was reading a talk this morning and Elder Nelson says 'repentance is the lord's regimen for spiritual growth.' We progress when we do all we can and then rely on the savior to change our hearts.
We went to dinner at this member's home this week. She is 63 years and absolutely hilarious. She lived in egypt for 3 years because she wanted to learn Arabic. She told us some unbelievable stories about climbing volcanos and watching them erupt. She goes 'ca fait mal au pied pour duex ans après. mais c'etait bonne!' hahah She told us she wants to try sky diving and learn to fly a plane next. She's my new role model.

Mom-did you get an email from a woman named V? She is a recent convert here and is a quilting FANATIC. She has a long arm in her house! You would absolutely love her. She lived in Naperville for a couple of years and joined a quilting club. Turns out all of the women were Mormon and she started going to church there. She asked for the missionaries when she got back here and got baptized tout suite. I told her about how much you love quilting and she asked for your email address. That was Wednesday so maybe she has already emailed you? Just a heads up! i told her you speak french so she might email you in french. She also speaks English so you can email back in English.
thanks for the addresses!
I'm glad that the race went well. Tell Lizbth hi for me! She is such a sweet heart. Had, have fun at yuoth conference and keep a journal!
Dad, who won the men's side? I could probably ask anyone on the street and they would know:) France played Uraguay last night for the world cup and there were horns/fireworks going off into the night. I'm still not sure who won but it seemed like everyone here was having a good time!
i love you
soeur powers

Ville du roi

How was the race for the cure? Did you win your age group Mom? Did it rain this year?? Remember the last time we did it we were running through rivers? Did gaye run it with you? Does james have a mission call? Barrett? There are actually TWO Donald Stahelis. My mission president is not the lone who was the 70 in philly. President Staheli is amazing nonetheless!

Things are still going really well. We fixed a baptismal date with J! We saw him Monday night and we talked about baptism and how it cleanses us and allows us to start our new lives as disciples of Christ. He said "yea, I would love to get baptized!" The date is set for the 26th of June. He still needs to really gain his testimony but he's going to fast tomorrow. It is ward conference so it should be amazing. When we saw him Thursday night he was at 1 Ne 19 and still going strong. I love it! We also challenged C to fast to know if the 19th of June is the date that she needs to be baptized. We are fasting with/for them both. I don't think I am going to eat for the next 48 hours! Pray that they will be able to understand the answer when it comes!
In response to your question about the gardens, we did go to teach someone a lesson there and then he boffed it. So I did get to see a little bit of them but it was a waste of time. We'll have to go next pday. We went to the Louvre last week and the Orsay today and I think I'm wearing Sr Gifford out:) I think she would appreciate it if we stayed closer to home next week. She really is so much fun. she makes the work easy because it's fun. Heavenly Father has really blessed me.

Miracle of the week! We met this cool guy from M the first day that we were together. There was a greve so the train wasn't coming for about another 40 mins. We taught him all about the Book of Mormon and then the story of Joseph Smith. We set up a rdv with him but he didn't have a phone number so we couldn't call to confirm. So we went Monday night but he wasn't there. We met his brother-in-law and asked him if he was interested. We gave him a Book of Mormon and he said he and his wife would love to come to the next rdv. So we went back and taught them on Thursday and they loved it. They have an awesome family and were excited for us to keep teaching them. The first guy is coming to church tomorrow and told us he would get baptized when he knows it's true. I love missionary work!

We had interviews this week and the zone leaders used a clip from the President Hinckley movie as part of the training. at the end of the clip there was a quote from Goethe, "whatever you can do, or dream you can do...begin it. Boldness has genius, POWER (that's us) and magic in it." Heavenly Father WANTS us to achieve. He wants us to dream and then accomplish those dreams. When our desires are righteous we can see them unfold before us. I know that He loves us. I know everything He has done and everything He continues to do is for us. That love is so real and so evident in our everyday lives. 'God wants to make us men and women of purpose and power. We must yield ourselves to the powers of the Spirit.' When we work with the spirit, we are able to realize all the blessings in store.

i love you all and God loves you more!
Bizou Bizou Sr Powers

Hey family!
Guess what? I'm being transferred! Mom, it's just like you said, big mix of emotions. I LOVE the people here. Isn't that what every missionary says? I never understood it before. Now, when I think about leaving it breaks my heart. It's strange to think that I may never see some of them again. There are some people here who have changed my life and seriously strengthened my testimony. Mom, I think you're exactly right when you say that service to the Lord bonds us more than anything else. I feel that with mission companions and with people that have come to teach with us. There is something that can't really be described or replicated. So I'm headed to.... VERSAILLES! Exciting, eh? Apparently it's one of the strongest wards in all of France. I will be companions with Sister Gifford. She is just a transfer behind me so I knew her in the MTC. She is a sweet heart and I am super excited to be able to work with her. It's the ward with the APs, office elders, Stahelis and Elder Causse. I have talked to some of the elders here who served there and they have said that it's one of the nicest areas in all of France! I'm not so fancy myself so I'm thinking about going and trying to find some cute shirts. I am sad to leave but excited to keep working.
So V and A came to family home evening Monday night and V leaned over and said, "Hey Soeur Powers, i have to talk to you after ok?" So after we sat down and she takes a big breath. I thought she was going to say that she doesn't want to see us anymore or something heartbreaking like that BUT she goes, 'A and I went home and prayed after our last rdv. We have been talking a lot about what you said and we have decided we are going to be baptized in a month and half.' Haha I almost jumped out of my chair. I love them so much. Then on Saturday, they came to play sports and we taught them the word of wisdom. we were talking about respecting our bodies and how they are gifts from God and she said "so, what do you think about chastity? is that disrespecting your body?" So then we got to teach that too. It was incredbile. They both have such an amazing desire to learn and to become the son and daughter that Heavenly Father wants them to become. The elders have started teaching A because he doesn't really understand french and Elder Duarte is Portugese so that is perfect. They came to church again yesterday.

Quick miracle! So on Monday we got a referral from the office for some guy who just moved here from Italy. Well we were kind of in his area and so just stopped by. He lives in this dorm-ish set up so we opened the door and followed the voices. We asked around and nobody knew who he was. They were all these young African guy students. They kept saying "mmm, I don't know him, lets knock on this door and see if he knows." Well we get to the top floor and we haven't found him so the last guy we go, 'Hey, so, I know that we haven't found who were looking for but we're missionaries and...' He invited us in and we started teaching the restoration! As we're talking to him he tells us that when we knocked on the door he had been praying to know how he could get closer to God. Everything in his life has been upside down lately and he decided he needed to realign his spiritual life first and then everything else in his life would straighten out. Right as he was asking we knocked on the door! We went back and taught him with R and she was able to testify strongly of how she changed and the blessings she's seen in her life since. It was beautiful. He came to church and it was perfect. The lesson in the amis class was on the gathering of Israel so...a little bit deep but he had a ton of questions and eventually the teacher said, ' write your questions down and the missionaries will answer them when they come to see you next' :) haha he is so cool. I'm sad I won't be here to see him progress and get baptized.
We played basketball today! Malheurusement I'm not so good anymore. I did win knock out twice and it felt so good to play again. The next email you get will be from FRANCE - crazy and a little nervous:)
soeur powers

Oui un jour nous nous reverrons, dans la paix du seigneur

Hey family! John Rolph got married?! Who did he marry? I still remember dancing to 'getting jiggy with it' at Josh and Kristina's wedding. I'm also really happy for Joel! I got his wedding announcement and he looks really happy! She looks amazing! Way to go.

I'm glad the Book of Mormon activity went well. Did you make the photo background mom?

We had the farewell for the Phairs. They are the senior couple who have been running the young adult center here in Brussels. They are absolutely incredible. About 100 people showed up and it was a blast.' There was so much love in that room! Rachel wrote a song for them and we sang with her and her sister Koumba. Unfortunately us white girls don't have beautiful African voices like they do but it was fun nonetheless. Sister England was up here for an exchange so she was able to sing with us. It was so fun! They will definitely be missed around here. I am so excited for mom and dad to go on a french spêaking mission! I can't even say how much of a difference they have made in the wards here in Brussesls. They served tirelessly and probably worked harder than all of us young missionaries. I hope to be like Sr Phair one day.

I taught the young women yesterday! The lesson was about how we can prepare ourselves to be teachers. It was fun to hear about teaching experiences they have had with their friends. It also gave me the opportunity to reflect on all the pre-mission opportunities I had at Oakton. I remember a conversation i had with Mr Pringle once. He was asking me about some core beliefs and I drew out the plan of salvation for him. Then I told him that America was founded/established was because Heavenly Father needed a place for the gospel to be restored. hahah He thought I was absolutely crazy! Missionary opportunities are all around us if we pray for them and then open our mouths when Heavenly Father gives them to us. D&C 100:5-8

Transfers are next week so I'll keep you updated! We find out Saturday. That is kind of nice, then we are able to say goodbye to people on Sunday.

Have I told you about JP and family? I met him on the metro last week and I gave him a pass along card. He asked how he could get the Finding Faith in Christ movie and we told him we could bring it over that night. We have been back to teach them again and they love the Book of Mormon; they have so many questions! I love it when people really want to know! They have 5 kids all under the age of 8. Their house is a party and I can't wait to go back this week.

V and A are doing well...she had to work Sunday so they didn't make it to church but they are still progressing.

F has been reading. I stopped the every night thing because I think it was bugging her but it has helped her to get started. We should see her tomorrow and we'll be able to talk more about it. She's awesome.

We have exchanges and Soeur Thompson is coming from Liege on Wednesday and I'm excited to work with her. Unfortunately I'm not going to be able to stay in Liege. I love that city.

Ok time to go. Love you bunches. Have an excellent week and keep praying for chances to share the gospel. People are all around us and they ALL need what we have!

Soeur Powers

so good talking to everyone yesterday! it is just like you said chels, it didnt even seem out of the ordinary to be chatting with you all. dad even asked about the weather:) everything was just like normal! jill's song was adorable. hows the house buying coming? is the lady selling still pretty crazy? is it looking like youll be able to move in when you hoped? when is kevin finished? was he at work when i called? tell him im sorry i missed him and i love him. what an excellent brother in law! i am so happy to hear that grandma is doing ok. i am going to write her a letter today. when will she be able to walk again? how is grandpa doing? is he still working at the office or has he finished yet? i bet he is taking good care of grandma!

V and A are still doing really well. They were able to see S receive the gift of the Holy Ghost and Celia (member who is helping us teach them) said they have a bunch of questions about how to have the same thing! The lessons in church yesterday were all about the temple and exactly what she needed to hear. They are coming to fhe tonight and we're teaching them before french class tomorrow. It was really cool last week. We were supposed to teach them with a brazilian recent convert but then she couldn't make it at the last minute. With the Phairs leaving they are transitioning to have member couples take over the young adult center. Well, there is this couple in the other ward named the Fernandezs. They were there early and the wife is from Cape Verde! She had time before so we asked her if she wanted to teach with us. It was excellent! I love member testimonies. It makes all the difference in the rdv. I feel like I am being taught every time we are able to have a member come with us. Their experiences fortify my own testimony. Do you remember me telling you about a girl named F? We met her at a metro stop a couple of months ago. She is from St Martin and her mom is the primary president there! She hadn't been to church in a long time and when we contacted her she was like 'mmm yea I've heard of the church, I'm a member.' We have been trying to fix a rdv with her since then but it hasn't worked out. We finally got to see her on saturday and challenged her to read the Book of Mormon with us. I told her I was going to call her every night to see how it is going/what her thoughts are. I called her last night and I think she was a little bit surprised that I actually meant what I had said! Hopefully she doesn't start avoiding our calls:) No, i doubt it, she is really cool and is giving me another reason to feast upon the words of christ.

The point of that is to share something cool that I learned in my studies. I got so much out of 1ne2 this morning! First of all, I was thinking about how Lehi names the river and the valley after his sons. They clearly aren't exactly righteous or firm or steadfast but Lehi sees the potential in them and tries to help THEM see it. I think sometimes we get in our own way. We don't develop to become what we can because we don't see it as possible for ourselves. When we have someone else who is there to point out what we CAN be, we reach for it and are able to get where we maybe wouldn't have alone. Mom, you're really good at that. I've always felt pushed to be better because you believe I can. That goes back to seeing people as God sees them. That being said there is a stark contrast between Laman and Lemuel and Nephi. When they hear about their father's dreams, instead of trying to figure out if they are right or wrong, L&L stay where they are. 'they knew not the dealing of God who created them' and they didnt try to know them. Then you have Nephi. in vs. 16 he says he had great desires to know the mysteries of God. He gets to understand because he wants to understand. Someone shared proverbs 3:13 with me, 'Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.' not only does he get to understand truth but he is also HAPPY. Doesn't it seem like L&L are always angry or mean, never really happy. So we are blessed when we seek to know truth like Nephi did. Then in vs. 20 the Lord talks about the land that he has prepared for Nephi. I was thinking about how that blessing came only after nephi sought but also the fact that it was prepared for as soon as he was ready to ask for it. Cool eh? Same is true for us. As soon as were ready to ask/seek/knock, we are blessed with the things that have already been prepared, they're waiting for us! Anyways this has turned into quite the mom-email:) I better stop! I love you all! Happy Mother's day again! Is there a grandmother's day? Or is it all clumped into one? I think gmas deserve their own day. Talking with everyone sure did remind me how fun you are to be around. I'm glad we have a funny/fun family. Not sure if it's a rare thing but I'm glad Heavenly Father blessed me with one! I love you!

Hey Family!

I think I need to get more creative with my titles. They are hardly even exciting. Not nearly as exciting as this week! We had an incredible week here in the South end of Brussels. I don't have a whole lot of time so I want to share just a couple of miracles. So, first off, Friday night we scheduled a rdv with this guy we met on the bus. He said that he met with the missionaries for 4 years a long time ago. He is a Theology professor here in Brussels and was so excited to see missionaries again. We only had a few minutes to talk to him so we gave him our card and he jumped off the bus. Well he called us 5 mins later and said ok I want this DVD, when can we meet? Well, we were excited, got this awesome young Portugese member to come with us and then waited anxiously at the church. Well, he didn't make it. His car broke or something like that. What to do? Well when we have a member with us we know that someone needs to hear their testimony so we were trying to decide the best thing to do. We had met this girl the night before and decided to go pass by her. We got there and she wasn't there. We had gone through the area book and found a couple of people that we wanted to passby. Ok, this is getting long. We got there and the girl didn't live there anymore so we decided to ring all the sonnets. The last one was this man who invited us up. Turns out he was from Brazil! Celia is absolutely incredible. I started teaching and she was translating but then she just took over. She explained the book of Mormon and bore her testimony of the truth of it. It was so amazing. Turns out he is a Pastor of another church so we aren't going back BUT we were with the person that was able to teach and share her testimony. So incredible. Ok miracle number 2. We met this girl last week during a consecrated hour. We had been walking around and had talked to a couple of people but hadn't really found anyone terribly interested. Then, towards the end of the hour we were walking down the street and we saw this girl walking toward us. We looked at her and had a little companionship unity head nod. We stopped her and started talking about the church. Turns out she is an exchange student from the States and here until May. She said she's been looking for a church and is excited to come to FHE. She texted us this morning and asked what to wear to FHE. We're so excited for her! Thanks so much for the package! The scarf is adorable and looks exactly like what a ton of the super chic people wear here. I love the hat as well. Thankfully we don't have 3 ft of snow! It has actually been unseasonably warm. We've hit both extremes, freezing and balmy. Strange Belge weather. I love Alma 37:34. Did you know that was the theme scripture for the mission while I was in new Jersey? I love that chapter. I think the end is my favorite part.

'For just as surely as this director did bring our fathers, by following its course , to the promised land, shall the words of Christ, if we follow their course, carry us beyond this vale of sorrow into a far better land of promise.'

So beautiful and even more true. I love this chapter. I was reading in Alma this morning and came across 9:26. It details the characteristics of Christ, 'full of grace, equity, and truth, full of patience, mercy, and long-suffering, quick to hear the cries of his people and to answer their prayers.' He embodies all of those things. We have access when we go to him in faith. We were in a rdv with a new ami last night and she was asking how we can really know what we share is true. We were able to bear testimony that God teaches us through the Spirit. We know the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true because we have asked God. He has been quick to hear our cries and answer our petitions. He is there.

Paul talks about it in Romans 1:20,
'For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen.'

We can know the things we cannot see when we ask and wait and listen. I love you all. I am so happy Josh is doing well as well. What a blessing to have so many people who are coming unto Christ. It makes me overwhelmed with Joy to know that he is helping so many in that process. It really is the most important road they can take, we can all take. Love you all!!!Soeur Katie Powers

Beloved Brussels

(that beloved is for you chels:) Brussels is incredible. I am still overwhelmed and humbled at the call but I am loving it. We live just a 5 minute walk from the office and a short metro ride from the chapel. We work in the southern half of the city and it is LUXURIOUS. We come to the office to do emails, we have a washer AND a dryer and can come and get anything we need at the office. We picked up both a Persian and Mongolian Book of Mormon and are excited to get them to their future readers! Grand Place and Royal Place are in our area and we are headed there today. Sr England is incredible. She loves to eat healthy, go running, not stress and WORK HARD. We are definitely young but we are learning together and seeing the sustaining power of the Atonement everyday.

Cool story from the week...We were doing some less active passbys and we were trying to find this woman's house.We rang all of the sonnets and one guy came down. He tried to help us by....ringing all of the sonnets again:) Anyhow we didn't find her but we asked him if he knew anything about the church. We introduced the Book of Mormon and he said, "that actually sounds really interesting but I don't have any time right now. Can you come back next Saturday at 4?" Haha people setting up their own rendezvous. It's incredible. The people here are so willing to listen to the message. I am so excited to be here and hope that I get to stay for a while! It was sad to leave Liege. I was so excited to come to Brussels I really didn't have a whole lot of time to be upset but I love the people there. They are a blessed people and it was a blessing to be a tiny part of their lives. I know Sr Shannon is taking care of them.

Yesterday we went to dinner at the house of a family who is here from Arizona. The dad works for the state department and their whole family is incredible. We ate meat and potatoes and rolls. Delicious american sunday dinner:) what a blessing!

Did you get the pictures I sent? There is definitely one where the sky is on fire! I've told a few people about that and there isnt quite the same excitement:) I'll work on it.

It really is a blessing to have the gospel and when people see that we share out of love they know we are sincere. I am thinking of Elder Uchtdorf's talk from this last conference about how we should be known as a people who reflect the love of Jesus Christ. When we live his teachings there really is an identifiable difference.

Quick scripture! I probably have shared this already but I was reading it again yesterday morning and felt the power of the words. 1 Nephi 17:50-51. "If the Lord has such great power and has wrought so many miracles among the children of men, how is it that he cannot instruct me that I should build a ship." Applicable in every situation. He can instruct us how to be senior companion, how to lead our families, how we can best be the instruments he needs. I know that is true. I have so many things to work on, so many rough edges but also so much hope in Christ. He works on us until we become what he needs. I love the gospel of Jesus Christ! ok i have to go I LOVE YOU