Every Wednesday, a new group of international missionaries enter the MTC-Provo from the four corners of the world. This week, we met and greeted and processed missionaries from Switzerland, Germany, Peru, Mexico, New Caledonia, France, Samoa, Albania, etc. We were all a bit panicked and stressed worrying whether our Albanian missionary speaks English sufficient to NOT require interpretation into his language. Another tender mercy of Heavenly Father--he is not only proficient in Albanian, but also English, Italian and French. His mission assignment is RUS-YEK learning Russian--that's only his 5th language to learn. He is atypical of our international missionaries, especially from Europe and often from Canada and even Asia--learning a third of fourth language is nothing to them!! Oh, to be young again!!

We feel so blessed to 'rub shoulders' with each international missionary and to learn of their individual, special 'stories.' It is not an exaggeration to say that the majority of them are first generation members of the Church with a remarkable story of faith, humility, and a first miraculous meeting of the ordained missionaries of the church serving in their country. Please find following one such miraculous story.

Sister Zhang from Mainland China was baptized two years ago in Geneva, Switzerland, where she was studying at University of Geneva, learning her third language, French. While walking across campus, two Elders approached her and began talking to her, and rest is history, so to speak. While in Geneva, when her landlord discovered that she was being taught about the church, she was evicted the week before Christmas and ended up spending the two weeks of Christmas vacation alone in a friend's apartment. Although this was a trying time, it gave her the opportunity to read the Book of Mormon, study and pray. She studied for 9 months and was taught by two sister missionaries in Geneva and was eventually baptized for 9 months later. Sorrowfully, when she returned home to China, she was forbidden to even tell her parents of her conversion because it is against the law in China to do so or proselyte. After several weeks at the MTC, she has been called to the Canada Montreal Mission. She'll be a blessing to the Lord there.