Woche 23: 'When did you know it was true?': Surprise Visit from Elder Ballard!

Surprise! Elder M. Russell Ballard spoke in Offenbach this week!! They
told us about 4 days before. He talked about the Europe area plan,
simplicity, and missionary work. He also said that he can't keep track
of all his great grandkids because they keep popping out like popcorn
and when they get together, they all look alike haha In speaking about
missionary work, he told us to involve ourselves and not put anything
off 'You're not going to be up there strumming a harp or something. If
you can't get out of it by dying, you might as well get good at it. '
oh Elder Ballard we love you

The focus of the meeting was on Ward councils and the danger in over
complicating our planning.

Most of the work is done outside of meetings and outside of planning.

~Don't talk about someone so much that you don't talk to them. 
~To magnify our calling doesn't mean to multiply, perhaps even to reduce.

The Friedrichsdorf Primary president shared how she thought we limited
ourselves by only having an idea of how things should be and not how
they could be. Our expectations and past experiences can limit our
capacities if we're not careful. The past is a helpful tool but it has
to stay where it belongs.

I'm grateful for all that I learned and the Spirit we felt there as we
were taught how to better be high yield, low maintenance servants of
God! His work is so important and requires our best efforts. He will
never leave us alone nor prompt us to do anything we're not capable
of. We are the means in mortality and beyond of bringing others to
Christ so they can find their way home.

"In Him we will not only endure but will also prevail and triumph inthis holy cause that will never fail us." -Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Elder Ballard also talked about the conversion process. Its simplicity
leads people to answer the question 'When did you know it was true?',
with an 'I felt'. Knowing comes from the feelings we get. 
When I went to church I felt... 
When I read what they told me I felt... 
When the missionaries taught me I felt... 
I think about all we do to contribute to allowing friends of the church have a spiritual experience.
Sometimes the simplest is the best. Bearing simple testimony, allowing
the Spirit to guide, and letting the scriptures speak for themselves.

One new investigator, Patricia, has had some interesting experiences
with the church. She works with less active members to encourage them
to go to church haha that's how she first came into contact with the
church when she wanted to help a woman who worked for her feel happy
again. One of my favorite things about meeting with Patricia is that
she recognizes that it's a gospel of joy. But because of her
situation, it's difficult for her to be baptized. And because of that,
she doesn't want to ask if it's true. She continues to say that she
doesn't ask herself if there's one right church because what could she
do if there was? Schwester Dahlke, who was teaching with us, explained
and bore her testimony that God has one plan for all of us and that He
has one church and one gospel. That Heavenly Father couldn't tell
different things to different churches and that it's not enough just
to have faith, we have to act!

Something I've noticed this week is how difficult it is to watch
people come to know that the church is true and the gospel can change
their lives and them not do anything. It's comparable to how many more
blessings we could receive if we gave more of the Sabbath back to the
Savior, or studied more diligently in the scriptures etc There's
something in us that pushes us to complacency. The gospel of Jesus
Christ holds so much in store for us!! The love that our heavenly
parents have for us is beyond anything we can imagine and they make it
possible for us to always be something better.

Ammon: perfect combination of humility and excitement. My God is great!

The Marxs joined us for DDM this week for some contacting role plays.
Afterward they told us part of their life story and what has meant the
most to them. They talked a lot about working hard and always
depending on the Lord, no matter what situation you're in. I never get
tired of hearing testimonies, it's a wonderful part of being a
missionary :)

Here's how Elders teach the power of prayer at district meeting.
Comparing Luke using the force to reach his light saber on Hath to
using faith when we pray. That it wasn't until he believed that he
could that he was able to reach it. It's great.

We went on to talk about what it means to have a prayer in our hearts.
Heavenly Father knows our thoughts and feelings but when we take time
throughout the day to focus on Him, it can become a prayer in our
hearts. It doesn't always need to be a formal prayer but taking
moments throughout the day to be grateful and recognize that He has
given us everything and acknowledging that we need His help to achieve
our goals and know what to do. To have a prayer in our hearts gives us
power that comes with humility. The power of prayer is accessible to
all of us as we seek with hope and faith to do His will. It's gives me
the certainty that if I'm doing His work, He's there with me.

Sister Jarrard went clash of the cultures and made mac n cheese,
bratwurst and sauerkraut for Institute dinner. They loved it haha I
love the Jarrards!

Thanksgiving means dinner. And dinner to the Fugal family means 65 of
your closest friends and the missionaries. It was amazing how many
people came! And the entire Diaz family came, plus a friend!! It's
been quite a few years since they've been to church and it was so good
to see them getting to know other members. The mix of German and
American food was pretty fun haha Brother Fugal invited students from
his lab and research team, one of which is from Poland. Which was
perfect! because Tomek, a member in our ward, just had his cousin move
in with him and he only speaks Polish! Tons of missionary
opportunities for us and the members there. The whole weekend was one
thing after another and I loved it!! The Primary program and potluck
on Sunday were packed and there was so much to do and so many new
people we got to meet :)

What a fantastic week! Looking forward to this next one and every one
after that!!

It must have been this kind of testimony that transformed the Savior’s
Apostles from fearful, doubting men into fearless, joyful emissariesof the Master. -President Uchtdorf

Ich wünsche euch eine aufbauende Woche Sister Riser

Woche 22: Making Weak Things Strong

This is the only picture we took this week...

This PDay has made me a tad forgetful so I may stick to my planner rather religiously on reporting for this past week haha

Monday night we had a lesson with Michelle and were teaching her that Heavenly Father can help us overcome our imperfections and reach our goals. Like she does, she asked us specifically what we were working on. That turned into a little self evaluation I wasn't expecting haha I said patience. With myself, learning and mistakes- past and present. That moment was a reminder to me that I have so much potential that can easily be wasted with second guessing and worry. Weaknesses can be opportunities to become stronger, wiser, better etc if we let them. On the way home, I stopped to a woman sitting in HBF. We were able to make an appointment with her for the next day and although she didn't show, it was another miracle to me that the Lord blesses us when we open our mouths!

We had our first appointment with a new investigator this past week!!! She's amazing! We met her almost two months ago on a train and finally finally met with her! We were kids on Christmas morning. This excitement slowly turned to a feeling similar to 'Oh no I got coal in my stocking', when we found out that her actual address was four stops out of area AND zone and we were already on the train. It was a bit of a mad dash to say the least haha But we found the boundary line, got permission and bought tickets :) That lesson went incredibly. She's been through a lot and wonders if God has allowed things to happen in her life because of mistakes she's made. We invited her to pray specifically for guidance and told her that God never leaves us, we only step away from Him when we sin. Later that night, she called us to say that God answered her prayers. She had called her boyfriend and broken up with him because she felt it was the right thing to do. She said she had never done anything so difficult but she'd never felt more at peace with her decision. That was a powerful lesson of prayer and trusting Heavenly Father. 

Desiree joined us for DDM this week! She also gave her first talk, along with Sister Bates. They both bore sweet, simple testimonies of the blessings of the gospel and knowing that Christ is the way. She did role plays with us and couldn't stop laughing because she was being so mean hahaha I want you all to meet her, she's fantastic :) 

Friday the 13th wasn't as ominous as we anticipated. It actually was full of finding and great lessons :) We met a pilot from Arizona and a lawyer from Frankfurt. We also had a lesson with Frau Lange. She knows the gospel and knows that it's true, we barely mention a principle of the gospel and she's full of stories and testimony and blessings. 

Thanksgiving party this week! We've been perfecting a pie crust with Suellen :)

So much happened this week and I wish I had so much more time to share more than just highlights with you! This work makes time fly and I've never felt the importance of the gospel as much I do now. I'm grateful for the example that you all are!

Liebe Grüße, Sister Riser

Woche 21: I've seen the Lord's hand in our work.

Mainz streets are quiet and beautiful on Sunday Mornings

I just want to start every email by saying it's been a week of miracles because it's always true!! Three of my favorite experiences this week:

-Michelle has missed two baptismal dates and didn't want to join the church anymore. but we were able to get another appointment with her and tried to teach simply. Just of testimonies and what was important to us about the gospel. She opened up again and accepted commitments! I'm thinking Heavenly Father was waiting for us for us to be a little more patient with her, but I'm so happy that we have more opportunities to teach her and learn from her. 

-We went by a less active for possible the fifth or sixth time and she wasn't home again. We had scheduled time for dooring in the area if she wasn't there so we only had 15 minutes before we had to leave. Those 15 minutes were incredible! A testimony of how planning and executing that plan will help you see miracles. We were buzzed into a woman who turned out to be a member! She was baptized as a teenager in Venezuela but moved to Germany a  few months later. She didn't know there was a ward close to her but now that's cleared up and we'll hopefully see her this next week :)

-We had twenty minutes before our train left and it was a five minute walk to Hauptbahnhof. We stopped and tried to talk to as many people as we could but without much success. When it was time for us to go, we started walking and a woman stopped us. Her first words were 'I need to go to church.' Naturally we agreed. 

She was baptized as a child in Venezuela and has active family in Utah. She hasn't been to church in a long time but felt that she should when she moved to Mainz a few months ago. She had been looking for missionaries to find out where the church was. Nametags are a blessing. 

There have been so many occasions where I've seen the Lord's hand in our work. Reminding us that it's HIs work, to try something new, and who to talk to!

The urgency for this work never ceases!! There's always so much to do and so many ways to do it!! 

Part of Presidnet Stoddard's email this week :

May we close with the words of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, a returned missionary from Europe: “The Church in Europe must live again. The work of the Church has run on the backs of its European saints since the beginning. Don’t think that you are just minding the shop waiting for the Savior to come. Don’t think that the great days of gathering in Europe are over. This is our time. Europe is the richest composition of the blood of Israel we’ve known. The blood of Israel out of these lands saved the Church. They left behind family members, children, grandchildren, and friends. They are still here and we must find them. The blood of Israel is here!”

On one of my first splits, my sister training leader said that everyone should have at least one companion where all you have to think about is the work. 

I love working with Sister Bates! More energy goes into planning and doing the work. I love meeting with new sisters. Sometime within the first exchange they always asking the question - 'So why did you come on a mission?' Never fails, love it haha But it is good to be continually thinking about the reasons I'm here and what I hope to accomplish :) 

This week our planning session was followed by the customary story swap. Aka telling all highlights of the mission, embarrassing moments, times you crushed elders at ping pong etc. 

Sister Jarrard (part of a senior couple here) loves sharing her experiences introducing JAEs to her American recipes. She said they loved her chocolate cake so much they were putting it on drip towards the end. 

Out the door at 7:15am yesterday for stake conference! It was wonderful! Times of peace come so easily at the church. Seeing families and children and members and investigators, all wanting to feel the Spirit that is welcome when we come together, brings such a joy and hope for future generations. The Saints in Germany have so many opportunities to serve and love and they don't waste them! I'm grateful for their examples. I'm grateful that their church callings don't stay at church. Their service becomes a part of their lifestyle. 

One of my favorite parts was as someone read the sacrament in the first person, like an invitation to us personally. To remember Him and to be a witness at all times of Him. 

I also loved the closing hymn we sang; O fest wie ein Felsen. (How Firm a Foundation) Hearing the whole stake sing about not being moved was inspiring. We had the opportunity to sing as a missionary choir in the Saturday session of stake conference as well :) 

This weekend a man came up to Sister Bates, staring at her name tag. He pulled out his phone, checked for a moment, then asked if her father was named Martin. Turns out that he is the son of a woman that her dad baptized 30 years ago!! We got to meet her and she wanted to take a family photo with all her grandkids and Sister Bates so her dad could see the fruits of his missionary labors :) Such a cool experience! I loved that her son was familiar with her conversion story and although she didn't have contact with the missionaries who converted her, she remembered them. 

I've heard some great Danglish jokes this week so hit me up, I'm good for at least three :) 

Wrote William Shakespeare, ‘They do not love that do not show their love.’

Show Heavenly Father what you're grateful for. Take time to love Him by appreciating and loving the people around you. Don't stop at acknowledgement of blessings but go further to bless someone else's life. Another way to think about it is how we use the teachings we're given. 

A fine member of the Church was talking with a neighbor who was not of our faith. When the topic of discussion turned to general conference, the neighbor asked, “You say you have prophets and apostles? And twice a year in a worldwide conference they reveal the word of God?”

“Absolutely,” the member replied with confidence.

The neighbor thought about that for a moment. He seemed genuinely interested and then asked, “What did they say in the last general conference?"

At this point the good member of the Church went from feeling excited about sharing the gospel to feeling embarrassed. Try as he might, he couldn’t think of the details of a single talk.

His friend found this troubling and said, “You mean to tell me that God speaks to man in our day and you can’t remember what He said?”

The brother felt humbled by this exchange. He vowed that he would do better to remember the words spoken by the Lord’s servants in general conference.  

::President Uchtdorf

I love you family, friends, acquaintances, and people I haven't met yet!

Take note of the blessings you see this week and share them with people around you! Another invitation from stake conference was to find someone that you can be a light to!

Liebe Grüße, Sister Riser

I received this gem last week.  Nobody makes that face like Sister Goodwin does. 

Woche 20: NEW COMPANION!

Can we not appreciate that our very business in life is not to get ahead of others, but to get ahead of ourselves? To break our own records, to outstrip our yesterdays by our todays, to bear our trials more beautifully than we ever dreamed we could, to give as we have never given, to do our work with more force and a finer finish than ever--this is the true idea: to get ahead of ourselves. -President Thomas S. Monson 

  

In studying the Living Christ, I really enjoyed the emphasis they place on that He lives! His life and ministry didn't start here and didn't end at Calvary. So many focus just on His death but there's so much more. 

'-we offer our testimony of the reality of His matchless life and the infinite virtue of His great atoning sacrifice. None other has had so profound an influence upon all who have lived and will yet live upon the earth.' -The Living Christ

We shared a section from The Family : A Proclamation to the World a couple times this week. And with each family, we asked them about their experiences with and thoughts about the following section:

Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities.

For each family it was the same. They all brought up forgiveness. Either how difficult it has been or how best to do it. But what I loved was that each experience shared was followed by a testimony of the peace they felt afterward. Forgiveness is a simple truth and a key part of our relationships with others, especially within our families.

Highlights and whatnot:

-New companion!! Sister Bates is incredible.
She's exactly obedient and ready to the work here! We speak German all the time and I'm loving it! She's got a love for this work and is all about making her fourth quarter count! 

She told me that for ten minutes a day, you just have to have an ego. Just taking ten minutes and saying hey you're awesome, I like you. Then go on with your day. 

Praying for strength to help us change expectations and behavior to better do His will.

-Halloween came and went without incident. I even forgot to wear my jack o lantern socks. Whoops.

-I'm coming up on month six and starting to notice the sleep deficit building up hahah but thats why we have lunch for naps.

-yesterday's Gemiko! We planned for upcoming missionary activities and it was great!! I haven't seen our GML so excited in a while! New transfer, new start whooooo!!!!

We've had the opportunity to work with a lot of less actives this past week and have enjoyed seeing a rediscovery of testimony in people that we've met with. I'm grateful that others are willing to share parts of their lives and experiences with us :) 

I feel like I don't know where time is going! Weeks are passing me by! I know that the Lord has blessed with time to do His work a


nd I hope that we can do all we can do what He needs in the time He's given us. 

My scripture to ponderize this week is D&C 9:6 ☺

Liebe Grüße, Sister Riser

Last District Lunch! 

Blurry selfie of our last appointment together! 

Woche 19: Making Eye Contact

In teaching Frau Lange this week, we talked about repentance and how we recognize that we need to repent. Because the mistakes they make aren't always huge or breaking the Ten Commandments, we don't always take the time to ask for forgiveness. We compared it to the straight line of Gods will and we're often the toddler tracing the line. Sometimes it's spot on but a lot of the time, we're right next to the line with a little gap. Repentance helps us move our life and choices directly in accordance with His will. I'm still studying about charity and how most of the sins we commit are sins against charity. Pride, jealousy, overlooking a need etc. Repentance is baby steps to overcoming the natural man and obtaining Christlike attributes. 

I've thought a lot about study habits this week. I didn't have horrible study habits in college but it was definitely sometimes half hearted or distracted. The scriptures are something I can't afford to even think about studying that way. They've become such a guide for me. We had two days this week where we had only hour or none of our studies. Those days were different, we were missing our daily bread. My delicious Sonnenkorn Brot of the scriptures. I grow more and more grateful for the stories I read and particularly how people refer to and talk about Christ in the scriptures. I still think about the quote on my wall every day - You can know about Christ without knowing Christ. Find the difference. 

Transfer calls was hilarious. Sister Godwin got called to serve as a sister training leader a whole 40 minutes away. She's never leaving the Frankfurt zone hahaha but it means we get to split every transfer!! She was on edge the entire call as they announced each set of STLs but they left Frankfurt zone for last so she knew by then and just couldn't believe it haha

At our last zone training, Elder White talked about Thanksgiving and the things we fill our selves up on. The mashed potatoes of the scriptures and the rolls of prayer with the butter of fasting etc I've thought about it this week in comparison to time. Is our time just being filled? Are we spending too much time doing service that won't lead us to more teaching opportunities or having appointments with members without uplifting them? I'm excited for this next transfer, trying new things and FINDING!!! 

My Friday night was made multiple times over. After our weekly planning session, (during which Sister Godwin got her call from President Stoddard and we had a mini pause for a bit  ausflippen of course) we headed to our appointment with Cleide, the less active mother of a family that we're working with. She wasn't home me we couldn't reach her so we doored a couple houses and took a bus to Bahnhof. Our train didn't leave for a while so we decided to stop by their clothing store. She was there!! She had tried to call but had an old number for the missionaries- oh missionary cell phones. I don't even know what to say about the lesson we had with her but we came away with a great hope for her and her family :) On the train home, we sat across from a girl with beautiful earrings. Bingo, conversation starter. I commented on them and asked where she got them. She was explaining how she made them when she took them out and gave them to me! She order the pieces abound put her own design in, really cool. We had a great talk with her and I was reminded of how much I love it when people don't avoid eye contact with you on trains haha Please flick me in the forehead if I ever pay more attention to my phone than the people around me ever again. Biggest pet peeve here haha

But they also knew that “many of the things you can count, do not count. Many of the things you cannot count, really do count.” - Präsident Dieter Uchtdorf

Just an all around good week :) 

Liebe Grüße, Sister Riser

Woche 18: Happiness is...

Whoever you are and wherever you may be, you hold in your hands the happiness of more people than you can now imagine. Every day and every hour you can choose to make or keep a covenant with God. - President Henry B. Eyring 

🎶Gotta find to teach

Gotta teach to find 

Tell you all about when I got the time 🎶

Saturday was my miracle day this week. We had lunch with Schwester Harder and her 'sister'. They eat together every Saturday at 12pm.  Her friend is Catholic and with Schwester Harder as a friend, has had lots of contact with the church. She believes that we all have the same goal and however we get there with our individual faith is our personal choice. We shared about how the Bible and Book of Mormon work together. We read about Christ being baptized in the Bible and why He did in the Book of Mormon. Afterwards she asked us the difference that we see in us now versus before becoming a full time missionary. That was one of the sweetest moments I've had. I hadn't really thought about the difference, mostly because the changes come in the everyday and aren't always something you notice. Being able to not just bear testimony of the importance of the Atonement but how it's changed my life was a testimony builder for me. I feel Heavenly Father changing me to be who I need to be. Listening to my companion talk about how a mission was something that was completely new for her helps me understand her better too. 

Desiree got a calling this week!! She's the secretary in FHV! And her daughter turned 7 last week :) 

We found an old record of someone in our member book that wasn't even on our Ward list and decided to go by. Cleide Dias' family is all active in Brazil but she hasn't been to church since moving to Germany. She has two children-Nicole just turned 8! She wants to understand baptism and we hope that her uncle will be able to baptism her later this year :)

Talking with Cleide was so interesting. Everything she said had a gospel answer. I felt like it was an MTC role play transcript haha But she recognizes that without the church, she's not happy. She worries about her family and what she should do to teach her children what's right. They're a golden family and I'm so excited to see the ways that loving and living gospel will change them for the better. 

There have been days where the whole day seems unproductive and slow and just bad. I come home expecting to feel discouraged and less than excited for the coming day. But as I write about the things that have happened, it seems easier and easier to find the miracles, blessings, and good things each day. EVERY single time I'm happy and excited to do this work, were blessed. No exceptions. The Lord measures our success by how quickly and willingly we do His will. 

We were grateful for the challenge given to us by the Assistants this past week to find three new potentials. A few days were a little slow for finding and Sunday morning, though we'd had some great conversations and met interested people, we weren't able to get any contact information. After church we were contacting-streets and doors. People were either uninterested or were irritated that we were interrupting their Sunday. But just as we were about to be done and head home, we stopped to talk to one more person. It's funny how much time we spend practicing new approaches and questions and then end up using the simple ones we normally do haha We asked her if she had heard of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Not only were we able to get her information and set a new appointment but she committed herself to church and we taught a full lesson on the street! We are ridiculously excited about our newest investigator and have been seeing the blessings of using all the time we're given. 

Last PDay our district went to Oppenheim. Google it, beautiful beautiful place. There's a cathedral and ruins with a view over the whole town. On some days the organ player is there and you can hear it played streets away. They also have a series of tunnels underneath all of Oppenheim. They give tours and lead you with torches, super excited for next time! And today we were apple picking with the Hirsch and Fugal families and Denise. It was such a great day! I love the mix of fall colors in the leaves and how open it is in Sitters. 

Discovering true happiness. Happiness is finding someone willing to talk to you when it's freezing outside. Happiness is homemade applesauce. Happiness is smiling kids that are excited that missionaries are here to play kicker with them. Happiness is 'Our Search For Happiness' ;). Happiness is finding an outfit that isn't dorky and still keeps you warm-score. Happiness is having a companion that makes you laugh with mustaches her family sent her and never stops taking pictures. Ever. Happiness can be found every single day and I'm pretty dang happy here in Mainz :) 

I come to you with a question about eternal memories you are building in your lives. Are they followed by the comment “I wish I had,” or can you say, “I’m glad I did”? - Elder L. Tom Perry

My scripture to ponderize this week is D&C 84:88 

Transfer calls on Saturday!! Can't believe we're on the last week of the transfer! 

Liebe Grüße, 

Sister Riser