Woche 11: Do you feel like a missionary?

 1 Peter 3:15

Be always ready! Have your testimony ready to share when people ask you why you're different!  Let them see the reason and hope behind your actions.

This week we went to the temple for the last time! It was packed with missionaries and other patrons and we missed the first session and were early for the next one but they told us to change and meet in the chapel and they would work something out. We were waiting there deciding whether to spend three hours until the next session there when the temple president walked in. He welcomed us to the temple and began to talk to us about missionary service and the miracles we would see. It was a wonderful experience to have him speaking to just six missionaries so personally. He cautioned us to not let opportunities pass and reminded us of the great wonders we're capable of being apart of when we listen to the Spirit. Afterwards I remember looking around the celestial room and seeing so many missionaries and feeling so grateful to be here. The Lord trusts us with His children and it's a privilege to serve as one of His missionaries.

High Points of the Week

-Service at the Hirsch farm was so much fun and I loved being out of the city! They have beautiful Icelandic horses and miniature ponies and sheep that attack freshly cut bushes like toddlers to fruit snacks.

-Splits with the sister training leaders! Loved every minute. It's a nice change and fresh perspective that makes you excited to try new things in your area.

-Dinner with the Copeland family and the Jarrards. We shared about prayer and Schwester Copeland talked about the first time she heard about the church compared to the time later when she accepted it. It wasn't until she was open to change that she could accept the gospel. It's an almost visible difference in the people we talk to every day- those that want more and are ready and those closed off the change.

-I'm not sure if you should count disobedience as a high point but we definitely accidentally left our area and zone this past week. The Jarrards got lost on our way back from a dinner appointment and we ended up in Weisbaden. On the plus side, we saw a monster truck rally advertised there and we now know what we are doing next PDay ;)

-DESIREE. This woman makes my day everyday. She's getting baptized in less that two weeks!! I can't believe it's only been a month since we met her!

-German. I love this language. It's changed the way I bear my testimony and share what I've learned. It flows and expresses differently than English and it's grand.

-Being tired! The absolute only reason this is enjoyable is because we're so busy!! We've never been so busy finding and teaching and studying and eating hahah

-Painting at the Fugals. They took on a mass redecorating project while Bruder Fugal was gone and painted two rooms and rearranged a whole bunch. My favorite part was in Naomi's room where we painted a seashore and mountains. We went over twice to help and I told them that the only payment I wanted was to see his face when he walked in. They said I could if I could manage it without being seen. So if anyone knows where I could find a nifty looking spider, I'm looking for Spider-Man like grips to hang from the ceiling.

I've decided that the highest compliment given is that you have a good accent. Unless people start complimenting adjective endings, then I may change my mind.

We're gearing up for our youth activity next week- A Day in the Life of a Missionary! It's going to be the best!! It's a combined activity for two German wards and one American ward :)

Desiree is back in town!! She was asked to stand up in sacrament meeting and she stood up all smiles and waved to everyone her happiness is so contagious!! The ward hasn't had baptism in about a year so it's fun to see them get excited about missionary work!

For the fifth Sunday we gathered together to talk about the sabbath. It's times like these that I love how small our Ward is. It allows for everyone to speak and share. Our bishop, who taught, described an experience he had as a teenager. He wanted to be a profie Fußball player- don't we all (professional soccer). And he joined a league that would play and practice on the Sabbath. It took a while but he decided that he shouldn't play football on Sunday. Not two weeks later, the stake president shared a story where he and his sons were playing football on Sunday. After sitting fuming for a while in sacrament meeting, he came to see the difference. How do we think of the activities we do on the Sabbath? Do we play football for winners, losers, got to get better, practice practice? Or are we spending time with family?

I love that commandments are personal. They're followed differently for each person and the Lord knows that.

One of the greatest pieces of advice I've heard was from one of my sister training leaders this week. I asked her what has been helpful to her in being a successful and happy missionary. She said knowing that she's doing exactly what the Lord wants will make her happy and that leads to success. She said that she can judge every action, word, or activity by asking herself- Do I feel like a missionary doing this? Anything that doesn't make her the representative of Christ that she wants to be isn't something that she wants to do. I thought about it in other situations- Do I feel like a Latter Day Saint doing this? Do I feel like a good example doing this? Our actions and words define us and shape who we are. I would want to do what's going do to work towards that person I'm trying to become. 

Happy birthday to my beautiful mother! I'm happy to have you as an example and friend- I love you!! ❤❤❤

BONUS LETTER : Woche 3: Fußball the World's Favorite Sport

***The Letter from Woche 3 was an adapted personal letter from Sister Riser.  She realized the next week that she had written an actual group Woche 3 email, but just forgot to send it.  HERE IT IS!***

 

Finally we got to play the  worlds favorite sport: Fußball! We got
shown up by a couple grade schoolers with mad skills before the game
started. We played with the Mainz elders, the ward mission leaders
family and a few investigators and other members. Elder Cloward
sacrificed himself for the ball and has a couple glory scrapes and a
good story to tell now.

There's been so much time for contacting this week!! We already know
that people wouldn't even think about listening to two American girls
talk about religion for two minutes. Thankfully, they have the spirit
to listen to if they stay long enough to feel it :) There's no end to
the Spirit that's invited and the miracles brought when you OPEN YOUR MOUTH!! We're trying to make the best use of our time in between
appointments and we've devoted the first few minutes of our language
study to memorizing German hymns to sing as we walk. I'd forgotten how
much I love that German Gemeinden stand for their intermediate hymns,
it's like a stretch/snack break because the toddlers next to us kept
putting pretzels on my lap ;)

I've spent a lot of time thinking about covenants this week and how we
continue to honor them. One of the qualifications and questions for
baptism is to have a determination to serve Christ till the end- how
do we continue to do that?

We have a temple trip date!!!!!!!!!! One of the first things my
trainer told me I would love about where we were serving is that we're
less than an hour from Frankfurt temple which means we can go once a
transfer! Unfortunately the temple closes for 2 years in September so
hopefully we get in twice before then! In the MTC we went altogether
twice and the on the day that everyone went finding in Manchester, the
three Americans that didn't have visas to proselytize outside Germany
stayed and went to the temple. It was just us and the temple workers
and so incredibly quiet and peaceful.

We're continuing to study attitudes and the powers of desire-
"Become a creator of circumstances instead of a creature of
circumstances." - Elder M Russell Ballard (from the talk "Do Things That Make a Difference"). The way we approach a day
makes the biggest difference! Being proactive can turn the slowest of
days into the most fruitful. Turn your day over the Lord! Don't wait
to be told what to do but be a ready recipient!

We taught our first English class this week! The members that wanted
to teach were on vacation so we had Adrielle- a less active Peruvian
who moved to Germany with his wife a few years, and Martine- a soon to
be Albanian student at the university here who called in from one of
our flyers AND he speaks 5 languages :) something tells me he'll be
teaching us quite a bit too. After class he brought out a bottle of
wine from his backpack to say thank you to us. I'm not sure if it was
the 'subtle' eyebrow raise or what that convinced him but we were
finally able to tell him that no we don't drink and no were not
allergic and yes were as young as we look. Note: contrary to
popular-ish belief, grandma shoes do not make you look more mature.
But it was great! He went from having no interest to wanting to know
more!!

Fun fact: Blue street signs run parallel to the R River, while red
signs point you towards it #themoreyouknow. Thank goodness for my
companion, we would never make it anywhere. I'm growing more grateful
for being geographically challenged, it makes me appreciate her even
more :

Nierstein is splendidly quiet and beautiful. And the sunsets outisde our window are the perfect setting for our daily planning and call ins :) Mainz has been in the high 90s or topping 100 this week and we've been melting just a little so today we're rejoicing in singing patriotic songs and wearing street clothes!! We may be two days late but our zone is meeting up for an All-American cookout and soccer!! We already celebrated with a failed attempt at solar cookers at the Fugels haha

Remember Zig Ziglar!! Opportunity + Preparation = Success!! God gives us opportunities to share the gospel all the time! Be prepared, study your scriptures, be brave, answer questions and BE AN EXAMPLE

We have loads of time for emails today so I can chat with most of you later when you're awake!! 

Side note: American matching was completely* accidental. 
PS- Kannst du mir unsere Familie Fotos schicken??