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 

Woche 17: Journeys of Discovering Require New Eyes

I had so many great experiences with some of Gods children this week :) And have seen the simple kindness of people here. Last PDay we went thrifting (yes it's a thing here too) and at a Turkish laden we went to, the coat I was looking at had a button missing. Before I could say anything, the woman took it out of my hands and said wait, I'll do it for you. We were able to chat with her for a little while and explain our purpose here. She had such open interest in making sure everyone around her was happy. I really enjoy meeting people like that, who turn completely outward. 

First Day of Newly Fixed Bikes!!

...On the Train after biking 8 km (5 mi)

Our bikes are finally fixed! And the bike shop threw in new handlebar grips! Besides being excited to not have to wait for as many Bahns, I really anticipate us being able to have much more contacting time! My companion braved a haircut this week, though I think she winced with every snip  it turned out good though haha

Reading other missionaries letters this past week has made me think about the stark contrast between missions and how the work is done. What works here wouldn't work other places, how others teach may not be as effective here etc. Every single call is inspired and to me, almost seems like it arrives with your new potential in the envelope! I've been thinking about what God has planned for me and for us here in Mainz. It helps me pay closer attention to know exactly where we need to be to follow the plan He has. 

The Lord has been looking out for us a little more this week. Our mission set a goal of ten baptismal dates made by Sunday. We went to our next appointment with Michelle, armed with scriptures and a lesson plan, so ready to figure out how we could help her get there! Almost as soon as we came in, she said she didn't want to join any church and that everyone's worship should be more individual than that. My first Tschüß (good bye) It's easy to understand but harder to be happy with. But that was similar to what Desiree had done, and I hope that when missionaries find Michelle again, she'll be ready :) 

Frau Lange had asked us to watch conference with her so we watched 3 talks, including Elder Holland's about mothers. In the times we've talked about baptism before, she had always said that she had made a promise with Jesus. That when she got a new apartment, she would be baptized and live her faith more. I asked her why she was waiting and what she could do then that she couldn't right now. She asked about signs and how if God really cared about us moving forward, he would help us. We said that God is always willing and ready to bless us with answers and solutions but that our faith shouldn't be conditional. We were able to set a baptismal date with her for December 19th. Heavenly Father is working in her life and she knows it. 

And we were number 7!! The mission is on fire with a desire to bring people to baptism!!

God knows what we know and what we're capable of. He knows exactly where we stand and what we need. He'll never push us beyond our limits but is waiting for us to do what we can! 

We had an appointment with the Marx's this week! We played Mensch and ate Heiße Liebe (vanilla ice cream with hot raspberries) 

Playing Mensch

Oktoberfest has come to Mainz! Lederhosen everywhere. You can't escape it. We've agreed that if Sister Godwin is married by the time I get home, I have to wear a Dirndl (traditional German woman's dress) to my homecoming talk. If she isn't, then she'll wear hers to mine ;) 

Der Schriftsteller Marcel Proust hat gesagt: „Die wahren Entdeckungsreisen bestehen nicht darin, neue Landschaften aufzusuchen, sondern darin, neue Augen zu haben.“ 

(The poet Marcel Proust said: "True journeys of discovering don't consist of finding new landscapes but of having new eyes.")

Take a look at your favorite scripture again, review old conference notes, read your journal! You'll find so much more through the new eyes that time and experience have given you. 

My scripture last week to "ponderize" was 1 John 4:21 and this week is to be determined tonight :) 

I love you all a heck of a lot and I hope you're happy 

Sister Riser ❤️

Picture Highlights!

Letter that Sister Z had carried in her scriptures for years. 

Car Show

Car Show

Week 15 Splits 

just quoting yoda: do or do not there is no try

Apple Picking 

"I feel like I could rip trees out of the  ground, Ahem, small trees, maybe bamboo, or flowers, ok fine. Grass. Grass works."

Rise and Win

Woche 16: Already Four Months!

My companion can't read Moroni's commandments and calls to repentance without sounding like Professor Trelawney 

My oh my I love this place! Der Vater im Himmel weiss was er tut! (Our Heavenly Father knows what he is doing) A mission teaches me so much more than I could ever imagine. I've never felt so happy or FULFILLED. Time is absolutely speeding by and I can't believe it's already been four months! Mainz makes me so incredibly happy! All the members are missionaries that live as examples of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

I'm so grateful for our Savior. I have too many weaknesses and moments that I struggle to make it through this life without Him. He asks that I ACTIVELY repent. Which means not just when I sin but the Atonement is there to cover me

in every moment I need it. Teaching the power that Christ has to heal us completely helps me understand it more. Seeing the gospel change habits and perspective helps the Atonement become more personal for me. 

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

We went apple picking again this past week, this time in Schwester Fröbel's garden, and came out with exactly 100 apples! I feel lucky. And also that our next apple cake will be delicious. We already made applesauce and cut up apples for our next magazine recipe. I get the feeling we're going to be all appled out by the end of all this. But what're you gonna do, it's apple season in Deutschland! And we haven't even hit the big orchards. The Hirsch family makes their own apple juice and has to pick one ton of apples to have it made with just their own- which are  from ancient, delicious apple trees. Allow me to repeat. One. Ton. Of. Apples. Crazy! I'm stoked to go and help! 

Persistence pays off! We finally were able to get an appointment with a woman that we met on a Bahn about two months ago. What set her apart for me was her simple desire to learn more. As we went into the appointment, she asked us again to make sure we weren't Jehovah's Witness and that we believed in God. Thankfully we were able to resolve those concerns :) She already has such respect for the scriptures that we know that she'll give the things she reads a chance with her head and heart. 

Note: day 3 of trying to convince my companion that we should incorporate charades into language study. Still no success. Will report back. 

At our last district meeting, we talked about how everybody is a somebody to someone. When thinking of what I would give to have every one of my family members back in the fold of Christ and active in the church, there's no limit. So why should there be for every other person we see? God has given us people to love and I'm going to find them all!! Our time is limited and I'd hate to miss the one that needs the gospel and our love the most. Charity is love without motives and love without limits. It allows to see past imperfections and see the someone for the somebody they are to someone else and to Heavenly Father. In Enos, it speaks of his faith in something that he had not before heard nor seen. As we practice charity, we have faith and hope that we will become the person God expects, though it's someone we haven't seen or heard before. As we practice charity, we have faith that God will expound our efforts even when they're so small that we've never seen or heard of them bringing us success. As we practice charity, we have faith that we will find the people that God has given us to love even though we've ever seen or heard them before. 

CONFERENCE! 

Our GML texted us at 10:24pm on Saturday night to let us know who the three new apostles were. Nobody guessed right haha but they will be wonderful apostles :)

Among many many many things I loved about conference, I was particularly impressed and grateful for the personal experiences that Elders Rasband, Stevenson, and Renlund shared and how they've accepted their call. They truly ready and willing to share and give what they have because it's not just a church calling. Serving the Lord and bringing forth His work is an active pursuit that can't be confined to just area of your life. I hope we can all see the blessings that can expand to all aspects of our lives when we immerse our selves in His work! 

Conference was marvelous and so much to offer. I'm so grateful that we had the chance to watch it! As we invited members and investigators this week to go in with a question, I had been thinking about the question I wanted to ask. My family at home had all shared something that they had hoped to get out of conference. As I finally chose a question shortly before conference, I saw so many answers and possibilities for change that I was looking for in just the first session. That strengthens my testimony of knowing that we are children of God and I have no doubt that He's ready, just waiting on us, to pass down answers and ideas and blessings and life changers and earth shakers! To simplify (thanks President Uchtdorf) it's all about what He wants. To be willing and wanting to do His will and ASK for ways to be more effective in doing that. What more can I do, what more do I lack.

Conference normally leaves me with both a slight feeling of chastisement and a huge excitement for tomorrows! One of my favorite parts of conference was the question of Who will you become through the Atonement of Christ? I can't become enough on my own. Even recognizing that opens us to be more easily taught and changed. 

Thanks to everyone who shared their questions and thoughts from conference. It helped me widen my perspective and see what's important to you :) 

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7

Don't worry. Be happy now. Fears are nothing next to the power of our Heavenly Father! 

Liebe Grüße, Sister Riser