Week 19: Time for Transfer Calls!

So Sister Ziegner sent me a short little message on FB, it was very sweet.  What a blessing!
That is so cool that she wrote you! Did she write it in Deutsch or English?

I cannot believe that Cedara is in the MTC right now. It is crazy to think about!

I have never heard of the 17 truths...

The weather here is starting to get colder. It is 0°C right now.

I don't think I need anything.

 

Week 19: Time for Transfer calls!

Well, Elder Cavin and Elder Ridd are sadly leaving. Elder Cavin is going as Zone Leader in Salzburg, Österreich. Elder Ridd is going as District Leader in Neumarkt, Österreich. Elder Bowler is going to be Elder Wilkins new companion. He is from America but has dual citizenship in Switzerland so that is where he has been serving. Elder Thomas will be my new companion. He is from America and has been serving in Brixon, Italy.  Apparently he is an amazing missionary. The other Elders said we will get along great. I am super excited for this next transfer! 

Montag

Well Monday, we cleaned a lot... We scrubbed, we vacuumed, and we washed. Man oh man, did we clean. And then we had an appointment with the Schwarzwälder family. They are such an amazing family. So something funny, the children always ask for some American candy when we come. This time we didn't actually bring anything, but Elder Wilkins had a couple Warheads with them. Naturally, Elder Wilkins shared with them. Aaron ate one first, he had a normal sour face. Then Clara took one. She was crying as soon as it touched her tongue. Then the 6 year old Elisa took one as well. She put it in her mouth, and then screamed at the top of her lungs. And then she ran away. Elder Wilkins seriously looked so depressed. The parents kept telling him that it was alright. He said sorry about 500 times. Meine Güte, it was so funny. After that, we shared our spiritual thought. It was on the story in Alma 49. We need to build our defenses and tend to them every day!  (Mom note:  need to get a package with candy that is a little less painful to these Elders!) 
Dienstag

Tuesday was pretty much surrounded on District meeting. The previous week, we missed District meeting because of a doctors appointment. So Tuesday was a little bit longer. Well, we traveled to Schaffhausen where we usually meet. We ate lunch first. We had rice, Maltauschen, sausages, and salad. It was a weird food combination, but still really good. So we then had District Meeting. Elder Ridd talked about Obedience. So, when we willingly do things we are commanded to do, that is when full growth takes place. And then Elder Wilkins and I taught the German portion. It was on sentence structure and cases.... 

One foot in Germany, one foot in Switzerland 

Donnerstag bis Freitag
On Thursday we had an exchange. I went to Bad Säckingen to work with Elder Naegli. It was a pretty good exchange. Well kind of. We worked hard but not a lot of tangible success. But it isn't about that, right! Anyway,nothing really happened during our exchange. 
Samstag

On Saturday, we had an eating appointment with the Ziegner family. They are so awesome. We talk so much about families and a mission when we go by. Especially since she has a daughter that will put her papers in soon. 
Sonntag

Well, church was great as always. We had the Sacrament and then we watched the rest of General Conference. How amazing it is to know that the heavens are open again and we receive modern revelation through a living Prophet of God. After church, The other Elders said goodbye to the members that stayed. And then we went to the Gullas. We had an awesome there as always. They made something similar to Hawaiian Haystacks. It was really good. And then we went to the Backers. We had Root beer floats there. And then we went to some Catholic Concert. Just so you know, the only reason we went was because we invited by the mom of a participant. It was Aaron Schwarzwälder, he was a soloist playing the Harp. It was way cool. He is so talented. We actually heard the German Catholics sing Michael Jackson. It was one of the weirdest things...

Ich weiß dass wir einen Propheten Gottes haben. Ich weiß dass wir Offenbarung immer kriegen können. Ich weiß dass Jesus Christus aufersteht ist. Er lebt! Ich weiß dass Gott und Jesus Christus uns lieben. Ich weiß dass wir himmlische Hilfe bekommen können. Ich weiß dass wir nie allein sind. 

Ich habe euch Lieb! Tschüß.

Woche 18: The Lord Will Bless You

I don't know who sent them these mustaches but I seriously laughed so hard when I opened my email this morning and saw these pics  Be sure to look at the rest at the end of the email!

I cannot believe that Cedara is already leaving! It seems like yesterday I heard about her call and now she is leaving! That is crazy! And it is so funny that we have the same scripture passage on our missionary plaques.


So if I stay here in Schwenningen I will be able to go to the Temple in November towards the end.

 Do you find some aspects of your mission hard?  How do you overcome those feelings?
I feel like the hardest part of the mission right now is trying to speak Deutsch. It is quite difficult to speak when you have no idea how to say it using correct words and correct grammar. But I don't beat myself up, I just trust in the Lord that he will help me. 


 Have you driven in Germany yet?
 I can't drive here. Deutschland won't transfer licenses from Missouri.

I really do need to get you a new camera.  Your pics are blurry.  Or maybe you don't know how to take pictures, lol 
Both, I am not that great of a picture taker, but the camera also doesn't know how to take pictures either.


You always say Elder Wilkins is crazy, is he the same age as you?  Is he just fun and silly?
Elder Wilkins is just hilariously crazy. But a lot of fun.


What has been the biggest cultural shock so far?
I feel like I haven't had a cultural shock here. It just seems like normal life to me. Having everything in Deutsch, speaking Deutsch, and just life.
 


Woche 18: 
Montag
Monday was pretty regular. We naturally studied in the morning and then went to email. We then went shopping and then just chilled. At 5 we went to a members house for dinner. They fed us Chili and some ice cream. It was really good. We then shared a scripture about the tree of life. Afterwards we sang "Ich weiß dass mein Erlöser lebt". 


Dienstag

On Tuesday Elder Cavin had a doctors appointment. Luckily everything is fine with him. Yay, he is all healthy! Anyway, after the doctor said we could go, we went to go eat lunch. And then we had an exchange with the Singen Zone Leaders. I was with Elder Mickelson. He is from Utah. But we went out to go finding when we returned to Singen. It was a little nerve wracking being with someone way older and in a high leadership position but the fact is that he is still a regular missionary. He isn't something spectacular. In fact the spectacular thing is how he is just a regular missionary like me and everyone else. We also went and taught some referrals. It was way cool. 

 

 

Mittwoch

We unfortunately had to cut our exchange short because the Deutsche Bahn was on strike for some reason. It is funny because they are always late so what could they possibly be wanting? So we went home. Sister Birk called us to pick up some cake and scones. And we dropped them off at the Gulla twins house and quickly celebrated their birthday. And then went to the Hasse Family. We shared just a small message about repentance. Afterwards they gave us some cookies. 

 

 

Donnerstag

On Thursday we had another exchange. But this time I went to Schaffhausen in der Schweiz with Elder Dooreman. He is from Belgium. Anyway, we had a blast. We ate lunch and then went to personally thank a member who held a family home evening for the ward. And then went to go teach a lesson at the church to a less active. We taught the final part of the Plan of Salvation, which is death to the Judgement. It was pretty interesting. He is a bit slow because of certain medical reasons so we had to break everything down. It was a good test to see if we could teach the very basics rather then blasting him with deep doctrine. That was pretty much the day. 

 

 

Freitag

Friday morning, we exchanged back in Singen.  /we travelled back to Schwenningen and then made our way to Donaueschingen to have lunch with the Schwings. We shared a small thought about listening to the Lord. So it was about when the Saints didn't want to leave Jackson County because they had a little prosperity. And then the Lord said, if you would only listen to me and move, you will be so much more blessed that there would not be room enough to receive them. And then we went to Bruder Ulfik. He is one interesting man, but he is way cool. He was like some Scientist when he was younger. Super smart and genius. 

 

 

Samstag

Really the only thing that happened on Saturday was having a lesson with "J". Bruder Justaga led the discussion and taught the Plan of Salvation. It was really good and simple and basic. They also fed us breakfast and then we helped them move some cupboards. 

 

 

Sonntag

Sunday was really cool. We naturally went to Priesthood. I gave the missionary report for the second time. Then we had a lesson on Love and Charity. We talked about the different things we do to express that love. Such as trust, belief, and kind words. We then had a lesson in Isaiah. I can't remember quite what was going on but we read in chapters 40 to 50. And hen after Sunday School, Bruder Schwarzwälder asked if I could be a door server. Naturally I said yes. But then Bruder Becker asked if I could play the piano since the ward pianist was away. So I asked Elder Wilkins if he could be the door server since he wasn't too familiar with the selection of hymns they chose. So I ended playing for all of Sacrament meeting. The first song went great. But then the second was a little nerve wracking. It was the Sacrament hymn but I never heard of it before. Oh mensch, luckily the Lord helped and I was able to play it. The Lord really does help you with everything. 

 

Ich weiß dass wir einen Propheten horte haben. Ich weiß dass das Buch Mormon wahr ist. Ich weiß dass diese Kirche durch Joseph Smith wiederhergestellt war. Ich weiß dass Himmlischer Vater und Jesus Christus uns lieben. Ich weiß dass Jesus Christus für uns getötet war. 

 

Ich habe euch Lieb. Bis nächstem Montag! Tschüß!

 

Elder Albrecht & Elder Ridd

Elder Wilkins & Elder Albrecht

Elder Albrecht & Elder Cavin

Elder Wilkins, Elder Cavin, Elder Albrecht & Elder Ridd

 

Woche 17: Our Double Portion

I can't believe that Cedara is leaving so soon. It is crazy. I am so happy for her(:

It sounds like Neil and Daniel are doing awesome. Both in School and in Football. Woot woot!

What is 'Meet The Mormons'? I have never heard of that before. If it is a Mormon movie probably.

Isn't it crazy? Our transfer points are at major train stations. Haha, a little better than McDonalds. I have never actually had one since the day I came into the field but from what I saw it is crazy and awesome. Especially since our mission is huge and contains four  countries.

So in two weeks, crazy to think you will be starting your third transfer already!  How awesome.  Do you feel like your time is going fast? 
I don't know, It feels like it is going slow, but then I think back and it seems way fast.

Michael's response to the picture I sent of our four LDS boys praying before their football game, something they do each week  "I am so proud of those four boys!"

I am so happy for the band. It sounds they have improved a lot. How is Michaela doing with the Marimba?

Hey Cypee!

Transfer calls is next week. On Wednesday is when we find out. We are all pretty sure Elder Cavin and Ridd are leaving. Elder Wilkins and I will probably stay. But you never know right? I am pretty sure we will get awesome companions. I have no worries though, God inspires President Kohler so there will be a reason for everything.

Christmas... I can't really think of anything that I need. I guess a new camera would be nice. One that just needs to be plugged in to be charged. The camera I have is having small problems and just running through the batteries.

We do go tracting. Quite a bit actually. We don't have a lot of Potential Investigators we can visit so we just go out finding and stuff.

We are actually buying for ourselves. And yes, I am eating healthy. The only unhealthy I buy is Pizza, but I don't buy it a lot. And I don't think I need any vitamins. But thanks!

Woche 17: Our Double Portion

Montag

Monday was like any other Monday. Wake up, exercise, get dressed, have our studies, and then we prepare for the week. Such as shopping, haircuts, and emails/letters. We went out finding but no one really wanted to talk...

Dienstag

Tuesday, I had my exchange with Elder Ridd. He came to Schwenningen 2 so I was in charge... We made a couple of calls after studies and ended up scheduling two appointments. One with a guy who came to General Conference. We had a 0 lesson. Which is how to begin teaching from Preach My Gospel. We got to know more about him and asked why he wanted to meet with us. He seemed to have a lot of interest and has apparently read the entire Book of Mormon. It was in Denglish. Deutsch/ English... It was pretty cool. Afterwards, we went to the church and waited for the second appointment to show up. While we waited we watched Mormon Channel videos. They are so amazing and really put into perspective what the Prophets and Apostles have to say. After a video or two, we realized he wasn't coming. It was naturally sad, however we didn't let it bring us down. We need to respect people's free agency if they choose something else over this message. We then walked to Bahnhof and took a train to Donaueschingen. We talked to almost everyone and doored quite a bit. One person wanted to meet with us out of everyone we spoke to. Crazy right? But the Lord has a plan for her.

Elder Ridd and I went to Donaueschingen for our exchange. That is cool fountain in the town center. And then we found a tree growing within a huge stump

Mittwoch

Wednesday I had my first Zone Conference. Our trip was 4 hours and 20 minutes. Of course including the wait times and a delay because someone in our zone missed the train. But we made it to the church  5 minutes before it started. 

Donnerstag

On Thursday, I had an exchange with Elder Schiffer. He is a German Elder from northern Hanover. He speaks little to no English. So I spoke only Deutsch to him. That was a little difficult especially when you are working with him. But we made it work. We tracted a lot. Oh, and his area is in Schaffhausen, die Schweiz. So people spoke Swiss Deutsch to us. Mensch, that was difficult, especially when it is already hard for me to understand regular Deutsch. Anyway, we talked to a lot of people. Unfortunately, no one was interested. We then had a lesson with an older gentleman. He still doesn't quite get the Priesthood but really wants to go to the Temple. After we taught him we went home. Elder Schiffer made me homemade pizza. It was really good. 

Freitag

On Friday we exchanged back and Elder Cavin and I went back home. When I got home, my package was laying on my desk. Yes! It was quite exciting, and the other Elders loved what they got. They said thanks! After I opened the package, we went over to the Ziegners. They fed us Hash Browns with a chicken mushroom sauce and a salad. It was really good. And then she made us Trifle. It was amazing. We spoke a lot about marriage and eternal families and stuff. She is such a spiritual  woman. She has an amazing testimony.

Samstag

Saturday we had weekly planning. We had a different approach this week. Because of what President Kohler spoke about on Wednesday. We planned to have small lessons with members all throughout the week. After weekly planning, we had a lesson with Kumar again. This time we taught a very basic overview of the Restoration. He was very interested. He told us some more of what he believes. He has a lot of good morals and values, especially about his family. He was very interested in Prophets, since he saw one, President Monson, on Sunday.

Sonntag

Sunday was amazing as always. So we found out, that if I stay here this next transfer, we will go to the Temple and Stake conference. Which is way cool. Today was also our Fast and Testimony meeting. I am continually understanding more and more. The Lord is truly blessing me.

Ich weiß dass Gott und Jesus Christus leben. Ich weiß dass sie und lieben. Ich weiß dass wir einen Propheten haben. Ich weiß dass das Buch Mormon whar ist. Ich habe euch Lieb. Tschüß!

Mit Lieb,

   

 Elder Albrecht, Elder Wilkins, Elder Ridd, Elder Cavin, "J" and die Familie Justaga

Elder Ridd's mom sent us  package of goodies.

 Halloween decorations from my package to them.

Week 16: Because Christ Lives, Just as His Church Continues to Live, He has Called a Prophet.

We were able to watch all of the sessions except for the Sunday afternoon session. We will watch it at the end of this month. And when you send the magazines, can you send April as well?

My card is working now. I took out some money, bought gloves and scarves.

Thanks for all the packages. And for the one coming. I will be honest, I probably won't share the sharpies, unless they ask to borrow it of course.(: I will have to send a picture of the shirts. Thanks so much for them. They look great!

So, I will probably stay here in Schwenningen for the coming transfer. However, Elder Cavin will probably leave since he has been here for 4 transfers, or 6 months.

I am sure Elder Cavin will love the package.

(MOM) We got an email from President Kohler in regards to Christmas packages.  We have to have them to the mission home by December 1st.  Do you have any specific Christmas requests?  He has also invited us to fast and pray for baptisms in each area.  It was a sweet email.
I am so excited for Christmas as well. The missionaries say the members really treat you well here. Apparently there is no curfew on Christmas eve, day and New years eve. As long as missionaries are with members. Plus, I will be able to skype with you.

I am so excited to hear about the new missionaries going out. Can you believe Cedara is leaving so soon? Crazy!

When people say 'Mensch' in German, it is the same as saying 'Oh man'

Well, to be fair, Rachel corrects my German as well. But I guess I am correcting her more than she corrects me. But, I feel like the Lord is really blessing me with the language. I took the language assessment the other day and got a 70%. Apparently a lot of missionaries completely fail below a 50%. So the Lord has really been helping me out.

(MOM) I keep wanting to send you things to hand out to potentials or kids but I figure if I send you anything with writing, it would be in English and that might not go well.  I'd hate to send anything that was written in German and it had a terrible translation.  Any thoughts?

That would be really cool if you sent that kind of stuff to investigators or the kids. So, pretty much all of the adults speak really good English. And all of the kids have to take English in school. So stuff in English wouldn't ever be a problem. If you ever want to send a note, you could send it to me and then I could translate it with Elder Ridd or Cavin and then give them both copies (English and German)

We email Presidant Kohler every week. About success stories and our area.

We actually still don't have any investigators. And "J"  hasn't been coming to every hour of church. For 5 months he came to every hour of church without fail before his baptism. But then he got baptized and he missed Sacrament meeting twice and all of church once. Because he has a job and is going to Uni.

I absolutely love the picture Coach Jackson drew. It looks amazing. He is certainly blessed with a skill in the arts.

Woche 16: Because Christ lives, just as his church continues to live, he has called a prophet.

Montag

Monday was really fun. For a couple of weeks, we have been planning a district P-Day. And it finally happened! We went to Hohenwiel in Singen. On top of the massive hill there is an old castle. It is in ruins so we can climb all over it and stuff. It was a lot of fun. We had to walk forever to actually get to the Castle though. We got there and we were able to climb the walls and go into small cave like dungeons and climb up to the second floor.  There is also a large courtyard at the top, so we played a little football. That took up pretty much all of our P-Day. We got back and then went out finding like usual.
(See lots of pictures at the end of this email)

Dienstag

Tuesday morning before we started studies, we got a call from "J".   He asked if we could help him finish moving. It was apparently the last day he could be in his old house, so he needed to get everything out. So we went over to Bahnhof to pick him up. He was picking up some extra suitcases from a friend there. We drove over to his house and helped him finish packing. We then had to take him over to his new home. When we driving him to the new house Elder Cavin accidentally missed the turn. So he turned off  to the side of the road. He then for some crazy reason kept driving onto the pavement and then crossed the street using the pedestrian crosswalk because the roads were all one way and he was going the wrong direction. He then kept driving on the side walk and then into the car park where "J" lives. You might say Elder Cavin is a tad crazy. Afterwards we invited him to General Conference and then went home. Unfortunately, Elder Ridd wasn't feeling to good on Tuesday so he couldn't go to District meeting with us. But, District meeting was fabulous. Elder Dooreman split 'Our Purpose' into 14 different parts and explained and we discussed all of them. I will have to send a copy of my notes about it. It was really enlightening to all of the different parts to 'Our Purpose'. Elder Schiffer followed him and spoke about Accountability. It was all in German so I really had to focus and listen. He spoke about how we were accountable for everything that happens in our area. For all of the people, both members and nonmembers. We really shouldn't take our calling lightly because of that. We are also accountable at the end of each day to our Heavenly Father. If we are really comfortable or confident when we say, I have done my best today Father, there is nothing more I could have done by myself. Are we really giving our part and effort after having asked for His help. That is something we need to remember.

Mittwoch

Wednesday was a pretty normal missionary day. We had studies, went out finding and then ate lunch. After lunch we headed over to a less active in our ward. His name is Brother Prinzwald. We read in the Book of Mormon with him. We then invited him to come to General Conference on Sunday. After we had our lesson, we started walking towards our car. That day we had parked further down his street so we needed to walk in another direction and past a couple of houses. We ended up talking to a lady with two children. We talked about the Book of Mormon and eternal families. We asked if she had time to meet with us some time, perhaps next week. She then told us she had time right then and there. So we explained to her Joseph Smith and the Restoration and the promises in the Book of Mormon. She told us she would read the book and pray about it and then we could have a meeting with her. It was really cool. But that was pretty much our day. We went back home and made a couple calls. I actually made the calls, in German! Mensch, it was a tad bit nerve wracking. But I did it and made some appointments out. So hopefully we will begin to have some investigators.

Donnerstag- Freitag

Thursday, I actually don't have much to say. We went out finding and stuff, but weren't able to contact many people. Everyone seemed to be home. But Friday I have a lot to say about. Well, just about the evening really. We finished planning for this next week and then went out to pick up J. We were going over to the Justaga family for dinner and a lesson.

Samstag- Sonntag

The days of General Conference. What special and amazing days these were. It makes me so very happy that I was able to listen to and hear from a living prophet. It is remarkable that we were able to receive words of comfort as well as words of counsel fro men who are led and directed by Jesus Christ. What an amazing opportunity we have to participate and experience all of the blessings this gospel has to offer. This is one of the reasons we are called 'The Dispensation of the Fullness of Times'. Because we have all the blessings this gospel has to offer.

Ich liebe dich! Fühl besser! Tschüß