Woche 28: Weihnachten!

Woche 28: Weihnachten!
 

Montag

Monday, after P-Day, we went to Brother Hönle's birthday party. There are seriously so many Filipinos in Germany. But, they made a bunch of Filipino food. It was amazing. At the end of the party, we gave a spiritual thought. We watched the "He Is The Gift" video. We asked everyone to think of ways that this wonderful gift of Jesus Christ has helped us. But another thing to consider, is how can we use this gift all year round? Christmas isn't the only time designated to celebrate Christ. Neither is Easter. We received an email a week ago from President Kohler asking us how we can keep this "Christmas" Spirit with us everyday of the year. Because, essentially, Christmas should just be a celebration of his birth and Easter His Resurrection and Atonement. They shouldn't be times where we turn nice and considerate. They aren't times to think about Christ and then forget about Him the day after. They aren't times to receive gifts upon gifts. They are truly miraculous days and events, however, they should motivate us for the entire year. Not just for a couple of weeks. They should bring us closer to Christ and prepare us for the rest of the year.

Dienstag

Tuesday, like always, we had District Meeting. And we discussed the importance of devastation. In a sense of when an investigator does not keep a commitment. Or we can apply it to whenever anyone does not keep commitments or the commandments. As Jeffery R. Holland said, this is eternal life in the balance. We cannot merely push off the fact that they are denying themselves blessings and eternal happiness. When someone does not read, keep the word of wisdom, the law of chastity, come to church, or anything else, we must be devastated. No matter who it is. We must still love them, however we must also show our concern for them. The fact still stands that they broke a promise to our Heavenly Father, whether it is the promise made through us on Earth, or the one made in Heaven a long time ago. And we need them to understand the seriousness of this matter. Afterwards, we gathered together in prayer before we set off to give a gift in Schaffhausen. The Schaffhausen Elders wrapped up "The Living Christ" And asked if we could help them hand them out. So we did and it was awesome. Then we went back home to attend another birthday party for Athena Justaga. She is the youngest daughter in the Justaga Family. There were someone different people there. It was quite a group. We had Germans, Filipinos, Americans, and Frenchmen. But we again had some amazing Filipino food. It was a great time.

Heiliger Abend

Mittwoch

On Christmas Eve, Wednesday, we went and visited a less active in Tuttlingen. He is only less active because he is home bound. But we had an awesome time with Brother Wolf. We had a good discussion about Charity. I shared one of my favorite scriptures. It is in Colossians 3:14. It says: And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. We then discussed a little of how we can have charity for one another. In fact, there is a small test that helps us self reflect our personal charity. It is Hymn 223 in the LDS Hymn Book. Here is the song.

        Have I Done Any Good?

1. Have I done any good in the world today?
Have I helped anyone in need?
Have I cheered up the sad and made someone feel glad?
If not, I have failed indeed.
Has anyone's burden been lighter today
Because I was willing to share?
Have the sick and the weary been helped on their way?
When they needed my help was I there?

(Chorus)

Then wake up and do something more
Than dream of your mansion above.
Doing good is a pleasure, a joy beyond measure,
A blessing of duty and love.

2. There are chances for work all around just now,
Opportunities right in our way.
Do not let them pass by, saying, "Sometime I'll try,"
But go and do something today.
'Tis noble of man to work and to give;
Love's labor has merit alone.
Only he who does something helps others to live.
To God each good work will be known.

(Chorus)
Then wake up and do something more
Than dream of your mansion above.
Doing good is a pleasure, a joy beyond measure,
A blessing of duty and love.

We can take these questions and apply them personally morning and evening to better ourselves. After this discussion, Brother Wolf asked us to visit Sister Bous while she doesn't have many visitors. So we went with the other Elders, prepared to carol for her. But we knocked on her door, and we sang to her a couple of songs. She was so thankful. She then told us to sit and explained that her son  told her not to come over for Christmas Eve even though they live three blocks from one another. She was torn. But we saw gleam in her eyes as we answered a silent prayer of comfort and love during this special time. I am so grateful for this wonderful gospel and for the revelation it brings. Without Brother Wolf, we might have never visited her. And then she read us a Christmas story she wrote herself. It was actually really good and comparable to us. And then we went and spent the rest of the evening with the Schwarzwälder Family. They invited her parents, the Becker couple, the Gulla twins, Jagadish, and us. We had an amazing evening with them. We sang hymns, read stories and had an amazing dinner. They made some potato stuff, Spätzle, and some other things. It was a night full of fun and the spirit as well. We played out the Nativity. And I was the Donkey, but apparently I was a good one, so all is well.

Der erste Tag Weichnachtens

Donnerstag

On Christmas Day, we had the wonderful opportunity to spend it with the Seeborg Family. They made such a delicious meal. We had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, and a very sweet but yummy cranberry sauce. Afterwards, they opened gifts, and they gave us Lebkuchen! It is so good! But then we were able to skype home! What a wonderful time that was. I didn't really realize how fast time was going by. I mean, I knew that time is just flying by, but as fast as I thought. I saw my parents, and felt like yesterday I said goodbye for two years. We really don't understand how little time we have on a mission. Every moment here is a time to be kept sacred.

Der zweite Tag Weihnachtens

Freitag

On Friday, or so called here in Germany, the second day of Christmas, we had the chance to go caroling with a new convert, Sister Birk. She is such an amazing woman and example of being a disciple of Christ. But, she arranged Lunch for us and a fancy little restaurant in Zollhaus. I had salmon, and halibut, or however you spell it, with noodles. It was so good! It was just perfect. And then we went and visited a cemetery. Sister Birk asked us to come with her as she visited the grave of her parents. And then we went over to an elderly lady to carol. She invited us in and then we sang. And then we went to the Nursing Home to sing to the elderly there. There were four floors and they all loved it. Even the workers enjoyed it. Oh, and Germans love Silent Night. It is their favorite hymn of all time. Granted, it is a beautiful song. And on this day, I realized something, kind of a comparison. Christmas is like Sunday. Sunday, we go and partake of the Sacrament and promise to do better. Thinking of ways we can improve while reflecting on the Savior in some fashion. During the Christmas time, we should be thinking about the birth of Christ, as well as what resulted from that birth; a perfect life and a glorious ministry, ending with a sacrifice that would save us all. Then towards the end of this season, we make goals for the coming year. Thinking of ways we can improve and things we want to accomplish. However, much of the time, we forget to personally tell God. We forget to promise to become better. We forget to ask for help. While Sunday to Sunday can bring much success, we often forget to have a bigger picture, which in many ways is our New Years Resolution. When we use this time to become serious about lifting our selves higher and looking more deeply into the Light, we can have the eternal perspective and use Sundays as stepping stones to accomplishing our New Years Resolution. My goal this year, is to not reach and accomplish my New Years Resolution, is to give meaning behind it as well. I don't want it to just be a bucket list like every other year. I want it to actually be a Resolution. I want to resolve my flaws and weaknesses through Christ and lift myself higher. I want to use Sundays as times to reflect this yearly goal or resolution and work on the smaller goals I make in order to keep me focused.

Samstag

Saturday, we visited Brother Wolf again. But, this time he invited us over to feed us! It was really good. We ate chicken, fired the German way as well as potatoes and veggies. And then we read out of the Book of Mormon. We read Moroni 7: 48. We discussed what it meant to be filled with love and to become His followers. Afterwards, we drove to the Gheorge's house. We ate the pig from last week and some cabbage roll thing. Apparently it was Romanian but it was very German as well. But, one thing you definitely learn on the mission is how to deal with crazy kids, haha. They are good kids, just extremely hyper.

Sonntag

Sunday was really weird, because we didn't have Church. We had too much snow for people to drive out. We were really confused and lost! I never realized how much it could effect us.

Happy New Years!

Woche 27: ein Austausch für die ganze Woche?

Woche 27: ein Austausch für die ganze Woche?

Montag

Well, to start the week off being away from Schwenningen, we went to Singen for P-Day. We went there to play Basketball with the Schaffhausen Elders, the Singen Elders, and the Singen Sisters. It was a lot of fun. Of course, I don't get that intense and neither did Sister Kutschke, so we kind of had our own party on the Basketball court. Funny right? Unfortunately, we missed our train going back to Schwenningen, so we had to stay an hour later.  I went with Elder Wilkins to some store and the guy was way nice. We started talking and then he started speaking English and then he gave us a 10% discount because we were missionaries. He said we can keep that discount forever. So, I bought the gift for this week. We will be having a gift exchange in District meeting tomorrow. And then we went out to go finding after we got back and showered. We had some great conversations. The "He is the Gift" movement is working really well. It is a great finding tool.

Dienstag bis Donnerstag

Tuesday to Thursday was all one big exchange. Tuesday to Wednesday I was in Bad Säckingen with Elder Acuna Moreno. And then on Thursday I was in Schaffhausen with Elder Meyer. Both were actually really similar. We went by on some less actives and then went out finding. But on Wednesday I started an amazing personal study on Charity. It has actually taken me until today (Monday) to study and I am still not done. I will send some notes next week.

Freitag

Friday morning we exchanged back in Geisingen and then we went back home to eat lunch. Then we went to Gutmadingen. We were going by on some people that we met earlier. One lady wasn't home so we went by on someone else. He is 15 and looks 30. Last week we invited him to watch Er ist das Geschenk and then to share it with his family. He said he would. This week he said he watched it and really enjoyed. He said he felt the spirit during the video. He said that his parents didn't want to watch it though. Then we asked him if we could come by again and share a small Christmas message. All of a sudden he started to get really defensive and told us they didn't need this and that they had a faith and belief already and that we shouldn't come back. We should go help those who don't have a faith. And then I had a strong impression to tell him what this message entailed. We told him that this message isn't only for those who didn't have a faith. This message will help us all build our faith that we already have. Our message is about the true restored Gospel. We told him that we believe in something other Christians don't believe in. Or at least that it doesn't exist anymore. We bore our testimonies of Prophets and told him this message could help him and his family. He then accepted the invitation and said we could come back. It was a very special experience of how the Holy Ghost works.

Samstag

On Saturday, we had a once in a life time experience. We slaughtered a pig, with Romanians. Unfortunately I don't have pictures, or very many because my camera decided to die on me. So I will borrow them from the other Elders next week. But it was definitely crazy. The couple kept talking back and forth in Romanian and it was so funny. And they also eat the skin right after they are done burning the pig. It was something else. But that took a long time. And then we went to their house to eat it.

Sonntag

Sunday was a little weird but way spiritual. We had Church like always and it was really good. One of the speakers is from Oregon and had her talk translated by Elder Wilkins. He did a really good job at translating. She gave an amazing talk about how The Christmas Message is a Family Message. She talked about the Divine Roles each person played, Mary, Joseph and Jesus Christ. She also talked about the divine examples they give us. It was way good. And then we eventually went over to the Ziegner's for Lunch since they won't be here this week. They fed us Triangle Hash Browns called Rusties or something of the sort. And we also had pork with it. Then we went with them to a Nativity display. It was a lot of fun and some of the nativity sets were beautiful. Afterwards we went back to the parking lot and sang Stille Nacht and then said goodbye.

Woche 26: Weihnachten Konferenz

Liebe Mutter,

First, can you add the video He is The Gift to this entry? As well as The Nativity.

I cannot believe that I am about to hit my six month mark! Man, time is flying by! But every moment is so worth it. I can feel the power behind this calling. I can also feel the power behind the prayers sent to me and others as missionaries. Thank you so much!

I haven't found my bag yet, but we will be going to DB today to try and find it. So I will update you next on whether I need new scriptures or not.


So this week we come in contact with two new people to meet. We also found 2 new potentials. So this coming week, we will have 6 singles, 2 couples, and a family we will be teaching. The Lord truly is harvesting Schwenningen.

I for sure remember Zach! I can't believe he is finally leaving. I remember when all my friends got their mission calls and now they are leaving!

Woche 26: Weihnachten Konferenz

Montag

Well, Monday was fun. We took a nap and then went shopping. And then I bought a new suit because it was cheap and it fits really well. After that adventure, we went to the Family Schwarwälder's house. They are such an awesome family. They fed us an amazing taco salad. It tasted so good. And then we shared a spiritual thought. IT was a story out of the December 2013 Liahona. It talked about how our Heavenly Father knows us personally as well as our desires. Then we talked about how we can help our friends experience the gifts we receive from Him.

Dienstag

Tuesday, we had the wonderful opportunity to go to Züich and have our Christmas Conference. Well everything worked out until we printed off our tickets and we only had a ticket that could get us to Schaffhausen. So we went to Singen and met the Singen Sisters there. They for some reason had a four person ticket all the way there and back, but were only two people. So we went to Schaffhausen and tried to figure out this ticket situation. Unfortunately, Elder Thomas and Elder Bowler took too long I guess and missed the train. So it was just Elder Wilkins and I with the Singen and Schaffhausen Sisters and the Schaffhausen Elders. We made it to the Church just fine, but the other Elders were close to a hour late. But the conference was amazing. President and Sister Kohler gave amazing talks about Christmas. Sister Kohler expounded on the Church's Christmas initiative. She talked about how we need to discover the gift. Learn about His life and ministry. Read about His birth as well as His Atonement. We then need to embrace the gift. We need to accept His power to clean us from our sins. We need to accept His power to help us change and overcome obstacles. And finally, we need to share this gift. Good thing we are missionaries, because that part is easy for us! But as easy as it may be, we need to Humble ourselves to become as effective as we can be, because there is always room for improvement. We then had the opportunity to see the new fireside that will be starting in our mission and with our wards and stakes. In the middle, we had a wonderful meal provided by the FHV. And we also had a small gift exchange. Then we eventually got our packages and then had to journey back home. Oh, and we also got patches of our mission logo! So cool.

Getting his Christmas packages!  Not sure who the two Elders in front are.

Mittwoch

Wednesday, Elder Thomas and I drove all the way to München! It was roughly 264 km(164 miles) to get there. It took us about 3 hours and 35 minutes. It was a long ride. But we got there and received a new car! Yes! While we were there, we picked up our packages as well. And some new cards that go along with the new Christmas initiative. And one of the members there took us out for Dinner. Elder Thomas knew him from before when he was Zone Leader in München. I had an amazing Cordon Blea. Or however you spell it, haha.  After that, we had to make a long journey home. The ride was 321 km(199 miles) back. Unfortunately, there was a ton of traffic. And because of the traffic, we missed our exit. So we got stuck in stand still traffic. We eventually made off our new exit, but then we ran into a lot of construction which slowed us down. So what was supposed to be a 3 hour and 5 minute drive,  took us 5 and half hours, close to 6 hours. That was way too long!

Donnerstag

Thursday is where we were able to start the missionary work. We had a lesson with a less active in a place called Gutmadingen. So we decided to leave early and go dooring. While we were there, we actually met two people who had interest in this Christmas message and wanted us to come back. After that, we went and had a lesson with Brother Prinzwald. We watched the video and then discussed what it meant and how we can "Share the Gift". The lesson was pretty good. Afterwards we went to see "J". He asked us to explain Christmas and some of the traditions involved. He told us this was his very first Christmas ever, because he used to not be Christian. So we explained Christmas and showed some traditions we use to celebrate it. We ended by watching the video and inviting him to experience the true meaning of Christmas. We asked him to read the Christmas story contained within the Bible, as well as the accounts Nephi and other Prophets give in the Book of Mormon.

Freitag

Friday was fun as always! We helped a sister in our ward named Sister Steidle. She is 94 and decided to take a bus all the way up to Berlin. Now those of you who don't know how far south we are in Germany, the bus takes a little over 11 hours to arrive in Berlin. That is a long bus ride. But, she is visiting her Sister, and it may be the last time. So it is a well needed sacrifice and visit. This coming Friday we will welcome Sister Steidle home. And then we went home and planned for the week. Fun, but we accomplished a lot.

Samstag

Saturday we had our first exchange of the transfer. I was with Elder Bowler in my area. So we planned to go to Villingen We taught a couple who are from Russia (Russland in German). They are so sweet. She has such a love for the Bible and God. I only pray that she will have a desire to become closer to Him. We talked a little bit about the Restoration and the First Vision. Afterwards, we went by on some people, but unfortunately they weren't home. However, that doesn't stop us. We left some notes for them and tried talking to people on the way.

Sonntag

Sunday was amazing as always. "J" came to all three hours of church yesterday! I can see how much his countenance changes when he comes. We met with a GML(ward mission leader) and looked through the ward list. We developed a plan on how to "clean out the list. Many people on our list live and go to other wards and some people just don't exist. And then we had a wonderful Sacrament Meeting. It is always a good experience to renew covenants and start our week with a new slate. Afterwards, we went to a member's house who is home bound. We learned a little bit about him. And then we discussed how he can share the Gift of Christ. He was on fire. He had some awesome ideas and even asked for some pass along cards!

Well, I know that this is the church led by Christ. I know that we have a living Prophet who leads and guides us in the journey of life. I know that in this time of ever growing darkness, we can find comfort and the light, in Him, who is Christ. I know that during this time of excitement of Christmas and presents and Santa, it all comes back to Him who gives a way back to our loving Heavenly Father. 

Ich liebe dich!

Woche 25: Is it Christmas time yet?

Liebe Mutter,

I did receive the package. Thanks! I have been going through the talks and they are even better each time I read them.

Requests, hmm... 

Oh Neil, when is he not getting hurt. A quick recovery!

It is always lovely to have contacts in order to help others. And that Heavenly Father gives a second chance. 

Unfortunately, the car is a bit scratched up now. Fortunately, Neil is fine and he can't make fun of my driving now! ;)
And I can't believe Becca is a missionary now!!!

Woche 25: Is it Christmas time yet?

Montag

Monday was kind of boring... We tried to figure out how to get our dryer fixed. That was pretty much the most exciting thing that happened...

Dienstag

Well, Tuesday was awesome! I lost my bag for my exchange. It had my scriptures and my world cup shirt. So ist das Leben... I guess I have to study in German now. Luckily, Germany is really good with their lost and found, so hopefully I will get it soon. But, we had District meeting as well. It was pretty good. We had District Lunch that took a little bit too long. So we weren't able to get everything into District Meeting that we wanted to. But it was still a good meeting. Afterwards, I had an exchange with Elder Schiffer in Schaffhausen. So we had to wash all of the dishes. We dropped by on a couple of people. For some reason, People think I am from Italy and are surprised when I tell them I am from America. I cannot tell you how many times I get this. And then we went and ate with one of their members at a Chinese Buffet. It was way good. I learned a lot of German food names there.

Mittwoch

Wednesday, we had some more people to go by on.  And I also got a candle that I made earlier. The exchange really tested my German.

Donnerstag-Sonntag

I am really sorry this email was really short and didn't have a lot of details. 

Woche 24: das Erntedankfest

Liebe Mutter,

I am staying here with Elder Thomas.

 

 

 Everyone in our District is actually staying. This transfer, two Sisters in my group will be getting goldens. And almost everyone else is staying or going to a senior companion.

So we can skype whenever is good for you. The Justaga's invited us over and said to come over at a time that is good for our parents. So when is good for you? 24th, 25th, or the 26th? 

We were interviewed by President three weeks ago. It went really well. We talked about being Obedient and being an example.  He told me to just keep doing what I have been doing and never back down. 

And no, I didn't get smashed by a train this week, thankfully.

That day was P-Day, so not a lot of people saw us.

I absolutely love the opportunity I have to play. Sometimes, Elder Wilkins can play as well so we switch off and on.

I can't believe Adley and Nick got married! Congratulations!

I also can't believe that Becca is leaving so soon! Which MTC again? Well, it doesn't really matter, because she will love any of them!

For the time being, we have the magazines in German. So I at least have something to read.

Woche 24: das Erntedankfest

Montag

Monday was not too exciting. We cleaned like usual. Well, we had apartment inspection, so it was a little more intense than usual. And then we went shopping. We bought some weird fruit. We have been buying "exotic" fruit, as exotic as we can get here. And we bought it. It was some weird gross grapefruit thing that had almost no taste, it was quite disappointing. I also bought a chocolate egg that had chocolate creme inside of it. It was so good!

Dienstag

Tuesday was District meeting like always. Luckily, we had enough tickets this time so we all made it(: Haha, we got to Schaffhausen and of course got a little caught up with the other missionaries until it was time to start. So we started. Elder Meyer gave a fantastic thought on D&C 4. He applied it specifically to our mission and made it personal using the pronoun I instead of you all. IE, I am called to the work... It was a good reminder that we should personalize the scriptures putting our names and I into them. It will create a much more effective and a more personal study. Then I spoke about the 40 day fast. I stressed the very last step in it. We must go to the Lord and tell him we failed. And then we must figure out why or how we failed. What made us fall short? So in essence, we must recognize how we failed, not just the failure. We then talked about building up our members and how we can help them fulfill their calling as a member missionary. After district meeting, I had an exchange with Elder Acuna Moreno. We had a lot of travel time since we didn't have the car with us. And then we had a dropped lesson in Villingen, so we doored around in the area. 

Mittwoch

Wednesday, we studied, ate and then had companionship inventory. Afterwards, we exchanged back in Singen. Then we took the train all the way back to Villingen, but then decided to stay on longer and went St. Georgen. A lot of people didn't really want this message... But, there are still people prepared to be taught! Oh, and on Wednesday, we got our car back! Yay!!!

Donnerstag- das Erntedankfest

Thursday we had Thanksgiving dinner with Schwester Storz and Schwester Seeborg. It was really good. I believe it was a Filipino dish. And we also had a Filipino, French, and an American dessert. It was so good. They are so awesome! Afterwards, we went to Bruder P. He is a less active. Bruder Seeborg went with us. It was awesome. We had a role play and Bruder P was the member and said some awesome stuff! I think he does have a testimony, he is just waiting for a large confirmation of it. And then we shared the talk by Neil L. Andersen. We need to strengthen our testimonies and deepen our belief in the Restoration. Specifically Joseph Smith. The adversary is attacking from within and will only get worse as the world prepares for her master to return. And then we went to Schwester Mohammad's for Thanksgiving as well. 

I am so grateful for:

     -my mission

     -my family

     -Germany and everyone here

     -The Gospel

     -His plan for us

     -Jesus Christ and His Atonement

     -Progression

Freitag- Samstag

Friday I got a package from the amazing Ashton Family. Thanks so much. It was awesome!!! We also planned on Friday. We then went to the Church and found out our other lesson dropped, so we continued writing a letter to our Bishop. On Saturday, we met a Russian couple that has a firm knowledge in the Bible, but she listened to us and said we could come back.

Sonntag

Sunday was definitely interesting. I played the piano for 3rd hour and gave the opening prayer. And then the Elders, us, taught the lesson since the Bishopric was gone. We talked about the importance of the gifts from Jesus Christ we have and receive. It went along with the video, He is the Gift. 1 Peter 4. Share the knowledge! And then Elder Thomas gave an awesome talk on building up Zion. It all starts from within. 

Ich habe dich lieb. Tschüß!