Woche 78: Why We Need a Savior

Woche 78

Montag

Monday, we went and did P-Day. It was great. Went a couple places and then did emails. Went finding afterwards and talked to tons of people about Christmas. It was awesome.

Dienstag

Tuesday was the last District Meeting of the transfer. It was good. We talked about the Christmas initiative. How we can use it when finding. Some good approaches and stuff like that. It was good. We then went over to"W"s  place. We met with him and Br. Mayer. It was great! We taught about the Restoration and about Priesthood. It was really good. He told us that when we pray together, that he really feels the Holy Ghost  strongly. It was great. He then said, "I don't ask God for much, but I think this is worthy of asking." Of course it was in German, but it was great! We then went back to the church for a lesson with the Persians. We taught the beginning of the Plan of Salvation. It was super good. They had good questions. We talked about how important Jesus Christ was in it all! We shared 2 Nephi 2 with them. We used a couple of scriptures and explained how the Fall was a good thing, and that we can understand the purpose of life! They really understood it and liked it a lot! And then we had GMK.

Mittwoch

So,w e went finding all over downtown. We even found this book closet on the sidewalk. I guess you take a book and leave one. Well, I have a German book from 1930 and someone hopefully has a Book of Mormon. Then we went dooring in Auwiesen. Set up an appointment with a less active. And we even went and found someone who knew our Persian translator member! It was crazy!

Donnerstag

Thursday morning, we said bye to Sister Baker! And then we went and gave "K" a blessing. And then we went home to do studies. We then went finding and talked some more about Christmas. We then met the moonies. Well, we got invited to a religious discussion circle, but it turned out to be at the Moonies church with just them and us two... Well, I wouldn't say Moonies, and use their official name, but I honestly don't know it... But they really liked us and we had quite a nice time. Some of them even have met with our church and one is currently meeting with our church in Wels. 

Freitag

Well, we tried to go finding in a place called Gaumberg. It is a part of Linz. But pretty much no one was there... So that was a bust. But we eventually met with the Persians. That was a disaster at first. Most of them didn't show up, and our translator wasn't there at first... But two showed, and a member picked up our translator for us. So we answered their questions about Tuesday's discussion. It went rather well.

Samstag

Saturday, we did Weekly Planning. It went very well. We then eventually went to Pleschinger See. It was quite pretty there. Saw Linz at night from an elevated view. We met some nice people there.

Sonntag

Church was good. It took some effort to stay concentrated because I slept bad the night before. But it was all pretty good. And then after church, we went to the Erlacher's with the Sisters! Their family is seriously so awesome! I love them so much! We wrapped Books of Mormon and watched the new video about what the world would be like without a Saviour! It went super well, and they loved it! Oh man, we then sang Christmas songs with them! It was great! And S. Erlacher reminded Sister Barter and I of you, mom!

Woche 77: Wöchentlicher Brief

Woche...: Someone remind me!

Montag

On Monday, we did some shopping for Elder Ashcroft. We also went
to the Weihnachtsmarkt(Christmas market). That was tons of fun. And
then, I bought my 5€ gift for the Christmas Conference on Saturday. I
got a Snowglobe, it was pretty dang good! And then we went down to
the Erlacher's. They are so amazing! We had Grilled Cheeses with ham
and tuna and stuff like that. It was great. We also had some British
drinks. Don't remember what they were called, but they were
British. They are also taking care of the three cutest Egyptian kids!
They are just adorable!

 
Dienstag

Tuesday, we didnt have District Meeting! So the morning was
normal! And then we went out to go by on some Referral. He works at
some Pawn Shop thing. So that was real cool. He was super busy, so he
said to just call. But later, we met wit the Persians again! We
met with one of the Ward missionaries, Klaus, and a different Persian
member. Well, he talked almost the whole time! It was so hard to
take control, especially since it was in Persian! But, it ended well.
We then had GMK with only half the people. But it went pretty
well.

Mittwoch

Wednesday, we met with "WS". He was the referral from last
week. We brought Bru. Obermayr along this time. They got to know each
other and then we started! It went extremely well. We taught about
God, Prophets, Jesus Christ, and the Great Apostasy. We are all on the
same level. He also already believes Joseph Smith was a prophet and
that the Book of Mormon is true! He is amazing and so prepared! And
then we went finding after that.

Donnerstag

Thursday, we started our exchange with Wels. I went on over to Wels
with Elder Stahle. He is super cool. We went finding and stuff. Both
of our lessons that day fell through. So we walked for a bit with our
joint teach, Daniel. He is 17, and super nice and cool. And then, I
later ate Bratwürstel with Sauerkraut and Semmel. Sound Austrian
enough? Haha, it was amazing!!!

Freitag

Well, Friday, the other two appointments also fell through. So we went
finding some more! We asked people how they celebrate Christmas!
Apparently what I ate last night, is super Oberösterreichisch(Upper
Austrian) to eat on Christmas Eve... Hmm... Haha, but it was cool.

Samstag

Saturday, we had Christmas Conference in Salzburg! It was awesome! I
loved it, a lot! We talked about the new Christmas Initiative. The
Videos, and Jesus Christ! It was super good. We also watched this film
called "Silent Night." It talks about the origin of the song. Way
cool, especially since it was filmed in the Salzburg area, and we were
in Salzburg! Talk about fitting!
 

 Sonntag

Sunday was church. Went to choir. Sang. Had the rest of church. We had
8 Persians come. We have 10 investigators, not including three
children, 3 active members, and 5 less active members who speak
Persian. So many!!! But it was great! We then went to the Miesbauer's
after church. They speak in Austrian High German at home when we
are there. So not full out dialect. Elder Graham didn't catch what one
of them said about tea, so I translated it for them. Tey were all at
awe, because of my amazing Austrian German understanding skills, haha,
but it was a great time together!

Woche 76.. Immer noch keine Ahnung...

Woche 76.. Immer noch keine Ahnung...

Montag

Monday, we had a District P-Day! We made Schnitzel together, and then ate together. Well, we kept having to run back to the store because of a lack of supplies... but it was fun. We made so much! We also had funeral potatoes, Ccucumber salad, Rot Kohl, and ten cinnamon rolls and Oreo balls. It was so good! And then we had our Turkey Bowl! We played two hand touch in the backyard of the church! It was way fun! Good times. And then we did emails, and then went finding for the remaining time.

Dienstag

Tuesday was District Meeting. I gave the German Tip. It was on Double Infinitives. Don't worry, I won't explain it on here, but the meeting was generally good. We had to do it downstairs though, because they were doing construction on the front of the church, so it was pretty loud. But we did German study after the meeting and then headed out to visit a referral. Apparently this guy's brother is a Mormon in Australia and already gave him a Book of Mormon. So we visited him and it was nice. He is super nice, and we had a nice talk with him about it. He said we could come back and give the full lessons! So that was good. Then we went back to the church for GMK.

Mittwoch

Wednesday, our first appointment fell through. So we went down to Pichlinger See instead. We went finding there, and then went to the neighborhood right next to it. It snowed while we were there. This one older couple let us in. They were super nice. The man actually saw Hitler. He was in Hitler's Youth. They had some crazy stories about the Amis, the Americans, and about Russia, and about the war and afterwards. It was crazy. But we got to show them the older Christmas video, from last year. They really liked it. And we showed them the Articles of Faith. And then went home.

Donnerstag

Thursday we went dooring on the North side. It was going up the small mountain, so we got some great views of Linz. Man, it was breathtaking. And then we went to the church and taught the Persians. "M" wasn't there again. So we had to translate through the guy with broken English. But it went really well. We talked about the Sabbath Day. Wow, there are some amazing blessings the Lord promises us when we keep the Sabbath Day holy.

Frietag

Friday, we did our Weekly Planning. And the. We went to the church to move some benches around for a funeral. So we did that. And then we went finding and then we went to "A"'s house. Well, we were supposed to have a lesson with "M", but apparently "A"didn't catch that part. So he wasn't there... so we just chatted for a sec, and then got some info for the Elders in Wien. Apparently "A" has friends there that want to know more about the church. So we got that settled. And then we went to town and got up to "Y"'s place. He thought that we were supposed to come on Wednesday, even though we made it for Friday. Oh well, and then we ate some snacks and tried to start teaching. Well, he started interrupting us and then told us that this was too stressful for his situation. He would just come to church...

Samstag

Saturday, we had a Straßenausstellung! So a street display, if you can call it that. We had a camping table with a table cloth on it. And a large poster on some stand similar to a projector screen on the side. But we had Books of Mormon in tons of different languages. It was from 9 to 1600. So 7 hours altogether. We stood in the cold and talked to tons of people. It was really successful! We gave a lot of Books away and now have some more people interested in our message. Good thing we had it in tons of languages! It proved to be helpful. And then at 1400, Claus took us to some Japanese buffet. The one with the conveyor belt thing. Well, it was good, haha. But afterwards, I felt horrible! I couldn't stand up straight I felt so sick! So we went back home to drop off the books, and then we went to McDonalds for Hot Cocoa. And then we came home, did a little bit of studies. I ended up going to bed at 18:45ish because I couldn't stand it anymore. I felt to sick...

Sonntag

And then we woke up at 8 the next day. Well, I wish I could say that I felt better. But we got showered and ready, and then left for church so we could be on time. We got there and everyone was asking me where I was and if I was alright. I am usually at choir... and Sister Wagner kind of scolded me, slightly, for not calling her and telling her! And then came the meetings. Sacrament meeting was really good. Don't remember too much, but the Spirit was good. Before the next class, Sis. Wagner came up to me and gave me two oils. Peppermint for my head, and On Guard for my cold. Oh man, that Peppermint was just lovely! Then for third hour, we had a Persian class! Three members, and seven investigators, not including a child. There were so many! It was great though! And then later that day, we went to the Winkler's house for lunch. They are an awesome younger couple. They are so great and funny. We then drank tea together and ate cookies before we shared a quick message. It was so nice, especially for my head.

Well, have a great week!

Woche 75 - "We are dealing with God's children here, not just anyone!"

Woche 75 - "We are dealing with God's children here, not just anyone!"

Montag

Monday, we went to go get hair cuts. Well, we got them. But when I was getting mine, we were talking to each other, me and the barber, and where  we were from and stuff. Well, we spurred a discussion about religion. He was Muslim, and I am Christian. It was a really good discussion though. We talked Prophets and Thomas S. Monson. They even looked him up on the internet! It was crazy. We ended having a crazy, long discussion with the entire shop. We got the barbers and their friends involved. Man, it was fun though. And then we eventually went to the Bachmayer's house. It was great. We had lasagna.

Dienstag

Tuesday, we went finding for the most part. We were supposed to meet with "R", but he thought the appointment was on 17 and we wrote down in our planner 16. Haha, oh communication. But we talked to each other later, and then saw each other at the church. Then we had GMK. We talked about having a street display. It is supposed to be this week. And then we practiced introducing the Book of Mormon. It was good, just keep it simple. And then we watched some broadcast for the Europe Area. Elder Ballard, and President Kearon spoke to us. A couple of other stake leaders from Europe also spoke. It was quite good. It was just very inspiring. Gave me a reminder of the power we have as leaders.

Mittwoch

Well, we went and got Elder Ashcroft officially applied for his Visa. Yes! We had to schedule an appointment and everything. And then they were late. But, it got done. And then we went finding and talked to a ton of people. But then we eventually went to some Japanese Buffet. A member took us there. You pretty much sit next to a conveyor belt and it constantly has different foods on it. It was awesome! So much sushi and coconut milk! Haha, it was so hard to even move after that. But then we went to the church to do our studies. We did them, and then Elder Bates called me! He had to ask about a couple of things. And then we went to go finding. It was great. And then we met with "Y". It was good. He talked a bunch. He is from Syria, but came here. We talked a bunch about the Book of Mormon and just trusting in God.

Donnerstag

Thursday we went to Salzburg! We had interviews with President Kohler! It was awesome. We had District Meeting as well. We talked about teaching people, not lessons. We are dealing with God's children here, not just anyone! But, my interview was good. We talked about college, and missionary work. And then afterwards, we had training with President. We talked about Paris, and the refugees. And then we talked about how we can become better missionaries. More efficient. And then we talked about Christmas! New ideas, and the new Christmas initiative! Wooh! And then, we practiced with the other district in Innsbruck for the Christmas Conference. We played and song Joy to the World. It has a small twist on it. Its great! And then we eventually went home.

Frietag

On Friday, we went to Ansfelden to visit the Obermayr Family. Well, they invited us over for lunch. It was super good. We had a veggie strudel. Haha, yum! And it was raining! But then we walked back to Bahnhof. And then we had a lesson at the church with "M" and the Persians. It was great! We talked about prayer. We read from Enos. It was super fantastic and got some great comments in there from them.

Samstag

On Saturday, we went to Lichtenberg and helped Br. Ivanovski out with his house. We moved a ton of coal from his basement/ first floor to his garage. We were so dirty. But we got to see it snow for the first time here! It didn't stick, but oh well. And then we came home, and did weekly planning.

A little dirty after doing some service last week

Sonntag

Sunday was great! We had choir, which was awesome! And then we had the Primary Program. They talked about the Restoration and Faith and receiving an answer! It was super good and cute! And then we had some classes. In one of them, one of the Persians was asked about Faith. Well, he told that he knew 100% that Jesus was the Son of God and that the Book of Mormon was true! Wow, that was a special moment for me, because I taught them from the beginning. I was so honored, to be the instrument through which the Lord testified and taught His children! And then we went to the Vogl's house. It was great. We had homemade pizza. And then one of the kids had my iPad and took over 3.000 photos on it. Oh my...

Woche 74: "I Am But a Small Tool in This Work"

Woche 74: "I Am But a Small Tool in This Work"

 Montag 
 Monday, we went to the Haribo store here! Wooh! It was so much fun, haha. I felt like a little child in a candy store! They had these small buckets, and you could dispense candy into it! Then we went to the Vogl's house. We did Family Home Evening with them. It was super great. Had Knödel and stuff! 

Dienstag 
Tuesday, we went to Salzburg and had our Zone Training there. We talked about obedience to God, and not to man. They used an example using two belts. They formed a "V" At first, we can "please" both, but then it comes to a point where we can't please both. We have to choose, and a lot of these decisions of choosing, are small. Sometimes they are large decisions, but mostly small and personal decisions. We also spoke about love. Love, true and pure love, comes from and through Jesus Christ. When we truly learn to love our fellowmen, then we can really reach out to them with hands holding the Gospel. If we don't have that love, our hands are shaky and maybe willing to fail on the person willing to reach back. We need to have love! And then we spoke about the spirit. The spirit is the key to it all. I cannot convert someone past my own conversion. Actually, I can't convert any one at all!!! I am merely the means of creating an environment to where the spirit can convert. I am but a small tool in this work. The conversion is between the Lord and the person. I only tell them how to get the communication going. Well, it was a good meeting to say the least. And then we eventually made our way back to Linz. And then we had GMK. It was pretty good. 

Mittwoch 
 On Wednesday, we went dooring in Leonding. It was so beautiful there! It was a small tiny town right outside of Linz. It is on a small mountain, so we were high enough to see the whole sun setting over the Alps! Sunset over the Alps. Wow, it was breathtaking! The direction we were dooring was up! Haha, so our view kept getting larger and we could see a larger range of the Alps! Awesome! But, we went dooring. We actually knocked on one door, and she didn't have any pants on! What the! Haha, it was so weird! She went back in and put pants on though, so that was good! 

Donnerstag 
On Thursday, we were supposed to have a lesson with the Persians, but the member didn't show up, so we tried google translate. That didn't work. So we called the member, and it turns out that he had to work! So, that was our lesson pretty much! But, we had to take care of some training stuff for Elder Ashcroft on the iPad. So we did that. Check, and then we went back home to eat and do German study. Well, we then went out finding. We spoke to a ton of people on the streets! We talked to this super cool guy from the Dominican Republic! He was super cool, and faithful! He had some mighty interest in the Book of Mormon. It was awesome! He even took us over to a bench to talk, and then invited us over to his house some time! Then, we went home, and got 40 Books of Mormon! Wooh! 

 Freitag 
 Well, we tried to get Elder Ashcroft applied for his visa, but that didn't work. We got there, copied his documents, and then waited for like, ever! And then we finally got in, and she told us we needed an appointment for that, what we did was for small questions! We wasted so much time doing that! Literally an hour and a half! Well, I did have a super good conversation with somebody on the Straßenbahn! So that was good! And then we later met with "R" We talked about Baptism, and then invited him to follow his Savior! He said yes, and was super excited! He is not sure that he will be ready by the 13th of December, but we reassured him that God is always there helping! It was amazing! 

 Samstag bis Sonntag We did a service project out in the hills of Upper Austria! So pretty. You can see the entire city of Linz. But we destroyed the floor of this guy's place. He is renovating, big time. So that was fun. And then Sunday happened. Church was really good. Some good messages about Forgiveness and Christ. Met a new guy who came to church randomly from Syria. He has interest, so we will meet!

Woche 73: The Spirit really knows what he is doing!

Woche 73: The Spirit really knows what he is doing!

Montag

Monday was a normal P-day. Shop, and go finding...

Dienstag

So, Tuesday was a lot of fun. We had our first District Meeting of the new transfer. And more importantly, it was Elder Ashcroft's first on the mission! Wooh! Elder Carr is the new District Leader. We played a fun game using the Word of Wisdom (Church Health Code revealed by the Lord, D&C 89). It was jeopardy. There are some blessings that we forget, so it was a good reminder! And then we talked about how the Word of Wisdom has a partner, the Addiction Recovery Program. We can help others keep this commandment! No matter what, it is possible! But afterwards, we had German study at the church. It was pretty good. Bishop Vogl was there. So we talked with him for a little bit. He is awesome! And then we went out talking to some people on the streets! That was fun. And then we came back to teach some Iranians. Well, our joint-teach didn't come with them. And none of them could speak German and only one of them could speak English, but that still wasn't very good. So, we still had to teach... we taught the Plan of Salvation. We drew on the chalkboard and it actually went pretty well. Not bad for the communication barrier. (quick side note: I actually learned the Arabic numeral system a while back and Persian is almost exactly the same! Never thought that that would actually be useful, but the Lord thought otherwise!) But it was super good! And then we had GMK. It was pretty short, because Br. Ausobsky had another meeting afterwards. But it was still pretty good. And then we went out finding again!

Mittwoch

So Wednesday morning, we had a service project. We went to a members house to help move her stuff from the attic to the cellar. Well, we actually sat together in her apartment and the Senior Couple here. We sang two hymns quite loudly(she wanted them to be loud and joyous), and we actually sang one of them first in German, and then the second part in English... And then we read the scriptures to them, both in Psalms (really good ones!) and it was really good! A good reminder that our songs of praise are scriptural psalms and prayers! But then we drank some Orange Juice and went up to the cellar. We eventually got everything down and organized! Then we went home, did our studies and then went to the church for a lesson with "D". Well, he ended up not showing up. So that was sad, but we had to keep moving forward and we went out finding again.

Donnerstag

Thursday was a finding day. We went exploring as part of our finding. We found new parts of downtown and the city center. It was pretty cool. Talked to a ton of people and had some really good conversations about the Book of Mormon and how it is another testament of Jesus Christ. And then we eventually went to a member's house to teach his brother in-law who is pretty new here in Austria. They are from Iran. Well, we got there, and were talking to the member. Things were getting confusing, because he was talking about a woman, even though the person at church was a man. He was saying pregnant in German, which if you have a different accent and pronounce brother in-law wrong, then that is what comes out. That was just weird, and we so confused. But, we were waiting on our other joint-teach, a soon to be missionary. Well, we were trying our best to extend the conversation and then "D", the joint-teach, finally showed up. It was cleared that it was indeed his brother in-law coming, but he actually couldn't because he was at the dentist! So we just gave a spiritual thought based on the Restoration with them. And then we went out finding some more. We actually went dooring for the first time together! Elder Ashcroft is doing way awesome at just doing the work, in spite of the language!

Freitag

Friday, we finally got Elder Ashcroft registered in the city. Well, to be fair, we just got his papers that day! So we went to the Town Hall. And that was fun and pretty. And then we went finding before heading to the church to have a lesson with the Iranians. Well, this time "M", the member, showed up! At first it was only three guys who showed up, so we began teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We had a scripture to share at the end, after we were done teaching the initial lesson. Well, for whatever reason(the Spirit), we shared right off the bat after answering questions about what they read from previous lessons. Well, we read Alma 36 with them. We thought it might have been too intense, but it went super well! We just used Alma as our example for doing the lesson! It was amazing! The spirit really knows what he is doing! And then we took photos with each other and then went out finding.

Samstag

Saturday we had our Weekly Planning session. So we planned a ton of stuff for the coming week. Essentially, we planned on how we want to help specific people we are meeting with come closer to Christ. And then we went finding in downtown. We went all over the place. Talked to a ton of people. We then went out dooring. We went north of the Donau(Danube) and went farther up north. It was dark, but super pretty! We doored a ton, and then we got let in to some random person's house. Well, he couldn't speak any German or English. But we did help him with his heating, so that was good. And then we went farther down, and got let into some Afghani's house. He could speak a little German. But he believes strongly in Christ! It was awesome! Miracle for sure meeting him! And then we went dooring some more, and this guy walked past us. We said hi. And then when he was farther down, he kept looking back at us. We got let in, and I think he tried coming into the apartment building. Well, we got rejected, so we went back out. And then he went across the street and tried hiding next to a tree. Notice I said next to, not behind! Then he hid in a car staring at us! We walked by, and he shoved himself in between the seat and door and pretended to sleep!

Sonntag

Sunday was amazing! We had six people come to church! Miracle! And the lessons were all so good. All of the people there(the Sisters friends as well) loved it all! It was amazing! And then we later went to the Erlacher's house. They live somewhere beautiful! And their house is amazing! But we ate lunch with them and then came back home!

Awesome week!

Woche 72: Elder Ashcroft!!!

Woche 72: Elder Ashcroft!!!

Montag

On Monday, we went to a castle with the sisters! It is right next to the City Center!!! It was so pretty! And there was a teeter totter! Haha, it was fun! And it had a beautiful view of the Donau. And then afterwards we went to the Erlachers. They are so awesome! They were watching three cute little Egyptian kids. They were so adorable!!!

  

Dienstag

On Tuesday, we had our trainer conference call. It was fun. It made things a little bit more real. Then Elder McArthur and I went to the church early before district meeting. We had to set up a couple of things. And then district meeting finally began. We talked about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We acted it out with people and chairs and everything. And then for each step, we had people give talks/ preaching to us. It was awesome! And the spirit was strong as well.  Afterwards, we eventually met with "M" and his friends. We had a super good lesson about the Apostasy. And then we had GMK.

Mittwoch

Last day with Elder McArthur! It was crazy! We first were at the Obermayr families house for lunch with the Grahams. They made something Serbian/Austrian apparently... Well, it was super delicious! And their conversion story is so awesome! That'll be a story when I get back.  And then we went to the church for a lesson with "M" again. We gave an overview of the Restoration. It was super awesome! So, then we got some music from Iris, a member, and then headed off to "R's" house. He is doing so much better now, not sick... He gave us bracelets that he made himself and then we taught the restoration lesson. The spirit was so strong!

Donnerstag

Transfer day! I was in Salzburg and it was crazy! And then Elder Ashcroft came in!!! We finally met! He is so awesome!!! He is from Hurricane Utah! We finally went back to Linz and went by on a referral(member). It was a small joke, Elder Ashcroft contacted her, we even made out an appointment. But she busted up laughing, and then we all started to laugh. It was way good. And then we went out finding! It was so awesome! I love Elder Ashcroft to death! He is so cool!

Freitag

Friday, we had a Service project. We helped tear up a ton of weeds! Like, a billion of them! And  we had a lesson with "M" at the church. We taught the restoration a little deeper! They are loving it!!! And Elder Ashcroft did amazing! Really, it was awesome! And then we met with "D" for the first time! It was pretty awkward...but the spirit was still there, and it was fine.

 

 

 

Samstag

Saturday we did weekly planning and stuff. And then we went out finding, super pretty day. And then we went over to "S" house and talked to him. He is doing so well! Just can't come to church because of work. And then we went to the Grahams. Dinner was so good, and they are awesome!

Sonntag

Sunday was fantastic. Got to know some more members. And "R" came! Wooh! It was great! And Elder Ashcroft gave a super great testimony! Well, I dont have anymore time! Sorry! Bye!