Christmas Time!!!!

Note from Mom: This letter made me cry because I could feel her spirit so
 strongly. Wow! what a message to get for Christmas. 

So on the list of things I learned this week, I learned that I am actually learning to speak Frankisch. It's an accent/dialect of German, and it's actually kind of cool. So I currently live in the state of Bayern (Bavaria for all you English speaking friends) and I was told that in Bayern, everyone speaks Bayerisch. Turns out that's wrong. Bayern used to be two states, but is now one after some wars and Napoleon messing around with borders and all of that. The short version is that the northern part of Bayern used to be "independent" and had it's own dialect and then was forced into Bayern. So, if you live in the north, you speak the old dialect which is Frankisch. If you live in the south, you speak Bayerisch. And if you live in 
the middle, you get in a lot more arguments about who should speak what. It's kind of cool. Also really confusing because the word for 'roll' (like a bread roll) is 'brötchen.' But in Frankisch, it's 'weckla.' They're not even close to each other, but that's how it goes. Also, of somebody tells you that weckla is actually a Swedish term, they're wrong. It's Frankisch, thank you very much.

Anyways, it's been a really good week. The Bayreuth Elders had a baptism in our church building on Saturday that started an hour late because nobody knew how to start the water in the font. But, we got it figured out, and there is now a new member of the church here in Deutschland! His name is Prosper and he's African and super cool. It was a really special thing to get to see him dressed in white and be so excited to be baptized. Unfortunately, Sis. Knutson and I had an appointment and couldn't stay for the baptism. But we found out from our lovely investigator, Zeynep, that his first words after coming up out of the water were, "I made it! I made it!" How cool is that??? It brings me so much joy whenever I hear about people being so excited for baptism, and truly understanding that it is not just a thing we do to make you a member of our church. It is a remission of your sins and a chance to start all over with a clean slate. It's amazing, and if I'm so happy for Prosper without knowing him that much, I can't imagine our Heavenly Father's joy right now. His son has found the truth and is now on the path that will take him back to God. That is amazing. There really is no other way to describe it.

Sis. Knutson and I had a fantastic lesson with Zeynep the other day. She asked us about tithing and how do we pay it and what is it used for. SHE asked US. The law of tithing is usually a really hard thing for a lot of investigators, and she requested a lesson with us so she could ask about how to pay it! Then, she told us that when she gets paid next, she wants us to help her pay it since she's never done it before!!!! It is super crazy!!!! Really, that girl just needs to enter the waters of baptism. That's all she needs. She even asked us about callings and how they work and if we have to have a calling in the church. This girl melts my heart every time we meet with her. She brings us snacks when we have street displays, and she goes street contacting with us. She is absolutely, 100% amazing. Speaking of amazing, we went caroling with the young adults on Wednesday. Oh. My. Goodness. It was, without a doubt, the best experience on my mission thus far. We were just going around the Christkindlesmarkt and singing and handing out cards. It wasn't anything too special. But, it was special because the Spirit was SO strong. There were a few people who were really touched and they waited until after we finished singing and then waited for us to go talk to them. There was one man in particular who I remember who just kept telling me that we had sung beautifully and it "Really was beautiful." It was amazing, and I loved it. Never before have I heard a group of people who most of whom have never really sung in a choir setting before and have limited musical experience, sing so well so fast. We had divine help, and it was beautiful.

While we were caroling, I got to help one of our new converts give out a card. It was really cool, because he is a native German speaker, and I am not. But I managed to say everything correctly and help him give out his first card! It was so cool! Plus, he is a super cool guy. He's taught a few Sunday school lessons and for being so new, he tackles hard doctrines and teaches it clearly, and simply. He is super cool. Also Turkish. Like literally everyone here. I'm hoping by the end of my mission I might actually teach someone German. But, I'll teach whoever the Lord needs me to. And love every moment of it. Because I do. :)

The only thing I do not love right now, is Star Wars. It's kind of hard to focus when on December 17, you are doing a street display and one of the stores right across the way from your street display has two MASSIVE posters for Episode 7 on the front. It was kind of distracting. BUT, I contacted more people that day then I have ever before. Mostly because the best distraction is work. And missionary work is work. So it ended up working out okay, and I am officially tided over until March two years from now.

Sis. Knutson has her flight plans for when she goes home. It's weird. We're trying not to think about her going home, but then we end up making lots of jokes about it. So.... I don't know. She is super awesome, and I'm going to miss her. But this kind of how missions work. You get to know and love someone, and then they leave. It's fine. This is why email was invented.

I love you all, and I hope you know how much I appreciate your love and prayers. I can feel them and I know there is no way I could have made it this far without them. Also, God is amazing. We learned at Zone Conference this week that we should remember to be humble and not brag or compare ourselves to others. But we can brag about God. Alma 26:11-12 - 11 But Ammon said unto him: I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God. 12 Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.

Ammon said I can brag about God, so I will. There is no way I could be here without relying on Him. I am eternally grateful for His hand in my life. We've run into a few of our investigators at such seemingly random times, but I know it was Him. It's amazing, and the longer I'm here, the more I recognize His influence. It is a very humbling thing as well as a very hopeful thing. God is literally giving us help all day, every day. If that's not love, then I don't know what is. I love you all, and I hope you have a wonderful day, and an amazing week!!!
Love Always,
Sis. John

P.S. Thank you, family, for the Christmas package. Sis. Knutson made me have someone else open it to make sure that the things inside were wrapped and that I wouldn't get to peek at what get were. But now the presents are under our tiny tree (courtesy of Sis. Knutson's sister) and our apartment is looking more and more festive. Thanks a ton, and I'm sorry all of your gifts will be late. But I really can't speak German well enough to even buy a stamp, much less send a package. I'll get on it really soon though. Promise.

Speaking of Speaking in German ...

As her mom, I want to thank those who follow Sierra's letters. I appreciate hearing from you and that you enjoy reading this, that you're interested in what she is doing. Please feel free to comment in the blog. This will be a record for Sierra after she returns home as well as an update for us while she is serving.

No descriptions with these pictures, and no Sierra, but the scenes are pretty.

Some people have been asking about my language skills and how they are coming. I think I neglected to mention last week that I had to give a talk Sunday. As in yesterday. As in, I am lucky to be alive. I found out two weeks ago when Sis. Knutson volunteered me when our Second Councilor in the Bishopric asked if one of the missionaries would like to give a talk. So, I ended up preparing a talk. Apparently I looked sick this morning because two people in the ward asked if I was feeling alright this morning. Fun fact: I wasn't. But, it was okay. I said some (a lot of) prayers, and fasted that I would be able to get the spirit of message of across.

In case I haven't mentioned it before, I believe in the Gift of Tongues. And I believe that there is no way that I could have given the talk I did without divine help that came through the Gift of Tongues. It was truly amazing, and I'm super glad it went okay. I got to talk about the second great commandment, love one another, and I related it to service. I read a primary song, read a bit out of the Liahona (because the Ensign doesn't exist in Europe), and then bore a very quick testimony because my courage was running out and my vocabulary with it. All-in-all though, it was so good, and I am so grateful for the opportunity. Hopefully, I won't have to repeat that experience anytime soon. But if I do, I know it will be easier because I did it today. That's all the proof I need.

This week, I have a picture. The woman in this picture is Schwester Falk. Let me tell you a bit about this woman. She is the German equivalent of Aunt Connie, and I love her. Every appointment with her, you automatically add at least 45 minutes, if not a full hour onto the appointment time. She loves to talk and she will talk about everything. She talks about her grandkids, her husband, her past, her health problems (of which there are many), and everything in between. But she is so spunky, and honest, and loves meeting with the missionaries. Which works out because we love meeting with her! Because of her health, it is hard for her to leave the house. She recently got a statement saying that she is 80% handicapped because of her health. She can't see very well, and had to go to the hospital for a kidney stone that was causing some serious problems. She has a lot of health problems that make it very easy for her to ask God a lot of "why me?" questions. But does she ask these questions? Yeah, sometimes. But she always asks them knowing that she'll understand later. If you want a physical definition of faith, I would say it is Schwester Falk. Because even though her life is hard, and her health is not the greatest, she always has time to meet with us and tell us stories about her life and how she came to know the church and the gospel are true and how holding the standards of the church have helped her life (She told us a story about when she worked with the army after World War 2. She had soldiers staying in her home and they could have parties but no alcohol. A lot of the soldiers that she stayed in contact with told her they were the most fun parties they had while in Germany.). Most of the time after we've met with her, I feel like we're the ones who were uplifted and not her! But, I know it goes both ways. She is just super cool, and she really does remind me of Aunt Connie. When Sch. Falk asks you for something or asks you to do something, you say, "yes ma'am" and then you do it. No questions asked. But really, she is super cool, and I love meeting with her.

Speaking of awesome lessons, we had a super cool one with a less-active couple in the ward. They're called the Foster's, and they're super cool. The lesson we had with them was great. We brought he Relief Society President, Sch. Kirzinger, with us and we taught the Restoration. It was so cool though, because when we got to the end of the lesson and Sis. Knutson, Sch. Kirzinger, and I were all bearing our testimonies, we put so much emphasis on the Book of Mormon even though we didn't focus on that this lesson. Sis. Foster's son, Kai, was there and he's not a member. Last week he was there for the lesson and we challenged him to read one verse out of the Book of Mormon every day. He didn't do it, and he tried to play it off as "whatever" and like it was no big deal. But after Sch. Kirzinger shared her conversion story and how much the Book of Mormon has helped her life and helped her be a better person (which is what Kai is trying to do right now), I think he really started to pay attention and feel the Spirit. It was so cool. So, we recommitted him to read one verse a day. 7 seconds. By the way, when you tell people it only takes 7 seconds to read one verse and that they only have to read one verse a day (to begin with, of course), it makes them feel really embarrassed for saying they didn't have time or couldn't find time to read their scriptures. Elder Hatch, our illustrious District Leader, said that the best missionaries are sneaky. So, we are sneaky. Ha ha ha. :) Anyways, back to the Foster's. I am super excited for our appointment next week. It's going to be so good!


Well, I think that's it for this week. Sis. Knutson and I are going to spend today walking around the Christkindlmarkt again. Last week, since so many missionaries were leaving because of transfers, we ended up standing on a bridge and talking to everyone whilst waiting for the Zone Leaders for 45 minutes. It was kind of boring, but also fun. We did buy some tiny snowmen to decorate our apartment. They are adorable. And they're handmade and were only like, €5. That was super cool! I love it here. The food is delicious (which is a problem because we do go running in the morning but not nearly enough to make the difference I need to counteract all of the delicious chocolate), the buildings are beautiful, I can kind of speak German, and the people are actually super nice. They don't look nice all the time. In fact, most of the time they look angry. But when you actually talk to them, they're really nice. It's really great, and I really love that.

I also really love the opportunities I've had to feel God's love for His children while I've been here. Some of the new Elders in my district are kind of hard for me to get along with and I was really struggling to love them which was a problem because we had a street display and spent a lot of time working with them and when you don't love someone, it makes it really hard to work with them and not be angry. So, with a lot of prayer and asking for help, I have been able to see how special they are and how much they matter to our Father in Heaven. Which, doesn't change them. It doesn't change their personality, or the things they do and say that bother me. But it does change me. And that's what this Gospel is about. Working with God and His Son, Jesus Christ, to change ourselves and become better so that we can come closer to Christ and return to live with our Father in Heaven. Which, ultimately, is the goal. And I am so thankful for that and the opportunity I have to share that knowledge with others. Even if it a little bit hard sometimes. I just do my best, and God makes up the rest.
I love you all, and I hope you are having a great day, and a fantastic week!
Liebe Grüße!
Sis. John

P.S. When I say "sister" before someone's name, that means that they speak English and are a member of the church. When I say "Schwester" it is because they are German. I will try and specify when the sisters are member or sister missionaries.

SO MANY WEIHNACHTSMARKTS

She sent a couple of pictures of her advent calendars (chocolate, of course) but I don't feel the need to post them unless I get requests.

But we're not actually going to a Weihnachtsmarkt today. We're going to the Christkindlmarkt in Nürnberg. I am so excited! I have developed a deep love for Kinder Punsch (kid punch) which is a spicy, warm drink that is delicious! Imagine how Christmas smells, and then imagine that smell in a warm, delicious drink, and that's Kinder Punsch. Plus, every Weihnachtsmarkt has a different cup that you get when you buy a drink. So far I have mugs from Rothenburg and Ansbach. Today I get the Nürnberg mug! I am so excited!

This week was.... Really slow as far as work goes. We had to drop a few people because we've been trying to meet with them for over a month now and they keep ditching us at the last minute. It's really sad and I wish we didn't have to do it. But, it will be okay. I know that the Lord has a plan for them and that they will find their way to the knowledge of the restored Gospel eventually. It just seems that they're not quite ready for it yet, and we're not the right missionaries for them. That's okay. Some missionary in the future will see their name and teach them and then they'll be baptized and it will be great!

Transfers were this week. One of our Zone Leaders, Elder Taylor, is leaving. He got called to go be a Zone Leader in Frankfurt. I honestly can't remember the name of our new Zone Leader, but we should get to meet him on Wednesday at District Meeting. Which will be interesting with two new people. Elder Hatch (our lovely District Leader) is getting a new companion because Elder Keck is getting transferred to Michelstadt which is it the Frankfurt zone. It's fine. I was warned by my teachers that a mission is basically a year and a half (or two years) of endless goodbyes. It's fine. This is why email was invented.

We had breakfast with Zeynep and Caroline this week. We had a good, German breakfast and it was delicious. Lots of bread, butter, and jam. Caroline is from Kenya and tries to go back to visit her family every year. She also goes to restock on spices and her favorite foods. One of them being a delicious strawberry jam. I have altered my shopping list, and Sis. Knutson and I got rolls and jam this morning so we can have some for breakfast instead of just cereal and/or yogurt. Not that either of those is bad. It's just that the rolls were better.

Anyways, we haven't had lunch yet. I think that's why I keep talking about food and such. We did get some apples today, but they're so we can make more apple crisp. We've made it twice this past week. Once for the ward picnic, and then again so we could give some to the Ansbach (On-s-bock) Elders at their street display on Thursday. We also gave some to the Zone Leaders, and they returned the favor by giving us a pan of pumpkin spice muffins. They were super good, and I think we should keep the good food chain going. Though now that Elder Taylor is leaving that might be hard. He is the best cook out of all of us.

We have a few member appointments set up this week so we can encourage them to use the new initiative and invite friends to our ward party and Christmas Eve service. What we're planning on doing is asking them to think of one or two people they can talk to, and he writing down those names while we watch the video for this year. The, we give them a few cards and challenge them to go and ask those people to come to the Christmas Party or watch the video. It can be kind of scary, but it's also really good.

If I may, I'd like to invite all of you to do the same. Watch the video, then share it with a friend. It can be as easy as just sharing it on Facebook (though I do consider that cheating), or going and talking to someone about what you believe and what Christ means to you. Don't be afraid to get outside of your comfort zone and take a chance. I know the Lord will give you the words you need to say the moment you need them. Just believe that He will help you and do it. We just have to start the process. Then the Lord and the Spirit make up the rest.

I love you all so very much and I hope that you are enjoying this Christmas season as much as I am. Have a great day, and a fantastic week!

Love Always,
Sis. John

Thanksgiving Pictures

Sis. Knutson and Sis. Jackson

Sis. John and Sis. Knutson

Our Root Beer Tower - So Proud!

Elder Wiley - Being himself

Sis. John - also being herself.

Ein Erretter ist Geboren

Sierra sent some pictures from her Thanksgiving. I will put them in a separate posting.


Okay. If you haven't watched the Christmas video from the church for this year, GO WATCH IT. It is absolutely amazing. All the missionaries are super excited because as of yesterday, we get to start using the video and the cards in our proselyting efforts!!! It's super cool. I'm really excited.

Yesterday, I got to spend some time playing with three little girls in our ward. They're the daughters of the old GML (Gemeindemissionsleiter - Ward Mission Leader) and the oldest is Maria Agnes and she is 5 years old and her best friend is Emily and she is excited to get to play with her tomorrow. She and her sisters are adorable. And we spent about 15 minutes sitting in the missionary office (which we lovingly refer to as the Fishbowl because there is a wall made of windows where all the ward members can look in and see how clean (or messy) the missionaries are and whether we're actually working right not. We work. So much. But we try not to do it there because missionary work is not office work.) passing a ball back and forth and in a circle between three of us. The youngest wandered off at one point after helping me clean up a stack of pamphlets. She was super adorable, because she's about 1 1/2 - 2 years old, but she had to make sure the stack was perfect and that all the right pamphlets were together in the right places. Then we talked about how Mary was the Mama of Jesus because she started pulling the Joy to the World DVDs off the shelf and giving them to me. Then her sisters came in and started playing ball and she didn't want to, so she wandered off and found her mom. Those little girls made my day. They taught me how to play Peek-a-boo auf Deutsch (you say Cuckoo instead of peek-a-boo), and they were super cute, and thought it was really funny when I would ask them the name of something in German. It was so great. I love them a ton. 

It's snowed a few times. It's always been less than an inch and then it melts and just leaves everything wet and sad. Supposedly there is actually a lot of snow out in the world around Nürnberg, but that's outside of where we live and actually go. So for us it's mostly just a ton of rain. Like today. Everything is wet and there are rivers running down all the sidewalks. And we're going back to Rothenburg for Weihnachtsmarkts today. Yay! It's going to be so much fun! *She said with absolutely no sarcasm whatsoever* Really, it will be a ton of fun because a ton of missionaries from our district are going to be there and we're going to walk around together and talk and I'm going to go buy a letter opener and life will be good. Elder Wiley and I will geek out together and Sis. Jackson will join us. Sis. Peterson and I will have a deep conversation about Percy Jackson, and then we're all going to write The Hitchhiker's Guide to Having A Nerdy Companion. Because Elder Morris (Elder Wiley's companion) and Sis. Knutson just don't get it so I offered to write a guide to all the things we talk about. The title was actually Sis. Knutson's idea, so that's fantastic. She is nerdy, but in a computer science way. She really enjoys programming and learning and giving people the Myer-Biggs Personality Test. She is one of a kind, and she is amazing.

We talked to the Bishop and his wife. Mostly his wife because she's English and speaks English so that makes it really easy. She's also the Young Women's president, which is why we talked to her since Zeynep is starting Personal Progress. If she really gets into it, we're going to see if she can get called as Young Women's secretary to help keep her involved, and help her to get to know ,ore of the ward. She loves the missionaries, and we love her! But she needs to know that if something happens and she can't live at home anymore, or something bad happens and her family isn't there to support her, the ward is. Because they will be. She just doesn't know that yet. But she will. Starting next week we're going to start having dinner with families in the ward eve week and Zeynep is going to come with us. Because she mentioned she wants to serve a mission so it's going to be "training." But it's actually to help her get to know the ward and feel more comfortable with the members. I have faith.

Speaking of the ward, there is this fantastic lady named Sis. Kreuzmair. She is the Family History consultant, and she loves her job. She also has a super strong testimony. We asked to come to a lesson with Elena, our favorite no-longer-atheist. Sis. Kreuzmair was super bold and was really great about telling Elena that the reason she wasn't getting answers was because she wasn't open to the answers God was giving her. She also testified super strongly about how you need to be baptized so you can feel the Holy Ghost all the time. We were afraid that she might have offended Elena, but it was actually really good. Elena is just the kind of person who needs someone to tell her and not take no for an answer. And Sis. Kreuzmair was the person. I'm really excited for our next lesson with her. Overall, this week wasn't super eventful. A lot of our lessons fell out, and it was kind of frustrating, but it's okay. This week will be better. We have some new goals set, and lots of good things planned. We have a lesson every day this week! It's going to be so good! 

I love you all, and I really hope that you're having an amazing day. I would encourage you all to watch the Christmas video, and to think of how the knowledge of our Savior has changed your life. Because starting on Sept. 16 of this year, that's what I get to do every day. I get to go and tell people all about how He has changed my life and made it better. And the answer is that there isn't a way He hasn't made my life better. I know that when I make a mistake, I can repent and do better. I know that because He died for all of us and was then resurrected, that I can be resurrected and live with my family again. And because He was born, we get to share this incredible message with the world and help them to know and develop a relationship with their Savior, Jesus Christ. I think that's pretty darn cool. I love you. And I really truly hope that as we all go into this Christmas season, that we can feel the love that our Savior has for each and every one of us.

Have a great day, and a fantastic week!
Love Always,
Sis. John

Sierra's Mission Address for packages

Sister Sierra John
Kirche Jesu Christi
Corneliusstrasse 18
60325 Frankfurt am Main
Deutschland/Germany

A Month in Gerrmany and It's Still Not Christmas!

Mom's note: She is asking for recipes, so feel free to email her recipes. I will send the biscuit recipe. Who knows, she might even be able to get lard in Germany. Oh, she sent her mission address last week for any packages or special letters. I will add it into the blog.

The Weinachtsmarkts are setting up hard core. Meine gute. I can't handle it. Sis. Knutson has been playing SO MUCH Christmas music. But not so many hymns. We're starting those specifically the last two weeks of December so that we won't be sick of them. Not that I'll get sick of my favorite Christmas hymn. You know why? Because "Silent Night" is only sung on Christmas Eve here. No other time. Yeah. Not super jazzed about that. But, It will be good because we're doing a Christmas service at the church on Christmas Eve. That is also a thing we do here and I am so excited! It's going to be so good. It snowed on Sunday. We woke up and there was snow on the ground. It had mostly melted by the time we left for church and had completely melted by the night time, but it was there. If it was 6 inches of white, fluffy snow, I'd probably be happy. But considering it's just sad, wet, can't even play in it snow, I am not terribly impressed. But it's fine. Hopefully we'll have some time to get some boots today so that will be good. Also, more tights. Which come in literally every shade and color here. It's crazy.

Speaking of winter clothing, please do not send me Ellie's coat. I have a coat now and I like it very much. It has a nice, warm hood and lots of pockets. It's fantastic and long(ish) and warm and I like it very much. It was also less than €80, so that was even better. Okay, so this week we invited one of our investigators to be baptized on the 26th. She told us she would pray about it and get back to us after church on Sunday. Well, we talked to her after church and it basically turned into the three of us (Sis. Knutson, our investigator, and I) all crying. Our investigator is so nice and so good and has such a strong testimony. And she wants nothing more than to be baptized. But her family and home situation sucks. There is no other way to explain it. So for the time being, she can't be baptized. Not yet. But because she isn't baptized, she feels like she isn't worthy
to come participate in church. When someone asks if she will give the opening prayer in Relief Society, she says no because she feels like she shouldn't just because she isn't baptized. Which is crazy! She has a stronger testimony than most people I've met in Utah! Which, sorry friends, but it is true. If you could meet this girl, you would understand. And maybe you will. Because she wants to serve a mission after she's baptized. Can you believe that??? She is incredible. And even though her family situation is not good, and she doesn't know  what to do, she KNOWS that God has a plan for her, and her family. And
she knows that He is watching out for her and that everything is happening for a reason because it is part of His plan. That's how strong her faith is. That's how amazing she is.
But, she has a hard time believing that she is that amazing and that she really is a beautiful daughter of God full of divine potential. So, Sis. Knutson and I are going to start working through the Personal Progress Program with her. Which is great, because Sis. Knutson never earned her medallion, and I always wanted to earn my Honor Bee. I know
I really can't now, but it will be fun to do again. Especially since we'll still be focusing on Preach My Gospel and the lessons there. But I just know that she'll love it. I'm so excited for her.

Along with the Personal Progress, I was wondering if maybe you could get the ribbons for it and then send them to me? Zeynep is the kind of person who really likes those sorts of things, so it would mean a ton to her if she could get a ribbon every time she finishes a value. If not, it's fine. We could get them over here, but since the temple is closed, the temple store is closed. So that makes it hard to get a lot of things. Like scripture cases and paper scriptures (auf Deutsch) and all that stuff. It's possible. Just a little bit slower than I would like. But that's just because I'm impatient, so that's not new.

Sis. Knutson has a flash drive with tons of music on it that we play all the time because we can plug it into the DVD player we use to watch the church DVDs we use for lessons and comp. study. There's this one song that we have been listening to like, 20 times a day. It's so good. And I want to write a guard show to it. Seriously, I have uniforms picked out, and a spot for the flag feature and props and dance features. It's crazy. But it's great. Sis. Knutson keeps laughing at me every time I talk about it, but it's fine. It's good to get it out. Plus, I might be leading a youth activity regarding color guard for the young women here when it gets a warm again. It will probably just be a dance thing because we don't have flags or anything (you cannot send my rifle, Dad), but it will be good.

I've started stretching every day in an attempt to try and keep my flexibility. Also, Sis. Knutson really likes running. I do not. It is literally my least favorite form of exercise. But, we go running in the mornings. It's easier because we run to the river (because there's a river that runs through the middle of the city. That's a thing) and then run around the park there. It's really pretty, and not too far. So it works out. I still don't like running, but it's good for me. And with all the chocolate we've been eating, it's necessary.

Hey Mom, can I have your recipe for biscuits? There's a less-active couple we've been teaching and Brother Foster mentioned last time that he couldn't find any self-rising flour to make really fluffy biscuits for biscuits and gravy. So I told him I'd ask for your recipe and then try it out and maybe bring some to Thanksgiving. So yeah. I would super appreciate it. 

Speaking of Thanksgiving, we already have two appointments for that day. One with the the Fosters for a lunch, and then dinner with the Young Adults and investigators at the church. I am so excited. But I don't know what to make because we are supposed to bring a side dish or dessert to share. Ideas? If you have any ideas on what I should make, I'd love to hear it. I'd also like a recipe to go with it. I've realized that I can cook and do stuff and alter recipes. But I need a recipe to start with. So yeah. Please feel free to send me some
recipes. Please. Elder Taylor and I are having a competition to see who can cook better and I can't let a 19 year old punk show me up. Even if he is Zone Leader. I have to prove that even though I can't speak to people, I can do some useful things. So please send me some recipes.

I'm planning on actually sending some pictures today. If I remember to use the computer/have a chance to before we leave. I took a few from our trip to Rothenburg the other day. It was so cool!

We went to a museum that was all about medieval torture. To be honest, I did not like it. The entire place felt off and it made me feel actually sick. Then they had a real Iron Maiden and that was the creepiest thing I have ever seen in my life. Like, twisting limbs off and crushing fingers wasn't bad enough, here's a glorified box of sadness, murder, and evil! That part was not good. Thankfully, we finished walking through shortly thereafter and left. After that, the trip got a lot of fun. We walked through a bunch of different shops. Rothenburg has a lot of tourist shops, but it also has a lot of super cool specialty shops. Like a four story Christmas shop. We didn't have time to go through that one, but we're going back in a few weeks. One shop we did get to go through was this super cool
medieval shop. They sell swords, have a Sword in the Stone, and are super cool! There was even a dungeon with a display of knights playing dice games. It was so cool. I'm going to go buy a letter opener next time that looks like Robin Hood's sword. I would buy the sword, but it's too big to fit in my suitcase. It's fine. I'll just get the letter opener. And possibly a pocket knife. Almost definitely a pocket knife. I haven't had one for almost 3 months now and I don't feel right without one. Good thing Swiss Army knives are literally
EVERYWHERE here. And now they're tons cheaper. It's fantastic. So, this is super long. But it's fine. This week has been really good. It's finally cold and that makes me kind of sad, but that also means that Christmas is coming and it's going to be so good! We got to watch
the Christmas Initiative video from the church this year at Zone Training. I am so excited for you to see it. November 29! It's coming!

I love you all, and I hope you're having an awesome week. It has been so cool to see how he Gospel helps the people we teach. Whether it's by providing comfort through the knowledge that everything happens for a reason and that God has a plan for us, or by helping us making better choices, or just knowing that God is there and He really does
care. It's so cool to see these people come to realize that the things that we teach are true and then see how that changes their lives for the better. It's so great. I love it, and I love the people we teach. I also love Germany, which is pretty good considering I'm stuck here for a little bit. ;)

I love you! Please have a fantastic day and an even better week!
Love,
Sis. John

Just a Quick Note from Mom

Sierra sends things in bits and pieces, so this picture came through after the letter. Those who know her will totally understand the expression, for those who don't quite understand, that is a Kinder Egg she is holding. Chocolate, toy, totally unavailable in the U.S., - what's not to be excited about?

The Weekly Norm is.... Miracles, Apparently

This week I learned that what Sis. Knuston and I have been doing is miraculous. I just thought it was normal. We had our weekly call-ins with our District Leader last night and we talked about our goals and our numbers this week in comparison with our goals. Elder Hatch (the District Leader) said that he is super impressed with what we've been
able to accomplish amd how many people we've been able to teach in the last 3 weeks. He and Sis. Knuston agreed that it has been miraculous. So..... Now I'm left wondering what a regular week looks like? Because we've had a lot of days where we only teach one lesson a day. And that doesn't look like success to me. But, apparently it is for his area.
So yeah. That's been a thing.

Speaking of miracles, here's something that isn't. We had Stake Conference this weekend and our investigator, Elena said that she would totally come with us. Then we called her the morning of to double check what time we would meet at the church and she said that she had changed her mind. Yeah. That sucked. But! We met Maxine, one
of our other investigators, on the train over to Erlangen where the meeting was! We hadn't even gotten a yes or a no from her on whether she was going or not, so it was super exciting! Then she kind of fell asleep during the first hour of the meeting.... But she paid attention for the rest of it after I woke her up. Sis. Knuston and I are really hoping that she got something out of that meeting. Hopefully.

It was a really good week. We got a surprise lesson with Gabriella and her mom that we weren't expecting. But it was so good, and Sis. Teleraru said that she would be really busy for the next little while as they're moving, but that we should call and she will do her best to find times for us to meet. It was so good, and I actually understood her this time! Last time we meet I'd only been here for a few days and it was really hard. Now it's still kind of hard, but tons easier than it was.

The rule at Sis. Knuston and I have come up with is that if they speak German and I can understand them, we know that German is not their first language. But it's alright. I talked to this cool guy from Italy the other day. He asked me where I was from and how long I'd been learning German. I told him I'd been learning it for just over 7 weeks and he was super impressed. Elder Taylor was actually able to give him a Book of Mormon because of that, so it was super neat.

Street displays are tons of fun. Also, chalking. Which is exactly what it sounds like. We go out, find a nice spot and then draw the Plan of Salvation or a question that we're focusing on asking, or whatever on the sidewalk in chalk. It's a lot of fun, and it gets a lot of people to stop and look at what you're doing. Then another missionary comes in and asks them if they've heard of the plan of happiness and then they're hooked. It's a lot of fun. It's just getting too cold to go
out and do it. Next week is supposed to be really cold, so I'm excited. Elder Keck and I had a conversation at the street display two days ago when Sis. Knuston and I had to go buy her some tights because she was freezing. I was fine, and so was Elder Keck. We had a great discussion about winter camp outs gone awry and how much we love layering. I've discovered I can wear socks underneath my tights, so that's super helpful. 

All-in-all, it feels like we haven't done much this week. I know that we're working, but it really doesn't feel like work. It just feels like Visiting Teaching on steroids. Which really isn't that hard. The only hard thing has been trying to figure out how to get Zeynep baptized. But we're going to have a lesson on temples and how we can't go to the temple until after we're baptized. So hopefully that will help.

I love you! Each and every one of you! You are all amazing, wonderful people. Never forget that you are doing better than you think you are.Because you are doing wonderfully well. Don't forget that.
Love Always,
Sis. John