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.