I'm sorry, I'm going where now???

First off, sorry about last week. The internet at the church crashed and then we didn't have time to go anywhere else for emails and then the internet came back but then crashed again after like, a minute. It was crazy. But it's over now, so it's fine.

Anyways, transfers were this last weekend! I am really.... something. It's a misch of excited, happy, terrified, worried, and just plain WAT-ness. I'm still a Sister Training Leader but instead of staying in Nürnberg (which I wish I was, but I'm not :( ), I'm going to FRANKFURT. Literally, one of the coolest places in the mission. I'm pumped, but I'm also really sad. It will be fine.

Sunday was a super sad day because the senior missionary couple (Mike and Renee' Hart) who have been here for the past eighteen months go homeon Tuesday and it was their last Sunday and my last Sunday and we had Gemeinde Essen and it was basically just a lot of time for us all to spend time crying together. I took my camera and got pictures (but then left the cable at home because I'm super smart like that) and they are literally my most prized possessions here in Deutschland. I never want to forget these people who are so incredibly amazing and have influenced my testimony so much. I realized on Sunday that even though I've had a bit of a hard time these last two transfers, I still did a ton of good. I just didn't get to see a lot of it. I think that's how a lot of what we do in the church goes. We work hard to teach in Relief Society or Primary and visit everyone on our Visiting Teaching and Home Teaching lists and a lot of the time, it seems like we're not doing anything that's helping anyone. What we can't see is the behind-the-scenes stuff, like the years of Home Teaching to a less-active that lead to their reactivation, and a kid who grows up and gains a testimony because of the things that they learned from their Primary teacher.

 

This is what I learned on Sunday as I talked to all the friends I made here in Nürnberg and they all told me how much they would miss me and how much good I had done here. I never saw all the things that they said I did for them, but I guess they never saw all the good things they did for me. It was a great learning moment, and I know that I have been blessed to serve here in Nürnberg for so long. I'm going to miss it, but Frankfurt is going to be a grand adventure, so I'm pumped. :)

As far as the week goes, I said goodbye to as many of our investigators as I could. I also have emails for a lot of them and have been requested that I stay in touch, so I think that I'll have to start writing an english and german letter now. If these letters start getting shorter, that's why.

I'm really going to miss one of our investigators in particular. Her name is Elena, and at the start of my mission she was the most stubborn and annoying investigator out of all of them because she had been meeting with the sisters so long and she wasn't progressing and it was just FRUSTRATING. But now, she's one of our best investigators who is SO CLOSE to baptism. She has made leaps and bounds over the past 2-3 months and has gained a testimony of God being her loving Heavenly Father (she was atheist before), the Holy Ghost being a guide and comforter for her life (she refused to believe that such a thing existed before), and the Book of Mormon being the word of God and being relevant to her personally (she thought it was just history at the beginning). She has been a miracle of my mission and I am going to miss her so much.

Zeynep was really hard to say goodbye to, and I'm going to have to do it again tomorrow morning when I get on the train because she wants to come and say goodbye for real. Apparently all the pictures and tears on Sunday wasn't real. It's fine. I love her so much and I am so glad that I got to stay long enough to see her baptized. She is going to become such a strong member. I'm just waiting for her to become a member of the Relief Society Presidency in Nürnberg. :)

For P-Day today, we went and bought Dirndls!!!! I finally got on on my last day in Bayern. Go figure. But, it's super pretty and I'm really excited to be able to wear it. I would put it on and take pictures but..... It's also raining today. Like, we have had two SUPER AWESOME thunderstorms in the last week with lightning and rain and thunder and I was SO HAPPY. Then, today as we were leaving the church it started raining a bit so we started walking a little bit faster to the U-bahn station. Then, it started POURING. Like, Southern Thunderstorm huge droplets of water that just soak through all your clothes in one hit and there were TONS of them. It was definitely the brightest point of today. :)

So, long story short, I would wear my Dirndl and take a picture and show y'all, but I am still soaked. And my Dirndl is actually really nice, and I am really excited to be able to wear it on a P-Day in the near future.

My district here is so much fun. Definitely the most fun I have had on my entire mission up to this point. This transfer feels like the Breaking of the Fellowship for us because we've all been through so much together in the last two transfers. I'm going to miss them all a ton. Even Elder Clawson. Although the lack of sass might be a good change. Elder Merkley is coming to Frankfurt with me as a new Assistant to the President, so that will be great. I can't decide if we're Frodo and Sam, or Merry and Pippin. I'm kind of leaning toward the second one because I don't want either of us to have to be Frodo. I've never been a fan of Frodo.

Anyways, I am super rambling. It's been an awesome two weeks filled with lots of missionary work, miracles, and fun. I LOVE Nürnberg. It is the best place and the ward is lovely. I'm already looking forward to coming back. That will be such a good day.

I love you all. The Gospel is true. Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer, and God is our Father in Heaven and He loves us. I know these things without a doubt and I hope you all do too. And if you don't, I know there are some missionaries out there who would just love to introduce you to a little blue book that will change your life. It's changed mine, and it's changed the lives of a lot of people that I've met here. You just have to have a bit of faith, or a desire to believe if faith is too much right now. Really, you just have to start. Just do your best, and God will give you the help you need to go the rest of the way. I have a testimony of that.

Have a great day, and an absolutely lovely week.

Liebe Grüße,

Sister John

Miracles ABOUND! (May 16)

We put the zone to sleep with our thema

Zone Training was this week and we talked about our Zone Vision which is #ThinkBIG (the Zone Leaders came up with that, not us) and what that means for our missionaries and our investigators. Basically, the idea is that we trust the Lord in all that we do and most especially when we set our goals for the transfer, week, day, etc. we trust that we will do everything we can, and He will help us achieve our goals.It's a big, lofty vision and it puts a lot of personal responsibility on the missionaries. And oh my goodness, let me tell y'all what has happened.

Zone Training
I gave a Thema on being personally converted which was immediately followed by a Thema on iPad usage and how we need to be more focused on our missionary purpose in EVERYTHING that we do. Then, we had an activity about finding which was super great because we're all role playing really bad contacts for one set of missionaries who had to sort through all of us to find the one Golden Contact. It was a ton of fun. Then, we had a Thema on the importance of planning and having the Lord be a part of every phase of our plan and goal setting. Then another Finding Thema about how finding is how we help our brothers and sisters make their first steps back to God.

The final Thema was from the Zone Leaders about #ThinkBIG. It was great, and they did a fantastic job on getting everyone excited to set a vision for themselves with God and work towards it with His help. It was great, everyone loved it, and we got to beat up piñatas at the end of it. It was great, and super inspirational. I LOVE Zone Training.

Street Display
So in case I haven't mentioned this, we do street displays here in Germany! And usually they are not a ton of fun! There are a lot of Romanians who want to argue with you and tell you you're polytheist because you don't believe that Jesus Christ is God in physical form (that happened), Zeugen Jehovahs who try and tell you you're crazy for believing that God speaks to us today through modern prophets (that also happened) and people who tell your they believe in your book but that it's only history and not actually the word of God at which point you try and talk about priesthood power and how that relates to the Book of Mormon and then the member who showed up to your street display just swoops in and argues for 20 minutes without letting you get a word in and completely drives the Spirit away (I was actually really upset by that one). Street Displays are kind of hard. But they're so great! They are a fantastic way to talk to a lot of people and they can actually be a lot of fun. Our Street Display on Saturday was FANTASTIC. I gave away my second ever Book of Mormon (it's really hard for me for some reason....) and the guy I gave it to was actually really excited to read it! When I contacted him, he said he used to believe in God but not anymore. We had a great conversation about war and when it's okay to go to war and when it's not. I showed him the book of Alma and the war chapters and when they talk about how God does not delight in bloodshed but in the protection of the freedoms of His people. It was super cool, and he went away with a way better attitude, so I consider it a success.

On Splits

Also, miracle number two, a guy I contacted came to church!!!!!!!!! He is so cool, and he believes in nature and science, but he said he believes that there might be a higher power and he's on the search!!!!!! He is so cool, and it is such a testimony builder to me that we set a goal this last week to talk to 10 people every day and really believe that they are the prepared people that God meant for us to find. He really does want us to achieve our goals and do our best and when we have the faith that He will help us when we've done our best, He really does.

The miracles we've seen this week have been astounding and I am so glad to be a missionary. The Coburg sisters are doing AMAZING in one of the hardest areas in the mission (they taught 7 other lessons this week!!!), and the Feucht Sisters are working incredibly hard and finally seeing the fruits of their labors. A wonderfully prepared woman from Erlangen entered the waters of baptism (even though she had to be baptized 3 times) and in one year, she can go through the temple just in time to be able to see her daughter get married and sealed in the temple. It's incredible. Nürnberg Zone is on fire! And I am so privileged to be able to be a part of it.

I LOVE missionary work. Being a missionary is literally the best thing I have ever done and even though it's tough, I would NEVER change a thing. Everything at has happened has prepared me to be a better, more hard-working person. The person I am now is completely different from the person I was before my mission. It's kind of scary, but I'm really excited to see who I'll be by the end. I hope I can live up to the vision I set for myself. Also, the baptismal goal that I set because President wanted us all to do that and I have and that is terrifying. It's fine. It's going  to be great. Personal growth!!!! Woo hoo!!!!

I love you all. Have a great, sunny day and a brilliant week!!!!
Liebe Grüße,
Sister John

Skyping, Missionary Work, and Beautifully HOT Days (May 9)

Germany is hot. Like, not as technically hot as Utah, but WAY more humid. It is crazy. We have been drinking so much water, but there's still SO MUCH fizzy water in this country! It's a good thing I like that stuff now.
 
Skype was awesome. I am only mostly distracted, but it will get better, I'm sure. I do feel really motivated, so that's great.

I feel good today, but I am really distressed/discouraged/completely freaking out right now. We went to try and figure out my visa this morning and it turns out that the PACKET of papers that explain how I am working for the church and they pay me money and take care of my living requirements for the duration of my time here in Germany, wasn't clear enough for the office so they are trying to just kick me out of the country right now. It's fine. It is not the first time, and if I get transferred, all of my papers get transferred with me, so it might actually be easier to get a visa in a different city. It's fine. Everything will work out. Eventually.

Today is gorgeous. I love Utah, and I love the desert. But the sunrises and sunsets here are absolutely STUNNING literally every day. It's amazing, and the sky is incredibly blue and the trees are green and everything is just so herrlich. I love it.

We had stake conference this week, and a member of the Seventy came and talked to us. His name is Elder Homer. I shook his hand. I had no idea that he was the member of the Seventy who came to speak to us when I shook his hand. This is the second time this has happened on my mission. I keep having all these blonde moments and my hair is still mostly brown. It's fine, it's fine. The conference was fantastic, and we had an investigator come! And she told us afterwards that she wants to get baptized!!!! What???? We have some stuff to talk about first, but it was a really great experience. :)

We set a baptismal date with another one of our investigators and it is so great! Nürnberg zone is on fire right now!!! President Stoddard said he's never seen our zone doing so much good work before, so we're all really happy. We're not sure what's changed to make this all happen though, so we're not sure how to keep it going. I'm chalking it up to obedience and happiness. We have a really excited Zone with hard-working, obedient missionaries. They're so great and it is such a privilege to work with them. :)

I can't really think of anything else, so I'm going to end it here. I love y'all! Have a great day, and a fabulous week!!!
Liebe Grüße,
Sister John

April 25 Awkward Moments Abound!

Note from Mom: Sorry, again, this was buried in an attachment and it took a bit of finagling to get it out for posting.

Tuesday was a very good day.

As for the rest of the week, it was awkward. I have learned that I am an exceedingly awkward person. I thought I'd grown out of it, but it turns out I haven't. It's great.

Anyways, we had an appointment with a potential investigator we'd met last week so we went over to the Altstadt to go meet him. He forgot, and it was sad because we were supposed to have a member come to this lesson with us. Well, she was late anyways so we call her to let her know the lesson is ausgefallen and could we just meet with her (which was the original plan, but we had then asked if we could bring an investigator to the lesson on Sunday). She then responded by saying, "What? I thought you were just coming to my house for an appointment." Well, we can still do that! But she was actually at work and wouldn't get out until 4:30, so she asked (I THOUGHT she asked. This is the awkward part.) if we could meet another time. So I was like, "Sure thing. How about Friday?" Then she said something about Friday that I totally misunderstood and we went on our merry way thinking that we had just set up an appointment for Friday.

We did not set up an appointment for Friday.

We get a call about two hours later from this member asking if we were on our way yet and how long would it be until we got to her house. Oops.

Luckily, no major harm was done and we are making brownies to make it up to this member. But, lesson learned, next time I'll give the phone to my companion who can German better than I can.
I can speak German. Sometimes. Occasionally. On alternate Tuesdays. It's fine. Being humble is a commandment anyways and I still have a LONG way to go before my German is good.

Anyways, moving on! I'm moving fotos off my iPad to my flash drive right now, but I'll try and take a picture of the weather right now. It's SNOWING. Which is CRAZY because I got SUNBURNED this week. Yeah. If you think Utah has crazy weather, come spend a week in Germany. Please. It was pouring snow this morning, shorts and t-shirt weather when we went to get groceries at 11, and then back to snow an hour later when we went back to our apartment. It's crazy.

Splits! We did our first STL split this week with the Coburg sisters! Sister Carroll and I worked in Nürnberg and had some fun times contacting people on the way to the best Eis café in the Altstadt. Es hat viel spaß gemacht. :)

As far as working investigators, we went and started teaching the sister of a member of our ward and she is so sweet! She has two little boys and they're adorable and SUPER energetic. But she is really interested in learning more about God's plan for her and her family so we're going over this week and I am really excited. :)

We have a lesson with Elena today and I am so excited! Our lesson last week fell out so we haven't seen her for two weeks. But we called yesterday to make sure we could meet and she was so excited to meet with us. It's going to be so great. :)

An actual run-down of Zeynep's baptism...... It was so great. She had wanted to Skype a few missionaries who are home so they could see her baptism and we had gotten permission from Bishop to do just that. But then the day before the baptism the Internet crashed....... It was so sad! Also, she had invited every single companionship in the zone to attend! She wanted it to be just missionaries and no one from the ward.... But then President reminded us that the missionaries had to have an investigator to come, and they all tried to have investigators there but all the appointments fell out!!! It was so crazy, and we didn't know what to think about it. The only missionaries were us, the Elders who serve here with us, and the Elders from Ansbach. We were so worried that Zeynep would be so sad! But then the night of the baptism, literally THE ENTIRE WARD showed up!!!!! It was so crazy!!!! There were so many people and SO MUCH FOOD. It was incredible. Zeynep was so happy, and I think she finally realized how much the ward members love her. It was a great moment for her.
And then, ZEYNEP GOT BAPTIZED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Literally the best moment of the week. Then Sunday, she got confirmed and received the Holy Ghost. It was incredible.

I literally have no words to explain how joyful it is to see someone enter the waters of baptism and be completely ready to start a new, sinless life. When she received the Holy Ghost on Sunday, she was so filled with joy and happiness and she has such a bright future! I love it. It makes me so happy and really my only wish for her from the beginning is that she could have all the blessings in her life that I have in mine. And now, she can! She's already set a goal to go to the temple and she wants to serve a mission and it's so wonderful! It has been a privilege to be just one of the missionaries who got to teach her. :)

And to all of the missionaries who have taught her: THANK YOU. You laid the groundwork and provided the support that she need to make this important decision. I feel bad that I got to be one of the only ones who got to see the fruit of your labor, but you all played such an important role in Zeynep's conversion story. Thank you for your service. You are super heroes.

Man, this is a long email this week. Sorry about that. But last thing, I've been studying a LOT about repentance lately. Don't worry, nothing's wrong. But I have a Thema in District Meeting this week about what an investigator needs to do/feel/experience to experience complete conversion. And we had Zone Training this week and something that President Stoddard said has really stuck with me. He said, "Don't get a check-box mentality about your investigators. When they really truly want to repent and have repented, they will have the desire to come to church and make the changes necessary to be baptized." That just really stuck with me. Especially since repentance is JOYFUL because it means we can be clean again and do better and become better. It's great. I love it. Repentance is so cool and it is such a cool thing to be able to teach our investigators about because that's where the changes in their lives start. It's so cool. I love repentance.

Anyways, I love you all. Sorry this is so long. But I guess it's better than a super short email, right???
I love you! Have a fantastic day, and an awesome-filled week!!!!
Liebe Grüße,
Sister John

MLC, Zone Training, and Sunshine (May2)

Note from mom; Sorry to be so slow to post these last few weeks. It has been LIFE!

Mission Leadership Council. Oh my gosh.
We started off with two hours of talking about the mission and what things we wanted clarification on and what things needed to change. It was really cool. After that we had some Themas about helping our investigators who might also happen to be refugees (of which there aren't a ton of in our zone, but there are a LOT of in the other zones). It was so good. It was a lot of traveling. Like, 4 and a half hours in one day. I got a head ache halfway through MLC that turned into a migraine on the way home. But three tylenols (Spaced out over 6 hours) and a bretzel later, everything was okay. Yay for drugs!
 
We have spent so much time planning for Zone Training. I am really excited. I have a Thema on True Conversion, so that will be fun. I really like what it says about Conversion in True to the Faith. It gives four specific points on things that truly converted people do, so I'm trying to think of how to incorporate those specifically for the missionaries. I'm really excited.

Other than that, it's been a pretty normal week. We're working with a less-active member and trying to help him quit smoking. He's tried a few times before, but it's really hard for him so now we're working with him now. He can do it !! We believe in him!!!

This is super short. Well, I guess last week was super long. It works out. I think.
I love y'all! Have a great day, and a fantastic week!!!!
Liebe Grüße,
Sister John

P.S. Mother's Day is this week! It's super great! I have no idea what
time we're skyping!!! I will let you know. Hopefully before the end of
today. We'll see.