FRANKFURT!!!!

Note from Mom: Sorry this was late. I was at NYLT Scout Camp all week. It was awesome and Sierra wrote a special letter to the Timberline staff which I read to them.


So I have now been in Frankfurt for a week and it is SO BIG. I am not the second we get out the door, but if we're not going to the church or the bus stop, I have no idea where we're going. It's okay though, because I already told the Zone Leaders that if I ever call them and I'm crying, it's because I am lost and they need to come find me. It's a pretty good system, so I should be covered when I do eventually get us lost.

But really, Frankfurt is amazing! I mean, it's not Nürnberg (nothing could be) but I still love it! Which is really weird because I really hated big cities before my mission.... Weird. Anyways, we have had SO MANY MIRACLES this week!! We have gotten in contact with less-actives that no one has talked to in months, visited a less-active in a care center and met a lovely woman and her husband who are now investigators, and FINALLY met with a super cute woman and her son and had the best conversation about Christ EVER and they then became investigators!!! Nürnberg is a city of miracles, but it seems like the Spirit just permanently resides in Frankfurt and we just have to try and keep up with it. Which I am totally okay with. I have been EXHAUSTED this week. More tired than at any other point on my mission. But I've also never been this happy and this excited to go out and see what happens every day. I'm really excited and I hope I stay here for a really long time. :)

My new companion's name is Sister Jeppesen and she is awesome! We've discovered that we're basically the same person because we think exactly the same! It's been a blessing in the lessons we've already taught because we've been able to skip a lot of the awkward moments of learning to teach together and just jump in. It has been an incredible blessing and I am so happy to have her as a companion. :) She goes home at the end of this transfer though, which is super sad! Especially because it's only a five week transfer since last transfer was seven. It's also really stressful because that means I have to learn the area and how to be an STL here in 5 weeks. Really only 4 weeks now, though. That is a super scary thought. Bleh. Moving on....

We had District Leader Rat this week and an elder from Nürnberg Zone got transferred up here with me and we basically brought Nürnberg with us. We both feel like there's a bit of a separation between all the missionaries in Frankfurt because there are SO MANY and we work with two different wards. I miss the family feeling of my last zone, but we're working on it up here. Our Zone Vision last transfer was #ThinkBIG and we kind of implemented the same idea up here. It's not exactly the same because it's not exactly the same Zone, but the basic idea is what we need so we're using it. It's great. It has been an  amazing blessing to see how the Lord has prepared me on my mission so that I can serve better. It's a huge testimony builder to me to see how He has helped me grow so that I can fulfill my callings even better. I am super grateful for that.

I miss Nürnberg. I miss all my friends there and all of our investigators and the awesome ward and the two euro döner place. But there's a lot to be said about Frankfurt that is great, and fantastic. The ward is lovely and a lot of people came and introduced themselves to me at church and they were super nice. The investigators that I've met are incredibly prepared and I am so happy to be able to get to know them and help them come closer to Christ. We haven't had any döners yet because we're not elders and we eat healthy food, but Eis Cristina (the BEST ice cream shop EVER) is literally ten minutes away and we might go today and I am really, really, REALLY excited. :3

My last week in Nürnberg was super sad, and I miss it a lot and I miss all the people and I miss knowing where I'm going and knowing how to get there and I just want to go back! One thing that has been really helpful though is remembering that God has a plan for everyone. So I will see all those people again. I will go see Zeynep and Tolga and Caroline and Elena and Maxine and Katrin and Andrea and Rene' and EVERYONE again. It just might take a while. Like, I'll-see-them-in-the-life-after-this-and-not-sooner, while. But that's okay. Because I will see them and it will be great. Patience is a heavenly virtue.

I love y'all. I love Germany. I love the Gospel and I love God and Jesus Christ. Having the opportunity to share the Gospel is incredible and the blessings that I see from it just keep coming. The biggest blessings are the ones that come in the form of people who are even more prepared to hear about the Gospel. Today we had to take Sis. Jeppesen to the doctor and on the way back we were just talking and the lady sitting in front of us turned around and said, 'Sisters!' We were so surprised but she had heard us speaking American English and knew that we had to be missionaries before she even saw us! It was incredible, and she should be calling us at the end of this week once she's done with exams. 

The work in Europe is moving forward. Before my mission I had never heard that if you serve a mission in Europe then you won't ever baptize anyone because all you do is sow seeds. I never heard that, but once I got here I heard it a lot. I want to tell you all right now that that statement is absolutely and completely FALSE. The Lord is mindful of ALL of His children and He is helping them ALL find their way to His Restored Gospel on the Earth. He does not need a bunch of 18 to 20 year old kids to go out and try and teach His Gospel. He really doesn't. But He asks us to, because He knows that we can do something to help. He is hastening the work. We need to decide whether we're going to help or hinder His efforts. 

I want to do everything I can to help.

I love you all! Sorry this is kind of short but I am really tired and I can't think. Have a great day and an AMAZING week!

Liebe Grüße,

Sister John