Liebe Familie und Freunde,It has been a crazy week, but a good week. Last Monday I spent the day packing, and this Monday I get to spend the day unpacking and cleaning the apartment. It's nice to finally have time to do all of these things.
Tuesday we welcomed all of the new missionaries into the mission! Sister Jameson, Sister Siems and I didn't get to go to the airport to pick them up, but we did see them at the street display! It was a lot of fun, but very cold. Thankfully, we weren't there for too long because we had an appointment that morning. At the end of the street display, we went to the chapel and had the Pairing meeting! It would have been more dramatic, but I already knew who my new missionary was. Perks of there being only one sister.
After the pairing meeting, our new missionary companions went to the hotel to sleep, and all the trainers went to another meeting to prepare us for being trainers. In case you were wondering, being called to be a trainer is inspired. Everything in missionary work is inspired, but especially the call of a trainer. Your trainer helps set the course of your mission. Hopefully, it is through their good example that you start to really develop those good habits of missionary work that will help you throughout your mission. Sometimes, it's not always like that. But there is something you can learn from every companion. Whether it is through their good, or bad example.
The the Train the Trainers meeting we went to the hotel and went to bed. I got to bed at 9:30. That NEVER happens! Missionaries are to be in bed by 10:30, and sometimes you're scrambling to get everything you need to done by then. If you get to bed by 10:15 you feel pretty good about yourself for being so early. But 9:30 just doesn't happen! If you're lucky you get to actually finish daily planning by then. So yeah. It was a good night.
Wednesday morning we woke up and went to breakfast and then had a meeting with President and Sister Stoddard, the Assistants, and all the trainers and new missionaries. After that, we went to Frankfurt Hbf, and waited for our bus to come. Yep, we took a bus down to Erlangen. Remember what happened the last time I took a bus down to Nürnberg? A two hour trip took five hours instead. This time, our bus was an hour and a half late, and we finally pulled into Erlangen just after 5:00. It wasn't too bad, and we got to have an awesome conversation with a man from Prague before the bus came.
The rest of the week has been spent getting to know the area, having Gemiko, and meeting with one investigator. Also, Stake Conference was this weekend, so we still don't know a ton of people in our ward yet. But we know our GML, and our Bishop so that's a good start. :)
Our one investigator lesson was with a woman named Martha. She is a scientist and has met with the missionaries for quite a while. When we met with her, we were actually planning to Tschüß her because she hasn't made any progress for a while. When we got there, though, it was a way different story.
We taught the Restoration and it was kind of scattered, to tell the truth. But then Sister Quain recited the First Vision, and it was so good. The Spirit just entered the room and you could tell that Martha was feeling it. As we talked with her some more, we learned that she's not even sure if there is a God and if there is then what is He? How can she know if He's there is she doesn't know what He is? We talked more about Joseph Smith and she kept saying how she can relate to his story. She wants to know the truth! So we shared Moroni's promise with her and told her she can get answers to all of her questions through the Spirit. When we said that she asked us if we had ever gotten those answers and we said yes. She then told us she's never gotten an answer to a prayer so we talked about that for a while and what she could do to invite the Holy Ghost to come and give her answers. It was a way powerful lesson, and at the end she agreed to pray every day to know if God is there, and if He knows and loves her. She kept trying to say that she doesn't even know what God is, but we told her to simplify and just ask if He's there first. It was so powerful, and I look forward to meeting with her again. :)
As far as Stake Conference goes, it was great! All three Stake Conferences that I've been able to attend on my mission have been in the same stake, so that's kind of cool. In the Saturday evening session, one of the speakers talked about how he used to catch Black Widows as a kid and keep them in glass jars in his bedroom. Of course, his parents didn't like it and warned him about how dangerous Black Widow spiders are. But that just intrigued him more, so he went on catching them.
He talked about how one time he caught one of the biggest spiders he had ever seen, and he was so excited so he ran home to put it in a jar. But in his excitement, he forgot to put the lid on the jar. When he woke up the next morning, the first thing he saw was this huge spider, staring at him from on top of his bedsheets, right by his face. Terrified, he threw the covers off, and ran down to the kitchen where his family was eating breakfast. At first, no one believed him, but after a careful search of his room with thick gloves, the spider was found, and promptly removed from the home with all of the other spiders.
The speaker said that as he thought back on this experience, he was terrified at what could have happened. He was young, and a spider bite could have seriously injured him and sent him to the hospital. But what was more terrifying was the thought that if the spider had gone into the room next to his, it would have found his baby sister. A spider bite to her would have had far more devastating consequences. The analogy he made was that he had allowed something dangerous into his home because he had thought he could control it. He could admire it and have it close by, but not be affected by it. As his story shows, that is not the case.
How many spiritual Black Widows do we let into our homes and into the lives of our family members because we think we can control it? How many times do we say, "One time won't hurt," or "It's not even THAT bad,"?
Satan tries to deceive us by presenting these tiny little spiders that appear harmless, but actually have a deadly bite. We need to watch out for these deceptions, and not be fooled by what Satan says is alright and harmless, and instead trust the Lord and His rules and principles. When we fill our homes with what is light and good, it will permeate every aspect of the home, and good thoughts and feelings will dwell.
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| Uwe and Brigitte |
I hope you all look for the Spiritual Black Widows in your lives, and do everything you can to get rid of them. They may not even be that bad, but through "small and simple things are great things brought to pass." And that includes a fall from righteousness.
I love you all! Thank you so much for your love and encouragement. I definitely could not get by without it. I hope you remember how great and wonderful you are, too! Have a great day, and a fantastic week!
Liebe Grüße,
Sister John
Elder Merkley! We were in the same district for seven transfers!!!! That is almost a year! It was way hard to say goodbye at bahnhof, but he's still an Assistant so we'll see him at Zone Conference on Thursday. He is a way cool Elder who has a lot of love for the missionaries he works with. It's been an honor to serve with him for so long. :)
Elder Evans! Our other illustrious Assistant in this mission. :) He is seriously one of the most consecrated missionaries I have ever met. He is way sweet, and a SUPER hard worker. #givepamphletstoALLthestoppedcars We will also see him at Zone Conference so I'm excited. :)
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