End of the 78th Week - No Time Remains

Mom Note:  Last one! Wow. Those who have been following this blog while she's been in Germany, thank you. I know she has benefitted from the prayers and thoughts that have been directed to her. She will be speaking on the 19th at 9:00 am in our ward building at 100 E and 300 N.

I'm putting this picture from the MTC in here, because I can. You can reference one of the first posts on this blog for more understanding. Her first companion, Sis. Bakker.

Lieber Familie und Freunde,

 

We have had appointments with members every day this week, and it will continue until Sunday. Yesterday we met with the Familie Hartwig for lunch, and per normal we didn't need to eat dinner that evening. It was SO GOOD. It was also SO MUCH. Maybe someday Bruder Hartwig will remember that Sisters typically don't eat as much as Elders. ;)

 

This week was good. Kind of strange, but good. Saturday we decided to go out and see how far northwest in our area we could get. So a couple hours later we found ourselves in this cute little Kleinbus driving through the Fränkischer Schweiz. Those are the "mountains" here. And while they're not nearly as big as the mountains in Utah, they are still gorgeous. I thoroughly enjoyed our time in the little Dorf we went dooring in. Family, we should go back there whenever we come back. 

Sunday was.... interesting. Church was fine and great and I really enjoyed it. Afterwards however, we had a lesson with a potential investigator who said she was bringing her sister because she was curious about our church. Well, what started out as a pretty good lesson turned into an interesting conversation with these two women saying that we needed to be more involved and do more service projects if we wanted to call ourselves "true christians." There's more to it than that, but that's the general gist. It was exciting. 

 

Monday, we had Zone Training. It was SO GOOD. Also, it was my last one. I had to give my Leaver's Testimony. That was hard. But it was good, and I managed to do it without crying. I cried during the closing song, but not during the testimonies, so ich bin zufrieden. 

We also learned how to make Schnitzel with Andy and his friend Virena. Virena has met with the missionaries before, but stopped meeting after a while because she felt like she was being pressured. But she still comes to a lot of the weekly activities and other stuff we do during the week. Well, we asked her if she would be willing to meet with us again and she said yes! It was a very productive member appointment, and we had a lot of fun during it. We listened to the 2012 General Conference for the first bit, then about thirty seconds of Motab at which point Andy said, "Wait! You listen to this all the time! I have something better that is still okay for you to listen to!" So then we listened to some really cool Gregorian Chants. Andy never ceases to amaze me with his eclectic span of hobbies and interests. 

 

Tuesday's we met with the Familie Auras for lunch and that was a lot of fun. Their youngest daughter is turning eight in a couple months so we're kind of going through the lessons with her to help her prepare for that. We talked about the Atonement and did an activity where she and her friend go to rub black shoe polish all over their hands and then try to wash it off with just water and no soap. It doesn't work super well. But when you use the Atonement (soap), it works a lot better and your hands are completely clean afterwards. It went pretty well, I think. :)

 

Yesterday we met with Sis. Pobanz. She is a super sweet woman in our ward. Her husband is also a member, but he got a new job in Switzerland so the whole family will be moving there this summer, but he's already there working. So we went by to see how she's doing and ask how and when we can help pack everything up, and to give her some chocolate. She's so sweet and cute. She drove us back to Erlangen after our appointment and offered to basically chauffeur us around for the next little while because she had time. I love her and her family a ton. :)

 

Today we just wandered around Nürnberg as a district and talked and explored. It was a lot of fun, and we ended up at my favorite bookstore which is where we're now doing emails. We also have an appointment here in Nürnberg right at 18:00, so it's convenient to just stay here. It's been a good day. 

 

I don't want to drag this out or make it overly dramatic, so I'm just going to say it: I do not want to write this email and say it is the last one. I do not want to write a huge spiel about my testimony has grown. I do not want to leave Germany and go to America. 

 

Honestly, I think I'm having far more negative thoughts about ending my mission than I did starting it. I don't want to leave. 

 

But, I guess that's how it goes when you're a Child of God on this great big world He created. He doesn't let you stay in a comfortable place for too long before throwing you into the next growing experience. Some of those transitions are more traumatic than others, but they're transitions all the same. 

 

I love my mission. I know there are things I could have done better. I know there are things I still have to work on. But I know that I tried to do my best, and as Elder Holland said, "In the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we get credit for trying." Thank God for that. 

 

Friends, the Gospel WORKS. And it works WONDERFULLY. Repentance is JOYFUL, and we have the amazing opportunity to repent every day. Jesus Christ is our Savior, and He is also our Brother. He loves us and wants us to one day have all the blessings that He and our Heavenly Father have. Because of that desire, He suffered for our sins and asks only that we follow Him. 

 

I love the Gospel. I love the Book of Mormon. There is no truer book on this planet. Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and Thomas S. Monson is God's chosen prophet today. Missionary work is MARVELOUS, and if you're not sure if you should go or not, just get ready to go. Get ready, get clean, do whatever you need to to be able to go. And then if at that point you're still not sure of you should go or not, GO. You won't regret it. I promise. 

 

I love you all. I hope you've had a great week, and that you'll continue to have an amazing one. I know that I want to use all the time I have left to make this last week count. And for some of you, I'll see you at the end of that week. And for others, I'll see you at the end of your missions. Auf jeden Fall, sehen wir uns wieder. Weil es ist nur ,bis auf Wiedersehen.' 

 

I love you. Mach's gut. 

 

Liebe Grüße,

Sister John

 

P.S. Sorry for the rambles. But I guess that's normal by now. Anyways, I will be giving a talk in my home ward on the 19th of March, at 9:00. So if any of you want to come to thank, ihr seid herzlich eingeladen (you are warmly invited). The church is on the corner of 300 North and 100 East in American Fork, Utah. I'm assuming there will be some sort of Facebook group thing to help Witt the organization, but we'll see. 

 

Love y'all!

 

We explored a botanical garden

last week and found a cave!

 But it's closed until April....

It was still fun. :)

District Selfie. :) These Elders and

.my companion are seriously

some of the best. :)

 



Elder Clemente! I love this Elder so much
 (in a totally appropriate Missionary fashion).
 We said goodbye after Zone Training
and it was super hard.
 It was so nice having him and
Elder Van Dam here for my last transfer,
but it also made good byes really hard.
I'm tired of saying goodbye in Nürnberg.
It hurts too much. 



 

           

I don't know about you but I'm feelin....

....like it was a super great week. :)

Last District Meeting!

We had a lot of time for contacting this week, and it was so much fun! We went dooring on this street called Willy-Brandt-Straße because it reminded me of Willy-Brandt-Platz in Frankfurt, and everyone we talked to spoke English! It was so bizarre! But a lot of fun, and we had a really lovely conversation with this super kind lady from Singapore. Then we found some wild Americans and that was cool. And then we talked to this sweet woman from India who said we could come give her a Book of Mormon. 

 

It was a great day. :)

 

As far as other highlights go, we got to go to a Nürnberg street display on Wednesday, and it was cold, but so much fun! There were tons of people just coming up to the tables and talking to us! And then we would go out and talk to lots of cool people and they were all pretty nice! But like always, there were the occasional rude/weird people. I tried to ask one man if he'd ever heard about our church before and he literally started swimming through the crowd to get away from me. I just turned around and laughed with Sister Siems. Later, a very drunk man tried to ask me out to dinner. He was very kind, and very insistent, but he walked away from the street display alone. Another man talked to me for almost 40 minutes, but was then shocked when I told him I was 22 after he asked. He said, "Oh, I'm 32! I'm a bit old for you!" He didn't want to hear about the Restore Gospel, apparently. But he was kind all the same. :)

 

Zeynep and Caroline came to the street display, too! It was so much fun to see them both again. Caroline is so sassy and Zeynep is so sweet but somehow they're best friends. I love them both. :) Zeynep brought me a HUGE box of donuts, but it worked out because we had an appointment with our GML for dinner after the street display, so we took them and shared. Sr. Zink made Sauerkraut, Nürnberger Bratwurst, and potatoes for dinner. It was super yummy, and I was a very happy Sister John afterwards. :) 

 

Sr. Zink also made lemon cake for Sister Yeck and I, complete with frosting and candles. We both had our birthdays this week, so we got to celebrate at the Zink's. Sister Yeck had hers on the 25th of February, so she got sung to first in English, sogar. Br. Zink had the best German accent when he speaks English. Really, it's adorable. I love it. I was sung to in German, which was very nice. :) So yeah. There are now two young women serving in Erlangen, and no teenagers. So it's basically a party every night. ;) Just kidding, but we do have a lot of fun together. :)

 

This week I have been thinking a bit about going home and what that means. Because as a missionary, life has been relatively simple. I am in the world, but so cut off from everything that it's pretty easy to stay focused on the Gospel and the things that matter most. Now with the prospect of going home, it seems like the world is getting closer and closer, and I have to be prepared to dive straight into it. At least, that's how it feels.

 

It's kind of daunting sometimes, trying to be a good Latter-Day Saint while being surrounded by so much bad. The world is so noisy and loud and dirty, and we just want calm, and quiet and to be clean. But one thing that really struck me this week was the story in the New Testament about Peter and the other Apostles going fishing after the Savior's crucifixion. 

 

In the Bible video, Peter and the other Apostles are sitting around, looking aimless when Peter announces, "I go a fishing." To which the others respond that they will go with him. So they go fishing and they are finding nothing. Absolutely nothing. But then Christ appears on the shore and asks them how it's going. Then he invites them to cast their nets on the right side of the ship. When the Apostles do this, they find more fish in the nets than they can handle. Then they recognize that it is the Lord, and they go back to shore. When there, Peter is questioned by Christ three times. Christ asks, "Simon (note the use of his old name), son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these (meaning the fish)?" Peter responds, "Yea Lord, thou knowest I love thee." "Then feed my lambs." This conversation happens twice more, with Peter's answer becoming more, and more heartfelt and meaningful. Afterwards, Christ says simply, "Follow me." To which Peters replies, "And what shall this man do?" Christ's reply is, "If I should that he should tarry here until I come again, what is that to thee? Follow thou me."

 

I love this story, because Peter was an Apostle who served with Christ for three years. He basically served a three year mission. And after he "went home", he went back to what he had done before.  But when Christ came again, He let Peter know that that was not was what was expected. Peter was expected to be an Apostle still, not a fisherman. 

 

For me, I am a missionary right now. But I will go back home and be released and not be a missionary anymore. But I will still be a disciple of the Lord, Jesus Christ. And that means that some things I do are going to change. I'm going to be more prayerful, and have a better scripture study than I did a year and a half ago. I'm going to shun the things of the world more, and seek more after the good things. But there are some things that won't change. I'll still be Sister John, just not a missionary. I'll still love Star Wars and Doctor Who and all of the nerdy stuff, I just won't be as obsessed with it as before. And I'll still be trying be a good daughter, sister, and friend. And I can do all of that as I follow Jesus Christ. 

 

Friends, this is the Savior's invitation to all of us. "Follow me." I want to let you know that it is only by following the Savior and His teachings that we can be truly happy, and find true joy and peace in this life, and the life to come. I hope that you will all take some time to examine how well you are following the Savior, and not worrying about the world. Stay focused on the Savior, and you will never go wrong. 

 

I love you all so much. Next week will be my last letter as a missionary! Ah! Where did all the time go??? Anyways, I hope you all have a fabulous day, and an amazing week!

 

Liebe Grüße,

Sister John

P.S. And yes, I am feeling 22. Thanks for all of the birthday wishes. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Nürnberg sky from last week. :)




Went to a random Dorf again. The lighting was perfect. Germany is very good at that. I propose a Troop 1098 trip to Germany for 2018. All in favor? ;)

Splits, Fasching, and Zone Conference

Lieber Familie und Freunde,

 

This week has been a good week. A little weird and a little bit crazy, but good. 

 

We started the week with a split with the Sister Training Leaders! And Sister Siems and I split together!!! It was perfect, because I was her STL for her very first split, and now she is my STL for my very last split. It was a lot of fun, and we had some really cool appointments. We met with the cutest couple from Iraq and they made us SO MUCH food! It was delicious, and great, and they really were just super adorable together. It was a way fun appointment. :)

 

After that, we had an appointment with Zeynep! It was so great to see her again! True to Zeynep-fashion, she brought a TON of treats- and we were still full from lunch! But we had a lot of fun, and talked about her new calling a bit and how she's doing on Personal Progress. It was great, and I love her a lot. :)

 

After that, we stayed for Family Home Evening! It was kind of crazy because the Thema was the last part of the Plan of Salvation and we might have delved into deep doctrine a bit.... But in the end, everyone learned something new, and I was reminded of why Missionaries only teach the basics of the Gospel. And we played a fun memory game at the end and we played it in German and it was great. :)

 

After FHE, we went by on a less-active member who the Sisters have been trying to contact for about two weeks with no success. Well, we got here and klingeled and no one answered....  it then this girl walked up to the apartment and it was her! We ended up talking to her for about an hour about all of the problems she's facing right now and the help that's available. She really is such a good girl, she's just made some bad decisions. But the Sisters are meeting with her, and it's going to work out. 

 

The next morning (Tuesday), Sister Siems and I went to the church and did our split review, and then I had an interview with President for almost 2 hours. It was my Leaver's Interview, so it was the last interview I'll have with President before I go home. It was really good. I learned a lot about how to adjust back to normal life when I get home, and how to stay strong in the Gospel for the rest of my life. It was a really good talk, and I felt a lot better about going home afterwards. I still feel good about going home. It's still weird, but definitely not as terrifying anymore. 

 

As for the rest of the week, we met with one of our investigators at the chapel with a member present. It was an okay lesson. We met in the chapel, tried to teach the first lesson, and answer his random super-deep questions, and deflect the other not-important questions. It was a bit of a struggle, but he seemed happy at the end. The next day, he texted us and told us he was reading in Alma and really wanted to finish the Book of Mormon. We set up another appointment for Friday, and encouraged him to keep reading. Well, a couple days ago we got a text from him saying that he believes in Atlantis and this random book that I've never heard of before, and that he believes the Bible is just one big lie. 

 

Yep.

 

He just keeps bouncing from super-believing to disbelieving everything we say. So after discussing it for a while, Sister Yeck and I decided the best thing go do is to probably drop him. We're just not sure how stable he is mentally. So yeah. Mission Adventures! Yay!

 

On a brighter note, we had Zone Conference! I saw Elder Evans, and Elder Jones! It was a really good day. :) We talked a lot about the Restoration and how we can use it more when we meet with the members of our wards and branches. It was so spiritual and I learned so much. If there is one thing that I can say I learned from my mission, it is that I KNOW that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and that he translated the Book of Mormon only through the Power of God. Through him, the Priesthood Authority of God was restored, and the Church of Jesus Christ was restored in it's fullness. This knowledge brings me more happiness and joy than I can describe, and I hope it brings just as much into your lives. If you're not sure what to believe about Joseph Smith, I would encourage you to get on your knees and ask God. Then open the scriptures and study. Then get on your knees and ask again. Repeat the process as many times as it takes. "Faith without works is dead." God wants us to try before He gives us an answer, so show Him your commitment. 

 

I love you all, and I really do hope that you have a fantastic day, and an absolutely incredible week. 

 

Liebe Grüße,

Sister John

 

 

We got home late because of our miracle visit.... but it was worth it. :) Also, Nürnberg apartment!

We also had the ward Fasching Party this week. Fasching is the German equivalent of Halloween, so everyone dresses up. Sister Yeck and I traded nametags, by that was as crazy as we got. There are SO MANY Krapfen (jelly donuts) because of Fasching, though. They're SO GOOD. But not very healthy. I might have to start running in the mornings again....

 

 

 

Miracles in Erlangen :)

Mom Note: I am going to miss these posts. But I'm going to love having Sierra back, for a while anyway.



Awkward selfies because of the position of the sun, but we tried. :)

Lieber Familie und Freunde,

Okay, weird thought of the week: I got my flight plans today. Like, just a couple minutes ago. That's weird. Family, please be there to pick me up. I can't remember any of y'all's phone numbers so I can't even borrow a phone to call you if you're not. Okay. Moving on.

This week was a LOT of fun. We saw one of the COOLEST miracles I have ever seen on my mission. Two weeks ago, we had found an uncontacted referral from over a year ago, and decided to go out and try and contact her. The only problem was that she lives in this tiny little Dorf that is about an hour away. But we don't just leave referrals uncontacted! So we journeyed out with Books of Mormon in hand and planned to just smile and charm this woman into hearing about the Restored Gospel. Well, she wasn't home that day. So what do we do? We door the whole village, that's what we do! Well, it was really only half of the village. But they were all really nice! And we were able to give a couple of books to some of those really nice people. So it was a nice day. :)


But it was also kind of interesting because as we were journeying out, we had to switch  from a train to a bus in this tiny little town out in the middle of almost nowhere (nowhere was the Dorf we went to). When we got off the bus, we saw this man standing over by the little Lotto store present at almost every Bahnhof. He was staring at us and finally smiled and said, "Hey, weren't you at that display in Nürnberg last Thursday?" Why yes, yes we were. This man had been in Nürnberg and had talked to Elder Gilmore, Sister Siems, and Anton (a new convert from Nürnberg) for over TWO HOURS. Really, he was trying to convert the missionaries to his church, which is some form of Catholicism. He belongs to the "original" Catholic Church. He says that the current Catholic Church has changed too many things and it is now a church of God, and not of men. Turns out, he believes a lot of the same stuff we do. But he was pretty firm in his belief and didn't seem to want to change. He took a Book of Mormon and a pamphlet on Chastity (it was just the first one on the table. He was offered one on the Restoration instead, but he insisted on keeping the first one) along with some other pamphlets. Then he said Tschüß, and we all assumed we would never see him again.


Well now it's a week later and we see him in the middle of almost nowhere not even close to Nurnberg.

What.

So we start chatting because we have twenty minutes and we know we're not getting out of this without talking to him a bit. As we talk, Sister Yeck asked him if he read in the Book of Mormon yet. He responded by saying, "Yes, I have. Just this morning, actually. I really like it. You Mormons almost have it right. You have a lot of the same beliefs we have in my church. I really like it." He was way nice, and we could've talked for forever with him, but our bus came so we encouraged him to call the Nürnberg Elders or Sisters because we thought that's where he lived, and then ran to catch our bus.

Honestly, we just chalked it up to another interesting experience and assumed we would never see him again. But I think you can all guess where this story is going.


Fast forward another week (last Friday). We went BACK to the tiny little Dorf in the middle of nowhere to try and contact this woman referral one more time! And she was home!!! And she had never heard of our church before which was super weird because she was a self-referral.... What?

Anyways, she did accept a Book of Mormon and was incredibly kind. So after that, we doored the other half of the village, and then headed home. On the buss ride, we stopped at a stop in another middle-of-nowhere Dorf, and only one person gets on.


Guess who it is. Please. Just guess.


IT WAS THE STREET DISPLAY MAN!!!!

He see's us (because it's impossible not to. We were sitting at the front of the bus), and says, "No way. This can't be. I'm seeing you two again! Every time I read that book you gave me, I see you two! This can't be a coincidence."

No sir. No it can't.

So we talk with him some more until we get back to the almost-middle-of-nowhere train stop, and then he asks us where we're going. To which we reply, "Erlangen. We live there." "Perfect! I'm studying in Erlangen and going to the library right now. We can talk the whole way over!"

  So we talked. The whole hour long train ride to Erlangen. We taught the Restoration, and part of the Plan of Salvation in the train. When we got to Erlangen, we already had his number but we set up an appointment to meet with him the following Friday, and to call on Saturday to invite/remind him about church. For reference, he was reading the beginning of Second Nephi when we made the appointment. When we called him the next day, he was almost done with Jacob.

 Friends. HE MADE IT THROUGH SECOND NEPHI. WAT.

I'm doing a horrible job at explaining this, but this man is one of the most prepared people I have ever met. He told us that he really like Nephi, because he kept praying and talking to God. Not Mary. He's always prayed to Mary, but he was thinking that maybe he was doing it wrong. He also thinks that all churches have too much of man in them, and are not close enough to the original church that Christ made.
He really is just incredible. He is so prepared, and so ready for the Gospel. We're meeting with him tomorrow. Pray for us and pray that he'll continue to feel the Spirit so strongly. Because he is definitely feeling it, and it is changing him.

Friends, it has just been a really good week. I love the Gospel. I love the Book of Mormon. I really do have a testimony that the truths contained in the Book of Mormon are precious above all other truths. I just love reading it. I feel like I'm a reservoir or a pot or something that holds some kind of liquid when I read. It just seems to fill my soul in a way that nothing else does. It makes me happy. And it makes me want to share that happiness and joy with everyone else.

This week, I want to invite you to search the scriptures for something that makes you happy. It can be a phrase, specific scripture, a point of doctrine, or one of the two/three instances of humor in the Book of Mormon (yes, they exist. Go find them!). Then once you've found those things, find a way to share it! Text it to a friend, a sibling, or an acquaintance. Get a group of friends and have a scripture sharing party (maybe I've been a missionary too long but that sounds like fun to me!)! Just find a way to share the joyous and happy message that you've found, and brighten someone else's day. It never hurts to be a little kinder and a little happier. :)

 I love you all! Have a fantastic day, and a joyous week!

Liebe Grüße,

Sister John



We were in Tennenlohe..... still not my favorite place, but this is what we found. The base is the country of Germany on top of the state of Texas. Next time we'll ring the doorbell and see if they'll tell us why it's in their front yard.

 

12 Transfers, 12 Companions, and a Very Late Visa

This sounds like the beginning to a bad joke, but it's actually my life. 

Reunited MTC District

Not really. But actually yes. I have tried to figure out how to title this week's email far too many times because too much has happened in the last week and a half. I can't even pretend to try and sum up because there actually is too much! So let's just dive into the past 10 days and see how far we get!

Tuesday: Transfer Day! In which the first thing I did was put Sister Quain on a train that took her away to Essen.... it was a sad day. I have had far too many good-byes at the Nürnberg Hauptbahnhof. But she will be AMAZING in Essen, and I look forward to hearing about all of her adventures with her new companion there. :)

Also on Tuesday, Sister Young and I fulfilled a dream we have both had since we first met in the Frankfurt Zone: serve together as companions. And we did! For a whole four hours! Which isn't enough to count her as an official companion, but it was a lot of fun, nonetheless. :) 

Then Sister Yeck came! And Sister Siems! And Elder Van Dam! And Elder Clemente! And Elder Merkley!!! Basically, a TON of my favorite people all came to one of my favorite zones. It was a great day to just see people (despite having to say so many good-byes) and give and receive lots of high fives and hugs (hugs for Sisters, high fives for Elders (because handshakes still seem a bit too formal for me sometimes))

At the end of all the craziness with transfers (one elder's train was delayed by an hour and a half.... #deutschebahn), Sister Yeck and I went back to Erlangen and got her suitcases into the apartment and then had an AWESOME appointment with one of our investigators. He brought a friend with him, and his friend was SO COOL. To give you an idea of how cool this man is, he speaks four different languages fluently, and his hobby is helping people. He has such a sincere desire to follow Christ and His teachings. We're excited to meet with him and our other investigator again soon. :)

Wednesday: Was a normal day.

Thursday: We had District Meeting! Half of our district changed, so it was fun to get to know the new missionaries who came in. Elder Van Dam is in my district! And in Erlangen, sogar! I am so happy with all of the lovely people around me right now. It was a great District Meeting. :)

But what was even cooler than District Meeting, was the morning before District Meeting. On Tuesday evening, I got an email from the city of Erlangen saying that my Akte had finally been sent from Frankfurt to Erlangen, and I had an appointment with the Visa Office  for the second of February. Sister Yeck and I went, I paid €50, and there is now a lovely green sticker in my passport that says I'm legal to be in Germany until the end of April. 

10 and a half months and three cities later, I am finally living in a state of legality again. It's a very nice feeling. 

Friday: Was normal. I got hugged and my cheek was pinched by an African man who thought we were on a date. *sigh*

Saturday: We went on an adventure! To Oberhöchstadt! Basically, we doored half of the village trying to contact a referral from over a year ago. We met a lot of very friendly cats. I was very happy. :)

Sunday: Elder Van Dam and Sister Yeck introduced themselves to the ward, and it was a good day. 

Monday: We didn't have P-Day, and that was okay. We had Zone Training instead! It was way good, and I learned a lot. I'm still freuing myself that Elder Merkley is our new Zone Leader here. It's just perfect. 

At Zone Training, we all made a giant poster with sacrifices we had made to come on missions on one side, and the blessings we have received/will receive on the other. It was really cool to be reminded of all the blessings we've been promised. It was a reminder we all needed, I think. I'll tell you what I wrote in a moment. 

Tuesday: This day was interesting. First of all, on Monday evening Elder Gilmore and Elder Kramer (who is actually serving in Grafenwöhr, but was on a split) called us and asked if we could help them with an appointment they had the next day. A couple weeks ago, the Elders were called by a teacher who apparently had taught her class about our church, and wanted them to now come and just answer questions from He class because they were interested in what we did as missionaries. Well, fast-forward to Monday evening, Elder Gilmore is in charge after his Trainer has been transferred, but he's on a split so his companion REALLY has no idea what's going on. So we all went on an adventure to a German High school, basically, and answered a bunch of questions from a class about Theology. 

It sounded really intimidating at first, but it actually wasn't. It was a ton of fun, and we all got to bear our testimonies about various principles of the Gospel; mostly the Holy Ghost and the Priesthood. The students were very kind and respectful. They asked us why we had decided to come on missions and as we all told our different stories, the Spirit was SO STRONG. I KNOW someone in that room besides the missionaries felt something, and I really hope that they call us about it. 

All in all, it was a fun experience. I think most of the kids were interested to learn that we were normal kids just like them. It was good. And the Gospel was preached, so that made it great. :)

Wednesday: We had lunch with the Familie Hartwig. Bruder Hartwig was trained to be a cook, so everything over there is SUPER yummy. We had fish, and it was really good. Wie immer. I love going to their house. 

Thursday: Today! Today one of our members took us and the Elders on a hike. To say that Sister Yeck and I were under-dressed is an understatement. We both took light jackets because we thought it would be warmer than it was, but it wasn't. Thankfully, we walked fast so we were kept pretty warm, but it was still a bit chilly. I kept hearing Rick's voice in my head, telling me I should have done a better job at layering. I did take gloves and a hat, though, so I wasn't too cold. And I packed extra hand warmers in my bag for anyone who needed them, which was good because Sister Yeck got pretty cold. It was absolutely gorgeous where we were. Pictures will be at the end. 

It's been a pretty good transfer so far. Sister Bakker surprised me at Zone Training by asking me to do a musical number with her at our Leaver's Testimony Meeting. I haven't practiced yet, but it will be fun. We're going to do something on a P-Day with the Coburg District because I really want to try and spend some time with Sister Bakker and Elder Clemente before we all leave. It is such a huge blessing to have all these people around.

As for the spiritual side of this email, I was reading in 2 Nephi 2 this week, and I only got through the first six verses. Actually, I read the whole thing, but the first six verses stood out to me the most, and especially the first two. In this chapter, Lehi is talking to his son, Jacob, and tells him about the Plan of Salvation and the Fall of Adam and Eve. It's a great chapter, and one that we normally leave with investigators to prepare them to talk about the Plan of Salvation.

The connection I made though, was that Lehi tells Jacob that he has, "suffered afflictions and much sorrow, because of the rudeness of thy brethren." But then he goes on to tell Jacob that, "Nevertheless, Jacob, my firstborn in the wilderness, thou knowest the greatness of God; and he shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain."

That last part just hit me so hard this week. Jacob was put under a lot of strain because of his older brothers. Layman and Lemuel were causing problems, Nephi was trying to solve the problems but his brothers just used him as an excuse to make the problems bigger. I assume Sam was involved in there as well, and then Jacob and Joseph, the two youngest, were caught in the middle. I can imagine Laman and Lemuel making life hard on their youngest brothers because they followed the words of their father and Nephi. But through all of this, Jacob learned of the goodness of God, and trusted that no matter what happened, it would be for his good. 

That is such a powerful promise, and it's extended to not just Jacob, but all of us. God is our Father in Heaven and He loves us. Even when life is hard, and stress is mounting, and trials just seem to come one right after the other without a break or an end, we can KNOW that it will all be to help us become better. To help us come closer to God. To His Son, Jesus Christ. It is an amazing promise, and I am so grateful that no matter what, I can know that my older brother and Savior is right there with me and is showing me the lessons that I need to learn. It is such a blessing in my life, and it is an even greater blessing to be able to share it with others. 

I love you all so very much. Please take some time today or this week to think of some of the hardest trials you've faced/are facing, and think of how you've grown and learned from them. Find the ways that those experiences were, 'consecrated for your gain.' Then get on your knees, and thank Heavenly Father for what He's done. I know He loves to hear from each and every one of you, so don't make Him wait. 

I love you. Have a great day, and an incredible week!

Liebe Grüße,

Sister John

Andy Said it Looks a lot cooler when it's warm, or completely frozen. Either way, I want to come do this hike again. :)

 

The water's source! It literally just flows out from the rock. Which means it's pretty clean. Which means....

                                                                  

 ....We all totally drank from it. It wasn't too cold, and tasted like tap water. But I have now fulfilled one of my dreams to drink from a spring in Germany. It was a great day. :)

I Punched My Companion . . .

Liebe Familie und Freunde,

 

I should probably explain that subject line. This week we were at Gemiko with the Elders and our Ward Mission Leader and Bruder Zink was telling us a story of how he had accidentally cut himself at work by it didn't really hurt, it just bled a lot. Well, there's a German saying that says, "Der Indianer kennt keinen Schmerz." That means, "the Indian knows no pain." In an effort to help Sister Quain understand without just telling her what it meant, the Elders and I were saying it very slowly and describing every word. But she just couldn't quite get the word 'Schmerz.' So what's the easiest way to explain what it is? Have her experience it! I promise I pulled the punch, but it was like that time I accidentally punched Will in the face: not that hard, but surprising enough to make it seem more painful than it actually was. Needless to say, Sister Quain is fine and doesn't have a bruise and now she will NEVER forget what the word 'schmerz' means. 

Well, it's been another transfer with another transfer call. And guess what? I'm not going anywhere!!! In a completely unexpected turn of events, Sister Quain is leaving me for the delicious land of Essen (which means food, to eat, and is a city all in German, all at the same time) and I will be sent home by Sister Yeck. It will be a good time, so I am happy. Also, an elder from my MTC district is getting transferred to Erlangen! And another elder from that district is coming to the city just north of Erlangen! And then Sister Bakker is still in Coburg and life is good. Two Elders I go home with are the zone, so we now have four of the seven leavers in one zone. It's weird. Apparently I'm going home, but it hasn't sunk in yet. It can stay that way for the next six weeks, as far as I'm concerned. The ward already keeps making jokes about how I'm "dying." This is why mission slang continues. Not just because of the missionaries, but because of the members. Bleh. :P

As far as news goes, there is a LOT. I'm pretty sure you have all heard someone mention the new missionary schedule by now (because all of you are either on missions or live in Utah, which could almost be the same thing :P). We now wake up at 6:30, do our Morgensport (because we are obedient missionaries and because we eat too much chocolate), get ready for the day, and then plan for the day (which is weird because this step used to be at the end of the sixteen hour period that I'm awake for). 

 

After we plan we do studies, which consist of only a HALF HOUR of Personal on Preparation Day, and is still only an hour on all the other normal days. But then after personal Study, we normally do companionship study, right? Not anymore! Now we are allowed and encouraged to go out and proselyte! We are officially encouraged to move our studies to appropriate parts of the day where we might actually have time to do them, instead of just squeezing it all into the morning hours. This part is honestly one that we've already been doing, so now it's just an official thing. But here is the most important part for all of you to remember, and I am going to put it in caps so you see it.

 

PREPARATION DAY HAS BEEN MOVED TO THURSDAY IN THE GERMANY FRANKFURT MISSION. THIS IS EFFECTIVE STARTING 9 FEBRUARY, 2017. I WILL NOT BE WRITING AN EMAIL NEXT MONDAY, BUT INSTEAD ON THURSDAY. 

 

Okay, that looks dramatic, but it's important because I don't want any concerned emails asking what happened and if I'm okay. Also, President Stoddard doesn't need any more phone calls, so please just plan on hearing from me next in a week and a half. Okay? Okay. We're good. 

 

Work-wise, Erlangen is doing pretty super. We definitely had a surprise last night as we were finishing our weekly planning and doing a companionship review. Our investigator S. called us and asked when we could meet next because we didn't set up an appointment after we met last time. He said he had Tuesday free, which is the day of transfers, so that could be pretty tight. But he wants to bring a friend with him! Turns out, he's been talking to his friend about meeting with us and learning about the Book of Mormon and his friend wants to know more and meet with us! Plus, he speaks English, German, AND Amharic! We might have FINALLY found a solution to our translation problem with S.! The Lord is blessing Erlangen and I am so excited to see where it all goes from here. :)

 

I gave a talk on Sunday and I have been trying to prepare it for the last two weeks, but I was just hitting a roadblock. So on Friday night we get a call from Br. Schlien (who is a member of the Bishopric) reminding me about my talk. Nope, I hadn't forgotten but I didn't know what to say! It was supposed to be about how I know that God is there and has protected me in my life/the lives of my family and friends. Well, I have a couple stories about that, but I just couldn't share them. It just didn't feel right. So Sunday morning, I finally wrote down a few ideas in my notebook, then got up, went to church, started my talk by sharing Joshua 1:9 and then started talking. 

 

Friends, sometimes we really don't know what to do or say. We know that God has promised that He is there and that He hears and answers our prayers and that He will give us what to say in the moment we need it. But if you're like me, you like to know at least the first few sentences of what you need to say, if not the whole speech. But unfortunately, it doesn't always work that way. 

 

"Faith is a principle of action." An Elder in my district said that after making me jump off a table blind-folded once, but it's true. Faith in God and faith in Christ lead us to trusting Them and walking forward even when we can't see where we're going. It leads us to opening our mouths even when we have no idea what to say or what needs to be said. It leads us to trusting Them even though the very gates of Hell may be opened against us, and we have no idea how the situation we find ourselves in could possibly get better.  Buy when we trust in God, we trust in His promises. 

 

I wish I could tell you that I gave a fantastic talk and it was perfect and my German was perfect and everybody was crying at the end and lives were changed for forever and everything was just dandy. But that would be a lie.

 

What I can tell you is that I felt the Spirit, and I know everyone else who paid attention did, too. I can tell you that I ended my talk early, because I was trembling so badly and that it didn't stop until well after Sacrament meeting. I can tell you that my testimony of God and His promises was strengthened, and that I hope it will be a lot easier the next time to open my mouth and let the Spirit speak. And I can tell you that at least a few people were touched by the Spirit, which was the whole point of the entire ordeal.

 

I know that God lives. He loves us. He loves us so much that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to be hurt, mocked, scorned, scourged, and crucified for our sakes. They both love us so much, and They just want us to trust that Their plan is better than anything we could come up with ourselves. I know that is true. The restored Gospel of Jesus Christ is true. Joseph Smith was a prophet and Thomas S. Monson is a prophet today. I love this Gospel with all my heart. 

 

I love all of you. Thank you for your prayers and support. They mean the world to me. I look forward to seeing a lot of you in six weeks, but until then I want to do everything I can to honor the names that I put on my chest every day. I love being a missionary.

 

Have a fantastic day, and a stupendous week!

 

Liebe Grüße,

Sister John

 

The Elders all wore their lederhosen to Erlangen today. At least, all the ones who have lederhosen.

 left to right: Elder Smith (transferred-Erlangen to Frankfurt as a Tech Elder), Elder Wallentine (Bayreuth), Elder Crossley (District Leader-Grafenwöhr), Elder Stout (transferred-Bayreuth to Kaiserslautern English), Elder Gilmore (Erlangen).

P.S. Sister Siems is the new STL in Nürnberg!!!!!!!! I am so excited to see her again! I was her STL in her first transfer, and now she is my STL in my last transfer! Plus, we were companions in between so I am so excited to see her again. She is so cool. This transfer is going to be so great. :)

P.P.S. Apparently I am Health and Safety for Timberline this year. That is good to know. I need a First-Aid class to brush up on knowledge and skills. Would that be possible? Because that would be great. If someone is going to almost die on the course, I would like to know how to make that NOT happen. So yeah. 

P.P.P.S. Can someone give me Britney's email so I can write to her? I'd like to know how she's doing and where exactly in the world she is.