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? ;)