Hallo! This week was awesome. Here are my highlights!
Dienstag,
März 8: We had zone meeting and it was all auf Deutsch, which made for
grumpy Sister Simpson. We had an essen termine (eating appointment) with
an english couple in our ward, though, so that was fun.
Mittwoch,
märz 9: We visited with a Sister in our ward who told us about all of
her frustrations and how her life isn't fair. Not going to lie, I felt
like I couldn't tell her that Christ would solve all of her problems.. I
felt like I didn't understand that because I haven't experienced
anything like she had. (Pause: See Samstag for that answer). We also had
a lesson with our 'Persian Pals.' F (speaks Farsi and a little
English) was baptized the week before I got there, H (speaks german,
english and farsi)has been a member for a couple years, and K
(speaks Farsi and German) is a recent convert also that has been taught
by different elders. They are So COOL. Seriously, I love them. F has a super cool conversion story. He lived in Iran and he was
successful. He had an architectural job, a car, a house, a girlfriend.
One day, he ended up in a Christian church, and decided to follow Jesus
Christ after that. He had to leave the country, so he escaped and made
it to Germany. Then he found the missionaries and wanted to be baptized,
but had to wait for the VISA office and there were a whole bunch of
miracles that happened so he could be baptized. He had such a strong
testimony and love of the gospel. He only speaks Farsi, so we/the other
sisters teach him in english and H translates. Those three have
become best friends because they help each other. They are so cool.
Donnerstag:
Happy b-day Lizzy! We went finding, and at the end we met this nice
lady who wanted to talk to us in english. She talked to us for 10
minutes about what we are doing there, and we gave her a pass along card
and then we had to go. I keep hoping she will call us. We volunteered
at the International School. We served lunch to the little preschool
classes, and then helped out in the library. Later, we went to the Kita
(daycare). I was nervous because I don't understand kids and don't
really know 'du sprache' but I just played with animals with a little
boy and it was fun. We had an essen termine with another english family
in our ward and we talked about Joseph Smith. The husband is from
Australia and his wife is from the Phillipines and is not a member. They
are so cool and I really love them. We talked about Joseph Smith.
Freitag:
We had lunch with a lady in our ward and her 8 year old daughter. On
the way there, these 2 ladies across the street smiled and waved at me.
So I checked to make sure they were waving at me and waved back. Then
Sister Porter told me they were the Jehovah's Witnesses. Haha, figures.
Missionaries are nice, friendly people. We taught (in german) an
investigator named M from Egypt about the Godhead, and one of our
new converts came with us. It was such a blessing to have her with us
because she could explain her testimony and how she came to know, and I
couldn't understand much and she could. We had to go to the bathroom
super badly on the way home and we went into this mall and found a free
bathroom!!! There aren't many free bathrooms in Germany, let me tell
you. It was a miracle.
Samstag: we went running
and found a zipline. Need I say more. We went finding for like 5 hours,
and it was deceptively nice outside (as in it looked nice but was
actually FREEZING). We saw 3 kids under the age of 8 straight-up smoking
cigarettes. We were distrubed. We would go pass people and ask if we
could ask them a question and they would look at us weird and say No.
They were not very friendly and we got really discouraged. We went and
kligled in the apartments nearby and I said hi to a russian guy and
then he talked at us about how all
religions are good and have some truth and he's read the Koran and the
Bible and they all have the same 10 commandments, and he showed us his
Buddha necklace and told us he wasn't married and I actually didn't
understand that much because he was speaking german with a russian
accent. haha. He talked at us for 30 minutes, I kid you not. We were
freezing and lost all of our body heat. We went to give him a Russian
Book of Mormon yesterday, because he wanted one.. We left it on his
doormat to his apartment. He made up for all the lack of talking from
everyone earlier. Haha. We had a lesson with a man from Nigeria named
Chima. He has a whole bunch of financial stress and struggles right now,
and we taught about Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ can give us peace in our
lives. Our trials might not go away when we want them to and the way we
want them to, but I know that Christ gives us peace in our lives in the
midst of them. There is no other source that will help as much as Jesus
Christ. I can promise you that. I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ
gives us perspective in the our trials.
Sonntag:
Präsident Fingerle came and spoke in Sacrament meeting. He spoke in
German and Sister Pohl translated for the english speakers (and H
translated from English to Farsi for F). So cool. A sister in our
ward spoke in English about prayer and the peace she has had in her
life because of Prayer (John 14:27).
I have been trying to make my prayers more meaningful and it has been
incredible. She invited her german teacher, and her name is Peggy. She
was really touched and cried through her whole talk, and clapped in the
middle. :) She came to sunday school and we talked about Jesus Christ and His life. It was probably the coolest Sunday
School lesson I've ever been in. Elder Smith described the last week of
Christ's life, and the spirit was so strong, you could literally feel
it. It was so special. She told us that she loved both meetings because
it was so personal and applicable in our lives. I love that about the
gospel. It is so so So personal. We are meeting with her on Tuesday,
and I am so excited. We taugh Relief Society about Jospeh Smith. I
learned a lot preparing for that. We split the sisters into groups and
they basically taught each other. Joseph Smith is such a good example.
He was christlike in his example of Charity, he was humble and his
entire life was led by God by seeking revelation from Him. He not only
endured, but endured well. I am so thankful for him and all he did for
the church. He always knew who he faced: Jesus Christ.
This
week was really cool. I have seen how the spirit works within people,
and have seen them come to realize that they have a Savior who loves
them, who suffered for not only their sins so they can be forgiven, but
for their sorrows and pains. Christ suffered for the sorrows and pains
of EVERY person who has or will ever live. If you think about the awful
things that people have gone through, that is incredible. He is the
source of peace and light. In Him, we find new life, now and after we
die. What an incredible gift! (I love the new Easter video. Share it
with people!! We are using it all the time. ) I studied John 15:4-12
this week. I love the idea that Christ is the vine. He connects us to
Heavenly Father. Without Him, we a just a branch, but with Him, we have
life. We can become so much more. I love this gospel. I am so thankful
to be here and to have the opportunity to share the message of Jesus
Christ with everyone I meet. That message brings love, peace, eternal
happiness.
Love you all. Till next time.
Sister Simpson
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