District photo from my last district council! It's crazy that this is my last email to all of you. It's been an amazing last P-Day. We went to the BVB Stadion and ate at an Italian place together.
It's been awesome. I've learned so much and had so many opportunities to help people. I'm happy that I've been able to be a tool in the Lord's hands to help people. One of the greatest rewards I have had is the friendships I have been able to make. I feel like I have finally got to know Dortmund, which is an accomplishment for me because this is the shortest time I will ever be in an area (two transfers). I'm giving a talk on Sunday as a farewell to Dortmund. I'm excited for that, I actually enjoy public speaking and they let me choose my topic. I love you all! Thank you so much for your prayers and your emails throughout these two years. It has meant a lot. Alma 34:32 Deuteronomy 4:29 Alma 26:30-31 This week we led a tour through the church for a group of students who were 18-21 years old. It was awesome. It was a nice opportunity to get to know people in a better environment where it wasn't on the street in a train. This group had signed up to come learn more about the church. The teacher did it last year too and they really enjoyed it. Unfortunately we didn't get any immediate contacts from it, but some missionary in the future is going to benefit from our efforts. We also had an activity with the young men where we told them about the personal meaning to us that we made the decision to go on a mission. We had an open discussion about what their thoughts were about going on a mission. Then we played some games with them. I also had the last zone conference and split of my mission. Elder Koch and I gave our workshop to the missionaries and we really liked how it went. We talked about how Jacob 5 relates to missionary work. I would recommend it to all of you to read Jacob 5 from a missionary perspective, it is really insightful. My last split was with Elder Heller. I thought it was really fitting, since we've served around each other for our whole missions. We had a lot of fun. He is also going home at the same time as me. Thanks for reading! The original Wuppertal district happened to have a meeting together at zone conference!Elder Webster and I with and without him wearing a weird hatMy last split, with Elder HellerZone ConferenceElder Koch and I in the library in the churchIt's been another great week here in Dortmund.
We had Mission Leadership Council yesterday and talked about some exciting new things going on in the mission. Elder Engbjerg of the Seventy came and talked to our mission and introduced the idea of having standards of excellence, which we then talked a lot about yesterday. It was also fun to see all the missionaries there. Many of them are going home with me. People keep asking me how I feel about going home, and honestly I have no idea. How should I feel about it? Good? Bad? I try not to think about it too much, but it comes up a lot and I don't want to be in denial. I'm not going to lie, there are things and people I have missed, for sure. I don't want to go home any earlier than is planned though, and I plan to really give my all in this last part of my mission. Elder Koch and I both have the feeling that God has prepared someone who we will teach who will get baptized here in Dortmund during our time together. We're working our hardest to find that person. Thanks for reading! Hello everyone, I haven't been able to write a weekly email that I have been satisfied with in a long while. So I thought I'd take the time today to really write my thoughts to you. This was a good Christmas. I wasn't really looking forward to my second Christmas on my mission, because Christmas time last year was really hard. It got so cold and dark, and the work slowed down so much. Christmas Day was fun, but the time leading up to it wasn't. I was grateful this year that Heavenly Father gave me so many signs that he is watching out for me during Christmas because He knows it is hard to be away from family. I went on an exchange and the missionary had some of my favorite Christmas music, it didn't get freakishly cold this year, and people invited us over on the 24th, 25th, and 26th. Of course there were also hard things going on, but when I look back I am grateful. It's also been interesting to see how God can inspire me and lead me to do things that will help others. Recently I felt prompted to read a little more about the Church's stance on Islam. Since I have done that, there have been several opportunities where my knowledge has helped me talk to people with Muslim backgrounds. There are also instances of God gradually changing me so that when I meet a certain person, I am in exactly the right place to help them. There is growth throughout a mission, but the people in Wuppertal needed the missionary I was at the beginning of my mission and the people in Dortmund need the missionary I am now. Being prompted by the Spirit doesn't always come suddenly. Sometimes it happens over the course of weeks, months, or even longer. I think the Spirit can give us general feelings and directions as well as specific instruction that tells us what we should do in that moment. On Christmas we had breakfast with the other missionaries here in Dortmund. They had invited their friend Ismail, and I invited our friend Ghaleb. It was really special for him because he comes from a Muslim background and this was his first time celebrating Christmas. He really enjoyed it and we were so glad he came. He was the first person I talked to in Dortmund who gave me his contact information, and he has stuck around. He's a way good friend and he speaks good English. He told me a little more of his life story on Christmas. He moved here from Syria and he is working hard to learn German and improve his life. Of course, video calling with my family was amazing. I don't know what the people are talking about who say that the last one is pointless because you'll see your family in a few months anyway. I really needed that time with my family, especially nearing the end of my mission. Yesterday after our appointment with Delia, an English member who invited all six missionaries over, we were going to head home, but we had the feeling to just do a little bit of street contacting. I had some noteworthy experiences where the Spirit was strong. One of them was with a woman I talked to. She said at the beginning that if Jesus was real, the world wouldn't be how it is. I made the comparison of Jesus Christ's Atonement being a gift that we need to receive. Unfortunately so many people reject it, and that's why there is so much evil in the world. She said she's a single mother and she doesn't see how this world can be just. I told her that she will one day be rewarded for her good deeds and all people will be held accountable for the good and bad they do. She really listened and I found myself saying things I wouldn't normally say, and in better, more confident German than I normally have. I offered her a Book of Mormon, but unfortunately she refused. I think she felt something though. The second experience was a little crazier. I talked to this man, and he said he has done too many bad things to believe in anything anymore. I told him that the purpose of faith and repentance are to help people like him, and that Jesus died for the sinner. He said he would like to meet with us and I got his number. Then he asked to call someone on my phone. I let him do it, and he called this woman and said the most awful things to her. I had to make sure he didn't do anything weird to the phone, so I had to stay there and listen to it. I won't go into the details of what he said to her, but it doesn't get much worse than that. Normally I would just say whatever and move on, but the Spirit brought the passages in my mind that as missionaries we call people to repentance. The thought came to my mind that no good missionary would ever witness a sin like that without condemning the sin. I found myself saying something I wouldn't normally say: "What you just did was not good. We can help you to bring your life back in order." He asked what the first step is, and I handed him the Book of Mormon with a testimony in German of a member of my ward back at home. I told him it would begin with him reading this book. He said, "I hope you two are right," (Elder Koch had come over at this point) and I said, "We are." A sceptic would point out that this man was drunk, and I would say he wasn't drunk, he was angetrunken, which is German for half-drunk or a little drunk. I really hope we are able to teach this man. I have learned a lot on my mission about people, and he is someone who our message could really help. I would love to see his life improve as he repents. Other than that, I just wanted to share a talk with you that I absolutely love and that has helped me with some of my doubts. It's called "What Is the Blueprint of Christ's Church?" by Tad R. Callister. He talks about how the restored Church of Jesus Christ follows the blueprint of Christ's Church from the New Testament and how only one church can fit God's blueprint exactly. He also shared this in response to critics of the Church:
An attorney knows that after a prosecutor presents his key witness, the case against the defendant has been cast in its worst possible light. Someone quick to render judgment at that point might determine the defendant guilty, but then an interesting phenomenon in the courtroom happens. The defense commences cross-examination of this same witness, and the following frequently occurs: The definitive answers of the witness start to wilt under the pressure of cross-examination. The witness who appeared so unimpeachable now has some inconsistencies, perhaps even glaring holes in his recollection of events. The seemingly rock-solid story of the witness begins to crack and crumble with each new question put to him. The witness was able to handle the softball questions of his prosecutor, but when the hardball questions of the opposition came, he could not withstand their intensity or probing nature. When the cross-examination is completed, the witness has been largely discredited. The observer who was previously ready to “hang” the defendant now sees with a different set of eyes the man’s complete innocence. Likewise, some critics throw one-sided questions at the Church that are intended to put the Church in its worst possible light. But questions go both ways. That gave me a lot of comfort and it makes so much sense. Thank you for reading, and I hope you have a great week! I almost forgot! My district is amazing and surprised me with birthday presents after district meeting! Another blessing! This was one of my best weeks yet in Dortmund.
We had an awesome conference with Elder Engbjerg, who is a visiting area seventy. He talked to us about helping people one by one. I loved that topic. That's something I've learned on my mission and he confirmed it. Sometimes, when I want to do missionary work, I get overwhelmed when I think about talking to everyone. I have realized that I always have the most success when I focus on what person I can talk to in that moment. When I consistently find one person to talk to, it adds up to many and we find people who have been prepared. What also helps is focusing on the person I am talking with, even though there are a lot of other things going through my mind. As I have focused on the moment, all of the little things I have done have added up to a lot of good I have been able to do. We also had a second Mission Leadership Conference of the transfer. We talked about some goals we have in the mission and Elder Engbjerg had us share what we love about President and Sister Boyer. It's been a rough but good first few weeks in Dortmund. Things are calming down a little now. For the first while, we were running from place to place all day.
It's been good to get to know the ward more. It always takes a while before you can get people to warm up to you. We've cleaned our apartment like crazy. It's way big and really nice, but that means that there's lots of places where junk can be stuffed. Yesterday was a cool miracle. We had decided that we wanted to focus our planning in the morning more on people instead of having every part of the day planned out. So in the morning, we called a new convert named Ross. He said we could come over. We shared a message with him about Christmas and the mission of Jesus Christ. He liked it a lot and we had a good discussion with him. He had made us fufu, which is a traditional African dish where you scoop up soup with a mashed potato sort of stuff. It was delicious. When we left, he told us that it was his birthday! If we hadn't focused more on people, we probably would have gone finding. I'm way grateful that God led us to him on his birthday. Other than that, I got my tablet back and it's working again! I'm way excited. It has been deactivated and/or not working for about six months now. I thought I might lose everything on it. It's back though! Now I have all my pictures from the beginning of my mission, and the email address of someone I taught who I really want to contact. As pretty as it seems, I've been praying for that to happen. Some of the most valuable things I have gained on my mission are memories, and those pictures contained a lot of my memories. Elder Koch and I had another tough week here in Dortmund. We have so much to do every day. I love it, but it can be a bit overwhelming at times.
I've been transferred to Dortmund! I'll probably stay here for the two transfers that I have left. It was sad to say bye to Etienne, Johnbull, Toni, and all of the nice members. On Monday, my last day, we visited Etienne, Johnbull, the Wieses, and the Sauers. It was a very busy day. We also had a conference call with the district leaders and the sister training leaders. The Sauers hadn't invited us over, but I hadn't had a chance to say bye to them, so I asked if we could come visit. I think they really appreciated our visit. Schwester Sauer asked me to come back and visit if I was ever in the area again. My first couple of days in Dortmund have been fun! My companion is Elder Koch, who I know from my time serving in Wuppertal at the beginning of my mission. Yesterday we had district council and had two lessons! One with a Nigerian man named Obi, another with a Russian man named Oleg. I'm excited to have an awesome last few months of my mission! At the Dortmund Christmas marketWith Johnbull and Elder ChristensenWith Elder Christensen outside the churchWith Elder Christensen and ToniLast Hurrah with Elder Christensen in DarmstadtWith the amazing families in DarmstadtAfrican shirt that Johnbull brought me from Africa! Johnbull is going to get the priesthood on Sunday! We're meeting with Johnbull and Etienne on Saturday and I'm way excited, it will be a fun day. We're also working with some new people! Shanshan moved here from China and we had a lesson with her this week. We wouldn't have gotten far without our team-up with our buddy Alex, who is also from China. We also met with Hassan this week. I was on a split with Elder Taylor, who sadly is going home this transfer. I've gotten to know him well since he's been in the zone the whole time I have been. Hassan asked us questions the whole time and next time we'll really get into the doctrine. He's from Lebanon. I love you all, have a great week! Elder Kimball Germany Frankfurt Mission Deuteronomy 4:29 Elder Christensen peeking though a box that a whiteboard came in |