I finally got a photo with Frau A! This is in the Schwebebbahn with Elder Augat I wanted to attach some photos of the mountain of Lebensmittel (groceries) we bought this week, but the Solingen computer doesn't have the right slot. Elder Webster, my new companion, eats at least twice as much as Elder Hyatt. Elder Webster is an athlete and a big dude. People ask us often if we are football players or something. He plays rugby, I just have broad shoulders. I was talking to someone on the bus this week, and they told me that a nickname for Wuppertal is Bergisches Land (mountainous land). It's not like Utah, but it is definitely a valley. And as a missionary, you do a lot of walking. I like it though. I might have said this last week, but having a new companion makes things so much different. It's been awesome. Elder Webster has really helped me get motivated. For instance, he wanted to speak German 9 am to 9 pm, and we've been doing it! I went on a split with our Zone Leader Elder Augat this week, and he didn't let us waste any time. He didn't even want to take a pause to write some people down that we had contacted. He was also very motivating to me though, which I needed. I feel like I am juggling a lot being District Leader and a Trainer. At the end we came back together for District Meeting, and the Spirit was so strong as Elder Augat and Elder Happel talked to us about how to deal with the challenges of being a new missionary. They showed such love for our District. That is what I asked them to talk about, because we have two new missionaries in our District who have both had some hard first weeks. Frau A. came to a Familienheimabend at the Erstfelds this week! It was a really fun time, I'm just sad Elder Webster didn't get to meet her! When we were leaving Schwester Erstfeld and Frau A. hugged, which made me happy. They have become great friends! I am happy we have been able to help that friendship happen. We have another Termin too! She's been talking a hard workload because in Germany the children have Ferien (vacation or break) for only six weeks, so the parents like to go somewhere with their children. We went to this Fest called Kirmis and rode some rides, it was so fun!My spiritual thought this week comes from Matthew 10, which the Zone Leaders asked our District to read. This chapter is about the Apostles and what Jesus said to them before he sent them out into the world. I have been trying hard to think less about myself and lose myself in missionary service. Having a District to watch over has made it easier, but I still need to work at it. I know that so much more happiness will come through helping others than through thinking about and being concerned for myself.
Matthäus (Matthew) 10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. Wer das Leben gewinnen will, wird es verlieren; wer aber das Leben um meinetwillen verliert, wird es gewinnen. German phrase of the week: Es gibt nicht gutes, es sei denn man tut es. Translation: Nothing good happens without someone doing it. TL;DR -Who are you calling bergisch? -Juggling -Elder Webster doesn't meet Frau A. -Getting lost is good? Germany Frankfurt Mission Alma 34:32 This week was my first full one as District Leader in the Wuppertal District. It's been hard to be an example, because there are a lot of things I feel like I am still figuring out. Getting around, for example. That is hard for me. There are so many Verkehrsmittel (modes of transportation) here in Germany, it gets so complicated sometimes! I'm also a Trainer, which is hard becuase there are so many things I just haven't experienced. I'm just trying to be my best self and trying to help Elder Webster as best as I can. The best experience we had this week with an investigator was with Tom. We haven't taught him before. We met him on the street a week ago, and had our lesson with him yesterday. It went so well! His girlfriend Anneta was also there. We hadn't met her before. She had lots of questions about the Book of Mormon which we did our best to answer. Towards the end we described feelings that the Holy Ghost gives us and asked if they had ever felt those feelings. Tom said he felt them when he met us on the street! That was such a great moment. We extended the baptismal commitment and they were not angry but wanted to understand more first. They agreed to read in the Book of Mormon! The rest of our investigators have various problems that haven't allowed us to teach them this week. We did have a lesson with Mario and Helga on Friday. We started talking about baptism and Mario asked to leave and said he would let us know if he wanted us to come back. We'll win him back though! He has said that to us before. The following is an excerpt from Elder Webster's letter about the same thing. "So last week we had a lesson with Mario. Mario is an amazing person who loves Christ and knows a ton about the bible and reads the Book of Mormon. We had our lesson with him in his Wohnung and it went pretty good. We were teaching lesson 3 about the gospel of Jesus Christ and we also talked about the word of wisdom because he had a smoking problem which is totally okay and he said he knows it's bad and wants to stop. Then at the end of the lesson we asked if he wanted to be baptized and he told us he was a born again Christian and a lot of other German stuff I didn't really understand and told us this isn't what he wants right now and he didn't want to meet with us and if he wants to be Mormon he would anmeld himself and then we were outside on the curb and the rain started to come down. Like literally it started pouring. And I was devastated. My heart was so broken and I didn't know what to do or think. And while we were sitting waiting for a bus just weighed down by the wet depression, a guy pulls up and offers us a ride. Random guy. Never met him before. And people do not do that in Germany. Like no one. And he offers us a ride. And I asked the spirit if it was okay and I didn't hear grandpa Jack whisper anything in my ear so we got in and we thanked him and asked him why and he just shrugged and said God told him to. And we asked him his name and get this. It was Mario. Lol. It was an interesting car ride. He was listening to the radio and it was playing American oldies and he was singing them asking me if I could understand the lyrics. It was cool. Then we tried to tell him we believe God sent him to be taught by us haha. And we gave him a card and invited him to church. But it was such a testimony to me that God cares about me and he loves me. And I am watched over protected and helped of God. And another testimony that there are lots of people who need the gospel!" Moroni 10:32
Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God. Ja, kommt zu Christus, und werdet in ihm vollkommen, und verzichtet auf alles, was ungöttlich ist, und wenn ihr auf alles verzichtet, was ungöttlich ist und Gott mit all eurer Macht, ganzem Sinn und aller Kraft liebt, dann ist seine Gnade ausreichend für euch, damit ihr durch seine Gnade in Christus vollkommen seiet; und wenn ihr durch die Gnade Gottes in Christus vollkommen seid, könnt ihr die Macht Gottes keineswegs leugnen. Elder Kimball and Elder Webster in the Frankfurt BahnhofEverything is changing. I feel like I'm on a new mission. On Saturday, I was called as a trainer and as the District Leader here in Wuppertal! Elder Heller, who is six weeks younger than me on his mission, is also training! That means we are still one of the youngest districts in the mission! That also means that our district went in all different directions. Elder Blackner went off to be District Leader in Koblenz, and Elder Hyatt was transferred to Würzburg! The next couple of days were insane. On Sunday Elder Hyatt and I had a lesson with K., brought the sacrament to some members, and said goodbye to the Erstfelds. On Monday we got our travel plans, said goodbye to the Lazar family, and taught Moustafa and his family a first lesson. Elder Hyatt packed that night, after seven months living in Wuppertal, and I tried to clean the apartment as best as I could so the new missionary would have a good first impression. Tuesday we all went our separate ways! We Elder Heller and I didn't find out who we were training until the meeting Tuesday night, because that's how it works. What ended up happening was really cool. I got paired with Elder Webster, from St. George, Utah. Elder Bringhurst was called to train in his area, Hagen, and he was paired with Elder Bradshaw. Elder Bringhurst, Elder Bradshaw, and Elder Webster all know each other from high school! Hagen is right next to Wuppertal, which means we will see each other at Zone Conferences. Yesterday Elder Webster was wearing a shirt that said "Wie ein Chef" (like a boss) and he said it came from the German club that the three of them were in in high school! Highlights from our District photo shootElder Webster seems awesome! He left on his mission fresh out of high school, and he played basketball, rugby, and football in high school. He's been very brave and has had some good German conversations with people. I'm flying not only Wuppertal, but also the District now! Well, the Lord is flying the area and the District, but you know what I mean. That means that this is now Wuppertal District instead of Solingen District! Yay! Elder Heller got paired with Elder Koch. I got to know Elder Koch a bit before the pairing meeting, and I'm excited for our new District! I felt prompted to go over and talk to Elder Koch and thought he might be my new trainee. It turns out he's in my new District! Elder Koch and Elder Webster know each other from the MTC, so that should be fun. The SchwebebahnSo on Saturday, we had an appointment with our investigator Parisa, and Bishop Franke had agreed to come with us. Parisa wasn't home, so we taught their family about the importance of families and about prayer. Parisa's mom offered us cookies, but the Bishop said he couldn't have any because he didn't want to lose his washboard. At first we didn't understand what he was saying, and then we got that he meant his six-pack. Only in Wuppertal, Germany do you have a Bishop who worries about his six-pack. Bishop asked us where we were going next, and we told him we were going to visit Andre and his mother. He knows them well, so he drove us there and came with us. Andre's mother expressed all these concerns, and the Bishop talked and talked with her. We taught a short lesson and invited them to church, but it didn't seem to have much impact. Finally the problem came up that the kids don't help out enough around the house. Bishop stopped the lesson right there and told us all we were going to clean the house while Andre made dinner. And that we did. Everyone helped, even little Maria, who Elder Hyatt gave little tasks to do. It reminded me of what I learned about home teaching back home--don't ask what you can do for someone, just do it. We came together with the family and said a prayer at the end, after talking about how they can all work together better as a family. The Lazars said they want to come to church this Sunday! Well, I hope this email/blog post finds everyone doing well! Life on a mission is so simple, I love it! We have two years to focus on serving God! I know life back home isn't always so focused, but I know that God will help you. Push through! First pictures with Elder WebsterIn trying to prepare to be a good District Leader and Trainer, I've been reading the Missionary Leadership section from our handbook. What stuck out to me is that leadership positions are not a way to be above others, sondern (rather) an opportunity to serve them. Jesus said "whosoever will be great among you, let him be your servant." Service is an amazing opportunity and like our handbook says, it can help you "develop greater love". Matthew 20:25-28 25 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. 26 But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; 27 And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: 28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. German phrase of the week: Ich stecke den Stecker in die Steckdosen. Translation: the German way to say you are plugging something into an outlet. It involves a lot of stecking, in case you didn't notice. TL;DR -I go on another mission? -Washboards and cleaning -Humbling words -Stecking Elder Kimball Germany Frankfurt Mission Alma 34:32 Elder Hyatt's LEGO robo snailPictures from EasterWe had a lesson with Frau A., and she agreed to a return appointment too! The Erstfelds were there--they are the members who are usually at Frau A.'s lessons and they love meeting with her. They have missed her these past couple weeks, and so have Elder Hyatt and I! We taught her about the Sabbath and she committed to read Mosiah 18. She's told us she works on Sunday, but Elder Hyatt and I have talked about Frau A. and we think as long as she is keeping commitments, she will be getting closer to baptism. We lost contact with K. for a while, so her baptismal date (this Saturday) won't be going through. She called us today and wants to talk to us, so we'll see what happens! I called the Austausch Elder Blackner and I had the Schafftausch. Schaffen is a German verb that means to get through something or accomplish something. We had back to back appointments, one in Schwelm where we had to show our investigators how to get there. But we schaffed it! The scripture I wanted to share is from the Book of Mosiah from the Book of Mormon. It involves Alma's faithful group of saints. They had been obedient, but were still going through hard things. This scripture came to mind when our water heater kept turning off while I was trying to shower, but it does have deeper meaning to me also. Mosiah 23: 21-22 Nevertheless the Lord seeth fit to chasten his people; yea, he trieth their patience and their faith. Nevertheless—whosoever putteth his trust in him the same shall be lifted up at the last day. Yea, and thus it was with this people. Dennoch hält es der Herr für richtig, sein Volk zu züchtigen; ja, er prüft ihre Geduld und ihren Glauben. Dennoch—wer auch immer sein Vertrauen in ihn setzt, der wird am letzten Tag emporgehoben werden. Ja, und so war es mit diesem Volk. Elder Kimball Germany Frankfurt Mission Alma 34:32 This is a side-by-side that Elder Hyatt made |