Mud & Miracles April 15th

This week....
As usual, we had ups and downs. But the ups definitely outweigh the downs. That is something I have found as I have been here these 8 short weeks. 
We had an investigator call us on Tuesday to say that he was no longer going to meet with us because he found a Frau that he wanted to be with. Unfortunately, this Frau is 100% against anything to do with "Mormons". Which is sad because he has so much potential and so much faith, but as we talked to him, I had a feeling that he would be back :)

 

I also proved how bad of a companion I am.

We had to go to the Bahnhof to get a "thank you" present for one of the members that has helped us out a lot this week, and we ended up taking it to our lesson with the intention of dropping it off on the way back home.

After the lesson, we decided that it wasn't too far to walk to the member's home because we rationalized that it was only about 5 minutes by car, so at most, it would take us about a half hour to walk, so I insisted that we needed some fresh air.

I did not take into account though, the fact that there was no sidewalk on the side of the road.

Nor was there any "real" place to walk.

So.

We started off on our journey.

Through the forest.

In the mud.

Carrying a pot of daffodils.

I felt like Little Red Riding Hood.

 

Our miracle was... miraculous, this week. We have been teaching a man named Martin Graf for a couple months now, and he has had some problems attending Abendmahl because of complications from his accident not allowing him to sit for longer than an hour without severe pain, and Sundays are the only days that his father comes to visit, so he had been coming to only the first hour of church. Naturally, we wanted him to come to ALL of church, but something kept getting in the way. 
Sister McCandless and I were praying and contemplating on how we could get Martin to come to all of church, and we thought about someway getting him a priesthood blessing. As we prayed about who we should invite to give the blessing, we were impressed to ask two of the bretheren in our ward that weren't even on our radar. 
So we called them. And they agreed!
On our way over to the lesson, though, one of the brothers was criticizing us on the way we were teaching Martin, and actually gave us a long and rather loud lecture on the proper way to teach. Naturally, we weren't feeling the best as we got to the lesson, and I was honestly so worried as to how it would turn out. (Humbling moment for Sister Babbitt)
As we taught about the priesthood and the power of God, the spirit filled the room, and the two brothers were able to give him a priesthood blessing of comfort, faith, and strength. One of the members then proceeded to talk to Martin about coming to church and taking the sacrament - about how important it was and how when you make it a priority, God will make a way for it to happen. 
So guess who shows up at church the next day and STAYS THE WHOLE TIME?? That's right. Martin. 
After church, he explained to us that everything worked out with his father, and that his leg didn't even bother him once in the entire 3 hours. On top of that, he hasn't smoked a single cigarette the entire week.
And you know the best part? He said he knows that he was able to do these things because of the blessing he received. 
YES!!! 
I cannot believe the faith of that man. 
He inspires me.

This week in study, I have really been focusing on the individual needs for the people we have appointments with during the day, and one day in particular stuck out to me.
Gehorsam. Obedience.
As I was studying about obedience, and why it is so important, I came up with an analogy... Or maybe I heard it somewhere before, and I can't remember where it comes from.
Say you were studying for a really important test. The professor has given you a study guide with all the chapters, articles, and specific material you need to study for this test. Every question that will be on the exam is covered on the study guide, and your professor even promises you that if you need specific help with a certain topic, you can go directly to him and he will help you learn all you need to know. He wants you to be successful! 
So it is with our Heavenly Father. He gives us commandments because he wants us to be successful. He gives us a set of instructions for our lives, that if we follow, we will come out of the "test" beaming with happiness and gratitude.
The choice is ours though. The choice is always ours. When we disregard the "instructions" or "study guide" and instead, make up answers for ourselves, my bet is that we wouldn't score very well.

I am looking forward to another wonderful week full of miracles! 
This gospel is true. I know it. I can see it working in others, and I can especially see it working in myself. I wake up every day and am amazed at what conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ does! I find myself simply wanting to share it :) 
All My Love!

Sister Babbitt