May 27: Just Sos ya Know (not much time...)

I believe in the power of the Atonement. I believe in the Holy Ghost, and I believe in the gift of tongues.

The Lord did NOT send me to Germany to fail at German.

You know how I know?

I was told by two different people this week that I am fluent. FLUENT. In German.

I just thought you should know. I am still praying every day that I can better understand the language, better speak, but for the most part, I haven't had a problem.

But that's not because I am super duper good at learning languages. That's because the Lord needs me to speak, so I can. HE is speaking through me. Without His help, I would have absolutely no idea what is going on. At all.

I am so grateful for Him. I am grateful to be a tool in his hands, and I am grateful for the knowledge that He would NEVER waste his resources.

Love!!

Sister Babbitt

May 20: Bruder Graf gets BAPTIZED!

I LOVE being a missionary! I don't think I could say it enough, thank God enough, to really express how much joy I have found so far. 
This was especially prominent this last week as Martin Graf was preparing for his baptism. I asked him a few times throughout the week if he was ready to be baptized on Sunday, and he always responded the same, "I was ready yesterday!" 
One experience in particular that will always be something I look back on is the last lesson we had before his baptism. 
Sister Miller suggested that we do a Book of Mormon chapter study session with him, because everything we teach he just gets, and so our lessons always go shorter than planned. So we both studied 2 Ne. 31 the morning of the lesson and went in prepared to read, discuss, and answer questions. 
Now, this man is 75% blind, but when we arrived, he told us that he had read all the scriptures in his scripture calendar once more, and was THRILLED that we would be reading with him for the lesson. As we went through the chapter, I could literally see the progress he had made since the time I first met him. It was in his eyes. His understanding was more than I could have ever imagined at the beginning, and I thought to myself then, that if this was the only person I ever taught that wanted to be baptized, then my mission was worth it. 
THEN. Saturday came, he had his interview and when he passed, he was DANCING AROUND THE CHURCH! I have not seen anyone more happy than Bruder Graf was at that moment. This was especially awesome because he has to walk around with a cane normally, but he was so full of excitement and joy that he couldn't contain himself. 
The best part, however, was Sunday, at his baptismal service. He was taken in to get changed into his white suit, and when he came out, he could not stop crying. Which, in turn, made me cry. The whole service, he was so filled with the Spirit, there was no mistaking his conversion. He shared his favorite scripture, Alma 32: 30 and was just beside himself with joy. 
That night, I called him to ask how he was doing and how he felt. 
"I feel so good that I could give the whole world a hug... But my arms are too short!"
That moment, I knew that if I didn't see anyone else baptized, my whole life would be worth it. This one man that I had the priviledge to know, to share the gospel with, has changed his life and is absolutely ecstatic about it. 
Seeing the joy that came to this man only makes me want to work that much more. If Bruder Graf can do it, others can too, and Sister Miller and I are going to work. I'm not going home until I see Germany baptized ;)

May 6th: Happy Spring!

Congratulations to me! It's a girl :)

Yes, I now have a daughter whom I picked up on Thursday at new missionary conference in Berlin.

Sister Miller is AMAZING. I think from the moment we me we were great friends. She is 21, from Portland, Oregon, has the cutest smile, style, and has a super strong testimony. That, and she is SO excited to be here, to talk with everyone and she has TONS of new ideas. This transfer is going to be full of wonders.

We saw SO MANY miracles this week, I don't know if I can write them all.

The other day, we were able to make contact with a young man from India and make a return appointment with him. His name is Nitya and we taught him the Plan of Salvation. He ATE IT UP! I haven't seen anyone that excited about the Plan of Salvation before (except maybe my companion and I as we prepare to teach it) and he was able to point out tons of similarities with the Plan of Salvation and his Hindu beliefs, but he especially loved when we talked about the 3 degrees of glory. He always had a problem with heaven and hell and if God was our Father, why would he send anyone to hell? So that was amazing, he's great, and we have an appointment with him for later this week.

Another miracle has definitely come because we have been asking all the members about investigators, to help us with German, lessons, etc... We have been trying to plan an appointment with a member family and one of our investigators. It keeps falling through because everyone works at different times. We FINALLY made a night with our family work, and they said that if our investigator can't come, they want to invite one of their friends who is not a member. What a HUGE step! They are offering their home as a place for learning the gospel, and I couldn't be more elated.
Sister Miller is also a miracle. Yesterday, as she gave her testimony, the ward was FIXATED on her! Anyone could notice the excitement she has for this work, and how strong her faith is. Obviously, she was immediately welcomed. I am so grateful for the loving ward we have here in Cottbus and the willingness they have to help us with missionary work. I can see that as we become more and more excited, they do too.

We had a lesson with Jurgen, and after many many attempts to explain the Holy Ghost, he finally said that HE FEELS IT EVERY TIME HE MEETS WITH US and mostly when he prays. AH! What a leap! He has been struggling with describing any sort of feeling and he is coming along. Slowly, but surely. I keep thinking about the turtle and the hare. Sometimes it's wonderful to be the hare, and sometimes it's wonderful to be the turtle. Maybe Jurgen is the turtle in this situation, but he is moving towards Christ, and becoming more sure of himself every time he takes a step.

The sunshine is a miracle. We walk around smiling at people, asking questions, and some people definitely think we are crazy, but others have said something like, "I have no idea why I am telling you all of this. You just seem friendly." Yes, yes we are friendly. I am so glad for the people we talk to every day. Sometimes all we can do is plant seeds, but I am glad they can walk away from a conversation knowing that some stranger cared about them.

I found something in my scriptures the other day next to 2 Nephi: 13 "O that ye would awake; awake from a deep asleep, yea, even from the sleep of bhell, and shake off the awful cchains by which ye are bound, which are the chains which bind the children of men, that they are carried away captive down to the eternal gulf of misery and woe."

"Those who are committed to improvement break chains by having the courage to try." - Marvin J. Ashton

I thought about how fitting that was for this time right now. All we need to do to break those chains that bind us, to break that fear that has hold on us, to be obedient when it's SO easy to be disobedient, is to TRY. Try it. Break those chains. As I move out of my comfort zone, I break the chain, link by link, and it becomes easier to be obedient, easier to go up to strangers, easier to be "odd" in this world full of immorality and filth. I am learning every day how to break chains. 

Love you tons!! I pray for you every day!

Sister Babbitt

April 22, 2013: I Can't Think of a Title..

I can't believe I talk with people in German every day.

Seriously.

The crazier thing is, is that more often than not, I understand them.

Sometimes this is good, other times make for interesting stories.

For example, as Sister McCandless and I were walking to the bahn stop, we noticed a lady looking at us from her balcony. I said hi, and we started having a conversation (kindof awkward because she was on the 3rd floor balcony, and we were on the street... Anyway). We talked to her about Christ and the Restoration, and all the sudden, she asks, "Are you wicked?".

I don't know about you, but if I was looking at two young girls who just looked like they walked out of church choir practice, I don't think I would assume they were possessed by the devil.

Anyway, we told her no, and then she went inside and we didn't see her again.

Every slammed door is one step closer to one that opens, right?
We had miracles with two of our investigators this week!
We have been teaching a man named Jurgen and every time we teach him, he comments about how hard it is for him to understand the Book of Mormon. We tried a few different ways to help him to understand, but then we finally decided on just reading a story with him and asking him questions about it as we read. We decided to read Enos with him. He has been struggling with how to deal with the problems in his life (who isn't??) and who to turn to. So as we read the first part of Enos with him, we asked him how he was like Enos. 
Not only did he give a clear answer, he successfully likened the scriptures unto his life! We were so proud :)
As we have been reading with him, he seems to sense the love that we really do have for him and how much we want him to understand. He is not just a "baptism". His faith seems to grow every time we meet, and THAT. Is a miracle.
Another miracle is that Martin, another investigator, is ALSO reading the Book of Mormon. We gave him a taufkalendar with a scripture every day leading up to his baptism and he called the other night and was elated because he was able to read (this is the man that is almost blind), and because he was able to come to church for the whole 3 hours. And as I sat next to him in church, I noticed he was writing down questions he had about what was being said and doctrines he didn't understand. 
I almost jumped out of my seat for joy. He has definitely tasted of the Spirit, and he wants more. 
I read some of the March Liahona this week and there was a talk by one of the 70 called "The Power of the Word of God" and at the end, there were 3 questions that really made me think. 
1. Do I take time to study the scriptures every day?
2. If not, what excuse do I have for not doing so?
3. Will my excuse be acceptable to the Lord?
As I thought about this, I realized how important ACTUAL SCRIPTURE STUDY is. There are good books, good magazines, good opinions on doctrine that can be read, but the pure, simple truth that comes directly from the source cannot be copied. 
I can't count how many times I have been enlightened by reading directly from the scriptures. Something new jumps out at me every time. I am so grateful for the personal and companion study time we have. It really is so precious!

And to end for the week, I have been thinking a lot about a quote I found earlier. It's by President Ezra Taft Benson.

"The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature."

Meine Lieblings!

Please do all you can to make Christ a reality in your life.

I have already seen it working in the people we associate with every day. Christ does more for you than you could EVER do for yourself.

All my love!

Sister Babbitt