The Parable of Schnitzel and Macoroni- Jan 20

We had an appointment yestarday. A sweet family in our ward invited us and the Zone Leaders for lunch. We had a wonderful meal. Durning the meal, the Zone leaders asked this young family if they had life tips for us... This is when I learned that I need to become somebody's Schnitzel. Yes, not macaroni, rather, Schnitzel. The father in this home related to following parable:

A man comes home and is very, VERY hungry. He goes into the Kitchen and opens the firdge and the first thing he sees is a bowl of Mac and Cheese. "Oh yes! " he thinks, "That is exactly what I want. I need that!" So he hastily takes it from the fridge, heats it up, and eats it. Upon finishing the Mac and Cheese, he finds himself still a little bit hungry. He opens the fridge again to see if he can find something small to satisfy his little bit of hunger, ad to his dismay, he realizes that behind the Mac and Cheese, there was a large, delicious plate of Schnitzel. Now too full to eat and enjoy it all, h realizes that in his haste, he missed the real meal.

Moral of the Story: This is a likeness to marriage. When missionaries go home, they should not wait to get married, but they should also not settle for less than the Schnitzel they deserve. They should beware not to be too hasty that they miss their Schnitzel.

As soon as the parable was finished, I quickly added my two cents. "Oh great. Then it looks like I need to become somebody's Schnitzel!"

January 5th:

Heyyy!!! I know, It's 2014... Crazy, eh?

New Years Eve is CRAZY here! So most people in America stay inside for most of the night, eat junk food, and play games, then watch the ball drop. Most Germans buy fireworks and light them off from the time it gets dark (which is about 5 pm) to however long it takes to get rid of the megatons they purchased. I'm pretty sure if a blind person walked around on that day, they would think it was another world war all over again. Most of the fireworks sound like bombs anyway. That and the smoke. We looked out our window and literally couldn't see anything because it was so smoky. Then, the next morning, we looked out again, and it looked like there had been a slaughter on our street. BUT. We did have a party with some members at the church. We ate and played games and lit off one box of fireworks which was enough for the night. I was satisfied...

We are playing nerf capture the flag at the church today. That should be fun! And I am staying in Chemnitz for another 6 weeks. Mal sehen when I get transferred, but for now, I am happy to be staying here. We've been seeing lots of miracles recently. We added several new investigators to our teaching pool and have been working on teaching with more power. AKA diving into Preach My Gospel again. 

Yeah! We taught our Iranian friends again! And they are awesome. One of them, Karim, speaks german really well, so he translates for the others that don't speak as well. They are so sweet and are very excited to learn more. We have another appointment with them. it's really nice to find people who have real intent. Pray for Karim, Masood and Nasser? 

hahahahahahahahahaha the missionaries. That's awesome. They just call and ask if they can eat with you? Gutsy. I guess that works. I still feel weird inviting myself over, but it works. And the members are usually happy. But don't worry about the missionaries. They love to do stuff for th emembers. I promise. I wish more people would tell us the things we really can halp them with. EG letting us do the dishes after we eat. But that is awesome. Haha missions. What a weird life. 

I am super happy we got to meet up with Christine too! She reminds me a lot of mom. I think you would really click. haha. You have a lot of the same personality traits. And Lucia is also SUPER sweet. I love them. A lot. 

Well, I told Christine on Christmas when she called that I don't know when I would be in Hamburg, but that I would be in Berlin on the 3rd and she said "okay, we'll be there. How much time do you have?" So we just planned on meeting up for the evening and I texted president if that would be okay if we overnighted in Berlin with some sisters so that I could meet Christine and he said yes. So the night before, I baked some banana bread and wrote my testimony in a Book of Mormon and brought it with me to berlin! We met up at the Television Tower and went up and saw all of Berlin by night. It was really cool. We just chatted, Christine asked a lot about missons and why we do the things we do, and we got Lucia to open up a little more. Then we met Uwe, Linus's uncle and we went to his house where his wife, Eureka, had made dinner. So we had alcohol free coctails, potatoes and wurst. It was really good and we just enjoyed eachothers company! It felt a little weird just chatting because I'm not used to being in a family situation where I am treated like part of the family anymore. But we were able to explain the Book of Mormon and give our testimonies about it. Eureka and Uwe invited us back any time we were in Berlin and then we left. I loved it though. They have such a strong family bond and it was so fun to be with them. You will LOVE them. 

What we usually get served? Klöse or potatoes, rotkohl, and meat of some sort. Sometimes it's schnitzel, sometimes wurst, sometimes goulasch... But it's all very similar. Has Linus made any German food? It's delicious. I like it a lot. 

Have fun at the Grand America!! I am sure you will :)

About going back in the fall? Yes. Please. I would love that. And don't worry about my GPA. I will talk with my professors when I need to and it should be fine. And no worries. It's not stress. I don't think about it that much, besides, it's not distracting ;) i still have a while. 

I love you! 

December 30: It's a Christmas Miracle!!! (And Happy New Year)

All the Christmas festivities in Germany happen on the 24th of December. Needless to say, when we went out of our apartment, there was hardly a soul to be seen. Not a creature was stirring... 

Anyway, we were invited to a member's house to spend Christmas Eve with them and were waiting for our bus. There was one other man at the bus station and as Sister Wallin and I were talking, I kept thinking to myself, "Why is this man not doing anything?" So, I gave him cookies. Earlier this week we had baked cookies for basically the entire ward and had some left over, so we gave him a bag. We then started talking and he explained to us that he has a lot of problems and that he didn't even know if it was worth it to live. This led to that and then we gave him a Persian Book of Mormon and basically made him promise that he was going to come with us to the church on Christmas so we could have lunch and sing songs and he could socialize with everyone else that was there. He agreed. 

The next day we went to pick him up and he had a friend there! Who turned out to be a former investigator of the Elders and he wanted to come with us. So we brought both of them to the church, talked, ate, had a good time. We invited both of them to church, called them on Friday and the friend, Karim, said he would come. He wanted to come a long time ago but he never had time because he worked a lot. So, when we got to the tram station to get to church, HE BROUGHT ANOTHER FRIEND!!! So now we have these 3 wonderful investigators that want to know more, loved church and are planning on coming again next week. 

I am so thankful that God is mindful of his children. Who knew? Cookies to find? 

Oh Christmas in Germany.... It's actually different all over the place, but my Christmas experience was specific to the Erzgebirge. Some traditions we experienced (which may be family traditions, but still...).

For mittags, they eat lentil soup. Who likes lentils, right? Well, after this one, I did. The lentils are supposed to represent your wealth in the coming year. We made sure to eat several bowls...

Abendbrot is always potato salad and wurst (hot dogs... wayyy better than hot dogs. But not bratwursts) and let me tell you, if you want to get fancy with potatoes, ask a German. They have perfected the art of the perfect potato. 

We had a mini musical performance, where anyone who wanted to played or sang or both and everyone else listened and applauded. The family we were at has 3 girls and 1 boy. We all sang lots. And they asked Sister Wallin and I to do a few more musical things which was a lot of fun. 

And then, on Christmas Eve, they open presents. The Weihnachtsman comes... Actually I have no idea when Santa comes. He simply comes when no one is looking. Sometime during the day of the 24th? Not quite sure on that tradition. 

All of the Pyramids and Schwibbogens are lit up and it's simply beautiful. 

Sister Wallin and I read the nativity when we got home :)

We had a wonderful week. With members, investigators, and being a missonary. I didn't realize how special Christmas would be as a missionary, but now I do. Which is funny because it didn't hit me until the 24th. I didn't really "catch the Christmas Spirit" like I do every other year. I think it has something to do with the fact that the Christmas Spirit is the Spirit of Christ, and we celebrate Christ every single day on a mission... But it was an amazing experience to be in a home where it dominated on Christmas Eve. 

We had another tausch after Christmas, and Sister Blake and I worked in a soup kitchen for a few hours. This soup kitchen is special though. This soup kitchen is run by the Catholic church, and the chef, or the boss, is a wonderful Catholic nun. It was really interesting to see how she worked, her personality and how devoted she is. I realized how similar she is to missionaries. Seriously though. Only she does it for her entire life. It was also funny to see the quirky personality she has. Just like every missionary I've met ;) She was sweet.

I had an interesting experience with the scriptures this week. 

I just started Mosiah, the record of Zeniff and his people. So, in chapter 9, Zeniff talks about how he makes a covenant with the king of the Lamanites that they won't go to war, and everything goes well. Then all of the sudden the Lamanites become lazy and worship idols and they decide they want slaves. So what do they do? They go to war. Seriously?! It's not like war is any less work than just doing your chores yourself. Common sense people. Common sense!

So as I was continually getting more and more embarassed because of the stupidity of the Lamanites, I caught a hold of verse 17 and 18. This is the reaction of the people of Zeniff to the war: 
 17 Yea, in the ^astrength of the Lord did we go forth to battle against the Lamanites; for I and my people did cry mightily to the Lord that he would ^bdeliver us out of the hands of our enemies, for we were awakened to a remembrance of the deliverance of our fathers.
 18 And God did ^ahear our cries and did answer our prayers; and we did go forth in his might; yea, we did go forth against the Lamanites, and in one day and a night we did slay three thousand and forty-three; we did slay them even until we had driven them out of our land.
WHAAAAAAT???! This was awesome. All the sudden, the people of Zeniff were AWAKENED, and then they went forth in the MIGHT of the Lord. And what did they do?! They conquered!! Fist pump. These guys rock! I know I've talked about being awakened before, but this is beautiful! Rememberance is an action word. As soon as you are awakened to something, you act. 
As for me, I was awakened to Preach My Gospel. There is an analogy of a fisherman who  leaves his apartment and fusses with his equipment all day, fishes for maybe 2 hours and comes home. He wonders why he isn't having a ton of success as the other fisherman. But the other fisherman leaves his apartment, has his line in the water for 10 hours and then comes home. Then I reflected on all of the activities we have been doing for the past few weeks and realized that some days I have my line in the water the entire day. Other days, I have my line in the water until I catch a fish and then pull it out. Other days I wait to throw my line in the water until I think I see a fish. HELLO. That's not how fishing works! The last week or so, we have been working on doing things more productively, more proactive, more efficiently. So we don't have to fuss about our equipment when we are fishing. And I have definitely seen miracles. We may not get a new investigator every day, but most of the time we are very close. We have also seen miracles with the members as we try to teach them how to fish. Just yesterday, we were able to share experiences with a member that has tried and tried to get someone to church, and we told her that we met a wonderful lady that lives just down the street that invited us back. Of course she was thrilled because they are neighbors and already know each other. 
The hand of the Lord is seen in every aspect of our lives. Every aspect of our member's lives, and every aspect of our investigator's lives. Are we willing to fish? Are we willing to look for the miracles that happen?
I am so grateful for Christmas. I am so thankful for the Savior of the World that came to Bethlehem as a baby - someone who knows exactly what we need because he's experienced it. 
I love you!
Sorry this is long. It was an awesome week.
Sister Babbitt

December 23: Twas the Week Before Christmas

I know I know, I will be talking with you tomorrow, but I'm planning on printing out all my emails and putting them in a book when I get home. Between my journal, pictures, study journal, planners and emails, I think most of the mission is covered. 

Besides, there were definitely some noteworthy things that happened this week. 

I want to tell you about a sweet old lady in our ward. She is less active and claims not to come to church because of her disabled son (but he is totally coherent. I just don't have the heart to call her out on her excuse) but loves to have the missionaries over. We are working with her on recognizing the Holy Ghost to tell her what to do with her life (aka, once she reads and prays every day, the Holy Ghost will tell her she needs to come to church. We want her to get to that point, and not explain until we're blue in the face the importance of church... Oh the joys!) but every time we come over, she feeds us. It's probably been at least 2 months since we saw her last and I had forgotten, so when we found her, she had prepared this HUGE lunch. 
Fail on my part. We had literally just eaten lunch. What was I supposed to say to her? So we ate it. And then layed down in the grass for like 15 minutes because we couldn't move. But later this week, we went by to drop off "Joy to the World" - the Christmas story that includes the Book of Mormon and what had she prepared for us? Abendbrot. Germans don't do dinner. They do Abendbrot. And it's literally what it means. Evening Bread. Unfortunately, this bread was slathered with.... butter and raw meat. 

Call me carnivore. I shoved it down without thinking about it. Then later... Sister Wallin says, "Sister Babbitt, I think we just ate raw cow tongue." You know what Sister Wallin, I think my stomache agrees with you.

No... just... No... I didn't eat anything else the rest of the day because I was worried that if I got salmonella poisoning and died, the autopsy wouldn't be able to figure out what caused it. 

We did have a wonderful appointment with Xiao and her son Shenzhi though! They promised they would read daily in the Book of Mormon and notice the things they feel as they do so. She also promised us that she would show us how to make real Chinese potstickers. That's not what they are called. But that's what they look like. 

We went to the temple this week! And did the session they have in English! I have TONS of questions, especially because the new movie (okay so it's probably not new anymore for you. But it was for me.) was so different. I'll ask you later. Sister Wallin and I tried but weren't able to discuss everything. I loved it.

Also. Lisa. I told you about Lisa before, the 15 year old girl that snuck out to come to church? Well. She is AMAZING. I already knew this, but now I know it more. She used to be taught by the Elders, but they thought it might be better if we were to teach her, since she is a 15 year old girl. But we went over to the Young Woman President's house yesterday to meet her and teach her, and we drew blanks. So we just discussed the entire hour. Lisa has basically converted herself. In school here, they have a religion section, and then a sect section. Guess where Mormonism falls? Anyway, she said that as she was learning about the big religions like Catholocism, Christianity, Islam, Judiasm, she thought it was boring. Then they got to the mysterious sects and somehow something didn't click quite right when they were talking. So she went home, looked up everything about Mormons on the internet, found only bad stuff but wanted two sides, so she looked up a lot of good stuff and found that there was a temple in Freiberg. So the next week or so, she hopped on a train to Freiberg to go see the temple. She talked with the missionaries there, received a Book of Mormon, and came back to Chemnitz. A few days later she was on the streetcar discussing the "Mormon Temple" with one of her friends, and who walks in? The Elders. Since then, she has integrated herself in with the Young Women, the ward, everything. She is solid. The only thing holding her back from making more progress is her parents. They also looked up mormonism online... They told her that she needed to "clear her head" and stop going to church until after the new year. Fortunately, she has an opinion of her own and has been meeting with the Young Women's president working on "My Progress" every week. She is a spoge for learning and absolutely loves it. When you think of a dream member, you think of Lisa. She jokes with us and says that she considers herself a member already. Even though she's not baptized. 

Christmas is WEDNESDAY!!! I am excited. I love Christmas. Everyone here loves Christmas. It's been such a wonderful time to share our testimonies about the divinity of the Savior! We got to sing in church 3 times yesterday. I can't think of a better way to share my testimony. 

Something I learned this week has to do with the way we feel the Spirit. I was thinking about it last week, and I read an article in the Ensign about teaching your children to feel the spirit and how there are lots of different kinds of learners. Then I read this verse:  3 For my soul delighteth in ^aplainness; for after this manner doth the Lord God work among the children of men. For the Lord God giveth light unto the^bunderstanding; for he speaketh unto men according to their ^clanguage, unto their understanding.

I thought about this verse before, and I thought, "Klar. The Lord speaks all languages. Of course he could speak to someone in Arabic, Dutch, English, Spanish..." but this time I thought of it differently. I thought of how I feel the spirit the most. Through music. Through someone explaining life experiences and what they learned to draw them closer the Savior. Things that are plain and simple for me to understand may not be plain and simple for someone else to understand. But they understand something way better than I do. Some people understand physics - and can see the evidence of God in the perfect mathmatical equations in the world. Some people understand animals - and can see God in the natural instincts and personality that develops within family units. Some people understand history - and can see God in the rise and fall of nations, the decisions of rulers and kings... And as one sees Him in these things, others see Him and His hand in different but equally beautiful things. 

How thankful I am for God and a loving Savior that know us perfectly. That know exactly what we need and exactly how we will understand it best. I am thankful for the calling I have right now and the promise that the Spirit will fill my mouth with those things that are simple and plain for others to understand. 

I love you! I'm excited to see you tomorrow!

Love, Sister Babbitt

December 9: Mormons, The Burrow, and Prayer.

First off:

AARON GOT HIS MISSION CALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have been waiting all week for this. No lie. You can ask Sister Wallin. I woke up yesterday and the first words out of my mouth were "I get to find out where Aaron is going on his mission!!!" 

Columbia!! Ah, Aaron. By the time you get back I will... hopefully be able to speak with you in Spanish. (I have made a goal since I've been here that when I return, I will be learning Spanish. Through German. Ah?) We'll see how that goes. :) I am SO excited, though! April 23rd... Yeah. It'll be a while. But that's okay! What is time, anyway?

This week was really good though! We had a few really neat experiences that made me 1. Jump for joy 2. Melt, and 3. Question if I was not thrown into a fantasy world.

Deysi, our beautiful Cuban investigator, was admitted into the hospital this week. She's been having a lot of health problems, and so she called us the day after she went in. A snipit of our conversation:

Me: Deysi, how are you feeling now?

Deysi: I don't know. I am not completely better, but the doctors are helping. GUESS WHAT?

Me: WHAT?

Deysi: I brought my Mormon book with me!!

Now if that didn't make your day... I encourage you to read the scriptures until you love them and get back to me.

I was OVERJOYED. Especially since it's like pulling teeth to get some of these people to read. She just gets it though. She knows the Book of Mormon makes her feel good and even though she can't really explain it, she wants it. We haven't had another opportunity to teach her since last week, but we're continuously praying for her :)

On Sunday, we had an eating appointment with a family in our ward. Guess how many children they have. Go on guess. 
Nope. Higher. 

They have 17 children. 17!!!! And you want to know the best part?

They live just like the Weasley family in Harry Potter. The dishes wash themselves, birds and other animals roam freely (surprisingly clean, though!), and the spiral staircase extends at least 5 floors. It was so fun. 

So, one of our investigators, Xiao, is from China. And her son, Shenzhi is 14. Last time we went to Xiao, we talked with her a lot about the bible and everything but Shenzhi wasn't that interested, so he went to his room to play video games. Towards the end of our stay, he came out and chatted with us a little bit before we left. 

Yesterday, we went to Xiao's and he was waiting for us with his mom at the door. 

We sat down and started talking with them about who knows what, and we weren't sure if he was going to be interested in a spiritual discussion but we're missionaries. That's what we do. 

Anyway, we planned on teaching the Restoration again, but ended up spending an entire hour on who God is, why it's important to know him, and how. 

Shenzhi was enthralled. (It was so exhilarating...!)

So we asked him if he wanted to know if God was there. He said yes. We asked him what he was going to do about it. He said he was going to ASK HIM!

So he did. He prayed, right there with us and his exact words, "Heavenly Father, are you there? In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen." 

The first time he said he didn't feel anything, so we explained a little more, gave him a few more ideas and he prayed again. The exact same prayer. He sat back in his chair when he was done and said, "I feel something. It's a higher feeling. Is that just me?"

We told him to pray again that night and when he gets the feeling again, he knows it's not just him, and that it is God, telling him that He is there. 

The simple faith of a child. 

The more children I meet, talk with and teach, the more I realize that it was perfectly... perfect that Joseph Smith was 14 when he received his answer from God. I think I'm learning a little more every day about childlike faith and how simple it really is. There is nothing complicated about asking your Father if he is there, for something you need, and simply putting your trust in Him.

I am thankful for Christmas. I am thankful for my Savior. I am thankful to be a missionary. 

Love you!!

Sister Babbitt

December 2: Happy December!

Well, yesterday was the first Advent! There are 4 before Christmas and they are all celebrated differently all over Germany. As for me here in Saxony-Erzgebirge area, all the windows are decorated with beautiful wooden Schwibbogens and Pyramids. I think I will be buying one and sending it home. Linus would like that! Maybe. I don't know if this is an all-over tradition. 

But you know what IS an all over tradition? 

WEIHNACHTSMARKTS!!!!!

And guess who got to go to the opening day of Dresden's? Oh man, I was seriously freuing myself. (quick Danglish tip: say it like "I was froying myself". It means that it made me overly joyous, but I made myself joyous... Yeah. German is awesome)

We had an austausch this week and I was with Sister Fugal in Dresden. All I can say is that it was SO great to serve a day with her. She is a star. There were a bunch of small miracles that day, we gave out several different Book of Mormons, and even met a girl from Boston who will come to institute and FHE, but we were one of thousands of onlookers for the opening hour of the christmas market. It was beautiful. I may or may not have shed a tear or two. 

The rest of the week was also great. We gave Herr Baer to the Elders because the ward is frightened for us. Just because he may be a little harsher around the edges, doesn't mean we can't handle ourselves. Besides. There are rules set up for missionaries specifically for safety purposes. He is still going strong, but we think it will be better if the Elders teach him. Especially because they can go over and meet with him even if their joint teach falls out. 

We did have a wonderful day on Saturday though. And I need to tell you about Deysi. Sister Wallin and I finally had a full day to just... tract and teach. No administration stuff or anything. We just... FOUND all day long. And it was wonderful. We decided we were going to go visit some investigators that we needed to make contact with for a while and find along the way. The first thing that happened is that our train fell out. And it only comes every 30 minutes. So we started talking with this lady that was waiting with us, turns our her name is Diane and that she has always been interested in learning more about us but didn't want to ask the Elders because they looked scary. We looked less intimidating apparantly. Haha. Then we were warmly welcomed into Hildegard and Clarissa's home and were then asked to celebrate Clarissa's birthday with them. We didn't stay very long, but it was nice to know that our relationship is not solely "teacher-student" like our lessons usually go. Then we caught the train back to Deysi. Deysi is from Cuba. She has a beautiful daughter (seriously, the most beautiful 3 year old I have ever seen in my life) and has SO many questions about God, about religion, about everything. She had been having a hard time because her husband is away with work a lot and the last two weeks were especially rough because she was sick, then her daughter was sick, and she didn't know what to do because she was alone and noone could take her to the hospital... (the whole time we are thinking "this woman needs visiting and home teachers") but then she prayed for help and was relieved a little, that's when we came. We read with her in the Book of Mormon and just listened. She had all these questions about how someone knew they wanted to be a member of the church and then she would throw in "I'm just curious. I just want to know what I need to feel. I mean, I'm just curious." She thinks she's being sneaky, but she really wants to join, even though she doesn't know what it means. Please pray for Deysi? Her husband is not too happy about religions and stuff, but she said that if she wanted it, her husband would be okay with it. She just wants to make sure she wants it before she is baptized. She'll get there. Probably after the beginning of the year, but she's amazing, adorable, and she invited me to her house in Stuttgart when she moves in the middle of next year. :) 

Something that I have been thinking a lot about is prayer. There is a specific way you MUST pray in order to gain a testimony. You can pray, yes, every prayer is heard and answered according to your understanding, but there are a few things that need to happen in order to get specific answers to help your testimony grow.

1. Prayers need to be offered to God in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ. 

- In German, Christ is called a "Mittler" which means, in essence, middle man. He tells us that whatever we ask in His name, the Father will give it to us. But there is no cheating with God. God is omnipitotent and knows the thoughts and intentions of our hearts. If you ask for something in the name of Christ, it has to be what Christ would want, too. You can't ask for a new Audi or something because that isn't the purpose of prayer. (And if you don't get what you ask for, normally it's because your will isn't aligned with God's) Also, you can't cheat Christ out of his role as "Mittler". He performed the Atonement SO THAT he could be our Mittler. We can't pray directly to God bypassing Christ. We would be cheating Him of His role as Savior. 

2. We are commanded to ask for the things we need.

- There is a JST for Matt. 7: 12-17. It says, "Say unto them, Ask of God; Ask and ye shall receive, knock and it shall be opened unto you."

Asking for things you need from God is a COMMANDMENT. Don't be afraid, shy, or even prideful to ask. (Remember, pride goes two ways: "I'm too good for..." and "I'm not good enough for...")

3. We MUST be willing and sincere to act upon the answers to our prayers. 

- I can promise, because I have experienced it so many times, and have seen it work in others so many times, that when you REALLY pray with a sincere heart, and REAL intent, you will get answers to your prayers. If you don't get answers, or even a peace, then I would invite you to look at how sincere your heart is, or how real your intent is. God knows, and so do you. Be honest. With god AND with yourself.

Well, now that this is longer than the Ragnar, I just want to let you know how much I love you! 
I hope the week is great!!

Love, 

Sister Babbitt

November 25: What a Week!

So this week was seriously full of miracles. I don't understand it most of the time, because we have SO much disappointment, but somehow, the miracles and the happiness never ceases to end.

First off: Christmas is coming. That just adds to the happiness.

We made two tausches this week! On Tuesday, as we were visiting some less active members in the ward, we talked with everyone along the way. Unfortunately, there were not a lot of people on the street that we were on... Okay let me preface this. The night before, Sister Hansen and I were planning for the day and we decided to pray to see how many new investigators we were going to get the following day. We came up with the number between 1 and 2. Fast forward to the next day. We talked with everyone, said hi to those people on bikes and in their gardens, and all the sudden, this man stopped his bike and told us that he had seen us in the city center here and there and had wanted to talk with us but was embarassed because he was missing his 4 front teeth. Don't worry though. He gets them back before Christmas. Anyway, since then we've had 2 appointments with him, he's been to church and to a baptism. He's super curious and wants to be happy. Pray for Herr Baer? Anyway, later on Tuesday, we were going to the bahnhof to get our train back to Schwarzenberg and started talking to this man that is German but lives in the Philippenes. He doesn't believe in God, but we had a really good conversation and he ended up taking the Book of Mormon and giving me his email address so we can stay in touch. I also now have a place to stay - with him and his wife - if I ever get over to the Philippenes. Haha

Noreen cancelled her baptismal date. She is too worried about what her family and friends think about her getting baptized, even though she acts like a fully active member. She doesn't make any sense but somehow I just love her to pieces. That same day though, Herr Baer accepted a baptismal date for the 4th of January (happy birthday Mom!). 

Our second tausch this week was absolutely fantastic. We taught this man that is 85 or something, has had two strokes so he can't move very well, and can't speak very well, but is completely and totally converted to the gospel. Two weeks after he met the missionaries, he found his own way to church. He just showed up. And he cleaned up his entire apartment, threw out everything that hindered the spirit in any way - and this was before he was taught chastity, the word of wisdom, etc... he is amazing. 

Also, I want to tell you about this girl, Lisa. She was found by the elders a month or so ago, and since then has been to church, knows it's true, and wants to be baptized. The only problem is that her parents are not so supportive. In fact, she snuck out of her house yesterday so she could come to church. What 15 year old does that?! Please pray for Lisa as well. She is amazing.

I did a study of Charity. Something I love about learning German is that the scriptures are opened up to me in ways that have never happened before. Here are some of the literal translations of Moroni 7:45 - this is cool:

Charity: has lasting courage, is kind-hearted, generous, noble, isn't jealous, not self-important, rejoices in honesty, yields (I think of observance), passionate, does not cast out, doesn't look for arguments, patient, consistant, and permanent. 

They make sense though, right? If Charity is the pure love of Christ, these things are things that Christ has. I am definitely lacking in some of these areas, but thank goodness for repentence!

I love you!! 

November 10

I'm glad things have been good this week! They went pretty well for us, too. 

We found a few new investigators and people were actually calling US for appointments. Weird... Normally it is the other way around. 

Being a missionary is the only time it is acceptable to invite yourself over to things. I don't really feel weird about it anymore, but I feel like I should.

P.S. I will probably be calling on Christmas Eve. In the morning. There are some members here that have already claimed us for Christmas Eve and they want us to stay longer than the 3 hours we are allotted, so they told us we can do our calls at their house. They are great. Haha

I don't have a ton of time to write today because we spent our p day going to visit an investigator in a different city.... Which was awesome and she committed to a solid baptismal date on the 21st of December! Her name is Noreen and she is amazing. She's been taught by the sisters for a while so she knows a lot but has not made a baptismal date yet. She will this time. Pray for her?

Hildegard and Clarissa are doing well. They are not really progressing at the moment so we are on a break... so to say. But we are keeping in contact with them. They are amazing and they will get

I love you! If you need anything from here, let me know! I wanted to send kinder uberraschung eggs but they are not legal in america. Apparantly they open the chocolate and take out the toy inside. Unfortunate. You will just have to get them when you come to pick me up. :)

Email & Pictures (to Kendal's friends)

I've been thinking a lot this week about repentance and practicing heaven. 

First, an analogy:

There is a little boy that likes to play in the mud. His mom has told him on several occasions that playing in the mud is not okay, and that he shouldn't do it because if he does, he can't come back inside because he's not allowed to track mud into the house. One day, the little boy comes home covered in mud. Mom finds him on the doorstep and tells him that he can't come in because he is muddy. He starts to cry. This is hard for mom because she wants to let him in but she has already told him that he is not allowed to be in the house when he is all muddy. So she sits him down and talks with him. She tells him that she loves him and explains again why he can't come into the house, but he can come back inside when he has washed the mud off. Feeling his mother's love, he goes to the back and rinses off. He comes back and shows mom that he has done all he can to get the mud off, even though there are still spots that are dirty. But that's okay because mom can help him become completely clean. 

We are living in spiritual mud. We can't possibly expect to come into the house of God and sanctify ourselves unless we have been made clean through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He loves us, he forgives us even when we are all covered in mud, but we are not fully clean until we are baptized and have received a REMISSION of our sins.  

17 Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen that your Lord and your Redeemer should do; for, for this cause have they been shown unto me, that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter. For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and ^abaptism by water; and then cometh a ^bremissionof your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost.

This has to do with practicing heaven. There is a talk by Brad Wilcox called "His Grace is Sufficient" where he talks about how this life is the time to "practice heaven". He gives an example about a wayward kid who's parents think that if he goes to EFY, he will be set straight. So they pull together the money and send him off. He lasts one day before he calls his parents and says "Get me out of here." It's not that EFY wasn't good, not that he didn't try to enjoy it, he did not want to be there because he did not feel comfortable there. 

God's work and glory is "to bring to pass the immortality and etermal life of man". How can he do that if we are not willing to do the things that make us COMFORTABLE to have eternal life? AKA REPENTANCE. I like the word better in German. Umkehr. It literally means "turn around". It's used a lot in transportation, a regular day to day activity. Every single person understands the word "umkehr" and when we apply that to our lives, we turn around. We turn closer to Christ and when we do that we are practicing heaven. We are practicing how to feel comfortable in the presence of God. We are practicing how to have Eternal Life. It's not given to us if we don't want it. 

So here is our challenge:

Every single person that has ever lived, and will ever live on this earth is ALREADY "saved" by the Atonement of Jesus Christ. They will be immortal. No problem. That's taken care of. But it's our job to HELP them practice heaven. Show them how. Invite them to the biggest Homecoming Party of ETERNITY! And help them feel like they belong there!!

I don't know about you, but I am feeling the urgency. I want everyone to be "at home" in heaven. I want them to know that they can feel comfortable and HAPPY for the rest of their existence!!

Gah. I want them to UNDERSTAND.

That is the hardest part. 

But I can testify that people are looking to understand. They want to know their eternal identity. They want to know that they are welcomed back into the presence of God. We meet them all the time! YOU meet them all the time! 

Keep your eyes open.

Love you!!!

Sister Babbitt

November 4.

I've been thinking a lot this week about repentance and practicing heaven. 

First, an analogy:

There is a little boy that likes to play in the mud. His mom has told him on several occasions that playing in the mud is not okay, and that he shouldn't do it because if he does, he can't come back inside because he's not allowed to track mud into the house. One day, the little boy comes home covered in mud. Mom finds him on the doorstep and tells him that he can't come in because he is muddy. He starts to cry. This is hard for mom because she wants to let him in but she has already told him that he is not allowed to be in the house when he is all muddy. So she sits him down and talks with him. She tells him that she loves him and explains again why he can't come into the house, but he can come back inside when he has washed the mud off. Feeling his mother's love, he goes to the back and rinses off. He comes back and shows mom that he has done all he can to get the mud off, even though there are still spots that are dirty. But that's okay because mom can help him become completely clean. 

We are living in spiritual mud. We can't possibly expect to come into the house of God and sanctify ourselves unless we have been made clean through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He loves us, he forgives us even when we are all covered in mud, but we are not fully clean until we are baptized and have received a REMISSION of our sins.  

17 Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen that your Lord and your Redeemer should do; for, for this cause have they been shown unto me, that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter. For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and ^abaptism by water; and then cometh a ^bremissionof your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost.

This has to do with practicing heaven. There is a talk by Brad Wilcox called "His Grace is Sufficient" where he talks about how this life is the time to "practice heaven". He gives an example about a wayward kid who's parents think that if he goes to EFY, he will be set straight. So they pull together the money and send him off. He lasts one day before he calls his parents and says "Get me out of here." It's not that EFY wasn't good, not that he didn't try to enjoy it, he did not want to be there because he did not feel comfortable there. 

God's work and glory is "to bring to pass the immortality and etermal life of man". How can he do that if we are not willing to do the things that make us COMFORTABLE to have eternal life? AKA REPENTANCE. I like the word better in German. Umkehr. It literally means "turn around". It's used a lot in transportation, a regular day to day activity. Every single person understands the word "umkehr" and when we apply that to our lives, we turn around. We turn closer to Christ and when we do that we are practicing heaven. We are practicing how to feel comfortable in the presence of God. We are practicing how to have Eternal Life. It's not given to us if we don't want it. 

So here is our challenge:

Every single person that has ever lived, and will ever live on this earth is ALREADY "saved" by the Atonement of Jesus Christ. They will be immortal. No problem. That's taken care of. But it's our job to HELP them practice heaven. Show them how. Invite them to the biggest Homecoming Party of ETERNITY! And help them feel like they belong there!!

I don't know about you, but I am feeling the urgency. I want everyone to be "at home" in heaven. I want them to know that they can feel comfortable and HAPPY for the rest of their existence!!

Gah. I want them to UNDERSTAND.

That is the hardest part. 

But I can testify that people are looking to understand. They want to know their eternal identity. They want to know that they are welcomed back into the presence of God. We meet them all the time! YOU meet them all the time! 

Keep your eyes open.

Love you!!!

Sister Babbitt

October 27.

I've been thinking a lot this week about repentance and practicing heaven. 

First, an analogy:

There is a little boy that likes to play in the mud. His mom has told him on several occasions that playing in the mud is not okay, and that he shouldn't do it because if he does, he can't come back inside because he's not allowed to track mud into the house. One day, the little boy comes home covered in mud. Mom finds him on the doorstep and tells him that he can't come in because he is muddy. He starts to cry. This is hard for mom because she wants to let him in but she has already told him that he is not allowed to be in the house when he is all muddy. So she sits him down and talks with him. She tells him that she loves him and explains again why he can't come into the house, but he can come back inside when he has washed the mud off. Feeling his mother's love, he goes to the back and rinses off. He comes back and shows mom that he has done all he can to get the mud off, even though there are still spots that are dirty. But that's okay because mom can help him become completely clean. 

We are living in spiritual mud. We can't possibly expect to come into the house of God and sanctify ourselves unless we have been made clean through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He loves us, he forgives us even when we are all covered in mud, but we are not fully clean until we are baptized and have received a REMISSION of our sins.  

17 Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen that your Lord and your Redeemer should do; for, for this cause have they been shown unto me, that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter. For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and ^abaptism by water; and then cometh a ^bremissionof your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost.

This has to do with practicing heaven. There is a talk by Brad Wilcox called "His Grace is Sufficient" where he talks about how this life is the time to "practice heaven". He gives an example about a wayward kid who's parents think that if he goes to EFY, he will be set straight. So they pull together the money and send him off. He lasts one day before he calls his parents and says "Get me out of here." It's not that EFY wasn't good, not that he didn't try to enjoy it, he did not want to be there because he did not feel comfortable there. 

God's work and glory is "to bring to pass the immortality and etermal life of man". How can he do that if we are not willing to do the things that make us COMFORTABLE to have eternal life? AKA REPENTANCE. I like the word better in German. Umkehr. It literally means "turn around". It's used a lot in transportation, a regular day to day activity. Every single person understands the word "umkehr" and when we apply that to our lives, we turn around. We turn closer to Christ and when we do that we are practicing heaven. We are practicing how to feel comfortable in the presence of God. We are practicing how to have Eternal Life. It's not given to us if we don't want it. 

So here is our challenge:

Every single person that has ever lived, and will ever live on this earth is ALREADY "saved" by the Atonement of Jesus Christ. They will be immortal. No problem. That's taken care of. But it's our job to HELP them practice heaven. Show them how. Invite them to the biggest Homecoming Party of ETERNITY! And help them feel like they belong there!!

I don't know about you, but I am feeling the urgency. I want everyone to be "at home" in heaven. I want them to know that they can feel comfortable and HAPPY for the rest of their existence!!

Gah. I want them to UNDERSTAND.

That is the hardest part. 

But I can testify that people are looking to understand. They want to know their eternal identity. They want to know that they are welcomed back into the presence of God. We meet them all the time! YOU meet them all the time! 

Keep your eyes open.

Love you!!!

Sister Babbitt

October 20.

First of all. I am pretty sure this week has been the best week of my life. Transfers were on Tuesday and since then, Sister Wallin and I have been on fire. (Funny side story. I went to Vienna with Sister Wallin's sister, Annisija)... 

Maybe it's because we are looking for them more, but we saw so many miracles this week. 

On Wednesday we had an appointment with Hildegard and Clarissa and afterwards, Sister Wallin and I just had a breakthrough about how we could teach them the gospel of Jesus Christ and have them understand. We thought that they were only not understanding repentance. However, as we executed the lesson (which was actually a board game like shoots and ladders that had rules according to what you needed to do to repent) we uncovered a greater need. The need to understand WHO God is. Clarissa does not have a good father like figure that she can imagine what God would be like (I am having a hard time explaining this in English. Some German words just catch the meaning so much more... for example. Repent in German is Umkehr. Which literally translated means "turn around" which makes this game make more sense) and so we are working on that. 

It's interesting because I haven't seen this problem before, and I have been teaching them at least twice a week for 6 weeks. This has come because of the focus Sister Wallin and I have been putting on the scriptures. I thought for sure that every missionary only discussed the scriptures all day every day but that wasn't true until I got Sister Wallin for a companion. This entire week has opened up my mind and understanding to a deeper level of the words of God. 

Everything we teach is validated by the scriptures. Klar. But here is an example of something we have been talking about this week. 

Remember how in the scriptures it says a bajillion times over "that they may remember the deliverance of their fathers out of bondage"? Cool. We remember how the Lord delivered our fathers out of the wicked land of Jerusalem. We remember how the Lord delivered our fathers from the Egyptians. But what does that mean to ME? Right now? 

These past few months we have been studying the Atonement in the Book of Mormon and as soon as we made that connection, the understanding of the word DELIVERANCE was opened so much more. Every time we read the word "deliverance" in the scriptures, it doesn't only mean a physical deliverance. The greatest deliverance that has ever occured in the history of the universe is the deliverance that the Atonement of Jesus Christ brings. He delivers us from the bondage of death and hell through the Atonement. The Atonement makes us FREE. So every time you read the words "remember the deliverance" in the scriptures, it's asking us to remember that the Atonement is the greatest deliverance of all - our Spiritual deliverance - that extends across time and space to cover every single person that has lived on the face of the earth. 

Cool, na?

We have figured out that the more we study and discuss the scriptures, the more PREPARED we are to share the gospel in a way that will touch the hearts of those that we teach. 

For example. This week we had to register Sister Wallin for citizenship in Chemnitz. We forgot her passport at home and were debating on whether or not we should do it the next day. We thought that since we had already made the plan to register her, we would go through with it. On the way, we ran into 5 contacts or investigators that we have had a hard time getting a hold of, talked with them, bore testimony, and made out appointments with them for this week. On the bus ride back home, we were talking about the things we had been learning and the most common theme had been that we were studying and discussing the scriptures like we had never done before, and as we do that, we are more prepared to meet the people we need to meet, because the words are given to us. 

We also got paid for a Book of Mormon the other day. We tried to give the money back to her but she told us that she loved what we were doing and that she wanted us to go buy some coffee or something. We thought it was ironic and I still have that 5 euro that I am holding out for something really good to do with it...

We are really excited for the upcoming transfers and are expecting some miracles! :)

We don't have anything really exciting in the zone this week, but in the next two weeks, we have a mission tour from someone of the 70. I can't remember his name right now, but I will let you know as soon as I do. So we will be going to Berlin to listen to him. 

Haha I am so glad you had fun in California! And that the boys had a lot of fun, too! Did you get to see Bryan?

I love you! I hope things are going well and that you are, also, continuing in the spirit. 

I know you don't have as much time as I do right now to study the scriptures or General Conferences but as a family, will you STUDY? Like, go through the chapter, ask what things mean, cross reference? Stuff like that? I promise that as you do, you will be able to feel the Spirit SO much more and that you will know EXACTLY what you need to do. I have gained a testimony of that in the last week. Everything is connected, but as soon as you start to "treasure up the words of Christ", His will becomes your will and you never have to make a hard decision because you trust Him. 

I love you! 

P.S. things are starting to come out for Christmas and I am having the hardest time not buying every chocolate thing in sight to send you home in stockings. ;) Haha Love you!

October 14. I love the Fall!!!

hey do you know the mission blog address? if not, it'sgermanyberlinmission2012-15.blogspot.com.

There are some pictures there of what's been going on in Berlin anyway... Some updates but not too many. I will try to get more pictures and stuff to you. I am sorry I haven't sent any recently. I can't believe how much less time we've had. I've barely taken any pictures... So I need to get them from everyone else in the district. Oh well.

Somaya and Ben have 4 boys. Suliman is 14 and doesn't know very much english or German so it's kindof hard to teach him. He's sweet though. Sonad is 6 Anas is 4 and Aladin is 4 months old. 
They love having us over but we are having a hard time teaching. I don't think they realize why actually we are here. They did give me a Quran though. Haha I will get pictures to you later. We will be visiting them this week so I will get some. 

Grr. Disgusting politics. I am glad that I don't have to worry about stuff like that right now. 

Yes! The fall is absolutely beautiful in Chemnitz! There is a bus we catch every sunday to go to church and the street is lined with huge oak trees that have turned completely flaming and are shedding their leaves. I will try to send pictures soon. I am getting them from Sister Schmidt later and printing off a bunch today. 

That is so great about Aaron. I remember getting my blessing and not remembering what was said, but the feeling I felt when I received it. I don't think anyone can ever forget that. It's something so special and so wonderful that you don't doubt that the instruction is exactly what God wants to give you. 

Apple cider?!?! Man. I am so jealous. Lumpia?!!?!? Double jealous. I wish we had time to make yummy stuff like that. 

Thank you for feeding the missionaries. Especially Lumpia! Haha you probably do this already...  but DONT make the missionaries eat everything. And don't dish them up. Haha I have had to eat WAY too much food because the members just give it to me. I'm banking on losing 15 pounds by the time I get back to the states. 

Aren't the testaments great?! I am so glad you watched it with them. We have an investigator, Noreen, that loves stuff like that. She will be baptized around Christmastime. She needs the stamp of approval from her parents though. Well... she doesn't NEED it. She wants her parents to be okay with her getting baptized. she is wonderful and has a cute little Doberman pincer named Schneewitschen. (Snow White). Haha 

Have fun in California!!! Say hello to the beach for me!!

haha I knew you would be counting down the fast sundays. I am not sure what's going on with my transfers. I called the office and they told me that my release date was the 29th of July but I'm not sure. I kindof have the feeling I should be home in June? I will probably discuss it with President Kosak later this transfer. We have interviews coming up.

Yeah, actually, I was able to go to the temple this week! I loved it. Remember that time we went to do sealings in the bountiful temple? It was kindof the same as that. It's kindof freaking me out how often I see Justin in my life. But something interesting. Breanna got to talk with Elder Bednar and Justin forwarded me the email his mom sent him with some of the advice Elder Bednar gave Bre. Here's a part of it:

1.  Do not go to school to play the grade game.  Go to class and learn how to learn, not just how to pull an A.  He said too many youth are going into school, only caring about the outcome, they are not learning, gaining knowledge.  They are just cramming to get a grade and then forgetting everything they learned.  He told her to seek knowledge and if she did this in college, she would always have a thirst for knowledge.   

2.  If you are reading the Book of Mormon and find it boring, it is because you do not know the language.  The Book of Mormon has it's own language and you must learn it to enjoy it.  Keep studying and praying and the wonders of the book will open before your eyes and you will love and cherish it. 

3. Do not run from marriage.  Marriage is divine and ordained of God.  Too many women are running from marriage.  It is inappropriate, inexcusable and faithless.  :(  He said some people find their eternal companion their freshman year, some their sr year, and some after they have entered the work force.  The timing is the Lord's.  Do not turn away when you have been given this gift.  Do not create lists to be accomplished before marriage or give the Lord a timetable that you will agree too...

4.  He made her promise that when she finds a boy that she likes and could see a possible/maybe future with him.  No later than the third date, she must promise, to look the boy into his eyes and ask him, "Do you have pornography problem?"  He said, "if he blinks nervously, stares like a deer or stammers even slightly, you RUN and do not look back.  Any man involved in pornography will only bring heartbreak and sorrow."  He said you may think you can help, but you can't. 

I have been trying not to think about it and how close it might be, but it keeps coming up. The big M word anyway. I know I have time. Goodness sakes, I still have a long time in Germany! But the more I serve out here, the more I want a family that is strong rooted in the gospel. I see examples of it in the wards I'm in, with the families I work with and the attributes of the wonderful missionaries around me. 

So who know's if it will be Justin or not, but the more I try not to think about it, the more prominent it becomes. I realize my role more and more. In the home, in the church, everything is coming into place and I don't know what to really think about it.

That is really neat about Elder Curbridge and what he talked about. I have noticed that, too. When we use uplifting language, we are happier, more focused on our strengths and more willing and able to serve others. Scripture study is awesome. We are reading the Book of Mormon as a mission before Christmas with a focus on the Atonement. I have way too many thoughts about it to write here, but I become more and more grateful for the Atonement every day and my love for the Savior is growing every single day because I have to USE the Atonement every single day. I feel like my weaknesses are highlighted the more time I spend here. Thank goodness for our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ who love us more than anything in the entire universe. 

Love you! 

October 7. Conference Impressions

Something really neat that happened. Last week we met a man named Ben that invited us over to his house to talk with him and his wife about what we do. We went over on Tuesday and gave his wife, Somaya, a Book of Mormon in Arabic and talked about it a little more. She was so thankful and told us that she wanted to read to her kids out of it because she knew it was something good for them to learn. We invited her to come to General Conference and she said she really would like to, and see what she could do to make it work. On Sunday, we picked her, and two of her sons up to go to the church. We were keeping them quietly entertained with coloring books and puzzles (One is 14 but has only been in Germany for 2 months and knows almost no German. The other is 6. She has two more boys at home, 4, and 4 months) while Somaya listened to the talks. She was so impressed with the conviction of the speakers, especially Elder Holland and is excited to have us over again to talk more about what she felt and what happened at conference. 
What a wonderful weekend, right?
We also went by on contacts at the university yesterday morning and ended up finding 4 new investigators. 
The Lord helps us with the goals that we set :) I am so thankful.
Conference, also, was such a highlight. Every 6 months we get to listen to the Prophet of God. Live. Ah, I just get so excited. 
I took notes a little differently this time. There were some things that the speakers said that stuck out to me, so I did write them down, but I wrote down what my thoughts and feelings were during the time they were speaking. 
As Ulisses Soares was speaking about being meek and humble, I remembered a discussion Sister Schmidt and I had a few weeks ago. The point was this: God does not usually come at a time that is 100% convenient for us. However, God does not have time restrictions. There was an analogy that we found. Say the president of the united states wants to visit you (we can also use Angela Merkl for this example. Haha). He says what time he will be there and you fit your schedule to his, right? You don't tell him "Ah, that's actually a bad day. I am getting a haircut". NO! You would conform to his timetable! So how much more important is it to follow the timetable of God, the supreme being of the UNIVERSE?
Takes only a little humility when you understand how important he is ;)
I also realized how much I love President Monson. Every conference he says that it has been especially uplifting, especially spiritual, especially marvelous.. But this time it was different. When he talked about his wife, you could tell that the messages and impressions gained from conference were just as much for him and his spiritual well being as it was for the rest of us. Sometimes I forget that the prophet of God is a man. He needs support and help, maybe even moreso than we do, from our loving Heavenly Father. 
To bring these two thoughts into connection, I am so grateful for a heavenly father that is all powerful, all knowing, and all loving. He has given His son to strengthen us when we are weak and to show us how to become like him. 
Conference is amazing :)