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!