May 19: Week One: Take Two

I honestly can't say that I remember exactly what happened my first week in Dresden last time... I mean, I definitely remember parts of it, but as a whole? I think I was probably too jet-lagged to really take anything in. All I remember was not understanding anything, eating good bread and chocolate and really liking my companions. 

This week was probably pretty similar. Haha

Between juggling contacts, meetings, street contacting, and the two lessons we had this week (yeah, pray that we find more people.) along with 4 hours of study daily and trying to find somewhere to fit eating time... I lost my train of thought. This is probably a pretty good representation of what happened in general this week. Orginization is getting better, though. We ACTUALLY have plans for this upcoming week!!

You know, I feel like I have done this before. Oh wait. I have. Two transferrs ago when Sister Sykes and I whitewashed Neukölln.

I must say, Sister Sanders is stepping up to the plate really well though. Sister Sykes and I were both old when we went into an area not knowing what was going on. This time Sister Sanders is brand spanking new. I think it has been good to have a fresh perspective. 

We have had some really neat miracles this week though. We received a referral from the office last week, called and set up an appointment. As I talked with her on the phone, she was a little hesitant about us bringing over the Book of Mormon, but agreed anyway. The thing I love about first appointments and impressions is you never know what to expect. Sometimes it goes good, sometimes bad, sometimes it is better than you ever thought! In this case, it was the latter. We get to the apartment, and are quickly welcomed in - First sign that this is going to be good. We met the husband AND the wife (a FAMILY!!!) and got into a wonderful discussion about the Restoration. They have been trying to find a church that fits what they believe, what is logical and as they have searched the website, they continue to like it more and more. 
Honestly, I can probably say that this family is the most prepared family I have ever met in my mission. The only obstical to overcome is time. In the next few months they are: moving, getting married, going on a honeymoon, leaving to the coast for a few weeks and starting one of their children in school. They want to have us over to discuss more, but the time is not there. I am praying harder than ever that somehow something opens up. They were very excited to receive the Book of Mormon though, and I have no doubt they will be baptized. Maybe not in my timetable, but they are prepared. Mathias and Manuela. Pray for them?

Sister Sanders and I went to an investigator that has been coming to church for the last year and a half, every singleSunday, has had a thousand sets of missionaries and realized that she has forgotten the basics. I guess that because she is so familiar in the ward, is so familiar with the structure and how things go, those teaching her have assumed she understood the basics, and have gone into things like the temple, second coming, yada yada... 
We taught her the Apostasy and the Priesthood. I think we made more progress with her in one lesson than she has made in the last 6 months... I think it has to do with the fact that Sister Sanders is new and she can explain these things on a SUPER simple level. Verena, the investigator, thanked us for making everything so simple to understand. That was a miracle as well!

We also found this really cute girl named Susie. She had absolutely no interest in God at first but as we started talking, we ended up walking through the park next to our house for over 30 minutes just talking with her. She wants to come to FHE! Weird. The effect the Spirit has on people...

One of the days we were walking around talking with everyone (I can't remember which one. There were a lot of them this week), we met this lady from India named Deep. The next thing we know, we are in her house, drinking juice with her and talking (or rather, trying to communicate) about the Book of Mormon and religion. There is a huge language barrier there, but we were able to understand her broken Danglish enough to learn about turbans. 
Yeah. Turbans.
You know how those indian men have those HUGE Turbans on their head? 
You wanna know what's INSIDE the turban?
Hair.
A lifetime worth of HAIR. Seriously. They don't cut it. Ever. I guess it is some religious thing that they start when they are born and when they reach the age of 20 they can decide if they want to cut it or not. 
Anyway, this lady had two little boys with buns on the top of their heads. The beginnings of turbans. 
The things you learn every day...
She is coming to the church so we can teach her a combination of German and the Gospel. 

We've been reading the Book of Mormon together as a mission and a theme I found this week was becoming. I know I have talked about this before, but it seems to be my favorite topic of discussion..
A disciple of Christ sticks to his guns. He knows the truth and states it. Lehi stated the truth. Nephi stated the truth. They never wavered. But how did they get to that point?
They BECAME strong through Christ. They let the experiences they had with feeling the Spirit, seeing angels, CHANGE them. They became disciples of Christ. 
I like this word because it denotes a process. That it is not a one-time-deal. Anyone can become a disciple of Christ! 
I don't have a specific scripture this time, but I am learning something new every day. I love the Book of Mormon. 

Have a good week! Love you!

May 12: Happy Mother's Day!!

Did this week even exist?

I mean, I feel like it went by SUPER fast. Number one because half of it was spent in Neukölln and half in Dresden, two because it was Mothers day and three because I have NO IDEA what I am doing!!! haha

Okay, that sounded a little stressed. I am not THAT stressed. Nor am I that incapable. Sister Sanders and I have just been trying to figure out what to do with this program here.

I will talk about Sister Sanders later, but I wanted to share a few experiences that were AWESOME before I left Neukölln. 

My birthday. Ha, okay so it wasn't some epic adventure, but it was fun. Mainly because we got to hang out with B-Stein before he left (shoutout!) and got him some FRESH shoes. I felt good. Serving others with knowledge of fashion on my birthday. What could be better than that? ;) I kid, I kid. 

We also ate at Jim Block. The only place in Germany with decent hamburgers that don't cost your entire life savings. 

In short, my 22nd birthday was good! 

Next up. IBRAHIM. 

Miracle story. I think I talked about this last week when we were able to meet with him after not seeing him for MONTHS?! Well, we met with him again and not only has he been reading in the Book of Mormon, he recognized that he was missing that peace in his life. Of course, that is somewhat hard considering his circumstances, but that inner peace knowing that God can help you... That was what he was missing. He agreed to be baptized on the 24th of May. WUH HOO!!!!!!!

Wednesday. We had Sister Meyer with us (ha. Two transferrs ago, the three of us were in a drit waiting to drop off Sister Meyer to train, and this time we were waiting to drop me off... I feel a pattern...) when we went to Frau Janus. The cute little Polish lady. As we were teaching the rest of the Plan of Salvation, she got so excited and this is basically what happened:

"Frau Janus, will you follow the example of Jesus Ch....."

"YES. Of course!"

"And be baptize..."

"YES!"

Haha great, right?!

She had no idea what she was agreeing to, but she knew that she wanted to follow Christ. And you know what? That's all it takes.

We visited a few members to say goodbye (for now. You don't know mine and Sister Syke's plan to take a semester abroad and study at the free university in Berlin... We'll talk about that later. Haha) and then we had a sleepover on the balcony. Not the best night of sleep I have ever had, but it was fun.

Thursday was full of wonderful words of wisdom from President Kosak and our beloved APs (only half sarcastic. I do really love them. I am pretty sure I have like a million favorite people on the planet, but they are two from that.) and I got Sister Sanders!!!

Sister Sanders is from West Jordan, Utah, she has her associates and is going to study at the U when she gets back. Linguistics. I could definitely take a lesson from her. Haha

But she is super excited to get everything going, and since we have been starting the program, it's been really cool to have a fresh perspective and we can do basically whatever we want with it. She turned 20 the day I picked her up, and she definitely has a good head on her shoulders. That will be nice. :) She's super funny, too. I am looking forward to working with her.

We weren't able to get a whole lot of tracting done because the last few days were full of meetings with the ward, trying to figure out the area book and trying not to live in a war-zone (unpacking) but I think we have everything taken care of in that area so we can focus completely on BAPTIZING. 

Our mission is focusing on the Book of Mormon and how we become better disciples of Christ, and as I was reading this morning I was thinking about Sam. 

Sam is like, the unsung hero in the Book of Mormon. 

Look how GREAT he is:

17 And I spake unto Sam, making known unto him the thingswhich the Lord had manifested unto me by his Holy Spirit. And itcame to pass that he believed in my words.

Here is Nephi, telling Sam that he believes the visions of his father, feeling the Holy Ghost himself and what does Sam do?

He simply believes. It reminded me of a quote that President gave us a while ago from Elder Boyd K. Packer,

"A few years ago I indulged on one occasion in some introspection andfound there were reasons why I didn’t like myself very well. Foremostamong them was the fact that I was suspicious of everyone. When I metsomeone, 1 had in mind this thought: “What’s his motive? What’s he goingto try to do?” This came about because I had been badly manipulated,abused by someone I trusted. Cynicism and bitterness were growingwithin. I determined to change and made a decision that I would trusteveryone. I have tried to follow that role since. If someone is not worthy oftrust, it is his responsibility to show it—not mine to find it out."

Obviously we don't have to spill our entire lives to people, but to trust? That should be easy. We find that we will like ourselves more and that we are happier. Not only that, but we are more receptive to the spirit. We simply believe. 

Oh the little gems you find in the scriptures. I hope you find them, too!

Have a good week!!!

Love you!

P.S. It was SO great to skype with you! I enjoyed it immensely. :) See you again in two and a half months!

May 5: From the Dream Team to Living the Dream

Well, the time is finally come. 

Today I reach the point where I have two transferrs left. 

And guess how I get to spend them?

By TRAINING AND OPENING UP A SISTERS PROGRAM IN DRESDEN!!

Dreams of seeing the west? Tschüß

But whatevs. I am a deep east missionary through and through. 

Also, I get to go back to my roots. Back to my birth city. Back to Sachsen! With a brand new missionary! Oh poor girl. The German they speak in Dresden is probably the hardest German to understand... I find out on Thursday who it is - I guess you can keep tabs on the blog to see her when I go pick her up. Pictures should be posted. 

Yesterday when I had to tell the ward that I was leaving, our bishop came up to me and gave me this extremely stern face... 

"Sister Babbitt. What are you doing? Why are you leaving?"

"Bishop... Dresden is calling me. Besides, you will love the new sister!"

"Um. Yeah, but she isn't part of the Dream Team. You and Sister Sykes will come to my house tonight at 8. Stay cool, Sister Babbitt."

We have the best bishop ever. Haha.

I am sad to leave, again, like last time, but excited to start this over. I mean, I only had 4 weeks in Dresden at the very beginning of my mission. And Dresden is probably the top coolest city in Eastern Germany. No lie. 

I was also well taken care of for my birthday. Our GML and his wife had Sister Sykes and I over for dinner last night where they gifted me a mountain of chocolate. (This is like Christmas all over again!) And tonight, we are going to a member's house for FHE - We have been teaching the lessons with their 17 year old daughter to her family and one of her friends. So we are going further with that. 

The last few days were a blur and full of excitement... Actually, it's been the entire week. Let me back up and try to go in chronological order starting with Monday. 

When I think of summer, I think of ice cream, sunglasses, fairs, and friends. Well, we got a taste of it last p day!

There is this random festival called Baumblutenfest in this random po dunk town called Werder where we met a district from our zone and went to the fest. We rode a ferris wheel and this really random ride that looked like a pendulum, but the pendulum part spun as it was swinging. Talk about motion sickness... I don't think I have had that much high excitement for a loooong time. 

It was really great!

We FINALLY accomplished watching the last session of General Conference (after repeated attempts from our Bishop to hook his laptop up to the television, then his iPad, then the playstation... No worries. He's a handyman.) and it was AWESOME. I especially liked the talk by D. Todd Christofferson about our resurrected Savior. 

How grateful I am for Him. And that He IS, in fact, resurrected. 

It means that I have someone living to rely on. Someone who never changes, but interacts with you, gives you feedback, shows love. A LIVING Father and Son. A LIVING family. 

A member called us last week and wanted to take us out to eat with her. 

I don't really know how I can explain this woman... She is SUPER sweet, but totally crazy. It's a good crazy. But she is 82 and continues to do all her housework, haul water from her house to her garden and visa versa and acts like she is 30. 

She is great.

We also had some really awesome miracles that happened this week!

First of all, the Elders referred us to a family from Serbia who are always hin und her and the only people who are usually home are the daughters, so it is hard for the Elders to teach them...

Well, we went over there and as soon as she recognized we were from the church, she let us in, fed us this HUUUGE meal and talked with us about life, God, and the scriptures. 

Their family is Orthodox, and it makes sense... Because as soon as we started talking about the bible she asked if we had one with us. So I took out mine and she told us that she had never touched a bible before. Apparantly in the Orthodox church, the only person allowed to read from the Bible is the priests, and they read it in Latin or Greek or something to a congregation who has NO IDEA what they are saying. 

But in their way, they are honoring God and keeping their commitments to Him. 

We asked her about learning more and she was SUUUUPER excited to be able to finally know what is going on with God. 

There are prepared people. She is wonderful.

Yesterday, Frau Janus came to church!!! 

This is, in and of itself, a miracle for us. 

In the 11 weeks I have been here, We have had an investigator at church a total of 2 times. And it is not like we don't try. Believe me... We are trying. Most of the people we meet end up falling off the face of the earth a week later. But NOT Frau Janus. She LOVED church and wants to come every week. She is making super progress and I believe she will be baptized at the end of this month. Pray for her!!

Also yesterday, we were coming home from our eating appointment and met this cute 17 year old Pakistani kid who has been living in Germany by himself for the last 7 months, working and trying to bring his family over here. 

What?

He is a such a stud and wants to learn about Christ. We are bringing him to Soccer first, to see if we can actually teach him (he is Muslim) and go from there. 

Also, when he found out that it was going to be my birthday, he gave me this huge bear hug and told me he would call today to wish me happy birthday. 

Cute, huh?

We FINALLY got in contact with Ibrahim again. He has been MIA for the last 2 months, and because of some really hard things that have been going on in his life, he hasn't been able to make contact with us or the church. 

You know what is great though? 

He has been reading often in the Book of Mormon and praying daily. 

It's interesting, that in the deepest points of his life, he is really realizing how important it is to rely on God. Sometimes it takes a truly humbling experience to get you back on board. I hope that doesn't happen too often. He wants to come to church with us this upcoming week.

It's been quite a week here in Neukölln. I get to stay with Sister Sykes and Sister Meyer until Thursday when I go pick up my new companion (oh heavens, I am so excited...) and leave to Dresden. 

Have a good week! I know I will :)

Love you!

Sister Babbitt

P. S. This is my German face. As we were walking down to the U-Bahn, there was this man who yelled at us because it was not Halloween... 

Oh silly man... Don't you know it is perfectly okay to wear a party hat on your birthday?

Don't worry. I will take better pictures today. This is just the beginning....