June 16: Winding Down.

I started my last planner this week.

It feels really weird.

I feel like last week was SO FAR AWAY, but at the same time it flew by and I had a hard time remembering what happened... Thanks to my awesome comp who keeps a super detailed journal, she was able to help me create a basic guideline of highlights. 

So last week we hiked in the Sächsischer Schweiz which are like... The only mountains in Sachsen. I felt so much at home. It was great. Google them. They are cool.

But we got there and ended up climbing up ladders and natural slot canyons and stuff... It was super cool - I have never been on a hike like that. 

Not sure if I will go again without climbing gear.

So we have been trying to meet with this family for the longest time. She is a less active member in the ward and her husband is not a member. 

The problem is, is that their newborn baby had been in the hospital because of complications with it's birth. So we would go by occasionally to check on them and see if they needed anything that we could do or get the ward to do.... Usually they were not at home because they were in the hospital with the baby, but this week we went by and she is out! It was really neat to see them.

Romeo. Oh Romeo.

So we met with Romeo again this week. We didn't want to walk around in the heat all evening, so we took him back to the church for a church tour. 

We ended up explaining a trillion aspects of the gospel because he had a trillion questions.

He told us he would make us a deal. If we tried whiskey, he would come to church this week.

Hm. Not really how it works, bud. But thanks.

He also doesn't know when he will be able to meet next because of the World Cup.

SPEAKING OF. 

Meiiiiine Guuuuute. I have NEVER seen so many bottles of beer. Anywhere in my life. This thing is bigger than Christmas. 

And even though most of the people I have asked about their predictions say that Germany will definitely not win this year, they celebrate every single night for 4 weeks straight. Game time.

I'm almost a little jealous that I don't get to go to a Weltmeisterschaft party, but whatevs. I'll get over it. Haha

But yeah. That's why some of our investigators can't meet. 

Because the world cup is on TV.
..........?????

I have some sad news.

Remember Rolf? Our miracle man?

Well, we went back to his apartment this week to see if we could make out an appointment and he wasn't there.

Or so we thought.

We walked around the block again and came back to see if he had come back in those 15 minutes.. So I looked up at the building and there he was. In his window. (Immensiate stalker status...)

So we klingeled again... No answer. Okay Rolf, what is your deal?

I wrote him a note. Basically, I told him that we thought he was really neat and we loved chatting with him. It was neat to meet someone who was so interested in the church, but if he is avoiding us, he just needs to tell us that he doesn't want us to come by anymore and we won't.

The next day...

We were at the church building and one of the members came to find us. He said that he had found a note in the mailbox with a bunch of chocolates for us.

Guess who this note was from? Rolf.

I don't have it with me or I would write it word for word but it went something like this,

"Dear Sisters Babbitt and Sanders,

I am sorry that you wasted time coming to visit me. I am looking for a wife. Someone that I can be with and your church just can't give it to me. Everything else that you give, I have enough of. I find Mormons interesting and exotic but that's about it. Please don't contact me. Sincerely yours, Rolf"

There is a silver lining though. 

He gave us some great chocolates and that was the nicest tschüß I have ever received.

We went on exchanges this week!
It was super weird being on exchanges without conducting them... It was good though. We found a man that had been to the temple open house but didn't really know anything else about the church, and we have an appointment with him this week. 

We also received a referral from one of the contacts we have been working with. Her brother was there and wanted us to come over to him to teach him how he can be happy. Great, right?

Also, on the train ride to Berlin to pick up Sister Sanders and end the exchange, we met a kid that is in the German Army and wants to come to institute. 

Blessins!!!

So this weekend there was a mission reunion in Dresden. 

From 25 years ago. When the wall fell and the first foreign missionaries were allowed into the DDR. 

So there were a LOT of Americans in our ward this week. 

It threw me off quite a bit. 

The church is the same, but the culture of the church is totally night and day. It disturbed me a little bit to see it, to be honest. 

I take a look at the members here in Germany, and for most of them, going to church is an all day event. If you are an active member, you have to be strong in your religion. You have to live it wherever you are. I just realized how much I used to take going to church for granted. 

I liked going, but it was sometimes "something you do on Sunday" - it was never a sacrifice. 
I think I just leveled up in my love for German members.

Anyway, we also had a miracle at church. Two random guys from the street showed up and wanted to see what it was all about. 
They are members of the Frei Kircke (Free Church? Does that exist in America?) which means that they don't really have a set denomination, but the branches reach into lots of churches that believe in Jesus Christ. So you can choose to go to a Protestant, Baptist, Menonite, etc.... congregation without really belonging to it - because you can switch around.
They believe heavily in the Bible and in Jesus Christ and one of them even asked me about the Old Mosaic Law versus the New Law that Christ established when he came.

It was really cool to talk bible with them. 
They are coming to FHE and institute. 

Chalk two up for team Jesus!

Now that this email is basically the longest email of life, I just wanted to drop a line in what I learned this week.

"Prayer is made up of heart throbs and the righteous yearnings of the soul."

I really liked that because it kindof sums up what prayer actually is. The connection between God, our Heavenly Father and us - his children. 

It reminded me of the different forms of communication. Texting, letters, phone calls, and actual face to face conversations. Where do our prayers rank? Are we just slipping God a line here and there, or are we actuall communicating with him like one would with a friend face to face?

Food for thought.

I love you! Hope you have a great week!!!

Sister Babbitt

June 9: I am behind in my journal writing.... Don't mind the long email ;)

Goodness gracious, where do I even begin?

This week has been extremely eventful!

Well... Maybe I have just noticed the little things more. That is the great thing about having a companion who is completely new to Germany. She notices all the stuff that don't even weird me out anymore...

For example, last Monday we were at the grocery store and in walks a man... who is completely wasted. 

This is not my first encounter with a drunk man, so I just kindof... nonchalantly brushed aside, but for Sister Sanders it was hilarious slash oddly disturbing. 

Anyway, we were putting our groceries into our bags, trying to make it all fit so we could take it home when he comes up and asked me if he could have my cart. In Germany, the grocery carts can only be used by putting in a coin of some sort, then you get it back when you return the cart (genius, I tell ya)... Anyway, for my birthday last year, one of the Elders I served with gave me a keychain with a little token thing that you can pull out and use in place of a coin.. So obviously I couldn't give this drunk man my cart... It had my coin in it. So he goes and gets his own cart... And comes back to show us? 

"Oh that's nice. I am glad you got it figured out. Have a nice day!" said I

Then... He comes over and pets my head. 

Yeah. What?

Ha, it is actually pretty sad that I am an expert at getting away from drunkards... Whatevs. I got out of the situation quickly and we went home. 
Didn't even phase me, but Sister Sanders thought it was a hoot. She also doesn't want to talk with any men that seem like they remotely have a possibility of being drunk. 

Another example, 

We find every so often in this big park that is by our house. Last time she noticed that there was a man that just hides in the long grass and occasionally sticks his hands in the air... 

Why? No idea. 

But he is always there and that is far from the weirdest thing I have seen, but it is nevertheless, hilarious. 

We also got lost with an English couple coming down from one of the cable cars that take you up the mountain (taking you there when we come back.)

They knew about Mormons... Well, kindof.

They thought we ran around doing indian rain dances trying to convert people..

No, this is no joke. 
I am not quite sure based on the description what they saw, but it was cleared up pretty fast that no, actually, the Mormons are not an indian tribe that dances in front of peoples doors, trying to get them to believe in God...

We also got this week as we were talking with a man that Jesus Christ ACTUALLY grew up in Egypt, and was only able to perform the miracles he did because he studied in the pyramids. 

Um.

Who comes up with this stuff??

He also believes that he has been reincarnated 7 times and that in his previous lives he has lived in Egypt. Again with the Egypt. Apparantly there is this man named (something) Melchezideck who teaches all about the flight of Christ to Egypt. 

Sounds like false prophets to me..

We seem to get lost a lot. 

Especially on busses. 

Somehow we always get on the wrong bus, or the wrong way... Naja. It is cool. We get to experience a lot of Dresden and see lots of new faces!

We also seem to have some really cool experiences every single week.

I thought I would save the best ones for last because these first ones are absolutely hilarious. In my, Sister Babbitt, opinion.

We recieved a referral from the Leipzig Sisters (Sister Schmidt!) that one of their investigators friends wanted to learn more about the gospel! So they gave us the referral. A name and a number. 

So we called. Made out an appointment.

"Hey Romeo, where should we meet?"

"In front of the Frauenkircke, 7:30"

"Okay, how will we recognize you?"

"Well... My name IS Romeo. I simply look like a Romeo."

Good.... That is all we got. 
So we met him, and sure enough, he looks like a Romeo. He's actually really cool, not very religious, but wants to learn more. We are meeting with him this next week. Same place. Same time. Haha

We have been given a task by our ward to deliver invitations for a fireside they will have in a few weeks, and as we deliver envelopes, we get to talk with a lot of different people.

This particular envelope, was particularly hard to find.

We got to the street, but after about 30 minutes of looking for the address, we tried all of the side streets and ended up turning a corner looking absolutely and completely lost. 

Along came Polly... Kidding. Her name is Claudia. 

She saw the pathetic condition of our map reading skills and came to help us. 

Unfortunately, this address did not exist. 

Literally. On the street, there was a 3, 5, 7, and then a park, 13, 15, 17. We were looking for 11. Haha of course. We thought we had a little bit of hope when she phoned a friend. 

Claudia had all sorts of connections. Ha, but this one in particular worked for the post. So we were pretty confident that she would know of a number 11 on the street. Nope. Didn't exist. 

So we ended up just chatting with Claudia about a number of things about the gospel. She wasn't interested in learning more, but she was extremely nice and super happy to talk with us. She even gave us both huggs before we went on our way to find the other addresses. 

It's interesting how things work out. 

We needed to be on that street to meet Claudia. Even if she doesn't have interest now, later down the road she is going to remember those 2 religious girls with nametags from America and remember what she felt then. 

Also! We were going by on a bunch of contacts, talking with people... When we passed a family that was just coming out of their apartment building. 

We said hello, but went on our way. 

Then I felt like we had to go back. So we did. 

And found out that this family knows a few members of the ward! They had no interest, though.

So as we were walking back to the main street, Sister Sanders spots a woman across the street and stops. 

"Pretend like you are looking at the map. So we don't look like we are awkwardly waiting for her to cross!"

Uhh... I feel like this just got awkward. 

Anyway, she crosses and we introduce ourselves. 

Without hesistation, she says, "I have no time right now, but let's make an appointment so you can come to my house and we can talk when I am not so tired."

Sandra. 

Hm. Maybe listening to the Spirit doesn't always bring the results you think they will bring. AKA the family... But had we not gone back for the family, we would not have met Sandra. 

The reason this email is so late today is..... 

Because we went HIKING!!!

Man-o. I am just happier than a clam at the moment.
One of the members in the ward asked a few weeks ago if we wanted to go - some of his friends were coming and there we could build a few friendships and have an awesome p-day!

It was really fun, we went to the Sächsischer Schweiz and basically rock climbed... Like little handles sticking out of the rocks. I am not sure if that is actually kosher? ...But we survived?

It was great and I am SO tired. Good thing we have 3 more hours of work tonight ;)
Oh the life. 

I really am grateful to be here. As I was reading yesterday, I came across an article in the Ensign - the June one and I am not quite sure what it is called, but something stuck out to me about prayer and answers to it.

"When the Lord answers yes, it is to give us confidence.

When He answers no, it is to prevent error.

When He withholds an answer, it is to have us grow through faith in Him, obedience to His commandments, and awillingness to act on truth. We are expected to assume accountability by acting on a decision that is consistent with Histeachings without prior confirmation. We are not to sit passively waiting or to murmur because the Lord has not spoken. Weare to act."

The gospel is NOT passive. 

Nothing about the gospel assumes the easy road. WE ARE TO ACT. Everything we do is action. We study, we follow the commandments, we share our testimony. We are not to sit back and "see what happens". If there is no catalyst to a chemical reaction, the reaction doesn't go anywhere. SOMETHING has to jump-start, and that is what our actions do. 

I am so thankful for a Heavenly Father that guides me to figure things out. Who expands my mind and thoughts in order to gain knowledge and experience.

I am thankful that he loves me.

I hope you have a good week!
Love you Lots!

Sister Babbitt

June 2- The Pattern Continues.

There were a lot of opportunities I had this week to teach - My companion, my investigators and myself but nothing that I can really put into words.. I will try to relate some experiences though. 

First off - interviews with President Kosak. 

Can I tell you how much I love that man?

Seriously, though. I'm sure everyone is biased of their mission president, but he has really become one of my best friends. Which is weird because he is... always somewhere else. 

But apparently, I am not allowed to go home until he does. Which is in July of 2015.

So, see you in about a year!

Ha, kidding. SO kidding.

So our Scottish man fell off the face of the earth. He didn't show up to his lesson and when we called him, he said, "Yeah, I changed me mind".... The crust is still thick, but we'll get it.

We did have a few investigators at church this week and that was really awesome. One of our investigators, Dirk, really enjoyed Sunday School when we talked about faith and how everything starts with a desire to believe. We challenged him to baptism! We have more appointments with him this week so we will see how he progresses. 

I think that no matter what happens, I don't know if I will get used to God's timing. I think I have learned to accept it, and it doesn't bother me anymore, but it definitely still surprises me!

For example. 

We have been given an assignment from the ward to deliver invitations to members who were baptized soon after the wall came down to come to a fireside that will be put on by the missionaries who baptized them. I hope that made sense... Ha. Anyway, we had an address that was clear out in the boonies, so we had to take a few hours to go. 

Earlier that morning, Sister Sanders and I were discussing that we may not want to do hardcore finding out there since it is hard to get to the church, but we will definitely be talking with people.

Anyway, we finally get out there, and nobody wants to talk with us... (Everyone thinks we're Jdubs.. Whatevs.) But we continued until we got to the address. 

Now, we were informed by the ward that the woman who lives at this address does not live there anymore, but just to make sure, we had to go there. 

And this is why:

We were writing her a note (because she actually does still live there) and I saw this man fidgeting with his bike. I wanted to go talk with him but I was in the middle of writing this note and blah blah *insert more excuses because everyone was rejecting us the entire week, why did it even matter?*

So as we were looking at the map to figure out where to go, the man on the bike passes us, screeches to a halt and says, "HEY! You guys are Mormons! What are you doing out in the boonies??"

Hm. Apparantly to find you!

We then found out that he had first been to England, to a visitors center where they explained to him all about the Restoration, showed him videos and everything. Since then, he has read the Book of Mormon several times over, loves the church and everything it teaches and basically taught US what we believed. 

We got his phone number and address so we could come visit him soon, because his work schedule was really busy, but Rolf is golden.

We had had a rough week finding people, but still, it was kindof a slap in the face to me - especially since I am the one who is supposed to be so familiar with the promptings of the Spirit - that the Spirit had to work through someone else who may not be as familiar with them. 

That, and it doesn't really matter the outcome, following the Spirit never hurts. It's when we DON'T follow those promptings that we get in trouble, or we miss something that could have changed the course of our life, or the life of someone else. 

It's interesting that in those moments, you don't realize how the Lord is working in your life, it's just something that happens. 

But looking back, you realize that that was actually supposed to happen. 

It's probably sufficient to say that I learned a great lesson in following the Spirit this week. 

I love Germany. Especially at this time of year, even though our entire apartment is sneezing because of all the pollen in the air.. Haha

Love you! Have a good week!!

May 26- 1000 Times- Sara Barellis (sp?)

Oh how glorious is the sunshine!! 
I guess with it in Germany comes the rain. Seriously. I think it rained the half of the week that the sun wasn't shining. 
Now take this as a symbol of how our week went. 
You know the ups and downs of missionary life? Well, the ups and downs of life in general? I think Sister Sanders and I noticed it a little more this week than in past ones. 

There seems to be a theme to our finding, and we've talked about this several times... We have an hour to street contact, go by on contacts, etc... and we find absolutely no one, until it's about five minutes to leave and then we end up having a half hour conversation with someone who becomes a new investigator. 

For example, we had about an hour and a half before we were supposed to be at a lesson with Verena, and every person we stopped thought we were Jdubs or didn't want to hear from "religious fanatics"... But we kept walking anyway. It was SO hot, and of course, in the only stretch of road that there is no trees, we stopped a man and started talking with him. James is from Scotland, and in his own words, "a lost soul". He has let Christ become something that he pulls out of the back of his mind every so often. We ended up pulling him to the forefront somehow (you gotta be stubborn when you are dealing with a stubborn Scottish man...) and thirty minutes later, we were meeting with him on Thursday.

Verena is making progress. It is really cool to see her connect the dots, or "fit the puzzle pieces together" and is now making connections about why we need the priesthood - the characteristics of the true church of God. It is really cool to watch :)

We made a plan for member work - using the work of salvation and the catch phrase, "out of sight, out of mind." I've noticed throughout my mission that most members of the church don't have pictures visible of Christ, of the temple, the prophet... Stuff like that. And I have also noticed that in my own life, if there is chocolate that is visable, I will undoubtedly eat it. This has a point. The things that you are surrounded with end up becoming a part of you - if you surround yourself with chocolate, the weight you gain will probably be due to the fact that you have eaten a ton of chocolate. If you surround yourself with pictures of Christ, the holy scriptures, stuff the church has put out, etc... How you think changes until it becomes a part of you. So, we are now encouraging members to put up pictures of Christ in their homes and to keep a Family Proclamation to the World as well as a Book of Mormon in plain sight. So they see it every day to remind them who they are, and also so others who come into their house can easily recognize someone who believes in Jesus Christ. Missionary opportunities!

I came across a verse in the Book of Mormon that I really liked. 1 Ne. 17:51, 
"51 And now, if the Lord has such great power, and has wrought so many miracles among the children of men, how is it that he cannot instruct me, that I should build a ship?"
We are faced every single day with people who tell us we can't. They tell us that god doesn't exist or that he has stopped listening to us. 
I like Nephi's faith filled response. The end of this verse can be interchanged with so many different things:
-That I should bear my testimony
-That I should invite someone to learn about the church
-That I should raise a righteous family who will be strong to withstand temptations
-Insert your doubts and fears here
The Lord really can do anything. We choose to believe. I am so thankful for this belief. It brings happiness every single day. Even when sometimes your appointments fall out, or no one comes to church, or when all you can think about is Cafe Rio and rootbeer when you are walking for miles along the river to an appointment - these things don't matter in the grand perspective of things. They are overshadowed by the knowledge that the Lord can do anything. And that I get to help in accomplishing his great work.
Love you! 
Sister Babbitt

P.S. The title of this email? This song has basically become Sister Sander's and I's theme song for the month. "I don't mind. I will come back a thousand times..."

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!