Jesus Lives! 8/26/13

It's been such a busy week! I feel like I was just typing up an email yesterday. Sometimes I just want to read the emails and then magically have you all know what went on last week without typing it all up, haha. Also I'm typing on an American keyboard again this week, and it's weird, so if I make a couple mistakes, sorry.

It's already SEPTEMBER next week! And transfer calls are on Saturday, too. Aaahhhh! I can't believe how fast everything is going. An old guy in our ward yesterday was telling me how fast life goes, and if it continues at this rate, I definitely believe him, haha. It's been drizzly here these past few days, which is nice cuz that means we're not roasting day and night. Anyway, busy week! Like I said last time, we went to Darmstadt last PDay, which was way fun. The Temple on Tuesday was really awesome, too. We missed our session, though, so we had to do the one o' clock, which was fine, but there were a million French people there again, lol. Let's just say I am so grateful that I'm learning German, which sounds like a piece of cake compared to French. Wednesday we got to ride our bikes around all day, which was really nice. Thursday was busy with appointments, and we really got a lot of work done that day. It was our miracle day! Our referral contacted us, and we have an appointment for this week. Hooray! And I got to go on a split last Friday and Saturday. It was so awesome to be back working in Frankfurt! But actually, I did miss the Hanau area when I was there. So now I don't know what I want anymore!

Actually, we're in Frankfurt right now, haha. We came up for our PDay to do some shopping and to drop off some things that Sister Imbach forgot in Hanau. She needed them cuz she's like going home next week or something. Whatever...But I love Frankfurt! I love this area too, I figured out. But Sister Imbach says she thinks I'm going to get kicked out of the Zone. Nooooo! I don't want to! I've spent my whole mission in this Zone, and I will be so sad to leave it. I dunno what will happen, honestly. I think I'll stay in Hanau, Sister Imbach thinks I'm going to get sent to the boondocks of the mission, and I want to stay in this Zone, mostly. But we'll see. Whatever the Lord needs!

We're going to be kept really busy this week, too. Lots of really good things planned. (Also cleaning checks...good thing I'm a neat freak, haha, and thanks for keeping my room and bathroom clean for me!) We have really awesome Elders that we're working with, I'll miss them if we all get split up. The ward is really awesome, just full of really, really cool people. I've been able to go to Primary and teach a little lesson a couple times, as well as go to Young Womens. It's cute to hear little Primary songs in German. And just so you know, we run every morning! Except Sundays...but every single morning we get up and run. And that's really good, because we eat way too many sweets and starches, so we can't afford not to run. I'd die of obesity out here if I didn't try to exercise at least a little.

I hope you all have a really awesome week! Keep busy and remember that Jesus lives and that He really is our Savior! If you ever have a couple extra minutes, watch some of those Bible Videos that the Church is putting out. They are AWESOME! Watch the one called, "For God so Loved the World." Go to church, say your prayers, read your scriptures, and pay your tithing, and everything will be good. God is there, and He loves us all!! I love you guys, too.

Alles Gute

Sister Shipton

My first referral! 8/19/13

Really busy week and not so much time. Sorry! We have had a really busy PDay. We went down to Darmstadt and hiked up to a big old schloss, and a ton of missionaries turned out, so that was way fun to see everyone. But it took a really long time, so I don't have too much time today. Good thing I can type fast, haha!

The castle last week was way awesome, too. Way beautiful! Bayern is awesome. I definitely wouldn't mind serving down there sometime, haha. But I love Hessen, too. Transfers are at the end of next week. I have a feeling I'll be staying but Sister Wilson will be going. We'll see how that'll play out. I wouldn't mind staying with this awesome ward a little longer. The area is so beautiful as well. And we just got a referral last week!! That was so awesome. My first referral ever!! Yaaaaay. We were so excited. It was a miracle.

We were also able to do a big service project last week. We did yard work for a really long time. I loved it so much! I was so excited to go outside and pull weeds and hack down bushes and stuff. It was actually really nice to go just do some manual labor for a couple hours. Missionary work is so draining, so it was nice just to worry about getting out all the weeds and take a break from worrying about the salvation of souls, haha. Don't worry, no sunburn. It's a tender mercy of the Lord that I'm not a fried lobster right now. I'll have to send you a picture of my feet sometime. Mmm...that tan line. Just beautiful.

School started today over here. Let's just say there were some verrry sad children at church yesterday, haha. It's crazy that it's already mid-August. Where is the time going?? We are going to the Temple tomorrow, so that will be way cool. It's already that time again! We get to go once every transfer if we are in the Frankfurt Zone. So tomorrow we go! It'll be way cool. I love hanging out with my District. They are the bomb. And then I have a split later this week and am going back up to Frankfurt to work there for a day. Woooo I am stoked! I love Frankfurt so much. Sometimes I have dreams of being transferred back up there, haha. I love this area, but Frankfurt is where I was born, so it'll always have that special love. Hopefully I won't be transferred to the boondocks of the mission and have to wait six weeks to get anything, haha.

Don't worry about converts. Pretty much the whole of our area is just waiting to jump into the baptismal font. Just...waiting. I don't know what for! They're just missing out on eternal exaltation or something...no biggie. Everything is going really well. I feel like this referral has really pumped us and just made is be like YES we are going to convert EVERYONE. It'll be way awesome.

Love you all so much! Every time I think about you guys I just appreciate more and more what an awesome family I have. Thanks to all those people that said hi. I'm doing awesome! Love it out here, and I'm learning so much.

The "walk of shame" 8/12/13

Happy P-Day, Family!

I'm having a great time.  It is such an awesome opportunity! I love it so much. It's been a pretty crazy, awesome week. I don't know if I ever mentioned it, but once upon a time our cabinet fell off the wall and fell on Sister Wilson, and so they FINALLY came and put it back up this last week. It only took like two months...haha. But we are very afraid of it right now, just in case it attacks again. Also it broke all our dishes, so we've only had one bowl pretty much our whole time together. We just trade off in the morning by eating cereal and then washing it and handing it over. The office said they bought us more, but then they lost them somewhere, haha. We also rode our bikes all day every day this week. I kinda fell down. Mostly I was getting off of it and my foot got caught on the bar and I just fell right down on my Popo in the middle of a busy sidewalk. That was embarrassing. I had to do the walk of shame with my bike. It didn't hurt and nothing bad happened. I just fell all over my bike and was embarrassed. Oh well! 

We went to this funeral this last week. About a month ago Sister Wilson and I were walking around Hanau, and a man stops us and is like, 'Hi I'm a member! My parents are these people, and I'm baptized!'  Anyway, fast forward a month and the son's wife has passed away, and we were asked to go to the funeral.  The dad spoke at the graveside service (the woman was cremated).  I was sad for the guy because his wife had just passed and he was obviously really upset, but he gave Sister Wilson and me a big hug (not allowed, ps), and then did the crazy European kiss on both cheeks thing.  I have gotten more kisses here than in my whole life. (That is not hard, though, bahaha).  They are really sweet.

Actually, yesterday I spoke in Sacrament! Who knows how it went. Nobody said anything, so maybe that's a good thing?? Or maybe it was so bad that people didn't want to face me afterward. Oh...we are in a weird little Turkish internet cafe and there is wonderful Turkish pop music going on. Delightful. Also during District Meeting last week, some people in the ward were setting up for a wedding reception and they were playing some stuff from the Harry Potter soundtrack. And then this really popular pop song came on. That was weird too.

So the Street Preach was basically around ten or twelve missionaries, and we went to Aschaffenburg and set up this table/booth thing and had huge pictures of Christ and lots of free material and balloons and candy to lure in the children, heheheheeee. No, lol, it was a really big success. I got to hand out balloons and candy for four hours! That was awesome. Also an old guy declared his undying love for me during the Street Preach, but don't worry that's normal. I'm just saying that if the pickings are slim when I get home next year, I can always come back here and have plenty of options... We're hoping to do a street preach in our area this upcoming transfer. I have a feeling that I'll be staying and Sister Wilson will be going, but we still have a couple weeks until Transfer Calls, so we are just being patient. We have an awesome ward out here, and we're just over this one ward, so that's the only one we attend. It is way awesome. I love it so much! 

Tomorrow we get to go back to Aschaffenburg and look at the AWESOME castle that's there. So next week I should have some cool pictures. The picture is all the sisters after the Street Preach. It was way fun

.

It's been a really cool week, and we're excited about what we're doing this next week. Love you all so much!

After our Street Preach

Missionary work is sooooo important! 8/5/13

It's been a good week! We had a Street Preach in Aschaffenburg on the 31 (Harry Potter's birthday, btw, so it was magical), and that was really good! I have some pictures, but they're not working this week. I'll try next week. Sorry! Hopefully we can do a street preach in our area sometime soon! I got to be out of Hanau in the countryside a lot this week. I also had a split with Sister Imbach! That was waaay fun. We went up to Fulda. She took all the pictures, though, so maybe someday I will get them, haha. It was really fun. She only has about a month left! I am going to miss her sooo much. We had surprise Zone Training on Friday, and that was really good too. I always love a reason to go back to Frankfurt. I have a split up there in a couple weeks. It's going to be awesome!

Member missionary work is sooo important! Please, please help your missionaries!  Germany is way cool! I love it here. I'm so glad that I am only a couple months into this mission, because I have so much left to learn on top of all the stuff I've already learned!

Anyway, the work is coming along here! We're fed usually around once a week from the members, and then we cook the rest. My companion is soooo lucky to have me because of my gourmet cooking abilities. Mostly I'm like, 'You want spaghetti again??' Haha.

Everything is good here. Can you believe it's already August? Way crazy!