What an Amazing Week! 1/20/14

Where to start out with this week?? There were so many things that happened! I guess the biggest is that I survived another week and am really happy to be where I am right now. Germany is amazing. This country is ready for all the prophecies! And to help it along, yesterday a baptismal date was set for one of our investigators!! That is amazing. We are sooo happy. She's been ready to be baptized for a long time, but she wanted her father to baptize her, and he's been less-active for most of his life, but now he feels as if he's ready, so the date is for the 1st of February. This family is amazing. We're also teaching her mother and hope that the entire family will embrace the Gospel.

I also got to talk to Sister Beck over the phone sometime last week, and she told me that some of my old investigators have baptismal dates, too!! It's so bittersweet being here. Not going to lie, I was a little sad when I heard, because this happened literally the week after I left. Not sad that they had baptismal dates, but sad I couldn't be there to set them and see them! But I talked to Sister Lehman about it, and she taught me so much. Basically, this happens a lot on a mission. I didn't find this family that we're teaching--I'm reaping the rewards of another missionary's work and effort. And the work I did in Hanau is being reaped by another missionary. But Sister Lehman taught me that Heavenly Father does that to remind us that this is HIS work and not ours. He sort of takes our hand out of it to show everyone that He is the one who knows what's going on, and I can't be selfish and prideful and think that I'm the one finding and teaching and baptizing. It's really just the work of Heavenly Father, and I have to be happy with the success that He lets me see. And I am SO happy for what we were able to do this week! It's been a really big learning experience this week. We had Zone Training on Friday. That was way fun. Heidelberg is really pretty! And I'm going on a split on Saturday to Darmstadt, which means I'm going to miss soccer. Bummer. I'm getting pretty good...lol.

It's been really annoying weather here. Some days it's way beautiful and I feel like it's March, and then other days it's really cold and rainy and feels like January. I wish the warm weather would stay permanently! But it is definitely still tight-weather. I can't wait to toss them all in the garbage this summer. Time's going by way too fast. Today we're going to Schwetzingen, which is apparently way beautiful. It's so fun having such good tickets that take us to so many places. Hmmm...what else...I dunno. Basically it was an amazing week, and I learned so much! Plus a baptismal date. :) So that was a pretty big miracle. 

We are so gangsta.....

Mannheim is Awesome!!! 1/13/14

Mannheim is AWESOME. I LOVE being back in a city again. Hanau itself wasn't so big, and the cities in our area also weren't so big. Frankfurt is bigger than Mannheim, but it's still so fun to be back in a city with street cars and trains all day. The ward is the smallest I've served in, but at least it's a ward! I was kind of sad my first couple days here because I missed Hanau and the ward and my old comp so much, but after church on Sunday I just felt so good after meeting the ward. This is definitely where I need to be! Sister Lehman is soooo funny. I think the only problem we're going to have is that we might have a little toooooo much fun and we'll have to refocus and remind ourselves to do lots of missionary work! Mannheim is so cool. And our train tickets cover a lot of the Heidelberg Zone, so we get to travel a lot on PDays and see a lot of cool castles and things! Today we're going to see one...somewhere. I don't remember where it is, haha. So we have Zone Training every transfer, and Zone Conference every two transfers. If I'm still in Mannheim next transfer (most definitely will be), then I'll have ZoKo with the Frankfurt Zone, so I'll get to see a lot of my friends from that Zone. But we have Zone Training this week, and it's just the missionaries from Heidelberg Zone, and it'll be in the city of Heidelberg. I don't know a lot of them, but I'm excited to see another part of the mission and see new faces!

Sister Lehman is a soccer player, so on Saturday we played soccer to try to find people to play with us. It was so fun! But I was way sore the next day at church. But then we went running this morning, and it was good for me. We got to go running along the Rhein! Sometimes it's crazy how lucky I am to be here. It becomes normal, but then I have to remind myself that it's such an incredible opportunity to be living here and serving a mission here as well. I'll bet Amber is way sad to come home this week! I know how much she loves her mission.

We're way busy here. There are some really, really amazing investigators here, plus a lot of potential people we just have to get in contact with. Sister Lehman and I both feel that Mannheim is ready for a change! The ward is ready to grow! It's still really weird to be in a new area with a new ward, but I know this is where the Lord needs me to be, and this is where I want to be.

Sister Lehman and me. 

I got transferred!!! The kinderegg tells all! 1/6/14

We don't have a lot of time today. We are going to play with our district in Frankfurt as a goodbye--FOR ME. I am LEAVING!! Nooooooooooo. My Kinder Egg was a tiger--on the prowl for a change, is what we said, and it came true! I'm going down to Mannheim on Thursday. And I have new companion. I don't know her, but Sister Beck does and says that she's way awesome. Sister Beck is staying here in Hanau. I hope she'll take good care of it! It was sooo hard to say goodbye to the ward yesterday. I wish they could all just hop in my suitcase and come with me. I'm way excited for the change, but mostly I'm sad. I feel like every area is going to rip my heart outttt. I want to go back to Frankfurt so bad, but I don't want to leave Hanau either. Can't I just have it all?? That also means I'm leaving the Frankfurt zone too, which is a bummer because I've been here my whole mission. It's going to be so weird to change!

I'm glad that everyone had a safe and happy Christmas! Ours was so good. But I told you pretty much all about it on Wednesday. For second Christmas we had lunch with the Bishop and his family and then went and had dinner with another couple from our ward. It was way fun. And we were also able to go to the Temple on Friday!! That was really cool and a Christmas blessing/miracle, because it closed the next day, and I would've been sad if I hadn't had been able to go one last time before leaving the Zone. Also for the past several weeks our district has been having a competition with contacting, so like if you give them a BOM or like a pamphlet or something you get so many points, and if they give you a phone number or email address you get so many points, etc., and it just ended last night, and guess what?? WE WON. Yesssss. The one pair of sisters in the district. Well, naturally we would've won, because Sister Beck is a contacting fool and passes out stuff like candy. I'm like a...'slower' contacter?? Is that dumb-sounding? Probably. Like I love just talking to people, but sometimes like I never just grab the opportunity to be like TAKE A BOM!! Or whatevs. But anyway, we totally won the competition and we get T-Shirts. Heck yeah. So I have left my legacy on this district. I've also been in this district for SIX transfers. So this is going to be a huuuge change. So weird!! 

On New Years Eve we were in the house by 6 because all the drunk dangerous people roaming the streets. We got Chinese food to celebrate, then we did Insanity, that CRAZY workout video (I couldn't even walk the next day), and then we had a onesie party and I cut Sister Beck's hair. Not really. Just a trim. But it looks good. Maybe a calling in life? haha, jk. Then we went to bed at about 10 and woke up at midnight because it was a WAR ZONE outside. I am not kidding. The whole streets were lined with crazy people and they were just throwing fireworks all around the city. It was SO LOUD. We saw some cars driving around and they were swerving all around the road because there were fireworks exploding everywhere like they were landmines or something. And it lasted for probably about thirty minutes. It was so. loud. So that was our New Years Eve! It was pretty fun. 

We have appointments with all of our investigators this week! We're way excited. Now that the holidays are all over, hopefully people will have more time to meet with us. Also the work is picking up just as I'm about to leave, haha. I guess that's always how it is. I play the piano almost every week in RS. I also played the organ a couple times in Sacrament. I'd never really done that before, and I'd never even heard about half the hymns I played...so that was an adventure, lol! Sister Beck and I sang in church during the holidays, too. It's rainy a lot in the morning, so we're not running as much, but we're trying to keep up the good exercise and we do P90X a lot, and now we have Insanity, so we're trying to not get tooooo fat. 

Making Advent Wreaths

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! 12/16/13

I hope that you're not all frozen all day. It's been cold here, yeah, but I don't think as cold as in Vernal. It was an awesome week! I love this ward and this area so much. There are so many cool people here. 

So big news--our shower finally got fixed!! The plumber came and like gave us looks of disgust. You think he'd be used to things like this...meh, whatevs. Point is, after a week or so of no shower, we were finally cleeaaannn! The sink shower was a good substitute, though. It was fun to make food where you wash your hair...

Anyway, Nuremberg was really fun and a super long, crazy day. We got to meet with some awesome members this week, and we're planning a street display for Saturday in Gelnhausen. I hope everything works out there! All the auxiliary leaderships were changed this last week. That was pretty crazy. But literally. All of them. It's really cool to see who the Lord wants for His work. We went to a religious Catholic seminar this last week, too. We studied the Apocrypha...yep. Basically we read about Jesus as a little boy and how he made people blind because...people like were mean to Him?? It was pretty funny, actually, but then I felt blasphemous because I was laughing, but then I didn't because it was the Apocrypha...so I didn't really know how to feel all night. I think the dominant emotion was a stomach ache because I was trying really hard not to bust up. 

But then we had ZOKO!! Zone Konferenz!! That was so fun. Also the night before they called and asked if I could give a musical number. That was good too. I forced Sister Beck to play for me. I feel kinda bad because she was super, super nervous, waaaay more nervous than I was. I hope it went okay. I just sang a Christmas song. But then Sister Beck and I (and a cool YSA girl from our ward) sang a Christmas song in church on Sunday, too. But back to ZoKo, it was so fun, and I got to play with Sister Wilson all day long, and then we went to the main center of Frankfurt and we all went caroling and handed out Joy to the World DVDs. It was super fun. 

Then I went on a split in Frankfurt! That was so fun too. Also really cold. It was a cold day. I was tired, too, because I didn't sleep the night before. It was too cold in the apartment and plus my split companion was snoring and talking in her sleep...so I went out and camped out by the heater, lol. But it was still really fun! Anyway, on Sunday night we went up and sang again in the old lady choir and it was super funny and fun. Old German people are sooo funny. They are either like the nicest people in the world...or the meanest. No in between! 

This week we have interviews with President!! That is going to be SO COOL. President is the coolest ever. Also I'm scared because he's one of those people who will look at you and look into your soul and tell you things you didn't even know about yourself. But it's going to be so cool. Also I finally got found out. My whole mission I've only given one lesson in our weekly district meetings...my  whole mission. That's like...a lot of district meetings. And I've been in the same district for six transfers now, so someone finally ratted on me to my new district leader and now I have to give a really long one this week. Ugghhhh...I was really good at playing the piano/saying the opening prayer!! Meh. But hopefully it'll be like the last time--one lesson and then five or six months of laying low, haha. 

We're invited over for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and 2nd Christmas. That's gonna be a lot of food. I'm thinking of doing like a two or three day fast to prepare, both spiritually and physically. But it'll be good.

Our shower/sink for a week!

Our beautiful Christmas tree!