Lovin' the Sites in Germany 2/24/14

This week went by wayyy too quickly. It was so insane. We had eating appointments almost every night, and so yesterday I felt like I was in a food coma and needed an oxygen tank because I couldn't breathe. But it was all delicious, at least! The worst is eating something really gross and just thinking of all the wasted calories on something that's not delicious. So we're trying to cut back this week. I think the cinnamon rolls will wait at least until next week, haha. We went running this morning, and it was really painful. I could feel all the Nutella like clogging up the arteries into my heart. But it's getting lighter earlier, so that makes it a lot easier to go out and run in the morning. The winter was way dark and not very fun. So I just have to enjoy it until daylight savings. Grrrr! I like my mornings bright.

This is a place where they held Nazi Rallies

Last PDay was pretty fun! We went on this fun hike and got to see a lot of ruins and this amphitheater where they used to have Nazi rallies back in the day, and there was a really beautiful view overlooking Heidelberg, and we could see Mannheim in the distance, too. It was such a nice day---we all took our jackets off!! Today we're going...yep, to another castle. It's called Bad Dürkheim. I saw pictures of it once. It looks really beautiful. We actually tried to go there a couple months ago, but we got lost and went hiking up this hill and instead found ANOTHER castle up on the hill, haha. So pretty much you just hike to any hill and you can expect to find castle ruins...no joke.

Seeing the Sites

Stake Conference was soooo good! It was a broadcast filmed especially for the German saints. A member of the 70 spoke, as well as a member of the Relief Society Presidency, and then Elder Bednar got up and gave this sweeeet talk ALL in German. Wow!! He had served in München like 40 years ago. I hope that my German still sounds as good in 40 years. It was so cool. Also, no old companions. :( That was a bummer. But it was okay, because it was a really cool meeting. We have Zone Conference in a couple weeks, so I can see Sister Wilson and Sister Beck there! I talked to Sister Beck last night. It sounds as if Hanau is doing SO good! I'm soo happy. I love that ward so much. And Mannheim!! Ugghhh I love them all. The members of the Mannheim ward are pioneers. They're amazing, I admire them so much.

Pretty much all I know is I don't have much longer left. August 1st is not too far away...I really feel as if I just left! Most of the missionaries I know will be dying in the next couple transfers. It's so weird. Time feels nonexistent here. March on Saturday!! That means ZoKo, yaaaay! :)

We're doing really well out here, just more missionary work and having a lot of fun! Sister Lehman is exactly what I need at this point in my mission. I'm so glad I'm her companion!! And I'm so happy that I get to serve in Mannheim another transfer. Missions are the best, the church is true, and I love you all a lot! 

The Baptism was Beautiful! 2/17/14

Of course it's been an awesome miracle week. First, the BAPTISM! It was so beautiful. It was a little crazy at the beginning because a lot of people were late (actually weird for Germans, haha), so we kind of panicked because we weren't sure what to do, but it was really fine. Service only started about five/ten minutes late, and it was so amazing. Soooo many people came! It was as if it was a Sunday. There were so many ward members and so many nonmembers. Sister Lehman gave such a beautiful talk about baptism. The Spirit was soooo strong. I gave my testimony...don't know if it was as good as her talk, but naja. The whole thing was so nice. We stood in the back by the font with Jasira's mom. It was really just amazing. Her dad looked really nervous--it was so sweet to see how serious he took it and how much he realized what a big deal it was that he was able to baptize his daughter. Anyway, it ended up being really beautiful and then afterward there was a giant dinner and that was way fun, too. It ended up just being amazing, and the Bishop confirmed her yesterday and gave a beautiful blessing. It's so amazing to be able to see such a miracle like that. I can't believe Heavenly Father blessed me in such a huge way! I'm so happy that I have time to hopefully experience that again.

The Kinder Eggs!! They were tricky this time. I got a little yellow Porsche convertible. I was tempted to say I was driving out of Mannheim, but I knew that couldn't be right, so we decided that I was going to stay in Mannheim until it's nice enough to drive around a convertible. Sister Lehman got Donald Duck's uncle playing golf. You know the rich one with the glasses?? Anyway, we were really scared it meant she was going somewhere...but in the end we decided that SHE was staying until it was nice enough to play golf outside. Maybe it was wishful thinking...but it came true!! We're both staying another transfer, and we're sooooo happy! We have a lot of plans and things we want to do together, and honestly, there's still a lot I need to learn about the area before she leaves me. Anyway, we're super happy to stay together at least one more. There actually aren't a lot of people changing. Remember Sister Miller, my comp in the MTC? She was in her first area for ten months! She finally moved...but she moved to the area literally right next to her old one, haha, a fifteen minute train ride away. Poor Sister Miller. But that's where the Lord needs her to be.

I heard that on the mission, lots of people write you right at the beginning, and then in the middle no one writes you because they forget, and then everyone starts writing a couple months before you get home because they suddenly remember you. I'm still in the middle part. That's okay! A couple more months and then maybe I'll get some more letters! But I do have my faithful writers...like Mom. Mostly. haha. Today we're going down to Heidelberg to hike up to the beautiful castle up there. Germany is sooooo cool!

We have Stake Conference this week. I think I get to see Sister Wilson! I think we're in the same stake...think so. But it'll be fun anyway. I gave a talk yesterday in Sacrament meeting. Hope it went okay. Can't believe a new transfer has started already. Also it's getting warmer, thank goodness. It hasn't been tooooo cold, but I'm definitely ready for summer. We had Zone Training this week and I had a split right afterward. That was really good, too. I got to take a pretty train ride up to Darmstadt and back. It's so green here, even in February. For Valentines Day Sister Lehman and I had a picnic and I made her tell me all about her love life. I'm so excited about this transfer. I'm so happy to stay here!

Heavenly Father blesses me so much 2/10/14

Another week gone already! And of course it was a good one because I got to eat pie! It was so delicious. As delicious as pumpkin pie can get out here, haha. They have no pie tins here, so we had to improvise and make it in a cheesecake pan. But it turned out well. Then we took it to our investigator and Sister Lehman made 'Lime Rickies' (Sprite and grape juice and limes), and we all celebrated my year mark together. Then we made ANOTHER pie with our investigator so she can share it with her family, lol. Her daughter's getting baptized on Saturday. We are sooooo happy. It's such a blessing to be able to see this baptism. Such a miracle and a blessing from the Lord. This week is going to be amazing. I can feel it! But we're also really scared for Saturday, because Sister Lehman thinks she's leaving. I don't want her to! She's one of my favorite comps! I feel as if we're only in our second week together. I haven't bought a Kinder Egg yet--we haven't gone shopping, sorry. Can't tell you right now. But we'll see what it predicts! Oohhhhh I'm so nervous! I hope she doesn't leave.

Ugghhhh also you cursed me! Last week you asked about my health and I said I was perfectly healthy all day, no no problems here, nothing, yeah I love health! And then on Friday (or Saturday...? can't remember) Sister Lehman and I BOTH woke up with nasty head colds. It wasn't anything really bad like I had last year, but it was still enough that we were like...blehhhh we don't want to live. So luckily we didn't have too many appointments these past few days and have been trying to take it as easy as it goes. It was really bad on Sunday, though. We were supposed to plan after lunch, and we still had like ten minutes left of lunchtime so we were like, 'We're just going to lay down for ten minutes and rest.' hahahaaaa...we just zonked out. That was bad. But it was really good to get a little extra rest. We're both on the mend, though. It wasn't anything too nasty. Germans love natural healing things, too, so we got a lot of advice from the ward. We've been drinking buckets of tea and have more vapor rub than we could ever use. So we'll be perfectly fine in a day or two.

Opera time!

Oh also other cool news! President gave us permission to go to an Opera! And we went!! It was sooooo fun and cool. We went on the 6th, another celebration of my year mark. We went to see Hänsel und Gretel. It was such a fun show! I wanted to see The Magic Flute, but we weren't sure if it was going to be really appropriate for missionaries, and when I talked to President about it, he was so cute and funny and was like, 'You know, sometimes Sister Shipsennn zahy have ze naked people running around ze stage!!' So we had to make sure it was appropriate, and Hänsel und Gretel was perfectly fine. And way fun! It was such a cool opportunity. Ughhh sometimes I don't believe how cool this life is. I get to be a missionary in Germany! Germany is so cool. I love this country. These people are so amazing. I love my comp so much, and this area is ready for miracles. And we have a baptism this week! Sometimes Heavenly Father blesses me more than I deserve.
I can't believe how fast this time has gone by. The other night Sister Lehman and I read each other some exerpts from our mission journals right as we were starting our missions. It was sooooo funny! Not in a bad way. But it was just so weird to see how different I feel and how much I've learned. We just laughed a lot at ourselves and each other, but really it was so interesting and cool to see the changes. Plus I was hilarious (not intentionally) and way dramatic when I was starting my mission. Not to mention I would always try to insert like some German here and there...and the German was so bad! lol. But as for the release date, I'm pretty positive that it's August 1st. And I think I emailed that already, but maybe it doesn't show up on the church website or something? That's just what I was told over email a couple transfers ago, and I haven't been told anything since. So plan for August 1st. That's a Friday. Noooo! I have less than six months left! 

First time being sick in Germany

Time is going by waaaay to fast! 2/3/14

We've been really busy. I can't really remember what we did...but good thing we have planners so I can see! We had fun at the castle and museum last week. And we got a discount because we're all students. Maybe not currently attending, but we're students and we're also students of the Lord. Okay...that doesn't really work. But it was still fun! Interviews with President were really, really good. I'm so glad that I was able to talk with him! He is so inspired. And he leaves in June. :( I'm so sad! I think my last transfer I'll have a new president. But that's okay. President Schwartz is pretty much my mission president forever. We just did a lot of missionary work this week, I guess. Looking...looking...appointments and activities and cool member appointments and some finding time...planning and some more planning...we played soccer again on Saturday and this little nine or ten year-old played with us. That was embarrassing...He was a lot better than like four or five white Americans. Haha. Our baptismal date is for the fifteenth of February. We're really excited about that! It's going to be really good. They wanted a date that a lot of the family could come, and that was the best one.

Sister Lehman has been teasing me and telling me that this will be her last transfer in Mannheim, but I can't have that! I need her to stay because I love her so much and I still don't know what the heck is going on sometimes, haha. But we'll find out in a few weeks. I get to buy a Kinder Egg next week! This transfer is probably the fastest one I've had. And Christmas transfer went by super fast...wow. Missions go by super fast. Last Saturday Sister Lehman looked me in the face and said, 'In six months you will be in Utah.' And that was pretty weird. We're going make pumpkin pie with the puree you sent me to celebrate my year mark on Thursday. I love pie!! Anyway. Speaking of health, I have actually not been sick once out here. It's seriously been a miracle. (knock on wood knock on wood knock on wood) The last time I was sick was a year ago in the MTC. That was really bad. I was way sick. But I haven't even had the sniffles out here. Seriously, it's such a blessing.

Weather is just gray and cold. But everyone I talk to says the US is frozen over and that people are like freezing to death out there, so I'm happy that I'm out here not dying. It's going to be windy and rainy this month, so I've been told, but Spring will be here so soon. I'm so excited to throw away all my tights and stop wearing giant, ugly coats that make me look like a horrible fat sister missionary! (I can do that without them!!) Hope you all enjoyed the Superbowl. I forgot about that. But I didn't forget about Groundhogs Day! How did that go? Another transfer of winter...bleh. But I guess I can get over it. Some RMs this week told me that the last six months are like a giant blur. I don't like that, because I feel as if the past year has been a giant blur. Blehhhh.

Today we're going down to Heidelberg to play soccer with the zone. That's going to be fun! Also if we get bored we might just sneak over to the castle that's over there. It's sooo beautiful. Seriously--being in Germany is amazing!! I'm so blessed. I love it here so much. I take it for granted way too often. But this opportunity is amazing. Not only being in Germany, but serving the Lord. I've learned SO much and I know that I needed to come out here to learn the things that I have learned. President said in my interview that 95% of the reason the Lord sends out young, inexperienced men and women to teach His gospel is because we need to change. 95% of this mission has been for me, to learn and change and grow. And the Lord gives us 5% to help us see how much the Gospel helps us. Maybe that sounds selfish...but really, being in the service of other people has helped me more than anyone (I think so, anyway). 

Another great companion! 1/27/14

This week was really good! I don't remember a lot of what happened. Yesterday Sister Lehman and I were trying to get numbers all together to text into the Zone Leaders, and we sat there for probably about ten or fifteen minutes trying to figure out just what in the world we did. I know there were good things like missionary work and fun times...but I don't remember exactly, haha. My split to Darmstadt was really, really fun! I liked it a lot. And tomorrow we have interviews with President. I'm so excited. It's been...how long? I think five or six transfers since my last one? So like nine months. But with a giant mission, he can't get to everyone all the time, so I'm just really grateful that I'm able to have one tomorrow. Last week we actually ended up going to Heidelberg for PDay. That was really fun and beautiful, maybe a little cold and rainy, but really cool. Today we're planning on going to the castle here in Mannheim and visiting the museum that's inside.

Sister Lehman is sooo cool! Probably one of my favorite companions...I feel as if I say that about every one I've had. I feel so blessed to have (had) such cool and hard-working comps. I love all of them! I'm just praying that I'll get to keep that streak because I'm sure you've all heard the stories about missionaries not getting along with their companions. Hope I can last six more months with awesome ones! There's only one ward here in Mannheim. They are amazing! I love them. And I love Mannheim as a city. It is so fun being back in a big city. I LOVE Hanau (the area) so much, but it really is nice being back in a big city. I hope I can serve in big cities until...the end. Haha. Sister Lehman (from Rexburg and also went to USU--go Aggies!) is a big soccer player, and she's really fit, so it's good that we're comps so she can make sure that I don't gain tooooo much weight. We eat a good mix of German and American food. There's a lot of American fast-food restaurants here, but they're not really good. I guess Subway is about the same, but everything else we usually avoid because...yeah. I mean, it's not good and we're in GERMANY so we might as well eat German food. It's so delicious!

 

It's so amazing to be here! I love it so much, and it's such an incredible opportunity that Heavenly Father lets us be a small part of His work. Mannheim is ready for miracles, and I'm excited to see them. The time goes by way too fast.