White-Washed!

LUDWIGSBURG GOT WHITE-WASHED!!!!!!!! That's right, Sister Powell and I are BOTH being transfered. That is totally completely not what we expected at all. I thought I would get at least one or two more transfers here, but alas, that is not the case. So on the day of transfer calls (Friday) you get a phone call from one of three people: the Zone Leaders saying that you and your companion are both staying, the AP's, telling you that one of you is getting a normal transfer, or the President calls and tells you you're becoming a Zone Leader, a Sister Training Leader, or you're training. The later in the day it gets, the more likely it is to be the President or the AP's because Zone Leaders get their calls done pretty fast. WELL, the Zone Leaders sent out a mass text when they finished making all of their calls, so if we hadn't heard from them, then there would be change. We did expect that. We thought that just Sister Powell would leave. About 45 minutes later our phone rings AND IT WAS THE PRESIDENT!!! We were on the speaker phone so we could both hear him. He said the normal hello and stuff and then told us he had some "pretty heavy duty" jobs for us. We were freaking out at that point. Sister Powell is going to Salzburg. She is going to be training a new missionary (we call them goldens), and she is also going to be whitewashing that area, AND she is going to be a Sister Training Leader. That's like a triple whammy! 

Now you may or may not be sitting on pins and needles waiting to find out where I'm going. I did that on purpose. Isn't suspense fun? I'M GOING TO VIENNA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm going to work in a drit (a companionship with three sisters in it). One is already there. Her name is Sister Freiman and she is from Germany. And the second is going to be a new missionary that we will be training together. I'M SO EXCITED! VIENNA IS GOING TO BE GREAT!!!! 

So now that we have established that, there are SO many things we have to do before we leave Ludwigsburg. It's being whitewashed and the new sisters are going to have no idea how to get anywhere at all. We have basically been writing an instruction book on how to survive in Ludwigsburg. It's a bit complicated with buses and random paths and stuff, but I'm confident that whoever comes will be great. 

Also, since I'm switching from Germany to Austria, there is so much paper work to do. I just spent this morning filling out papers and getting ready to live there because Austria is a bit picky about who lives there, but lets face it, this is Europe, they love their paper work here. 

And then there is the worst part about transfers, leaving the area. It's the most conflicting emotion ever, because I love Ludwigsburg so much. I love the ward and the people and basically everything about it, so saying goodbye is really sad. I wish I had recorded the reaction in our ward yesterday when the Bishop announced that both of the sisters were being transfered. It was an audible gasp. It was so funny. But saying goodbye was sad. We've been having last appointments with investigators too and that is torture. You always worry that someone is going to fall between the cracks, but that is how you learn to trust the Lord. He knows what He's doing far better than we do, so you just have to roll with the punches. We've been making sure that our records are super duper thorough so that the new sisters know exactly what's up when they get here. No one is going to be forgotten. 

Thursday is when we leave, so the rest of our time in Ludwigsburg is eating appointments, getting ready for the new sisters, and goodbyes. A lot of our district got transfered actually, so we're gonna go to the Mercedes Museum in Stuttgart together. It'll be fun. 

The trip to Vienna is going to be a long one. It is literally on the other end of the mission, so on Thursday I take a train to Stuttgart, and then another one to Munich, and then another one to Salzburg, and then another one to Vienna. It's going to be a fun journey actually, and I'll be able to see a lot of other missionaries on the way. I'm not really looking forward to moving my two big suitcases around again, but hey, what are Elders for, right? JUST KIDDING'!!!! That was a joke.

Anyways, Ludwigsburg was the most perfect place possible for me to start out my mission. I have learned so much and witnessed so many miracles. It's time for a new chapter and new experiences. It's just kind of funny because essentially, Ludwigsburg area is a cluster of villages. Now I'm headed to a big city. That'll be different, but I'm pumped. 

Hope life is good for everyone.

Make good choices!

Love,

Sister Smiley

Pictures: My last picture of the Ludwigsburg Palace; my bishop (Bishop Kern) and his family (they're the greatest), our chapel.

It just keeps getting better!

So! Last week I talked about an investigator coming to church that missionaries had been working with for a long time. Well, SHE CAME AGAIN THIS WEEK! I feel like that is bigger than coming the first time. Coming back is always the hardest. It's like starting a new school year. The first day of school is fine because it's just the first day of school, but going back for the second day was always harder for me because that is when you realize that this is for real. Sister Powell and I were freaking out when she walked through the door for the second time. And what's better is that the ward scooped her up. People went out of their way to go talk to her and get to know her. That is exactly how it should be. I was so happy for her. That was our biggest miracle this week, but there are always loads.

 This week in particular has been pretty hot. We wore our lightest clothes every day and drank loads of water. One day that was super hot (40 degrees Celsius) we were getting off a bus to go to an appointment. There was also a couple of love birds getting off with us (probably about 16 years old) and when the bus started driving away, the girl goes "My cell phone! It's still on the bus!"-in German though. Right away, the boy started running SO FAST after the bus. It was actually hilarious. He basically threw his whole life into catching that bus. I don't know how it turned out, if he got the phone or not, but that is when Sister Powell and I decided that chivalry is in fact not dead. 

On Friday we had an appointment with a less active member. She is from Nigeria so we speak English with her...which is so weird, but she is super sweet. When we got there she was on the phone with her brother who told her he traveled to Atlanta to perform (with a christian rock group), and his video was on YouTube. She promptly looked it up on her iPad and started freaking out. She got on the floor and waved her hands around and was singing along. It was pretty epic. She was so happy to see her brother on YouTube. She was so happy that she made us lunch! That was a nice bonus. It was delicious African food. Apparently fried bananas are a thing. They were really good. That was such a unique experience.

Lately we have had an abundance of potential investigators to go out and contact. Every area in this mission is pretty big so it always takes a while to get there, especially with public transportation, but we have gone to so many places so many times in a row and no one has been home. It's quite disappointing, but we have a new thing we do, where when we go to a village or something to go try and contact someone and they're not there, then we have to knock on at least six doors. There must be another reason that we are there. So far, no one has fallen to their knees when we've come to their door, begging us to be baptized, but there is always something. People are interested in our English class, or they need help cleaning something, or once we ran into an investigator on the street and they just talked to us a little bit. Heavenly Father always puts people in our paths.

The other day, we were on the train headed home and a teenage girl sat next to me. Not gonna lie, I judged her pretty hard pretty fast. It was horrible, I have repented since then, but while I was sitting there telling myself why there was no point in talking to this girl, it hit me that Heavenly Father loves her so much. He just loves all of His children more than we can comprehend, so I'm an idiot for deciding that she wouldn't want our message. Well, I started talking to her and she was the best conversation I had all day. She knew about our church and said that the people from it are always so nice. It didn't get much further than that, but it was one of those sweet experiences that I really appreciated.

 

Yesterday we were at a members house for an eating appointment. It was a family and the mom was German and the dad was American. In their house they speak a mixture of German and English. They have four kids who understand both languages, so I was super confused. I had no idea what to speak. My mind doesn't switch back and forth that fast, so it was a bit of a whirlwind. It was just kind of funny. The German is hard, but I think it's coming.

This is the last week of the transfer and we get the transfer calls on Friday morning. Then the actual day of transfers is the next Thursday. I think I'm going to stay in Ludwigsburg for another transfer or two, but Sister Powell has been here for five so she will probably be headed somewhere else. We'll see what happens. No one can really predict what is going to happen though because we have a new President, but that is just my guess.

Well, anywho, that's what I have to say for this week. The work is hard, but it is good, and I am so glad that I get to serve here. Hope everyone is doing well wherever you may be.

Make good choices!

Love,

Sister Smiley

Pictures: What a sister missionary looks like when she got all of her groceries done within her budget, one of the villages that we spend a lot of time in lately, Sister Powell super excited about the Spaghetti Eis (ice cream shaped like spaghetti) 

Rainy Days, Sick Days, and Sundays

Wow, wasn't that a clever title? I'm pretty happy about it.

AND DEUTSCHLAND WON THE WORLD CUP! That's right, we basically dominated. We couldn't watch the finale, but we had ward members texting us play by plays and it was pretty intense. They beat Argentina 1-0 in a 30 minute over time. At 11:30 last night we heard yelling and fireworks and lots of honking horns. It was pretty crazy. We expected to go out this morning and see remnants of party everywhere, but it literally looked like a normal day in Germany. That's just kind of how the Germans are. They have their moment of celebration, but then life just keeps going. I do know though that most schools are starting an hour or two later today so that kids can sleep in from watching the game last night. That's pretty cool. 

This week has really been something. So far, summer here, has been super hot and humid, but randomly this week it started pouring rain and got pretty cold. We didn't know that was going to happen, but it did, so we pulled out scarves and sweaters and I got to use my umbrella a lot. Tuesday was the first day that is was really raining cats and dogs. It w

as perfect because there also happened to be a bus strike that day. Basically, we rely like crazy on the transportation system here, so when the buses go down, we go down too. The only option was to walk...a lot. So we did, in the rain. We didn't have any appointments that day so we were going out to contact potential investigators and referals. Literally, no one was home at all, so we spent that whole day walking around in the rain. It was thoroughly exhausting, but we did our best and had a pretty good attitude. When we got home for dinner that night, we wanted something super good and warm to eat. Sister Powell whipped out some chili and I found a corn bread recipe and made that. It was so good. I am actually really proud of how that corn bread turned out because I substituted a lot of ingredients too, and I don't want to brag or anything, but it was basically perfect. I take great pride in that corn bread. 

Anywho, the next day, I woke up with a cold. That wasn't exactly what I was hoping for, but that's life and you just have to take what comes. I took good care of myself and bundled up a lot so after a couple days, it looked like it was going away WELL, that was not the case. Yesterday was probably one of the most amazing Sundays of my life. The sick thing is going to tie into it, but just roll with me here.

We went to church like normal and were sitting in our seats at nine because that is when sacrament starts. Right as it was about to start, one of our investigators and her less active boyfriend walked in the room. Missionaries have been meeting with them for a year and a half now. They are two super sweet people, but they have both been pretty nervous about coming to church. It's a scary thing to do when it is new. When they walked through the door I was ready to start crying. We have been meeting with them regularly and just trying to make sure they know that we love them and care about them. Them coming to church was an answer to so many prayers. It was a miracle. 

Ok, so then, during relief society, I realized I was feeling sick again. I was going downhill pretty fast actually and really didn't feel like holding my head up any more. I was in that mood where you just want a good meal and a bed. WELL, we had to stay after church because later on that day there was going to be a baptism for an 8 year old girl in the ward and there was no sense in us going home. We just brought our lunch and study stuff with. We were going to heat up our left overs and eat it, when the family of the girl getting baptized invited us to eat with them. They had this fancy meal that they brought to the church and were going to eat before getting ready for the service. It was so nice of them and they insisted that we joined them. It was a super good potato soup and German bread. That was so nice of them. They really did not have to do that, but it hit the spot perfectly. 

WELL, after that I really needed to lie down, so Sister Powell and I camped out in a classroom where she did studies and I fell asleep. I had about two hours so that was good. The baptism rolled around and it was super great. Seeing baptisms always makes me think of my own. 

At the end THERE WAS SO MUCH FOOD. It was a major production. Basically the whole ward came, and everyone brought a beautiful plate of something. I tried lots of different things. When we were all done with that Sister Powell and I decided to head home because I could not do real missionary work. We began our trek to the train station and were about to walk up this gigantic hill. In my head there were two things I was thinking: I would really like to get to know the Weber family better, and I really don't feel like walking up this hill right now. WELL, two milliseconds later, the Weber family pulled up next to us, picked us up, and drove us home. Heavenly Father really does take care of his missionaries. It was just such a great Sunday.

 

Anywho, just so no one gets scared, I did call the mission nurse when I got home yesterday and she said that I have a virus that a bunch of missionaries seem to be getting right now. She told me to email and get groceries today, and then we are just spending the rest of p-day sleeping. Sister Powell is super patient with me, but yeah, it's a party.

 

Despite being sick though, life is really good. I wish I could spend all 18 months of my mission in Ludwigsburg because it is so great. Being a missionary here is the best. Heavenly Father really knows what He's doing. 

So, that being said, I hope you all have a great week, make good choices, and drink lots of fluids.

Love,

Sister Smiley

Pictures: we kind of stumbled upon this castled one day on our way to an appointment and stopped to take pictures, my corn bread that I'm super proud of, and Sister Powell and I on the first rainy day.

Happy Fourth of July!

Well I hope everyone had a great fourth of July. We didn't have anything special lined up (because for some reason, Germans don't celebrate American Independence Day), but we did wear red, white, and blue, and we stuck little American flags in mini choclate pies that we ate for dessert, so it was pretty patriotic. We do what we can. I really haven't been homesick on my mission because I love it so much, but I can honestly say that I look forward to doing a real fourth with my fam jam and potato salad and fireworks and stuff...so I guess July 2016, haha but until then, there is much to be done. 

 On Saturday, all of the missionaries in the Stuttgart zone were sent to Munich to have a conference to meet our new mission president, President Kohler. We had to meet at Stuttgart train station at 7:02 am so we got up at 5:30 and left our apartment by six (we showered the night before). It took four train rides to get there. Two of them were long train rides and the other ones were about 15 minutes each, but IT WAS SO FUN!!!! I just love getting together with other missionaries. We had four hours of trains to talk to each other and share stories. Sister Arnold and Elder Lynch were there from my MTC district too, so that was super fun. It's also a party because the scenery is beautiful, rolling hills, big forests, and tiny german villages. I am just so blessed. 

Well, we got to Munich, and President Kohler was there with his family (he has a 17 year old son and a 13 year old daughter). They all told us about themselves, and why they're excited to be here and then President Kohler talked. He is awesome. He helped write Preach My Gospel and trained the missionaries who were in The District (every missionary's favorite form of entertainment). He seems to really know what he is doing. Basically, Sister Powell and I got re-excited to be missionaries. One thing President Kohler seemed to emphasize a lot is member missionary work. Basically, we need to serve the heck out of our members so that they know they can trust us. Why would you want to give a missionary a referral when you hardly know who they are anyways? Also, members who live here would know way better than us if their friend is ready for the gospel rather than us trying to tell if someone we talked to for five minutes on the street is ready. It just makes so much sense. So yeah, that is something we are really working on. 

After the conference, President met with every companionship for a couple of minutes to say hi and to see our faces in person. It was really fast, but afterwards, every missionary there was reading into every little thing and trying to figure out what would happen come transfers. We literally have no idea. We'll see what happens, I have a feeling I'm staying in Ludwigsburg because there is still so much I want to do, but that's just a guess. Anywho, we all headed back to Stuttgart and hopped on some more trains. 

 

Last Monday, Sister Powell and I went to see the palace in Ludwigsburg. We took a tour of the inside AND IT WAS SO PRETTY!!!! No one wanted to bomb this part of Germany during WWII because it is so pretty, so it was saved. It was funny though because we took the English speaking tour and that was just the weirdest thing of my life. It was American and Canadian tourists. I can handle other missionaries speaking English, but other than that, it is just weird. It was fun though. It was like when my family lived in Denmark and we would take tours of castles and stuff. It is basically little America.

 

A while ago I talked about wanting to improve my skills with just talking to people on the bus and on the street and stuff. Well, just to report back, it's going great. We now have relationships with everyone in our apartment building. They all know who we are and what we do now. The other day on the train we sat accross from a really pretty blond lady and right when I sat down I complemented her necklace (it was super pretty) and we just started talking. She told us she was acutally from Norway and then I got to speak a bit of Danish to her! It was so fun! I haven't really spoken Danish in years, but it really does come back when you need it. Anywho, it ended with us exchanging contact information. We'll see what comes of it, but long story short, just talking to people is fun. The world is a much more interesting place when you interact with people and get to know them. They want to get to know you too. They want to know why you're different and why you feel the way you feel. It's normal. Everyone is curious, it's just that, the older you get, the more you try to hide that curiosity because you don't want people to think you're weird. That was kind of my epiphany this week.

 

Another thing I learned about is consecration. That is something my zone has been talking about a lot lately, and I haven't really understood until recently. In my mind, it was you either had to kill yourself trying to be the perfect missionary, or you are scum. It wasn't a positive thing. Well, with some study and prayer here is what I realized: I came on this mission because I want to help bring others unto Christ. Consecration is not high numbers or pure exhaustion, it is the act of putting others before yourself with the objective of helping them come unto Christ. It is actually pretty simple. It is just what President Hinkley's father said, "Forget yourself and go to work" That is all I want to do. 

So with that, I hope you all have a great week and make good choices.

Love,

Sister Smiley

Pictures: Sister Arnold, Sister Powell, Sister Winters and I together, The courtyard at the Ludwigsburg Schloss, me at the Ludwigsburg Schloss