So the Adventure Continues

HI Everyone! Well, this week was a good one. We saw a bunch of miracles for sure. That is one of the many cool things about a mission. You literally see miracles every day. It is just a privilege to be a part of that :)

Anyways, let me tell you a bit about our week. We have a new investigator!!!! That is always such a happy thing. We got to go over to her apartment on Thursday and get to know her a little bit more and see where she is at with things. We talked to her about some of our basic beliefs and that there is more we would like to teach her and explain to her. It was a really good appointment and we have another one scheduled for tonight that a member from the ward is coming with us to..I think that was really bad grammar. My bad. I don't really know what is right and what is wrong in any language anymore. I just say stuff and hope people know what I mean :) Anyways, we are really excited to have someone new that we get to be teaching. We kind of had to be tactful because she was nervous about meeting with us in the first place. I would be nervous about meeting with us too, but we talked to her on the phone one day and asked if we could just come over once for 45 minutes to share our message with her. Just listen to what we have to say for 45 minutes and if she doesn't like it or feel comfortable with it, then we wouldn't make another appointment and be out of her hair. WELL here is the miracle, SHE LOVED IT and that is why we have a return appointment. I'm excited to see what our appointment is like tonight. Thank goodness we have a member coming with us. They always seem to say the right thing when it needs to be said.

On Friday we went to Munich for training with President Kohler and district meeting and interviews. Trips to Munich are always fun. We got there and President Kohler did an hour of training where we talked about mission goals for 2015 and what we can do to be more effective missionaries in order to accomplish those goals. It was great. President Kohler is the bomb.com. He helped write Preach My Gospel and trained teachers at the MTC for a long time, so he really knows his stuff. It is always just so interesting to hear what he has to say. I'm thinking I should bring a recorder with me next time or something because the notes I take never seem to do his teaching justice :)...just kidding, I won't bring a recorder, I'm not one of "those missionaries", but seriously, someone should broadcast his zone conferences or something. It is way cool. Interviews went well. I don't have any real concerns or anything, so we just kind of talked which was nice. I can't imagine what it must be like to be a mission president over 250 missionaries in four different countries and try to build relationships with all of them. Somehow, he does  it. I am impressed.

On Saturday we helped a less active woman in our ward move. We carried some things, and moved some things around. It was all good in the hood and then she wanted to go back to the old apartment to pack up some more things. We may or may not have ended up in the back of a sketchy van with no seat belts or chairs. It was pretty sketchy. The way we ended up there is a long story, but every time I think about it I laugh. What kind of idiot actually gets into a van when someone says "get in the van"...the Augsburg missionaries. We broke a couple of white handbook rules with that one, but we survived and have since repented. Our district leader calls every now and then just to say hello and see how we are doing, and when he called that night I got to tell him the story. He laughed. It was all good. 

Anywho, that is basically what happened this week. It was a pretty solid week. Something you get a lot of on this mission is train adventures. We take trains EVERYWHERE. It's really great for contacting and talking to people and you always get good stories from the trains. I almost have all of the train, tram, and bus schedules memorized for the city of Augsburg now. It is a fun skill to be able to hop on and off of a tram and know where it is going to take you and how long it will take to get there. I'm trying to teach Sister Baker how it all works so that she can figure it out herself without hours of mapping every day. Mapping is good, but if you can skip it because you have everything memorized, life is so much better.

But yeah, that is all I have to say this week. I hope you all have great week and make good choices!

Love,
Sister Smiley
 
Pictures: Us in our situation with the van, Sister Baker and I waiting for an appointment at the church

Every Kind of Weather and Then More!

Wow! What a week! I probably say that about every week, but this week was really something. Sister Baker and I went into this transfer feeling like everything was set up really well. We had less active work we were doing, we had a new convert to work with, a killer progressing investigator, and two other people who were on the way to becoming new investigators. Well...last Monday we got a devastating text. Our lovely progressing investigator said that she could not meet with us anymore because her husband is not a fan of the Mormons at all. I guess he let her meet with us in the first place so that she could see for herself how crazy we were, but then when she liked us and all of our appointments went really well, I think he got scared and decided to cut off contact. She texted us and told us that last week, and it was probably one of the most devastating days of my mission because I know that she has a testimony. I know it and I know that she knows it. She said she is going to continue reading in the Book of Mormon and get back in contact with the missionaries when her husband calms down. She is going to be in my prayers for the rest of ever because I know that she just has such a pure desire to come unto Christ. It was just really sad. 

Then after that both of our potential investigators went missing, as in they don't answer their phones and they are not at home...ever...so that was just kind of the cherry on the top...and our map broke...BUT we are sister missionaries and we are optimistic, so we bought a new map because that thing is seriously our Liahona and we are on the hunt for people to teach. We are working really closely with the ward and we literally talk with everyone everywhere. Still no one new to teach, but I have had some very...interesting conversations in the last week. People are just really interesting. Anyways, not having investigators is not an ideal situation, but there is still the less active work and neubekehrt work to do. Onward and upward. 

On Wednesday we were heading out of our apartment and walking over to our tram stop and it was actually quite nice out. Still a bit cold, but the sun was shining and that was revolutionary because I have not really seen the sun since early October. Anyways, things were looking good and then it slowly started to rain. We got to the tram stop and it was pouring...hard...like really hard. It was actually like we got beat up by the rain. There was an abundance of wind, so it was more like it was raining horizontally and if there is anything that is not fun, it is having wet tights. It just makes the cold cling to you. It was funny because we seriously got destroyed by the rain, but we were soaked, soooo, the moral of the story, always keep an umbrella and a second pair of tights in your purse???

Yesterday (Sunday) Sister Baker and I went to Family Home Evening at a member's home far away in the middle of nowhere. A lot of Bavaria is like that. They took us home with them after church and we had a really great time together. They were even awesome and invited a nonmember friend to be there with us. We ate some Spätzle and then chocolate fondue and played a game together. I think it was actually poker but I'm not really sure because I have never played poker before, but there were chips and cards and everything. Is that aloud on a mission? I don't think there's anything about it in the white handbook. We didn't gamble money or anything, so I think it's okay, but I learned that my poker face is not much of a poker face at all :)

Anyways, as missionaries we have certain boundaries with music that is appropriate for us to listen to. There is always a lot of discussion and argument about certain songs and genres, but fortunately, classical music is totally okay which is really good because I love classical music. I brought a bunch with me when I came on my mission and I just love listening to it so much. Listen to Dvorak, or Mozart, or Vivaldi and tell me those men weren't inspired? The thing is though, it is something I came to appreciate over time. When I was in first grade and living in Taiwan with my family, I started learning how to play the violin. It is such a great instrument. I took lessons and did orchestra when the opportunity was available throughout my life. When I was going into high school, my mom suggested that I try out for this one orchestra in Chicago called Midwest Young Artists (MYA) and I really have no idea why I agreed to it because the audition process basically made me sick. I had to play two pieces in front of a man sitting at a desk while being recorded by a camera. I had a really good violin teacher at that point who helped me get ready for this audition, and by some miracle, I made it. I went to the first practice on Saturday with my mom and my aunt coming with me for support. It was pretty scary because all of the other kids there were serious. The first practice is always just sight reading which can be hard or easy depending on the piece. Well, in this instance, it was hard. I just could not keep up with everyone else. I went home from that first practice pretty freaked out wondering how I was going to make it in this orchestra. We hadn't even had seating auditions yet. Well, I went to work. I practiced that piece more than I have ever practiced an orchestral part in my life. It was Dvorak New World Symphonie #9 Movement 4. By the next practice I was doing better than keeping up. I was playing with all of these other kids who really did have an appreciation for the music. Because of that experience in particular, I love classical music and have a deep respect for other people who do too. And now, I am coming to my point: I am learning on my mission, that people will not walk into their first experience with the gospel and love it right away. Sometimes, yes, but it takes time for understanding to come, and when that understanding comes, there is something so special that can't be taken away. I am so grateful that I get to be a missionary here in Augsburg sharing this message with people here. 

I hope you all have a great week and make good choices!

Love,
Sister Smiley

Pictures: me and my super cool new German dictionary I got, some really yummy chilli we made because there comes a point where sandwhiches just don't cut it, the crew at the train station as we said goodbye to Elder Griffey (he got transferred.

We Get to Stay in Augsburg!!!

Holy Cow or Heilige Kuh!!!! Let me tell you, transfers are crazy. This transfer, there are no sisters coming in at all and there are plenty going home, so every sister in the mission was sitting on pins and needles waiting to hear if their area was getting closed or not. I believe President had to close four sister areas which is quite a lot. I was freaking out the morning of the call because I really didn't want Augsburg to be closed at all because there are people here that we need to work with. The thing is though, Augsburg is not a big city like Munich or Stuttgart or Vienna, so it would be fairly easy to close us. WELL! We got the call and guess what?! Sister Baker and I get to be here in Augsburg together for another transfer! Woohoo! I am so happy. This is my fourth transfer here in Augsburg and I love it here to death. Half of the sisters in my zone got closed though which is crazy. There used to be eight sisters in my zone and now there are only four of us. I am still saying prayers of thanks because it is seriously a miracle that we are still open. Heavenly Father really does hear our prayers.

Anyways, aside from that insanity, we had a great week. Tuesday was zone training so we got to go hear from our zone leaders and sister training leaders in Munich. It was fun seeing other missionaries. There is one sister going home this transfer who was one of my first sister training leaders, so I am sad to see her leave, but she is from Hungary, so she is going to crush it over there. So a part of zone training that always happens is they remind us of rules or adjust them based on our needs, and this week we got a new one that President just recently decided on: we are to speak only German from 9am to 9pm every day. It seems like it is a rule that would have been there already, but it is actually harder than you think because this mission is kind of like little America. There are so many Americans and English speakers in this mission that it is so easy to revert back to English, but it is kind of a fun challenge to go 12 hours straight of all German. It should have been that way all the time. It is only a bit difficult for Sister Baker because she has not been in the field that long, so we are still working on her conversational German, but now worried because we have a plan! 

Sometimes it is hard to know what to talk about when you are not speaking your mother language, so during language study one day, we made a list of topics, so then at the beginning of the day, we pick one of these topics and when there is no one to talk to or we are just walking, we have something to talk about. So yesterday it was friends (like friends from home and stuff) and today it is books. It is fun and keeps things interesting, but it is especially good for Sister Baker because at the MTC they teach you how to talk about church things. We could have a conversation about the gospel just fine because she was taught how to talk about that for six weeks at the MTC, but believe it or not, even missionaries don't talk about the gospel ALL THE TIME. So I think this is helping.

Yesterday, at church, we were all walking out of Sunday School class and when I rounded the corner I ran into none other than Sister Kohler. She is our Mission President's wife and I had to do a double take to make sure that it was actually her because if she was there, that meant that President Kohler would also be there. It sounds like a no qbig deal thing, but it is actually a big deal because there are 70 wards in our mission and he chose to come to Augsburg yesterday. No one knew he would be there at all, so it was a total surprise, but it was actually really great to see them. They came to our Sacrament Meeting and sat on the stand and stuff, but afterwards, I got to talk to President and Sister Kohler and it was really nice. They asked me how I was doing and if I was happy to be there and everything.  I had a good conversation with Sister Kohler in particular about how serving a mission is going to be so helpful to me in the future. She served a mission in California, so it is fun to talk to her about that, but it was just so nice to talk to her. It was kind of funny though, because we have this new 9-9 German rule, so when I talked to President Kohler it was all in German. I had never spoken to him in German before but it was fun. 

So yeah, other than those things, this week was actually a pretty quiet one unfortunately. A lot of our lessons did not go through which is always depressing, but you just keep moving forward and pray that more things will work out in the future. It is a good time.

But, I hope you all have a good week and make good choices!

Love,

Sister Smiley

Pictures: I took Sister Baker to the Gold Room last p-day, me with my pretty stationary that my parents sent me, making sandwiches for zone training.

Belching, Australians, and Surprise Investigators

What a week! This was one of those weeks where I probably felt every single emotion under the sun at some point. It was insane...but also really good. That's just how missionary work tends to go a bunch of the time. That's why sister missionaries gain weight...we eat when we are stressed...but such is life and that is why we have fathers who are really into running.

Anyways, I hope everyone had a great New Years. Can you believe it is 2015? Crazy! We got invited to members' homes on New Years Eve and New Years Day so that was a win. We were aloud to stay out until 10:00PM on New Years Eve and we were at this couple's home from our ward. They are the Herbers and let me tell you, they are formal people. You better know your table manners when you go to their home, otherwise you are just an embarrassment. I've been working on teaching Sister Baker German table manners because they are just ever so slightly yet noticeably different than in the USofA. She was well prepped.  After having a snack and chatting, we moved over to

the living room to talk while the dinner was being prepared. I always offer to help in the kitchen because I always liked when missionaries did that at my home. Not that I want them to do the work for me, but it felt more like they were my friend. Schwester Herber had everything under control though, so we sat and chatted some more with the Elders and Bruder Herber in the living room. After a more invigorating discussion, we went back to the dining room and had a beautiful cucumber salad with feta cheese in it and everything. I ate lots of that. It was delicious. Then we moved on to the soup course. It was cauliflower soup and was so yummy. Of course there was a fancy loaf of German bread, so we ate that too. We ate and ate and ate until this giant pot of soup was gone. My stomach has been well trained. I have been doing missionary eating appointments for nine months, so I can handle it when all of the food is expected to be gone, but Sister Baker is in her first transfer, so she is not quite so practiced. As we were eating I realized that I should have given her a pep talk before hand or something. Her manners were perfect, but she looked like she was struggling and I was prepared to shove some of her soup into the Elders' bowls while the Herbers where in the kitchen, but the opportunity never came. She managed to finish her second bowl of soup...but there was more. Then came a gigantic pot of rice with a chicken sauce thing. It smelled really good and all four of us missionaries gave each other the look of "bring it on". The main course got dished out and we were all manning it pretty well, but then Sister Baker really started slowing down. I tried to tell her with my eyes that she didn't need to finish it, but I guess my eyes are bad communicators because she thought I was trying to let her know that she needed to eat more...my bad. Well, all of a sudden, she gets up and goes to the bathroom, and I'm thinking, "oh boy, this is it, she's not going to be able to keep it down." I hate to get graphic here, but the walls in that house were paper thin, so we could hear everything and she made a loud belching noise, so Schwester Herber wanted me to go make sure Sister Baker was OK. Of course I was going to do that anyways, and I went and asked if everything was alright and I told her she really didn't have to eat all of the food, and she insisted that she was fine, so we went back out to the table and there was ice cream for all of us to eat. We all ate it just fine and then it was time for us to go home. When we left I kind of freaked out on Sister Baker and asked "What happened? Are you OK?" Quite honestly I thought she threw up...well lo and behold, all that happened was...she belched really really loud. We are both writing about this experience right now and as we type away at the computers we are both giggling and laughing about it because of all the places for that to happen it had to be at the Herbers, but that is what makes it so funny :) Gotta love being a missionary!

Anyways, yesterday was a good Sunday. We didn't expect our investigator to come because we knew that she was out of town, but Sister Baker and I were sitting in Relief Society when a ward member came in and said, "Sisters, wir brauchen Sie" What could that possibly mean? I was a little freaked out, but we followed him down the hall and there was a woman sitting in one of the chairs outside of the chapel. She just kind of wandered in and wanted to know what we are all about. She is just curious. I have a feeling there is more than curiosity, but we have an appointment to teach her this week, so I guess we will find out. 

After church on Sunday we had an eating appointment with a family in the ward who is actually Australian. It was really strange having an appointment in English. I'm glad that they didn't ask me to pray because I hardly remember how to pray in English. It was really fun though. They have two teenage daughters and a son who is 12. I kind of felt like I was hanging out with the youth in my home ward again. Also, they are really funny people, so I think I just spent the whole time laughing which is a bit of a relief every now and then. Sister Baker and I laugh together a lot, but the Germans are just a bit more serious about things, so it was different.

 

But yeah, it was a good week. It's crazy that it's 2015. This year has so many adventures ahead and I look forward to finding out what some of them are. I hope you all have a great week. Make good choices!

Love,

Sister Smiley

Pictures: The two of us standing at a bus stop on the grossest day of my life (it rained AND snowed that day), me when I finally got all of my winter gear off when we got home, the fearless Sister Baker ready to go with the phone and keys at hand.