Stuttgart 1,6

This was a great. We've been trying to work really hard with the members here. So we've had a lot of member appointments. On Tuesday we went to meet with an African out in the middle of nowhere so that took up a lot of our day. The worst part was that he didn't even show up.

In the evening we went and met with a family on our ward. The wife is from Brazil and she made us Brazilian food. It was so simple and healthy but it tasted so good! It was just rice and beans with some meat rolls. Holy cow I couldn't stop eating it. Then we shared the new Christmas video from the church. We've been showing that to almost all of our families. It went really well.

Wednesday we had our Christmas conference. That was a blast. I loved it. President Kohler does such a good job of getting us hyped up to be better missionaries. We talked a lot about taking with everyone and how we can share this Christmas message with everybody. It's such a great time of the year because everybody's thoughts naturally focus on the Savior. It's great. So hopefully more people will be willing to listen to us. We had a delicious lunch that was provided by my ward. We also did a little gift exchange. I got this cute little Santa and a cookie cutter. For the second half we watched a movie called silent night. It was the story behind that song and I have to say that it is my favorite song by far. It has so much history and power behind it now.

 Thursday we had exchanges. I stayed in my area with elder Rahlf. It was really good. We went and visited a family in our ward. We had some really good experiences and went out contacting. We found some pretty good people. Elder Rahlf was a little bit sick so he went to bed a little early.

Then on Friday we went and taught a less active named Steve. This guy is such a goof. I don't know what to make of him. He's really funny but he just doesn't want to come to church. He says that if he goes he won't be able to get his medication. So we'll be working with him. We got back to the apartment and then finished up our studies and exchanged back. In the evening we went and visited another family in our ward. The husband is a navy seal. He was way cool. He was helping us put together a workout routine for our mornings.  That appointment went really well. The wife is the only member from her family and she asked us to come back and teach her the lessons so that she could help teach her family and friends. It was so amazing. I wish all the members in the world would be like that.

 Saturday was pretty busy. We went and helped the Petersons move in a little more. It was mostly carrying boxes up and down stairs. Then we met with a military interrogator. That was way fun. He was a lot nicer than I thought. He said the only thing you need to do to be a good interrogator is to be a good missionary. I guess they are very intimidating but if you have good people skills and you are nice then you can be an interrogator. After dinner with them we went and met with Favor. He is the coolest African I've ever met. He's a professional soccer player and he speaks polish. Now that he's back from a work trip he's going to start coming to church every week and we feel pretty good about him. I'm hoping that he'll make some good progress.

Sunday was great. We had ward council which is always good. It's nice to be so involved with the ward, and to know what the ward needs us to do. We had a sacrament meeting and it was so good to hear the testimonies of the ward. I feel really close to the people here and I love them so much and it was so special to hear all of their testimonies. In the third hour we got to go in with the deacons quorum and taught about missionary work and how they can be better missionaries. It was really fun to be with the young men. Our bishops son also talked to us about coming on a mission. He was really excited about turning in his papers and so we're going to try to take him to some lessons to get him even more excited about missionary work. Then after we went to the Moessing's. They are such a great family. The wife is the relief society president and is just a sweet heart. She's such a great help to us. We got to load up on some root beer and chocolate chips. On top of that we got to jump on the tramp which was a blast. It reminded me of get air. We shared a message about the real reason for Christmas. It's such a great time for missionary work. It just flows so naturally.

Today we went to one of the military bases. We got to eat some Taco Bell and load up on American goodies. It was so great. We spent the day with the Bos'. They are so fantastic. We got so much junk food though. Haha so great. But really I love this area so much and am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to be here. I'm so grateful for the Christmas season and that for us a Savior was born. This season is so special. It's full of joy and people are ready to receive the gospel. I hope you have a great week and I challenge you all to share the new video "a savior is born". It's great. Love you all.

Stuttgart 1.5

Hey another busy week. We started out by having interviews with President Kohler on Tuesday. That was so great. I always love getting one on one time with him. It makes you feel so good and excited to be the best person you can be. After we had a short training with President. It got us all amped to do more finding and make our mission more effective. After we went and helped an investigator clean her house because she needed to move out on Wednesday. When we got done helping her we had dinner with our ward mission leader. That was a blast and we were able to have a good discussion with him about member missionary work and how we can get that going here.

Wednesday we met with Amos. He's from Africa and basically wants to join the church so he can get a job and money but that's not how it works and we're trying to explain this to him. I'm not sure if he really understands but he still wants to meet with us so we are going to try and help him. In the evening we had a dinner appointment with some members that just barely moved into the ward. They were really nice and we're excited to help us with missionary work. The wife is eight months pregnant with her first child.

Thursday was thanksgiving and thank goodness I'm with a bunch of Americans. We started out the day by playing in the turkey bowl in one of the military bases. That was such a blast and we had such a great time. But we were sore for the rest of the week. After football we went to a friend of one of the members for thanksgiving dinner. They fed us tons of food and we played charades afterwards which I think was really good because it broke the ice between the family and the missionaries. We had a great time.

Friday we did weekly planning. We got it all done which is so good because we haven't really been able to do that almost the whole transfer. Then Waymond called us and said he was sick. We went over to see if he was alright and ran some errands for him.

Saturday we had a bunch of lesson fall through which was a bummer but we did have one really good one with Bhaskar. He's from India and we were going to drop him but the lesson went really well and he said he felt something. So now we're go into keep meeting with him. We also went back over to Waymonds and had pizza. We watched some conference talks and set some goals for him.

Sunday was good. We sang in the ward choir after church and got along with the member really well. We're building up those relationships really well here in this area. After church we had dinner with the Baums. That was great. They are a really fun family and we also talked about member missionary work. That's something that we are pushing for.

Today we went and played d&d with some members and it was a lot of fun. Haha it was a bit nerdy but I really enjoyed it. I love it here in Germany and the work goes on. I love you all so much and hope that you have a great week. Church is true and the lord leads it through his prophets. I hope you all have a testimony of that.

Alles gute,
Elder Johnson

Stuttgart 1.4

Holy cow, this week flew by. Monday we got invited over to a members and we connected really well. We played some games and they showed us some magic tricks to use for contacting. I guess they really liked us
because they scheduled us for Christmas Eve already.

Tuesday we had district meeting which was really great. We learned about teaching when you find and finding when you teach. I didn't realize how hard this can be sometimes. Then  we had an appointment with the Christman's. It was so good. We talked about going to church. They loved it. We also tried to make cookies for them but they didn't turn out so well.

Wednesday we went to the Morrow's for the little boys birthday. He turned rift and we talked about baptism. That kid is such a goofball I love him. We had a great time with them. We were also able to get some good old contacting in.

Thursday elder Donald woke up sick so we spent the entire day in the apartment. Not a very productive day. Oh well. I got the apartment really clean.

Friday we were still recovering from the sickness. So Elder Donald was still really weak but we were able to get out to some appointments. We met with Marjorie who is a great investigator but she is moving next
week. Rats. We met with our ward mission leader and discussed a lot of stuff with him.

Saturday was so crazy we tried to get weekly planning taken care of but it didn't work out too well. We had to go out to contact a referral who wants to get baptized. Then we went to Ludwigsburg to teach with the sisters. Then we came back to a member appointment with Waymond. It was a lot of traveling and teaching but still so good.

Sunday was great too. We met with more members and had a great time sharing the gospel. I love it here in this ward. It's so great and I'm learning so much. Germany is really being prepared to receive the gospel. I know sometimes it doesn't feel that way but I know that the Lord is moving his work forward. I hope all is well with you, and I wish all the blessings of God upon you.
Gott sei mit euch.

Alles gute,
Elder Johnson

Stuttgart Int 1.1

Well things are going really great here in Stuttgart. We had a lot of plans that fell out and other lessons but we still worked our hardest and the lord has really blessed us. 

Monday we went up to this Chinese Garden that over looks Stuttgart and we got some really good pictures. We were going to go bowling with a member but that fell out. 

Tuesday was my first district meeting here. It went pretty well and I gave the German tip. Then afterwards we did a little finding and went to go to a member appointment. I guess the last time they went to this family they missed their bus by two minutes and had to get picked up. So this time we were determined not to be late so we got to the station 30 minutes early but the bus didn't come at all and there was way bad traffic so we were an hour late anyways. I felt so bad. This family is so patient and loving. There oldest daughter is learning how to pray and so we talked a little bit about pray and taught them why we pray. It was so good.

Wednesday we went all the way out to Ludwigsburg to meet with a formal investigator but he called and cancelled a few minutes before our appointment. So then we went back to Stuttgart and did some finding for the rest of the day. 

On Thursday we met with the same former in Ludwigsburg. His name is Greg May He is a jazz singer from LA but he moved here and married a German. He's been meeting with the missionaries for 10 years now. But it's been hard to meet because he was so busy but he should have more time now. He told us how he knows that our church is true and that he's read the Book of Mormon all the way through and prayed and had a very spiritual experience with it. So now we are just trying to figure out why he isn't baptized yet. But he is a way neat guy. 

Friday we met with Waymond for lunch. We've been focusing on helping him with scripture study. Then afterwards we went and met with another former investigator. His name is Ernie. He's a native American but he's been living here for a long time. His ex- wife and son are members and his son served a mission. But he basically said that he would love to have us over and talk but he doesn't want to investigate the church anymore. It was a bummer because we had a lot of fun and loved being with him. He has a beautiful garden house and a great view of the country. Then we came home and did weekly planning.

Saturday was so busy. We have four appointments scheduled all over our area but they all fell out. First in Ludwigsburg, but as we were waiting at the station for our train we met this really nice young girl. She was laughing at something that I did and said in perfect English "it doesn't work" so we went over and started talking to her. She's a German but she was raised in Mongolia and she speaks the most amazing English I've ever heard from a German. We taught her the whole restoration on the train and gave her a book of Mormon. She was so excited and was asking so many good questions. I'm so mad because we forgot to get her phone number. But she has ours so we're hoping that she will call us. Then the rest of the day we were running all around but none of our appointments actually happened that day.

Sunday was great. We had a lesson before church but that fell out as well. Then for the second hour we sat down with our ward mission leader and discussed all of the investigators. That was really good. After church we went with the Rogers and had dinner with them. They are such a great family and I loved being with them. This is such a great ward. 

Today we are planning on going to the Ritter Sport factory. It's this really good chocolate factory with really cheap chocolate. So that'll be fun.

I know that the lord is moving his work forward and that he guides his church through prophets. The Lords standards will stay constant in an ever changing world. I'm so happy that I have this gospel and I hope that I can share this happiness with every one.I hope you all have a great week.

Transfer Calls

So this week was just a big mess. I had gotten all of my goodbyes said to all of the members and then on Tuesday on the way to district meeting I got a call from President Kohler. I wasn't going to Passau anymore. Rather to the Stuttgart International/Military ward. It's so big. My area is the entire Stuttgart zone. It's so crazy. Our ward building is the size of an American stake center. We have so many people come to our ward too. There's like 150 people there every week! The ward is just full of a bunch of US military. Plus we get to go onto the military bases here. The members feed us so much here and we can get any American stuff. Gold fish, Root Beer, hot chocolate. It's so wonderful. Plus now I get to enjoy the city life. My new companion is Elder Donald from Memphis Tennessee. He's a way cool guy and we've hit it off really well. I love it here in Stuttgart. It's such a neat area. I'm so excited for all of the adventures I'm going to have. It's nice because I get to geek out with the military and talk to them. Stuttgart is beautiful. Our apartment is a little smaller than Rosenheim but it's a lot newer and nicer. It's a great area. 

Now for the rest of the week. Monday night we went down to Fischbachau for family home evening with the Dzierzon's. We got there and had some really good hamburgers but it was only the parents and Christopher. We shared a really good lesson with them about trials in life. Then I said my last goodbyes. Chris drove us home and he gave me some new tips about going into a new area. 

Tuesday I got that call from president and then after district meeting we went to schnitzel night with the Schönwalds. I'm so glad I got to go to that. I had been in Rosenheim for six months and I hadn't ever been to schnitzel night. I'm really going to miss that family. 

Wednesday was a fun day. So our power went out the night before so we had to take freezing cold showers. Then the handy man came to finally fix the heaters in our apartment but he couldn't do anything because there was no power. Then thirty minutes after he left the power man showed up and fixed the power. Then we went to Sister Morgners to say good bye. She fed us some really good food and she was pretty sad that I was leaving. After her we came back and had dinner with Brajkovic. We ate some more schnitzel and filled ourselves with yummy German food. Then I came home and packed a little more. 

Thursday was transfer day. I finished packing then Brajkovic drove us to the train station. I hopped on and went out to München. As soon as I got there I was rushed onto on ICE to make my way to Stuttgart. I really wanted to say goodbye to all the dying missionaries and everybody else that I knew but I was out of there so fast. The train ride went by really fast too. We got to Stuttgart in a little over two hours. I got to know some other missionaries pretty well. When I got to Stuttgart Elder Donald met me as I was getting off of the train. We went straight to the apartment and I got all unpacked and we got to know each other a little better. He's a way funny guy. I'm so excited to work with him.

Friday we my first full day in Stuttgart. We went to the mall and met with a potential that Elder Donald had met earlier in the week. Her name was Mita and we had a pretty good lesson with her and committed her to read in the Book of Mormon. Then we had a lesson with a Russian guy named Leo. He was way cool. He said his first prayer in his life this week. I think he can really make some progress. We just need to be good when we teach him.  Then our member appointment fell out so we just went to dinner together to this chicken place. It was pretty good.

Saturday we were going to go down into Tübingen's area but we missed our train by two minutes so we had to cancel it. Then another appointment fell out. So we did our weekly planning and after we had an appointment with Waymond Harrison. He's a member from Georgia. That was way cool. He's such fun guy. I loved hanging out with him. Other than that our Halloween was kind of lame.

Sunday was amazing but I was so uncomfortable with all the English that was being spoken. I did not like it one bit. But the ward so big and so many people were there. I met someone from West Bountiful too!! Her maiden name is Martineau and she's also related to the Grobergs in the 9th ward. Then after we went to dinner with a member and we talked a lot about member missionary work with them. It was so good. It's so easy to be a missionary when you can speak English. haha wow.. 

That was our week. Elder Donald got sick so it hasn't been too fun for him and I'll probably get sick pretty soon. With a new transfer and a new start I want to talk about change. I know that through the atonement of Christ we can change for the better and come closer to him. I'm grateful for this opportunity to improve myself and I know that I can do that with the power of the atonement. I encourage you all to look at your life and find something that you can change. I love you all and hope that this week goes well for you all. 

Rosenheim 4.6 Transfers

Well this week has probably been one of the busiest of my mission. We got Transfer calls on Saturday and I'm going to work with Elder Faux in Passau. It's a beautiful little branch up near the top of our mission. I love Elder Faux so much too. He's a really good missionary and I've loved talking with him and zone things. So that'll be fun.

On Monday I got my hair cut and then it started pouring on us. Holy cow, then it started to hail really hard. We had a lesson with a potential that Elder Smith had found in the park one day but that fell out. He was this crazy drunk guy that said he'll meet with us on Monday, but it was Monday. Then we just kind of walked around Innenstadt but nothing too exciting happened. 

Tuesday was district meeting and Elder and Sister Zaugg made tacos for the district. It was so nice and good to have that. Then we took a district photo which made us miss our train so we had to hang around the mission office for an extra hour. When we got home we had an appointment with Tony but that fell out so we went and found a potential that was in the area book. She had actually said hello to us and we talked on the street for a while. Then we went over and met with her. She was so nice and she was in need of the gospel but she doesn't want to switch churches. Even though she said she doesn't really like anything about the Catholic Church but likes everything we do in ours. Sometimes I wish that people wouldn't be so stubborn.

Wednesday was had another lesson with Tony that had fallen out but Zvonimir called us crying and said that he needed us. So we went over to see what was wrong. Things have been going pretty well for him and I was afraid that he had lost his job or Connie had decided to come back. When we got there he invited us in and then just started crying so hard and said that his dad had cancer. It was so sad but I was really glad that he hadn't made any more serious mistakes in his life. I know that his father is in the lords hands and whatever happens will be up to the lord. Zvonimir was not doing well at all and he was crying so much so I put my arms around him and hugged him. He really lost it right there and started crying so so so much. He drooled so much onto my sweater that it was just soaked. But that's ok. I learned a lesson. Preaching the Gospel is not just saying words. It's living them. Live what you preach. Being a disciple of Christ is not just reading his words, it's following his example and talking care of his sheep. It's watching for people that need help and doing everything you can to help bring others to Christ. It's not just about sitting in a lesson and telling them about it. Preaching the Gospel in done by your actions. Right there in that hug I taught Zvonimir more about the love of Christ and the Plan of Salvation and the comfort of the Spirit that countless hours of talking could've done. I was so grateful that he trusts and loves us enough to tell us what's going on in his life. We were able to just comfort him and be there mourning with him. I know that that is what the Savior wants. After Svonimir we rode out to a little village called Riedering to visit a new investigator that we picked up from the streets. His name is Ralf and his is so nice. We had a really good lesson with him and I hope that he'll accept the fullness of the gospel. His problem is that he's looking for a new life but he doesn't want to leave his roots in the Roman Catholic Church. He just doesn't want to change. On our ride out to his house my pedal fell off again. I'm so tired of my pedal falling off every time we're out in the middle of nowhere. Luckily his neighbor had some tools and we put it back on. 

Thursday we went by on Tony but he wasn't there. We've been having such a hard time contacting him. Later that evening we had a lesson with a young man named Christopher. He's a referral from Melinda Dzierzon. She invited him to institute and he wanted to learn more about the church and getting baptized. He wants more religion in community-ship in his life so he's investigating our church and the Catholic Church. This should be pretty easy. Normally he comes to institute and we can just teach him there but this week we had to go down to Hausham which is about an hour and a half away by train. So that took a big chunk of our day. 

Friday was also an adventure. So our heaters in the apartment don't work so we've been freeying cold lately, but we got a hold of our landlord and she had a handy man come by. But he couldn't fix it so he called one of his clients and the said they'd come next Wednesday between the hours of 7 and 5. Wow, that's a big window. Plus the handy man spilled a bunch of water all over in our bathroom and just let it. Ugh, after that we went to see how much it would cost to get one of the other bikes fixed. It was a lot so it looks like I'll still be using a broken one for the next week. We also had Brajkovic that night and we made some yummy knödel. That was so good then we had a good lesson about adversity in life. Connie is so ready to be baptized. She knows the gospel so well and contributed so much to the lesson. She was such a big help.

Saturday we got the transfer call and finally met with Tony. He thought that we had forgotten about him because it had been a while since we've met but we just couldn't get a hold of him. I thought that he had been avoiding us so I was pretty happy to find out that he was sad because he thought we had forgotten about him. We had a pretty good lesson but he was sad to hear that I was leaving. He should be getting baptized in the next couple weeks. Then we went out to contact an Italian referral that we got. She couldn't speak any German or English so it was really hard to communicate. I'm thankful for the gift of tongues. Because I could understand about two percent of what she was saying. Luckily we just happened to have the phone number of some missionaries in Italy. So we called them and had them translate for us and she is just the sweetest thing. She found the church in Italy and loved it so much and went to church every week and is reading in the Book of Mormon but then we came to Germany and was sad because she didn't know if any of the members could speak Italian. She knew where the church was but didn't want to come because she can't speak to anyone. Luckily there is a part member family and a member that speak Italian. Oh I love Italians so much. They're so happy and full of energy. 

Sunday was kind of sad. I bore my testimony and had to say goodbye to everyone I got lots of pictures with the members and then we went with the Jentzsch's for dinner. We ate and played Dominion (which is one of my favorite games) and Phase 10. Oh I love them so much. I'm really going to miss Rosenheim. It's such a great area and I hope that I can come back someday. 

I know that the lord had called me to work in Passau so I'm going there with a smile and a love for the people. I know that this church is true and that the lord had blessed his children with knowledge of the plan of salvation through a living prophet. For that I am so grateful. I love you all so much and hope you can see all the miracles in your life. 

Rosenheim 4.5

On Monday we were going to go to the mountains with an investigator but the weather was bad so that fell through. Bummer. So we ended up getting my watch fixed and cleaning the apartment really well. Later that night we met with Tony and he is having problems with the priesthood authority. He told us that he would get his answer by the end of the month. So we were kind of confused about why he was waiting to pray about his answer. 

Tuesday we had a Zone Training which was way good. We talked a lot about working with members and becoming masters of the message. Then we set some zone goals. The zone leaders already set the goal of not gossiping about other missionaries. Then they asked for suggestions about other goals we could set. People said a lot of good ideas but I suggested that we strive to receive charity. It seemed like such a good goal because everything else that was said were byproducts of having charity. If we have charity then we won't gossip about other missionaries, we'll want to talk to more people, we'll want to improve ourselves, and love the members and people of Germany more. So that is what we set our goal as. This week I've been studying charity every day and it's amazing how much I've learned. Charity is a gift that is given. You cannot just take it for yourself. It can only be given and before you can get it you have to understand what it means to have charity and what it requires. You have to be willing to suffer and sacrifice the same way the savior did before you will be granted charity. Then when you have it you will have the desire to help people and lift them up even more. Then you'll receive more charity. It goes around in a circle. The more you love, the more charity you'll get, and the more charity you get, the more you'll love. I feel like my love and charity for everyone has grown so much this week and I've realized how important it is to have this. After zone training we went to ward council and that was pretty good. It was the first time I've been there since I came to Rosenheim. 

Wednesday, we had a joint teach in the morning with Bishop Lederer for Tony. That was good because Bishop and Tony got to know each other a little better. Then we talked about praying and getting answers to prayers. We asked Tony if he'd prayed about the priesthood yet and he got kind of upset and told us that he'll get his answer by the end of the month. So now we're just trying to help him get his answer. That is what this week will be for. Then we did some dooring and found a couple of potentials which was good.

Thursday we went out to Prien am Chiemsee to do a little contacting. We found this one really nice lady that seemed to know us and we talked for a little while and she gave us her number and told us to come back sometime. Then we found this crazy old Italian guy that invited us into his house and he was a bit strange. He took a book of Mormon but said he doesn't read very much anymore because he got a T.V. then he said that he doesn't believe in God, then later he does believe in God. I don't know if he'll go anywhere with the gospel. Then we had another Joint teach for Tony with Chris Dzierzon, a recently returned missionary in our ward but Tony didn't show up. Chris' sister Melinda brought a friend to institute that night and he texted us the next day saying that he wanted to learn more about baptism and our church! I love member missionary work. It is so much more effective than knocking on doors. Jawohl!! 

Friday we had an apartment inspection and we passed. As usual. Then we had Jenny cancel on us and we biked way out to a less active but we couldn't find his name on the doorbell because we went to the wrong house. Ugh, then we had to bike as fast as we would to get to Brajkovic for dinner. They fed us then Connie asked how she could do better missionary work. She's not even baptized yet and she's telling people about our church. She's the best! :) Plus she moved back in with Zvonimir and I guess that their marriage is working out again. Yay!! Then we got to talk to Sis. Popiel for a while. She's a less active but she loves talking to the missionaries so much and is so busy with work. She wants to come but just doesn't have any time.

Saturday we went contacting in the city center and this JW interrupted our conversation with a man and then she started spitting on me as she talked. It was so gross. Plus she'd nestle herself into me and kept grabbing my hand to touching me. Then she started missionarying us. Ooh. She was breaking the law because they don't have permission to do that in Germany but she did it anyways. Later we found this really cool guy named Ralf and we set up an appointment with him on Wednesday. He was really nice and started crying on the street and he told about how God changed his life. I really liked him. Then we came home and did weekly planning.

Sunday Tony didn't come because his roommate was in the hospital and he was taking care of him. That was too bad but one of the older ladies in the ward had a birthday and all her family came to church so there weren't any spots for the late comers to sit. It was so crazy! 

This has been a busy week but it felt so good to be working my hardest and trying to serve the lord. I know that this church is true and that the gospel has been restored through Joseph Smith. Along with the gospel we have received many revelations and knowledge that was lost. I know that our Savior loves us and that he wants us to try our best to come back to him. He's there every step of the way and he won't let us down. I hope you have a great week