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

Working with Tony

This week was a good one here in Rosenheim. We've been working hard and discovering new parts of our area. It's been exciting to meet lots of new people and to have cooler weather. 

Tuesday, we went out to München for district meeting but the S-bahn wasn't working so it took us a while to get there. We watched the last session of conference which was amazing! Now I finally know what ponderize is and why everyone was talking about it. :) Then we came home and finished our studies and met with Tony. Lately his roommate has been around and so it feels like we've been teaching him and started all over. Then Tony gets confused about what we're saying and it is just so hard to keep him on track. 

Wednesday we were going to meet with Teddy during the day but we were called last weekend and he told us that his girlfriend in München convinced him to stay Evangelisch so he doesn't ever want to see us again. We were confused because we had only met with him a few times and he talks so much that we didn't really teach him a lesson but he would always say that he would listen to what we have to say then he would make a decision himself. But then his girlfriend convinced him not to listen. Oh well. We'll get someone else. So that day we ended up going to this tiny little town out in the middle of nowhere or wo sich Hasse und Fuchs gute Nacht sagen... to contact a less active member. It was a pain to get out there and to say the least she didn't live there anymore. On our long walk back to the nearest town with a bus stop it started raining so hard and we got soaked. My rain jacket got drenched and we were completely wet. I thought we had just gotten out of a swimming pool. So we were wet and freezing cold and we came home. Got into some dry clothes and tried to warm up before we had to go back out. That evening we went to visit Tony again. We had a good lesson and thought that we had addressed his concerns about Joseph Smith and the restoration. 

Then on Thursday we met with Tony again and he is just so confusing. I don't know why Africans have such a hard time with authority. He believes that Joseph Smith is a prophet and a man of God and he likes him because he preaches Jesus. He believes that the church was restored. But he also believes that anyone can baptize anyone, and that if you have faith in Christ then you have the authority to perform saving ordinances. So we had a really hard time trying to teach him about the priesthood and authority. It was a really good lesson and he said that he would pray about it. 

Here comes Friday and Tony hasn't prayed and he didn't know what he should pray about. This is where my favorite lesson comes in. We listened to Tony talk and talk and go on and on. I listened patiently until the spirit told me what his concern was. As soon as I finally found that out I was able to address it with love and with the power of the Holy Ghost. He got really quiet and said he knows what he has to do. Sure enough he didn't: I had to tell him exactly what to pray for and why he needs to pray. It was a good lesson and we decided to let him have some time to himself so we haven't met with him for a few days. We also met with this guy named Werner. He's been meeting with the missionaries forever but unfortunately he's met quite a few of bad missionaries so he has no idea what the church is really like. But he really likes us even though we explained that we aren't like the other missionaries. We won't drink alcohol with him or watch pornography with him. We said that there are rules to being a missionary and we follow them. He was really interested and is now listening to our message. I hope that we can show him what the church really believes. It will be hard though because he's met so many unworthy missionaries.

Saturday was weekly planning so nothing too exciting happened there, but earlier in the day we met with a potential that was found last year. She was really nice. Her name is Jenny and she's from Ethiopia. She has a Nigerian boyfriend. They were really nice but I don't know if they'll progress. My oh my, I didn't think that I was called to the Alpine English Speaking mission. I meet with more foreigners than I do with actual Germans. It's so crazy.

Sunday was good. Tony brought his friend Samuel again and they really enjoyed church. We had great meetings and it was a good day, until I got a migraine after church. So we weren't really able to accomplish much that day. 

The work here is amazing and I love being a missionary. I know that the lord is watching out for us. He is our light and he will guide our path. I know that this is true. I hope that you all have a great week and strive to feel the spirit in your lives. 

noch eine schöne Woche

Alles Gute, 

Elder Johnson

Rosenheim 4.3

So this last Pday we went out to the Dachau concentration camp. To be completely honest it was kind of sad and depressing. There was so much history where we were. It was a black chapter in the history of the world. It was hard to imagine what those people really went through. I also got the boy in striped pajamas and Anne Franks Diary in German. Too bad I can't read them while I'm on my mission.  Later that evening we went and did family home evening with our bishop and his family. I love them so much. He has the cutest kids and they are so fun to play with. They remind me of my nieces and nephews. I really love our bishop here. He is so great and we get along so well. 

Tuesday, we had our big Zone Conference. It was Stuttgart and München zones together so there were a ton of people there. We talked a lot about being exactly obedient and how that blesses us in missionary work. I know I'm not perfect but I felt like I was doing most of the stuff that was talked about pretty well. We also talked about becoming masters of the message that we share and President Kohler made a neat little program to help us achieve this. He wants us to know the lessons inside and out and have a scripture for each point of the lessons memorized by the end of the year. I'm so psyched for that. The München relief society made lunch for us which was nice. It was a ton of food. Then after we talked about a case study that we've been studying for the last couple weeks. It's about member missionary work and how we can become better at that. After the conference I was so pumped to go back to Rosenheim and ´start working with our members. It was such a good conference.

On Wednesday we did some more park bench contacting which is always fun. It was freezing cold where I was at because I was sitting in the shade so after a while I got up and moved into a sunny part of the park where I met a couple of nice guys. They were both named Hans. One of them we had actually met in a train, but he has some problems with marijuana... So we have to work around that whenever we seen him in Rosenheim. After that we had a lesson with Teddy, but right as we got let in the door Brajkovic called us and told us that he was waiting for us. He had gotten his times mixed up and thought that we had made an appointment an hour earlier. So we didn't really get to teach Teddy anything and we had to rush over to his house. His friend Rolf was there and we had a good lesson with them. Later we went to invite a less active to conference but we talked to her husband instead who doesn't want anything to do with the church. So that was a little bit awkward.

Thursday we went out and got my German license taken care of. So now I just have to wait a couple weeks while they check everything and make sure I'm good to go. It was a lot easier to get that than I though it would be. Germans here have to go through so much to get their licenses and I just had to go into the office for about five minutes and now I'm done. We also went by on an old investigator here in Rosenheim but he wasn't home. We've talked on the phone a ton and he's really nice. Plus he says that he believes in the Book of Mormon. Now I just need to meet with him. We had a lesson with Tony that night and we taught about tithing. His roommate was there and he ruined the whole lesson. He was saying that people misuse tithing money in the church and just had a big problem. Then he started bashing on the Book of Mormon, saying that it's only written for the Americans and that it discredits the bible and that we don't read the bible. It was a terrible lesson and at the end I just starting baring my testimony about it and it was really neat to see that the spirit had changed his heart. He got a lot quieter and you could really see that his heart had been changed. We weren't able to answer all of his questions, but I think we helped him understand some things.

Friday we did a lot of park contacting. It's so easy to get the people there. They were preparing for a festival of lights here in Rosenheim. We went by that evening and it was pretty lame. We went by on a couple people but they weren't home so we decided to drop by on Brajkovic. I'm really glad that we did that because we were able to ask him how his first day at work was. He loved it. They promoted him to shift leader and he got a raise. Connie was also there and she was acting like her happy self again. She decided to get back with Zvonimir. That night I got to hear her bare testimony and talk about the gospel. This is what I was used before the marriage problems. It was so great to see her like that again.

We went and taught Tony early on Saturday. We thought we were going to have to reteach the Book of Mormon because it seemed like he didn't understand. But he did. He said that he was getting sick of his roommate always bashing on the book of Mormon when we left. So he told him to stay and ask us all of his questions. Tony just sat back last time and let Fidelis (the roommate) ask all his questions. I was really worried about Tony not understanding anything that we had taught but he does. He was just letting his roommate get some questions answered. After we did some weekly planning then went to the church for the first session of conference. It was so great.

Sunday we spent the entire day at the church. I loved watching the apostles talk to us. Tony came to one of the sessions and brought a friend. They both loved it and Tony even recorded Elder Oaks talking. Haha, We also ate lunch with the Kainz and Lederer families. I got so many good notes and impressions out of this conference. I can't wait to apply the principles that I've learned.

So we pushed Tony's baptism back a week so that he can get more involved with the members and become better friends so we're planning on the 17th of October. This has been a busy week but I'm so grateful that I can be a missionary. I love the work here and I know that it is God's work. I hope you all have a wonderful week and can enjoy the blessings of the gospel.

Oktoberfest

We have had a great week here in Rosenheim. I love it here, and the cooler weather has been so wonderful. Oktoberfest was amazing. I loved it. It was so much better than Herbstfest in Rosenheim. We went with the zone leaders, AP's and the sister training leaders. It was such a blast. There were so many people there and we met some members who were there for lunch with our stake president. I got to buy a cool little "wizard" hat. and an Oktoberfest pin for my collection. It was a great day. After that we went down to Fischbachau for Family Home Evening with the Dzierzon family. It was great. We got to share a really cool message about holding your light high, and how we can do that. That was our theme for the week and we used it in a few member appointments. 

Tuesday we had district meeting which took up most of the day, and our schnitzel night with the Schönwalds fell out. That was a bummer. So we ended up making a bunch of phone calls trying to get some appointments set up.

Wednesday, we met with Tony and talked to him about the law of Chastity. It was kind of a rough lesson because I've never taught that one before and I just didn't really know how to talk about it. I feel like everyone should just know it and live it. It makes so much sense. Luckily Tony is such a righteous person that he doesn't need to work on any of these kinds of commandments. Later that day we rode our bikes out to Stephanskirchen to go by on some less actives. We made contact with only one of them, and she said that she had taken her name off the church and doesn't want any contact from the church. It's really sad. Almost all of the less actives here don't want to see the missionaries at all and don't want anything to do with the church. We also accidentally doored into one of our members. So we were able to talk with here and get some information about more less actives in the area. Later that night we took a train to Oberaudorf where Schweinsteiger was born and raised. We did some dooring and then dropped by on some members.

Thursday, we had another lesson with Tony in the morning and then with Zvonimir right after that. It was good with Zvonimir because he get a job!! We were so excited for him. He has been looking for a job since I've gotten here. He said that prayers really are answered because this morning he was got down and prayed on his knees and now he got the job! We had a really good lesson with him. You can really tell that he's changing and bringing his life more in harmony with the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's so amazing to see this change happening in him. Later that night we went to Bad Aibling to go by on some more less actives. When we got on the train we saw our bishop get on too, so we had him sit by us and it was good to have some time alone with him. We got to talk about a lot of good stuff. Sadly we didn't make any contact with any less actives. On the way back we did stop by on a member and we shared a nice little thought and she thanked us so much for doing that. She loved it. and it felt so good to invite the spirit and to share a spiritual message. 

Friday, we met with Tony again and he said that he wants to be baptized!! We have the date of October 10th with him. I'm so excited for him. He is practically already a member because he knows so much doctrine and has the most amazing faith in Christ. It will be so good for him. We spent the rest of the day walking around in Rosenheim trying to contact our less actives, but to no avail. It's so hard to get a hold of them. 

Saturday, we met with Tony and taught about the modern day prophets and apostles and he was way excited for General Conference. We showed him a video of Elder Holland giving a talk and he loved it! Later that day we did some weekly planning. 

Sunday we had tony come to church. He loved that as well. Then we were invited to the Jentzsch family. We had dinner there and played wizard extreme! 'Which is a way fun game. Then we were able to talk to them about helping us do missionary work. It was a good night. 

I love it here in Rosenheim. The work is great and I'm so excited for this next week. I know this church is true and that it is led by men called of God. I want to encourage all of you to get more involved in member missionary work. The members really are the key to missionary work. 

Chinese Food in Germany

So a new transfer has come and I'm staying in Rosenheim. It's a great area to be in. I honestly think that it's one of the best. It's a beautiful area and you get to experience a lot. I get to go out to Munich every week and am so close to Austria. I get to experience the country and city life. It's great. There are so many fun people to talk to too. 

So on Tuesday, we went out to Munich for our last district meeting with Elder Ridd, our AP. He was dying and it was pretty sad to see him go home. We had a pretty good district meeting. Afterwards we stopped by on the Red Cross building and offered our service. They took our phone number and names and told us that they are going to call us. It'll be good to get some service done and let people see that the Mormon Missionaries are nice people and that we are not JWs. Later we had a lesson with Tony but that fell out. So we ended up making a bunch of phone calls and trying to talk to people. 

Wednesday, we met with Tony in the morning. We had a really good lesson with him about the commandments. He took it really well because he already believes and lives those. We're just waiting until he has his opportunity to fast and pray about priesthood authority and Joseph Smith. He has a really good relationship with God and the spirit so I cannot wait until he does that. He'll get his answer really easily. We also had a lesson with Zvonimir. We showed him a Mormon message about repenting and becoming free through the Savior. It was a really good lesson and he really took a lot from that lesson. Later we went to Kiefersfelden to visit Walter but he wasn't home. It was really sad because we haven't had contact with him for about three weeks. He was making such good progress but now he's just stopped. 

Thursday, the Madei's invited us out for lunch. They took us to this Chinese buffet in Kolbermoor. It was really good. I love Chinese buffets. It reminded me of going out for Chinese with the Grandparents. :) Later we went out to Traunstein to visit a few people. First we tried Sister Timm. She is a less active and she really likes the missionaries. But she wasn't home. Then we got to visit Josef, who is a self referral. He has five kids and really likes that the church focuses on families. We got his phone number this time and set up an appointment but that fell out. We had some really good train contacting that day too. I met some really nice people. 

Friday, we had a lot of contacting planned for the day so we decided to go to the park and split up and do some one on one contacting. I loved it so much. It was so nice to just sit on a bench and talk with people about the gospel. People are just sitting there and they don't want to get up and leave so they are kind of trapped. It was probably the best contacting experience I've ever had. It was so great. Then we had our first lesson with Teddy. We found him by dooring and he is way nice. He's this older German, and he likes to talk a ton. He has a lot of stuff to say but he is very interested in the Church. I have a really good feeling about him. He talked to us for about two hours. It was crazy. But we had a great time and we were able to teach him about the restoration.

On Saturday, Zvonimir needed some help cleaning out his cellar so we went and did that with him. It was nice because he gave me a watch and a cool Bayern pin. I also got a way sick French knife. It is way cool. I was really hoping that I could get one like it while out here on my mission. Connie was there for a little bit as well so it was good to see her. I really want her to keep progressing and just hurry up and get baptized. She's been ready for such a long time. 

Sunday was a good day. We had Tony come to church for the first time ever!! I think he really enjoyed it and he looked way good in his suit. We had a really good meeting with our ward mission leader and that got us pumped for this next week. He gave us some way good tips and then we came home and did some weekly planning.

This next week looks promising and I'm excited to start working more with the members and help people come closer to Christ. I know that this church is the one true church on the earth and that it really does bring happiness to people. I love being a missionary so much! I love you all and hope that you have a great week. Btw we're going to Oktoberfest today so I'll send some pictures of that adventure next week. :)

Scary For Mom

Wow so this week has been crazy! On Monday we had interviews with President so that took up most of the day and we were just going to switch pday to Tuesday but then we were told that we had to go back to München for Zone Training so we had to just split up our pday. We were able to do emails on Monday and that's all we had time for. We also taught a lesson with Tony that evening too. Then on Tuesday we had to hurry and go shopping then go to München. We had such a great Zone Training. We talked a lot about working with Members and how that can help us as missionaries. President Kohler said that he wants us to start having an appointment with a member, a less active member, and an investigator everyday. So that will be pretty hard to get done because everybody lives so far away from each other. It's a way good vision though because members really can help us so so much. It not only helps us to build our relationships with the members but it also helps us become better at teaching. He just wants us to teach them simple little lessons.

Then on Wednesday we just went and did some contacting and then caught a train to Kiefersfelden to drop by on Walter to see how he's doing. But he wasn't there so we wrote him a little note and left it there for him. Then later that evening we went home teaching with Bruder Jentzsch to sister Schrank. 

Thursday we went out to Brannenburg to do some pass by's on some people but they weren't home. In the evening we did some more home teaching with Buder Lübke and this time we went to Sister Buchholz. We were there a lot longer than we expected to be so we had to cancel one of our appointments that night. I also started getting sick.

Friday we got to bike out to Bad Aibling which is not fun at all when you are sick. My lungs and throat were killing me. I don't like being sick as a missionary. But we finally got to meet with this old investigator that we doored into. His name is Ernst but before we started he told us that he really likes the mormons but that he will not convert and join our church ever but that we has a lot of respect for us. He also told us that one of his JW neighbors also has a ton of respect for the Mormons. Then we went over to Sister Bartnik's to help with some gardening. Afterwards we were able to eat some nice schnitzel. It was so so good. We also had a nice talk with her about Preach My Gospel and how she can help us out. It was pretty good. 

Saturday was an interesting day. I had a different experience in Innenstadt. We were just walking around talking to people then this group of twenty year olds asked if we were mormon so I was excited to talk to them and I started to talk about the Book of Mormon with one guy and I look over to see this girl grab Elder Smith's hand and pour some white power on it. As soon as she was done she grabbed my hand and did the same thing. I immediately asked her what it was and she told me that is we cocaine. Then I watched as she proceeded to snort some of her hand and then she looked at with a confused look and asked why we weren't doing it with her. I tried to tell her that we didn't want any and tried to give it back and that's when the guy to my right just grabbed my hand snorted cocaine from off my very own hand!!!! It was disgusting. After that they just kind of walked away. It was a miracle that they didn't do anything crazier and try to cause a public scene. 

Sunday was a nice day at church. Connie was there and also Timotei our Romanian friend. After church we got to go to the Berka's house and eat dinner. We spent the evening playing guess the tricks and some other fun board games. It was way fun and we really bonded well with them. We were also able to talk about how they can share the restoration with their neighbors and coworkers. I guess Sunday Germany started getting really serious with border control with all the immigrants coming in. You used to be able to go through the EU without getting id'd but now Germany is stopping everyone that comes from anywhere outside of Germany and they are making people show passports. Yikes. There are so many refugees coming through Rosenheim.

Even though we had a lot of our appointments fall out this week we were still able to see miracles and stay happy. I love this church and am so happy that I can share the message of the restored gospel to the people here in Germany. They Lord is always there to help us.

Broken Bike

What a week! I have been loving the colder weather and being able to wear sweaters!! So last Monday we went to Herbstfest in Rosenheim. I do have to say that it was the most disappointing festival/carnival that I've ever been to. It was just a bunch of expensive rides and drunk Germans everywhere. Basically it was not a place for a missionary to enjoy himself. So after walking around for a bit we decided that it wasn't worth it so we came home and cleaned. Then we were able to go to our new Ward Mission Leader's house. We were able to discuss all the needs of our investigators and I'm way excited to work with him. His name is Bruder Döring.

Tuesday we went out to district meeting and came home and met with Tony. That didn't go too well. and after the lesson we both were thinking about dropping him. He just didn't understand the book of Mormon and the role of Joseph Smith and the Authority of God. Then we came home and did our studies.

Wednesday we had to go all the way out to Gänsberg which is this little tiny village that I've never heard of before. We were going there to help our Romanian member Constantine. He needs to learn German so he can get a job and bring his family out of Romania. So basically to get out there you have to take a train to Ramberberg and then from there it's another 9 km. So decided to take the bikes with us on the train because we were rushed for time. Then as we were almost finished biking to this little motel where he was staying my pedal just fell off my bike! Thank goodness that happened across the street from the motel. After teaching him some German we had to get back to the train station but my bike didn't have a pedal so I had to hold Elder Smith's hand while he pedaled extra hard and dragged me.

Thursday our appointment with a Bruder Schlesinger fell out so we went to Brannenberg to follow up on this old Russian couple we ran into when we were dooring. We brought them a Book of Mormon in Russian but they had no idea who we were. They accepted the Book and were way happy to get that and were really nice. So we're going to follow up on them this week. Then on the way back our train fell out so we were stuck in Brannenberg for an extra hour that we didn't plan for. I'm so sick of construction. ;) We also had an appointment with Tedy but he wasn't home. I was so sad because he made a point that if we set up an appointment that we had better be there on time. We were even a couple minutes early and waited for the exact time to knock but he wasn't there. 

Friday we had another lesson with Tony and this is the one where we were going to drop him but then we surprised us by offering us coffee so we changed our lesson to the Word of Wisdom and he got way interested and really wanted to know more about the doctrine and covenants. So that lesson went pretty well. He also gave us a 15 pound bag of French fries and a gallon of oil. Later that night we had to "babysit" Constantine in the church until Bishop could pick him up and take him home with him. So we taught him some more German. 

Saturday we had such a great lesson with Tony. We talked about the church of the devil and the church of God in 1 Nephi 13 and why we need the book of Mormon. It went really well and Tony started to make some real progress. Yes! We were also able to make it out to Traunstein to contact a referral. The guy was really nice and had seen us on TV and was really impressed that the church puts so much emphasis on families. His name was Josef. A real referral that actually had interest! Then we did some lovely weekly planning.

Sunday we went to church and had Timotei show up again. He is another Romanian that just wondered into church. Connie was also there and it was really good to see her again. Hopefully she will get baptized soon. She is so so ready for it!

Today was kind of crazy. We had to go out to München for interviews with President and we also had district meeting so our Pday was kind of destroyed. I really do love President Kohler though. He is so good and he knows what he's doing. I'm in good hands.

This week has been great, even though a lot of our appointments fell out. I think the cooler weather has helped a lot and also just having a good attitude and realizing the blessings of the lord. I know that he is blessing me and I can see his hands in the lives of the people I'm teaching. It's a great work here in Rosenheim. I love you all and I hope you're doing great. By the way transfer calls are this week so you can hold the letters until I know if I stay or not. 

Tschüß!

Herbstfest

Meine Gute we have been working up the miracles here in Rosenheim. I don't know what changed but people’s attitudes here are different and that work just decided to kick into high gear. 

So Monday we were walking around in Innenstadt and we had this French guy walk up to us and speak English with us. It turned out that he was kind of like a missionary too but for some strange Yoga thing. He talked and talked for a full hour. I don't know what he was able to talk that long and I don't remember anything that he said because he was talking to much with his think French accent. He ended up having us do some yoga with him right in the city center. It was so weird. and he had us meditate with him. I kept my eyes open the whole time because I was afraid that we were going to get pick-pocketed. When we finally left we called a former investigator trying to set up an appointment for some time in the week. But he wanted to meet that night and so we did. We talked with him for two hours. We were a bit skeptical but he liked us and said that he would love to meet with us and talk more about the gospel.

Tuesday we had district meeting and let’s just say that I had a nightmare trying to get us back to Rosenheim. So that took a long time. We finally got back and went to our lesson with David but he had been out the night before and was partying too hard so he didn't want to hear about the gospel today. So we sent up another time to come by. Then we finally got into an appointment with the Ojo family. They are less active and I've never been able to contact the husband until now. So we went over for our appointment and he had "forgotten about it and wasn't there." even though we heard him in there when we rang the doorbell. Oh well.

Wednesday we traveled a ton. We went down to Kiefersfelden to help Sis Morgner but we needed to leave and shower to get ready for an appointment with Walter, so when we told Sis Morgner that we couldn't stay for too long she got way upset and offended. Long story short be calmed her down and she tried to hurry and make lunch for us and made us miss our train. Then she just kept talking to us forever and we almost missed the other train going back to Rosenheim. We had to sprint the whole way from her house and we barely made it. So we quickly showered and got ready to go back to Kiefersfelden to meet with Walter but as we got to the Train station we found out that the train going down there wasn't going that hour and that we had a take a bus down there. So we hoped in the bus and it took us a little over an hour but we were still able to meet with Walter. We had a really good lesson with him and helped build his testimony of the BM. Then we had to catch another bus back to Rosenheim. So we spent about three hours just traveling that day. 

Thursday we went with David and Tony and in both lessons we told them that they need to read the book of Mormon and pray about it. It went really well with David but it'll be a lot harder to get David to make progress. Then we went back out to München to do exchanges. I brought Elder Lyman back to Rosenheim with me and we met with Zvonimir. We taught a little about repentance and then we found out that he got a phone call from someone saying that he's not welcome in the ward anymore and that people don't want him around. So now we have to deal with this problem. I wish people could be more Christlike. Afterwards Elder Lyman and I did some dooring and we followed up on this guy that we gave a BM to. He invited us in and we taught him a little bit about the BM and he'd read in it. We set up a return appointment. His name is Tedy Schönhaber. He is so nice and is really interested in the Church.

Friday I got Elder Smith back and as soon as we returned we biked out to Bad Aibling for Dominik. We found out that he gets to go on Vacation to Greece and then he's moving to a Klinik closer to München. We had a joint teach with him and Sis Weiß. It was way good and we talked about the P of S. 

Saturday was the start of Herbstfest here in Rosenheim. So we went to pick up a package for Elder Smith and on the way back we got cut off by a parade and there was no way around it. So we just got to watch that for about ten minutes. Then we did some weekly planning. It was so hard to stay focused because there were so many people in Lederhose going to the fest. 

Sunday we had Walter come to church with Bruder Hunger. That was good and we also had a member from Romania show up so we got to translate for him. Then we just had another random Romanian come show up. He just wanted to come to church so we sat down with him after and taught him a lesson. Then we came home and did studies. Later that night we tried to do some contacting but it was so hard. Every one in the city is going to Herbstfest to get drunk, or they're on their way home because they're so drunk that they can't drink anymore beer. That was a fun night.

As for today I get to dress up in my Lederhose and go be one with the people and enjoy the festivities!! I'll be sure to send you some pictures next week. I hope this week will be good for you all and that you can notice the blessings and miracles in your lives this week. Tschüß!