*People who probably never read these skip to the last paragraph and read it.*
So....
I guess just update on who we are teaching at the moment.
So we are teaching a newer person named An, and she is doing pretty good, but there is a little bit of a language barrier b/c her english isnt the best and she doesn't speak German. We are still trying to hand her off to the English Sisters but that still somehow hasn't worked out.
Daniel just moved up to Bremerhafen for a while, but we had one last meeting with him before he left and it was really really good and he feels like he is almost ready to be baptized. He has been going through some struggles but he is doing really well and hopefully before the end of the year. But we still have to work everything out with the Elders up north. But hes awesome.
Loveline is still doing really well, and the coolest part is that her member husband is becoming really active! Thez have both been to church the last 4 weeks in a row. This last Sunday we all fasted together and prayed that Loveline's family would be supportive of her getting baptized, and since Napoleon is becoming active when it happens he will be the one that will be able to baptize her! So we are excited for when that day comes.
Sandra Zapke is also doing awesome. It has been really cool to watch her testimony grow over the past few months. When I first got here she was very timid and wasn't keeping a lot of commitments. But recently she has been reading every night in the book of mormon and sending us texts of what she enjoyed. Her husband is kinda pushy and really wants her to get baptized and I think it is a little too much pressure for her. A few weeks ago we were talking about it and she wanted to go through all the missionary lessons again and go a little slower, because she felt like she wasn't quite ready. We have been going through everything and also bringing other members from the Ward which has been really good for her and for the members to get them more involved. The only problem at the moment is they always have a hard time going to church.... We have picked them upa few times and gone with them together, but we want them to make a little effort on their own as well. So we'll see how everything turns out.
Another cool thing that happened this week is that we met with Sister Kuschnig and her neighbor Frau Worzalla. About 5 weeks ago Elder Rich and I taught them but they have been in the hospital and various things the past few weeks. But we were finally able to teach them again! Frau Worzalla told us that while she was in the hospital she had a chance to read from the Book of Mormon and she really loved it and she noticed how it talked so much about baptism and she told us that she wants to get baptized! We were blown awayyy. We were only able to talk for about 10 minutes because ten she had another appointment to get to because she just had surgery on her arm. She said it probably will be a little while because she has to recover from this surgery and then she has another one later in the month. But it will give us time to teach her and prepare her. She is awesome.
Then our last friend to give an update on is Rosti....
This one is a really complicated story that is too long to tell. But basically he really wants to be baptized, but his beliefs are not exactly where they need to be for him to do that. So we are still working with him, but ja he really enjoys coming to church and the environment of the church but still needs a little work. Please pray for him
Some other cool things. Elder Mitchell got to do 2 baptismal interview translations for persian. Then he also did a Persian lesson translation on Sunday so that was cool. The Leimers invited us over for dinner on Sunday as well which was really cool to spend some time with them in a more casual environment (but we didn't take any pictures oops)
There was also a huge Tractor/farmer demonstration here and so there were tractors everywhere all day terrorizing the city. Jk not really. But it was annoying because public transport shuts down...
That's about it I think.
I guess I never really talk about my thoughts/feelings in these things. I'm doing really good. Probably because Christmas is the best time of the year here. But I am also noticing that I don't have as much fire in me as I used to. I'm starting to get a little tired sometimes, but just gotta keep pushing on. Christ was a really awesome example of how to push onwards, he showed us the way to eternal life. That is the goal in life people -- to be able to return to live with our God; our Father in Heaven. Nothing else really matters. Money, presents, vacations, whatever it is. It's going to stop eventually. But there are things that will last forever. The relationships with our family, our knowledge and character. Even if you don't believe in God, you can start. What is there really to lose? If there isn't a God, what do I lose? Nothing. But I have so much to gain. I receive so much joy in this life watching people transform their lives and become followers of Jesus Christ. Becoming humble, patient, full of love. Those are the attributes of Christ. Why would I not want to help people become better? Not only do we receive so much joy and happiness in this life, but the joy that we will receive in the next is unimaginably more. So let's just start now with the simple things. There is nothing to lose. Maybe try praying for the first time ever, or the first time in years. I promise that it'll help. I've seen it change lives.
Remember the real reason for this Christmas Season. (I wish there was a cool rhyme like this one in German...) #lighttheworld https://www.
- Elder Johnson
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