Date: Mon, Aug 8, 2011 at 4:32 AM
Subject: Re: from Frankfort to Waiblingen
To: Peggy Sonne
Schoenen guten tag!
Oh wow i really miss Michigan! and the whole family!... haha but being out here is soo fun! Everything here is reminding me of Michigan, I saw a house the other day on a bluff and it reminded me of Michigan, the smell of the houses here remind me of Michigan, the weather, and everything reminds me of Michigan! I'm really loving the work though!...
To answer your questions...
yes i get to exercise every morning but its the first 30 minutes of the day so i'm still mostly asleep and need some time to wake up before i start to exercise! Either way, I get quite a bit of exercise everyday from all the walking we do.
I study scriptures in English... We have an hour for personal study and i study for that time in English, then we have an hour for companion study, and then we have an hour to study German, during which i study out of a German text book for 30 minutes and read the scriptures and preach my gospel for the other 30 minutes.
The other day I saw a boat on a trailer for the first time... that reminded me of Michigan too.
This past week has been an emotional roller coaster! On Wednesday, I was hating life and the only thing i wanted to do was go to sleep and take a ride on the boat. I have been getting down on myself for not being able to speak German very well and not being able to carry a conversation in German. On Wednesday, I just sat there while my companion and a German talked for 20 minutes about the gospel. I felt like i had nothing to offer...But I stuck it out for the rest of that day. The next day was better. The next day after that was even better. The past couple of days have been really great. I have learned that if i trust in the lord, relax and really try to understand the content of the lessons, I can be happy and really help people come closer to Christ. I know the gospel, but its hard putting everything in order and then putting it through a strainer called German to try to tell someone about it. I usually end up just saying that its great, its great, its really great.. haha. But my German and teaching skills are building... slowly.
We really couldn't get a hold of most of the people we teach and a bunch of appointments fell through this week, but i know if i pray with faith, we will be able to explain the truth and convey the spirit that changes lives!
The members here are so great. A young couple named Felix and Katie (from America) took my comp and i to a little restaurant called chefs last week after emails. They are so cool. They help me keep my sanity and we talked a little bit about B.Y.U.... I've been really starting to doubt if there is life beyond a mission. It is great.
Another family called the Metzners have taken my comp and I in so many times and have fed us so much and even gave us a ride from the train station when it was raining. Another family, the Müllers are soo cool. The son, Micha is the ward mission leader and one of the friendliest (and good) guys I've ever met. He speaks English and that helps us when we have meetings. The daughter also speaks English and is hilarious! The parents are the nicest people. Last night i almost felt like i was at home. Even though its not quite like being with family, they're so kind and treat us like sons and siblings. Its really comforting, especially since i cant be in Michigan with all of you! So the ward is great and I'm loving it here!
We unfortunately were not able to attend the mosque this last week! There was some mis-communication with the mosque priest and the people we are teaching. So when we went to the Muslims we are teaching, with the intention on going to the mosque, we ended up teaching Siheed about the restoration (thankfully in English). Just when we were about to get to the first vision, the priest came into the room with 7 other Muslims to see why we wanted to come to the mosque. We said why and ended up teaching the priest about the restoration and the plan of salvation. Elder Patchett, myself, and him were speaking in German while the other 7 or 8 people in the room could not understand a word of what we were teaching. They just all stared at us for the hour we taught him. It was a little nerve racking at first, but when we realized they had no idea what we were saying, it wasn't so bad. The priest seemed pretty interested in the church and we are going to try to get another appointment and baptize him so then he will teach the others in Arabic or Somalian and then convert his whole congregation. That would be so cool; I'm excited for our next visit! The three people who promised to come to church this week didn't. We couldn't even ask Joe to come because his phone isn't working and he doesn't keep appointments.
At testimony meeting yesterday i had a really special experience. I realized that everything that God tells us to do is for our benefit, for our happiness. Just like when Jesus says the sabbath was made for man and not man for the sabbath. The commandments and everything that god has given us is for us to learn, grow, become like him, and receive eternal joy with him in heaven. He loves us so much and when we disobey him, we are only hurting ourselves. This really hit me hard during the meeting. It was one of those subjects that I always knew was true...that the gospel is for our benefit, but now I know without a doubt that he loves us and that his whole purpose, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man, is a plan for us to be happy. I know that. The church is true and Heavenly father loves us so much.
auf wiederhören,
Elder Sonne
