Liebe Familie,

We did Austausch with Passau this week. I went to Passau with Sister Garrett (this is her fourth transfer), and her Golden came to Neumarkt with Sister Smith. Sister Garrett and her Golden were not too big of fans of the idea of the two Goldens being together, but it ended out being really great. Sister Garrett and I found some cool people and set a baptismal date with one of their investigators!! Sister Smith and Sister Regnier did some incredible things in Neumarkt, too. Passau is in Germany, so that was my first time actually serving in Germany. Sister Garrett kept asking how different it was. Passau is on the Austrian border, and I only had a day. Not enough time to be able to write a book about the differences for sure, but it was good:] Passau looks a lot like Salzburg, but without the mountains. 

We got a new investigator on Sunday!! Her name is Linda, and she is a boss. She is about 14 years old. She has been to church three times in the last four (the one week she missed was Mother's Day), and she has been coming to mutual all of that time, too! She was telling one of the leaders a little bit ago about a conversation she (Linda, not the leader) had had with her mother (again, Linda, not the mother of the leader). The leader was telling the story before Young Women's started because she thought it was so cute. She said that Linda said, ''I asked my mom, and she has absolutely no problem if I get baptized.'' I said, ''Well, that is WONDERFUL news!!!'' And the other young women laughed a little at how excited I got. But it is wonderful! She is already thinking about baptism before we have our first real lesson with her! She really wants to go to EFY. She is willing to buy a skirt because she doesn't own one. And she will also have to buy shorts that are long enough. But she enthusiastically agreed to go shopping in preparation for EFY. We will have our first official lesson with her next Sunday night at the residence of the bishop and young women's president (they are married to each other, so it will only be held in one location). We will eat dinner and then have the first lesson with their family. Linda is pretty excited, and we are STOKED!! 

We dumped a few investigators last week, and we are dumping a few more this week. We are not on missions to have nice chats about Jesus Christ with people. We are here to bring people closer to Him. We have a few too many stagnant investigators. We are going through the area book, and we will be doing a lot of finding this week. It will be less fun than sitting in someone's dry house (it may, or may not, be the rainy season), but the elect are out there! We need to find them and tell them that God loves them and has not forgotten them. (see D&C 29:7)

I hope you guys all have uplifting weeks! Keep the faith! The church is true. And the Lord is always right by us. (see D&C 29:5 and Jacob 5:72)

Alles Liebe!

Liebe,

Sister Stephanie Reid

Liebe Familie,

We had Zone Training on Tuesday. Sister Smith and I had to help lead it. It was a little weird, but it was good, as Zone Training Meetings always are. Afterwards, we had a crazy experience. I still don't know with exactness how to get to the Autobahn from the church in Salzburg. So we had to use Stella (yes, we named our Navi) to assist us. Sister Smith entered in our home as the destination, although once I find the Autobahn, I know well how to get home. However, if Stella isn't least on all the way home, she gets thrown through a loop when we need to go somewhere new next time. She has the hardest time finding us. Anyway, the whole way back, I kept thinking of a referral we received from Anita a few weeks ago who we have never been able to find. We had gone by on the address about three different times before we realized the address wasn't right. We asked our Ehepaar to email her and ask for what her actual address was (she owns a store, and Anita told us to visit her there). She called us a few days later and left a message with her address. We could not understand what she was saying when she got to the address, and therefore, still were not able to find her. I just kept thinking of her and thinking that we needed to make a concerted effort to find her. When we got closer to home, I determined that it wasn't just me thinking about how annoying it was that we couldn't find her, rather the spirit was telling us to take care of some business. I told Sister Smith to enter this woman's address in Stella. Sister Smith said that we still don't have the address. I knew she was right, but I also knew we needed to do something. We drove to the church parking lot and listened to the message over and over again. I tried so many things in Stella, but nothing was coming up. I eventually tried every letter to see what all of the streets in Neumarkt were. When I got to U, one option came up. It sounded kind of like what the woman was saying, but we both knew that wasn't right. I still felt like we should try it. We entered it in and headed down there. As we started driving, our suspicions were confirmed that that was not the desired address - it was in Neumarkt Gemeinde, not the city. We kept driving. We ended up driving down to the resort area by Wallersee. We both kept saying, ''What are we doing here? Why would we be led here?'' We determined there had to be someone there we were supposed to find. We didn't know who, but we knew there was someone. We were in the car, and one simply cannot contact in a car. A man in a moustache caught my eye. At first I just thought it was because of his large mustasche and hairdo. As we drove past him, Stella's battery died. We were to the end of the road anyway, so we parked and determind that we should start walking. We got out of the car, and this man came up to us! He told us he couldn't talk just then as he had to get back to work in this building behind us. We were utterly confused, wished him well, and walked along the path. We wandered all over for a little while before we determined that no one down there was the one we were supposed to find. We went back to the car and got back in. We saw the mustache man about three other times before we got in the car. But he worked there, so it made sense in our heads. We drove down a random road, determing that perhaps our journey was not yet over. Nothing. We were going crazy! Why were we being led down there? What was going on? Where was this person? We finally realized that perhaps the mustache  man was a little important. We drove back to Wallersee, only to discover that his car was gone. We were so upset! We were too chicken earlier to open our mouthes and tell this man about the Book of Mormon (we determined that we were supposed to just be bold and tell him we were missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ and we have this book. That approach felt the most right, although it rarely does.), and our chance was gone! We were so thankful that he worked there; we returned home, repented, and resolved to return the next day as often as possible until we found him again. I got a letter that day from a man in your ward who has never before written me. It was a very short letter. He said the young men's advisor (?) had asked them all to write to the missionaries. He explained that in one paragraph. The other paragraph was his testimony of how wonderful missionary work is, that God sometimes literally throws people in our paths that we need to talk to. That was it. That was the letter that happened to arrive on that day. We went back the next morning before our first appointment at 9. He wasn't there. We drove back again after the appoinment. We found him! We walked up to him sitting at his table. He was organizing stickers and coupons. We greeted him. He was friendly again. I then stuck the Book of Mormon on the table and said, ''We have this book...''. He said, ''I know you have that book. I have one at home.'' In that moment, we knew above and beyond any shadows that doubt may bring that he was the man we were supposed to find. I asked him about it, and he told us he had met with missionaries ahwile ago, but they were men. So over two years ago... We asked him if he had any further interest in meeting with us. He told us he did not, as he was quite satisfied with his life. We gave him a card and told him to call us if he ever changed his mind. We went home and could not find him anywhere in our area book. We will be trying to visit again this week. Although nothing has come out of it yet, the Lord certainly led us to find this man, even if it was only to remind him that God still knows he exists. 

Anita, Daniel, Christina, and Raul came to church yesterday!!! They loved it, except for Daniel who had to sit in Relief Society on account of having no tranlator. Perhaps we will have him just come for the last two hours. But they talked about the temple, and Anita made us come that night to teach about the difference between temples and churches. We gave them a Temple Liahona and they just loved it. Anita wants to get baptized so badly!!!! We just have to help Bobi develop a wish to marry her. But, Bobi also got excited last night when we told him that after he's baptized, he can have the priesthood. We are so gonna get them. They are so ready for the gospel!

Have a successful week! Happy birthday, Corrina and Melisa!!

Liebe,

Sister Stephanie Reid

Liebe Familie,

Although we spoke yesterday, I did not tell you much about the adventures of my week. So, I will seize that opportunity now, as it was a pretty great week!

We worked last Monday, so we could go to Wien early on Tuesday and do our P. Day then. We got up on Tuesday, made ourselves ready, and left for Salzburg so we could umsteig to Wien. Sister Smith wanted to see Wien (although we really only had about three hours to do that, and I saw things in my fourth transfer I had never before seen, but I did my best). We went to Schönbrunn first. It was much prettier than it was in January, but it still wasn't entirely ready for the summer crowd. Then we went to the 1. District and looked at the cool buildings and Roman ruins. It was raining off and on, but it was good! We got to teach English class again, and then Sister Smith and I went on splits with the Wien 1 sisters. I also got to see Wanni again!!!!! She just screamed for joy, and I was laughing I was so excited to see her! Wanni is doing so well!! I love her with all my heart. Then Sister Lin and I had the opportunity to see Binod and Nita that night. They have a new apartment now, and are also doing well. Nita ran out of the apartment when I showed up and just hugged me. They were both so excited to see me again, and I was, too! They are doing the lessons again (recent converts go through all of the lessons again), and that night was the Plan of Salvation. Binod kept saying, ''Sister Reid, you taught this to us already.'' I kept telling him I knew that, but it was good to review. Then we would agree and listen. A few minutes later, I would ask a question, and he would again remind me that I had already taught them this. I would again remind him that review is good so we can remember how much Heavenly Father loves us. It was pretty funny:] 

We stayed at the apartment that night. It was weird how it was so much the same, but so different. It was kind of like coming back home, but it wasn't my home anymore. It was very weird, but we had fun:] 

The next morning was mission tour, and it was incredible! We had the Wien and Salzburg zones combined, so it was great to see a lot of old friends again. Also, Elder Teixeira taught us a lot of really cool things about how to do missionary work. It was an incredible meeting! I learned so so much about how to be a lot more effective.

After mission tour, I went back to Wels with Sister Hammock. By the time we got home, we just ate dinner, had language study, and went to bed. The next day, the one scheduled appointment fell out, so we found all day long. Sister Hammock didn't know the city super well, and I have no idea how many kilometers we walked (it was a Feiertag, and the buses do not run at all in Wels on Feiertags). My feet were very tired, but we found a lot of cool people, gave away a lot of copies of the Book of Mormon, and it was a beautiful sunny day! It was nice to be outside.

We had to get up at 5:30 the next morning to catch our train back to Neumarkt so that Sister Smith and I could get on a train to Salzburg so that we could catch the train to München. We had a little over an hour of an Umsteig, so I was able to repack a little bit. The weather changed for the worst in that hour, and it hasn't really stopped raining since.

But Munich was great! Germany had its Mission Tour go until 3, and then our first meeting for Mission Leadership Council started at 3, so I got to see a lot of those friends again, too! I loved seeing them all:] Elder Teixeira was there for that meeting, and he taught us a lot of really incredible things again. It was really neat to be taught by such a spiritual giant. 

Then we went to the mission home for dinner. Dinner was lovely:] After dinner, we had another meeting/testimony meeting, and President called on me to bear my testimony. I am getting better at it, but it is still not one of my talents. Anyway, it was great! The sisters all slept upstairs, four elders slept in the basement, and the rest slept at the mission office. Sister Graf and her golden, and Sister Stewart and her golden were there, so it was also great to see them again! 

I braided Sister Stewart's hair the next morning for Frühsport. It looked great:]

We had our final meeting that morning after breakfast, and then it was time to go back to Salzburg after lunch (Leberkäse sandwiches). We got back to Salzburg around 7, so we put on dry clothes and then went to help Christina with her German. We have started teaching her German this week, and she is doing very well. She loves having us help her, and we are enjoying spending more time with her. She will do great things someday.

We slept like rocks that night. It was the first night I had slept in my bed since 5 days. 

Today we went to the salt mines. It was cool, but it definitely wasn't something I would do everytime visiting Salzburg. However, the tour guide was very nice, and really liked us sisters a lot. She may have just been thrilled to finally have someone with whom she could speak German, but she was asking us all sorts of questions about what we were doing here, and she told us a few times that she was really impressed with us and what we did. 

We had a lot of fun this week, and we learned so much! We are so grateful for our new calling. 

Alles Liebe!

Liebe,

Sister Stephanie Reid

Liebe Familie,

On Monday, we met with Eva for the first time in a month. That was the next time she had available at the end of our last lesson with her. We took the appointment, confused at how she had no free hour for a month. She had asked about signs of the times last time. We answered her first few questions before we asked if we could talk more about it next time. During personal study that morning, I studied the chapter from the Gospel Principles manual. We decided to use it to help teach her. We were going to swing by the church on our way to her house and make a copy of the chapter so she could also study it on her own time. We could not figure it out at the time, but we could not get out of our house on time for the life of us. We only had enough time to grab an extra one from the church. It turned out to be the best thing! We came to her home, and she invited us in. She gave us strawberries and water, made herself some coffee, and sat down at the table. She asked how we had been, then we started with a prayer. After the prayer, she told us she had had a question last time, but she could not remember what it was. I reminded her, and she said that wasn't it. Then she thought for a few moments, reworded it, and said, ''That was my question!'' I said that was exactly right, and I pulled out the Gospel Principles manual to start answering her question. Our original intention was to have her read two paragraphs to introduce the topic. Then we would discuss a couple of the signs. She read the first two paragraphs, then said, ''This is so interesting! May I read further?'' We said, ''Of course!'' and she read the next page before she said, ''May I borrow this book so I can study it on my own time?'' We told her she could keep the book. She started flipping through and was so excited as she said, ''I can really keep it?!'' We told her we have a ton more at home, and she really could keep it. She was so grateful. Then she started asking questions about what happens to people who die without getting baptized. We had the opportunity to explain baptisms for the dead, and once we had it all cleared up what that entailed, she thought it was the coolest thing ever. Then she said, ''When the sisters used to come, they would do service for me. And I have these windows that need to be cleaned. You don't have to if you don't want to, but, I really could use some help cleaning these windows because my kids won't help...'' Although we thought that was the weirdest way to ask for help, we told her we would love to help her clean her windows. So we got to see her again the next morning! She told us she had already read the whole chapter and some other stuff, too. She LOVED it! She asked who Alma was, and we told her he was a prophet in the Book of Mormon. She said, ''Okay, that makes sense. I will have to read those scriptures, too, then,'' whereas before she had the attitude of, ''I still have my Book of Mormon from when the sisters were here before, but, ya know...'' But now...! Before we left, she also told us what her schedule was like for the week. She SUDDENLY has all of this time to meet with us! Last night, I talked to her to set up a fest appointment for this week, and she told me she has read even more in that manual, and she just loves it. She told me she understands it because it is written so clearly, and she loves reading in it. Who would have thought that all of that would come from a Gospel Principles manual of all things? The Lord works in mysterious ways, and everybody is so different. It is so important to listen to the spirit and let Him guide you. I would never have guessed that that is what she needed to get excited about the gospel! But that is what Eva needed. The Lord knows what's up.

Then, on Saturday night, we had another fabulous Skype lesson with Daniel and Christina. We have seriously been praying for so long for a solution to help them understand church. We are so thankful for skype and that the elders in Romania can teach them, so they can make progress at home. But, how are we supposed to do church? At some point, they need to start coming to church. The elders can't speak German, and it would be dumb anyway to try to bring the laptop to church so I can translate the sacrament meeting into English, so they can translate it into Romanian. You can see why we needed a new solution. Anyway, we have a less active in the Salzburg ward who served her mission in Romania, but we couldn't get a hold of her. And she isn't in our ward anyway. Back to Saturday night. So after the lesson, we were chatting with them (Daniel's German is getting way better, ps - we still had to use Google Translate for a few sentences, but it is much better than when I first got here), and they told us they can both speak Spanish! We have a woman in our ward who speaks great Spanish, and is so excited to translate for them! Then, I bore my testimony on Sunday about how the Lord really is in the details of our lives and how when we pray in faith, our prayers will be answered (using this story as an example), and a bunch of members came up to me afterward and said this girl had moved back into the ward. Bam! We are so going to get Daniel and Christina baptized, and this less-active girl reactivated. And until that happens, we have a woman who can translate it into Spanish for them! Missions are so cool.

And THEN, on Sunday night, we had a lesson with Bobi and Anita. We had this fabulous couple in our ward, the Grünauers, there. They are powerhouses. We taught about prayer, and Bobi finally prayed out loud at the end of the lesson! He has NEVER done that before! Plus, Schwester Grünauer committed them to have family prayer everyday! And they agreed that would be wonderful! Also, Bobi works until 12:30 every Sunday (the exact time church gets out), but Bruder Grünauer asked if Bobi could be to church if it started at like 2:30. Bobi readily accepted. Then Bruder Grünauer got a klug look on his face and said he would see what he could do. I don't know what he has up his sleeve, but there are blessings and miracles all around!

P.S. On Tuesday night, we arrived home, and saw we had missed two calls from President Miles while we were in our lesson. His voice mail said, ''Sister Reid and Sister Smith. I need you to call me back.'' We were so scared. Especially because he didn't answer when we called back. I was shaking as I was thinking of all of the reasons he would call us. We were freaking out. We hadn't done anything wrong! I mean, we aren't perfect, but no missionary is - otherwise we would get translated. We both thought that maybe he had changed his mind about not transferring me next. We started freaking out about that. We started to plan for the next day as we waited for him to call us back. I was shaking and could barely write. The phone FINALLY rang, and I answered it. I said, ''Hello, here is Sister Reid...'' He said, ''Hi, Sister Reid! Here speaks President Miles! How are you doing tonight?'' ''We're doing well, President...'' ''That is wonderful news, Sister Reid. I actually need to speak with you and Sister Smith. Can you put me on speaker phone?'' I had no clue what in the world he needed, but I summoned Sister Smith, and set the phone on the windowsill. It was no big deal. There are so many sisters who will soon be in the field (or already are here) that we will need sister zone leaders. And Sister Smith and I received the calling! We get to do Austausches with all of the sisters in our ''zone'' (there are 7 zones in the mission, but 5 sister zones - we have different borders) every transfer. We also get to go to Munich this week for Mission Leadership Council. We get to tausch with Passau, Linz, and Wels. We are way excited for this opportunity to serve. The funniest thing is how scared we were. It was obviously no big deal at all!

We also have Mission Tour in Wien this week, and we have an Austausch with Wels on Thursday. Then we are headed to Munich on Friday. It will be a crazy week, but it will be so much fun, and we are going to learn so much!

See you Sunday:]

Liebe,

Sister Stephanie Reid