Liebe Familie,

 

I get my flight plans on Thursday!!! I can't believe how soon I will FINALLY be in Deutschland!! My roommates and I picked out our outfits for the plane today:]

So, in German there are two words that are very similar: klein (small) and kein (no). This last week, our district leader was teaching a lesson on the law of chastity and accidentally got these two words mixed up. He told his investigator that he MUST have small sexual relations before marriage. He then couldn't figure out why the investigator was trying so hard to suppress laughter. Luckily, the investigator cleared up the confusion. But, isn't it amazing what one letter can do?

Speaking of the German language, Elder Stanley learned this week that there IS a word for 'fun' in German. His companion had been telling him for SIX WEEKS that there was no word for 'fun' in German! Then, our teacher told us to have a fun Sunday, and Elder Stanley raised his hand to ask what 'spaß' meant. The teacher told him, and his companion just started laughing. You know you've been in the MTC for too long when this is what I find to be hilarious, I guess. :]

We got new missionaries on Wednesday! For the most part, they are way nice. They think those of us in the older transfer are so cool, which is nice. The new sisters keep to themselves, but they probably think we are way too weird. Which, I must admit, our first impression was not the best. We were so excited to talk to new people (we hadn't talked to anyone new for three weeks, afterall), that we may have been a little crazy. Aber, dass ist okay. :]

One of our teachers, Bruder Corey, left out of town on Saturday. Our last class with him was on Friday. So he showed us pictures of his mission. We could tell he was a guy since a lot of the pictures were of his bikes or things he ate. Also, he was such a goober. He took a picture of his nametag, printed it off on a 4x6, and wore it on top of his nametag for about a week before someone told him to take it off. The mission definitely changed that guy... But all of the pictures and stories of Germany just made us so so so excited to go!! These next few weeks will hopefully fly by! I can't wait to teach actual investigators. In Germany! (or Austria or Switzerland) 

Our investigator, Felix, is getting baptized!! We are so excited! I woke up one morning last week and said, "I know what we need to teach Felix." Sister Perkins had a meeting, so Sister Young and I taught the lesson. He started out the lesson how he always does, slumped back in his chair, picking at whatever he feels needs picking on his toes, or whatever. But a few minutes into the lesson, something was said that caught his attention. His countenance changed, and we could tell he was interested. He said the closing prayer, and it was by far the best prayer he has ever said. Sister Young started crying in the lesson. The spirit was so strong. It was the best lesson we have had with him. Sister Young and I were just hugging each other after the lesson. We were so excited that Felix finally got it. And our teacher (who was watching the lesson) kept commenting over and over again how that lesson was definitely a turning point for Felix. For the first time, Felix finally realized that we weren't there to fill our schedule. He finally understood why we wanted him to be baptized so badly. It was so neat!

Sorry this isn't very long. But it's been a good week. :]

Ich liebe euch!

 

Liebe,

Sister Stephanie Reid

 

Liebe Familie,

 

So, we are starting the final stretch before going to Deutschland!! We get new Deutschers TOMORROW!!! (Which, by the way, includes 2 sisters and 43 elders) And next Thursday we get our flight plans!!! And then it´s a week and a half after that, and we fly to Deutschland!! I am so excited; it is insane.

I find the pothole by the Redd's house interesting. I agree that the brown spot on the lawn did not cause the pothole; that would be just a little too crazy. However, I also agree that they could have both been caused by similar things. So, way to go, Dad! Also, thank you for updating me on world events. I am going crazy not knowing what is going on in the world! I know we are supposed to separate ourselves from the world, but I would still like to know what is going on so I sound intelligent when I talk to investigators.

We went to the temple again this morning with our district. It was such a good experience! We barely had enough people for the prayer circle once again, as the vast majority of the cats were missionaries. The poor temple workers:] But it was so great! Oh! And we saw two of our teachers in the temple this morning! Sister Covey and Sister Alder saw us and gave us huge hugs. Sister Alder was chilling in a chair (she is a temple worker), and Sister Covey was getting ready to do a session as we were leaving. We all got so excited, but in a reverant manner, of course.

We got a new district leader on Sunday. I think Elder Richards will be such a good district leader. He gave his first (and if it wasn't the first, it was certainly one of them) blessing today. It was so sweet and sincere.

He and his companion are the missionaries who are teaching me and my companions right now. I am so glad they are the ones teaching us. They never say anything that is apostilically profound, but it always comes from the heart. We always know that they know without a shadow of a doubt that what they are testifying of is true. They are such cute missionaries; they will do great!

We finally got enough sisters rounded up on Saturday to play a real game of soccer. It was five on five. So, I guess it wasn't technically enough people, but it was a decent game! We played with our new neighbors and our service Hermanas. Such a fun game!! It was very warm, but it was so worth it to be able to play!

On Sunday, we were sitting in our classroom preparing for district meeting, when the fire alarm went off. We were confused why they would have a fire drill on a Sunday, but obediently went outside. We got to the stairwell and smelled an electrical fire. It was one of the more exciting things at the MTC, for sure. A fire truck came and everything!! But, don't worry; no one was hurt. The building is still standing. 

One of our teachers, Brother Correy, is leaving this next week for a vacation. We sure are going to miss him. He was such a good teacher. And he was good at keeping the classes interesting; we lost track of time so often when he was teaching. But, he comes back the Saturday before we fly to Deutschland, so he will get to teach us one last time before he leaves.  

Sister Young and I are working on a violin-piano duet. We are playing a medley of "Amazing Grace," "As Now We Take the Sacrament," and "How Great Thou Art." It is so beautiful! I think we are performing it in sacrament meeting on Michelle's birthday, so be excited about that.

I got the last batch of the kids' letters and learned that Aldin got in an accident? Is he okay? What is his address so that I may write him? Thanks:]

Our investigators are going well. For the most part. Bernadette dropped us last week. She had a Jehovah's Witness friend who showed her that scripture in Revelation that talks about don't add anything to this book or you will be plagued, and she questioned the Book of Mormon. I explained that that scripture was in reference to only the book of Revelation. I talked about how the Bible was compiled much later than John wrote that verse, and many books in the Bible were written after the book of Revelation was written. I also bore my testimony that God loves us, so why would he stop revealing things? I then asked her to please pray about the Book of Mormon, and I explained that she would receive an answer if she asked with real intent. Sister Young also bore her testimony, but it wasn't enough. Bernadette said she would call us. Then, "two weeks later," she called us and asked us to come back. We came back and chatted, shared a spiritual thought, and decided to start teaching her again. We have decided to try and teach faith and the restoration again. So hopefully things will begin to progress with her once more! But Felix is doing great. He is excited for his baptism (we just still need to set a date), he doesn't have a problem with tithing, or the Word of Wisdom. We only need to teach the law of chastity and enduring to the end, or something. So we are feeling pretty good about him. Typ and Yoki are fun to teach, but we need to take things very slowly with them. Typ is quick to understand, and is very willing to help Yoki. But Yoki is still having a hard time understanding that his Heavenly Father knows him and loves him. But they are progressing, doing their reading assignments, having family prayer and scripture study, usw, so we are happy. :]

I think that's about it for this week!

Ich liebe euch!!

Liebe,

Sister Stephanie Reid

Liebe Familie,

 

So the Elder in our zone who still believed that Sister Young was going to Africa found out Thursday that we were joking. He had the best response when he found out: "I wrote home about that!" We just died laughing. We could not believe how much he believed, and how long it took him to figure it out:]

This week, a ton of Germans got to the MTC. They are going to Greece on their missions. They sought us out by the second day they were here. They are so friendly and so encouraging of our broken German! They told us their names and told us to watch out for their families when we get over there. Most were from Sister Young's mission, though. Aber, dass ist okay. It's good to practice our German on them, too. And I like talking to them because it makes me feel good that I can understand them when they are speaking quickly. Wahoo!

Last V Tag, Sister Young gave me cello lessons. I can now play "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and "Come, Follow Me" on the cello. You should be so proud! The cello was pretty fun! It's a nice way to break up the monotony of the MTC, too. We're here for 9 weeks. Might as well learn an instrument, right?

Dad, I am sorry to hear about the faucet. I am sad to hear you could not be there for the burial; that must have complicated the grieving process immensely.

Also, thanks for the letters from the rest of the family! I am super jealous to hear you got to go to the Grand Canyon and Sea World! I'm glad y'all had fun (or so I gathered).

We got two new investigators last night: Typ and Yoki Turkis. We are teaching other missionaries in our district now, and these are Elder Chicky and Elder Blackley, respectively. Typ is a 20-something college student studying mechanical engineering. He lives with his father, Yoki, who is a mechanic with a 10th-grade education. Elder Blackley is one of those people who never stops smiling. So, last night, when we asked him if he was married (trying to get an idea of the family dynamic), and he told us his wife was dead with a smile on his face, we laughed a little as we said, "What?" We weren't sure if we had understood him correctly. Then he started getting his pronouns mixed up. He first said, "She killed himself." We laughed a little more as we asked again for clarification and Typ said, "Mom is a girl." (Don't worry, they were laughing, too). Then Yoki said, "He killed her." My eyes got huge as I pointed to Typ and said, "He killed her?" Trying to save the conversation, Typ said, "She died in a car accident." We sisters all said, "We're not laughing, we're crying. I'm so so sorry!" We eventually were able to compose ourselves, but it was bad. Our lesson was not too bad for the first time, but these two will be a little tough to teach. We feel like Typ won't be bad; he was already very receptive to the gospel and what we had to teach; he liked everything we had to say. But we think the dad might be a little harder. But, we've also only had one lesson, so we shall see!

Our other two investigators are coming along. We are very enthusiastic about Felix. He is starting to show such progress! We talked about temples and the importance of the gospel and the church these last couple of times. He has started seeming very intersted, but in a different way than before. We all agree we've finally struck a chord with him. He was so excited at our last lesson with a verse he had found in the Book of Mormon; he was also excited that they talked about temples in church, and he knew what was going on because we had talked about temples.

Bernadette, however, is a smoker. We discovered this in our last lesson. We were teaching the Word of Wisdom. She said she didn't think she could quit - she had smoked for so long, and had tried so many times. We showed her some scriptures. I also shared a personal story. I hope Uncle Wade doesn't mind, but I felt very impressed to share that story with her. I didn't use names, don't worry. But she was very interested, and that story seemed to really tell her that it wasn't just three 20-year-old girls saying that He will help us; I knew someone personally that was able to quit. We are also still struggling to get her to church. But we brought a member to the lesson before the Word of Wisdom one who said he will pick her up. Hopefully this works! Also, we had FHE with her family and another family in the ward last night. They (conveniently) have children her kids' ages, so hopefully this will help them feel less shy!

We finally got to go to the temple for the first time today since we have been missionaries. We went with our district first thing this morning. It was so great! I had definitely been the most in my companionship, so I was able to help them with things. That was neat experience. We ate breakfast at the cafeteria. I know it's not a five-star restaurant, but compared to what we've been eating for the last five weeks, our district felt like we were eating like kings. I am so glad the temple is open again!! Such a great way to start the day:]

On Sunday, we realized that we have 10 more days (now it is only a week!) until the new Deutsche missionaries come. Then we have 10 days until we get our flight plans/my bithday (which would be about the best birthday ever if they were on the same day). And 10 days after that, we fly to Deutschland!!! We realized then that we can so make it out of the MTC!!

I think that is about all that has happened this week. I hope you have a great day! Make good choices!

 

Liebe, 

Sister Stephanie Reid   

Liebe Familie,

 

I am sorry about the brown spot on the lawn. I hope you resolve the problem before it gets out of hand.

 

Mom, the investigators are actual investigators whose eternal salvation is in our incapable hands. Not really. :] The investigators are staff here at the MTC. We have two investigators right now, Felix and Bernadette. Bernadette is so sweet and willing to learn. She expresses her concerns and questions and is so excited to learn all she can. Felix. We sisters have no idea where to go with this guy. He absorbs everything we say like a sponge. What are we to do? With Bernadette, the spirit is so strong; she even cried in our last lesson. The spirit is also strong in letting us know what to teach her next. But with Felix, we have no clue where to go with this guy. He is a mystery and a half.

 

Toby, everyone in my district loved your self portrait, ps. :]

Dad, I sure hope you can get your cabinet height problems resolved. I, too, wonder how you are able to do such great work in the garage with improper cabinet heights. That is a mind boggler.

 

Danke for the two packages! The bread seemed like it was still warm when I got it; my district went crazy! We were all so excited! Also, vielen dank for the bath towel and pictures. That bath towel is incredible! It soaks up water in the same manner that a group of fourth graders soaks up Halloween candy. And it won't take up hardly any space in my suitcases, as a group of fourth graders would. Could you send copies of my mission pictures and the family pictures (including my singles) in 4x6s, please? That would be great. :]

 

I would send pictures to you, but apparently the MTC no longer has the 'capacity' to print pictures. I find this to be a load of rubbish. Nevertheless, we will have to wait until I get to Deutschland to print pictures. I will also be able to e-mail pictures when I get to Deutschland. But, until that time, you will just have to imagine what I look like.

 

Time is finally starting to pass quicker. The days still feel like months. But, I can't believe it's already been three weeks! We only have to do this two more times, and then we will be going to Deutschland! The transfer ahead of us flew out this morning. That was so crazy saying good-bye to all of them last night and this morning. I couldn't believe how close we all got in just a few weeks. Our branch is so small now! All of the older elders and sisters in the older transfer sang a musical number on Sunday, and the congregation was empty. They sang ``God Be with You til We Meet Again.`` I do not do well with that song. Why do we have to wait until Jesus` feet for the meeting? It's going to be so crazy having them gone. Also, one of Jake's friends, Elder Bratsman, was in my zone. That was so fun!

 

Elder Kent and I performed our musical number yesterday. He sang "I Know that My Redeemer Lives" while I played the piano. We walked out of there beaming. We did so well! It was so great to be able to do that. Sister Young and I had so much fun with it, she wants to do a musical number where I accompany her while she plays the violin. She is also teaching me the cello this afternoon. We've got six weeks here. We have to do something with our time! May as well learn a musical instrument, eh?

 

So, get this. Something big is going down in Deutschland. There were 45 missionaries who flew out this morning. Our transfer has 33 missionaries in it. The one that comes in the first of August has 46 people in it. The one after that has 35 people in it. And apparently the next one has big numbers, too. Can you believe how many missionaries are going? That many aren't going home every transfer... I am going to be part of whatever is happening. I can't wait to see what it is! One of my companions is predicting a natural disaster; apparently before the big 'quake in Japan, it was the same story over there. I predict something happy. Not sure what, but I don't think (aka hope) it will be a natural disaster. Anyhoo, something intersting to ponder!

 

I'm sorry the e-mailing is so crazy. We are only given 30 minutes to e-mail. It's barely enough time to type this up! But, yes, once I get to Deutschland, our time will not be ticking when we log onto the e-mail. I won't have hours on end, but you guys can certainly e-mail me then. Until that time, I appreciate your patience in sending me snail mail.

 

I'm glad it sounds like everyone is doing well! I sure hope Corrina's surgery goes well! 

 

Bis später!

 

Viel Glück!

 

Liebe,

 

Sister Stephanie Reid

 

P.S. Everyone is trying to convince me to get my name changed on my badge to Ried. Apparently that is allowed, since the purpose is to help with pronunciation when I get in the field. But I like my name. But I thought it was interesting that they let people change their names... Anyway, tchau!

 Liebe Familie,

 

So, we are almost to our half-way point at the MTC! Then I will be in Deutschland! I talked to a senior couple who is also going to the Alpine Mission. They said they are leaving August 27 at 8 am (which would put the flight around 11). I sure hope we are on the same flight! Sister Young is convinced that the senior missionaries and the 21-year-old missionaries don't fly out together, but I don't understand why they would book two separate flights. That is just gas and time wasted to go to the airport two days in a row to pick up all the new-bees. Aber, so ist es. Anyway, if we are flying with the senior missionaries, we have our layover in Atlanta, and we go from there to Munich. So, we will see!

 

This was a pretty good week! We have another Sister Young on the floor where we have classes. She is going Portugese-speaking. She and my Sister Young traded nametags yesterday afternoon. We convinced our entire zone that President Brown had pulled Sister Young out of class that afternoon and told her that after a lot of prayerful consideration, they felt she should not go to Frankfurt, but was needed in the Congo Portugese-speaking. She would have today as a P-Day to move, and such. Then, on Wednesday, she starts her new Portugese classes. This also would mean she would have to stay an extra four weeks. We had such a fun time telling people this story! Most people figured out it was false, but one elder in our zone still believes. :]

 

So the temple opens tomorrow. Finally! Which means we can go to the temple for the first time as missionaries next Tuesday. Our whole zone is going together, so that will be great!

 

Our investigator, Felix, seemed to not be making any progress. I mentioned last week that he just absorbed everything like a sponge. Which would be fine if his testimony seemed to be growing because of it. We pulled one of our floating teachers aside for about half an hour this week and asked her what to do. After 20 minutes of discussion, we came to the conclusion that we couldn't come up with something on our own. Sister Alder told us that usually something would come to her head, but this time, her mind was a total blank. She explained that since we are wearing black nametags, and hers is white, we are entitled to receive revelation for our investigators. She said that Heavenly Father was probably trying to teach us not only that we could receive revelation, but how we could. She knelt down on the ground with us. I called on Sister Young to offer the prayer. After the prayer, we pondered for a few minutes. Then Sister Alder left us. We pondered a little longer. All I could think of was our next lesson with Felix. We had spent two lessons on the Plan of Salvation, and we were finishing it up next time. We just had to cover final judgment and the three degrees of glory. All I could picture was the little sun we made that represented the Celestial Kingdom. After a few more minutes of pondering, I looked up to see Sisters Young and Perkins frantically writing the things the spirit was telling them. I asked what they thought we should do with Felix. Sister Young said we should talk about temples, and Sister Perkins said sealings. We then discussed and went back to the classroom to prepare for this lesson. I was very frustrated. Why hadn't I received any inspiration? I am usually very in tune with the spirit. Why wasn't I receiving revelation now? Do not misconstrue my feelings as jealousy. There was no jealousy whatsover. I was very happy they had received inspiration; I simply didn't understand why I hadn't felt the same things they were feeling. I asked Sister Perkins if she would come with me to practice the piano for sacrament meeting on Sunday. Sister Young wanted to stay, so she went on splits with Sister Odenwalder and Sister Larson. Playing the piano always makes me feel better. After learning two of the songs, I was at peace. I remembered that from the very beginning, I was the one who said we needed to teach the Plan of Salvation. We didn't teach it for a few lessons because my companions were scared to teach such a hard lesson. Admittedly, I was a little bit, too. Also, I was seeing our little picture of the sun. Good grief. I was receiving revelation. It's because of temples and sealings that we can live in the Celestial kingdom. I am just learning how to interpret promptings now. Exactly what Sister Alder said we needed to learn...

Anyway, we taught our lesson to Felix yesterday. This time it looked like we finally struck a chord. He didn't have the 'always-agreeable' face he usually has. This time he looked like he was actually contemplating what we were teaching and figuring out why that would be important. We asked if his wife would be at the next lesson. We are having Sister Alder pose as his wife. We are very nervous for our next lesson, but it's a good nervous. It'll be interesting to see how this pans out!

 

Yesterday for PE, we went on splits. Sister Larson and Sister Perkins went to the secret gym, and Sister Young, Sister Odenwalder, and I went to the field. We are not allowed to play soccer with the elders. But we all really wanted to play. So we played on the side of the soccer field. We had a pathetic goal that belongs in the backyard of a little leaguer. We had three separate teams, and one person on each team. The elders in our zone (who were playing soccer on the actual field) were laughing at our little game. But we had so much fun!

 

I am the unofficial official pianist in our zone. So, that's been fun! Everyone is so grateful I can play. I am, too. I love sharing my talents. And I love playing the piano! Also, I am pretty sure I'm the only one in my zone who plays. So I don't have to really worry about being fired!! Such a relief!

 

15 seconds! So, Adieu!!

 

Liebe,

Sister Stephanie Reid     

Liebe Familie,

 

First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Isn't it so cool I get to e-mail on your birthday?!?!?!?!

 

I have almost made it in the MTC a week! Woot and a half:] People kept telling us two things. 1) If you can make it to Sunday, you can make it the rest of the time in the MTC. 2) The days feel like months; the months feel like days; the weeks feel like weeks. I am starting to see what they mean! These days are crazy long! But Sunday was excellent, and yesterday was not so bad. We are starting to get into the flow of things.

I am in a drei. Everyone keeps telling us how hard dreis are, but I have nothing to compare it to, so I can't agree or disagree. My companions' names are Sister Young and Sister Perkins.  Sister Young is from Prince George, BC. She has a slight accent, but it isn't too strong.  She is very cute and nice, and she and I get along very well. We listened to a lot of the same music, watched a lot of the same movies, took German classes before coming to the MTC, and have the same taste in ties. Sister Perkins is on the plump side, is from New Jersey (she doesn't have the accent, but she can do it), and is very nice. She has never taken a German class in her life and is very discouraged that she will never learn since she is not at the level of Sister Young or myself. We try to be supportive and encouraging, but sometimes...

We share a room with another drei, and they are very cool. Sister Diedrich reminds me so much of Missy, it is insane. Sister Heindel is very sweet and cute as well. Sister Stoddard is very sweet and real.  She is so genuine, loving, and has such a strong testimony of the gospel. They fly out July 16, or something, so they have been here awhile and teach us the tricks of the trade. They also keep us up late sometimes tellings us stories of their last roommate, Sister Fish. We are a little bit sad we never got to meet her. She sounds crazy! She had crazy red hair, and would put socks on her hands to reenact her lesson with the investigator from that day. Sister Diedrich showed us the video she took of it. It was hilarious!

We have two teachers for our district, Sister Covey, and Brother Corey. Sister Covey got back from her mission about a year ago and served in the Alpine mission!! Brother Corey is 22 (and already married, whoa) and served in the Berlin mission. They are so great and energetic about teaching us! The classes are a little boring, but I'm learning so many gospel words, too. We have 8 elders in our district. They won't talk to us! We sisters think it's kind of funny, in all honesty. The teachers will tell us to get up and go around the room, talking to each other, to practice a skill we just learned. We sisters always wind up on the edge of the circle in the corner of the room while the elders talk to each other. So we have to talk to each other more often than not. The best was the day Brother Corey asked a question to an elder who was supposed to answer the question, then ask a question to another missionary. Elder after Elder got asked. When the last elder had answered, he looked at the teacher to move on, as he could find no one else to ask. Brother Corey and Sister Covey looked at us sisters and said, "The Sisters need to answer still..." The Elder looked over like, "Oh?" Then he stumbled for a minute before he settled on asking Sister Perkins. A few days ago, we sisters started doing a best tie contest. We would write the winner's name on the board. After this, they started wearing their best ties everyday, and they have started recognizing our existence! Our roommates said they had the same problem in their district and to not worry, as they will eventually come around.

The other elders in our zone are very friendly, though. We like them. We have 7 German-speaking districts. And that is our zone - all of the German-speaking districts. Sacrament meeting was entirely in German on Sunday, which was very cool because I understood it all!

I can't think of what else to report on, so I suppose I will end my letter by saying I am so excited to finally be here!  And as long as the days are, it's still been such a great experience so far!

Denke an dich!

 

Sister Reid

 

P.S. Turns out our nametags say "Sister," as opposed to "Schwester" because Schwester is associated with nuns. Fun fact of the day. In church, the members will call us Schwester, but on the streets, I am Sister Reid. :]