...that our children may know...

Liebe Familie,

A lot of wonderful miracles happened this week! I, unfortunately, only have the time to speak of a few. However, miracles big and small happen everyday. And they especially were all around this week.

On Wednesday, for example, we were visiting a less-active woman in the ward. We have been meeting with her since the beginning of my time here in Ludwigsburg, and she never wanted to talk very much; she was always willing to let us come, and she was very attentive during the lessons. We just didn't know how to pull her out of her shell. Then we started bringing a member a few weeks ago. We were very nervous because the less-active had informed us that there was a member in the ward who had offended her, and that was why she didn't want to come to church. We asked her who it was so we wouldn't accidentally bring this member, but she politely declined. Anyway, we brought a wonderful member named Monique, a young mother also, and they bonded within the first few minutes of that first meeting. The less-active started talking and laughing, and it was awesome! This week, we came, and we had decided to follow the advice in Jacob 4:12, ''...why not speak of the atonement of Christ[?]'' We hadn't had a ton of time that morning to prepare a lesson, so we were running 100% on the spirit to guide us. The spirit always guides, but the lessons in which we truly recognize our dependance on Him are always miraculous, as was this one. We started out by talking about the blessings available through the atonement, resurrection, forgiveness of sins... I mentioned a talk I had read in the recent past from Elder Holland, ''Amazed at the Love Jesus Offers Me.'' He talks about that since Jesus could forgive us, how much more do we need to forgive others? As reading, I thought about how silly it is to expect Jesus to forgive us when we can't forgive ourselves. I mentioned this article to her. I told her a story that I don't like telling, but I felt I needed to share. It involves me forgiving, even though it was really hard. I bore testimony that it was hard, but possible. She broke into tears and started telling us exactly what went down years ago. It was pretty serious what happened, almost as though this person had tried to offend her. She told us how she was so mad at God when her husband died, and then this happened on top of that. She didn't want to talk to anyone who had anything to do with the church for years. She told us that she knows she messed up a lot, but she is on the road back. It's a long one, full of tiny steps, but she knows what she needs to do. The very fact that she lets us come is progress. We told her that it wouldn't happen in a day, a week, and maybe not even a year. But we also bore our testimonies that it was possible and worth it for her to forgive and forget. I shared the verse in Jacob 4:7 with her, and the spirit was just so strong. I can't describe (both to protect privacy and also because there are no words) how powerful and progressive the lesson was. But it was incredible. 

On Thursday, we had dinner with a member, and it came up that Sister Brinck is Gluten-intolerant. This member used to be Gluten-intolerant and offered to take us to Kaufland to show us where to find food for her. So not only did she take us there after dinner, but she paid for our groceries! We could not believe the charity! We have no idea how to thank her. A note is just not adequate, and baking something for her would be silly. I suppose it's like the atonement. There is truly no way to fully pay Him back for what He did for us out of love. The only way to truly show our gratitude is to pray and use the gift He gave us.

The next morning, we had an incredible lesson with Maria. Maria comes from Italy, but she moved here when she was 7, so she speaks excellent German. Her biggest problem is why there is so much wickedness and evil in the world - how can God put up with that? We taught the Plan of Salvation all the way through. We spent a lot of time on every step, even the pre-earth life. It was so incredible to see her understanding expounding as each new puzzle-piece was laid down. At the end, she told us that she has been praying a lot this last month, and she just feels peace. She also told us that she feels such peace when she meets with us. Once we finished presenting the Plan, she just stared at it and said, ''This is just beautiful. This is such a beautiful plan.'' She stared at it some more and then asked if she could take a picture of it. We also gave her The Family: A Proclamation to the World. She loves her sons so much and wants what's best for them. She had a total change from the beginning of the lesson to the end of the lesson. This plan really is so beautiful. Every little part of it shows God's love for us so much. Another investigator a little while ago said that is was wonderful how simple it is. It IS so simple! And doesn't that also show God's love, that He wouldn't give us something too complicated? We can totally do this. And the thing is, we have already beat Satan once. 

Elder James J. Hamula said, ''Understand, my young friends, that there is only one way to win the war against Satan, and that is to win it in the same way it was won in the beginning. When victory was finally achieved in the War in Heaven, a loud voice was heard to declare: Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ. ...For they [referring to Michael and his angels] have overcome him [referring to the devil] by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; for they loved not their own lives, but kept the testimony even unto death.” ⁽Joseph Smith Translation, Revelation 12:9, 11) Do not miss the significance of this declaration. Satan was overcome in the beginning by (1) faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice, (2) testimony of Him that was steadfastly kept to the very end, and (3) consecration of oneself to the Lord and His work. If this was the means for defeating him in the beginning, you can be sure that this is the one sure way to defeat him now.''

Sunday was the Primary Program. I love the Primary Program. It is so incredible to see the faith and understanding that children have. Isaiah's prophesy that someday ''a little child shall lead them'' does not just apply to the Millenium. We can be led by children now. The gospel is so simple. We don't need to be afraid to open our mouths and talk to our friends. The daughter of the less-active member previously mentioned was there (as were her step-kids (who are investigators of ours)), and for her part in the primary program she just bore her testimony of how badly she wants to baptized. Well, we can help there:] The teenage daughter sat by us, and started crying as the children sang ''A Child's Prayer.'' Do you realize the wonderful message in this song? This knowledge I have always taken such for granted. But it has so many wonderful gospel truths. 

Heavenly Father, are you really there?

And do you hear and answer ev'ry child's prayer?

Some say that heaven is far away,

But I feel it close around me as I pray.

Heavenly Father, I remember now

Something that Jesus told disciples long ago:

"Suffer the children to come to me."

Father, in prayer I'm coming now to thee.

Pray, he is there;

Speak, he is list'ning.

You are his child;

His love now surrounds you.

He hears your prayer;

He loves the children.

Of such is the kingdom, the kingdom of heav'n.

Liebe,

Sister Stephanie Reid

Run with Patience

Liebe Familie,

Grace attended her final sacrament meeting in the Ludwigsburg ward yesterday. She goes back to Nigeria not today, but next Monday. I can't believe it is already time for her to go. We visited her this last week, and the elders came, albeit on Austausch. So Grace got to know a new elder, Elder Jensen. However, when he introduced himself, Grace said, ''Jensen?? Jen is a girl's name. Johnson. Johnson is a boy's name. I will call you Son Johnson.'' And so it was. We sure are going to miss Grace. Her faith and wit are one-in-a-million. I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to meet and learn so much from her. She is going to do great things in bringing more people to Christ in Nigeria.

In my personal study this week, I learned a lot about self-mastery, mercy, and the atonement. I read a few different talks, and one of them is called ''The Justice and Mercy of God'' by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. At one point, he says, ''I know it isn't easy to go back and undo and make a new beginning, but I believe with all my heart that it is easier and surely more satisfying to begin anew than to go on and try to believe that justice will not take its toll.''

He then quotes C.S. Lewis, who said: ''I do not think that all who choose wrong roads perish; but their rescue consists in being put back on the right road. A [mathematical] sum [incorrectly worked] can be put right: but only by going back till you find the error and [then] working it afresh from that point, never by simply going on. Evil can be undone, but it cannot ‘develop’ into good. Time does not heal it. The spell must be unwound.''

I made a lot of thoughts about those two ideas. I thought about my high school math teacher, and how she would give us five points for each math problem. She required that she see our work so that if we made a small mistake at the beginning, resulting in a wrong answer at the end, we wouldn't lose all credit, although all of our other work may have been right. I thought about how in order to really have a perfect test, we do need to go back and correct every little error. I also recognized how it is impossible to go back and completely correct every little error, especially in sins that involve others. But that is where the atonement comes in. Because of the atonement of Jesus Christ, He can go back and correct our mistakes for us. It really will be as though the mistake never was made. We are promised that when full repentance is made, ''Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.''

I also read a talk from Brad Wilcox called, ''His Grace is Sufficient.'' In this talk, he compares the atonement to piano lessons. When a kid takes piano lessons, it is not expected to pay its mom back. What does the mom expect then? She expects that the kid practices. Although practice does not repay the debt, it is how the kid shows gratitude that the mother paid the price. And the mom has joy in which she sees her kid improve. And the kid can only improve when it practices. Elder Dallin H. Oaks said, “The repenting sinner must suffer for his sins, but this suffering has a different purpose than punishment or payment. Its purpose is change.” Later in the talk, Brad Wilcox says, ''When a young pianist hits a wrong note, we don’t say he is not worthy to keep practicing. We don’t expect him to be flawless. We just expect him to keep trying. Perfection may be his ultimate goal, but for now we can be content with progress in the right direction. Why is this perspective so easy to see in the context of learning piano but so hard to see in the context of learning heaven?'' I thought also about how that really is our ultimate goal, perfection. But we can't be perfect. ''...unless [we yield] to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and [put] off the natural man and [become] a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and [become] as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon [us], even as a child doth submit to his father.'' This is where the self-mastery came in. That is what our ultimate goal is then. Self-mastery. For when we achieve self-mastery, we would then be perfect.  President Uchtdorf gave a talk called, ''On the Wings of Eagles.'' In it, he quotes an unknown author who said, ''The greatest battle of life is fought out within the silent chambers of the soul. A victory on the inside of a man’s heart is worth a hundred conquests on the battlefields of life. To be master of yourself is the best guarantee that you will be master of the situation. Know thyself. The crown of character is self-control.'' At another point in the article, President Uchtdorf said that if we want to change the world, we must first change ourselves. Isn't that what we are all trying to do? Are we not all trying to do something to change the world to be a little better? Our purpose as missionaries is to invite others to come into Christ wherein we help them to develop faith in Jesus Christ and understanding of His Atonement. But one cannot teach others about how that works, unless he himself knows. God has invited us to ''fly with the eagles, not scratch with the chickens.'' We can only do that as we work on one little math problem at a time. Once we perfect that, move on to the next thing that may be holding you back. This is where the scripture from the title comes in. In Hebrews 12:1, we read, ''Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.'' President Uchtdorf once said that in patience we win mastery of our souls. I guess that's the hardest part. Not getting frustrated or bored or annoyed or discourage because the race against sin isn't over yet. Keep running! The race will be so much better if we run the whole time, as oppposed to walking a kilometer of it. But if we do walk, that's okay, too. It's always possible to start running again. That's why the atonement is so important. God knew we wouldn't be able to run the whole time in the right direction. Isn't it wonderful to know that we can still return home, spotless? 

I know this church is true. There is no other explanation for the miracles I have seen. I am everyday so grateful that I have this chance to share the peace the gospel brings with others. Elder Holland said, ''Inherent in all of this is a rather simple definition of the gospel, at least when considered in its essence. The word gospel as we use it in English comes down to us through early scriptural language which meant literally “good news” or sometimes “glad tidings.” The “good news” was that death and hell could be escaped, that mistakes and sins could be overcome, that there was hope, that there was help, that the insoluble was solved, that the enemy had been conquered. The good news was that everyone’s tomb could one day be empty, that everyone’s soul could again be pure, that every child of God could again return to the Father who gave them life.''  Now what will you do about it? 

Liebe,

Sister Stephanie Reid

General Conference 183.2

Liebe Familie,

This week was pretty great! We found a lot of people and are really excited about the potential here:]

Last Sunday, we realized we still needed to find ten more potentials for the week. We only had a few hours, and I told my companion that I really didn`t think we could find ten potential investigators (oh, ye of little faith, perhaps), but I told her I thought we could find some. I asked her how many. She thought about it for a moment, and then she said, ``Four.`` I said, ``Then let`s go find four potentials!`` She got a little flustered and said, ``Wait! You were supposed to think of a number, too!`` I told her that she was just as much entitled to receive revelation as I was, and if she thought we could find four people, we could. And we did. We walked to Bahnhof, and we talked to everyone along the way. There weren`t a lot of people out because it was almost (and eventually after) dark, but we found exactly four people who wanted to learn more. It was such a cool miracle!

And this whole week we have been focusing more on finding more people. We have done a better job of talking to everyone - there is still room for improvement, but we are certainly getting better! Anyway, we were on a train on Tuesday, for example, and Sister Brinck was trying to place a Book of Mormon with an older gentleman. My person I had sat by didn`t have much interest, so I listened in on her conversation. She successfully gave him a Book of Mormon before he had to get out. Just then, a girl ran over (she wasn`t sprinting, of course, because she only scurried over from a few rows over, so it would be difficult to get to full speed in that time. So I suppose I should write that she scurried over. Or hastened herself. Anyway...) and asked if she could have one of those books, too! Sister Brinck got her information, and then found out she was from Mongolia and wanted a Book of Mormon in Mongolian. But she accepted the tiny English Book of Mormon Sister Brinck had and went on her way. We got out at the next stop, too, and I gave Sister Brinck my larger English one, and told her to run that one to her. She was very grateful and took it, too. 

Thursday, we met with her and her husband. She is a student here, and her husband is German and graduated. We gave her her Mongolian Book of Mormon (bringing her total number of copies to three) and her husband a German Book of Mormon. They were so cool! She is Buddhist, and knows absolutely nothing about Jesus Christ. Her husband grew up Evangelisch, but isn`t too attached to it, and is willing to find something to believe in. They were both so excited to read a chapter and pray about it! 

We also visited Obehi this week. She is from Nigeria and has two kids: Chuko (girl, age 4) and Emi (boy, age 0). She is married, but Kevin is always gone at work when we are there. Anyway, we dropped by to bring her a baked good and some chocolate as she had missed church on Sunday due to her illness. She invited us right in, and explained how the whole family was sick, and she just could not get a break! We played with the kids for a little while before we had to go, and it really helped her. She begged us to please come back the next day and help some more. So we did. We helped her clean a little and play with the kids, and then she made us lunch. It included such products as cow tongue and bone marrow. It was so sweet of her to make us lunch, even though she was so sick! The elders came to give her a blessing, and they also got to enjoy the meal:]

We also met a cool guy named Fathali. He was found by Sister Brinck on Austausch about two months ago. He was waiting at our busstop, found out they came from America, and gave them two avocadoes. We got to our busstop on Wednesday, and Sister Brinck told me that was the guy from Iran who had given them avocadoes! I told her to greet him, and she did. He gave her an apple. And we met with him the next day. We had a time finding a joint teach as all of our members were at the temple for Deutsche Einheitstag (the day the wall came down), so we had to invite the Stuttgart Int. elders. Fathali has spent his whole life searching and has not found the truth yet. He is so confused, as he says he just keeps on finding parts of the truth, but he can`t find it all. We gave him a Book of Mormon in Persisch, and he says he has been reading in it! He came to General Conference Saturday night, and he brought a friend!! He had not seen this friend in five years, he said, and he just ran into him on his way to conference. So he asked this friend if he would want to come along, and he did! After five years, that was how they enjoyed each other`s reunited company - at general conference. Fathali is way cool, and we are so excited to see him continue to progress! 

I learned so much at General Conference, and so much peace was whispered to my heart. It`s always cool how every general conference, it seems like they are speaking directly to you. And yet, it`s for everyone! And wasn't that a cool goal Elder Ballard gave all of us - to bring one person to Christ before Christmas! I know that goal is acheivable through prayer, work, prayer, and more work. 

''So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us.''

                                                                -1 Thes. 2:8

Liebe,

Sister Stephanie Reid

The definition of insanity

Liebe Familie,

This week was crazy and good, and we learned a lot. 

So, on Monday, we went to Tübingen with Anna. We invited Lena and Denise, but they didn't show up. We were sad, but we still went and had a great time. Tübingen is just gorgeous. It looks like the Germany that was in my textbooks, the Germany that one pictures when one about Germany thoughts makes. I took lots of pictures, but I unfortunately forgot my camera cord. Next week:]

Friday evening, we had an appointment with the Nespers, and the Zimmers came along, too. Mandy just LOVED Sister Zimmer, and Brother Zimmer was also awesome. We talked about the importance of church attendance. Tina expressed her frustration in not being able to quit smoking, and Brother Zimmer told her that he used to smoke I can't remember how many cigarettes every day, but it was chain-smoking for sure. He told her that she could do it if she really committed to herself that she wanted to quit. Lena and Denise were also both there the whole time, and really liked the lesson. Sister Zimmer talked about how they never really used to go to church, but then oneSunday morning, she just knew that was what they needed to do. So she got the kids ready, piled them into the car, and they went to church. And it was awesome. She bore such powerful testimony of the spirit that is at church and the strength that we receive from it. I think the Nespers were even convinced that they were coming to church at the end of that lesson!

We came back on Saturday night to help move some furniture with the elders. The elders had gone by on them earlier that morning with our GML. They just talked, and the Nespers really opened up. We had talked about the priesthood and blessings on Monday evening, and we had asked Tina if she would want a blessing to help her quit smoking. She said she did, and for one reason or another, we couldn't get priesthood over there until that time. They gave her a blessing, and apparently it was incredible. It talked all about how much her Heavenly Father loves her, and what a wonderful daughter she is, and so forth. Apparently it was like a talk in the Relief Society session, which is just what Tina needed to hear. When we were there that night, Tina was frustrated again because she had smoked in the meantime. We told her to not give up, and that she needed to come to church to get that added strength. She told us she couldn't, because who would watch the dog? We started giving out suggestions, and she had excuses (they were, albeit, legit excuses) for everything. Then she thought of a friend who could watch the dog, and she said she would call the friend after she woke up. 

They didn't come to church yesterday. I did a lot of thinking during sacrament meeting about why in the world we couldn't get them to come to church. We invited. We found a ride for them. We brought members to the lessons. We left for church a half hour earlier for the past month so that we could be at their door to take them to the Bahnhof. That was when I realized it. Was it Einstein or John Wayne who said that that was the definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results? During Sister Brinck's personal study that morning, she had read the scripture in 1 Nephi 17:50 and was bearing her testimony about how if Nephi had that much faith to perform miracles, then she could, too. I told her that something else we can learn from that verse is that sometimes we have really good ideas. Nephi thought it was a really good idea to turn the water into dirt and walk to America. But the Lord knows everything from the beginning (1 Nephi 9:6), and He knew that that would just be silly to walk across the Atlantic Ocean. It would be better if they took a boat. Look how much Nephi (and his whole family) learned from all that transpired during the boat-building. Look how much simpler it is to sail across the Atlantic Ocean than walk across it. I think that's also what Nephi is saying in that verse, that if God had commanded him to turn that water into dirt and walk to America, he could do it. But God didn't ask him to do that. God asked Nephi to build a boat. I think that's what Sister Brinck and I have been trying to do with the Nespers - we have been trying to walk across the Atlantic Ocean. But the Lord knows that it's better if we build a boat. So, we need to come up with more ideas. Then we can go to the Lord and ask Him if that is the best idea. If it is not, then we keep coming up with more ideas until our will and mind are aligned with the Lord's. I don't think the Brother of Jared thought of gathering rocks and having the Lord touch them all so that they would illuminate right away. I think he had to study in the scriptures, pray, and perhaps even come up with some other solutions first. But the Lord eventually helped him think of rocks, and He saw the finger of the Lord (taking us back to that quote from Elder Holland: ''We must believe in miracles... until we wind up to the level when our heart is up in our throat and if we opened our eyes, we would expect to see angels.''). Well, that is what Sister Brinck and I need to do. We need to build a boat. And the only way we can learn just how to do that is to trust in Him. 

''Hope is not knowledge, but rather the abiding trust that the Lord will fulfill His promise to us. It is confidence that if we live according to God’s laws and the words of His prophets now, we will receive desired blessings in the future. It is believing and expecting that our prayers will be answered. It is manifest in confidence, optimism, enthusiasm, and patient perseverance.''

- President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Liebe,

Sister Stephanie Reid

Muggaseggele

Liebe Familie,

This week was incredible. Period. We had a lot of member-present lessons, our investigators made a lot of real progress this week. It's incredible how out of such small things, the Lord really can bring about great things.

We met with the Nespers on Monday night, and the young women's president came. She is a JAE, and they really liked her a lot. We read President Uchtdorf's talk ''Your Wonderful Journey Home,'' and did a review of the Plan of Salvation with a large emphasis on their potential, individual worth, and divine nature. They really loved the talk, and, as always, the spirit they felt:]

On Tuesday, we were with the Nespers, and we brought Sister Kleiner's mom. She really bonded well with the Nespers. We sat down, and Tina told us she didn't want to be baptized - she has already been baptized once, and she doesn't understand why it would be necessary again. Beate said that she was unsure what to think. A friend of theirs had talked to them, and... Anyway, we said a prayer, and Sister Kleiner talked about her conversion story, and about how she was ''baptized'' twice. We also talked about how they need to find out for themselves, and we committed them to really pray about it that night. Then Tina asked if we drink wine in the sacrament. I have been so scared to bring up the word of wisdom with them because of what happened with Bernie, so I have been praying that it would just get brought up. And it did! We talked all about how we don't drink alcohol, and they said that they both don't drink - life is just better when you remember it, and it tastes gross. Then I asked what she thought of smoking. She said she wished she didn't. I told her we had a program that could help her quit, and she got all sorts of excited and said that Lena and Denise would quit, too:] 

We also met with Frau Dackson, and the member we brought was also incredible. Since she was also a young mother, they were able to chat about such things that Sister Brinck and I could offer no such experience. The bond was very cool, and Frau Dackson started asking important questions. She also really appreciated that there was someone there who knew how she felt and to whom she could go with her problems. We will teach her about the atonement next time:]

Wednesday night, we had an incredible fireside with Elder Fingerle. He talked all about member missionary work. He said that when the missionaries do the job on their own, it's like harvesting with a Sichel. That was nice at one point, but this is the 21st Century, and these days we harvest with tractors. The members were so pumped to invite everyone they know to our building dedication next month!

Thursday, we taught the Stop-Smoking-Lesson to the Nespers, and it went really well. We brought our GML and the elders. We gave them Grapefruit juice (you would not believe how hard it is to find unsweetened Grapefruit juice), mouthwash, and vitamin C tablets. Tina was so grateful that she gave Sister Brinck and me both hugs. That was the first time she has ever embraced us, but I think she really could feel our love for her. Then Lena and Denise came home, and Tina told them to sit down and pay attention because they were going to quit, too. They all agreed, and it was awesome!

Tina got kind of sick this weekend, so it kept her from coming to church. But it also kept her from smoking! She said that she had absolutely zero desire to smoke when she felt so gross. The Lord works in mysterious ways:]

Lena and Denise both came to church yesterday!! It was incredible! The young women were also really excited and very good at fellowshipping. We got a call from the mom and grandma (who had not come to church) that afternoon, asking us and the elders to come over that night. We did, and they explained that they wanted us to help the teenagers turn their lives around. They went on about all of these things they had done, and the girls got so embarrassed that they left the room. We told them that our job was not to help troubled youth. We talked about repentance and the atonement and how it really doesn't matter what we have done, as long as we repent and are trying to be better. The girls eventually came back into the room, and we read ''The Family: A Proclomation to the World'' with them, and kind of called the whole family to repentance. The spirit was so strong, and we committed them all to treat each other with respect and love and to hold a family prayer everyday. Then we kneeled for the prayer at the end. And then, the mom said, ''Oh my goodness, we just have to come to church this next Sunday.'' Then the four-year-old started crying because she wanted to go to church so badly, and they told her that she would come, too. As we were sitting in that lesson last night, I just thought, ''This is why we come on missions.'' This family has changed so much since we first met them, and they are changing so much everyday. Tina and Beate are also so excited about their baptisms, and Lena and Denise are excited to come to church next week and the Young Women activity on Wednesday:]

I learned a lot about the atonement this week - we taught it a lot, and I studied it a lot. It's a little long, but your homework for this week is to read and study this talk: http://www.lds.org/ensign/2001/03/missionary-work-and-the-atonement?lang=eng 

Have groovy weeks!!

Liebe,

Sister Stephanie Reid

Expect to See Angels

Liebe Familie,

This last week was pretty awesome. A lot was learned, and a lot of people were brought closer to their Savior. 

Monday night, we had an appointment with the Dacksons, but the Lord had another idea of how we should spend our evening. Although that was a great idea, the Nespers needed us. We got the call from Frau Dackson a little before 6, and she just said, ''The weirdest thing just happened, and we can't meet tonight, but let's meet in a couple of days, okay?'' We had to hurry and come up with a new plan. I thought of the Nespers, and then the elders SMSed us to see what we were doing that night. We told them, and they said they were planning on visiting the friend who introduced us to the Nespers. We thought it might be a good idea to combine our lessons, and it was awesome. With the friend there, we started out by reading in Ether about the Brother of Jared. We discussed the ways how God answers our prayers, and the friend bore some great testimony. Then the friend had some questions about authority, and Elder Morrill said they were great questions, but they could answer them next time, as we wanted to get back to our original topic. I whispered that we could talk about it now, as that was a concept we needed to review with our investigators, too. So, we talked about it again, and we used the cup pyramid analogy, and they really got it this time. I said that that was why we had encouraged them to be baptized again. Then, the elders mentioned that the friend was getting baptized on the 10th of October, and I said that they could be baptized on that same day. I asked if they would work towards that goal, and they excitedly agreed. Then the friend said, ''Yeah, you should definitely come watch my baptism! It would be a great experience.'' Then they asked, ''But, can't we be baptized that day, too?'' They just kept getting more and more excited. Then they told us that the teenage daughter had gone to a church three times this last week and prayed and felt such peace. She had asked her mother if she could be baptized again, and if she could start meeting with us. It was such an evening of miracles!

On Wednesday, we were supposed to do some gardening for a woman named Chris who has been a potential investigator for awhile. She has been friends with some members for over 20 years, but she has never really had much interest in investigating the church herself. Anyway, we were supposed to do some gardening for her with the elders, but it was raining again. We had planned on this a few other times, but it kept being crappy weather on those days. So she told us to come anyway, and she would feed us lunch. It was delicious! Afterwards, we played Rummy with her, and we all just became better friends. The members later told us that she really liked us, and she kept saying we needed to come back. It was so good that we had that time to sit in her home and give her the opportunity to host (she said she loves having company, but nobody really visits her), just get to know her better, and help her build that trust. She is probably a lot more open now than she would have been if we had just gone to our corners of the garden and dug for a few hours. We simply found another way to serve her:]

On Thursday, we had Austausch with Lahr (near Offenburg), so we had to leave the mission (oh, no!) to do the trains. We went to Karlsruhe, but we were only at the Bahnhof. Anyway, Austausch was absolutely incredible. 

On our way to Stuttgart for our train to Karlsruhe, we stopped by to visit Grace. As we were looking for a map so we could find her (she is staying with her other son right now), a drunk man yelled at me for half an hour and told me I was stupid and brainwashed. I don't know why we couldn't get away, but he wouldn't let us leave. I was just quiet - fighting back in those situations does no good. But we eventually found Grace, and she was so excited to see us:] Anyway, then I went to Lahr to work with Sister Drury, and Sister Jencks came here to Ludwigsburg. 

It was an Austausch of miracles - one right after the other. First of all, we found 14 potentials on Friday (to give you an idea, 3 potentials is a pretty darn good day), and a lot of them were families! Lahr is being opened right now, so we had a lot of finding to do. But, Sister Drury is an incredible finder, and I learned a lot from her. Friday night, we were talking about all sorts of things and the conversation got to a topic that has seriously been a concern of mine for 5 years. I don't talk about it with a lot of people, as it has something to do with one particular line in my patriarchal blessing. And I, therefore, will not go into a lot of details at this time. But let me just say this. I felt peace about it for the first time in 5 years. My prayers were finally answered. And the advice she gave was further confirmed the next morning when I found a quote in a General Conference talk to confirm what it was she had told me. The Lord answers our prayers, and the answers usually don't come in the way we expect. But He does answer.

We had stake conference this weekend, and it was quite lovely. It was fun to see the other missionaries, and stake conference is always such a feast of spiritual knowledge. 

Elder Holland said, ''We must believe in miracles... until we wind up to the level when our heart is up in our throat and if we opened our eyes, we would expect to see angels.'' The only way the Lord works is through miracles, and this week was such a testimony builder of that!

Have groovy weeks!

Liebe,

Sister Stephanie Reid   

The Power of Paint

Liebe Familie,

This week was awesome. On Monday, we went to a Pferdmarkt in Bietigheim-Bissingen. It was a lot of fun. There was a parade. I will just say that German parades are a little different than American parades... For example, nobody threw candy. Also, the floats were pulled by horses! They featured people dressed in traditional costumes from all over Germany. We wanted to ride one of the rides so badly. We all studied the white handbook for a few minutes and determined it was okay. It was very long, and it spun us all over the place. It was so much fun!! Then we went to the little shops. It's always fun to see all of the crazy things available. Another town around here has a ''Sheepherder run.'' Girls who are sheepherders wear dirndls and run a 5K barefoot. 

Anyway, that evening, we visited Frau Dackson. We had a freaking awesome lesson planned about pre-earth life and why we are here. We planned on using a lot of scriptures in Abraham to teach it. Try as we might, we seriously could not get back in town quick enough to go home first and grab our triples. So, we had to plan another lesson really quick. I thought that a great idea would be to read 2 Nephi 2 with them, and talk about that - to get them excited about the Book of Mormon, and introduce ideas in the Plan of Salvation for next time. We got there, and Darchi wanted to play on the computer. But his mom said, no, as it is not a toy. He was pretty upset, but then we asked if he would like to read with us. He got very excited (because he loves to read, and we are cool), and he sat right down on the couch. We gave him a Book of Mormon, and we read 2 Nephi 2. Then, Frau Dackson started reading chapter 3, so we read that chapter, too. They wanted to keep reading, but it was starting to get late. So I had us skip to the last half of Chapter 4 to read the Psalm of Nephi. They just loved it. Frau Dackson told us that her whole day is just so stressful. But when we come, she just feels such peace. She repeated that thought a second time, but more to herself, agreeing that, yeah, she just feels at peace. Darchi was also so so grateful when we told him he could keep the Book of Mormon. We committed them to read and pray every night as a family, and they excitedly agreed that that would be a good idea. 

We had zone training this week. It was good to see everyone again one last time before transfers. We took lots of pictures, and the Pforzheim sisters brought all of the clothes that would be left behind in their apartment (as elders are whitewashing, and they do not need skirts), so we came home with some ''new'' clothes. I got a lot of them, because I was the smallest, and a small missionary left them. 

Wednesday, the elders and we went to Frau Dackson's apartment to paint it. It was such a fun service project! And Frau Dackson really liked having us there, too. Darchi was also home (school hasn't quite started yet), and he and Elder Piepenstock really bonded. We got paint all over, and it was very fun! 

We, however, did not finish, so we went back on Thursday to do the kitchen. Again, an excellent service project indeed:] 

We also went to Stuttgart to run off the train, and that was a hoot of a time!

Then on Friday, we had to help a less-active family paint their apartment. We got the living room done so quickly. The mother could not believe it when we were already done (we had just had a lot of practice...). That was really cool because the mom really opened up to us about her concerns at the end. She has such real concerns, and it will be so much easier to help her now that we know what's going on and that we have that trust built up.

We met with the Nespers again after that, and they are still doing well. Mandy called me to say, ''Hi!'' and to tell me all the things she had bought at the store that day. We gave her the Book of Mormon picture book so that she can read along when we are there. She loved it so much! We read in Ether 2 and 3 with them. Then Mandy burped in my ear. She also cried at the end when her mom gaving the closing prayer, so we had two closing prayers. It was an awesome day!

On Saturday, every plan we had (even our back-up plans) fell out. We got all of our studies done, which was awesome. Then we thought of a woman in our ward who always looks so sad. So we made her a nice card with lots of quotes about how much Jesus loves you, and we brought her some banana bread, too. We wanted to leave it at her house without her knowing it was from us, so we klingeled the neighbors to let us into the building. Only one neighbor was home, and she was very nice. We said we had something for the neighbor, so could we please come in? She came all the way to the outside door, and asked what we had so she could give it to her. We said we could just drop it by the door, and the neighbor insisted that it really was no problem. So we told her the name, and she repeated it back to us. We nodded, and she just said, ''Are you sure?'' I pointed to the Klingelbox with her name, and said that I was pretty sure she lived in that building. Then the neighbor pointed to the names on the Klingelbox and the mailbox and confirmed that she did live there. So, she took the things and said it looked very nice. It's always nice to do personal touches for members. That's also part of our purpose - strengthening members.

Wellp, that should just about cover everything! I hope all is well for you and that you have groovy weeks!

Liebe, 

Sister Stephanie Reid