Chirping birds and a European flute

Hey family!

Things are great here! I have quite a few stories for you this week, as this week has been very exciting! I'll get right into it!

Outside of the church

So we finally got an appointment with a former investigator! We'll call him Johnny. Johnny is a Christ like man. He lives alone, and his life is generally hard. He has a daughter who doesn't visit him, but he still makes every effort to call her. His ex wife is in the hospital and he visits her every day. He works all the time, and does his best to try to help people. His lungs are about to fail because he's been smoking for too many years. He's trying really hard to quit right now. We talked about his life, and focused on the things he needs. 

He said he believes in miracles as well. He was surprised when we agreed, because I think most churches don't believe God still performs miracles. My companion and I wanted to help him stop smoking, so my companion was about to ask him if he thought he could cut it down to eight cigarettes a day. As he did so I got a very strong spiritual impression. I stopped my companion and started to tell him about Priesthood blessings. After I explained it, I offered to give him one and he accepted. Then I had a very strange impression. I asked him: Do you have faith that Christ healed his people? He said yes. Then I asked him: Do you have faith sufficient to be healed and strengthened by his priesthood authority? He paused, and then said yes. I then commenced to give him a blessing, that he would have the strength and ability to quit smoking immediately. That God was proud of him for the man he became. I told him that God will heal him, and if he exercises his faith, he will no longer need another cigarette. After I finished, he sat there motionless for a few moments, and said thank you. He said it brought peace to him. We set a time to come by each week, and left him with the spirit and a prayer. Long story short, I love blessings.

Preparation Day activities

 Number two!

We came home from finding (I believe he uses the term "finding" for proselyting), and entered our apartment building, and started to go upstairs. Before the door shut behind us, we heard someone shouting:"Hallo! Hallo! Hallo!", outside behind us. I turned around and headed back outside because it sounded urgent. As I cleared the door way, I found myself face to face with our landlord, and he had blood running down his face from the bridge of his nose and his head. He had black marks on his face, and a huge red mark on his forehead. I said something that sounded like: oh, mensch! ( basically, "oh dang!" In German) and couldn't think of anything else to say! He was very dazed and just kept saying:"I need some help." Turns out, he had fallen through the roof of his garage area, banged his head and landed shoulder first on a steel table. And there he lay until he heard us walking into the building. He had a broken nose, and banged up face, and a severely dislocated shoulder that needs surgery. Yikes! Luckily my companion is in the army and had emergency medical training. He's doing much better after a trip to the hospital.

We set a baptism date for our Hungarian investigator! Woo! It's in August. It takes so long for us to communicate with him, so we set it far out. But that's not the story. The story is that during the lesson, he randomly said to me: "I love your church. I love the Mormon church. Because the people are full of light. You are a good man. You are pure light. I can see it. When you talked in church, I understood it all. You were talking about serving others. It really made me feel good. You are a very good man." I told him that if I didn't have this church, I'd be a very different person, and I wouldn't be a good person. He's an awesome man. 

"crazy kid in the church"

I spoke in church!! In German! Whoah! I spoke about consecrating our lives to the Lord. I talked about serving others. I was nervous at first, but then I just kept speaking, and really felt the words I was saying. It was great! :) I still can't believe I'm in Germany. We were walking home from finding one night, and we were walking down a little village street and the birds were chirping, and someone was playing a European flute. It was beautiful. I still have homesickness on Pday, there's so many things that remind me of home, and sometimes I'd give anything just to spend 5 minutes with you guys. But this work is so glorious. It's so rewarding. I love seeing the peace that is brings to the hearts of those we teach. I feel the comfort of angels as we work. There's hard times, but you get through them. Music has been a huge thing for me here. It's amazing. 

This week has been very good. Lots of tender mercies, and little things that make the day just a little better. I get homesick sometimes. It is hard to be away from home. It is hard to go out every day and be rejected frequently. It is hard to serve a mission. Sometimes I think of your hugs, or playing games with the girls, or playing ping pong with Dad. I think of the last couple days I had at home. The love I felt, and the feelings that were shared. But no one said serving a mission would be easy. No one said it would be a walk in the park. Alma was rejected many times, and he was a prophet. I'm just a boy, in a foreign land, who cant speak very well. A nervous boy. But a boy who is called of the Lord. There are moments when i feel like Joseph Smith in his first vision. Encircled about by thick darkness. Then just as I am about to surrender myself to destruction, and give up, I am picked up. Heavenly Father waits until we do our best, and then he sweeps us up into his loving arms. I have strength to keep going. The work becomes delicious to me, and I thrust in my sickle. I am part of something so much bigger. 

You asked, "What have I found about the people? Something very interesting. The Lord is preparing people for his second coming. The older generation is very hard hearted. They don't listen to anything we say. They don't want to change. But the next generation... They are like night and day. We have not had ONE meeting with a younger person "20-30" that was not well received. The Lord is preparing his people. 40 years ago there were 3 baptisms a year in this mission. Now there are  about 160 baptisms a year. The Lord is preparing them for his coming. I think I'm in the period of transition for the people here. There is a prophecy about Germany from one of the old prophets about how strong this country will be in the gospel. I see it happening. Hearts are changing from generation to generation. It's incredible!

I love the quote you shared with me dad... "Live your life in such a way that when trials come your way, you will know they are from the Lord and not your own stupidity. "... It's very true. I'm trying very hard. I'm trying so hard to be strong. I think of you. Sometimes I cry when no one is looking. But I have the strength within me. Thank you for everything you've done for me, dad. That debt will never be paid. I am proud to be your son :) 

I'm glad to hear you guys are doing great. It brings me joy. I'm so thankful for your prayers. And for your support. I love you guys. Sounds like everyone's doing pretty good! I'm glad dad had a good Father's Day! I'll have to do something...

I have not gotten a chance to sing yet, but I do have an opportunity lined up. We're having a street display sometime in the future, and me and one of the sister missionaries will be singing at it. I don't have any details, but it'll be awesome! 

Thank you for the package! I'll look for it in the near future! I'll keep praying for all of you, and working hard so you may be blessed. I'll make you proud!! Love you guys so much. Love you mom. I love getting to read everything from you guys every week. I'll send some pics before I go. If I missed anything, be sure to let me know and I'll address it next time. :)

"The only drinking fountain in all Germany...true story".

With so much love, Elder Tanner William Larson.