He cooks now. And preaches.

July 11, 2016

He cooks now. And preaches.

Guten Morgen, meine Mutter! Deine deutsch geht gut bei mir! Toll!

Good german greeting, mom! :)

That's awesome that you saw a picture of me! I have quite a few more for you I don't know what I'd do if all I had was letters. That would be insane. I love getting all the pictures! I just save them and look at them later. I have an album labeled: family :)

Looking out over Ellwangen

Sounds like a big project! I'll do my best to help through my prayers. It's just like you said. God will help it happen. He will bring you peace :)

Yes, the potato salad was a lot like that...bitter and vinegary, sounds about right. I've had sausage, but not anything special. Not like Munchen Haus in Leavenworth. Bratwurst is more of a delicacy here. Usually people eat sausage just by itself, and most wurst is more like a hotdog.

I haven't eaten all my Sun Chips yet! Only half a bag! If we had more time at home, they'd be gone ;) Alright, I'll just drop some of my experiences from this week here!

First miracle: I can COOK! I make burgers (from scratch) stir fry stuff, breakfast burritos, and banana bread on a weekly basis! It's a miracle! I also make some mean German pizza. Don't believe me? See the pictures. Word.

Making banana bread!

Word.

Second miracle: my companion did something pretty bad to his ankle while we were playing soccer with a couple members. The next day, we couldn't really leave the apartment, because he couldn't walk. We thought it was broken. That night I gave him a blessing of healing. The next day his ankle "popped" and fixed itself. WHUT. The nurse was flabbergasted I tell ya.

Hike to great view of Ellwangen.

On a more serious note, I gained a greater testimony of priesthood blessings. That night I gave my companion a blessing, I really just felt the words flowing. My mind couldn't keep up with the things I was saying. When it was over, my companion turned to me and said: it's amazing how inspired those things are. You know, you said three things
from my patriarchal blessing in there? the Priesthood is real. No doubt.

The youth from church.

Third miracle: As I've been out here, I've discovered a problem. I fear men. I fear rejection. I fear that when I speak, people will not believe, and I will be ridiculed. I am afraid to talk to people. So this week, I shut myself into a little room in the apartment, and I prayed. I prayed so hard. I asked Heavenly Father how I can stop fearing men, and start trusting him.

The answer came through my study, when I stumbled across a document in my iPad. It was a letter written by a man to a young new missionary, about his mission experiences. In it, he described many quite unbelievable experiences he had with his first companion, the most amazing missionary I've ever heard of. I had my companion read it as well. We realized just how much more we could be doing. Suddenly, doing our best meant much more. We've since made changes, and boy... Have we seen the fruits of that. I don't think I have ever in my life been more comfortable speaking about the gospel than I am now. I'm actually PREACHING. Not just talking about it. The spirit is speaking through me. It is an indescribable feeling just to open your mouth to speak and have it be filled with the words someone needs to hear.

We have since this week been 2 times as busy. We have 3 new investigators, and we have resolved many confusing situations with ones that aren't progressing. No one document has ever effected me more than that little letter. I'll attach it so you can read it.

In essence, we've had the spirit of God with us. We have confounded the words of those who speak against us, and we have spoken boldly about the gospel. Many people we have been struggling to work with are now much more interested in what we're saying.

Great hike.

Fourth miracle: One of our investigators, Ronald, has been struggling. Last time we met with him was my first Saturday here. On that day, he declined baptism, and said he could not believe because he can not change. After that, he called us and said he needed a break. This week we called him again, and he wanted to meet with us. We usually help him renovate his house for a couple hours and then teach him. Right after we got there, we noticed a change. This man had a change of heart. I do not know what God did while we were away, but he prepared him for the truth. As soon as we got there, he started talking about God. We talked a lot and got to know each other better, and then we gave an amazing lesson about the spirit. He listened, and participated. He said he knows that he needs to find the truth for himself, and if he gets an answer, he will be baptized. He loved everything we said, and was 10x more humble than the man we knew him to be before. This man knows he needs God, and he knows what he needs to do to find out how he can begin. Amazing man.