Toto, we´re not in West Germany anymore - Mon, Jan 09, 2012

Liebe Familie!

 

I love you! I always look forward to hearing from you. We still have absolutely no snow here and I sure am not complaining. I´m hoping that it will kind of just skip over the winter this year. That would make me very happy. Poor Deej spending so much money on the ski pass and not having a way to get there. He should´ve thought about that one. :)

Things have picked up a little bit here since last week- thank goodness! I still haven´t met all the investigators, I don´t know if they´re ignoring us or what. There are 3 people with baptismal dates here in Rostock and I´ve only met 1 of them. We can´t get ahold of the other 2. We hope that we will be able to come in contact with them soon. The people on the streets are much different than in Celle. When we talk to them they´re slightly rude and the majority of the people we talk to are atheist. But somehow we still managed to make 7 new appointments this week. Yay! We have 9 investigators that are progressing, but I´ve only met 4 or so of them.

 

People actually did volunteer to help me with my bags, when they noticed how much I struggled. It went really well and I´ve heard the day after transfers usually you´re super sore, but I wasn´t sore at all.

 

I´m glad you were able to go out with the missionaries this week, dad! That´s great. I can imagine after not using Spanish for so long it wouldn´t come out as easy as before. I´m sure they were super grateful that you were able to come though. It´s always great to have members with us. Which is something special about Rostock, we have a couple recently returned YSA´s and it´s like a missionaries dream. They always text us and ask "Do you have any appointments I could come to today?" Usually we have to pull teeth to get members to come. Its great to have volunteers.

 

I´m so glad you enjoyed the package. I just sent a bit of Germany to you, the things I enjoy the most, except the lebkuchen. Not a big fan of that. Has anyone had some tea to drink? It´s so yummy! Or is everyone too afraid to drink it because of Word of Wizzum? If I as a missionary am allowed to drink it, ya´ll zu hause are allowed too. Also, I see those chocolate cookies around in stores all the time. I could send more if you´d like. And mom can be forbidden to eat them. Haha, just kidding- "all men are privileged the one like unto the other, and none are forbidden." (Whoever can tell me where that scripture is will get a whole box of cookies to themselves- no using lds.org you gotta find it in your own scriptures.)

 

We play ping pong every Saturday. Luckily I didn´t have to go through the boot camp again. I used the paddle, sometimes my shoulder like on the cruise (remember? remember?) It´s crazy to me that I´ve been out for 6 months too! I thought of something that really freaked me out and that is: 3 months until my half way mark and 3 months after that is my year mark. I really do need to enjoy every second of this and work as hard as possible. It´ll be gone before I know it.

 

Please do send the color tests and love language tests. Also, I would love to one day look in my mailbox and see the promised letters. I feel so pathetic getting so excited to check the mail and then seeing nothing. I will try to wait patiently, but that´s one of the most exciting things that happens out here! Also, I spelled the address wrong. I don´t think it´ll effect getting the letter to me, but it just made me look totally American. It´s spelled Friederich strasse, not Friederick. Just so you know.

 

That picture of the old days with the flamingos is super embarrassing. Oh dear. How did I even put that on facebook in the first place? But everyone is so cute and little. Except me. I look the same, except I´m less crazy now.

 

I didn´t realize the musical is Once Upon a Mattress! That´s so cool that Jeff was able to give his first blessing. I was thinking about that yesterday when one of our investigators got a blessing, I thought to myself "I wonder if Jeff has given a blessing yet." That would be cool if they were given at the same time, but not likely.

 

When Sarah said she got mostly scarves for Christmas I was like "Uhhhhh......and that´s what I´m sending too. Uh oh." I hope she liked it. And did Rachel like her pokéball and lion? I knew you´d love that chocolate. When I saw it I thought "MOM!!!" so I bought it.

 

One thing of very very important business: I NEED MY NEXT JOURNAL SENT TO ME! It´s green and has Christ on it. I don´t want to buy a new one here because I want my journals to match and be the same size. My next one is almost full so that needs to be sent AQAP, if you´d be so kind. Also, I have some clothes that if you´re sending a package, you might as well send those too. A black long sleeve impel shirt and any of my winter clothes that could be used as missionary clothes. I have no warm clothes really.

 

I´m so glad choir is going well. Hymnplicity has some good arrangements if I remember right. How neat that you´re singing my favorite hymn. I bet that wasn´t on purpose at all, was it ;)

 

I will try to figure out who the mystery mini mission woman is. That information doesn´t help me, but I´m sure if I ask around I could figure out who it is.

 

So something that happened was way cool this week: We were encouraged by our district leader to have contact with one member a week whether it be a phone call or stop by and visit them. Sister Kläy has only been here one transfer so she doesn´t know the members that well and I obviously don´t either. We were trying to decide who to visit and Sister Kläy just handed me the list, feeling overwhelmed at not knowing the people and said to me "Just look at this and pay attention to how you feel." So I looked at the paper and immediately a name stood out to me. I looked through the rest of the list just in case another name were to stand out but the whole time I knew we needed to visit this man. So we stopped by without making an appointment and the first miracle was that he was home. The second miracle was that he let us come in! At first he seemed like he was afraid of what our intentions were, but we just started to get to know him and ask him questions about himself and he eventually opened up and told us his conversion story. After telling us his story, he said "I think it was good that you stopped by here today. I really just need a little push and what you´ve given me today was just what I needed." He hadn´t been to church or read the Book of Mormon for 2 years because problems with the ward and we invited him to read in the Book of Mormon again. I felt that it was really good for him personally to reflect on his feelings about the Book of Mormon and that was enough to get him going again. He invited us and the Elders to come back tomorrow to eat with him. I feel like he might be on his way back to re-activation. I have no idea why missionaries haven´t visited him at all. But we´re excited to help him on his way back to  coming unto Christ. I´m so glad Heavenly Father prompts us so we can help his children. We just have to pay attention and listen so we can be an instrument in his hands. I invite you all to stay still for a few minutes and pay attention to how you feel and see if promptings come to you for you to help someone in need. Youtube the song "Not to Far from Here." By Hilary Weeks.

 

I love you all I´m so grateful to be here. I hope I can use my time to the best of my ability and find those people that are searching for the truth. I know there are people out them: I just have to be patient enough to find them. Stay good and be Jesus champions too!!! I love you!!

 

Sister Niebergall