This next Transfer.......... - Apr 23, 2012

Hello Family!

I will tell you where I´ll be serving, because I´m sure you´re dying to know. I will be staying here in Rostock so there is no change. This transfer really really flew by. I was totally shocked, I really thought I´d leave, but it looks like the Lord needs me here and looks like I´ll be here for Svetlana´s baptism!

Yes, we did get to invite Svetlana to baptism last Monday. It was a really neat and spiritual expierece. She got to the appointment and she was totally in a huff and very freaked out. (She has a lot of family problems). When I saw her walk in I thought "Ohhhhh noooooo!!" Because we had a very special lesson planned and she would need to be open to feeling the spirit or else it wouldn´t mean anything. Luckily the Elders were at the church too, they were heading out and I said "Wait! I´m going to ask Svetlana if she wants a blessing. Will you stay here for a second?" So I asked her if she wanted a blessing and she did. The Elders gave her a blessing and it filled the room with the spirit. I´m so grateful for the power of the priesthood and that we can call the power of Heaven down to earth within a matter of seconds. It´s one of the greatest gifts on earth. Anyway, after her blessing we started into the lesson and we talked about how everyone has the capability to feel the influence of the Holy Ghost and that the Holy Ghost leads us and helps us feel which direction we need to go. But after we´re baptized by the proper authority we can always have this connection to God and we can always feel this spirit´s influence. We asked her if that´s something she´d want and she said yes and was crying and she knows she needs this influence in her life. After the lesson she was beaming and so happy. We had a service project at the zoo on Saturday and she showed up there and she came to church on Sunday too and she was telling all the members that she´s going to get baptized. That is such a good sign. We´re so excited for her! We know this gospel can change her life! She´ll be baptized the 27th of May. We can´t wait.

The weather is pretty warm, but rainy. It´s been really fun though, we´ve been singing and dancing in the rain. We don´t ride bikes here in Rostock so it hasn´t been a problem staying dry. We travel by Bahn (tram type thing) and bus so we don´t really have to wear rain gear.

So I still don´t have a jacket. My companion got pick pocketed in Berlin this week and we´re both scraping our mission fund money. So if you see some money going out of my account it´s because we have absolutely nothing. I think we can get it refunded too though, so don´t worry. I´ve spent 85 € in personal money so far (35€ of that is money I got from Grandma and Grandpa for Christmas) but we are pinching our pennies so I just thought I´d let you know that if more money goes out of that account, that´s why. We also have to go to Berlin this weekend because some new converts are getting their patriarchal blessing and there are only 2 patriarchs nearby. One in Berlin and one in Hamburg so they are both about 3 hour train rides away. That also means our e-mails will probably come a little late. Just so you´re aware.

The Serbian family is doing great. We were there this week and it was crazy, our zone leaders sent us the Serbian pamphlets and we got them literally as we were walking out the door to go meet with them. So they were able to read along and it was able to explain the Apostasy and loss of priesthood and stuff in the language they could understand. Nikolai still kind of thinks we worship Joseph Smith, so luckily we have a Sister in our ward from Serbia and she is going to come with us and translate. Except she got baptized in Germany so she doesn´t know Serbian gospel language. (They have 2 BoMs in Serbian) But she will hopefuly be able to clear up some questions and bear good testimony. Nikolai had read to 1 Nephi 3 (which is more than most new investigators read in 4 days) and he said this family is just like his family, leaving their land and all their things behind. He also said to us that he prayed for 2 days for this book. We´re not exactly sure what he means, but that made us excited. We didn´t commit them to baptism yet, but we´re excited to do so eventually. It might take a little longer than expected because of the language barrier, but that´s okay. Thank you soooooooooo much for your prayers. We really can feel them. We have our next appointment with them Wednesday so if you can really pray hard for us Tuesday night (because you´ll be sleeping when we have that appointment) that would really be great. I always get nervous when I go to their house because I have really high expectations from them and I don´t want to be disappointed. We only visit them once a week because it takes about 30-45 minutes to get out there. We wish we could visit with them more than that because I think they might progress faster. Oh well, we´ll work with what we have. I know what you mean dad, that we begin to love these people so much and want what´s best for them. I definitely feel that way, especially with them and Svetlana.

I think something that might help if you write me letters to Rostock (which you probably won´t trust to do anymore) is if you write Kirche Jesu Christi on it so they know which mailbox to put it in. Sometimes I still get the mail anyway without Kirche Jesu Christi on it, but I think some mail people don´t get it that the missionaries live in that apartment. I also need to put my name on the mailbox. I hope they have a collection of letters that they´re just waiting to give me once I put my name on the mailbox.

There are 200 something missionaries in this misison.

HelloMrs/sister Niebergall :D this is sister noyes. Your daughter had to go to the bathroom and left me alone with her computer. Big mistake. BWAHAHAHA actually I just wanted to tell you your daughter is awesome and I love her to death.She is an awesome missionary who really puts her heart and soul into her work. You should be very proud of her. i may or may not encourage her turtle collecting too so I'm sorry if she comes home with more turtles than clothes. ACK! got to go

Sister Noyes

Thank you Sister Noyes. Haha. She´s funny. Anyway, we have 200 something missionaries in the mission and it´s growing this transfer, we have 14 new missionaries coming in and quite a few leaving so maybe it isn´t growing, but it is the largest group of missionaries in Europe. It´s really crazy about President Pimintel, you asked if he´s Bishop or Stake President close. Well, I´d say he´s like dad-close. I feel like he´s my dad while I´m away. I don´t know how he does it with as many missionaries as he has, but he remembers everything I tell him, he asks how Jeff is doing in Texas, remembers my concerns, answers my e-mails. When you have interviews with him, it´s crazy because you really feel like he´s only thinking about you and your concerns and stuff. He´s an amazing man. He only has 2 more transfers, its sad. We have our last interview with him this transfer. It´s crazy.

 Heather and I have been e-mailing back and forth too and she told me she finally popped the little sucker out. I didn´t realize it was the same day as Mark´s birthday. (You still need to send me people´s birthdays please because I really wanted to send something to Mark but I missed it :(

That´s crazy that I´m the next missionary to come home after Nate Schofield. It flies by, I almost can´t handle it. I seriously want to cry every night knowing that one more day of my mission is gone. I love being here so much and I love serving the people here in Germany. I wish I could do it forever. Being a missionary is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I have 3 hours to study and become more acquainted with my Savior. I get to look up scriptures that I think would benefit the people I teach or the people that I am around a lot whether its members or missionaries or whatever. I know that this church is true and it´s the only way to really come back to our Heavenly Father. It´s a hard path, but if we just hold on to what we know is right and trust the Lord, we will be able to one day be with Him again, and that is a day that I look forward to and I hope I´ll be in good standing with Him. I love my Savior. I love you all!

Love, Sister Niebergall