Guten tag!
This past week I have noticed the
air is really starting to feel like fall. I have dug into my suitcase to pull
out my tights and scarves that I haven't used since the winter. In a way it
feels like seeing old friends again.
Last Monday Sister Reid and I
took advantage of the sunshine and went and saw the gardens at Schönbrunn, a
beautiful baroque palace. There is a little hill you can climb up and then you
get a gorgeous view of the palace and of part of the city behind it. As I saw
all those red roofs stretched out in front of me I couldn't help but think
about how miraculous it is that I get to serve here. I am grateful to the Lord
everyday that I have the opportunity to be here.
I realized something the other
day. I have served about half my mission (my halfway mark is next month, gasp!)
and all of that time I have been in big cities, first Munich and now Vienna.
Sometimes it can be a bit intimidating in a city, because you are surrounded by
people all day, every day. But it is also an incredible blessing to get to know
the people here and to just soak up the culture. We have so many opportunities
to do cool things on P-Day, and we see other missionaries all the time, which
is a great support. So who knows what my next area will look like, but if it's
another city, I'm ready for it :)
Something cool about Vienna:
Vienna has a lot of streetcars, or trams. However, the streets of Vienna are
very narrow, so if someone doesn't park their car close enough to the curb, the
tram can't get past and is stuck. Then other traffic and possibly more trams
get stuck behind it. The tram driver will then ring their bell a lot. If the
person doesn't come in a minute or two to move their car, the fire department
comes and moves the car over a few inches so the tram can get by. I have heard
of this process but have never seen it in person. Well, last week there was a
bit of a hubbub outside our window while we were studying. I just attributed it
to normal city goings-on until Sister Reid got up to get a drink and looked out
the window. Turns out a tram got stuck right down the street from us and they
had to call the fire department to move the car. Unfortunately, we were too
late and looked out the window in time to see the fire men putting away their
equipment. Blasted newts! One of these days I will see it.
This week we met with D three
times! She is an American working at the embassy. There have been multiple
events in her life that have prepared her for gospel. She is so ready. The
members of the ward have been really supportive as we have been working with
her. She already has made some great friendships. Unfortunately, she will be
out of town on business for the next two weeks :( She will still be able to
come to church in between, so that's good.
Last week we got 3 referrals! Now
we have all these great new people to go out and contact. I am excited to see
what will happen.
A few weeks ago Sister Reid and I
talked to a man on the U-Bahn named M. He took the Book of Mormon though, and
was really interested in talking more about God. So we met with him last week.
His big question was "But how can God have a son?" His view of God is
that God is bigger than everything; that God is incomprehensible, and that
saying that God has a son is limiting him to our human view point. Thinking
about what M said caused me to delve deeper into my belief about God. Here is
what I believe: God is our Heavenly Father. I believe, like the angel Gabriel
tells Mary "für Gott ist nichts unmöglich." (“for God nothing is
impossible”) Therefore, who am I to say that God can or cannot have a son? All
things are in His power, and if I believe the Bible and the Book of Mormon
(which I do), then I KNOW that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Because God
loves us, He sent His Son. (We passed M off to the Elders, since he speaks German)
I also realized that even though
we can logical explain things to people, even though we can put together good
scripturally based arguments, ultimately it is the Spirit that does the
convincing. It is through the Holy Ghost that I have gained my testimony of God
and of Jesus Christ. When I read in the scriptures I feel that confirmation,
but without the Spirit I would not have the sure knowledge that I do.
Ich liebe es, mit den Menschen
über das Evangelium zu sprechen. Ich lade die Menschen gern ein, aber sie
müssen die Entscheidung selbst treffen, ob sie unsere Botschaft annehmen oder
nicht. Jeder hat die Entscheidungsfreiheit. Obwohl ich vielleicht nicht so viele
Taufen auf Mission sehen werde, ich kann erfolgreich sein indem ich Menschen
jeden Tag einladen, näher zu Christus zu kommen.
(I love to talk to people about
the Gospel. I issue an invitation of welcome to people, but they must make the
decision for themselves whether to accept our message or not. Everyone has
their agency. Although I may not see many baptisms in this mission, I can be
successful as I invite people every day to get closer to Christ.)
Tschüss! Bis bald!
--Sister Stewart
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