We rode bikes through Munich :)

Guten Tag!

This past week was one of the most unique I have had on my mission so far.

It started out fairly normally. We had appointments with most of the
investigators we found last week. It is always cool to see how the people
we teach are starting, step by step, to change their lives.

The second half of the week was anything but normal. Wednesday night the
sisters serving in Graz came to stay with us for the night because on
Thursday we headed to Munich together for Sisters Conference! We woke up on
Thursday morning, got ready, went down to the train station, printed out
our tickets and then went to go get on our train, except we missed it
because I read the wrong platform number---ooops. So then we had to wait an
hour for the next train, which ended up being delayed by half an hour, oh
joy. We got on that train and rode it to Salzburg, and then we transferred
trains and rode the rest of the way to Munich. Those were some of the
longest train rides of my life. Luckily, we still got there in time.
Thursday night we ate dinner with everybody and then most of us slept at
the mission home. There are 24 sisters total in the mission, so some of
them got shipped out to a hotel.

Friday was an amazing day. In the morning all the companionships shared
little lessons they had prepared so we all got to learn from each other’s
teaching styles. Then we headed out to rent bikes and go on a bike ride
through Englischer Garten, Munich's biggest park. Navigating through the
streets of downtown Munich was interesting, but once we got to the park, it
was so much fun! The weather was beautiful, sunny with a little nip in
the air. We rode around a little lake and then sat at some tables to eat
lunch. And while we were eating a Bavarian band started to play. It
felt like we were living a scene out of a movie, probably part of a
chick flick with Meg Ryan. That evening we had a discussion with
President Miles during which he (and some of the other sisters) said
some things that I really needed to hear.

Saturday morning we ended with a testimony meeting and then Sister
Reid, and I, along with Sisters Pingree and Holmstead (who are serving
in Graz) got on the loooong train ride (4 and half hours) home. Sister
Reid and I at least didn't have to transfer trains, but once we
arrived in Vienna, the Graz sisters had to get on another 2 and a half
hour train ride.

Sunday was a full day. We had three of our investigators at church!
D, who is our Polish investigator with a baptismal date, came! We
met with him after church and with the help of a Polish speaking
member we talked about repentance. D talks a lot about how he is
standing at an intersection, and he doesn't know which way to go. As
we were teaching, we bore testimony that the way to go is to follow
Christ and be baptized. We told him he needs to pray about it. He did
pray at the end of the lesson, with a little help. We are meeting with
him again tomorrow. It has been cool to see that even though he is not
all that sure right now, he is still keeping his commitments. He is
willing to try it out and see what happens.

Ich habe auf Mission gesehen, wie oft der Geist zu uns spricht und wir
es nicht merken. Ich habe begonnen zu lernen, auf diese ganz leise
Stimme zu hören. Manchmal meinen wir das Gedanken wie "Ich soll diese
Person anrufen" unsere eigene Gedanken sind, aber sie sind oft die
Flüstern des Geistes. Man muss sehr aufmerksam sein, um sie wahr
zu nehmen. Ich habe Wunder erlebt, wenn ich diese Eingebungen gefolgt
habe. Ich lade euch alle ein, aufmerksamer und empfänglicher für den
Geist zu sein. Ich kann versprechen, ihr werdet auch Wunder sehen!

(I have learned on this mission that often the Spirit speaks to us and we do not notice it. I have begun to learn to hear this quiet voice. Sometimes we think thoughts like “I want to call on this person”, are our own thoughts, but they are often whisperings of the Spirit. One has to be very attentive to recognize it. I have seen miracles when I followed these promptings. I invite all of you to be attentive and receptive to the Spirit. I can promise that you will see a miracle.)

Ich habe euch lieb!
--Sister Stewart