The week of two journal entries

I don't even know where to start the past week was so crazy. 

First off an embarrassing/hilarious story---since we can work all over Munich, sometimes we end up across town from our apartment. That was the case last week. We had a dinner/lesson appointment with one of the sisters who doesn't live in our ward. We had a great time and left her house in plenty of time to get home before 9:00. To get home, we had to ride the Bus, to the U-Bahn, to the S-Bahn. We made all of our connections and were so proud of ourselves. However, when we arrived on our doorstep, we realized that we did not have our keys. This is a problem because right now there is only one set of keys for our apartment. Luckily, we called the sister we had dinner with and she found them in her apartment. Unfortunately, we couldn't go all the way back across town to get them from her. So we had to find somewhere to sleep. We ended up going to the mission home, which is fairly close and easy to get to from our house. It was actually really funny. We slept in the basement and then the next morning had breakfast with President and Sister Miles. Pres Miles said "You should come every Tuesday!" Needless to say, we will be making a copy of our key ASAP.

This past week Heavenly Father has blessed us a lot. Since it has gotten warmer, people are a lot more willing to talk to us. In our mission, we have a goal that every companionship should give out one Book of Mormon every day. This goal was really hard to meet in the winter. Our Zone Leaders have encouraged us to always have a Book of Mormon in our hands and to have one more in our backpacks, so all companionships should have four Book of Mormons at all times. I am very thankful that Heavenly Father inspired our Zone Leaders to gives us that counsel and that Sister Pingree and I have been trying to follow it, because lots of days in the past week, Sister Pingree and I have been able to give away one, if not two or three Book of Mormons each day! It has been an incredible week. I know that the Lord is preparing the hearts of these people, we just need to find them.

I picked up my residence permit this past week! I officially can stay in Germany until August 2013. Switzerland and Austria are another issue, if I get transferred there, I'll have to get another visa. Fun stuff.

On Saturday we helped at the "mini MTC." The stake put together a mini MTC for the youth to help them do missionary work. Sister Pingree and I helped them practice how to invite their friends to church. It was really fun to be there, but I had forgotten how hectic activities with teenagers can be. At one point it started hailing outside (March can't make up its mind). We were in the cultural hall where there are these HUGE windows, and one of the kids just hopped up on  the window. oh well.

I realized I haven't described a lot of what daily life looks like in Germany. I'll try to do a better job of that. First I'll describe some things that are different about our apartment. In Germany, there is no central air conditioning/heat. There are individual heaters in each room that you can turn on and adjust. And there is no air conditioning. In the summer they just open up the windows. I find it odd that the windows don't have screens on them, but maybe that's just because I come from Virginia, where if we didn't have screens on our windows, the house would be full of all sorts of interesting bugs. In Germany washers are a LOT smaller. And we don't have a dryer, so we hang everything out to dry, even socks (I am of the firm opinion that socks should go in the dryer, but I guess the Germans don't think it's a big deal). Refrigerators are smaller. Basically lots of household appliances are smaller than their American counterparts. There are some things I miss about America, but I am definitely starting to appreciate that there are some things I can live without (however, I will be very excited for the day when I can put my socks in the dryer).

Ich liebe euch!

-Sister Stewart

Last P-Day of my 1st Transfer!

Hallo!

It is transfer week! (Every six weeks missionaries get sent all different places, you never know what will happen.) Sister Pingree and I will be staying together for the next transfer, as will Elder Seidl and Elder Clark. We will be getting a new district leader and one of the areas in our district will be white washing AND training (just like Sister Pingree and I had to).

This past week has been pretty great because the sun has been shining nearly every day. Wednesday was one of my favorite days. There is an investigator (well, really the ONLY investigator) in our ward that the Elders are teaching named Sister M. She is just one of the sweetest people I have ever met. On Sunday, Sister Pingree had asked her if there was anything we could do to help her and she said we could maybe come and help her clean because she is starting a new job and is really stressed about it. We said of course we'd love to do that. Then she called us on Monday with an idea. We (Sister Pingree and I) would come over to her house on Wednesday afternoon and help her clean and then cook a dinner for her family and for the Elders who were coming for a teaching appointment. So that is exactly what we did! I cleaned the living room and vacuumed while Sister Pingree helped wash dishes. Then we all cooked together. It ended up being 8 of us all crowded around the M's tiny table (Sister Pingree and I, Sister M, the two M boys, the Elders, and a member the Elders brought to teach with them). It was so fun just to spend the afternoon helping her out. I wish I could have taken a picture of Elder Seidl and Elder Clark (who are both about 6'3") sitting on the M's couch with J (who is 12 and pretty small) squeezed between them.

Thursday Sister Pingree and I were on the UBahn. The car was pretty empty. All of a sudden, the train pulls up to a stop and this whole group of Lederhosen clad men gets on the train. They sat down all around us. Apparently they are a dancing group from Austria. Es war komisch. (It was very strange.)

Saturday was Sister Pingree's birthday! We wore our Dirndls to the Stake Relief Society party. It was really fun.

Sunday Sister H (the Chinese new convert in our ward) cooked dinner for the young adults. She (and some of her friends) made LOTS of dumplings. Sister Pingree and I helped (although mine did not look nearly as good as those made by the Chinese). They were quite delicious. Who knew I'd come to Germany and be making Chinese dumplings?

This past week I have realized how it important it is for me to personally take responsibility for my mission. Yes, the Lord can work miracles through me, but only if I am willing to let Him work. I need to become the type of missionary he wants me to be. This past week we had a training session where President and Sister Miles talked about faith and obedience. I hadn't really made the connection before that obedience is an act of faith. As we are exactly obedient, we exercise our faith and then the Lord can work miracles through us. Sister Pingree and I have made it a goal to obey ALL the mission rules with exactness. I know the Lord will bless us as we strive to follow our leaders. Just like the Stripling Warriors- Alma 57:12

Diese Woche habe ich einen Teil von der Einleitung zum Buch Mormon auswendig gelernt. Es sagt "Später wurde die Platten Joseph Smith übergeben, der sie durch die Gabe und Macht Gottes übersetzte." Ich bezeuge, dass Joseph Smith ein Prophet war, und dass er tatsächlich Das Buch Mormon für uns übersetzt hat. Deswegen bin ich hier in Deutschland, um andere zu helfen, diese Erkenntnis zu bekommen.

(This week I have memorized a part of the introduction of the Book of Mormon. It goes: “In due course the plates were delivered to Joseph Smith, who translated them by the gift and power of God.” I testify that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that he truly translated the Book of Mormon for us. That is why I am here in Germany, to help others come to the same knowledge.)

You all are amazing, thank you for all your prayers and support!

-Schwester Schtewart

Ritter Sport turns 100!

Oh my word, so much to say and so little time to say it in. Today was a crazy P-day. We bought Dirndls today!! woohoo! Pictures to come :)

I'm so excited to hear that Rhiannon has arrived!!! Congrats Charles and Jessie, she's beautiful!

So first off, Ritter Sport is having their 100th anniversary this year. This means that there are huge ads for Ritter Sport in the Hauptbahnhof (Central Train Station), which we walk through nearly every day. Man it has been tough.

This past Sunday in Church was an interesting one. There was a woman there named Precious, who is from Zimbabwe and is working as an au pair here in Germany. Since she speaks very little German, I translated Relief Society for her. Then, as we were going from Relief Society to Sunday School (church here is backwards from how it normally is in the States) another unfamiliar woman walked in the door. Her name is Susanna and she is an American soldier on leave from Afghanistan for two weeks. She doesn't speak German, so I translated Sunday School and Sacrament meeting for her. Needless to say, my translating brain was dead by the end of church. I'm so glad Precious and Susanna found us though. They both are relatively new converts and I know that when you're in a new place it can be hard to find church and/or go all by yourself. I'm just grateful my German is good enough that I can roughly translate for them!

As Elder Stewart was saying in his last e-mail, one of my favorite things to do on my mission is to tell the story of the First Vision to investigators. It has only been since I've really had to learn the words and recite them to others that I have gained a testimony that Joseph Smith really did see God the Father and Jesus Christ that day. And really, once I knew that, everything else fell into place.

As we were teaching one of the new converts the other day, I had a realization. We asked her the question "Why has God commanded us to love other people and to show it?" (Sorry for the awkward phrasing, it made more sense in German). As she considered her answer, I suddenly had a thought. And it was this---God loves everyone. We are supposed to become like God. Therefore, it is essential that we love everyone around us because it helps us to become more like God. The commandment to love others is not just another commandment. It is absolutely essential to our eternal progression. We have to show and tell others of our love for them because as we do this, we become instruments in the hands of the Lord for those around us to feel His love. We can be the means through which Heavenly Father's children can feel of his love. Sometimes it's not easy to love others, but luckily God can help us with that (Moroni 7:48).

The other day as we were walking down the street some men who were standing on the side walk called after us "Tatsächliche Schönheit!" (Good Looking!) yup, we are, thanks.

Here's another funny story that requires a little bit of background---Sister Pingree and I serve in the same ward as our Zone Leaders, Elder Seidl and Elder Clark. We have taken to hiding little notes and baked goods in their backpacks as little tokens of our appreciation. So the other day Elder Clark asked us "What do Sisters eat?" We replied "Uhhh, normal food? Soup, salad, sandwiches, stuff like that" Then Elder Seidl said "Really? You eat sandwiches?" Apparently the Elders didn't think that Sisters are normal people too. So the funny part is that the other day when I got home and looked in my backpack, there were some paper bags with Disney Princesses printed on them and a note in Elder Seidl's handwriting that said "For your sandwiches" That alone made my day.

Ich bin so dankbar für die Zeit, die ich habe, jeden Tag in den Schriften zu lesen. Ich habe so viel gelernt und ich weiß, dass ich viel mehr lernen muss! Wenn ich mich wirklich auf den Worten Gottes konzentieren, spüre ich den Geist mehr in meinem Leben. Ich ermahne euch, die Schriften jeden Tag zu lesen!

(I am so thankful for the time I have every day to read the scriptures. I have learned so much and have much more to learn. When I concentrate on the word of God I really feel the Spirit in my life. I encourage you to read the scriptures every day!)

Alles Gute!

-Sister Stewart

p.s. I am sorry for the scattered nature of this e-mail. I sit down to write and my brain goes fifty different directions at once.

A convert from Australia and a Döner

Servus!  (Hi!)

Munich is starting to experience spring! It is so exciting! I can finally see streets and sidewalks that I didn't even know existed when I first got here, there was so much snow.

Funny story: last P-day I showed Sister Pingree the Rathaus in Munich (Google it if you don't know what it looks like, it's pretty cool). It is the main tourist attraction in town, and we've been here for a month and Sister Pingree hadn't seen it yet! Now she has "seen" Munich. It's funny how your priorities are so different as a missionary. I've been to Munich a couple times before, but I can honestly say that until this past month I hadn't really "seen" the people here. Now I know and love the people of Munich much more than the beautiful buildings (although the buildings are still cool to look at).

This past week we got the opportunity to meet with a new convert, Tami. We met Tami right after Stake Conference last week. After the meeting was over we went out to go catch the bus. She came running after us and said "Are you Sister Missionaries? I'm so glad I found you! I just got here from Australia!" Tami's story is pretty amazing. She just got back from Australia where she lived for over a year. For part of that time she lived in Perth with an LDS family who she went to church with. A few months later she moved to Broom. The family from Perth gave her number to the missionaries in Perth, who sent it to the missionaries in Broom, who found Tami and taught her and baptized her! We met with Tami and her friend Sara, who is not a member. We taught about the Plan of Salvation. Sara is pretty skeptical, but I think she can see how the gospel has positively affected Tami's life. If I have learned anything so far on my mission, it is that one person can have a big influence for good.

This week I finally had a Döner! (Google it, it's like a Gyro) We went out to get them with one of the less-actives in the ward. We ate them as we walked along the river. Best. Lunch. Ever.

I feel like all I do in these e-mails is write stories about the people I meet and teach, but really, that is such a huge chunk of what occupies my thoughts. On Saturday we taught a woman named Jazna. She was a former investigator whose record we found in our area book. We went by a couple weeks ago. She didn't let us in, but we gave her a card and told her to call us (which people never do). But then something amazing happened: she called us! We set an appointment with her and went over. She has very strong faith in Jesus Christ and a strong relationship with God. We taught her about the Restoration and the Book of Mormon. She wouldn't take a Book of Mormon, but we were able to set an appointment with her to give her a tour of the Church (setting firm appointments is key!). Unfortunately, something came up and she couldn't come. We will keep her in our prayers and try to make another appointment.

And now for some funny Denglish phrases (Deutsch+English mixed together). These are some of the things that Sister Pingree and I say, which will probably only be funny if you speak German, sorry-

"Let's go by on them"= "Let's drop by", in German the verb is "vorbeigehen" or literally "go by"

"Both our appointments fell out"="Both of our appointments were cancelled", in German you say "ausfallen"="fall out" for cancelled

"We can call them underway"="We can call them on the way there", in German you say "unterwegs"=literally "under way"

Ich bin so froh, hier in Deutschland zu sein. Diese Woche habe ich gelernt, wie wichtig es ist, geduldig zu sein. Ich muss geduldig mit mir selbst und mit anderen sein. Ich muss mich auf den Herrn verlassen. Alles wird in seiner Zeit und Weise passieren.

(I am so happy to be here in Germany. This week I learned how important it is to be patient. I must be patient with myself and with others. I have to rely on the Lord. Everything will happen in his time and way.)

Ich habe euch lieb! (I love you!)

Matt 5:14-16

-Sister Stewart

All of Munich!

Hello family, friends, and acquaintances! 

I hope everyone's week has gone well and that winter hasn't been too crazy. This week I finally started wearing shoes other than my boots. My legs feel so free!

First off for the most exciting piece of news-- Sister Pingree and I have been given permission to work not just with our ward, but with all the wards in Munich! There are four wards here, and we will help with teaching female investigators, visiting female less actives, and in any other way we can. We are the only Sister Missionaries in the Munich Stake, so we will be an important resource for the other missionaries and members. We are so excited to be so busy! The wards here can really benefit from the help of Sister Missionaries. There are some things Elders just can't do (sorry, Elder Stewart, its true). We have been unleashed from our area and can travel all over Munich to help the members here. Hooray!

Another interesting side note that I keep forgetting to mention- Our mission will soon extend into Italy! There is a part of Italy just across the border with Austria called Südtirol (South Tyrol) that is primarily German speaking. When the mission borders changed, the area became part of Italy and the German speaking members were forced to go to an Italian speaking ward. Many of them chose not to do that and have lost contact with the Church. Our mission is sending a senior couple there to start an LDS German Speaking Group with the 5 members that we know are there (there use to be about 50 before the borders changed). President Miles wants to send proselyting German speaking missionaries to the area soon. So our mission will cover 5 countries- Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein and Italy! How cool is that?

This past week we had appointments with some of the less active sisters in our ward. We shared the talk by President Uchtdorf : "Sie sind dem Herrn wichtig." (You are known by the Lord) It talks all about how God never forgets us and that each one of us is important to him. Sometimes it blows my mind that I, am unimportant little human, am known and loved by the creator of the universe. I know He knows and loves each one of us, because we are His children. He wants us to return and live with Him, and I know He has provided the way for each of us to do that.

One cool thing about being in a big city like Munich is how international it is. Sister Pingree and I keep running into people who don't speak German! We have met people from Spain, Turkey, Brazil and various other places. We have started carrying an English Book of Mormon in addition to the German ones.

Yesterday we had Stake Conference. It was a broadcast from Salt Lake for all of the Stakes in Germany. We got to hear from Elder Nelson and President Eyring! It was weird for me to listen to talks from Apostles dubbed into German, but I did manage to get some good notes down. One thing really impressed me from Elder Nelson's talk, he talked about how God sees us not how we are right now, but as we can become. He then talked to parents about helping their children become the people that God wants them to be. I took that counsel and applied it to my situation as a missionary and asked myself "Am I helping my investigators/less active members/my companion become the people God wants them to be?" I know that one of my purposes as a missionary is to help others come unto Christ. Sometimes I get caught up in all the little details, but yesterday I realized that the most important thing I need to be doing is helping EVERYONE around me become a better person. Well, Heavenly Father must think I'm up to the task or He wouldn't have called me here, so I'll do my best!

Ich weiß, dass ich eine sehr wichtige Aufgabe habe. Ich hoffe, dass ich Glauben an den Herrn entwickeln kann. Nur durch ihn kann es dieses Werk schaffen. Ich bin so dankbar, für alle die Missionare, die hier dienen und die überall in der Welt dienen. Zusammen werden wir es schaffen!

(I know that I have a very important work. I hope I can develop faith in the Lord. I can only do this work through Him. I am very grateful for all the missionaries serving here and throughout the world. Together we can do it!)

Alles Gute,

Sister Stewart

Meghan- Thanks for the e-mail! Visits from friends aren't really allowed, sorry. Hopefully one day we will get to do a grand European tour together!

Elder Stewart- Keep up the good work!

Durch den Herrn ist alles möglich (Through the Lord everything is possible)

Guten Tag!

I can hardly believe I've already been here in Germany for over two weeks! After the first few days, the time has started to go by a lot quicker.

One of the coolest things we get to do in this area is work with the young single adults. There is an outreach center here where they have Family Home Evening, Institute, and other activities. We've been able to help out a lot with that. There are some awesome young adults here and I have really enjoyed getting to know them. They come from all over the world and have such strong testimonies. At Institute last week, we talked about David and Goliath. One of the things that the teacher pointed out was that David prepared 5 stones, but then only used one to kill Goliath. The lesson I took away from that is we need to prepare as much as possible for whatever might come our way. I have learned as a missionary that when I am well prepared, I am better able to carry out the tasks that are expected of me. I may need to study more scriptures than I think I'll need for a lesson, and then when I'm teaching the Spirit will tell me which one will be best. I have to build up the spiritual reservoirs for the spirit to draw on.

One of the first days in our apartment when we were leaving we met our downstairs neighbor, Frau Brandl in the stairway. She is very nice. She asked us what we do and a little bit about the church. We told her we were missionaries who teach people about Jesus Christ. She said "Sure, feel free to come by sometime." So we did! We baked her some cookies and took her a Book of Mormon and taught her most of the first lesson. When we asked her if she prays, she said “No she doesn't really pray like they do in the Catholic Church, but that she just talks to God.” That's exactly what prayer is, talking to God! She is so prepared for this message. She is Catholic but has problems accepting some of the things the Catholic Church has done in the past. When we explained about the Book of Mormon, she said "So I need to read it. I'll find a time when I'm not distracted to read it." I don't think a missionary could ask for a better answer from an investigator than that. We couldn't get her to commit to making a return appointment, but we live right above her, so I think we'll be able to sufficiently bug her :)

On Thursday evening, we went to a Zumba class that they have at the outreach center (don't worry; we got permission from the Mission President!). The reason we went was to meet a friend of one of the young adults who goes to the class. We met a lot of really great young women, and hopefully we'll be able to invite them to church this week! (We ran out of time last week- we live kind of far away and we had to run to catch the S-Bahn).

On Sunday I translated Sunday School and Sacrament meeting for a new convert, Hui. Hui is a Student from China who speaks pretty good English and is learning German. She got baptized in January. Translating is hard work! Sometimes German words would slip into my English, or my English sentences wouldn't make a lot of sense. Thankfully Hui got most of what I was saying.

Ich habe gelernt diese Woche, dass ich dieses Werk nur durch den Herrn machen kann. Er weißt, wer bereit ist. Er kann durch mich wirken, um Leute näher zu ihm zu bringen. Ich bin so dankbar für die Gelegenheit, die ich habe, den Herrn zu dienen.

(I have learned this week that this work (missionary work) can only be done with the Lord. He knows who is ready. He can work through me to bring others closer to Him. I am so thankful for the opportunity to serve the Lord.)

Ich liebe euch! (I love you!)

Sister Stewart

Maddy- E-mail me your home address and whatever mission addresses you have, please!

Herzlichen Grüßen aus München! (Warmest Regards from Munich!)

Servus! (Hi!)

I have successfully made it to Germany. To get here we flew from Salt Lake to Atlanta, and then Atlanta to Munich. The flight was looooong. I probably only slept about 3 hours on the plane. When we landed in Germany, it was about 8 in the morning. The very first thing they do is hand you a Book of Mormon and tell you to go place it. I talked to a couple people on the train. They were very nice, but not so interested. At least I talked to somebody!

When we arrived at the mission office, the Assistants to the President had lots of training for us. We were only allowed to take a 20 minute power nap. They used to let the missionaries sleep for three hours when they first got here, but they decided to try something new this transfer. So I went about....30 hours without sleeping. Fun times. I did sleep very, very well my first night in the mission home.

My mission president is President Miles. He interviewed all of the missionaries who arrived on our first day. As I was talking with him, I felt the Spirit confirm to me that he is called of God to lead this mission. I know as I follow his counsel, I will be blessed.

After all our training, they took us to the mission home and we got to meet our trainers and find out where we would be serving. My first area is the München 3 Ward and Sister Pingree is my trainer! There haven't been sisters in this area for a long time, so Sister Pingree and I get the fun task of "white-washing" which basically means starting from scratch. I think I am serving in an area where Kevin Göhring served, his name is in our area book, so that's pretty cool.

We got in our apartment on Wednesday (after forgetting the keys and having the Assistants bring them to us-whoops). The apartment is VERY nice. It is a little bit out of the way, but Munich has a great public transportation system that we've been getting ourselves familiar with.

The first thing I noticed when I landed in Munich is that it is COLD. There is snow frozen onto the streets everywhere. I am very thankful for my boots and my black poofy coat. They have done a very good job of keeping me toasty.

On Sunday we got to meet the ward. There are some amazing members here. Sister Pingree and I introduced ourselves and bore our testimonies. In sacrament meeting one of the speakers was talking about the parable of the talents (in Matt 25). What he was saying really hit home for me, especially when he then read in D&C 60:2-3,13. The Lord has given me this amazing message to share with other people. It is my task to have courage and open my mouth to share it with others.

One thing that makes it easier for me to talk to people is that I already speak German. I have gotten compliments from lots of people on my German. The only reason it is so good is that I have been studying it for over 10 years! I hope that as I spend more time in Germany, I will be able to improve my German even more.

I am so grateful to be here serving in Germany. I know the Lord will help me as I seek to find His elect and invite them to hear His voice and come unto Him.

You can always write me at the mission office address, but here is my most recent address. NOTE: Be sure to include the "Kirche Jesu Christi" otherwise, they won't deliver it to me! Send packages to the mission office address

Kirche Jesu Christi HLT
Sister JeanMarie Stewart
Francestr. 6
80997 München
Germany

I love you all, thank you for all the support you give me!! You can e-mail me and I'll read it on Mondays. Include your address if you want me to write you back! Time is limited, but I'll try to write to as many as I can.

Ich weiß, dass ich ein Himmlische Vater habe, der mich liebt. Er wird mich in dieser Arbeit helfen und segnen, wenn ich seine Gebote halte. Ich bin so froh, hier in Deutschland zu sein.

(I know that I have a Heavenly Father. I know he loves me. He will aid me in this work and bless me when I keep His commandments. I am so happy to be here in Germany.)

mit herzlichen Grüßen, (Warmest regards,)
Sister Stewart

Caramellas- thank you so much for the cupcakes in the MTC! I shared them with my district and they loved them!

Aimee- thank you for the cookies and bread! They were amazing!

Translations by her father based on College German, the mistakes are his.