And another Austausch! (exchange)

Guten Tag!

I hope you all had a great week! This past week I feel like I have learned a lot. I am so grateful for the chance to be on a mission. As I have learned this week to put aside my pride and fear and just go to work, I have found so much joy. 

Sister Clark and I have officially become the "Austauschers." As Sister Training Leaders we go on three exchanges every transfer. We will be doing our last exchange for this transfer tomorrow with the Sisters in Freiburg. They are a 4 hour train ride away from us! We are meeting halfway at the Bahnhof in Karlsruhe. Karlsruhe just happens to be in the Frankfurt mission. No worries, we cleared it with President Miles. The train connections in this part of the mission just use Karlsruhe as a big transfer point, it would add a couple more hours of travel to avoid it. I am excited to work with a Sister I haven't even met before. This is her first transfer here in Germany. Hopefully I don't corrupt her too much.

This past week we did Austausch with the sisters in Pforzheim. I got to work with Sister Holmstead! This is the third Austausch I have done with her. We went to the MTC on the same day, but since I was fast tracked I came to Germany before her, but we will be going home on the same day! She is one of the best friends I have made on my mission. It was a joy and a pleasure working with her for the day. We rang A LOT of people's doorbells, and Sister Holmstead seized every opportunity to teach and bear testimony. She is a big example to me. It was also nice to relate to another missionary who is going home soon.

We continue to make slow but steady progress on visiting every member on the ward list. The ward is also trying to clean up the records and find out if people still actually live where it says they do on the ward list, so we will be reporting back on our efforts to the Branch President.  Sister Clark and I have been working lately on planning effectively, and it is amazing how many good things things we find to do.  The Lord has blessed us a lot. We have had new ideas come to us of things to try and we have been able to get in contact with some people that we weren't able to reach before. 

Yesterday a family in the branch invited us over for lunch after church. We drove home with them. There were 7 people (all of them adults or teenagers) and 5 seats in the car. It was a bit of a tight squeeze; luckily they don't live too far away. 

The weather is crazy, crazy right now. We are wearing jackets and scarves, and it is almost June! The members say that some parts of the area may be getting snow next week! Where is summer?!?

I want to say thank you for all the prayers that have been/are being said on our behalf. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your faith and for your good examples to me. 

Ich weiß, dass Gott mich liebt. Ich mache jeden Tag Fortschritt, um zurück zu ihm zu gehen. Ich weiß, dass wenn wir gehorsam sind, segnet der Herr uns mit Frieden und Freude.

(I know that God loves me. I'm working every day to go back to him. I know that when we are obedient, the Lord blesses us with peace and joy.)

Ihr seid super! Bis bald! (Your are the best! Take care!)

--Sister Stewart

Austausch (exchange) Angels

 Hello everybody!

This past week was great, we have been kept hopping with all the things we have to do. 

This week we did Austausch (exchange) with the Sisters in Stuttgart! I went to Stuttgart to work with Sister Jencks. We visited an older member who lives in a nursing home, and she gave us some bead angels she had made. A funny story: one time I was on Austausch in Graz and one of the members gave me a little angel! So this was the second time that I received an angel on Austausch. They are both sitting on my desk. As I look at them I just think about how much God loves us and how He will always send people to help us. He sends angels, from both sides of the veil, to help us to feel of his love. As Sister Jencks and I were visiting with this sister, I couldn't help but feel how much God loves her and how precious she is in His sight. 

Working in the city was weird because it was so familiar. I have spent so much of my mission in big cities that I feel so at home there. It's funny because after serving in Munich and Vienna for a while I just wanted to get out of the city, but now I miss it. Don't get me wrong, I love serving in Göppingen, but I also miss the hustle and bustle of the city and the smooth glide of the U-Bahn as opposed to the bumpy buses we take all the time here. Sister Jencks and I had a good day, we taught a less active member and we found a new investigator! The apartment in Suttgart the sister missionaries live in  has been redone (they replaced the Elders there, so there was a lot of work to do :) ) but it is a lot smaller than the apartment here in Göppingen. Stuttgart is a beautiful city, its set into some hills that are covered with trees, and everything is green now that it is spring! 

Thursday we watched the Restoration DVD with one of our investigators. No matter how many times I watch that movie, I always learn something new and feel the Spirit. That was really nice. On Saturday we were in Ulm to help the Elders with a street display. Basically we just went to downtown Ulm and talked to as many people as we could about Jesus and the Book of Mormon.  It was a long day, and we didn't see a whole lot of success, but I still feel good about it. The morning was hard, but then after lunch Sister Clark and I went down a quiet side street and prayed and from then on I felt a lot better. I know that Heavenly Father is proud of us, even when others use their agency not to listen. 

Sister Clark and I have decided that we really need to find new investigators. We are going to be focusing on that by visiting all  the members on the ward list and former investigators and then tracting around those addresses. I have found that finding works better when you have a specific place in mind to go rather than when you just show up in a neighborhood and start knocking doors. So our goal this week is to conquer the ward list! There are lots of people on there I have never heard of/seen before, so I am sure it will be an adventure! 

Ich weiß, dass wenn wir zum Himmlischen Vater beten, antwortet er uns. Er schickt uns die Frieden und Trost, die wir brauchen. Ich habe gelernt, dass ich mehr oft beten soll. Er ist immer bereit zu helfen, ich muss ihn nur bitten! Ich weiß, dass unser Himmlischer Vater uns alle liebt. Er will, dass wir zu ihm zurückkehren. 

(I know that when we pray to Heavenly Father, He answers us. He sends us the peace and comfort that we need. I've learned that I should pray more often. He is always willing to help; I just need to ask him! I know that our Heavenly Father loves us all. He wants us to return to Him.)

Ich hab euch leib! Mach's gut!

--Sister Stewart

Mission Tour and Leadership Meetings and lots of fun stuff !

Sorry if this is a little shorter than normal, we are doing P-Day in Stuttgart today! 

The highlights of our week:

·         We met with one of the members in our ward and then called on a less active who lives in the same town. We were able to go by and see her! That was awesome because we hadn't seen her since February!

·         We met with Destiny, our very favorite African! We read in the Book of Mormon with him, and he is loved it.

·         We went to Munich for the Mission Tour! Elder Teixeira from the Area Presidency came and talked with us. We stayed in the Mission Home on Thursday night and then went to Rückert Straße, the same chapel where I went to church for the first 6 months, for the meeting. It was great.

·         Sister Clark and I along with the other new Sister Training Leaders, took part in what is now called the Mission Leadership Council (formerly the Zone Leader Council). It was great!

·         We got to talk to our parents! Hooray!

 I learned a lot this past weekend, but something that really sticks out in my mind is how important our calling as missionaries really is and how important it is that we give ALL our might, mind and strength to this work. There is a lot expected of us, but that's okay because God is there to help us. As we dedicate and consecrate our lives, He will help us. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have had to learn so much on my mission and I know I will continue to learning for the next 2 and a half months. 

Ich habe euch lieb! (I love you!)

--Sister Stewart

Frühlingfest (spring festival) = very full trains

Guten Tag!

I really enjoyed this past week, even though we weren't able to actually meet with any of our investigators. But you know what, that's okay.

Monday we went to Ulm. The other people in the District weren't too excited about climbing the Munster, so we went to IKEA instead. It was lots of fun :) There's food there and everything. Then we did family home evening at our ward mission leader's house, which was pretty awesome. He and his wife are the best.

Tuesday we went back to Ulm for District Meeting.

Wednesday was a holiday in Germany. The celebrate Labor Day on the 1st of May. We went to the ward picnic and played some Uno. Then we went and visited with Schwester Hausmann, one of the new converts. Then we went from door to door for a little while.

Thursday we had to sort out lots of fun stuff involving visas and bus tickets in the morning. Then in the afternoon we went and visited Schwester Demel, one of the old ladies in our ward, and then we went from door to door for a little while.

Friday we planned! Then we went from door to door for a little while. Then we had dinner with a member.

Saturday we went to Stuttgart! We helped out with a stake youth activity about missionary work. The train on the way there was pretty full of people on their way to Frühlingfest (pretty much like Oktoberfest, except in the spring and in Stuttgart, not Munich). They had decided to get a head start on their alcohol consumption, so that was fun. Then on the way back home, the train that normally goes was broken so they put us on a little bitty train. It was packed to bursting, literally no room to move. It was a fun adventure on German trains. 

On Friday we will be going to Munich for Mission Tour! Elder Texiera from the area presidency will be coming! I am very excited, the meeting will be held at the building where I went to church for the first 6 months of my mission!

Something interesting that happened this week --- We got a call one night from an "Unknown" number. Whenever that happens, 9 times out of 10 it is President Miles calling. And whenever President Miles calls, you know your life is about to get a lot more interesting. As I looked at the phone, I wondered if this meant we would be getting another visa waiter. Sister Clark was in the bathroom. I answered:

"Hallo, hier spricht Sister Stewart"
"Hi Sister Sister, hier spricht President Miles. Wie geht's?"
"Gut, wie geht's Ihnen?"
"Mir geht's wunderbar! (he always says that) Are you two working hard?"
"Oh, you know, we try our best, President."
"That good, because that's what we need. Hey, can you put me on speaker phone so I can talk to both of you?"
"Well, Sister Clark's in the bathroom right now..."

So I talked to President for a couple minutes until Sister Clark came out of the bathroom. Then I put President on speaker phone and he said ---

"The structure of mission leadership is changing. There is a new position being created called Sister Training Leader. I would like to call you, Sister Stewart, to be the head Sister Training Leader for the Stuttgart area and you, Sister Clark, to be the assistant. Will you two accept this calling?"
"Well, sure President!"

I have no idea what this means. I do know that we will be attending the Zone Leader Council which will now be called Mission Leadership Meeting. We are also in charge of organizing exchanges for the sisters for whom we are responsible, which includes the sisters in the Stuttgart zone and the sisters in the German part of the Zürich zone. Fun times! We have our first meeting on Friday, so wish us luck!

Ich bin dankbar für die Zeit, die ich habe, auf Mission zu sein. Es ist wunderbar! Obwohl ich nicht perfekt bin, ich weiß, dass ich einfach mein Bestes geben muss.

(I am grateful for the time that I have to serve a mission. It is wonderful! Although I am not perfect, I know that I just have to the best I can.)

Ich habe euch lieb!

--Sister Stewart

Rain, rain go away

Guten Tag! 

Well, this transfer is officially over. Sister Clark and I are staying together in Göppingen for at least another 6 weeks. We have a calendar in our planners that shows the next two transfers and I was realizing as we were planning that it has the day I go home on it! Komisch (weird). 

This past week we had some good days and some not so good days. We baked cookies again. I feel like we are always baking. We brought some to one of our investigators and also to one of the recent converts. Then on Friday we met with D again! He had some really good questions about the Godhead and about what happens after we die. We talked about the Plan of Salvation pretty thoroughly with him. Unfortunately, he couldn't come to church yesterday, but he is still making good progress. 

Saturday we went to the Stake Relief Society Activity in Stuttgart and Sister Clark's wallet got stolen.   It was really sad, and it was a rainy day. Not one of the happiest days of my mission. 

It has been raining the past few days here in Göppingen. I know rain is good for the plants, but still, it's been a week straight of rain! I guess that's spring in Germany. The ward is planning a picnic for Wednesday (the first of May is a holiday in Germany) so hopefully the weather will clear up. We are going to Ulm today for P-Day, we wanted to climb the Munster (a HUGE church) but maybe we will wait for a day with better weather. 

This week I am working on putting one foot in front of the other. All we can do sometimes is just keep moving one step forward. Sometimes all the things we have to do seem overwhelming at the first glance, but as we start to walk forward, one step at a time, it becomes manageable. I'm learning a lot about the power of keeping a prayer in your heart. As I have opened my heart to Him, I have felt the peace and the strength that I need to keep moving forward. Don't get me wrong, being a missionary is awesome, but it is not always easy. Sometimes I forget that I don't have to do it alone. Then I remember that He is always there for me. 

Ich bin dankbar für meinen Himmlischen Vater und für seinen Sohn, Jesus Christus, und für den Heligen Geist. Ich bin dankbar für die Heilige Schriften. Ich bin dankbar für lebenden Propheten. Ich bin dankbar, auf Mission zu sein!

(I am thankful for my Heavenly Father and His son, Jesus Christ. I am thankful for the Holy Spirit. I am thankful for the scriptures. I am thankful for a living prophet and am grateful to be on a mission.) 

mit lieben Grüßen (Best wishes)

--Sister Stewart

Just come to church!

Hello everybody!

This past week I feel like my life has become a series of lists of things that I need to check off. But you want to know the awesome thing? Almost all of those lists are names of people that we are trying to help come closer to Christ!

One of the most exciting things---D came to church! Hooray!!! That is the first time any of our investigators have come to church since I have been in Göppingen.  It was an awesome feeling to see him walk up to the church building on Sunday morning.

This past week we had interviews with President Miles and then the three companionships of sisters in the Zone did an Austausch (Exchange). It was a minor disaster. The Sisters going to Pforzheim didn't change trains and ended up outside the mission. It took them approximately three other trains to find their way back. And their cell phone died. And the Stuttgart sisters accidentally had the key to their (Pforzheim's) apartment. Luckily nothing too terrible happened and it all sorted itself out, but I am sure we will all be laughing about it for years to come. Moral of the story: make sure you have your key and make sure you know your train connections!

The weather has gotten a little colder again this week, but nothing too terrible. We just have to make sure to bring our umbrellas with us when we leave the house.

Yesterday we had a ward potluck, which we do once a month. I brought Brownies, and they were gone in two seconds. Next time I think I will have to make a double batch.

I am really seeing the value lately of keeping a journal. I keep a journal where I write about what happens during the day and then I also keep a study journal where I write down things I learn from the scriptures, conference, district meetings, etc. I have been going back over my journals the last couple days and they help me a lot. There are experiences that I had completely forgotten about, but luckily I wrote down what happened, so I can learn from it. I am sure my mission journals will continue to help me for the rest of my life.

Ich liebe es, auf Mission zu sein. Wir müssen hart arbeiten, aber dann kann der Herr uns segnen. Ich bin dankbar für alle die Segnungen, die ich von ihm bekommen habe. Ich werde mein Bestes geben, ihm gut zu dienen, bis ich nach Hause gehe. 

(I love being on a mission. We have to work hard, but then the Lord blesses us. I am thankful for all of the blessings I have received from Him. I will do my best to serve Him until I return home.)

Tschüss! (Bye!)

--Sister Stewart

And another week bites the dust

Hello everybody! 

This past week went by so fast! I can hardly believe that it is Monday again! 

We were able to meet with R and D this past week, with members at both lessons! That was great. We made R a CD of music from General Conference (you can download it for free!). We watched the Restoration video with D; he has already read a little in the Book of Mormon and to quote him "I think I fell in love with this book" :) He didn't make it to church yesterday, but our hopes are still high for him. This week we are going to teach him about the Plan of Salvation. 

We also had lots of Zone activities this past week. Zone P-day on Monday and Zone Training on Tuesday. Want to know something funny? So I don't know who remembers, but back when I served in Munich, I had a Swiss companion named Sister Roffler who had to wait for her visa before serving her mission on Temple Square. Well, her brother got his mission call to Brazil, but also doesn't have his visa yet, so he is serving in Waiblingen, one of the others areas in the Stuttgart Zone! It was so funny, we took a picture of him to send to Sister Roffler :) 

Saturday we had a Finding Day here in Goppingen, where the Elders from our district came and we all went out together. We went to this Dorf about 15 minutes outside Göppingen. The weather was a little crazy, it would rain and then be sunny, but we saw a lot of success. Plus the German countryside is beautiful, so I can't really complain. 

The weather here in Germany has finally warmed up. In fact, it got warm really, really fast. Yesterday we wore jackets to church in the morning but then by the afternoon it was so warm we didn't even need them anymore. Today is also sunny :) It is a good change of pace. 

Yesterday we visited Schwester D in the hospital. She is an elderly member of the ward. She has trouble seeing and hearing. Recently she fell and broke her leg, so she had to get surgery and now she is in the hospital for a couple weeks. We went by and read her a story out of the Relief Society manual. Then she prayed before we left and in her prayer she said "Bless the missionaries that they can be cheerful even though it is hard sometimes." The Spirit just filled up the room and I got tears in my eyes. I have so much respect and love for her. The fact that she prayed for us to be happy touched my heart. Here she is in the hospital with a broken leg, with poor eyesight and vision (did I mention her arm is also in a cast?) and she just radiates peace. She is a perfect example of how the gospel can influence our lives and help us through hard times. 

Ich weiß, dass Gott immer da ist. Manchmal merken wir es nicht, weil wir einfach nicht zuhören. Wir müssen unser Herzen öffnen, dann werden wir die Liebe Gottes spüren. 

(I know that God is always there. Sometimes we do not notice Him because we do not listen. We must open our hearts then we will feel God’s love.)

Tschüss! Mach's gut! (Bye! Take care!)

--Sister Stewart