Get ready for a 6 week adventure!

Guten Tag! 

President Miles gave us our transfer news in a very unusual manner this transfer. Normally he calls us on the Friday morning before transfer week. But this time he announced it at our Mission Leadership Council! Want to know what happened? Sister Clark is staying in Göppingen and training! I am going to Stuttgart to serve with Sister Jencks and we will also be training a new missionary! Craziness! I never thought I would serve in an area for just 6 weeks, but that's how long I will be in Stuttgart before I head back home. We will be living in a brand new apartment and will probably be serving both the English and the German speaking wards. Luckily Sister Jencks has already been in Stuttgart for a couple months, so she will just have to lead me and our other companion around the first couple days. It should be fun! Buckle your seatbelts!

One good/bad thing about this transfer right before I go home: It is forcing me to get to pack and go through my stuff right now, as opposed to in 6 weeks. I was hoping to be able to put that off a little longer, but I guess this way maybe I won't be so stressed right at the end. Hopefully there will be enough room in my suitcases to bring home some chocolate :)

This last week was crazy. Wednesday and Thursday we were in Munich! We got into Munich a little early and were able to run and go see the Rathaus on Marienplatz, Sister Clark hadn't ever seen it before. I can hardly believe that it was a year ago that I was in Munich, it all looks so familiar. Then we had two days of meetings, luckily I snagged a place on the couch. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have had on my mission to learn from President and Sister Miles and the other missionaries serving here. Most of them are younger than me, but they know so much and have such strong faith. One of the things we talked about was about love and charity. We talked a lot about how it is easy to love our family and friends, but harder to love those we don't know or who may seem a little strange at first glance.

After we had talked about this we were on the S-Bahn platform waiting to go to the Bahnhof and Sister Clark and I started talking to a couple. She is just starting to learn German so we started off talking about that. Then we got to what we as missionaries are doing here in Germany. She shared how she went to a Catholic school where they focused a lot on how you get punished for doing bad things. I just shared my testimony that I prefer to focus on good things. I know we are all children of God, and that we all have something good in us, even if it is buried very deep down. As we were speaking we them, I could feel God's love for them and the confirmation that we are all children of God. I am so grateful for the opportunities I get everyday to share my testimony and feel of God's love.

It has still been a little rainy the past few days, but we have been getting glances of some nicer weather. I am hoping that we get to see some real summer before I go home!

Ich weiß, dass Gott unser Himmlischer Vater ist. Er will, dass wir glücklich sind. Deshalb hat er uns zu dieser Erde geschickt. Er lässt uns nicht allein. Wir dürfen immer beten und in den Schriften und den Worten der Propheten lesen, um seine Stimme zu hören.

(I know that God is our Heavenly Father. He wants us to be happy. So he sent us to this Earth. He did not leave us alone. We must always pray, read the scriptures and the words of the prophets, to hear His voice.)

Tschüss! Bis bald!

--Sister Stewart

What makes your life rich?

We survived another week in Göppingen. I can hardly believe that it is Monday again!

It is cold, cold, cold here. On June 1st we were wearing jackets and tights and the rain was coming down diagonally. No fun.

This past week we did our last Austausch for the transfer! Hooray that means we are done with Austausch for a couple weeks! It does not, however, mean we are done with trains. Tomorrow we go to Ulm for the District Meeting then on Wednesday we go to Munich for the Mission Leadership Council, then we come back on Thursday, then we have a street display in Ellwangen on Saturday, and Sunday is stake conference in Stuttgart. We will be on trains at least 4 days this week and will only be in our own area for two full days. I don't know how much money this mission spends in train tickets, but the costs must be astronomical.

I went on Austausch with Sister Peterson, who is currently serving in Freiburg. Everything with the travel plans went well, so that was a blessing. We were able to go and visit a member who is 92 years old. To get to her we basically had to climb a mountain, my calves are getting a good work out here in Göppingen. Schwester Hardtmann was 18 when World War II started. Her house got bombed in the war, her brother and her dad were both killed fighting for Germany. After the war she fled East Germany with three young children. Basically she is living history and I am so grateful for the opportunity that we had to visit with her.

This week was pretty great. I was really able to see the Lord's hand in our work this week, mostly because I was looking for it. The best example I have is Thursday. On Thursday we had no appointments scheduled, not one. So we thought and prayed a lot about what we needed to do that day and then went out and did it. We were able to make contact with a member referral and teach them so they became new investigators! And then we went out to the village where our ward mission leader lives to track down some less active members and former investigators. While there we were able to talk to a woman whose mother had recently died, give a Book of Mormon to a man who had the most beautiful flowers I have ever seen in his yard and we were interviewed by a woman for an article in her church newspaper. It was awesome! The Lord just put us in all the right places that we needed to be to help everyone out that day. 

The woman who interviewed us asked us this question "What makes your life rich?" I thought it was a pretty interesting question to think about. Right off the bat I talked about my family and my mission. As I was thinking more about it later there were a couple other things that I added to the list-

-The opportunity I have to learn new things every day, about the gospel, about myself, about the world around me

-The community of people I have gotten to know over my life, people from all walks of life and all over the world who have taught me so much

-My talents, as I develop them, I am better able to serve God and those around me

-My weaknesses, as I work to overcome them, I grow closer to God and learn so much

What makes your life rich?

Ich bin von Herzen dankbar für alles, was ich auf Mission erlebt habe. Es ist nicht immer leicht, aber jetzt weiß ich, dass ich es mit Gott schaffen kann! Er hat uns so viel Erfolg geschenkt. Ich bin gespannt zu sehen, was in den nächste Woche passiert!

(I am very grateful for all my experiences of this mission. It is not always easy, but now I know that I can do it with God!. He has given us so much success. I am excited to see what happens in the coming week!) 

Mach's gut! (Take care!)

--Sister Stewart

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