The last melon

Well, this is it, the very last e-mail home. In some ways I am so ready to come home. It's strange because I feel like I have been a missionary forever, but also it has gone by so fast. It's hard to believe all the things that have happened on my mission. God really is so good, He has blessed me so much over the past 18 months, and I know He will continue to do so.

This past week was HOT and sticky, but it was also a great week. I went on my very last Austausch. Sister Jencks and I went to Freiburg to work with Sister Peterson. I have wanted to see Freiburg my whole mission, and I got to go right at the end!  We had an action packed day. When we came back to Stuttgart we were pretty exhausted, but sleep helped with that.

We visited a less active family on Friday and baked brownies with them. The mom of the family is awesome, but her kids and husband are less interested at the moment. We did get to have dinner with most of the family all together, though, so that was awesome.

Saturday by some trick of fate we ended up with two eating appointments. That doesn't happen very often. We had lunch with a less active member of the German ward and then went to the home of one of the American families for dinner.

Oh, and today was an awesome P-Day. We went on the Army Post.  We ate Taco Bell at the food court (and I got twizzlers for the plane ride home, very important) and then we went to the Ritter Sport factory! That was pretty awesome, a very good last P-Day.

I hope you all have enjoyed my ramblings over the last 18 months, I hope that I have been able to help you in some way to feel God's love and to see how awesome missions are (even though some days it is tough). I feel that my mission is more of a blessing than a sacrifice. I have gotten to know and love so many people and have grown a lot closer to my Heavenly Father.

Ich weiß, dass Gott uns liebt. Er ist da und er liebt uns. Manchmal hier auf der Erde sehen wir nicht so genau, was Gott vorhat. Aber er hat immer einen Plan, wir müssen ihn einfach vertrauen.

(I know that God loves us. He is there and He loves us. Sometimes here on Earth, we do not see exactly what God has in store. But he always has a plan, we must simply trust him.)

Bis bald!!!! (See you soon!!!!)

--Sister Stewart

I'm not dead yet!

Hi everybody! This is my second to last weekly e-mail home on my mission, can you believe how fast the time goes by? I certainly can't!

This past week was a little on the ridiculous side, but I feel like my whole life right now is a little on the ridiculous side, so I guess it was nothing out of the ordinary. 

We did two, count them two exchanges this week! I got to work with Sister Clark and then with Sister Reid, both of whom I trained! That was a tender mercy to my soul but not very good for my body because I stayed up very late talking and catching up with former companions, oops.

This past Monday we taught S about Faith in Jesus Christ. We read with her in Ether 12, one of my favorite chapters in the Book of Mormon. She has given up coffee and has started reading the Book of Mormon from the beginning! Hooray!

Then on Tuesday we had Zone Training Meeting and afterwards I headed out to Göppingen! I worked with Sister Clark for a day and it was epic! Since things have been so hectic in Stuttgart and I feel like I don't really know much, it was nice to be back to the basics of missionary work in Göppingen and realize that I actually do know things! I know the area and the members so well in Göppingen, it was a pleasure to be there. We definitely had some adventures, including giving a Book of Mormon to a shirtless man out walking his dog (for some reason I was just full of all sorts of courage on Tuesday).

Wednesday we returned to Stuttgart, and then Thursday morning we did exchange with the sisters in Ludwigsburg, Sister Reid came to work with Sister Green and me! We had two pretty great appointments with less active members of our ward.

This past week I have been thinking back over past areas on my mission. I learned so much in each area. The only regrets I have are when I didn't take advantage of all the opportunities I had. Every time I stretched myself and did something outside of my comfort zone, I grew so much and I ended up with some pretty great stories.

We are continuing to work here in Stuttgart! Even though every day isn't full of rainbows and sunshine, life is pretty good.

I am enjoying missionary life, there are just a few things I am really looking forward to when I get home- my family, sleep, and the temple. I am also looking forward to using my mission experience as a spring board for the rest of my life.

Ich bin so dankbar, auf Mission zu sein. Ich bin dankbar für die Liebe meines Himmlischen Vaters. Ich bin dankbar für Jesus Christus. Ich bin dankbar, dass er uns hilft, die Person zu werden, die wir werden sollen.

(I am so grateful to be on a mission. I am thankful for the love of my Heavenly Father. I am thankful for Jesus Christ. I am grateful that He helps us to become the person we want to be.)

Ich habe euch lieb! Bis bald! (I love you! Later!)

--Sister Stewart

Sometimes you stop writing in your journal

Hello everybody!

I hope your last week was amazing and full of miracles! I know there are miracles around us everyday, if we just look for them.

This last week was go, go, go. I haven't had time to write in my journal for about two weeks. On Tuesday after District Meeting we did an Austausch with the sisters serving in Pforzheim. Sister Green and I went to Pforzheim to work with Sister Holman. It was a pretty amazing experience, let's just say God puts you in the place you need to be, at the exact right time that you need to be there.

We came back on Wednesday and the Pforzhaim sisters slept over at our apartment so Sister Holmstead could go to the dentist. (That was fun.) Then on Thursday Sister Jencks and I headed to Munich for Mission Leadership Council and Sister Green stayed with the Sisters in Ludwigsburg. We spent a couple days in Munich with President and Sister Miles and the other Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders in our mission. There was a barbeque for the 4th of July!  And I got to see Sister Ackerman, who I served with in Göppingen! Hooray! We learned a lot and hopefully we now will be better able to help the missionaries in our Zone learn as well.

Then when we came back and on Saturday we did a Finding Day with our District. On a Finding Day we go out all together as a District and talk to people. We invited a recent convert from the International Ward, K, to come with us, so that way we could go two by two. Divide and conquer, I had been praying really hard because I wanted K to have a good experience, because she is thinking about going on a mission. We started off the day with Sister Green and Sister Jencks working together and I went with K. During about a half hour period we were able to talk to this awesome family and give them and Book of Mormon, and then we talked to another man and gave him a book, and he gave us his contact info. Sister Green and Jencks saw the family later in the day, and they were already reading the Book of Mormon! Hooray! Then later Sister Green worked with K and together they gave away 4 Books of Mormon in about an hour! I was so glad that the day turned out successful. The weather was perfect and we were led to the people we needed to talk to.

Sunday we did double church again. Afterwards we ate tacos with an American family.

This coming week we are doing two Austausches, in order to fit them in before the transfer is over. It will be exciting because I get to go back to Göppingen and work with Sister Clark for a day!

Something I learned this week from our meeting in Munich: Make sure your mind is where your feet are. Your thoughts should be here, in the present, where your feet are. I was also thinking about how my feet are in Germany right now, so my thoughts need to be here as well. I haven't had much of a problem day dreaming about home, because we have so much to do I barely have time to breathe, let alone day dream. It's good to remember to focus on where I am right now, not on problems I may have had in the past or things that might happen in the future. Of course I need to repent from past sins and make plans to be better in the future, but I live in the present, not the past or the future! God will take care of me if I just trust him.

Ich habe euch lieb!

--Sister Stewart

Don't tell me how many Sundays I have left

Hello everybody! Oh man, I know it probably sounds like a broken record by now, but I seriously cannot believe how fast the time has gone by. I calculated how many Sundays I have left, and it's not pretty. Let's just say I can count it on one hand and still have fingers left over. I am so excited to see my family, but I feel like I just barely started to figure out how everything works here!

This past week we had the lovely opportunity to get to know more of the members in the International Ward. We are just so blessed to be able to serve here with them. Guess what Americans like to feed missionaries? Tacos! We are enjoying it!

We also were able to meet with one of the less active members from the German ward and get her excited about family history! We are going to see if we can do family home evening with her and her kids (who are also members). In our lesson Sister Green bore a really powerful testimony about family history work, and I was just so proud of her.

This week we had interviews with President Miles, my last one (well except for the day I go home). As always it was lovely to see President and Sister Miles.

One of my favorite days was Sunday; we got to see the new broadcast from the church about missionary work. I think it is spiffy. It is so well done, it really gave me great motivation to continue on with the work I have started on my mission when I get home. 

It has been rainy and cold, cold, cold. No fun.

This coming week will also be a blur, Sister Green and I are going to Pforzheim for Austausch and then Sister Jencks and I are going to Munich for Mission Leadership Council. So much to do!

Ich habe gelernt diese Woche, wie wichtig es ist, dass wir einander lieben und verzeihen. Wir sind alle Kinder Gottes, wir haben mehr gemeinsam als wir Unterschiede haben. Gott möchte, dass wir einander helfen und unterstützen.

(I have learned this week how important it is that we love and forgive each other. We are all children of God, we have more in common than we have differences. God wants us to help and support each other.)

I love you lots!

--Sister Stewart

This week it was hotter in Germany than in Africa

Hi everybody!

This last week was pretty great! We were definitely kept hopping here in Stuttgart. The weather was toasty; the Germans were telling us that apparently it was hotter in Germany than in Tunisia this past week. I can testify of that. Luckily it has cooled off a bit now.

Our apartment is really coming together, I actually have a closet now! We also have worked out all the kinks with our washing machine and have figured out how to run the dishwasher. Now we just need a vacuum.

This last week we got to meet with some of the awesome members in both the German and English speaking wards. We had dinner with an American family and they had cheddar cheese! It was amazing! We also met with a sister who is less active who lives right around the corner from the church. She is so sweet, she has two grown up kids and her daughter has a son who is almost a year old who she is helping to raise, I really hope we can help them out.

We also met with S! We watched the Joseph Smith movie with her. She has started to read the Book of Mormon all on her own! Her main concern is coffee. Literally she could talk about it for hours.  But she is willing to listen and I really think as she starts to read the Book of Mormon more, it will help bring the Spirit into her life so she can find answers to the questions that she has. She is getting so close.

This week, well really the last couple weeks, I have been praying a lot to have charity. Charity and love is one of my most favorite topics in the gospel. Really, without love, where would we be? Without God's love for us, without Christ's love for us, without our love for each other, all of it would be useless, it wouldn't make any sense. I am so grateful for my testimony of God's love for me and for the opportunity I have to develop that love for others.

Ich habe euch lieb!

--Sister Stewart

6 hours of church

Hi everybody! I hope you have had a lovely week! Do me a favor- take a minute and think of something that made you happy this week.

Got it? Feeling warm and fuzzy inside? Good.

So, I have moved 40 minutes away from little Göppingen to the bustling city of Stuttgart! We live in a brand new apartment, so new that I don't really even have a closet yet, so I'm living out of suitcases at the moment. I may not even really unpack since I'm going home in 6 weeks, GASP. The apartment is in a really cute part of town called Weilimdorf. We live a 10 minute walk from the church, so it is basically perfect.

I am serving with Sister Jencks and Sister Green. Sister Jencks came to the field about 3 months ago and Sister Green got here last week! They are both 20. Needless to say, I am feeling old, since I have been on my mission for almost 17 months and I am a whopping 22 years old. Well, I may be a dinosaur, but they can't quite get rid of me yet! So far things have been going great, serving with two other missionaries instead of just one always adds in an extra dynamic, but I think we will get along just fine.

Also, we are serving in both the German and the English speaking congregations! This means, among other things, that we go to two 3 hour blocks of church each Sunday. I am adjusting since in Göppingen we only had 2 hours of church (no Sunday school) but it should be fun. The German ward is adorable, our ward mission leader is Italian and it feels just like a cozy family. The English speaking ward is basically a military ward. Even though it technically is an international ward, 99.9% of the members are American and either in the military or work for the military. That was a little strange, it was like we were back in America for 3 hours yesterday.

We will be going on 4 exchanges this transfer, as well as going to Munich for our Leadership meeting. In case you were wondering how we are going to get everything done, don't worry, I'm asking myself that exact same question. But you know what? We just have to take it one step at a time.

This last week I have been realizing how fast time does go by and how we need to take advantage of the time that we have been given. I don't want to be super stressed about using absolutely every single second of every day (because that would be exhausting) but I am just trying to be more aware of how I spend my time. Especially because we are so busy, time really counts. I have been learning to take those little times throughout the day that I need for just me, to do something that makes me happy, for example writing in my journal or just enjoying every bit of my cereal in the morning (I really like cereal). I have also been trying to use my time efficiently so that I don't have to be stressed with last minute stuff. We will see how well that goes!

We have a couple of really cool investigators, one of whom came to church yesterday! She is American, a single mom with two kids. She became good friends with a member family in the international ward and has been coming to church on and off since December. She is awesome! She just has a couple concerns (related to the Word of Wisdom) but I think as she gains her own testimony of the gospel, those concerns won't be so bad to help her overcome.

Summer has officially arrived, took it long enough. The day we moved was very, very hot (doesn't that always seem to happen on moving days?). Today is also warm and sunny.

I Also LOVE this quote from Neal A. Maxwell-

"Though of themselves life's defining moments may seem minor, our wise responses can gradually increase our traction on the demanding path of discipleship. For instance, we can decide daily or in an instant, in seemingly little things, whether we respond with a smile instead of a scowl, or whether we give warm praise instead of exhibiting icy indifference. Each response matters in its small moment. Afterall, moments are the molecules that make up eternity, affecting not only ourselves but others, because our conduct even in seemingly small things can be contagious."

Ich bin dankbar, auf mission zu sein. Ich habe vieles gelernt und ich weiß, das ist noch mehr lernen soll, bevor ich nach hause gehe. Ich weiß, dass unser Himmlischer Vater uns liebt und uns kennt. Er lässt uns nicht allein. Niemals.

(I am grateful to be on mission. I have learned a lot and I know I am supposed to learn more before I go home. I know that our Heavenly Father loves us and knows us. He never has left us alone. Never.)

Ich hab euch lieb! Bis bald! (Love you, see you soon!)

--Sister Stewart

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