Hello!! Another week down, another new crazy experience! I survived my first week in Eisenhüttenstadt! With every new area, it seems that life completely changes. Life in Eisenhüttenstadt has been different but great!
Well I will start with explaining the area I am now in. We basically have two small towns we are in charge of. We live in one of the two called Frankfurt Oder, but our church is in the other which is of course Eisenhüttenstadt. We are in both nearly every day, which is challenging with travel time. The cities are about 50 minuites away from each other by bus and 25 minutes by train. Both towns are TINY. Haha I realized that I have never in my life spent more than a week in a place that wasn't a city.......well that's about to change isn't it!!
Our living situation is also a tad tricky. My bed as well as my desk is currently our couch! Our apartment is not made for 3 sisters and nobody seemed to care -ha. So that will be interesting to be living out of a suitcase for the next 4 weeks. This transfer is only 5 weeks and I have been told there is a small chance that I will actually stay in Eissenhüttenstadt. I am just here to help our the sisters that are here and currently struggling.
Which brings me to the next item of bidness, my companions! There is weird food in the refrigerator again, which means I am back to having a native companion.....2 of them! ;) They are awesome though. Sister Müller and Sister Schneider both come from Switzerland. They are both older than me in both age wise and mission time wise. Both of their English is insanely good, so no real miscommunication here. It has definitely been an adjustment figuring out how to work effectively with an odd number, but we are trying our best.
This past week here has been pretty crazy. We have had to go back and forth to Berlin a few times. Berlin is about 2 hours away, so it has definitely eaten a lot of time. However, they were for good reasons. We went there for our weekly District meeting, institute, and last but not least Golden finding!! Golden Finding is the first night that new missionaries arrive we take them out and hit the streets talking to people! I still remember how terrified I was my very first few hours of being in Germany and having to go out and try and talk to people! I remember that night so clearly. And I got the joy to be apart of this night with the new sisters that came in this past week! I was assigned Sister Clark for the evening. She is such a cutie that hails from Ohio! She graduated from BYU and is hilarious. She is going to be an amazing sister! We were able to make out more appointments than anyone else there that night.....boo yeah! I love Berlin too much.
This week has also been filled with service projects and getting to know all the members and investigators here. There isn't a ton of work going on in this area right now, but the people they do have are awesome! I hope that we can really put our experience to use in this companionship and bring some fire to this program.
Sunday was awesome. Its always a little unnerving coming into a new ward. Especially because my German isn't very good. However, the branch although it may be small, is sooo awesome! Holy Cow! The members are so dedicated! That was something that was the struggle in my last area, and to see the difference makes me so excited to be able to get to know this people.
Spiritual Thought: On one occasion an inquiring lawyer came to the Savior and asked, “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?” The Savior responded, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” This made me ask myself....so how can we show our love to God?
We demonstrate our love by how well we serve our God. There is a spirit in serving God. This is the spirit of putting Him first in our lives. Though we may not necessarily forfeit our lives in service to our God, we can certainly demonstrate our love for Him by how well we serve Him. When we serve our God, when we love Him, He knows it, and He will take us by the hand and give us answers to our prayers.
Thanks for all the love and support! I miss you all like crazy! KEEP THE FAITH
Sister Linford
Kirche Jesu Christi
Sister Jessica Linford
Heilbornring 11
15234 Frankfurt Oder
Germany
Monday, February 18, 2013
Monday, February 11, 2013
Down Sizing
Hello Hello!
I hope everyone had a fantastic week! This week was a big one with Transfer calls. Going into it, I was fairly certain I would be transferred. However, there is never a certainty to this bidness. Well the phone call rolls around and instead of doing it in a big conference call as normal, they now do it to the individual companionship's. It was Elder Bangater that called, one of the APs. He said, "I will start with Sister Linford. SIster Linford, you have been transferred! You will be going to Eisenhüttenstadt next Tuesday!! You will be in a drit(german for tri) serving with Sister Müller and Sister Schneider!" I was SHOCKED! That is the very last city I wanted to serve haha. It is THE smallest area. You can bike around the whole town in no time, so I hear. 4 of my 5 companions have served there and all they say about it is, "Ugh, that place is awful!" haha, but really all negativity aside, I am stoked! Plus, I have two Swiss companions! I know both of them well, and I am very excited to serve with them! It will only be for one transfer with new sisters coming in next transfer. I really am so excited to see what serving in a drit is like. It is also good for me (well maybe haha) to see what a little town is like. I am going to suprisingly an even smaller branch, however the members are famous for being incredible! Fun adventures will be had!!
This week was full of moves! We helped a whopping 3 different people move this week! Whooo, it was a good work out! One of the moves that took place was with the Dunn couple. This is the only American people I have met here in Rostock. I talked about them a few emails ago when I said they were the funniest eating appointment I have ever had. There are a young adventurous couple that are sure to bring the laughs! We were sad to watch them take their jokes and good times to Denmark where his new job resides. I hope everyone had a fantastic week! This week was a big one with Transfer calls. Going into it, I was fairly certain I would be transferred. However, there is never a certainty to this bidness. Well the phone call rolls around and instead of doing it in a big conference call as normal, they now do it to the individual companionship's. It was Elder Bangater that called, one of the APs. He said, "I will start with Sister Linford. SIster Linford, you have been transferred! You will be going to Eisenhüttenstadt next Tuesday!! You will be in a drit(german for tri) serving with Sister Müller and Sister Schneider!" I was SHOCKED! That is the very last city I wanted to serve haha. It is THE smallest area. You can bike around the whole town in no time, so I hear. 4 of my 5 companions have served there and all they say about it is, "Ugh, that place is awful!" haha, but really all negativity aside, I am stoked! Plus, I have two Swiss companions! I know both of them well, and I am very excited to serve with them! It will only be for one transfer with new sisters coming in next transfer. I really am so excited to see what serving in a drit is like. It is also good for me (well maybe haha) to see what a little town is like. I am going to suprisingly an even smaller branch, however the members are famous for being incredible! Fun adventures will be had!!
This week we were able to set 2 more baptismal dates! Anthony and Justice are roommates that I have talked quite a bit about. They have been coming to church the last 2 months and are just incredible to teach! Justice will be baptized Feb. 23, with Anthony following the week after on March 2nd. They are both soooo ready and have worked so hard to get to where they are.
Bodo continues to do amazing! He is officially 2 weeks coffee free and continues to keep every other commitment we give him as well! It was funny on Sunday, I asked him how his praying has been going. His response, "Well not so good. I prayed that you would stay in Rostock......it didn't work. I think I need more practice!!" haha I was laughing so hard. He is really getting excited about his baptism, and after 6 years of investigating the church, he is ready!!
The Preets are doing fantastic! Amanpreet had VERY exciting news.....she is pregnant! She has been trying to have a baby for years unsuccessfully, so this news came as quite the suprise! We were both so excited that we were jumping up and down just screaming! Plus, they threw me the best going away party EVER. I have never laughed so hard in my life, and I got an Indian feast......just doesn't beat that!!
Mark, is still freaking awesome! I have convinced him he needs to move to the US. I think he really might go for it too. I told him about the international program at BYU and he is going to check it out. After 6 years in Germany he is ready to move and doesnt want to go back to Indonesia. He wants to become a doctor and what better place than the states?! I really hope that route works out for him. He was also really excited to go to BYU and make his final step into "mormonhood" has he calls it :).
Spiritual thought: A quick quote by Elder Russel M. Nielson, "As we go through life, even through very rough waters, a father's instinctive impulse to cling tightly to his wife or to his children may not be the best way to accomplish his objective. Instead, if he will lovingly cling to the Savior and the iron rod of the gospel, his family will want to cling to him and to the Savior. "This lesson is surely not limited to fathers. Regardless of gender, marital status, or age, individuals can choose to link themselves directly to the Savior, hold fast to the rod of His truth, and lead by the light of that truth. By so doing, they become examples of righteousness to whom others will want to cling."
Thanks for the continuing love and support! It makes such a difference knowing I have it! I wish the best for you all! Good luck with this next week and KEEP THE FAITH!!!
Sister Linford
Kirche Jesu Christi
Sister Jessica Linford
Heilbornring 11
15234 Frankfurt Oder (IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO NOT FORGET THE "ODER"!!)
Germany
Monday, February 4, 2013
Missionary Bag of Wonders!
Hello February! I hope everyone had a great week! I am trying to soak up every bit of Rostock with transfer calls coming this week, just in case! I dont have too much time today, so this might be a tad shorter than normal.....lucky you :) With Manpreet back from India, our lessons have started up again as well. Oh how I have missed my family here in Rostock! She is such an incredible woman, and I learn so much from her every time we meet. With Manpreet, the return of amazing Indian food has also hit rostock again.....yummy :)! This week she brought out a plate of desserts from India. Some of them had some pretty intense metallic silver on top of them....we asked what it was and she said it was REAL SILVER! We all laughed as we told her we didn't believe her. Sure enough, it was real silver on top of desserts......so weird!
Bodo continues to do so well! This week he officially has been coffee free for a 6 days! Woot Woot!! This was his biggest hold up, and it awesome to see him overcome it :). I love the miracles I get to see. He is trying so hard to prepare himself for his baptism.
Degol is also back from a very long vacation! We had the greatest appointment with him ever on Saturday! I was quickly reminded of how strong his spirit is and how much fun he is to teach. He will definitely go down in the books of great investigators!
There is a new name here in Rostock. HIba is a single mother from Lebanon. She is HILARIOUS. We had our first appointment with her on Wednesday night. She loved it so much that she invited us over for dinner on Friday. I will take any kind of food over German food :). Not only was the food just straight heavenly but we had a killer lesson with not only Hiba but her sister too! Her sister speaks really good English and Arabic. Hiba speaks Arabic and okay German. This definitely created a communication challenge haha. We had to say every sentence in both German and English and then sometimes they would have to talk about it in Arabic to better understand it. Whoo it was quite the headache, but the result was well worth it. We have a few more appointments with them this week and we are excited to continue to get to know them better!!
Yesterday at church, I some how got put on babysitting duty. It was during sacrament meeting and Manpreet had to go and deal with something which left me with Mahi who is 6, and Sam who is 2; and we refer to him as "monster"(for obvious reasons). Their reverence lasted all of 20 seconds. This is when my missionary bag of wonders turned into entertainment for 45 minutes! The liahona magazine became the coloring book, the highlighters the markers, with the pens and pass along cards becoming lincoln logs. We all survived.
Sadly, this week was also a week of goodbyes. Mario, one of our investigators that is working towards baptism, just informed us that he would be moving soon for work. We were so sad to hear this! We will miss teaching him a great deal! He already had looked up the church closest to him and the institute program, so no need to worry about him :). We also had to say goodbye to one of the 3 Young single adults in Rostock today :(. Olga is pretty quiet at first, but as you get to know her you come to see the biggest heart! It has been so incredible to watch her come back from inactivity to being so strong during the time I have been here.
Spiritual thought: This week during our lesson with Degol, we were teaching him about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He looked at me and asked me what was the driving force for me to do the things that "we are suppose to do". He asked me how I gain the desire. It was a question that I had gotten before, but for some reason in that moment it meant more. I waited a moment and replied , "Love." It was in that moment that I resolved to give my whole heart to these people in this last week of Rostock. It got me thinking of just how powerful love is in every aspect of our lives. It brought to memory a quote by Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "We are created in the image of our heavenly parents; we are God's spirit children. Therefore, we have a vast capacity for love—it is part of our spiritual heritage. What and how we love not only defines us as individuals; Love is the defining characteristic of a disciple of Christ." This week I want to show the people that I have worked with the last 6 months how much their love means to me and how much it has changed me. I want to do this, by simply loving them, and loving them more than ever before. It is a commandment to love others. And with all commandments, as we follow the Savior, He blesses us with gifts, talents, and the strength to do His will.... allowing us to go beyond our comfort zones and do things we've never before thought possible. This week to have more happiness.....simply love those around you more.
Thanks for all the love and support! I miss you all deeply! I wish you the best in the up coming week!
Sister Linford
Kirche Jesu Christi
Bodo continues to do so well! This week he officially has been coffee free for a 6 days! Woot Woot!! This was his biggest hold up, and it awesome to see him overcome it :). I love the miracles I get to see. He is trying so hard to prepare himself for his baptism.
Degol is also back from a very long vacation! We had the greatest appointment with him ever on Saturday! I was quickly reminded of how strong his spirit is and how much fun he is to teach. He will definitely go down in the books of great investigators!
There is a new name here in Rostock. HIba is a single mother from Lebanon. She is HILARIOUS. We had our first appointment with her on Wednesday night. She loved it so much that she invited us over for dinner on Friday. I will take any kind of food over German food :). Not only was the food just straight heavenly but we had a killer lesson with not only Hiba but her sister too! Her sister speaks really good English and Arabic. Hiba speaks Arabic and okay German. This definitely created a communication challenge haha. We had to say every sentence in both German and English and then sometimes they would have to talk about it in Arabic to better understand it. Whoo it was quite the headache, but the result was well worth it. We have a few more appointments with them this week and we are excited to continue to get to know them better!!
Yesterday at church, I some how got put on babysitting duty. It was during sacrament meeting and Manpreet had to go and deal with something which left me with Mahi who is 6, and Sam who is 2; and we refer to him as "monster"(for obvious reasons). Their reverence lasted all of 20 seconds. This is when my missionary bag of wonders turned into entertainment for 45 minutes! The liahona magazine became the coloring book, the highlighters the markers, with the pens and pass along cards becoming lincoln logs. We all survived.
Sadly, this week was also a week of goodbyes. Mario, one of our investigators that is working towards baptism, just informed us that he would be moving soon for work. We were so sad to hear this! We will miss teaching him a great deal! He already had looked up the church closest to him and the institute program, so no need to worry about him :). We also had to say goodbye to one of the 3 Young single adults in Rostock today :(. Olga is pretty quiet at first, but as you get to know her you come to see the biggest heart! It has been so incredible to watch her come back from inactivity to being so strong during the time I have been here.
Spiritual thought: This week during our lesson with Degol, we were teaching him about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He looked at me and asked me what was the driving force for me to do the things that "we are suppose to do". He asked me how I gain the desire. It was a question that I had gotten before, but for some reason in that moment it meant more. I waited a moment and replied , "Love." It was in that moment that I resolved to give my whole heart to these people in this last week of Rostock. It got me thinking of just how powerful love is in every aspect of our lives. It brought to memory a quote by Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "We are created in the image of our heavenly parents; we are God's spirit children. Therefore, we have a vast capacity for love—it is part of our spiritual heritage. What and how we love not only defines us as individuals; Love is the defining characteristic of a disciple of Christ." This week I want to show the people that I have worked with the last 6 months how much their love means to me and how much it has changed me. I want to do this, by simply loving them, and loving them more than ever before. It is a commandment to love others. And with all commandments, as we follow the Savior, He blesses us with gifts, talents, and the strength to do His will.... allowing us to go beyond our comfort zones and do things we've never before thought possible. This week to have more happiness.....simply love those around you more.
Thanks for all the love and support! I miss you all deeply! I wish you the best in the up coming week!
Sister Linford
Kirche Jesu Christi
Sister Jessica Linford
Friedrich Str. 14
18057 Rostock
Germany
Monday, January 28, 2013
Spaghetti!
Here we come to the last Monday in January! I hope everyone has enjoyed their start to 2013. It has been a good month to us here in Rostock! So many miracles and amazing lessons were witnessed. Its crazy to think that I have been in this area for 5 months to the exact day! I continue to LOVE the people here every day of my life! Enough with the feelings though :), lets get to the facts, of the week that is!
Last Pday was a great one! We went to a place called Karls. It is a giant strawberry farm but they have TONS of stuff there for families. Such as, ice skating rink, lots of giant playground equipment, stores, amazing food, animals, etc.... really the whole shebang. Along with all of that good stuff, they always have a big attraction, and right now it is a ginormous ice sculpture display. It honestly was fetching cool to see what they can do with ice! I mean I have been to the annual ice sculptures up in Midway, haha but that was kibbles and bits compared to this mammoth! All 6 of us missionaries went together and hand a grand old time! Sister Heggeman is a woman I talked about in my last letter. She is a less active member that we have been working with and have been able to really see a transformation in her. Well it continues! She came to institute this week as well as church! Whoo, lady is going full throttle! We love it, and so does she :). Last week, I told of my food experience with some of my African investigators. They made us a dish called FuFu. Well, after we were done they asked us to make them something from America. Me and my companion kinda laughed and said the only thing that is really American is hamburgers.....everything else is adopted from other cultures. They settled with us just making a typical dinner that we would have in American. So......we made a big ole portion of Spaghetti for the Africans! It was straight laughs!! Most of them HATED it hahaha. We had to teach them how to eat it and their faces KILLED me. We forgot our cameras that day and we were so mad, because that video would be worth some serious dollars. Oh how I love my mission!
Spiritual Thought: I have no time left sadly, so once again I will just leave you with a quote. "At . . . moments of crisis and challenge, some choose to abandon faith just at the time when it most needs to be embraced. Prayer is ignored at the very hour when it needs to be intensified. Virtue is carelessly tossed aside when it needs to be cherished. God is forsaken in the all-too-human yet mistaken fear that He has forsaken us. The truth is that our only safety, our only security, our only hope is to hold fast to that which is good. As the mists of darkness gather around us, we are only lost if we choose to let go of the iron rod, which is the word of God."
Last Pday was a great one! We went to a place called Karls. It is a giant strawberry farm but they have TONS of stuff there for families. Such as, ice skating rink, lots of giant playground equipment, stores, amazing food, animals, etc.... really the whole shebang. Along with all of that good stuff, they always have a big attraction, and right now it is a ginormous ice sculpture display. It honestly was fetching cool to see what they can do with ice! I mean I have been to the annual ice sculptures up in Midway, haha but that was kibbles and bits compared to this mammoth! All 6 of us missionaries went together and hand a grand old time! Sister Heggeman is a woman I talked about in my last letter. She is a less active member that we have been working with and have been able to really see a transformation in her. Well it continues! She came to institute this week as well as church! Whoo, lady is going full throttle! We love it, and so does she :). Last week, I told of my food experience with some of my African investigators. They made us a dish called FuFu. Well, after we were done they asked us to make them something from America. Me and my companion kinda laughed and said the only thing that is really American is hamburgers.....everything else is adopted from other cultures. They settled with us just making a typical dinner that we would have in American. So......we made a big ole portion of Spaghetti for the Africans! It was straight laughs!! Most of them HATED it hahaha. We had to teach them how to eat it and their faces KILLED me. We forgot our cameras that day and we were so mad, because that video would be worth some serious dollars. Oh how I love my mission!
Another area of great news.....Manpreet is back!!!!!! My family here in Rostock has finally returned from their 5 week vacation! I have missed them so much and getting to go back over to their house on Friday just made me feel right back at home! She brought some goodies for us from India even! She wasn't able to go to church the entire time she was there, so she also loved just being able to study the scriptures together and rekindle that spiritual fire.
Right after our appointment with Manpreet and her kids, it was time for our ward GAMENIGHT!! In the 5 months I have been here, we have never had a ward activity. That just didn't fly with me, so we have been working hard on this game night idea. I made some fliers and divided out assignments. It was a blast!!! A big success too :). This ward needs to learn just how to have fun together and how to build friendships with one another. Lots of praises were said about it at church, and this might even turn into a monthly thing!
This week as been absolutely frigid! Literally, my face peeled off it is so cold!! Both me and my comp are getting major facials from this wind.....but not in a good way. We just laugh/cry every time we reach up and feel more come off, haha oh the joys of being by the ocean!! Another funny thing that happened this week....my comp now wears a mask to bed haha. Her eyes have been burning her ever since our first transfer and I discovered she sleeps creepy with her eyes not all the way closed! ha such laughs. I have been telling her to buy a mask so that her eyes stop burning.....she finally caved! It worked like a charm I am happy to report and her burning is gone. Plus, I get to make fun of her every morning and night :). All of our investigators are doing well! I can't wait to see what continues to happen with them in the coming weeks.Spiritual Thought: I have no time left sadly, so once again I will just leave you with a quote. "At . . . moments of crisis and challenge, some choose to abandon faith just at the time when it most needs to be embraced. Prayer is ignored at the very hour when it needs to be intensified. Virtue is carelessly tossed aside when it needs to be cherished. God is forsaken in the all-too-human yet mistaken fear that He has forsaken us. The truth is that our only safety, our only security, our only hope is to hold fast to that which is good. As the mists of darkness gather around us, we are only lost if we choose to let go of the iron rod, which is the word of God."
Thanks for everything! Love and miss you all!
Sister Linford
Kirche Jesu Christi
Sister Jessica Linford
Friedrich Str. 14
18057 Rostock
Germany
Friday, January 25, 2013
Zone Training Meetings/Interviews
Posted on the mission blog was a picture of S. Linford during a recent zone training meetings/interviews.
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| Zone Neubrandenburg 01-13 |
Monday, January 21, 2013
Mean Girls Movie Moment!
Hallo Hallo! Another week has come and gone! It really is crazy how fast time is going. This week marks the time where I only have 6 more months before I come home. AH! Its so scary to think about. This past week I had to do some applications for school and it just made me realize just how different things are and how different my life has become. As I visited the U of U website it brought me back to the many times that I have viewed the very familiar page, but also how foreign it seemed at the same time. Then jumping over the BYU's website starting a new application REALLY made me realize how foreign things have become haha. Oh how life goes in ways you would have never guessed!
Oh my heavens I also got news this week that made me scream out loud.....quite literally. I can honestly say that I have never ever once cared about the SuperBowl. The only thing that gets me excited are the many parties and assemblage of friends and family. However, my world stopped as news was delivered to me on Saturday morning. This news was in regards to the half-time performance. DESTINYS CHILD?!?!?!!!!!!!??? I just about died. My childhood having a reunion on the biggest platform in the world......and I wont be there to see it. TiVO.....bless you. This was a sacrifice that I just didnt see coming...... This week was amazing though! Very busy :). I had some first time experiences such as FuFu, a mouse, and a mean girls scene that came to life.
Lets start with the first one. FuFu is an African dish. It is nearly impossible to explain so I will attach a picture! It is basically a huge pile of doughy potatoes that you pull smaller pieces off of, dip into a soup, and finally eat. And when I say eat, I mean swallow.....not chew. Haha this is something that is quite famous around the mission. It was quite the experience! I still say it was better than German food though! :) haha I wish I was kidding.
William is also doing SO well! He is getting so excited for his baptism on February 9th. He wanted to make sure it was on the Saturday before I left haha. He even is having us teach his friend now! How awesome is that?! Not only that, but he invited some other investigators of ours to his house after church because he wants them to have friends so they will get baptized too :). Dream investigator!
Spiritual Thought: This week I would like to leave a quote by Gordon B. Hinckley, "I come to you tonight with a plea that we stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight. I am suggesting that as we go through life we try to 'accentuate the positive.' I am asking that we look a little deeper for the good, that we still our voices of insult and sarcasm, that we more generously compliment virtue and effort. Now I am not asking that all criticism be silenced. Growth comes of correction. Strength comes of repentance. Wise is the man or woman who can acknowledge mistakes pointed out by others and change his or her course. What I am suggesting is that you turn from the negativism that so permeates our modern society and look for the remarkable good among those with whom you associate, that we speak of one another's virtues more than we speak of one another's faults, that optimism replace pessimism, that our faith exceed our fears. When I was a young man and was prone to speak critically, my wise father would say: 'Cynics do not contribute. Skeptics do not create. Doubters do not achieve."
This week has been another amazing one! Things seriously seem to just go better and better every week here in Rostock. President interviews are this coming week as well as a completely booked schedule for us, so hopefully good stories will render! Thank you all for the love and support!
Sister Linford
Kirche Jesu Christi
Sister Jessica Linford
Friedrich Str. 14
18057 Rostock
Germany
Oh my heavens I also got news this week that made me scream out loud.....quite literally. I can honestly say that I have never ever once cared about the SuperBowl. The only thing that gets me excited are the many parties and assemblage of friends and family. However, my world stopped as news was delivered to me on Saturday morning. This news was in regards to the half-time performance. DESTINYS CHILD?!?!?!!!!!!!??? I just about died. My childhood having a reunion on the biggest platform in the world......and I wont be there to see it. TiVO.....bless you. This was a sacrifice that I just didnt see coming...... This week was amazing though! Very busy :). I had some first time experiences such as FuFu, a mouse, and a mean girls scene that came to life.
Lets start with the first one. FuFu is an African dish. It is nearly impossible to explain so I will attach a picture! It is basically a huge pile of doughy potatoes that you pull smaller pieces off of, dip into a soup, and finally eat. And when I say eat, I mean swallow.....not chew. Haha this is something that is quite famous around the mission. It was quite the experience! I still say it was better than German food though! :) haha I wish I was kidding.
Okay now onto my next first....a mouse. I will take you back to Wednesday night. Me and my companion were getting ready for bed. I was in brushing my teeth when my companion went out to get a drink of water. All of the sudden I hear a grunt of sorts come from the other room. I finished brushing my teeth and proceed to walk in the other room to check on my companion. There I witness her holding a bat ready to swing away staring intently at the ground. I of course asked her what the heck she was doing. her reply was, "Um.....you really might want to go back in the bathroom. I don't think you are going to handle this well......I saw a mouse." She was right. Very right. I didn't handle it well at all! I screamed and ran back into the bathroom and slammed the door. This is when I am very thankful to have a redneck as my companion :). Anywho....although my companions boldness is worth noting, the mouse was not found. The darn thing is still on the loose :(.
Last, but not least.....my Mean Girls movie moment that came to life. With temperatures here being chillingly low, and no real form of snow removal in Germany....the ice is wretched. We were on our way to an appointment when my companion and I noticed an old woman struggling to walk. We asked her where she was going and if we could help her. She was extremely grateful and asked if we could assist her to the bus stop. Just as we were saying goodbye, she realized that she was on the wrong side and called out for us again. As I turned around.........a bus whisked by. It came so close to breaking my face that it honestly hit my hair!! MY companion just about died watching it. So moral of the story.....helping old people might get you killed.....haha jkjk....kinda :).
A very cool thing that happen this week involved a less active member. Her name is Schwester Heggaman. We have really been trying to work on getting her to come to church since my first transfer here. She hasn't been to church in about 7 or 8 months. Well some amazing things have happened the past few weeks! She has come to church 3 times in a row AND even showed up to our Relief Society activity this past week! It has been so amazing to watch her happier than I have ever seen her. She struggles with depression and said that every time she comes to church, she notices her depression isnt as bad that week.....so amazing!
Another miracle comes in the form of Lambros. Lambros is a name that I know, however it stops at about that. My first transfer here we would go by and knock on his door, but he never was home. I really never learned anything about him. Last Thursday we were loading onto a bus when a guy asks me, "Hey, you speak English, right?" (This is what I hope and dream for!!) I of course replied positively and in no time I found out his name was Lambros. Yes, THE Lambros :). He had actually been living in Hamburg for the last 7 months and only came back for a few days. We stayed on the bus extra long just to talk to him and ended up having an incredible 45min. lesson right there on the bus :). Although he was on his way back to Hamburg, he is returning to Rosotck in 2 weeks and we have an appointment scheduled. He is so amazing and I can't wait to get to know him better!A very cool thing that happen this week involved a less active member. Her name is Schwester Heggaman. We have really been trying to work on getting her to come to church since my first transfer here. She hasn't been to church in about 7 or 8 months. Well some amazing things have happened the past few weeks! She has come to church 3 times in a row AND even showed up to our Relief Society activity this past week! It has been so amazing to watch her happier than I have ever seen her. She struggles with depression and said that every time she comes to church, she notices her depression isnt as bad that week.....so amazing!
William is also doing SO well! He is getting so excited for his baptism on February 9th. He wanted to make sure it was on the Saturday before I left haha. He even is having us teach his friend now! How awesome is that?! Not only that, but he invited some other investigators of ours to his house after church because he wants them to have friends so they will get baptized too :). Dream investigator!
Spiritual Thought: This week I would like to leave a quote by Gordon B. Hinckley, "I come to you tonight with a plea that we stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight. I am suggesting that as we go through life we try to 'accentuate the positive.' I am asking that we look a little deeper for the good, that we still our voices of insult and sarcasm, that we more generously compliment virtue and effort. Now I am not asking that all criticism be silenced. Growth comes of correction. Strength comes of repentance. Wise is the man or woman who can acknowledge mistakes pointed out by others and change his or her course. What I am suggesting is that you turn from the negativism that so permeates our modern society and look for the remarkable good among those with whom you associate, that we speak of one another's virtues more than we speak of one another's faults, that optimism replace pessimism, that our faith exceed our fears. When I was a young man and was prone to speak critically, my wise father would say: 'Cynics do not contribute. Skeptics do not create. Doubters do not achieve."
This week has been another amazing one! Things seriously seem to just go better and better every week here in Rostock. President interviews are this coming week as well as a completely booked schedule for us, so hopefully good stories will render! Thank you all for the love and support!
Sister Linford
Kirche Jesu Christi
Sister Jessica Linford
Friedrich Str. 14
18057 Rostock
Germany
Monday, January 14, 2013
Schneeflocken!
Hallo! Hopefully, everyone is enjoying the winter wonderland that is outside! Snow all around! Things have been great here once again in Rostock. We have had some incredible experiences and hope they continue!This week was full of lots of appointments! Which has been really awesome to see the progress of the incredible people we get to teach. However, I will admit this was a rather boring week and I dont have too many great stories. So, I will just update about people.
First up...William! We have been working with him for a few months now. He has been living here in Germany for about 13 years. In December we were at a point with him where we needed a make-or-break moment....so we gave quite the intense lesson to him. William responded so well to it, and really allowed it to boost him forward. He has been making so much progress the last few weeks. He has come to church 3 weeks in a row and even bought himself a new snazzy suit to fit in with everyone else :). I cant wait to see him be baptized before I leave Rostock in February!!
Justice....So I have never talked about Justice because he just came out of no where. We teach some of Justice's roommates. He would sometimes come in the room but he was never really interested. I had the feeling that we needed to show the movie, The Testaments. This is something that I have never done on my mission prior, but felt like it really needed to happen for some reason. Well, Justice was down to watch a movie and it completely hit him sooo hard. The movie ended and I asked if anyone had questions and Justice said, "What do I need to do to get baptized. I felt when I was watching that movie that I need to. Can you help with that?" Um, yes we can Justice!! So we told him the first thing he could do is come to church, and he did! It was so awesome to see him and his roommates come for the first time!
Anthony- Anthony is Justice's roommate. We have seen a lot of progress out of him as well. He is always calling us and seeing if we can meet with them. He is reading so much every day it's crazy! He is loving everything we teach him and really has been the driving force behind all of his roommates making progress such as coming to church.
Anna and Degol- School finally started this week so we cant wait to finally meet with them after a very long winter break! We have had contact with both of them and should hopefully squeeze some appointments in this week!!
Bodo- we have found with Bodo what we like to call in mission talk, his "iceberg". This is the little thing that holds them back from making progress or being baptized; and is often times not easily detected. He has a really hard time thinking he can be forgiving. The idea of Repentance is a hard one for him. He still wants to be baptized but keeps pushing it back out of fear he wont be ready. So this past week we worked really hard on a big repentance lesson for him. It went so well!! He said that he sees everything in a very different light and he said that he feels like a weight has been lifted off of him! We cant wait for our appointment on Wednesday to hear more and to figure out a suitable date for his baptism. He really wants to get baptized in the ocean, so it might be a early summer baptism :). He continues to come to church weekly.
This woman literally gave everything she had. She had enough faith in God that she knew the more she gave to him, the more blessings she would receive. She had enough faith, that even with a hungry family, she still came and gave of her wages. She was a window, with the entire weight of her family riding on her shoulders alone. She was humble enough to know that she could not provide for them all by herself, as well as she could with the help of God. Sure to many, her two mites would not have seem significant enough to bring blessings. However, it was EVERYTHING she had. Are we willing to do that in our lives? Truly have enough faith in the Lord, to give him EVERYTHING? Only by aligning our wills with God’s, can we find full happiness. Anything less results in a lesser portion (see Alma 12:10–11). The Lord will work with us even if, at first, we “can no more than desire” but are willing to “give place for a portion of [His] words” (Alma 32:27). But we must desire and provide it. I hope that this week we can all focus on giving more to the God who granted us this very life.
Thanks again for all the love and support! I hope this week goes great for all of you, miss you tons!! See you in just over 6 months!
Sister Linford
Kirche Jesu Christi
Sister Jessica Linford
Friedrich Str. 14
18057 Rostock
Germany
First up...William! We have been working with him for a few months now. He has been living here in Germany for about 13 years. In December we were at a point with him where we needed a make-or-break moment....so we gave quite the intense lesson to him. William responded so well to it, and really allowed it to boost him forward. He has been making so much progress the last few weeks. He has come to church 3 weeks in a row and even bought himself a new snazzy suit to fit in with everyone else :). I cant wait to see him be baptized before I leave Rostock in February!!
Justice....So I have never talked about Justice because he just came out of no where. We teach some of Justice's roommates. He would sometimes come in the room but he was never really interested. I had the feeling that we needed to show the movie, The Testaments. This is something that I have never done on my mission prior, but felt like it really needed to happen for some reason. Well, Justice was down to watch a movie and it completely hit him sooo hard. The movie ended and I asked if anyone had questions and Justice said, "What do I need to do to get baptized. I felt when I was watching that movie that I need to. Can you help with that?" Um, yes we can Justice!! So we told him the first thing he could do is come to church, and he did! It was so awesome to see him and his roommates come for the first time!
Anthony- Anthony is Justice's roommate. We have seen a lot of progress out of him as well. He is always calling us and seeing if we can meet with them. He is reading so much every day it's crazy! He is loving everything we teach him and really has been the driving force behind all of his roommates making progress such as coming to church.
Anna and Degol- School finally started this week so we cant wait to finally meet with them after a very long winter break! We have had contact with both of them and should hopefully squeeze some appointments in this week!!
Bodo- we have found with Bodo what we like to call in mission talk, his "iceberg". This is the little thing that holds them back from making progress or being baptized; and is often times not easily detected. He has a really hard time thinking he can be forgiving. The idea of Repentance is a hard one for him. He still wants to be baptized but keeps pushing it back out of fear he wont be ready. So this past week we worked really hard on a big repentance lesson for him. It went so well!! He said that he sees everything in a very different light and he said that he feels like a weight has been lifted off of him! We cant wait for our appointment on Wednesday to hear more and to figure out a suitable date for his baptism. He really wants to get baptized in the ocean, so it might be a early summer baptism :). He continues to come to church weekly.
Mark- Oh marky mark. This is my best friend here in Rostock. He is so awesome. He has had some really crazy things happen to him, but he is still finding ways to overcome them. We just found out that he might have to move out of Germany in a month. It just about broke my heart, but I am confident that this will not mess with his plans to be baptized in a few months. He really is ready, and so prepared. He has taught me so much. He has so much faith and such an incredible relationship with his Savior. We meet with him 3-5 times a week and it still isn't enough for us :).
Mario- He is one of the investigators that has been around for 6 years! We have seen a lot of great things come from him the last few weeks though. He continues to come to church, institute, and FHE every since week. He and Bodo are really good friends. Mario is also ready for baptism and said that when Bodo decides, he will be baptized with him on the same day!
Owoe- Owoe is my french lady! Whoooo! Oh how I love it. She is about 60 and is from Africa. Speaks no English, French and a little German. Communication is sometimes a struggle, but we have really been able to make due. It has allowed me to practice up on some of my French which I love and so does she. There arent too many people she knows that speak french, so she is patient with my memory loss of my school french knowledge. It is a neat story with how we started teaching her actually. We had our first appointment and at the end we asked if we could come back. She declined, but agreed to letting us say a closing prayer with her. After the prayer, she looked up and asked, "So when are you coming back??" The power of prayer is real :)! haha. She is also attending church, and we couldn't be happier for her. She moves slow, but there is nothing wrong with that.
Also another update on my last city of Dresden: Chang and Melanie have now been baptized! So amazing!! I remember each of their first lessons and to think of where they are now is just amazing! I was planning on returning to Dresden for Melanie's that was just yesterday, but last minute my permission was retracted :,(. However, I was so excited for her to finally be able to make this step in her life! I know we will remain friends for years!
Spiritual Thought: In Mark 12:41-44 it tells of a story that I love, of a widow who gave everything she had: 41 ¶And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. 42 And there came a certain apoor widow, and she threw in two bmites, which make a farthing. 43 And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That thisapoor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: 44 For all they did cast in of theiraabundance; but she of her bwant did ccast in dall Mario- He is one of the investigators that has been around for 6 years! We have seen a lot of great things come from him the last few weeks though. He continues to come to church, institute, and FHE every since week. He and Bodo are really good friends. Mario is also ready for baptism and said that when Bodo decides, he will be baptized with him on the same day!
Owoe- Owoe is my french lady! Whoooo! Oh how I love it. She is about 60 and is from Africa. Speaks no English, French and a little German. Communication is sometimes a struggle, but we have really been able to make due. It has allowed me to practice up on some of my French which I love and so does she. There arent too many people she knows that speak french, so she is patient with my memory loss of my school french knowledge. It is a neat story with how we started teaching her actually. We had our first appointment and at the end we asked if we could come back. She declined, but agreed to letting us say a closing prayer with her. After the prayer, she looked up and asked, "So when are you coming back??" The power of prayer is real :)! haha. She is also attending church, and we couldn't be happier for her. She moves slow, but there is nothing wrong with that.
Also another update on my last city of Dresden: Chang and Melanie have now been baptized! So amazing!! I remember each of their first lessons and to think of where they are now is just amazing! I was planning on returning to Dresden for Melanie's that was just yesterday, but last minute my permission was retracted :,(. However, I was so excited for her to finally be able to make this step in her life! I know we will remain friends for years!
This woman literally gave everything she had. She had enough faith in God that she knew the more she gave to him, the more blessings she would receive. She had enough faith, that even with a hungry family, she still came and gave of her wages. She was a window, with the entire weight of her family riding on her shoulders alone. She was humble enough to know that she could not provide for them all by herself, as well as she could with the help of God. Sure to many, her two mites would not have seem significant enough to bring blessings. However, it was EVERYTHING she had. Are we willing to do that in our lives? Truly have enough faith in the Lord, to give him EVERYTHING? Only by aligning our wills with God’s, can we find full happiness. Anything less results in a lesser portion (see Alma 12:10–11). The Lord will work with us even if, at first, we “can no more than desire” but are willing to “give place for a portion of [His] words” (Alma 32:27). But we must desire and provide it. I hope that this week we can all focus on giving more to the God who granted us this very life.
Thanks again for all the love and support! I hope this week goes great for all of you, miss you tons!! See you in just over 6 months!
Sister Linford
Kirche Jesu Christi
Sister Jessica Linford
Friedrich Str. 14
18057 Rostock
Germany
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