Liebe Familie und Freunden!
It has been another fun week here in the little town of Halberstadt
(which means in German half city, thats kind of what it is). We
started off the week last monday with a fun hike around Spiegelberg.
We saw some cool old architecture and got to get out a little. It was
really cold but we had some fun!
We had zone conference this week and traveled up to Hannover. On the
way there in the train we stopped and they said there was a broken
bridge. They had to check to see if it was safe to go over. I
thought...if its broken...isn't it better to not go over it...but to
fix it? Well after an hour I guess they decided that it was safe and
we continued. We were an hour late for zone conference but President
Pimentel was understanding. We had a wonderful conference and I
learned a lot! I have wonderful leaders here and it is really
inspiring to get together with the other missionaries! we learned
about justification and sancification being the keys for exhaltation!
If you want a good idea for scripture study, dive into those two words
in the scriptures and figure out what they mean and how they can
change your life! I have had some wonderful experiences with it so
far and I've only touched the surface.
We are working with our investigator with a tauftremin. He is doing
well, he is struggling with a few points but I can see his testimony
grow every time we work with him! We also had another investigator
tell us that he would like to be baptized! He said he wants to in the
summer though and maybe with his wife, who is trying to get here from
Vietnam. He also gave us a referral (the second one from him) for a
vietnamasish lady who we are teaching now! It is amazing! We are
praying for new investigators and being able to help those who are
ready to hear the gospel.
We had a cool finding experience this week. We were OYMing (open your
mouth) in the main part of Halberstadt but it was late (meaning 6 PM)
and cold so there weren't a lot of people out. So Sister Jensen
suggested we door a building in Innenstadt (city centrum). The first
klingel a lady answered. Sister Jensen said that we were missionaries
and she asked if we wanted to talk to her. We said yes, she asked how
she could trust that we weren't trying to sell her something. Sister
Jensen said....uh...well we're just missionaries...and we have a book
we want to give you called the Book of Mormon. (maybe not the best
thing to say to someone who is worried about you wanted to get them to
buy something but in this case it was just right!) She recognized the
name Mormon and let us in. We came in and sat down and she explained
that for 20 years she had seen the missionaries in Innenstadt and had
passed them hoping they would talk to her but they never did. So she
was really excited to talk to us! She had a ton of questions! And
then her husband came home and we talked to both of them about it.
She is really curious about religion and loves to learn about all
sorts of religions. But she kept saying how impressed she was with our
standards and principles. She wouldn't make out a new tremin with us
but she said she would read the Book of Mormon. We will definitely go
stop by sometime though. It just proved to me that there are people
out there who are just waiting for us to klingel or talk to them on
the street. Maybe even waiting for years. I am trying not to pass
anyone on the street and to share what I know with everyone!
Experiences like that sure help us get more enthusiastic about the
work and talking to people.
Another day this week we went out OYMing and we walked by this man. I
turned and said hello and introduced us. Then I told him that we were
talking about prayer and asked him if he believed in God. He said no
and kept walking, but luckily we were walking in the same direction.
So I kept talking :) I asked him why he didn't and if he had bad
experiences or anything. He explained that he was religious but with
the war and everything else he lost his faith. (Most Germans are very
willing to tell about themselves especially if they can talk about DDR
times here in Halberstadt). So we were able to get to know him a
little more. And he expressed his concern that the Catholic and
Evangelish churches had been corrupted. We agreed and we were able to
share with him a little bit about the restoration of the church just
like in Bible times without corruption. It was awesome! And I did a
lot of talking and it is a relief when I can actually communicate!
Now for an interesting story...we went to our members house for our
regular Friday night eating appointment with her and we ate a really
good soup. We thought we were done but then she comes out with three
plates with what appears to be three very small chickens one for each
of us. So we started eating...she said what it was but I didn't know
the word she said...but it wasn't chicken. So we kept eating, it
didn't taste terrible...but it was definitely in the shape of some
sort of bird still. Then I got into the abdominal area and it still
had the esophagus and other internal parts in it. Bleh....so our
member got up and went out and I asked my companion what the word
meant...aka what are we eating?! She explained that it was a carrier
pidgeon.... WHAT?! ya...so we finished and I couldn't eat the last of
it because I picked it up and it felt like a little dead bird in my
hand. So that is definitely the most interesting thing I have eaten
so far! Not terrible though if it didn't look like the bird still.
I am still loving the work! I can't believe I have been on a mission
now for 4 months! I have no idea where the time goes. I will just
try to do my best every day and help as many people as I can. This is
definitely the most rewarding work I have ever been a part of. I
learn and grow every day! I hope you are all happy and healthy. I
pray for you often! The Church is true! I am so grateful for the
knowledge that I have that I can go to my Father in Heaven in prayer
and express whatever I need to! I love him and I am very blessed to
do his work. I hope I can become a more consecrated servant and a
better disciple every day!
I love you all! Until next week
Liebe Grüße,
Sister Smiss
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