Wednesday, December 28, 2011

December 27, 2011

We had a great conversation with Andrew Christmas Day!  Of course I thought of more questions after he hung up so this letter is answering questions.  Also, I finally posted the pictures Andrew sent Riker and they are on the blog, you may have to look down a post or two to see them though.

            Okay well I have limited time today, so I will try to answer everything as fast as I can, but if I forget something, I am really sorry. Anyways first of all, It was great being able to talk to you all. I think I was able to say everything I wanted.
Transfer calls were Friday and Andrew and his companion are staying together for another transfer.  Yes, I will reach my year mark in Switzerland, in Wetzikon, and both Elder Sullivan and Elder Alston are staying as well, so that is cool. I think we will go to Lichtenstein next Monday, but we will see. Andrew wants to go to Lichtenstein so he can have a stamp in his passport so he will have a stamp from all 4 countries in his mission.  They are not allowed to preach or street contact.  If there is a non member or less active that requests them to visit they are allowed to go to that house and talk to them but no proselyting.
During the phone call he mentioned that his shoes are starting to separate in the area where the shoe bends near the toes.  He is trying to decide whether to buy new shoes but wanted to try shoe goo first before spending money on new shoes:  The shoes are doing okay I think. The shoe goo really helped, but I also haven`t had much of a chance to really walk in them, so I will let you know for sure next week.
Do you need new socks?  I am good on socks,  I just need to sew up a few of them.
A few letters ago he mentioned they were getting companionship ties and I asked him if that meant they had matching ties:  And comp ties, well our gml ( I don't know what a gml is or if he typed it wrong in his hurry...General Mission Leader?)  gave us ties, so now we have comp ties, but that is probably a tradition that will die, because ties in Switzerland are super expensive. In Germany or Austria you can get them between 3 or 10 euro. In Switzerland it is at least 25 franken for one, so yeah, not worth it at all.
Thank you everyone who sent us Christmas cards, and a special thanks to those who sent a card to Elder Williams. It really helped him out a lot! So thank you all, you are the best!
Did you get to do any sightseeing in Bern when you went to the temple?  In Bern there was no sight seeing, and yes we did a session. In German.
I think that is pretty much all of the questions, have a great week in California, (we are visiting Mike's parents over the break)
I love you all, thank you so much for all you do.

Liebe
Elder Terry

Friday, December 23, 2011

December 19, 2011


Grützi völ und Frohliche Wiehnachten!

That is hello and Merry Christmas in Swiss German! Anyways, this week was awesome, because it finally snowed! Switzerland is finally the winter wonderland that it is meant to be.
Anyways, this week was pretty solidly awesome. First of all we had a great ward Christmas party. The Chelso family and Peter, our Jewish investigator came, and they all
loved it. Peter was super impressed, and he told us and Bishop Uchtdorf that this will not be the last time that he visits our church. And we are going to the synagogue with him on Saturday, so that will be AWESOME. But the ward party was even awesomer because
Carmen came with her husband that is not a member, as well as a lot of the less active members that we invited. It was a super awesome event. I loved it.
And then Sunday was a super good day as well because Ralf came to church again. And we watched the First Presidency devotional. Man that was so good. I love president Monson. He is so cool, and his talk was so awesome. Anyways, the rest of our week was great as well. On Friday we had a street display/caroling event, but it was raining SUPER hard. But we sang anyways, and we were able to find quite a few interested people, which was awesome. Then the rest of this week we had a lot of fallen out appointments. Everyone is getting sick or else they don`t have time to meet with us. Oh well. We will find some new people.  
Anyways, this week was awesome, and I get to talk to you in 6 days! YAY! Love you all and have a great Christmas! And don`t forget, you can`t ruin Christmas, even if you burn down the drapes. So everyone relax a little bit and enjoy the real spirit of Christmas. There is no better way to celebrate Christmas then in the service of our fellow men. That is the reason why Christ came to this earth. The son of man came not to be
ministered unto, but to minister. I know that as we follow Christ`s perfect example our joy may be full as we lift others and share the light of Christ!

Liebe
Elder Terry

Monday, December 12, 2011

more pictures

These pictures are from the Zurich Weihnactsmarkt






December 12, 2011


December 12, 2011

            Anyways, this week was awesomely interesting. First of all I had an austausch with the Ebnat elders. And I can`t remember if I already said this, but another elder went home, so his companion came to Ebnat and they have been covering both areas. So I got to work in a dritt (threesome) for a while, which was cool. And even more cool, there was snow in Ebnat!!! Man I was so excited! I totally loved it! We went dooring in the snow, and totally found a sweet old lady who let us in and gave us tea and chocolate. She wasn`t too interested in the restored gospel sadly, but she was super nice and we shared the Christmas story from the bible with her.
            Other then that we have had a lot of fallen out appointments this week. But we did go to the Bern temple. And man, the temple is the best. There is nothing better then the temple. It was so nice to get to just feel the spirit so strongly, and remember that the Lord is awesome. Anyways that was definitely almost the highlight of the week. 

Elder Terry and the Bern Temple
Elder Terry and Elder Alston (Elder Sullivan's companion)



















The highlight is that R----- came to church!!!!!!! IT’S A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE!!! R----- is this investigator who has been investigating the church for 6 years, and has only been to church once. 1 time in 6 years. That is 1 out of like 300. So when I first came to Wetzikon we met with him a couple times, and then told him that until he was willing to change his life there was nothing we could do for him. But on Friday after we went to the temple he sent us a text message, explaining that his girlfriend had dumped him, and that he wanted us to pray for him. Which we did of course. And then he came all by his self to church!! IT was awesome.... to be continued in 1 minute
            okay I am back, I ran out of internet time on that account and had to buy a new one. Anyways, yeah R---- came to church! Yay! Unfortunately Familie C…….. couldn`t come, which is totally bummer, but next week!!! Yes! I am super excited, hopefully it will snow in Wetzikon soon, it is just been rainy, so I am bummed, and I am starting to get sick, but sick is an opinion, so we haven`t had to stay inside yet. Hahaha.  Don`t worry mom, I just have a sore throat, but I am being smart and drinking lots of Swiss herb tea that is supposed to cure you, so I will be fine. No worries. Anyways, we met with P-----, our Jewish friend again yesterday. He is super cool. I really like him. He is the nicest guy ever. We have really good gospel discussions with him, and he is coming to the ward Christmas party on Friday, so we are pumped. Hopefully we will have a Jehovah’s Witness and a Jewish guy at the ward Christmas party. Cool right? I think it’s awesome. And we are probably going to the Jewish Synagogue with him on the 24, so that will be sweet as well. Anyways, the work is marching forward here in Wetzikon. We are trying our best to be dedicated to the Lord and do as the Apostles have asked us and open our mouths and talk to everyone. I know that this gospel is the plan of happiness, and that true peace can be found only in and through Jesus Christ. Keep the spirit of Christmas alive, and don`t you frown, cuz Sammi Klaus is coming to town! (that is Swiss for Santa Claus) Anyways, I love every single one of you! Thank you for your love and everything.
Liebe
Elder Terry 


The Bern Temple
Elder Terry in Wetzikon


Don't know where this is..must ask next time
 Here is a funny story about these cookies.  Elder Terry had asked me for a recipe for chocolate chip cookies so I sent him one.  The only problem is that in Europe they don't really use brown sugar, or it's hard to find.  Andrew asked in a bunch of stores about brown sugar and they didn't know what he was talking about.  I think he finally found some in Zurich.  This was his first attempt at making them with European sugar.  I asked him if the the clumps were nuts and he said ,"No it's butter."  Not sure what happened but he said the next batch turned out better.  It looks like he also had a hard time getting the brown sugar to blend but give him an "A" for effort!

Elder Terry's first attempt at choc. chip cookies

Monday, December 5, 2011

December 5, 2011


            It was fast Sunday as well here, and it was a great meeting. L_______, our 11 year old investigator from Eretria came alone again. Her mom had appointments again and her brother slept in. But she is loving church and the Book of Mormon. It is so cool! Anyways this week was a good one. We met with P_______, a Jehovahs witness who has been meeting with the missionaries for a long time, and we answered some of her questions about the spirit world and committed her to read Alma 40. It is sometimes difficult to talk with her, it always turns into an argument, and that is not at all how to teach with the spirit, so that is frustrating, but we are working on it.
            We also met with C_________ and her sister Ca_______. Turns out that Ca______ isn`t (if you read further I think he means “is” here and not “isn’t”) actually a member, she has already been baptized, but never had her records sent over. So that was a little weird. An investigator became a member without us baptizing her.... weird, but the end results are the same, so it’s all for her eternal good. Anyways, we met twice this week with her, and on Tuesday we gave her a blessing because she has been having bad dreams, and then on Thursday when we met we found out more about why exactly she was having bad dreams. She told us that she has been hearing a voice in her head and he tells her weird things, and she pretty much wanted us to perform an exorcism, but instead we dedicated her apartment and advised her to pray and read in the scriptures daily, especially when she is hearing things. We are praying hard for her, and hopefully things are going well.
            Our other solid investigators are family Ch______. We had an appointment on Thursday, but our joint teach canceled on us at the last minute, and we couldn`t find anyone else, so we ended up not being able to meet. Which was super ridiculously frustrating, but I just have to learn to trust that the Atonement will compensate for everything, after all we can do, even fallen out joint teaches.
            We did find a cool guy on the street this week. His name is P_____, and he is Jewish. He is about 25 and super nice and he invited us over to talk with him sometime. So we went by on him and he let us in and we had a nice discussion (I don`t really like "discussions" but this one was pretty good), and we were able to explain a lot about our church. He is super strong Jewish, and doesn`t want to change religions at all, but he is super friendly and loves to talk about religion, and he invited us to come to the synagogue with him one week, and he wants to come to church with us, and he also took a Book of Mormon and promised to read it. I am super excited to see what happens, because like it says the Book of Mormon is written especially for the Jews. So hopefully it will live up to the hype, just kidding, it will definitely be great if he will really read it. He also gave us ties because he collects them, and we are going to give him some ties when we go back. It will be awesome.
            Anyways I am sorry that this letter is going to be so short, but we are going to the temple on Friday, so we have to have a shorter p day today, but MERRY CHRISTMAS! This is the most wonderful time of the year, and it is the BEST time to bear testimony of Christ, both in word and in deed. So everyone go do something Christ-like for someone else. You will be blessed and feel the spirit of Christmas filling your soul. Still no snow yet, but I already have hot chocolate. So I`m prepared! Love you
Liebe
Elder Terry

Monday, November 28, 2011

Nov. 28, 2011


           Anyways our week was pretty good. Tuesday we had an austausch with the zone leaders. I got to work with Elder Sullivan, and it was great. We had an appointment with C……. and her sister, but our joint teach fell out. So we couldn`t meet, but we gave them the restoration movie and they watched it while we asked people outside if they could come with us to meet with her. We didn`t find anyone unfortunately, but we did find a drunk, cross dressing gay guy who couldn`t speak High German, only Swiss German and English. But he gave us his number, and we will see if we can meet with him soon. That would be funny. We did have a great appointment with a less active sister that evening though. She really wants to come back to church, and has started reading in the Book of Mormon again. She can`t come back to church until March because of work, but she is planning on coming back then, and that gives us time to work with her husband, who isn`t a member yet.
            We also had an interesting Thanksgiving. We were invited to an older couple’s house for lunch, and when we got there the man was semi choking. Apparently he had eaten an apple, and part of it was stuck in his throat, but it wasn`t blocking his throat all the way, it was just making it hard for him to talk, and he kept coughing up mucus. That had happened almost 2 hours before! Anyways, we gave him a blessing and then he lay down for 5 minutes and then he was all better, and he even came and ate lunch with us. It is really amazing that God has given us the priesthood, literally his power, to work here on the earth. The church is definitely true!
                        We also had a day were everyone we talked to was weird. First we talked to a girl who was not wearing any pants. Luckily she had a winter coat on and it was fairly long. We just gave her a card and walked away. Then 5 minutes later we talked to a woman who asked "are you the mormons, the people who visit hell?" She was a spiritual painter, and didn`t want to hear anything more from us. Then we talked to a girl who was wearing a picture frame around her neck, and who giggled the whole time we were talking to her. Then finally as we got into a bus at the end of the day there was this gangster guy sitting in the back of the bus so I sat by him, and he was wearing a NY hat, so I asked him in English if he was from NY, and strangely enough, he was. It was one weird day of contacting.
            Anyways, our week was pretty good, pretty much because C…… and her sister came to church again, as well as a 9 year old girl named Lydia. We taught her whole family, but her mom and brother couldn`t come, so she rode her bike alone to the church. What a stud. She already knows the church is true and loves it. We are looking forward to a great next week, hopefully it snows soon, and ADVENT starts. I am so excited. Christmas in Switzerland? There is nothing better. Except for maybe Christmas in the Celestial Kingdom, but it is pretty close.
Liebe
Elder Terry

Monday, November 21, 2011

Nov. 21, 2011


            That is super cool that Brittney got her call. Argentina. That is awesome. I got Sis. Porter`s card, as well as one from Sis. Porter and one from Sis. Rich and the Larsons. So tell them all thank you from me.
            Anyways, this week has gone well. Wednesday was transfers, so I went to Zurich and picked up my new companion and also said a sad goodbye to elder Jacob. Anyways here is the lowdown on Elder Williams. He was born in Colorado, but his family has lived in Utah the past few years, he has 11 brothers and sisters, well actually 4 brothers and sisters, and then 2 half brothers and sisters, and 5 step siblings. So a big family. He is super awesome, and we have had  a lot of fun.
            So on Wednesday our first day together Elder Williams invited this guy on the street to come to church, and we talked to him for a bit, and then he just said "bye" and walked away before we could get any information from him. But then 20 minutes later some members at the church called us and said that someone was there. So we ran to the church and there he was. His name is Max, and he is pretty cool. He is a super hardcore bible fan, and pretty much we spent the whole time talking about how we are all children of God. (well and a few other things, like prayer, healings, faith, etc) He was pretty awesome. But wouldn`t give us a number or a address, but said he would come to church (but he didn`t :(…) but he knows where to find the truth now, so we are hoping that he will return soon. Pretty much that was the story of this week. We had 10 investigators tell us that they would come to church, and none of them came. Man, I was super pumped. Bishop Uchtdorf would have gone crazy with 10 investigators at church. But for some reason none of them came. This Sunday though... they are all coming! (free agency not included) no but we did have a great Sunday because C........, who is less active and from Peru, came to church with her 7 year old daughter and sister who isn`t a member. AWESOMENESS!!!! I love less active members, because as they start to remember the blessings of the church they start bringing other people with them back to church. And apparently that is how the Lord wants the work done here in Wetzikon, (it’s actually the best way to do missionary work, I`m not going to lie) because we have 4 definite appointments with less active and part member families, and 2 possibles. So go members! 
            What else exciting happened this week.... oh I found a sweet new question to ask people on the street. "How many of the 10 commandments do you know?" so far in the past couple of days, no one knows all of the 10 commandments. It is astonishing. Oh and it turns out that Elder Bednar really is an apostle! I was listening to his talk this conference about the spirit of Elijah, and it reminded me of Preach My Gospel, and under the finding people chapter it has a whole section about the spirit of Elijah. Now as all missionaries know, we have this pass along card for genealogy, but pretty much all of the missionaries don`t like it. We only use it on old people. But I decided to start using it on everyone. And it is surprising how interested people really are in their forefathers, just like Elder Bednar promised. Even young people. It is totally awesome. It is like the church is true or something. OF COURSE it is true, and luckily we are led by living prophets, like Elder Bednar, and I am 110% confident that if we follow what the prophets say we will see success, happiness and feel the peace of knowing that we are doing that which the Lord expects of us. I know that this is the only true and LIVING church, and that the LIVING Christ stands at its head. And because that is so, this work ROCKS!
Liebe
Elder Terry

Monday, November 14, 2011

Nov. 14 part two

Here is the best part about being home this morning when he e-mailed--we got to mail back and forth for about 30 minutes.  I'll share some of what he said:


ME:  How is the weather? Have you bought boots yet?  Have you needed them?
Andrew:  It is pretty cold today, foggy, but no snow.  And no boots, I don't think I will buy them.

ME:  What are you doing on your P-day today?
Andrew:  good question. Elder Jacob wants to go see zurich, but we have no clue where to go. We will probably find companionship ties and brown sugar. And I need to find a way to blow about 250 dollars 

ME:  Really, you're going to just blow $250?  You make me laugh.  Glad to hear you had a good birthday.
Andrew:  no I probably won`t spend it for a while. I want a bayern munich jersey, and maybe liederhosen, but switzerland is not the place to by them. So we will see. Zurich bahnhofstrasse is supposedly the most expensive street in the world. And I beleive it. It is like 13 or 14 francs for a big mac meal at mcdonalds

ME:  So did you have cake with Pres. Miles?
Andrew:  No. He had to leave so that they would get back to their hotel on time
ME:  Do you have to go to Munich to get your new companion or is he local?Andrew:  This will be my first transfer day where I am not in Munich. I think that Elder Williams was in the Bern zone so that is only about 1 or 2 hours away

ME:  Do you have to go to Bern to get him or is he taking a train to Wetzikon?
Andrew: 
I will meet him in Zurich. haha and we have one other change in our distict. Elder Sullivan is coming to be zone leader here in st gallen zone, and that means he is in my district. We were in the mtc together and in the same district in wien. I think we are destined to be in the same district forever.

ME:  destined to be near each other but not companions?
Andrew:  yeah exactly. But we will get to work together at least once this transfer on companionship exchanges, and we will celebrate Christmas together!

And then he had to go.  The pictures are of his birthday cakes I sent him, the heart attack lasagna, and of him, not sure why he's so glum but there you go.



Nov. 14 part one


  
            First of all I need to say thank you to everyone who sent me letters for my birthday! You guys are all the best, and man, it makes a missionary`s day when there is stuff in the mailbox. I will try to write back to all of you as soon as a can, but p day is only so long, so I wanted to get a quick thank you out now. Hahahaha tell everyone hi from me, and tell Grandma and Grandpa Jepperson thank you for the letter. And thanks for the brown sugar options. We used the fake brown sugar that you can buy here last week and it wasn`t too bad, but it wasn`t the same. We will see what we can find today. 
            So this week has been UNBELEIVABLY busy. Well since Thursday. So Thursday we had leadership training in Zurich with all the district and zone leaders in Switzerland, and it was good. Pretty much just about what we can do as leaders to help the missionaries who are struggling with disappointment or other problems. And then Pres. Miles told us about a change that he had decided to make in our temple policy. Before the rule was that missionaries were only allowed to go to the temple with newly baptized members. But he has now changed the rule and all missionaries in Switzerland can go to the temple once a transfer. YES!!!!! That was the best news ever!!!! I am so excited to go to the temple next transfer. Good thing I got into Switzerland when I did.
            Then Friday was transfer calls. I am staying in Wetzikon, but Elder Jacob is leaving. He is going to the Zollikon ward, which is the ward right around the temple. I am getting a new companion, obviously, and it is Elder Williams. He is from America, and is one transfer younger then I am, so I got to know him a little bit in the MTC. Anyways, I am excited to get to stay in a place for a little while, and I will get to celebrate Christmas here, but unfortunately Elder Jacob has to leave :( oh well, I guess the Lord knows what he is doing). Anyways we got that phone call at about 8 in the morning. Then at about 12 in the afternoon Pres. Miles called me, and asked what we had planned for the day. We had an appointment with a less active member, then weekly planning, then we wanted to go dooring. Pres. Miles asked if we could change around our schedule so that at about 5 o’clock he and Sis. Miles could take us out to dinner, and then afterwards he wanted to do weekly planning with us. So we got to go to dinner with Pres. and Sis. Miles at a sweet Italian restaurant and then we did planning together. It was a sweet pre-birthday treat, and Pres. and Sis. Miles didn`t even know it was my birthday the next day. I have to confess that we celebrated my birthday with the cakes and candles (see picture) and I opened my presents on Friday, so one day early, but I hope you can understand. It isn`t every day that our mission president takes us out to dinner and comes home with us to plan. So that was Friday.
            Then Saturday was pretty normal day. We had an appointment with A______, and then we went by on a less active family and the dad isn`t a member, but they let us in and we talked forever, (the dad liked to talk politics and economics) and then on our way home one of the young men called us and told us to come over to his house right away because he had food for us. He and one of his friends made this fast food lasgauna. (yeah sorry, my spelling is off today)(and I didn’t fix it!) they got the idea from epicmealtimes.com, so those of you with less restricted internet access then myself can check it out. Anyways, it is practically a heart attack on a plate. It was a base layer of bacon, then a layer of Quarter Pounders from McDonalds, then more bacon, spaghetti sauce, some cheese sauce, swiss sausages another layer of quarter pounders, sauce and cheese baked in a big metal pot. It tasted so good!!!! I was actually very surprised. Anyways, it was pretty awesome, and they had way too much so they invited us over it eat it. And they didn`t know it was my birthday either. So I am thinking that you probably prayed too much because we got way more food and fun times then I had expected.
            Oh and then Sunday was stake conference. So we had a pretty busy extended weekend, but it wasn`t so great investigator wise. We told one of our investigators who has been investigating the church for 6 years but has only been to church once that pretty much we were done meeting with him until he came to church. Then we also had a number of fallen out appointments. But we did have a super high light with a less active we met with. She is from Peru, is married and has a 7 year old daughter. We met with her on Friday, and we talked about the message of the Restoration, and committed her to preparing to go to the temple next year. It was a great lesson, and afterwards she told us that she wants to bring her sister who is not a member but lives close by to church next Sunday, as well as that she has someone she works with who she wants to give a Book of Mormon. I am so excited to work with her, and all of our other investigators. But we also need some new investigators because our teaching pool is pretty shallow right now, so please pray for that. I know that prayer works. It is the best! God lives and He answers prayers. He loves us and wants us to be happy. I also heard a good thought at stake conference yesterday. God isn`t interested in changing our circumstances, He is interested in changing us. I know that I have felt God`s hand in my life directing and changing me as I have prayed to Him. I know that this is his work, and it’s the best! I love you all!
Liebe
Elder Terry

Monday, November 7, 2011

Nov. 7, 2011


 
            Our week was definitely interesting. First of all one of our investigators, M___, was not showing up to any of our appointments, so we pretty much dropped him. Then he called us and said he still wanted to get baptized, and I told him that means we need to meet. So we met that day and set a plan for his baptism. Unfortunately part of that plan was that he had to come to church on Sunday, which he didn`t do, so we will see what happens. One of our other investigators, K___, decided he wanted to stay in the reformed church, so he dropped us.  
            I had a really cool experience on Thursday. I was doing another companionship exchange, and this time I was working with elder Forbush. He is American, and it was weird to be able to speak English with him. But that is besides the point. We had an appointment with A___, the investigator we found a few weeks ago, and at the end of the appointment I tried to get A____ to pray. He hasn`t prayed in our appointments yet because he always says that he has too much to think about, and he wants to be able to really focus on his prayers. But this time I really felt that it was time that he prayed. So when he said again that he had too much to think about and his thoughts were too muddled, I just told him that he needed to pray, and that we were going to wait here until he prayed. Then I folded my arms and closed my eyes and waited for him to pray, as I was fervently praying silently that he would pray. We sat there for at least 7 or 8 minutes and A___ kept saying "man, I can`t pray. Help me." over and over and over. But finally he prayed. And wow it was such a great prayer, and the spirit was so strong. Missionary work is just the best!
            Later that same day elder Forbush and I were on a train, and this really dirty drunk guy gets on the train, and starts playing his guitar and singing "Bear Necessities" from Jungle Book. It sounded really good, and it was just super funny. I was laughing so hard. Missionary adventures are awesome. Other than that we have had an okay week.   
            We have been losing investigators, either we drop them or they drop us, and once again we had no one at church yesterday (that is the worst feeling in the world. No investigators at church) but it definitely means that Elder Jacob and I are going to be finding some pretty awesome people this week, so keep us in your prayers.
            Anyways this week on Thursday is leadership training, so we will see if Pres. Miles says the same thing about staying in areas longer. (Andrew’s cousin said his mission president was told by the First Presidency to leave missionaries in one area for 6 months to a year)  A lot of missionaries in our mission do stay in the same area for a while, its just me who gets transferred every transfer. hahaha transfer calls are on Friday, so we will see what happens. I got your birthday package, and I haven`t opened anything yet, but I haven`t gotten the deoderant yet. And I got a birthday letter from Tay today, so thanks Tay and Tori and Sis. Thomas, you guys are the best!
            Oh and dinner appointments... well we get normally 2 a week or so. That is probably because I don`t want to go to them. Evening is prime missionary time, and we normally have appointments for almost every evening, so that makes it hard for members to invite us over, but oh well, I came on a mission to bring others to Christ, not just to chill out with members. Yes I know that members are super important and I am actually focusing on working more with them, so no one flip out and think I am going apostate.
            To answer your other questions, I think we get 310 Swiss francen, which is A LOT of money, pretty much equal with how much I have to pay every month, so that is ridiculous. I have no idea how much rent is because we don`t deal with that, but if I had to guess probably about 900 or 1000 francen a month. Switzerland is super expensive, like I said. For example... toast (or what Americans refer to as bread... yes there is a difference, and I`ll explain it when I get home) costs about 45 cents in euro in Germany, 50 cents in euro in Austria, and 1.05 francen in Switzerland. So with conversion rates it is hard to tell but about 1.5 times as much as in Austria. Chocolate, although ridiculously good, costs TONS. Milka is like 75 cents in Austria but 1.50 in Switzerland. Or a kägi-fret, the Swiss improvement on the kitkat costs 90 cents in Austria but 1.70 in Switzerland. And it is made in Switzerland. Wierd huh? oh and my favorite, the Döner. In Austria 3.50. in Germany 4.50, and in Switzerland 8.50. Man what a rip. Someone who takes economics should tell me how Switzerland has survived because it doesn`t make any sense to me. We normally buy things together, so that means we alternate every week who buys, but we normally spend about 70 francen a week on groceries. But that is enough about money, that stuff isn`t even important. I still need a Christmas wish list. I thought about buying you chocolates filled with alcohol as a joke, but then I realized it is in German so you wouldn`t be able to read it, and might actually eat it, so that is a bad idea. But otherwise all you are getting is a kg of frey chocolate. What I really want for Christmas is just some Christmas music. I am dying without Christmas music. So if you could burn me a cd with Manheim Steamroller and other good Christmas music, I would love it. (pres. Miles says we can choose if the music is worthy of our calling, so I am saying most of our Christmas music is, except for relient k and some of the songs from Muppets probably aren`t so great, ie Marley and Marley, but pretty much the ones that talk about Christ are great. So a cd of that would be great.
            On and with the recipes... do you want to google where I could buy brown sugar in Switzerland? for some reason they haven`t heard of that. Any other recipes would be welcomed. And a crock pot is a good idea, I will have to look in to that. Anyways, thanks so much, you are the bestest mom in the whole world, I love love love you, and have a great week!
Liebe
Elder Terry

Monday, October 31, 2011

Oct. 31, 2011


HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope all of you American children are enjoying your day of free candy, because here in Switzerland there is nothing. It is like it is not even a holiday or something. But it’s all good, I will keep the holiday spirit alive all throughout the day. No problem. I am sorry that this week has been stressful on you, we haven`t had the best week either.
First of all we had an unusual amount of fallen out appointments, which is always rough, but then we had a big shock. Tuesday after district meeting I did a companion exchange with the missionaries in Ebnat. I worked with Elder Bauerfiend, who is German and this is his first transfer on his mission, so he is pretty new. We had a great day, we had a great lesson with M_____ where we talked about the prophets and one of his friends was there and she had a lot of interest as well, so we gave her a Book of Mormon and made out an appointment with her, and then we did a lot of vorbeis, where we just go by on former and potential investigators, and with the first 2 we made out appointments for when we could come back and teach a lesson.
Then that evening we were supposed to have dinner with Bishop Uchtdorf, but he forgot and so that ended up not happening. But we found a sweet guy off the street named D_____, he is from Urietria or something that sounds like that, in Africa, and we have an appointment tomorrow so we will see how that goes. So it was actually a seemingly effective and great day. But then M_______ called us the next morning and said that he had thought more about it and he didn`t want to be baptized. In fact he didn`t want any contact with us at all. It was pretty rough, but we are hoping that we can get contact with him and find out exactly what happened.
And then one of our other baptismal candidates, M_____, is super flaky, and never shows up to our appointments. So he is pretty much dropped, sadly. There isn`t much more we can do for him. And then our last investigator with a baptismal date, A____, didn`t make it to church even though I called him 30 minutes before and he said he was coming. Needless to say it was a rough week.
Nevertheless (that is a great scripture word) I have really been impressed with how well Elder Jacob has taken all of it. He is still excited to do the work, and full of faith that we will be able to have contact again with M______. We have a pretty good week already planned out, and as Joseph Smith so eloquently stated, "no unhallowed hand can stop the work." "but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done”. That is the truth. The work is still moving forward, despite all of Satan`s attempts to stop it, and in spite of everything else that is going on in the world. So pray for a great week, and I am sure it will be exactly what the Lord has in mind.
            Now to answer more of your questions, Halloween, yeah not so big here, daylights savings time is awesome, we adjusted our clocks on Sunday, and I loved the extra hour of sleep. And don`t worry, the weather was actually really nice this week. I didn`t even wear my winter coat, just my suit coat the entire week. But yeah, it is pretty foggy this morning, and I have a feeling that the summer dreamland is about to be crushed. But don`t worry, I am ready for it! I am actually super excited. Winter in Switzerland! nothing can be better. Oh and I got my official Switzerland visa this week, so most likely (knock on wood) I will be staying in Switzerland for a while. My visa is good until next October, so we will see. Anyways thanks for everything, no packages yet, but hopefully soon :) and Christmas.... man I don`t even know... some cool gospel pictures, good, quick, American recipes, and love. That`s all I need. Oh and to know what you all want for Christmas. I mean, its not every day that you will have a son living in the land with the best chocolate, watches, and overall the best quality of everything. Naturally I will send you the special Swiss chocolate that is unavailable outside of Switzerland (the Swiss people say that the Swiss chocolate that you can buy in other countries, ie lindt, is not the same as when you can by it IN Switzerland. Sounds pretty phony to me, but we will see...) anyways, you are all in my prayers, thank you so much for everything, and I hope that this week is awesome. I mean it’s Halloween, how could it not be awesome? I love you mom!
liebe
Elder Terry

Monday, October 24, 2011

October 24, 2011


October 24, 2011
 (there are pictures at the end of this letter...check out my boy with really short hair!!)
            Wow it is weird to think that Jason Hodson is home. Crazy. that is cool though. and hopefully Colten gets his mission call soon. That would be pretty rough to be the last one left. I am glad that Caleb and I left at practically the same time.
            Okay about German....(I asked him if he was able to communicate ok with his companion, who is native German, and if Elder Jacob corrects him when he talks) Elder Jacob and I can communicate perfectly in German, because he speaks High German, unfortunately the people of Switzerland don`t. They speak Swiss German. And about 2 or 3 times a day I try to talk to someone and they don`t understand what I am saying because I speak High German with an American accent. But they can understand Elder Jacob just fine. Silly American accent. I am trying to have Elder Jacob help correct me, but so far it is not really helping. Sometimes when I am super frustrated I tell people that I come from Wien and that I am speaking High German. (the way I phrase it in German makes it so that I am not actually lying). hahaha it really isn`t that bad, but it is pretty funny, and I am trying my best to learn Swiss German, but it isn`t all that easy.
            As for how the people are different... that is a good question. I find the people to be much nicer and more open then in Austria, but other than that, it’s pretty much the same. Everyone has pride in their own country. Wetzikon is a lot smaller geographically then Wiener Neustadt, and their but we go to different cities more often then in Wiener Neustadt.(Can I tell you that it is killing me not to correct his spelling?  I’m not sure what he is saying with “their” so enjoy!) The biggest difference is just the economical differences. Austria is obviously a very rich, 1st world country, but Switzerland is loaded. Money coming out of their ears. But that is about all.
            Oh and before I forget, I got your letter today. So it took a week if you sent it last Monday(I sent it Tuesday so that’s good.  So keep sending letters)
            Our week was pretty good. First of all one, A_____ G_____ got baptized. He is 8 years old, and his mom is a member but his dad isn`t, and his dad didn`t want him to get baptized unless that is what he wanted, so we got to teach him the lessons. That was pretty cool. Then we are also working with M______ M_______. He is this sweet guy from Switzerland. He had a baptismal date for next Sunday, but we changed it to the 20th of November because he isn`t ready yet. Then we also have been going through the area book looking for new investigators, and we found a former investigator who we called and set up an appointment with. She is from Haiti, and she is awesome. Her name is H______, and pretty much we walked into her house and sat down and she told us about how much she loves the Book of Mormon, and how she tells everyone that she belongs to the "mormon church". We were super suprised, and I asked her if she knew all of this stuff already why she isn`t baptized, and apparently her dad is a seventh day adventist preacher, and in their church you have to investigate the church for 3 or 4 years before you can be baptized. so she didn`t feel she was ready for baptism, and she also works night shifts in her job so she can`t come to church because she is too tired to come right after work. Those are definitely small problems, and we are excited to help her overcome these small problems and get baptised.
            We also found this sweet investigator this week. His name is A______ M______ and he is from Ivory Coast. We found him as we were walking on the street Friday and we made out an appointment for Saturday, and then we invited him to church and the baptism on Sunday and he came to both. During Sunday school one of the members and I taught him the first lesson and gave him the baptismal commitment and he accepted. So his baptism is also planned for the 20 of November. So if I actually get to stay in an area for longer then 1 transfer then I will probably get to see a lot of baptisms soon. We are super excited. Other then that our week was awesome, and we are super excited for another super awesome week.
            Yes Bern temple is in our mission, it is about 2 hours away, but we are only allowed to go if we have a new member who invites us to come with him/her.

liebe
Elder Terry

            Well somehow I have a few extra minutes, so I decided to right (spelling again!) some more. So first, a few things I would love to have. First, when you send a package again, I need more deodorant. Another stick of stain cleaner wouldn`t be bad either. And I would love it if you could send me a recipe for chocolate chip cookies. Other then that, life in Switzerland is pretty good. Sometimes I can see the Alps from our home, and it is really beautiful. It snowed on Wednesday, but it all melted and is actually pretty warm today, but I am sure that it will get cold again. I bought a hat today, because without hair my head gets cold and I get a headache. Man I really have forgotten what it is like to have such short hair. Anyways, the work is definitely moving forward here in Wetzikon, not as fast as I want, but luckily God is the one in control and not me. Other cool things.... I can`t really remember... oh we bake banana bread like once a week, you would probably be proud of me, I am pretty good at cooking and baking now, but we don`t eat very often... most the time a döner for lunch and a sandwich for dinner. There is just too much to do, and who has time to eat when peoples` souls are dwindling in unbelief? besides, Jesus said that we shouldn`t live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. And so far so good. hahaha just kidding mom, don`t worry, I am fairly healthy, as healthy as I can be without running every day. okay bye now
love
Elder Terry


Apartment in Wetzikon




Elder Terry and Elder Jacob

Monday, October 17, 2011

October 17, 2011

         Alright, well unfortunately this is going to be a pretty short letter, and I know you don`t like that, but it is how it has to be. Because we went hiking today. We went as a zone and it was pretty much awesome. Hiking in the Alps. Too bad the top of the mountain was like 5000 feet, right about Orem level. But it was a lot of fun. I can`t remember the name of the mountain, but it is right next to Centius, so if you look for pictures of that general area you will see what I got to see today.
        Well to answer your questions... first off I forgot to mention the coolest part of serving in Wetzikon. And that is that our bishop is Bishop Uchtdorf, the son of THE Pres. Uchtdorf. I haven`t got a chance really to talk to him because he is super busy, but I was able to snag him for a few moments and set up an appointment so that we can meet with him and see what we can do to help him. The ward and ward mission leader are great, but they look at finding new investigators as something that the missionaries should do. But we will work on that with them. We are planning on just stopping by on members when we are in the area, teaching a short 10 minute lesson and see if we through the Holy Ghost can`t knock some referrals out if them. And we are working on joint teaches as well, because they aren`t so very keen on that. But I am very optimistic, because I think they really want to help deep down, but they, like all of us, just sometimes need to be challenged to take things up a level. I`m not going to lie, the best part of being a missionary is that I don`t have to worry about stepping on peoples toes. And of course, if one has the Spirit then it is fairly easy to help them out.
         We have about 10 investigators right now. One of them has a baptism date for the 29 of October, but he still needs to start living the Word of Wisdom and Law of Chastity. But hopefully he will make it.
        No bizarre food, I beleive there are 11 wards in St Gallen so that is 22 missionaries, zone meetings are in Winterthur, right out side Zurich.

Liebe
Elder Terry

Sunday, October 16, 2011

 October 10, 2011

Wow, it sounds like it has been a busy week. Congrats to the XC team, and too bad about the badish weather. here are the answers to all of the questions you asked me.
First new address is
Elder Andrew Terry
Kirche Jesu Christi HLT
Alpenländische Mission
Bahnhofstrasse 278
8623 Wetzikon
Schweiz (Switzerland
)

Second of all, train ride. So my train left Wien at 6:14, so we actually stayed the night with other elders in Wien. But we had to wake up at 4:30 in order to get ready and get to the train station. I got to Munich at 10:30, and the secretary elders picked me and Elder Ronna (zone leader from Wien, he is also going to Switzerland) and rushed us to the Swiss Consolate so that we could get swiss visas. It takes 4 to 5 hours to print our visas, so we had to wait at Munich bahnhof. Elder Ronna and I talked to alot of people though, so that was alot of fun. Then we got on a train at 16:30 and got to Zurich train station at 20:45. Then it is only about 15 minutes from Zurich to our appartment. So in total about 8 or 9 hours on the train. I took some pictures this time, but sadly this internet place doesn`t let you send pictures, but I will get them to you soon.

MY new companion is Elder Jacob, like I said. He has been on his mission for about 1 month. He had 11 days in the MTC and then 3 weeks in the field. So he is also pretty new to the area, so we are learning together. It has definitely been an interesting experience.

The church building is 5 minutes by foot away from our apartment, so really close. The terrain is pretty hilly, people not from Utah might say mountainy, but they aren`t really mountains. Our area is the south east of Zurich, along side the Zurich Sea, and it is a really beautiful area. We will be riding trains and buses. I just got my GA today, which is a pass that allows you to use all trains, buses and boats in Switzerland. Which is really handy because Switzerland has great public transportation. But it is SUPER expensive here. I already spent 142 franken to use the Zurich train and bus system for 1 week, so I am really happy to have a GA. Everything is super expensive. Clothes, transportation, and especially food. It is ridiculous. I called the financial secretaries to see if they could give me some more money, and they did, but I might have to pull from my personal money as well, we will see. I will try not to.

It has been SUPER rainy and cold the past 3 days, so it is good that I bought a coat. But I will also be buying a scarf, a umbrella ( I have already broken 2 cheap ones, so I am thinking of buying a new one) and I need a new watch, becuase somehow my watch that is 50 meters water resistant had some trouble with a little rain, and now there is water inside it, so it doesn`t work. And there is no better place to buy a watch then Switzerland. But don`t worry mom, I will do my best to not spend personal money.  Anyways, the other new thing is the language. You see, in Switzerland they don`t really speak German, they speak so called "Swiss German". It is about as close to German as English is. There are some words that are the same, and the general word order is the same, but the majority of the words and pronounciation is very different. Even my German companion can`t understand them. So that has definitely been a challenge. But we will get over it. Needless to say, this has definitely been a learning experience this past week, but I have definitely felt the Lord`s love and support. I know this church is true, and I love you! Have a great week!
Liebe
Elder Terry

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Access GRANTED!!!


October 3, 2011

            So, I believe I failed to mention this last week, but this week was transfer calls, and I got transferred. TO SWITZERLAND!!! If you are wondering why I am excited, its because Switzerland is like the forbidden forest of our mission. Since the problems with visas Switzerland has practically been its own mission, because we couldn`t get visas for missionaries to get transferred there. So I`m not exactly sure how I got in, either they have a visa for me, or I will only be there for 90 days, either way, I`m going to Wetzikon ward, in the St. Gallen stake. My new companion is Elder Jacob, he is from Germany, and has been on his mission for 3 weeks, and has been a member for 1 year. Man I am so excited to be working with a German companion. Finally I will learn GERMAN!!!  
            Anyways, we will be following the new training program, so that will be exciting, and I am staying district leader. So this will definitely be a very busy transfer. I am really excited for it though, in case you can`t tell. And I am really excited for another ridiculously long train ride, once again through München. hahaha every transfer day I go to München. It is pretty ridiculous. Oh well. Oh and let Abbie know that I got her letter today, so not to worry, I got it before I got transferred, and tell Brooke I say hi, and that she is the best!
            Anyways, about conference. So because we are like 8 hours ahead of Utah time wise, we watched the Saturday morning session live at 6 pm here. It was a great session. I love Elder Scott, he is the best! I really liked his talk. And also Pres. Uchtdorf´s talk, it was also one of my favorites. Oh and we watched it in English at the church. Then Sunday we watched the priesthood session at 11 am, once again in English at the church. Priesthood session is the best! sorry I don`t mean to offend any women or make them feel like they missed out, because they can watch it and read it later, but it was really great. I loved all of the talks. Elder Holland was his good ol´ crazy self, calling us to war, and the entire first presidency spoke. It was pretty much crazy. I loved it! Then we had lunch, and then we watched the Saturday afternoon session at 2, also in English. Then we drove and picked up an investigator, Anton Bozesky, and brought him to the Sunday morning session which we watched at 6 pm, and this time in German because we had investigators to sit by. It was a great experience, but I`m not going to lie, I like watching them in English more than German. It is better to hear the real voices of the apostles and prophet as they speak. But that is just my opinion. But we missed the Sunday afternoon session. but thanks to the wonders of technology I just downloaded all of the sessions of conference to my mp3 player and now I can listen to them whenever I want! It is going to be great.
            Well this week was awesome, it went by really fast because we were super busy. We did 2 service projects, one was stacking wood and the other was digging holes, both things that I am super good at, thanks to my higher education I got at college. Anyways, I hope that this week goes well. Enjoy the fall weather! Oh and I haven`t bought a coat yet, but probably today, because things in Switzerland are super expensive, so I will probably buy it here in Austria. Anyways, I love you, the church is true, Pres. Monson is most definitely THE living prophet today. And if we follow his counsel then we can stand assured that we will receive the blessings promised us by an unchanging and infinitely loving Heavenly Father. I love you!
Liebe
Elder Terry

Sunday, October 2, 2011

September 25, 2011

                 First of all, $200 should be enough. I`m looking for a coat in about the 50€ price range, so that is about 70 or 80 dollars I believe. Anyways, I guess I will answer your question now. I have enough time to read the emails from my friends. I don`t print them, because it costs 10 cents a page to print, which is rather expensive, so I just read them. But please keep sending them to me.
               I am glad that Tanner finally got to speak in church. He is such a stud. I am excited to read his talk.
Anyways, I am glad to hear that BYU won, finally. That's good. And no, I don`t need more vitamins, and it would definitely be cheaper if I just bought them here then if you sent them to me. I am in Europe, not in Mexico. We are semi civilized over here. (Ouch!)
              This week was definitely a great one. Like I said last week, it was pretty cold here on Monday, and also on Tuesday. I was pretty cold. Tuesday we didn`t have district meeting becuase we had leadership training later in the week, but we had another austausch. This time I stayed in Wiener Neustadt and Elder Greve came here and worked with me. It was great. Elder Greve is awesome. He was my zone leader when I first got into the field, and now he is in his last transfer, he will be going home in 1 week. But he worked here in Wiener Neustadt for 3 transfers, so he told me about some potential investigators that we could go by on. We had a lot of fun and got a lot of missionary work done as well, even though Elder Greve is pretty sick. But he refuses to stay inside, which is awesome. Somehow I have avoided the sickness, almost everyone else in our district has had it, but I have lucked out, (knock on wood). Maybe all those days of running outside no matter what the weather has toughened my body and immune system. Anyways it is warm again, so no worries. We are hoping to enjoy a few more weeks of good weather before it gets too bad.
               On Friday we had our leadership training meeting in Wien, which was changed into a pretty much a zone conference, becuase there was only one companionship that wouldn`t be invited. You see, all district leaders, trainers, there companions obviously, and all sisters are invited to leadership training, and there are so many people being trained in wien that that is pretty much everyone. So the one set of elders that wouldn`t of normally come were invited, and Pres Miles taught us about the new training program that is being introduced all over the world. you have probably read about it in everyone elses emails, so I will spare you the boring details, but pretty much the plan is that the new missionaries should be able to train after 12 weeks. So the new missionaries and their companions will stay together for 12 weeks or 2 transfers, and they will have 2 hours of companionship study instead of 1. A lot of the focus is on improved teaching, and part of that is that missionaries will be watching clips from The District 1 and 2. And that means......(drum roll) that every companionship was rewarded with a portable DVD player! Wow, missionary work is going hi tech! It is pretty exciting though, and we were all really suprised. One step closer to missionaries with ipads!
                Anyways, more about the actual missionary work, we had a really great week. We were able to change our pattern of meeting with C_______, so we shortened our appointments and meet 3 times a week. I think it has helped a lot, and this next week it should definitely help a lot, because between 3 times with us and general conference she is going to be flooded with the gospel and the spirit. It will be awesome! It is going to be exactly what she needs to jump start some changes in her life. We also met with Herr S______, and he is doing well, he had a really wierd question about the word of wisdom though. He totally agrees with the word of wisdom and knows that it is true, but he won`t admit it is revelation becuase he feels like it goes against what Jesus said when he told the Pharisees that it wasn`t what went in the mouth but what came out that defiled a man. He feels like that means that it doesn`t matter to God what we eat or do with our bodies. We explained it as well as we could, but it all comes back to whether Joseph Smith was a prophet or not, so we commited him to pray about it, and hopefully we will be able to talk more about it this week. We also finally got to meet with G_______, an ewige untersucher (eternal investigator ?)who we haven`t been able to meet with for like 10 weeks. And A______ came to church this week, and hopefully next weekend we will be able to meet with him between conference sessions, and help him progress towards baptism!
        Wiener Neustadt is just the best area ever! and Elder Talbot is great! Transfer calls are this week so we will see what happens... anyways have a great week, make sure to watch conference becuase it is the best thing ever, and I love you!
Liebe
Elder Terry

Friday, September 23, 2011

Sept. 19, 2011


            Well first off, we received no visit from Elder Bednar. At least that I am aware of. Maybe sometimes soon...?? Well I can at least hope. (according to other missionary letters I have read Elder Bednar visited England and the Frankfurt Mission)  And as for music, I would love some CDs. And there isn`t really anything I want for my birthday. I am going to need to buy a winter coat soon (it is pretty cold today, so it might be REALLY soon), so you could give me money for that :) anyways, sorry I am so boring and lame, but there is really nothing that I want for my birthday.
            That is interesting that they moved special ed to Rocky Mountain. Any good reason as to why they did that? And I am sorry that time goes by so fast. Now you know what it is like trying to teach people the gospel in 45 minute lessons.
            Well this week was really interesting, for a number of reasons. First off last Monday for P day after I emailed you we went to Wien to Stephansdom, the giant church in the center of Wien. We met up with Elder Sanderson and his companion, Elder Tanner, and we went on a tour of the catacombs underneath Stephansdom. It was really cool, but pretty creepy, because the catacombs are where they buried people, so there are just rooms full of dead bodies, and apparently they ran out of room, so in some of the rooms they started to organize the bones so that they could fit more people inside. Unfortunately there are no pictures allowed, so you can`t see how disgusting it was. But we also climbed the tower of Stephansdom, 343 steps in this little windy staircase, but it was a good view. All and all it was a very fun p day.
            Then Tuesday we had district meeting, and then we had an austausch. Elder Talbot worked in Wien with Elder Greve, and Elder McClellan came to Wiener Neustadt with me. We had 2 fallen out appointments, so it was a pretty rough day, and nobody really wanted to listen, so poor Elder McClellan, he probably thinks Wiener Neustadt is the worst. Oh well, we had a lot of fun, and it was a good austausch. Then on Wednesday we had another austausch. This time I went to Wien with Elder Sullivan, and Elder Parker went to Wiener Neustadt with Elder Talbot. Now if any of you are thinking, "man, why are you doing so many companionship exchanges?" let me tell you why. Pres. Miles is very synergy oriented, and he really wants us to do a lot to learn from each other. He has asked us to do more austausches and to do a better job of making them spiritual experiences. So that is why. Anyways the austausch in Wien with Elder Sullivan was awesome. He was a little sick, so that was rough, but he really did a great job of working through it. It was super fun to work again in Wien. We had tons of fun talking to everyone. And we had a cool story.
            We talked to this atheist, Buddhist guy, who really wasn`t too interested. He was willing to talk with us, but he wouldn`t give us a number, address, or make out an appointment. I was ready to leave him and find someone new, but then Elder Sullivan committed him to go home, and pray if there was a God. He agreed to do it, and then gave us his number and address. It was pretty cool. Elder Sullivan is the bomb.
            Besides the austausches, Elder Talbot and I have been trying to really get the work moving faster here in Wiener Neustadt. We have a lot of investigators, but they aren`t really progressing, and we really wanted to change that. So we have thought a lot about it, and we are trying to get our investigators to meet with us for 3 times a week. It is a lot, but we have really felt that that is what is needed to help them progress. We will see what will happen this week.
            Anyways, we had stake conference this weekend, and we were finally able to get A________ to come to church, and to meet with us! He has been working like 60 hours a week, so he hasn`t had anytime to meet with us. But finally on Sunday we met with him at a members house. We talked about reading scriptures daily, and at first A_____ said that he didn`t have any time to read, but as we talked more and as A_____ felt the spirit he totally changed, and by the end he told us that he wants us to call him every day to remind him to read! It was really a testimony to me of the power of the spirit and how it is the only thing that can change people, but it also showed how easy it is to drift away from the iron rod. Scripture study is the best! I am so glad we get to study for 2 hours every day. It is my favorite time of the day.
Anyways, have a great week, enjoy the beautiful season of fall, and I love you mom!

Liebe
Elder Terry