Monday, August 29, 2011

August 29, 2011


            First off, I got the package, so thank you! I really loved it!!!!!!
            Answers: Well first off, I honestly have no clue if I am junior companion again or what. Maybe, maybe not. Pres. Miles never told me what I was, and he never told elder Talbot if he was junior or senior companion either, so it’s all good. As District Leader I pretty much just call the other missionaries and make sure they are doing alright, I report their key indicators (more commonly known as numbers) and then I have to teach/lead district meeting. So it’s pretty much an adventure. But our first district meeting wasn`t a complete failure, so I wasn`t released. Actually our district grew, so now we have 5 companionships in our district, which is relatively large, so who knows? Oh and I get to go on a lot of exchanges with other missionaries because as district leader I am supposed to go on exchange with every elder in my district. So we will be having a lot of those in the coming weeks. And I get to do baptismal interviews for investigators in my district. So its definitely exciting. And no, we don’t go home early so that we can call everyone, I just call everyone after we are done with daily planning, which means it is hard to find time to write in the journal. But oh well, I will find/make time.
            And sadly my cooking skills are lacking, and so is time to properly cook, so not very much cooking, and we eat with members normally about twice a week. So I live off of microwave schnitzel, käse leberkäse with semmeln, and döner kepabs. Yeah, the diet of champions!  (If anyone would like to tell me what he’s eating I would appreciate it!  I know käse leberkäse is cheese loaf but I don’t know the others)
            Anyways, that is crazy to here that Josh (Warner) and Jordan (Anderson) and Kyle (Paulson) are all leaving on their missions already. Somehow in my crazy missionary parallel universe mindset I am the only one getting older and everyone back in America is the same as when I left. Guess I was wrong there.
            And tell everyone that I say hi back! Actually, since this email is most likely forwarded, I will just say hi myself. "Hi!" or as we say here in Austria "Servus!" apparently that means Hello or something in German, but not very many people in Germany say it, but everyone in Austria says it. So it’s probably an Austrian thing. And I only get letters from the mission home when the mission president comes to Wien, for example for zone conference this Friday, so I will get mail from the mission home then. And I haven’t gotten anything from Brooke recently, so most likely it is in there. And I got the letter from Jake (Berlin) telling me he was going to Chile.
            So this week was a interesting week. First off, it was HOT. Not warm, mild, rainy, nice or any other seemingly mild adjective that could possibly be used to describe the weather, I mean BLAZING HOT! It was 41 degrees Celsius Monday and 43 degrees Celsius Tuesday, which if my rough, on the spot conversion is accurate is about 105 and 110 degrees Fahrenheit. That would be manageable if I lived in a first world country that could afford air conditioning. Wait! I do live in a first world country; just no one bothers to have air conditioning! As you can obviously tell, I am a little bitter. Oh well, we survived, and as my great uncle Rafiki (he is a monkey) always says "it’s in the past!"
            Well besides the heat, we have had a pretty good week. We were able to meet with Christina on Tuesday, and we had a great appointment. The spirit was really strong; we were able to help her to set another goal to be baptized on the 25 of September. I know that if she really works hard that she will make that baptismal date! Unfortunately we had to change Andreas baptismal date because he hasn’t had time to meet with us in the past two weeks because of his work. He is still progressing, just not as fast as he was when he had nothing to do but meet with us, read in the Book of Mormon, and go to drug rehab. Now he is busy and is having a hard time finding a balance to his life. We are praying for him as well, and I am sure things will work out exactly like they should. In fact he brought his girlfriend to church yesterday, and she really liked it, and that is a big step in his progression.
            We are still trying to help Herr Schäfer realize that he already knows that the church is true. I mean, come on. This past week he fasted for a day and half and loved it. He told us about how he could feel the spirit like 10 times as strong. And he wasn’t even hungry. He wants to go for fasting for 3 days. We told him that all things need to be done in wisdom and order, but come on. He is still "waiting" for an answer that the Book of Mormon is true, but he lives the Word of Wisdom, loves the Book of Mormon and church, and wants to fast for 3 days? I’m calling shenanigans on that one. Hopefully we will be able to help him recognize that he has already received his answer. But we will see, like we told him, all things have to be done in wisdom and order, and that means the Lord’s wisdom and order, not mine.
            We also helped a member family move. Well actually the dad isn’t a member, so we are hoping that we will be able to start meeting with him soon, but it was fun to be helping people move. It made me feel like I was back in Utah!
            Well we had a great week, I will try to take some more pictures mom just for you, sorry I can`t be as diligent as Spencer taking all of his pictures, or Taylor with his talk show :) just kidding, I know you love me and you just want what is best for me, so I´ll try not to lay on the guilt too thick. Anyways, I know that the Book of Mormon is true. It’s the best book ever. It’s like a portable hug/therapy session/pep talk all rolled in to one. I know that ANYONE can read the Book of Mormon and know that it is true. And that we can know that it is true EVERY SINGLE TIME we read it. The spirit ALWAYS testifies of truth, and the Book of Mormon is full of truth. And if we listen with our hearts we will feel the truth of it, piece by piece, until it "it fills us from the crown of our head to the soles of our feet... and we shall be made to know the truth as God knows it, and to do the will of the Father as Christ does it. And NO OTHER principle shall establish men in the truth. ONLY by obedience to the eternal principles of heaven." I have felt the beginning of this process, and it has filled my soul with more joy then I have ever before experienced. The Book of Mormon is true, and it is important! In fact there is "no question of more importance to us then if the Book of Mormon is the word of God!" I leave this testimony, and my love, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Liebe
Elder Terry 

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