November 26, 2012

Dear Mommy,

                Well, we had a good trip down to St. Moritz. There wasn`t much to do there since all the summer stuff is closed and none of the winter stuff was open, but it was still really, really beautiful. Let’s see.... my Thanksgiving was rather unexciting. We didn`t really celebrate at all, so it was just another day. But it sounds like you had a lot of fun for thanksgiving. That is good :) 

                I really am having a hard time remembering what we did this week. The time flew past. We had a finding day in Zurich. That was pretty good. I enjoyed it a lot, and we had a lot of fun. We tried to do some Christmas caroling but it wasn`t so successful. But we did find a really cool young man from Brazil who was really excited to learn more. He was the first person I talked to during our finding day. You know it is going to be a good day when the first person has interest. 
                Other than that we have just been focusing on our investigators. Yuri says thank you so much and that he loves you and that you are the best! (for the bengay) He is doing good. We were able to have a pretty good serious talk with him, and it helped me realize more clearly what his challenges are and how we can help him. He pretty much just needs a social conversion and he will be baptized. So that is what we are working on. We are trying to get him invited to family home evenings and such so that he can have the support necessary to make the changes in his life. 
                Kurt is doing good as well. We talked a lot with our branch president and he thinks Kurt can be baptized before the end of the year! So that is awesome news. We will see how it goes this week. We are teaching the word of wisdom tomorrow :) it will be good.
                We also met with a cool young guy named Iqbal. We had given him a Book of Mormon a while ago, and he had googled it and had watched a lot of anti-Mormon stuff, like "hi, my name is .... and I am a ex Mormon" I guess that that is like the anti mormon.org site. It was interesting how people would twist and turn truths, and how partial truths are really lies. anyways, moral of the story, we were able to straighten out a few misunderstandings, and Iqbal committed to reading in the Book of Mormon and meeting at least one more time, although he is busy with school and couldn’t say exactly when. But it went really well. We have a lot of really cool potential investigators who we just need to meet with :) and we are prepping for Christmas time. We are going to go caroling a lot. 
                Anyways, time flies, I can`t believe it is almost December again, sorry this email sounds really boring as I read it, but oh well, I guess it will help you increase in patience and love. Don`t forget that I love you! You`re the best!

Liebe
Elder Terry

November 18, 2012

Dear Mom, 
             Well first of all I didn`t get transferred, and neither did Elder Nielsen. We get to stay together for another transfer. Isn`t that awesome? and thanks for the stuff for Yuri! And yes, I will be in Chur for Christmas! We are excited. anyways, I suggest you go to the German Christmas thing because we are going to Germany in the summer so you won`t really experience a German Christmas. Sorry
             Well this week has been a busy and exciting one. First off, I bought a new camera,  so you will see that on my bank account. But it was totally worth it because I take like a video clip a day. It is sweet. Anyways, this email will be a little bit shorter than normal because we are going to St Moritz for p day.
            Anyways, here is the news from Chur. We have discovered a new religion. It is called Bahai? (Actually it is Baha'i) At least I think that is how they spell it. I don`t have enough time to explain everything that they believe, nor do I know that much about it, but it sounds pretty interesting. Anyways, we met 2 people that are this religion this week. One was a bit nicer then the other. The nice one is named Herr Broder, and we were able to meet with him this week. Unfortunately he didn`t want to make out an appointment with us, but he felt the spirit, and pretty much couldn`t deny that we are the true church of Jesus Christ. He was previously Catholic, and at all of the points that caused him to convert to Baha'i we either had similar beliefs or better beliefs. I think it made him a little scared. Hopefully he will contact us this week. that would be awesome. Anyways, we are busy looking for the elect. This is the work of God, and I absolutely love it. There is nothing better in the ENTIRE world. Sorry this letter is so short, but I still LOVE YOU LOTS and LOTS!

Liebe
Elder Terry

Pictures are of Goldens and Trainers  August 2012
Elders Terry and Nielsen  August 2012
Terry, Schmidt, Carter  August 2012

November 12, 2012

Dear Mom,
                I got your package, and I waited until today to open it. It was fantastic! Thanks so much for watching out for me, and thanks to everyone who wrote something :) I have the best family in the world!
                Well this past week has been exciting and busy. We have started to meet with a family in Lichtenstein! They are pretty interesting. They are super faithful, but Pentecostal, and really bible oriented. Not really sure how interested they are. They like to try to teach us from the bible. I must admit, it is really hard for me not to bible bash with them. But we are doing our best, and the Lord will do the rest! 
                Things are also going well with Yuri. He is making progress, slowly, but surely. I think sometimes as a missionary I forget how hard it can be to change. For me it is so clear that if the Book of Mormon is true, then get BAPTIZED! It is hard to remember that there could be 1000`s of other social or even doctrinal issues that the investigator doesn`t even mention. If fact, when you think about it, it is a miracle that anyone converts at all. There seems to always be challenges and concerns, yet those who hold to the iron rod come through alright.
                We are also having a lot of fun with Ngawang, our investigator from Tibet. He really wants to study in the Book of Mormon and find out if we are telling the truth. He also cooked Tibetan food for us this week. It was good. 
                We have another busy week a head of us this week, and transfer calls are on Friday. I am hoping that now that Elder Sanderson and Elder Sullivan are the assistants that they will send me to Italy :) that would be awesome! hahaha but we will see. 
                This week was also a week of miracles. Every day we met people in the most random areas. Monday we should have had an appointment with a guy named Rolf, but we show up and he wasn`t there. So we went streeting for 40 minutes and then I said, "I am hungry, lets go buy a chocolate croissant " so we walk in the store and the guy we wanted to meet with is standing right there! He had to work and sent us a text message, but our phone didn`'t get it. So that was cool. Then Tuesday we were on a train and as I got off I saw that an old man gave a younger girl a book about Jesus. I waited until he got off, and then told him that I appreciated that he would talk about his faith. He was a really cool guy, and we talked for a while, and then he said that he needed to go to some Brokies (second hand stores). That was cool because we needed to find some because we need a new rug, so I asked if we could come along for a while. We were able to talk to him a lot, and the more amazing thing, at the first brokie we go to we walk in and see a potential investigator from another city who we have been trying to contact. So we were able to talk with him. Then Thursday we were streeting and talked to a man who turned out to be a less active member who the ward had lost track of and had tried for the past 2 years to find. All I can say is that I am grateful for a Father in Heaven who sends us his tender mercies to let us know that we are on the right path. I know that God guides this work, and his hands are in the details! The church is true!

Liebe
Elder Terry

November 4, 2012

Dear Mom,

                Well sorry that you are battling sickness and tiredness, but doesn`t it make you grateful for a universal resurrection where we will finally not get sick or tired anymore? The gospel is the greatest :)
And so is being on a mission. This week flew by, I woke up this morning and thought that it might be Friday, and then realized that it is Monday. Crazy. I think I am trapped in some kinda crazy time warp/wrinkle in time that is distorting by ability to perceive time. But anyways, on to more important things....
                Well let’s see what happened this week... First off John, our cool Nigerian friend got deported. He called me today from the deportation camp, and at the end of the month he will be sent back to Italy. He will call us when he gets there, and hopefully the missionaries there will be able to teach him farther. 
We met a cool guy named Yawad. He is from Syria and he came up to us last Monday and said in very broken German that he wanted a book. So we went home and got one in Arabic and gave it to him. He is almost finished with it, and came to church yesterday, the only frustrating thing is that we can`t really communicate at all with him. But don’t worry, we will find a way.
                Things are continuing with Yuri as well. He is still in love with the Catholic Church, but little by little we are teaching him the restored truths of the gospel, and they are changing him. 
                We also went to the temple this week. It was fun to be in Bern again. I love that city :) and the temple was awesome. It is the best place on the world.
                We also had finding day this week in Richterswil. It was good. We found a couple of cool people, including a funny guy named Jonas. I asked him what the purpose of life for him was, and he explained that he was atheist and didn`t really believe in God, and then I asked him if he knew anything about the Book of Mormon? He answered that he watched South Park, and knew about the Book of Mormon from a couple of episodes, and I was able to convince him that he should take the Book of Mormon and read it for himself. Hopefully he will do that and will be able to find answers to his questions and problems.
                This week I have been studying a lot about change, and how we can change ourselves through the atonement of Jesus Christ. I don`t know how you, or anyone else feels, but sometimes I feel like I am stuck in the same old routine, and that it is ridiculously hard to change. I searched the scriptures, looking for some secret knowledge that I knew would unlock this mystery for me. I spent a lot of time studying it, and even more time pondering about it, and it was truly a testimony to me about the simple but eloquent truths of the gospel as I read in Helaman 15:7-8

 7 And behold, ye do know of yourselves, for ye have witnessed it, that as many of them as are brought to the knowledge of the truth, and to know of the wicked and abominable traditions of their fathers, and are led to believe the holy scriptures, yea, the prophecies of the holy prophets, which are written, which leadeth them to faith on the Lord, and unto repentance, which faith and repentance bringeth a change of heart unto them—

 8 Therefore, as many as have come to this, ye know of yourselves are firm and steadfast in the faith, and in the thing wherewith they have been made free.

                This change of heart was wrought upon the Lamanites through faith and repentance! That is the Gospel of Jesus Christ! The third missionary lesson! It can`t be that simple! But thank goodness, it is. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a divinely appointed plan of action. It is God`s way of changing us. A change that is so complete, a full change of actions, thoughts and even desires. I testify that faith and repentance are the way to overcome all challenges of life! I am so thankful for a loving Savior, who suffered, bled, and died that I might, through his tender mercies and grace, change my life, step by step. I testify that this church is the Lord`s personal church, led by his appointed prophet. And I testify that missionary work is the best! 

Liebe
Elder Terry

pictures:  Elders Terry and Nielsen at Lake Arosa
Lake Arosa
McRaclette Burger
Swiss Days at McDonalds