That was the title of Jaren's letter to us this week. Not sure what it means, but I think it is "Spring?!? No, winter!! AAAH!" He is his mother's boy.
I emailed him the same pics I posted here yesterday so he could enjoy our wild spring with us.
I let him know in my letter this week that we pray often for him but that I was going to make it a point to pray for his investigators by name since I feel like I know them through him. I also let Jaren know that in reading my missionary journals and the newsletters the mission office sent to missionaries while we were out I discovered that someone had baptized a 100 year old woman on their mission! I let Jaren know that Sister Schmitt is not too old to be baptized. You're never too old!
Ich habe viel über die letzte woche zu reden! Es ist so cool was hat passiert mit die Schwester Schmitt. Sie ist unglaublich!! Ja, sie ist alt, aber sie sieht als ein fünfundsiebzig jahre alt Frau!
Okay, just thought I´d share a little bit of my German with you. It is far from perfect, but Elder White and I are trying to speak German all the time. I just had my interview with President Ninow last week, and he asked me how my German was going, and I told him I could do better. So, we have been speaking German for the last week straight, accept in the mornings in the apartment and when we get home at night. The rule is when we step out the door, it is German, German, German until we return!!! Whenever we don´t know a word or a phrase, we ask or we look it up, or we write it down for later searching. It has actually been pretty fun, and my excitement and enthusiasm for learning the language has also grown.
Anyway, what I basically said was, I have a lot of things to talk about from this last week. A lot of cool things have happened with Sister Schmitt. She is unbelievable!! Yeah, she is old, but she looks and acts like a 70-75 yearold woman! So yes Mom, she is not 100, but still, she isn´t that young either!! She did come to church last week, and that is her new record! She has come to church 3 weeks out of the last five! I was so excited. She is also becoming friends with the other ladies in the ward too. We did have Family Home Evening yesterday, and she came again. She actually said that she wasn´t sure if she would come because she had other things to do, and wasn´t feeling the best on Sunday. I called her Monday morning to see how she was doing, and if she had other things to do. She didn´t know. She then told me that she would call later. Well, she didn´t call, and then at 4:30, an hour before the bus came to pick us up, I called her to see if she was feeling better. At first she was a little unhappy because she was sleeping, but told me she had been all day. I told her that it would be a lot of fun, and then told her that we would be waiting for her at the bus stop. She told me that she was "veraggert" or agitated that I called with such short notice. She then explained that older women take time to get ready and half an hour isnt enough. WOMEN! (could she be related to Grandma Crockett. . . bless her heart!) Anyway, she was happy regardless and I told her I was sorry, and she forgave me. Funny thing is, she is always not quite sure what to expect when she goes, and just like last time, was laughing so hard with the other older women in the ward that I thought she was going to passout and die from lack of breathing!!! The lesson was pretty sweet too. The other Elders taught it, because we have had the lesson the last three weeks in a row! She continues to make progress. Thanks for your prayers, I know that they are working!
The last week has gone pretty well too. Oh, I forgot to tell you Mom, last Sunday I had a talk and it was on "The Influence of A Faithful Mother in my Life." I used the story of the 2000 stripling Warriors. I then spoke about the influence you have had on my life and without a Faithful Mother in the world today I would be completely lost. I used your example of going on a mission and told the ward that I am grateful for the example that you and Dad have set to go on a mission. I then related how I´m the first one in the family to go and that that desire came because of the Influence of my parents. (aaahhhh)
Now going to the little peice that Taylor shared about the differences between Americans and Germans. That is so true. I am so grateful for what I have been taught and I thank the Lord everyday because I see broken families all the time. Morals are pretty low here among the youth. A lot of drinking and smoking. But that is because the legal age to drink is much lower as well. It is 16 years old in Germany! The youth would rather be out doing things with friends that they shouldn´t be doing, because they don´t like being at home with their family. You mention family here and a lot of the people just grunt or laugh, or think we are absolutly crazy! But, that is one thing that I am so grateful for. I know more than ever the strength a family can have when based on the Gospel and the commandments of God. When founded on the right principles, the family is the best and safest place to be when everything else around us fails. But when the family is broken, there is nothing, and you are just tossed through the world. Sometimes when I meet someone on the street I wish I could just open their eyes so they could see the joy the family really brings. But I can´t force the gospel on anyone. They have the right to accept or reject, but I have the responsibility to give it to them in a way that they understand what I say so they can make that decision for themselves. Sometimes that feels like a very huge responsibility, especially with a population of people like the Europeans who have done things mainly because of tradition and not because of faith that what they know will bless them. Yes it is difficult somedays, but I love it! I love every minute of it! And I know that when my time is done I will really miss it! There isn´t a time quite like these two years. I think I am starting to really love the people now more than ever. I love to learn their language, talk with them, be around them, and love them. With Schwester Schmitt, I think that is the only thing we can do, show her our love, and serve her. Her time will come and I pray that in the end she see our love for her, and that she can feel the power of the Holy Ghost speaking to her.
Well I´ll try to answer your questions.
Q. When are transfers? I know they are coming up. Next week?
A. They are actually in a week and a half! Yikes!!! I feel like February just ended and March just began! Now it is almost April!!! Well, I don´t know what will happen, but I hope I stay because things are picking up here. Yet, by the end of this cycle, I will have been here for four and a half months! It really hasn´t seemed that long!
Q. Has your time changed there?
A. Not yet, it will on Saturday. I am pretty excited. More daylight. Winter was cold and long. We only get about 9 hours of daylight in the Winter. It is pretty disgusting. But now, it is light from about 6:30 till 6:30, so around twelve hours. Wonderful!
Q. Has spring arrived in Germany yet?
A. I thought. It was sunny and a little cloudy as I walked into the internet shop not too long ago and now it is snowing and blowing. I think it is just as crazy here as it is there! I Love Spring!!
Anyway, I hope you all have a great week! And as my Seminary teachers always said, The Lord loves you and so do I! I pray for all of you all the time. I know that he has blessed you.
With Love,
Your Son/Brother
Elder Smith
Anyway, I hope you all have a great week! And as my Seminary teachers always said, The Lord loves you and so do I! I pray for all of you all the time. I know that he has blessed you.
With Love,
Your Son/Brother
Elder Smith
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