Well, I don´t really have too much time to write today, but I just wanted to let you all know that the work has picked up drastically for Elder Heller and I over the last week! We have four new investigators!!! I don´t really know how it all happened, because I have never had that happen to me before, but we are both very grateful for it all. I just want to share a story about one of them with you. I have it written in my Journal, so I am just copying it as it is:
Sonntag, 3 Januar, 2010,
„We had a miracle happen today! Schakina was a former investigator who we found again from our area book. She is a good friend of the Neuhäuser´s (Family in the ward) and has had just a crazy life. It all started last Saturday when I found her record and both Elder Heller and I read it. She had always attended church, never missed a week, and also said that she had read in the Book of Mormon and loved it! We were shocked to say the least because it didn´t state anywhere on the record why she stopped investigating. I then noticed that the Neuhäuser´s knew her, and so I called and sked Sch. Neuhäuser if she knew „a Schakina“. She said she knew her, and that it had been a few days since she had last spoken with her. She then asked me if she could call her and invite her to meet with us again at their house. I was so excited that they were so willing to do that! So we left it at that. Then, one week later, so yesterday, as we were planning, I felt that I needed to call the Neuhäuser´s to see if they found out anything, and if I didn´t hear from them at all during the day, I was going to call that night. But 20 minutes after I felt that prompting, the phone rang....it was Sch. Neuhäuser. She said that Schakina could meet with us tomorrow (today) at their place at 6:00 in the evening. I was shocked again, I have never had a member set up an appointment for us, let alone an appointment in the home of a member! We agreed.
As we came to the appointment, Schakina had been there for just a few minutes longer than us. But we sat down and started to get to know her a little more. She has been through a lot, to say the least, and told us many heartwrenching stories in between. We then started talking about the gospel. Now keep in mind that it has been a year and a half since she last met with the missionaries; yet in that year and a half, she told us that she has been praying earnestly, she has read almost all of the Gospel Essentials book and a lot from the Book of Mormon. One of the first things that she said to us was that she desired to be baptized! We also found out that she smokes, but that wasn´t surprising to me because it was still on her record from before. But she wants to stop and finally be baptized in the church after about 5 years of investigating. She is ready, you can sense it and feel it and see it in her. As anyone can or should see from this story, God provided several means to help her get back on course again, but only at the right time, the Lords time. I am often reminded of the words of Alma, which have seriously become the motto of my mission.I feel just like Alma as he said „Now ye may suppose this is foolishness in me; but I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise. And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and Eternal purposes; and by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls:“ (Alma 37:6-7). It was a prompting followed by one simple phone call that led to all of this. Great is the work of the Lord!“
We also had another new investigator, but he is the newest of this week, from yesterday. He too came from our area book, and he is the oldest in the book. The missionaries met with him 7 years ago. We weren´t sure he would remember us, but he was very excited when we called and we have an appointment set up with him on Sunday.
We are meeting with the family we found last week on Saturday, and we are very excited about that as well. So much has happened in such a short amount of time. I can´t explain it, but that is what happens on missions for the Lord, the otherwise thought impossible and unexplainable just seems to happen! And, the sky is literally the limit. There are too many people to just innocently stand by and hope that the Lord will do something for us. We have to get down and dirty and work if he requires that of himself to bring about „the immortality and eternal life of man“.
Anyway, life is going very well right now for us.
As far as your questions go, I´ll see if I can answer them:
Q. When is your next zone conference?
A. Our next Zone Conference is the first or second week of February I believe.
Q. Did you know the families you spent time with over the few days of Christmas before you spent time with them? Tell me about them.
A. I know them very well. I told you about the Meyers, but the Börgartz Family is also great. We met with them on the 24th and had dinner and opened gifts. Br. Börgartz is the second couselor in the Bishopric. Great family and a really really nice guy! We also met with the Neuhäuser´s on the 26th, they are the same family that I just talked about. They are absolutly amazing! They are an elderly couple, and he is in a wheel chair because of a leg amputation. But they do everything to help with the missionary work. They have had several of their neighbors over many times for lessons with the missionaries.
Q. Did all the families open their gifts on Christmas Eve? I think that's the German tradition.
A. Yes. I guess that is the tradition.
Q. How is your teaching pool?
A. Well, pretty good now. We are working with one family, and three other investigators at the moment.
Q. How are the ward members to work with?
A. Amazing and always willing to help!
Anyway, I hope that all is well and I pray for you all every day!
Ihre Sohn und Bruder,
Elder Smith
So much for him not having a lot of time to write a letter. This is the longest letter we have received for almost 5 months! He is so excited to be with Elder Heller and to have him be a native of Germany is a blessing in Jaren's eyes. He is the youngest of 4 boys and the only one to serve a mission even though his family is active in church. He was very pleasant to talk with on Christmas.
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