Week 22: It Actually Snowed in Germany!

Wow, I can‘t believe it actually snowed in Germany!  Last year it didn’t know snow where I am now, and we were able to get three or four inches in a day!  Crazy things are happening!  It is super cold here though ... I will not be sad to see summer in Germany, to be completely honest (haha).  On Sunday, because of the snow, our bishop in the American military ward told us that we would only have sacrament, and that was his gift to us (haha).  Sister Eschenmann didn’t see how that was a ‘gift’, and that made me laugh.  But, it was a blessing because one of the new members brought a friend to church that was a nonmember.  She looked at our website and is interested in learning more about the church.  She is German, but speaks perfect English, so that’s great.  I am really excited to meet with her and am so proud of the ward here because without them, missionary work is impossible because you can’t proselyte in military areas.

White Christmas (view from apartment)

Makeshift window seal snowman ... made with a cheese nose and meat eyes!

I am so grateful that I was able to Skype home for Christmas.  My mom says she’s grateful where we live in a day and age where we can Skype and email ... Makes it a lot easier to be so far away.

Merry Christmas Skype with family ... yay!!

The best part of Christmas, I think, was being able to watch FROZEN (haha).  But, it was pretty dang great.  Our whole district went to a member's house to watch it and they made us breakfast burritos, which were wonderful!  I am pretty sure I’ve never eaten so much in my life than I have from the 24-26^th!  It was insane!  When we would get home each night, I pretty much went into a food coma and slept straight through the nights.  That’s called satisfaction right there.  We got to go onto the commissary last week and it was so great!  It was fun to see so much American food in one place.  I wish I could have just bought one of everything.  At least I know what I’m doing when I get back to the states ... eating (haha)!

Ozdemeer's for Christmas - so much food!

Food Comas!

USO Christmas Market

The work is continuing hard here in Germany.  I am way excited to see what the next couple weeks bring us with investigators.   Members are so important to us and they are trying so hard, as well, for success.  It is really great here.

Well, I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas, and I hope you have a Happy New Year!  

Tschuss!

Sister Brown

Week 21: Frohe Weihnachten!!

"When we keep the spirit of Christmas, we keep the Spirit of Christ, for the Christmas spirit is the Christ Spirit.  It will block out all the distractions around us, which can diminish Christmas and swallow up its true meaning."

Man, what a crazy busy week.  We had three 'splits' where other sisters come from other areas to our area, we had a Zone Conference all day Thursday, and I went to Frankfurt for a day with Sister Schuring for a split.  Not sure how we got everything done we needed to in that week and survived, but we did. 

Friday night was funny because after my split in Frankfurt, Sister Taylor headed to Wetzlar for a day and Sister Eschenmann, me and another sister headed back to Wiesbaden with the Elders for a 'Gemico', which is where we coordinate with our Mission leader about the last week.  Well, we had an amazing appointment with our Mission leader, Brother Muller.  The Spirit was so strong and we had a wonderful appointment, but as we were headed back home the elders decided to tell us that they basically had no gas in the car and we might not make it home.  We were a half hour away from home and in the middle of the forest driving home ... not cool!  We all said prayers in our hearts and thankfully most of the way home was downhill, so we put the car in neutral and coasted down the hills to get home.  We even got to call President for my first time because we were going to be home later than 10:30 pm ... oops.  But, we made it home safe and sound.  On the block up to the elder's apartment the car died just in time for them to squeeze it into a parking spot.  Blessings of being a missionary (haha).

Funny story for the week; a bit of a 'blonde moment' for me, actually ... We were at the church and I was leaving a room to get some water.  My foot was in the way and stopped the door, and I smacked my face right into the door.   Hooray for black eyes!  Lesson learned that not only do I need to watch out for closed doors, but now also half-opened doors, as well ... great (haha).  You all are probably shaking your heads at me right now, so I hope this made you laugh a little :)  You're welcome!

We have an investigator that didn't know if she wanted to have lessons from us anymore, which was sad.  But, she has been coming to church every week, though, and she has invited us over for Christmas!  It is fantastic!  I am so excited to spend the holidays with so many people!

One of my most favorite Christmas Songs is from the Children's' Song Book called The Nativity Song.  Here are some of the words ... When you read it, I hope you feel the Spirit like I do whenever I hear it.  I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and spend wonderful times with your families as you remember the true meaning of Christmas.

Lyrics

1.  This is the season beloved of the year.
   Sing a rhyme; Christmastime soon will be here.
   Tell the true story of Jesus' birth,
   When, as a baby, he came to the earth.
2.  This is the new star, shining so bright,
   Lighting the world on that first Christmas night.
   This is the angel proclaiming the birth,
   Singing "Hosanna!" and "Peace on the earth!"
3.  This is the stable, shelter so bare;
   Cattle and oxen first welcomed him there.
   This is the manger, sweet hay for a bed,
   Waiting for Jesus to cradle his head.
4.  These are the shepherds, humble and mild,
   Hast'ning to worship the heavenly child.
   These are the wise men who followed the star,
   Frankincense, gold, and myrrh brought from afar.
5.  See the sweet mother, Mary so fair,
   Joseph, who guided the donkey with care.
   See the dear baby of Bethlehem,
   Little Lord Jesus, the Savior of men

Merry Christmas  :)

Sister Brown

Giant Nut Cracker

On trains headed home from Frankfurt ...

Frankfurt/Friedrichsdorf Temple

Week 20: Mission in the Christmas Season

I'm pretty sure that I have eaten more this month than I ever have in my entire life!!  I am not quite sure how Christmas is going to go because for the 24th, 25th and 26th we have at least 5 eating appointments each day ...  Oh my goodness, I'm not sure if I'll make it!  Wish me luck!  Good thing I don't get to wear my 'skinny jeans' here, or that could be problematic!

We taught English to a member this week and it went pretty okay ... The only problem is when I teach English, I realize how bad my English actually is!  She asked me what the 'present perfect tense' is ... and you know something?  I haven't got the slightest clue (haha).  I had to review it with her in her text book before I could explain what I assumed it was.

This week has been full of service projects, which have been really great.  We have been able to talk to a lot of nonmembers and that has been fun.  On Saturday the Military, or USO, put on a Christmas Market on base and we were able to help out.  We stood out in the cold rain from 9 am until 7 pm ... pretty sure I couldn't feel my feet at all by the end of it, but it was a blast!  We had so much fun talking to people and serving popcorn; probably eating more than we handed out.  It has been a great week.

This last Thursday we got an investigator to come with us to Institute, and that was wonderful because she had never been.  She even wanted to stay longer than we were planning, so that was fantastic!

The most adventurous part of the day, I'd have to say though, was after the American Christmas Market.  We and two elders were headed to the bus stop, and Sister Eschenmann and the Elders got on the bus.  I looked back and realized Sister Taylor was too far back and not going to make the bus.  I tried to get Sister Eschenmann off the bus and she couldn't, so I saw her drive off in a bus that neither me or Sister Taylor were on.  So, we assumed they would all get off at the next bus stop and wait for us.  Well, Sister Eschenmann and Elder Ball got off, but Elder Bishop got stuck for one more stop, so all 5 of us were spread out between stops until the next bus came and we were able to get back together.  Good times!  I'm just glad nobody got too lost in that mess.  But, Sister Eschenmann got a kick out of going on a 'split' with Elder Ball (haha).

Funny moment for the week ... Watching a member walk right into the men's bathroom and quickly walk out saying, "Whoops ... that's not right!"  The funny part is as soon as she walked out, so did the Bishop!  I love my Wiesbaden ward.

I've been really blessed to be on my Mission in the Christmas season.  It is a time that I can focus more than ever on the real reason of Christmas:  the birth of Christ.  I've said it before, but there is just a Spirit that comes during Christmas time, and it is so cool to see how people change in the season.  I am so grateful to be on my mission.  I hope all of you will remember Christ ... sit down and watch a church movie together or read in the scriptures about the birth of Christ.  I know that when you make an effort, you will be able to see the true meaning of Christmas.  I can't believe how fast Christmas is creeping up on us.  I hope all of you enjoy this season and have a wonderful week!  Stay Safe!

Liebe Große

Sister Brown

Yay for American Poptarts!

Week 19: Frohe Weihnachten

I can't believe how fast the holidays are creeping up on us.  It is already the 8th of December and I feel like the month has just started!  So much to do and so little time!

We now have a new companion, Sister Eschenmann from France, and she is wonderful!  She speaks perfect French and perfect German.  Her English is great, also, but we speak a lot more in German ... YIKES!  I guess this is the best way for me to get better at speaking ... by actually speaking (haha).  Transfers were also happy because we all got packages.  The Zone Leaders had their car so completely packed to the top with packages, so that was really funny.  I am sorry to say, though, that I have already opened my Christmas packages from home.  (sorry, mom ... haha)  I was always horrible at not peeking at presents.

New Companion:  Sister Eschenmann, from France ...

 ​Goodbye, Sister Sherwood! Good luck in Essen!

We had a few musical numbers this week in the German ward for Christmas.  Sister Taylor says, "Germans aren't exactly musically inclined ..."   I agree, but only because they put us in a dark room that was super cold and stuck the piano facing a wall in the corner for me to play.  Let's just say it wasn't my best performance, not being able to see my music and my hands being cold, in all.  Oh well, we did a pretty good job and I'm happy with it.

The Christmas season has been so wonderful to talk to people.  I don't know what it is, but the holidays seem to bring a wonderful Spirit to everyone and more people are willing to talk to us, especially when we ask them what their favorite part of Christmas is.  I encourage all of you to find someone this week and ask them what their favorite part of Christmas is.  Then if you feel inspired, share your testimony of the real meaning of Christmas.  I will do the same.

This week has been so fast, but a lot of great things have happened.  We have been able to meet with so many people and I have gained a testimony of my planner (haha).  I don't know what I would do without it; I'm pretty sure I'd forget everything I needed to do.  Plus, being organized helps us fit in as many things as possible with the small time we have, which I love.

Well, I hope all of you have a wonderful week and enjoy the amazing Christmas Spirit that is upon us.

Take care ... Liebe Große,

Sister Brown

​'Red Temple' ... Looks really similar to the Salt Lake Temple!

Week 18: This week has been a wonderful week!

Howdy!

This week has been a wonderful week!  The holidays are upon us, which means that everyone wants to feed the missionaries.  I am so excited for that!  I found out that when you make hash browns and you dip them in applesauce, not only is that a "German thing", but it is delicious!  We were able to go to the temple today for an endowment session and that was just amazing.  I don't know where better to feel the Spirit than in the temple.  It was so amazing and I felt the Spirit so strong.  We were able to go with a member and she had names she had prepared, so she was super excited we were helping her and it definitely made it more personal.  If you haven't ever gone to the temple with names that you have prepared yourself, I encourage you to do so.  It is really neat!

We were able to go by a Christmas market this last week and mensch (man!), Germany does Christmas right!  It was incredible!  I am so excited to go shopping!  ... and for those of you who know me well, know that I really love to shop.  Wish me luck on not blowing all my money at the Christmas markets (haha).

I sure hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and ate way too much, because I know that I sure did.  We were able to have an American Thanksgiving with a Military Family and that was a blast!  We even had some German families there, too!

We had transfer calls this week and I get to stay in Wiesbaden for Christmas.  Unfortunately, Sister Sherwood is getting transferred to Essen (which means "food").  But, she will be companions with my MTC companion, Sister Bates.  I'm excited for her!  Sister Taylor and I will stay companions and we will be getting yet another companion, so we will stay in a trio for at least one more transfer.  This sister is from France, so I am excited to meet her.

I also had my first artichoke this week.  Turns out ... it is not a fish!  I have never had one and never seen one, and I actually thought it was a fish because it sounds kinda like a fish :)  Ya, there is my 'blonde moment' for the week.  I can see my mom just rolling her eyes right now ... haha, sorry mom!

I got to translate for a missionary couple that is serving here when we were in sacrament.  It was way hard, but I think I understood, for the most part, what was happening.  If not, they didn't know, so we are good (jk).  I don't realize that my German is actually pretty good until I get put into situations like that.

This last week Sister Taylor found a really sweet lady on the bus that wanted to meet with us and talk to us!  She was from Greece and she wanted her 35 year old son to come, too.  When we met up with them they asked if we were allowed to date ... Awkward!  But, we actually had a great meeting with them and were able to bear testimony of why were are here and what we believe in, so that was really neat!

I am so grateful that I can be here for Christmas and see the light that comes to all the people's eyes with the holidays upon us.  Christmas is a favorite holiday here.  We had a Zone Training this last week and watched a Video on Youtube called, 'He is the Gift.'  If you have not seen it, go watch it right now.  I encourage all of you to share it on your Facebook and Pinterest, or whatever social media items you have!  Let's spread the real meaning of Christmas.  It is not all about packages and decorations, although those are really fun and super great.  We should also remember Christ and all that He has done for us.

I really hope you all have an amazing week and watch that video!  I hope you all get as many goosebumps as I did when I saw it :)

Have a fantabulous week ... Ich Liebe Dich :)

Sister Brown

Our District:  Elder Norda, Elder Ball, Elder Bishop, 

Elder Anderson, Sister Sherwood, Sister Taylor and me!

Our awesome investigator, Nellie, who wants to get BAPTIZED!

A member from the German Ward, Sister Loredo ... I love her!

Week 17: Happy Thanksgiving!

I sure hope everyone has an amazing Thanksgiving this week!  Someone told me that it is during the holidays on your Mission is when you realize how much you have and how thankful you are for everything.  I truly believe that.  I thought I'd take a quick minute and tell you guys that I am so grateful for all of my friends and family that support me.  I am so grateful for my mission where I can help and change so many lives, including my own.  I am so grateful for my wonderful companions, Sister Taylor and Sister Sherwood, who I continue to learn from daily.  I am so grateful to live in a land that we can be free and protected in.  I am so grateful for Christ; he is my perfect example and I have come so close to Christ throughout my mission.  I am so grateful for the restored gospel, and that we can have worthy priesthood holders in our homes through fathers, sons, uncles, grandpa's, etc.  I feel so truly blessed, and I hope you all can remember things your are thankful for this Thanksgiving week and then thank our Heavenly Father for giving you everything you have.  He loves us so much and it is really cool that we have a time to think about what we are thankful for in the year.

 

Sister Sherwood and me ...

 

Every week we have the opportunity to go to a Service Project hosted by the city called the Tafel.  It is where grocery markets give old food they won't sell and the city gives it to the needy.  If I've already talked about this, I'm sorry ... you get to hear repeats on what it is.  Anyways, this week I met the coolest man named Nick.  He stopped and was staring at my name tag so I went over and said, "I noticed you staring at my name tag.  Have you seen people like me around before?"  We ended up talking for a really long time after that.  He had seen Mormons before.  He said he didn't believe in God, but he let me share my testimony on eternal families and before I left he asked, "Will you be coming next week?"  I said, "Yup, we sure will!"  He replied, "Good."  :)   Man, I am so excited to go talk to him again and maybe bring him a little closer to God in the process.  Give a little prayer in your heart for Nick for me!

 

Neat castle ...

 

I am so excited for Thanksgiving this next week because we will be having two appointments; one with a member from the German ward and she is absolutely outstanding!  The next is one from the Military ward, so I will have a happy turkey dinner.  Didn't think that would actually happen here in Deutchland!  haha

 

We got to play a musical number for the American ward, 'For the Beauty of the Earth'.  A member found a crazy arrangement on the internet and it went really well.  I have decided my music talent has definitely decreased in the last couple months, but the ward was very nice in saying, "Good job!"  Now I just need to get through the German's music night and I'll be golden!

 

Frankfurt Temple

 

Time is flying by in the mission ... People said it would fly, but I didn't believe them.  I am now realizing that it is so important to really take each day and do my best and to really love my mission.  I will only get this opportunity once in my life and I don't want to miss a single moment of it.  Germany is so amazing and the people are so wonderful.  I see people being prepared every day to come closer to God and it is amazing to see that.  This week we got to see the Frankfurt Temple again, so that was really great.  It is super beautiful!  I hope we will be able to go inside next P-day.

 

Well, I hope everyone has a fantastic week this week!  Know that you are in my prayers and that I love you all!

 

Liebe Große 

 

Sister Brown

Hot Chocolate from Starbucks!

​Ibrehem is the cute son of Sister Özdemer ... Couldn't get a smile!

 

Week 16: Schokoladen Kann Tödlich Sein!

My chocolate fast is finally over!  Thank heavens!  I lasted a little over a week and I have built up a lot of chocolate from members that is just sitting on my desk calling my name.  When the day came that I broke, I can't remember how much chocolate I ate.  I probably almost went into a chocolate coma :) Good times!

Man, can I just say that I am really grateful that I look Turkish?   I didn't think I did, but this Sister in the ward is less active and we have been meeting with her a lot and working with her getting back to the temple.  It has been really cool to meet with her.  Her husband is a less active, also, and we had never met him, but after he found out I looked like a Turkish movie star that he knew, he now wants to meet with us and make us homemade Turkish pizza.  He said he loves that we share the Gospel to him!  Man I am so excited to hopefully work more with him.  So, thank you mom and dad for making me look like a famous person ... haha.

I was able to see the Frankfurt temple for the first time this week.  Turns out, it is not actually in Frankfurt ...  It is in Friedrichsdorf, near Frankfurt.  But, it was amazing!  We didn't get to go in, but it was still cool being on temple grounds.  Something one of our elders, Elder Noorda, said to us at a training that I thought was cool ... He said, "This is a place where heaven actually touches the earth."  I thought that was so cool because it truly is a place where we are closest to heaven and closest to our Heavenly Father.  I invite all of you to go and stand outside the temple this next week and just feel how close you are to God at that point.  I did that and mensch (man), I felt the Spirit so strong inside me.  It was an amazing experience.

Frankfurt Germany Temple

I can now say I have officially met a Redskins Cheerleader!  And, our elders baptized her daughter :) The daughter's name is Sydney and we have been teaching her the new member lessons, and they have been really fun.  I am not so sure how many people I will have the opportunity to see baptized, but this week I have gained such a strong testimony of new member work and especially less active work.  It is so important to help those who have come to the church and then left to bring them back.  They have made sacred covenants and it is so important to remind them of those and remind them of how amazing the love of God is, and how wonderful the knowledge of the restored gospel is.  I am so grateful to help so many people here remember their covenants and help them endure to the end. 

This week we had two splits, which are when sisters come and say with us and Sister Taylor goes elsewhere.  They are really good for me because they give me confidence that I know where I am and that I actually know how to do things.  I can now say that I know when I am on the wrong bus, too ... haha.  I asked someone if a bus stopped at a particular stop and they said,  "Ya!"  So, I hopped on ... three stops later I realized that they were wrong.  I hopped off and headed back to where I was.  I call that improvement.

My German is slowly getting better, also.  I was reading in my Book of Mormon today and Sister Taylor came in and asked how I thought I was doing.  She was like, "You better say you are doing awesome!"  I didn't realize it, but my reading German has gotten so much faster in the past couple weeks, so that makes me feel great :)

You know that country song that has the lyrics, "Life goes faster than you think, so don't blink" ...?  I feel like that has become my life.  I have been out on the Mission now for almost 4 months now and it feels like barely a month.  This week has been such a great week ...  We had a lot of appointments and have made great progress with investigators and less actives.  I am so greatful for a Heavenly Father that guides me on what to say and what to do in the days to be a diligent little missionary :)

I hope all of you have a great week and know that I love you, and more importantly that Heavenly Father and Jesus love you.  We all make mistakes; we all are imperfect.  But, someone told me whether you like it or not, God loves you, so deal with it.  I know that God loves us and wants to support and help us with everything.  Take care!

Liebe Große

Sister Brown

Week 15: Flu shots ... Schprechen sie Deutsch?

Got my very first flu shot today ... NOT FUN!  The doctor that gave it to us came up to me and he asked, "Schprechen sie Deutsch?",  which means, "Do you speak German?" I said, "A little ..."  And then he started speaking English.  How he knew I was American I know not, but I'm guessing it was my failed attempt at the German accent.  Anyways, I hope that this doesn't turn out with me getting sick again, but I'm hoping that exact obedience on the Mission blesses me with not getting sick again.

It is getting colder and colder here, but still not terrible.  Definitely grateful for scarves and boots, that's for sure!  I am proud to say that I have reached my 100th day on the Mission this last week!  Time is just flying by before my eyes :)

This week has been really fast, but really productive at the same time.  We had another split this week, which means another sister comes to our apartment and Sister Taylor leaves to go with a different sister, because she is now the Sister Training Leader.  Because I am in a drit (three companions), my new companion doesn't know any directions here or bus stops, so it was up to me to not get us lost.  Some of you at home may laugh at that because you know how terrible I am with directions ... haha.  All of our appointments went great and then we went to a couple 'go by's', which are less active members that the ward assigns us to go visit to see if they are still living there or even interested in the church anymore.  So, I had no idea where these people lived.  I had my navigator and we hopped on a bus that I knew took us kinda sorta close to the direction we needed.  We hopped on another bus that I had never seen that a German said would work ... Yea, it was wrong.  So, we took it the opposite way, got off and started walking.  Believe it or not, we finally reached the apartment that this less active member lived at.  Turns out they no longer lived there.  We started walking back and I was beyond nervous.  I didn't tell the sisters, but I had no idea where we were ... not a clue!  I felt like we were maybe 30 minutes out from our apartment, so worse case we walk for a while ... But, then I said a prayer in my head that we would find our way.  I found a bus stop and hopped on, then looked at what stops were next.  You'll never guess it, but we were five minutes away from our house ... haha (nice, Sister Brown!).  I have to say, I was never more grateful in my entire life to feel so stupid.  I sure hope I get better with finding directions, though.  But, that is my funny story for the week.

This week we had to talk to one of our investigators about the law of chastity.  Fun stuff I know, but actually it was so amazing.  It is incredible that the Spirit can testify of things so strong through you and basically give you what you need to say.  I am not sure how I was able to say everything I needed to, and be caring and loving and not awkward and still make a point all at the same time, but it turned out to be one of the most amazing lessons ever.  I am so grateful that I can teach with the Spirit and have Heavenly Father guide me, because I am pretty sure that lesson would have gone up in flames without Him there guiding us.

This week has been such an amazing week for me with personal studies, I feel like.  I have been reading different Christlike attributes that I could work on and this week.  I am working on Charity and Love.  While reading, a question came up on how often do you pray for charity and love?  Honestly, I don't think I've really ever done that and that is upsetting, so I am making a goal to be better this week and pray for charity and for more opportunities to love others.  I love the people here so much; they are truly amazing.  I love talking to them because they are very honest in their feelings, which makes things easier.  This last week I was on the bus and I was reading my Book of Mormon trying to figure out how to pronounce a word, and I then asked this man next to me how to say it.  Turns out he spoke German and English!!  We sat and talked for a really long time on the bus and we even missed his stop.  Luckily the bus was at the end and flipped right around to go the other way, so that was good.  But, I am so grateful for the courage I am given as a missionary for opportunities like that to speak to people and share the Gospel.

One more funny thing ...  I was mistaken for an Irish person the other day, so that was happy!  I am becoming a European, sorta :)

Well, I hope that you all have an amazing week!  I set a commitment for all of you to read the Book of Mormon every day this week and see what you can learn from it to better help you in your lives.  I know that when you do, only blessings with be given to you!

Liebe Große

Sister Brown

Splits!

Week 14: I Am No Longer Sick!

Hallo!

All I can say for this week is that ... I am no longer sick and I never want to see that sickness hit me again!  Being sick on the mission is a real trial because as much as you need one, you never get breaks.  But, I am so blessed that I am better now.  Now I can work even harder with investigators and less-actives.  Game on!   I love the people here so much!  Even when they don't want to listen to the Gospel, they are still so gracious and kind about it, which is just a blessing.  I never understood those people who got angry if I asked them if they wanted to hear about the Book of Mormon.  But, I always think maybe they are just having a bad day.  I have a goal to make everyone smile even if they don't want to hear what I have to say. :)  So far it is going awesome!  I sat by this man on the bus and noticed he had the HTC M8 phone, which is like the best phone ever!  Anyways, so I started asking him about it and he saw my Book of Mormon and asked what I was doing here.  I gave him my speel and even though he didn't really believe in God or want to believe in God, we had a fantastic conversation and he let me give him a pass-along card.  I love missionary work so much for moments like this!  These people are amazing and they just need people to actually care about them for them to show how awesome they are ... if that makes any sense at all??

 Elder Swallow, Elder Schmidt, me, Elder Anderson, Elder Melansen ... Transfers!

​Sister Taylor and me getting ready to pick up our new companion!

Our P90x mornings are so awesome!  I am so excited that we have it to exercise with.  It is so funny because we head out for the day down our 8 flights of stairs and I hear the groans and know that we had a good morning exercise because we are all sore already ... ha ha.  We are gonna be buff missionaries by the end of the transfer.

This week we are all "going off" of chocolate for an investigator so that she doesn't drink coffee.  It is a good thing that I didn't say I'd "go off" of sugar, or I'd die!

I officially have my Visa now, so that is super exciting.  Now the next thing is a drivers license.  Mensch (man), I studied the drivers test with all the signs and they are really 'Komisch' (wierd).  I hope that I can pass so that I can drive the elder's car every now and again when we have far away appointments.

Got my Visa!

We had an appointment this last week with a family from Pakistan and that was fun. We brought a member from Columbia who speaks German, and not very much English, and the two daughters of the family from Pakistan speak Italian, and the father speaks English.  So, in an hour appointment we spoke English to the father, who then spoke his language from Pakistan to his daughters, who would reply in Italian, and our ward member would then speak Spanish to them, and then translate it to German for us ... ha ha.  My brain hurt so bad by the end of it.  If it sounds confusing to you, that's because it was!

This week I have studied in the Preach My Gospel a lot about Christlike attributes in chapter six.  We were all encouraged to pick a Christlike attribute that we could all work on.  I encourage all of you to think about what kind of Christlike attributes you could improve in your life and pick one and make out goals to achieve it.  I'd love to hear everyone who does it and your successes, and I too, will do so this week and report back next week.  I think that it is so important to find things that we can do better in our lives each day.  Even if we are not doing necessarily "bad"  things, we could always have more good things in our lives.

This week I've gained a testimony of praying on my knees, also.  I was really good at it in the MTC and then got lazy on the mission, which is a little strange.  But, really it is so important that we pray on our knees because it is a sign of humility.  I have found that when I get down on my knees and pray with all my heart, that is when I have had the most meaningful prayers.

This week I hope you all will find Christlike attributes and get down on your knees to pray, and I promise that when you do this, Heavenly Father will guide you and bless you so much in your lives.  He has a "plate full of blessings" and is just waiting for us to take the "cookies", or blessings.

Have a great week!!  Ich Liebe Dich!

Liebe Große

Sister Brown 

​Split with Sister Schuring in Frankfurt

"Selfie" at Train station in Walluf

Week 13: 'Eichhörnchen'!?

Sister Taylor has been trying to pronounce 'Eichhörnchen' properly for the last two days because she just found out she was doing it wrong.  Anyway ... this week has been slow and fast at the same time, which makes no sense to me.  I have learned to realize that Heavenly Father seems to always place us in the right place at the right time.  Yesterday Sister Taylor and I had to run for a bus that ended up being the wrong bus.  BUT, we met this man named Tito from the American Military Base, and we had an awesome conversation with him.  It was kinda a "planting the seed" moment.  He was leaving back to the US in two weeks or so, but it was a blessing we got on the wrong bus.

The ward members here are so great.  I have been sick for the last week and they are so kind and want to help.  It is funny because they give me chocolate ...  I guess I would like to believe that chocolate cures everything, but in this case I am not so sure ... haha.  Sister Taylor and I have just gotten P90x and I think we laugh more at each other at times then we actually do the exercises.  It is a pretty good workout and I'm excited to use it rather than to go out and freeze to death outside.

This week I have been in charge of the navigating and finding directions.  It was super hard, but I never once got us lost.  I think that deserves a pat on the back for myself  :)  Also, something new that will be taking place is we had "transfer calls."  I will not be leaving Wiesbaden, but Sister Taylor is now the Sister Training Leader.  Also, we will now be in a "drit", which is a 3-person companionship.  So that will be a good test sticking three girls to one bathroom.  Cross your fingers we make it!  But, I'm really excited to meet our new companion on Thursday.

We have a German Ward Mission Leader and I am pretty sure I left a bad first impression with him ... I was sick and I wouldn't shake his hand, so I tried one of the 'elbow hand shakes'.  I'm pretty sure he thought I was a doof, but we had an amazing dinner appointment with him.  We almost arm wrestled, which was hillarious.  But, he arm wrestled with the elders instead.  Then at church he came right up to me and shook my hand.  This proves that you can fix first impressions with a little hard work.  I am glad that I get along with everyone in the ward; they are amazing and so strong in their spirits!

Oh last thought ... I totally gave my first talk in German this last week!  I didn't read any notes and it was totally amazing!  Heavenly Father has helped me so much already on the mission.  I hope everyone has a great week!  You are all in my prayers!

TSCHUSS

Sister Brown

​First Schnitzel! Yum!

 ​Redskins fans are everywhere in Germany!  This is an awkward picture of the elders and me trying to get a picture of the guy behind them in Redskins gear!

Week 12: Schönen Tag noch!

It is crazy how fast time seems to fly on the mission.  This week has been so packed, but so short also!  On Monday night we were able to see an investigator that hasn't spoken to the missionaries in about 8 months, and we just did a "stop by" and she wants to start meeting with us again!  I was so excited to hear that!  She is super shy, but knows that the Gospel and good influences are what she needs in her life, so I'm excited to start to meet with her. 

On Wednesday I hosted my first "split", which basically means another missionary comes to stay with me for the day and my companion goes to where the other missionary was staying.  So, basically I have to know everywhere I'm going and not get lost in the giant town of Weisbaden.  And guess what?  I totally aced it!  We were so productive and did so much that day.  I was exhausted, but man we got everything done and it was wonderful!  We did more walking than usual because I doubted my skill on the buses, but that's okay!

This week I have been a bit under the weather and it has been a really good test of my ability to get stuff done.  I got sick on Wednesday and my companion said, "Whelp, we still have stuff to do, so you can't be sick."  So I did my best and at times I wanted to kill over, but I am really proud that I was able to get everything done with how bad I was feeling.  Heavenly Father blesses us so much and I sometimes forget to realize that.  I prayed for strength to get the things done that I needed to, and He helped me with that.  He only gave me strength for that, because as soon as I got home I crashed.  But, I was able to have enough strength to make it through.

We are teaching a less active member about the temple and trying to get her to come to church more and prepare for that.  Man, it was so cool to bear my own testimony on how I felt going through the temple for the first time.  The temple is such an amazing thing.  I am on the mission, so I can't go really ever.  So, everyone out there who has a chance to go, I invite you to go in the next week for me because that is something I miss doing every week :)  The temple promises blessings to us and I know that to be true.

Our mission President called me while I was on my "split" and even before I answered I looked at my watch.  It was late, but we were going to make it home on time.  So I was like, "Man, he knows we are cutting it close."  But, he actually just wanted to meet with my companion and me that Friday.  It was really nice to get to talk to him and have him check up on us.  He really helped me with finding tips for the American Base because you can't proselyte in there.

We had an American 'Trunk or Treat' on the American Base Saturday night and there was AMERICAN FOOD!  As sick as I was, I ate a lot!  You only get that chance once in a lifetime on the mission.  There were some Germans that came to this also, and I got to speak to them in German and man, they were so funny.  We laughed so much, and at the end of the night they gave Sister Taylor and me all of their left over candy!!  We also had a Fall Talent Show in the German ward which was really fun.  Our German ward is so amazing!  They are so kind and funny and yea ... I love them all!

Well there have been some true blessings on this mission so far, and my German is slowly improving.  The people here are wonderful and full of the Spirit  :)  I hope everyone at home reading this has an amazing week!  You are in my prayers!

LIEBE GROSSE!!

Sister Brown

​"Split" with Sister Peterson -Train Station in Frankfurt

New Frankfurt Missionaries - Group Photo

Elder Melanson and Elder Anderson 'Trunk or Treating' ...

Elder Swallow and Elder Schmidt 'Trunk or Treating'!

Week 11: Castles and Monk Klosters

Today we were able to go on a tour with one of our investigators to so many places in Weisbaden and Eberbach.  We went to an 800 year old Kloster, which is where monks used to live and worship, which was way cool!  We saw so many small parts of Eberbach with the cutest, most authentic German houses ever!  It was super happy!

Monk Monastery 800 years old!

 

Adorable Germany!

So, this is not something I'm proud to say, but I had my first taste of alcoholic chocolate by accident ... I bought a box for 5 Euro (7.50ish US$), and I ate one bite and thought, "This tastes a little weird ...?"  I looked at the ingredients and sure enough ...  Why would someone ruin chocolate like that, and put chocolate with alcohol in it??!  Whelp, now I know that I need to look really hard at the ingredients to check to see if it is good!  Lesson learned.

I have also decided I love Pakistani food ... The Gills are members from Pakistan and they lived in Italy, so their children speak Italian and they are in Germany, and he speaks English, too.  It is crazy, but he makes the most weird-looking food, but it is pretty much the most delicious thing of my life!  We have had so many meetings this last week, it is hard to keep track!  We helped a less active member in the American Ward pack their things and get ready to move back to America.  The Elders even watched the dad burn his uniform, so that was pretty cool.

This week we have focused a lot on missionary work that the members can do, and also family history.  Sister Taylor (my companion) is so awesome with family work and she gets so excited whenever we get to talk about it.  It is really funny.  She is so cool.  I read a talk from last October's conference and it talked about how we are all one "team" in this life.  We all need to work together to help others come to Christ.  It is not just one person's job or the missionary's job, or just the ward member's ... It is everyone's.  We need to work together to accomplish the task because we can use the strengths that other people have to help us.  The wards here are so amazing and I am so lucky to serve with them.  They are so willing when we ask them to do stuff, so we just need to ask.

 Our fantastic investigator, Diana!

 Knocking doors ...

I also got the opportunity to bear my testimony this last Sunday in German.  That was interesting ...  It was going really well until I tried to say that I knew that God called Thomas S. Monson to be a prophet, but the way I used "call" ...  I said that God "called" Thomas S. Monson on the phone to be a prophet ...  Whoops!  I said, "Anrufen" instead of "Berruft" ...  I think they understood what I said.  Lots of people came and said my German was getting really good, so that was a confidence boost!

I love all the little markets of food here ...  They are everywhere and they have fresh food.  It is hard not to just eat all the time!  So, wish me luck in my endeavors.  Well, this week just flew by, so I am not sure what else to add in here.  Germany is so amazing and I know that I am here for a reason.  I am already seeing changes in people, which is awesome!  I love our Church ... it is truely a message of happiness.  I hope that everyone has a great week and thanks for reading my Blogs :)

Tschuss!!

Sister Brown

Week 10: 1st General Conference in Germany

Wow, what an amazing weekend!  It was so amazing to hear all of the talks.  Because Germany is ahead 8 hours, we watched conference at weird times here ... We watched the Relief Society broadcast at 2 pm and then the Saturday morning session live Saturday night at 6pm.  Sunday we watched the Saturday evening session at 2pm and then the Sunday morning session 6pm.  I have not yet seen the Sunday evening session, though, so NO SPOILERS!  We will watch the final session next Sunday.  It was amazing to listen to the conference talks and not only find things to help myself, but I found so many talks on what my investigators had questions on and I can't wait to talk with them about it!  Lucky for me most of the sessions I was able to watch were in English.  One I watched in German and Mensch (man!), I had a nice big head ache from concentrating so hard afterwards, but it was fantastic!  I could probably go on and on about what I learned in General Conference, but hopefully you all have watched it already and know all the talks, so I'll just mention a few favorites ...

 

Something I really liked, and will help me teach, was a part in President Uchtdorf's talk where he said, "Live the Gospel Doctrines and test for yourself the truthfulness."  I can testify until my face turns blue of the doctrine of Christ, but until you take that step yourself and attempt to live the way I try to explain, you will never know if it is true.  Also, the Elder that spoke in Spanish, Elder Gaverett ... I heard this in German, but hopefully I understood the gist.  He repeatedly said, "Come unto Jesus."  Why must we come unto Jesus?  Why is it so vital?  It is because Jesus Christ is Everything.  He is why we are here and he has shown us the way.  God made a perfect plan through Jesus Christ, so doesn't it make sense to follow His plan?  The last thing was from Henry B. Eyring:  the value of the Revelation depends on the receiver.  That is so powerful and cool to think about.  We can receive revelation every day, but we must treasure it and take head to it to make it valuable to ourselves.  Just like the revelation from prophets, we ourselves did not recieve that specific revelation, but we can use what they say in our own lives and make it valuable.

 

Well, if you didn't get the chance to listen to the talks, I would encourage you to do so.  Also, if you did get to, listen to them again; read them again.  These are words of prophets!  Soak in every bit of revelation you can.  I am so blessed to have a Prophet speak to us today.  I know I said I was done, but one more thing ... Before conference I read another talk by President Uchtdorf and it talked about how a member was talking to his neighbor one day (who wasn't a member).  The neighbor asked him, "So you have prophets that speak to God, and they come to a conference twice a year to speak to you the words of God?"  And the member said, "Absolutely."  The neighbor then asked, "What did the Prophet say last conference?"  The man couldn't remember and the neighbor then asked, "So you mean to tell me God speaks through prophets to you and you don't know what they said?"  This was a humbling expierience for the member, and me also.  It is so important that we remember these words of the prophets.  That is why I encourage you to re-read the talks and remember the prophets' words.

 

So this week has been pretty fun.  I went on my first "split" and we went to Wetslar for a day.  Germany is so beyond pretty.  One of my investigators took us to a small cafe for breakfast Saturday morning and we were talking about all the things she had to do that next week and how her son was failing calculus.  I had to open my big mouth and say, "Oh!  I aced AP Calculus in high school!"  Yup ... so now I get to teach a German calculus!  Wish me luck.  Hopefully I can remember everything! Yikes!!

 

This week I didn't eat anything too out of the ordinary.  I tried Weisswurst, which is basically the fattiest sausage on the planet.  Whew ... I had to work that off the next Morgen Sport we had (morning exercise).  I also had fleischkase, which reminded me of like a fat slab of spam.  It was quite tasty!  This week just really flew by me, though.  We stay so beyond busy here, with at least 3 or 4 appointments in the days and studying and everything!  It is wunderbar  :)  Although I didn't get to have "jamma weekend" with the family for conference weekend, we basically had a pizza party in the church for conference.  We brought so much food, it was fabulous.  We made homemade popcorn, also.  I am just loving my time here!  I have decided I need to stop pretending I know German, though because people will talk to me and I'm pretty good at pretending I know what they say until they ask me a question and I'm like, "Uh ......"  Hopefully I get better at understanding people.

 

Well, I'm sorry to say there weren't too many "blonde moments" for me this week to laugh at so ...  I'll try to get some funny stories for next time.  I hope you all have a great week.

Sister Brown

 

 First German castle!

 Cold German morning ... brrr!

Week 9: German Chocolate ... 'nough said!

I have had way way too many sweets in the last couple days and it has been wonderful - ha ha.  We bought Peachio Ring candy last P-day and I was eating them.  I asked my companion, "Man, have you had these before?" She then asked, "Are they Haribo?" (obviously referring to the brand)  I replied, "No!  They are DELICIOUS!!" (thinking she said, "horrible")  Ha ha ha ... we had a good laugh about that one.   We have done so much walking this week, it has been insane.  But, at the same time, it's a blessing.  I need some way to work off all this sugar.

 

We have quite a few investigators in our books.  We have 5 right now, and we have one whose name is Nelie and she is from Africa.  She totally committed to baptism this week!!!  It was so amazing!  I am so excited for her!  She just visited Africa this last month and asked if she could take a couple Book of Mormons to her family and friends.  She handed out like 5 or 6, which is just amazing!  I am so excited for her.

 

We have a sister in the Ward named Sister Loredo.  I am not sure if I have spoken about her, but let's just say first off ... she is AMAZING!   But, she speaks German like super super fast because she is from Columbia.  So, she called on Thursday on the German phone (which I normally try to avoid), but my companion was in the bathroom, so I paced a couple times back and forth deciding if I was going to answer it.  I did and MENSCH (man!), it was hard to understand her, but I DID IT!  We talked for like 15 minutes ... it was crazy.  I didn't understand everything, but I understood what she needed and we planned a meeting with her.  I'm pretty proud of myself.  My companion came and laughed at me because she heard me pacing before I answered the phone.

 

You always hear of America being the 'Giant Melting Pot'.  I think they are getting mixed up with Germany ... there are so many people from all over the world here.  This makes it a little hard tracting because you finally get the courage to go up and speak to someone in German and then they say, "I don't understand you."  Or, "Oh, you're American ... I know English!"  Bunches of stuff ... it is interesting.  But, yesterday I was sitting across from this guy and I kept chickening out to say something, but I finally said, "Wie geht ist ihnen? (how are you)"  He was like, "I don't speak German," BUT ... that was in English!  So I then asked, "Where are you from?" and he said, "Croatia!"  So cool!  We had an awesome talk on religion, so that was amazing and I'm glad I didn't wimp out to talk to him.

I will be getting my Visa on November 3 and then I can apply for a drivers license in Germany.  That is exciting that I am slowly, but surely getting things done.  I guess there are elders that have had to wait for a year before they are approved,  so I'm pretty lucky.

Well, this week flew by, but many blessings have come throughout the week.  I am so grateful to serve here and I can't wait for the next year and a half.  Something to remember in the week:  Smile!  The easiest missionary work is smiling.  You never know who is watching you and you might be busy in life, but you can never be too busy to smile.  People notice, I promise.  Also, one other cool thing I read in studies:  God has a perfect plan for his imperfect people!  We are imperfect, but through Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, we are saved, and that is the perfect plan that He has given us.  Have an amazing week, everyone!

Tscuss!

Sister Brown

 

 

View from my bedroom!

 My District:  Elder Anderson (top left) Elder Schmidt (German native, middle left), Elder Swallow (bottom left), Elder Malansen (top right), and my awesome companion, Sister Taylor (bottom right).

 ​Dinner of Champions ... waffles, Nutella and syrup!  Mmmmmm!

Week 8: WAS IST LOSS, VON DEUTSCHLAND!

The weeks seem to fly even faster here in the mission field than in the MTC, which is crazy!  Germany is as amazing as ever!  We had so many great appointments this week!  We had a bit of an interesting time with transportation on Saturday, though ... 

We went to a small town about a half hour from Weisbaden to knock on a door that was a referral.  We took a train and then walked about 20 minutes to her house.  She wasn't there, so we left a note.  Then we walked back to the train station to buy a ticket, and the machine took no change and we only had cash.  The pick-up spot was super small, so there were no people there.  So, we walked around town looking for an open store to see if we could change money.  Well, if you don't know this, on Saturday afternoons everything closes because it is their 'holiday'.  So, we walked for about a half hour and then found a bus stop going back to where we lived, but they only came once an hour.  Luckily, it came in FIVE MINUTES!!  Ha ha ... so happy!  My companion was getting annoyed at this point, so that helped.  Then the bus was also FREE because the machine wasn't working to take cash!  Ha ha ... even better!!  THEN I GOT ICE CREAM!  That was after we got off that bus to wait for another one and I told my companion, "At least it is not raining!" and then she was like, "I love the rain!"  So, you know what happened?  It rained!  So so much!!  Oh well, at least my companion was happy.  Then we went to the military base (!!) and the bus driver said he stopped at the right stop we needed.  Yea ... false!  We ended up walking in the open fields to get to the army base for about a mile.  My companion looked at me and said, "Don't you feel like a missionary now?"  I laughed and was like, "Yea, actually I do!"  While we walked, a middle-eastern looking man stopped in his van and told us to get in and he would give us a ride.  Don't worry, we didn't get in.  That was fun ...  We went to the army base and helped a less active member paint their house and flew to our next appointment.  By this point it was 6:30 p.m. and I still hadn't eaten since 11:00 in the morning.  Anyway, we were late to the next appointment because we missed our bus.  Then during the appointment I looked outside and it looked like a tsunami of a storm!  It was crazy!  There was so much lightening!  The member gave us chocolate cake and we waited a bit for it to calm down, but it was 8:40 p.m., so we had to go face the storm.  My companion was like, "The lightening is SO COOL!! and CLOSE!"  I was speed walking, singing primary songs ... Not a huge fan of lightening!  We got in the bus and I was like, "Man, we are safe," and my companion was like, "How are we safe in a big metal bus?" Ha ha ... mensch.  But, we made it home safe and sound.  That was my adventurous story of the week!

Germany is so great, and I love it so so much!  It gets sketchy at times, but God watches over his missionaries.  Something I read this week was a talk by Gordon B. Hinckley and it said simply, "Forget yourself and get to work."  It is so important for me to remember that this is not my time and this is not my work; this is the work of God.  How easy would it be for Him with a snap of his finger to have everyone believe.  But, that is not his desire.  We have agency to choose for ourselves what we want in this life, and I just think it is so cool that we have that choice.  I know that He is opening the hearts of Deutschland.  These people are just so wonderful and even though they are grumpy sometimes, I still love them.

PIZZA STORY!  This is my witness that God has a sense of humor AND answers prayers ... We had an appointment with a less active member and I heard that she cooked really weird food, which I was not excited about.  I was really hungry and getting dizzy because my lunch wasn't the best.  So I murmured, "Man, I just really want a pizza."  We walked into the appointment and she had forgotten about us, so she was like, "I can whip something up fast," and then she brought out ... PIZZA!!  My companion laughed so hard.  We had a dinner appointment, too, and I got pizza AGAIN!!!  Heavenly Father loves me  :)

This last week I had an 'eating appointment' with two ward members, the Walters, and the whole meeting was in German.  It was so hard!!  We were there for 3 hours, and they were the most wonderful people.  It was just so home-like being there, and I had some good conversations with them, from the things I understood. 

Well, I think I've talked all your ears off again, so I'll end this week's letter with the wise words of Earth, Wind and Fire:  When you feel down and out, sing a song, it will make things better!  Have an amazing week!  You guys are all in my prayers! 

Tscuss!

Sister Brown