From Mom 11/22
Dear Family,
I'm just going to retype the letter I wrote on November 22. Then I will wr=ite another one later this week.We still haven't quite figured out how we can send an e-mail to each of you= so we're hoping you will get this to everyone. We need to just figure out= how to do it. You have two quite computer illiterate parents!
We've nearly completed our first week here in Wurzburg. About half of the =time we've been lost but somehow, and we give the Lord the credit, we final=ly find where we are supposed to be. We do a lot of U-turns and even go th=e wrong way on roundabouts! There are two big freeways that run through th=e city and it's so easy to take the wrong exit and be clear on the other si=de of the city. We have spent a lot of time just finding how to get to pla=ces, like the church, the Elders apartment and the store. There are two bi=g Wal-marts fairly close by and we've become quite familiar with them. The=re arenn't the little markets like there were in Munich and we miss them an=d the fresh vegetable stands out in front of them. Our apartment building =is in an area full of big apartment buildings with very few stores or shops=. Dad told me that Germany is about the size of the state of Montana and h=as 83 million people. I don't think thereare a million people in the whole= state of Montana. Yes, there are a lot of people here.
We enjoyed our new ward on Sunday. There used to be a lot of Americans in =this ward but the military base here is closing down so a lot of them have =left. In fact, in the last year this ward has gone from over 300 members t=o around 160 now. There are still some military families. The bishop is a= doctor who got his training through the military and is finishing his obli=gations here. He is a very nice man. All the meetings are translated into= both languages. There are two mikes on the pulpit and a translator stands= right next to the one conducting the meeting and the speakers when they sp=eak. The songs are sung in both languages and that is interesting. I try =to sing with Dad out of the German book. I can say the words but have no i=dea what I'm saying!
The ward is having a "Thanksgiving Feast" tomorrow and everyone is bringing= something for it. A member, whoe husband is deployed rightnow, offered to= do the whole thing, even furnish all the turkey, but the bishop told her t=he wars would buy the turkey and to hand out a sign up sheet for the other =things. One of the sisters I was sitting by in Relief Society asked if I c=ould bring brownies. Luckily one of the members in Munich gave me a can of= Hersheys cocoa mis and I have everything else, so zucchine brownies will b=e my contribution. It's so hard to cook because I don't know what things a=re in the store. Dad is a lot of help most of the time but not with cookin=g ingredients. Monday after our district meeting, another sister in our di=strict is going to take me grocery shopping and show me what's what. They =have been here for 17 months and lived in Germany two times before their mi=ssion so she knows what this is all about. It will be nice to have a bigge=r variety of things to eat.
Monday night was our first FHE with the young adults. There were two inves=tigators, one new member and a couple of Elders there. We had a good time.= These investigators are 16 and 17 year old boys who are already converted= to the church but their parents won't let them be baptized until they are =18. They are just amazing young men. They talk about, "when I go on my mi=ssion---" and always talk about how much they love the church. One of them= said the thing that attrated him to the church and helped him to know it w=as true was the priesthood and knowing that the right authority was here. =The other said it was knowing that there was a prophet because there should= always be a prophet on the earth. The new member has a wonderful testimon=y of the gospel. She grew up in a very abusive home and was very sick. Sh=e felt like she was going to die and even wanted to but one night knelt dow=nn and prayed that the Lord would send someone who could help her. Two day=s later the missionaries knocked on her door. The gospel has been her life= ever since. She wanted a Book of Mormon to give to a friend so we got one= for her and she brought it Monday night wanting me to read her testimony s=he had written in the front of it. It was incredible. She should write th=at in lots of Books of Mormon! The numbers were few but every soul is impor=tant. We do what we can do.
Tuesday was our first Institure class. There were just two there. This sa=me girl and a returned missionary, but we had a good discussion on the impo=rtance of the witnesses to the Book of Mormon. We are also trying to teach= them to look for "principles" as they read the scriptures and applying the= scriptures to their own lives. They did very well. Again, there being ju=st tow there, I had to talk to myself a little bit on the way home and remi=nd myself that this is how it is---small steps. We were supposed to have a=nother institute class tonight but the people who come on Wednesday were ha=ving a party for one of their sisters who is leaving Germany and told us th=ey wouldn't be there. So, we a plugging along. Small in numbers and a bit= discouraged but we'll keep trying.
I'm glad to hear you are going to be together for Thanksgiving. If it wasn='t for the Americans here in the ward, I'm sure nothing would be going on s=o we're thankful that we will have some kind of celebration. =20I think it was Cathy who mentioned something about the Father Christmas pro=ject and wondering if there were some people here who needed help. When we= met with the bishop on Sunday to go over the ward list, he just kept sayin=g, "They are in need of so much help" or "We're going to need to help them= so their children can have some Christmas." We wondered how all of you wo=uld feel about giving the money from our family to the bishop here for him =to use as he feels is needed. Let us know. You could just have Boyd depos=it it into Dad's account and let us know how much it is and we can draw it =out. But only if you all feel good about it.
Some of you have asked what we would like for Christmas. We don't want any=thing very big! We learned as we were transferred that we have way too muc=h "stuff" and we don't need more. We are fine on clothes. We could use so=me more CD's---church music. I think we have most of the tabernacle choir =CD's but just some good hymn arrangements would be wonderful Also, we woul=d love some Kool-aid, some vanilla, chocolate chips, dry stew mix, stuff li=ke that. LeAnn will probably remember what she couldn't get in England and= it's pretty much the same here. Pictures are always welcome.Have a wonderful time together this week-end. We will be thinking of you a=nd all the games and fun that will be going on. We will miss being with fa=mily but that too is part of being a missionary. I just know the reason BY=U has had such a good year is because we are on this mission. That is wort=h all the frustration!
One more thing. Monday after our district meeting, I was talking to the ot=her senior sister and telling her how frustrated and discouraged I was abou=t the language and that I have almost made myself sick worrying about it. (=I have lost 11 pounds) She said, in a kind way, "Sister Price, did you com=e on this mission just to learn to speak German or was there another reason= you came?" That made me think and then she told me that there are many wa=sy to communicate with people other than just through language and loving a=nd caring for people was the best way. That I can do. I will learn what I= can about the language but Ineed to let loose of it a little and put my ef=forts in other areas. If it is to come, it will come and if I never learn =to use it fluintly, that will have to be okay. I can bear my testimony, si=mple as it is, and I can greet people and I can stay close to Dad so he can= tell me what's going on!
Know that you are all in our prayers. We love you so much. This being a g=ood example is hard work!
Much love always,
Mom
I'm just going to retype the letter I wrote on November 22. Then I will wr=ite another one later this week.We still haven't quite figured out how we can send an e-mail to each of you= so we're hoping you will get this to everyone. We need to just figure out= how to do it. You have two quite computer illiterate parents!
We've nearly completed our first week here in Wurzburg. About half of the =time we've been lost but somehow, and we give the Lord the credit, we final=ly find where we are supposed to be. We do a lot of U-turns and even go th=e wrong way on roundabouts! There are two big freeways that run through th=e city and it's so easy to take the wrong exit and be clear on the other si=de of the city. We have spent a lot of time just finding how to get to pla=ces, like the church, the Elders apartment and the store. There are two bi=g Wal-marts fairly close by and we've become quite familiar with them. The=re arenn't the little markets like there were in Munich and we miss them an=d the fresh vegetable stands out in front of them. Our apartment building =is in an area full of big apartment buildings with very few stores or shops=. Dad told me that Germany is about the size of the state of Montana and h=as 83 million people. I don't think thereare a million people in the whole= state of Montana. Yes, there are a lot of people here.
We enjoyed our new ward on Sunday. There used to be a lot of Americans in =this ward but the military base here is closing down so a lot of them have =left. In fact, in the last year this ward has gone from over 300 members t=o around 160 now. There are still some military families. The bishop is a= doctor who got his training through the military and is finishing his obli=gations here. He is a very nice man. All the meetings are translated into= both languages. There are two mikes on the pulpit and a translator stands= right next to the one conducting the meeting and the speakers when they sp=eak. The songs are sung in both languages and that is interesting. I try =to sing with Dad out of the German book. I can say the words but have no i=dea what I'm saying!
The ward is having a "Thanksgiving Feast" tomorrow and everyone is bringing= something for it. A member, whoe husband is deployed rightnow, offered to= do the whole thing, even furnish all the turkey, but the bishop told her t=he wars would buy the turkey and to hand out a sign up sheet for the other =things. One of the sisters I was sitting by in Relief Society asked if I c=ould bring brownies. Luckily one of the members in Munich gave me a can of= Hersheys cocoa mis and I have everything else, so zucchine brownies will b=e my contribution. It's so hard to cook because I don't know what things a=re in the store. Dad is a lot of help most of the time but not with cookin=g ingredients. Monday after our district meeting, another sister in our di=strict is going to take me grocery shopping and show me what's what. They =have been here for 17 months and lived in Germany two times before their mi=ssion so she knows what this is all about. It will be nice to have a bigge=r variety of things to eat.
Monday night was our first FHE with the young adults. There were two inves=tigators, one new member and a couple of Elders there. We had a good time.= These investigators are 16 and 17 year old boys who are already converted= to the church but their parents won't let them be baptized until they are =18. They are just amazing young men. They talk about, "when I go on my mi=ssion---" and always talk about how much they love the church. One of them= said the thing that attrated him to the church and helped him to know it w=as true was the priesthood and knowing that the right authority was here. =The other said it was knowing that there was a prophet because there should= always be a prophet on the earth. The new member has a wonderful testimon=y of the gospel. She grew up in a very abusive home and was very sick. Sh=e felt like she was going to die and even wanted to but one night knelt dow=nn and prayed that the Lord would send someone who could help her. Two day=s later the missionaries knocked on her door. The gospel has been her life= ever since. She wanted a Book of Mormon to give to a friend so we got one= for her and she brought it Monday night wanting me to read her testimony s=he had written in the front of it. It was incredible. She should write th=at in lots of Books of Mormon! The numbers were few but every soul is impor=tant. We do what we can do.
Tuesday was our first Institure class. There were just two there. This sa=me girl and a returned missionary, but we had a good discussion on the impo=rtance of the witnesses to the Book of Mormon. We are also trying to teach= them to look for "principles" as they read the scriptures and applying the= scriptures to their own lives. They did very well. Again, there being ju=st tow there, I had to talk to myself a little bit on the way home and remi=nd myself that this is how it is---small steps. We were supposed to have a=nother institute class tonight but the people who come on Wednesday were ha=ving a party for one of their sisters who is leaving Germany and told us th=ey wouldn't be there. So, we a plugging along. Small in numbers and a bit= discouraged but we'll keep trying.
I'm glad to hear you are going to be together for Thanksgiving. If it wasn='t for the Americans here in the ward, I'm sure nothing would be going on s=o we're thankful that we will have some kind of celebration. =20I think it was Cathy who mentioned something about the Father Christmas pro=ject and wondering if there were some people here who needed help. When we= met with the bishop on Sunday to go over the ward list, he just kept sayin=g, "They are in need of so much help" or "We're going to need to help them= so their children can have some Christmas." We wondered how all of you wo=uld feel about giving the money from our family to the bishop here for him =to use as he feels is needed. Let us know. You could just have Boyd depos=it it into Dad's account and let us know how much it is and we can draw it =out. But only if you all feel good about it.
Some of you have asked what we would like for Christmas. We don't want any=thing very big! We learned as we were transferred that we have way too muc=h "stuff" and we don't need more. We are fine on clothes. We could use so=me more CD's---church music. I think we have most of the tabernacle choir =CD's but just some good hymn arrangements would be wonderful Also, we woul=d love some Kool-aid, some vanilla, chocolate chips, dry stew mix, stuff li=ke that. LeAnn will probably remember what she couldn't get in England and= it's pretty much the same here. Pictures are always welcome.Have a wonderful time together this week-end. We will be thinking of you a=nd all the games and fun that will be going on. We will miss being with fa=mily but that too is part of being a missionary. I just know the reason BY=U has had such a good year is because we are on this mission. That is wort=h all the frustration!
One more thing. Monday after our district meeting, I was talking to the ot=her senior sister and telling her how frustrated and discouraged I was abou=t the language and that I have almost made myself sick worrying about it. (=I have lost 11 pounds) She said, in a kind way, "Sister Price, did you com=e on this mission just to learn to speak German or was there another reason= you came?" That made me think and then she told me that there are many wa=sy to communicate with people other than just through language and loving a=nd caring for people was the best way. That I can do. I will learn what I= can about the language but Ineed to let loose of it a little and put my ef=forts in other areas. If it is to come, it will come and if I never learn =to use it fluintly, that will have to be okay. I can bear my testimony, si=mple as it is, and I can greet people and I can stay close to Dad so he can= tell me what's going on!
Know that you are all in our prayers. We love you so much. This being a g=ood example is hard work!
Much love always,
Mom
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