From Mom 1/4/2007
Dear Family,
I guess it’s time for another letter. Seems like I just wrote and here it is another week and even another year. How was your New Years Eve? We had received word from our mission president that he wanted all of the missionaries in their apartments by 8 o’clock and not be out taking any chances with what might happen with all the noisy celebrations. We had been invited over to a member’s home for dinner and they new what our time limit was and respected it. I need to tell you about this family. Their last name is Gogan. There are 9 children in the family. The oldest one is 16 and the youngest just turned 1 year. Here is what makes it interesting. Brother Gogan is just 30 years old. He married Sister Gogan when she already had six children and they have had 3 more. They are very active and faithful in the church. Brother Gogan has been away for some special training with the army and was home for just two weeks for the holidays and has gone back to Texas for more training. Sister Gogan is just something else. She handles those kids so well. Everyone helps. A couple of Sundays ago, the oldest boy came into his Priest Quorum class with his baby brother because Sister Gogan was teaching in Relief Society that day. The older kids help out so well. She says she doesn’t spank her kids. When they get out of line, she assigns them some rooms in the house to clean or some dishes to do or some laundry to fold. She says her house if usually pretty clean! She told us her conversion story which we thought was really interesting. She had grown up in a very dysfunctional family. She said they had drug addicts, alcoholics and others who had been in trouble with the law. Her father didn’t believe in anything pertaining to religion so that was never discussed in their home. But she said she felt like she always knew that Jesus was someone real. When she was 19, she was working in Nurnburg and one day on her way back to work, a young lady stopped her and said she wanted to ask her some questions. Sister Gogan said she just didn’t feel like she had the time to stop so she just kind of pushed onward and in a few steps, she said she heard a voice that told her to go back and talk to this lady. So she went back and it was some missionaries. They talked to Sister Gogan for a few minutes and then gave her a Book of Mormon. She said as soon as they put the book in her hand, she felt like an electrical shock went clear through her body. She felt so much happiness and joy that she literally ran back to work and showed everyone the book she had been given. When she met with the missionaries they encouraged her to read and pray about the book to know that it was true and she told them she didn’t have to pray about it, that she already knew it was true. And as soon as they started teaching her about the church, she knew that was true too. She has never had a doubt and has been a faithful member ever since and has been an influence for bringing others into the church. Her husband said when he met her, her strong testimony and her happiness was what attracted her to him and it didn’t matter if there were 6 children, he knew this was who he wanted to spend his life with. They are really a neat family.
New Years Eve sounded like the 4th of July. Fireworks are a big thing here for New Years. They started about Friday night and there were some on Saturday but Sunday night was something else. From about 10:30 until after midnight it was just steady. I couldn’t help but think of the people in this country who had gone through the war and how all those loud noises must had sounded to them. It sounded like a war was going on. They had a lot of those real loud bomb sounding things that made you feel like the building would fall down. I’m glad it is over of another year.
Saturday we helped the couple who we had helped paint their apartment move. There were 12 people from the ward who came to help and this young couple was just overwhelmed that people would be willing to do that. We didn’t have a truck but we did have a big van with all the seats taken out and 3 other van type cars along with our little car. It took everyone taking two loads each to get it all moved. They lived on the fourth floor so it was a lot of going up and down stairs and then up two floors in their new apartment. We were both very tired by the time we finished and very sore for the next two days. We just kind of shuffled along because every step we took meant severe pain! But it was a good feeling to help and especially to see how much they appreciated the help. They just couldn’t get over the fact that people who were mostly strangers to them would do this. I kept telling them that that’s what the church is all about, helping each other out. It was good for them to see this.
We’ve had a good week with Petra. We met with her on Saturday; she was to church on Sunday and asked us to come over Tuesday. When we got there on Tuesday, she was in tears. Her boyfriend, who was the one who introduced her to the church, is acting like a big jerk now. He found out he has to go back to Iraq and is very angry about it. I don’t blame him. He has already been there four times and thought he was going to be trained to be an instructor at a base here but instead is being trained to be in charge of about 28 men going to Iraq. He is drinking again and said some pretty ugly things to Petra before he left. He resents how much time she spends studying about the church and meeting with us. Now is that Satan working, or what? Anyway, it was a pretty sad meeting. We talked about what had happened and what she wanted to do. I felt impressed to ask Dad if it would be appropriate for him to give her a blessing of comfort. He talked to her about it and what it meant to receive a blessing and that he had the priesthood authority to give her a blessing. She finally said she thought that would be a good thing. It was amazing to see the difference in her after the blessing. There was a peace and a calm about her that hadn’t been there before. Then she asked if we would come back the next day because she wanted to know everything she needed to know about the church to be able to be baptized. When we went the next day, we took our Relief Society president with us. She is about the same age as Petra and is a very strong member. The two of them really hit it off and went off on several discussions that I didn’t understand but Dad said were good things to talk about. When we first got there and had prayers, Petra told us that after the blessing she had received the day before she knew for the first time in her life that the atonement was for her too, not for just those who lived in the time of Christ, and that she had felt her burden lifted. Now she just wants to be sure she knows everything she needs to know before she is baptized. We talked about tithing. She gulped a little about that but accepted it. We talked about prayer, about studying the scriptures, keeping the commandments. She loves that the Ten Commandments are in the Book of Mormon as well as the Bible. We really think she is ready for baptism. We are meeting with her Saturday and hoping to set a date for her baptism. People in the ward really like her. She if very friendly and outgoing and talks to everyone. This has been a wonderful opportunity for us to be able to teach her. I think I told you that she wants Dad to baptize her and I think I also told her that on one of my bad days when I wondered what I was doing in Germany, she said. “You came here to teach me the gospel.”
We still don’t have snow, just a lot of rain and gray skies. Monday night we invited the two Elders who work here over for dinner. After dinner we each shared our favorite scripture and told why it was important to us. That turned out to be a very spiritual time. I have a lot of respect for these young Elders and Sisters, especially in an area that is so difficult to get people to listen. They have strong testimonies and that is what keeps them going. After that we play Dominoes for awhile and they seemed to really enjoy it. After we got back from our district meeting, they had gone out to try to find some people to teach but everyone was either celebrating still or recovering from celebrating the night before so they hadn’t had much success so I think they really appreciated a change of pace. Next Monday we will start in with our FHE group again. We have missed being with them but with the holidays, most of them weren’t going to be here anyway.
I guess that’s it for this week. Life moves on. I’m still struggling but am trying to take one day at a time. I don’t know why everything is so hard for me but it is. Dad is very patient and very kind. The mission doctor prescribed an anti-depressant for me. He called this week to see how I was doing and could tell I was still having a hard time. He told me to forget about the German. He said I could do more good just learning to love and serve the people than if I made myself sick over the language. He also said this medicine usually takes 4 to 6 weeks to see much change and to keep taking it. So I’ll do that and I’ll continue to pray and work as hard as I can to enjoy this mission. We have a mission couple’s conference that last week-end in January and we’re looking forward to that.
Take care and know that we love you. Thanks for your love and for your prayers and for your encouragement.
Much Love,
Mom
I guess it’s time for another letter. Seems like I just wrote and here it is another week and even another year. How was your New Years Eve? We had received word from our mission president that he wanted all of the missionaries in their apartments by 8 o’clock and not be out taking any chances with what might happen with all the noisy celebrations. We had been invited over to a member’s home for dinner and they new what our time limit was and respected it. I need to tell you about this family. Their last name is Gogan. There are 9 children in the family. The oldest one is 16 and the youngest just turned 1 year. Here is what makes it interesting. Brother Gogan is just 30 years old. He married Sister Gogan when she already had six children and they have had 3 more. They are very active and faithful in the church. Brother Gogan has been away for some special training with the army and was home for just two weeks for the holidays and has gone back to Texas for more training. Sister Gogan is just something else. She handles those kids so well. Everyone helps. A couple of Sundays ago, the oldest boy came into his Priest Quorum class with his baby brother because Sister Gogan was teaching in Relief Society that day. The older kids help out so well. She says she doesn’t spank her kids. When they get out of line, she assigns them some rooms in the house to clean or some dishes to do or some laundry to fold. She says her house if usually pretty clean! She told us her conversion story which we thought was really interesting. She had grown up in a very dysfunctional family. She said they had drug addicts, alcoholics and others who had been in trouble with the law. Her father didn’t believe in anything pertaining to religion so that was never discussed in their home. But she said she felt like she always knew that Jesus was someone real. When she was 19, she was working in Nurnburg and one day on her way back to work, a young lady stopped her and said she wanted to ask her some questions. Sister Gogan said she just didn’t feel like she had the time to stop so she just kind of pushed onward and in a few steps, she said she heard a voice that told her to go back and talk to this lady. So she went back and it was some missionaries. They talked to Sister Gogan for a few minutes and then gave her a Book of Mormon. She said as soon as they put the book in her hand, she felt like an electrical shock went clear through her body. She felt so much happiness and joy that she literally ran back to work and showed everyone the book she had been given. When she met with the missionaries they encouraged her to read and pray about the book to know that it was true and she told them she didn’t have to pray about it, that she already knew it was true. And as soon as they started teaching her about the church, she knew that was true too. She has never had a doubt and has been a faithful member ever since and has been an influence for bringing others into the church. Her husband said when he met her, her strong testimony and her happiness was what attracted her to him and it didn’t matter if there were 6 children, he knew this was who he wanted to spend his life with. They are really a neat family.
New Years Eve sounded like the 4th of July. Fireworks are a big thing here for New Years. They started about Friday night and there were some on Saturday but Sunday night was something else. From about 10:30 until after midnight it was just steady. I couldn’t help but think of the people in this country who had gone through the war and how all those loud noises must had sounded to them. It sounded like a war was going on. They had a lot of those real loud bomb sounding things that made you feel like the building would fall down. I’m glad it is over of another year.
Saturday we helped the couple who we had helped paint their apartment move. There were 12 people from the ward who came to help and this young couple was just overwhelmed that people would be willing to do that. We didn’t have a truck but we did have a big van with all the seats taken out and 3 other van type cars along with our little car. It took everyone taking two loads each to get it all moved. They lived on the fourth floor so it was a lot of going up and down stairs and then up two floors in their new apartment. We were both very tired by the time we finished and very sore for the next two days. We just kind of shuffled along because every step we took meant severe pain! But it was a good feeling to help and especially to see how much they appreciated the help. They just couldn’t get over the fact that people who were mostly strangers to them would do this. I kept telling them that that’s what the church is all about, helping each other out. It was good for them to see this.
We’ve had a good week with Petra. We met with her on Saturday; she was to church on Sunday and asked us to come over Tuesday. When we got there on Tuesday, she was in tears. Her boyfriend, who was the one who introduced her to the church, is acting like a big jerk now. He found out he has to go back to Iraq and is very angry about it. I don’t blame him. He has already been there four times and thought he was going to be trained to be an instructor at a base here but instead is being trained to be in charge of about 28 men going to Iraq. He is drinking again and said some pretty ugly things to Petra before he left. He resents how much time she spends studying about the church and meeting with us. Now is that Satan working, or what? Anyway, it was a pretty sad meeting. We talked about what had happened and what she wanted to do. I felt impressed to ask Dad if it would be appropriate for him to give her a blessing of comfort. He talked to her about it and what it meant to receive a blessing and that he had the priesthood authority to give her a blessing. She finally said she thought that would be a good thing. It was amazing to see the difference in her after the blessing. There was a peace and a calm about her that hadn’t been there before. Then she asked if we would come back the next day because she wanted to know everything she needed to know about the church to be able to be baptized. When we went the next day, we took our Relief Society president with us. She is about the same age as Petra and is a very strong member. The two of them really hit it off and went off on several discussions that I didn’t understand but Dad said were good things to talk about. When we first got there and had prayers, Petra told us that after the blessing she had received the day before she knew for the first time in her life that the atonement was for her too, not for just those who lived in the time of Christ, and that she had felt her burden lifted. Now she just wants to be sure she knows everything she needs to know before she is baptized. We talked about tithing. She gulped a little about that but accepted it. We talked about prayer, about studying the scriptures, keeping the commandments. She loves that the Ten Commandments are in the Book of Mormon as well as the Bible. We really think she is ready for baptism. We are meeting with her Saturday and hoping to set a date for her baptism. People in the ward really like her. She if very friendly and outgoing and talks to everyone. This has been a wonderful opportunity for us to be able to teach her. I think I told you that she wants Dad to baptize her and I think I also told her that on one of my bad days when I wondered what I was doing in Germany, she said. “You came here to teach me the gospel.”
We still don’t have snow, just a lot of rain and gray skies. Monday night we invited the two Elders who work here over for dinner. After dinner we each shared our favorite scripture and told why it was important to us. That turned out to be a very spiritual time. I have a lot of respect for these young Elders and Sisters, especially in an area that is so difficult to get people to listen. They have strong testimonies and that is what keeps them going. After that we play Dominoes for awhile and they seemed to really enjoy it. After we got back from our district meeting, they had gone out to try to find some people to teach but everyone was either celebrating still or recovering from celebrating the night before so they hadn’t had much success so I think they really appreciated a change of pace. Next Monday we will start in with our FHE group again. We have missed being with them but with the holidays, most of them weren’t going to be here anyway.
I guess that’s it for this week. Life moves on. I’m still struggling but am trying to take one day at a time. I don’t know why everything is so hard for me but it is. Dad is very patient and very kind. The mission doctor prescribed an anti-depressant for me. He called this week to see how I was doing and could tell I was still having a hard time. He told me to forget about the German. He said I could do more good just learning to love and serve the people than if I made myself sick over the language. He also said this medicine usually takes 4 to 6 weeks to see much change and to keep taking it. So I’ll do that and I’ll continue to pray and work as hard as I can to enjoy this mission. We have a mission couple’s conference that last week-end in January and we’re looking forward to that.
Take care and know that we love you. Thanks for your love and for your prayers and for your encouragement.
Much Love,
Mom
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