From Mom 9/30
Dear Family,
It’s Thursday evening. We spent most of the afternoon driving to Nurnburg and back for interviews with President Rakow and training from our Zone leaders. Dad went on a joint-teach with the Elders soon after we got home. They are working with a man who can be pretty intimidating and harsh and Bishop Moffitt told them that he wants Dad with them when they teach him. He’s someone who is always right-----always, whether it be about religion, government or anything and he always “already knows” anything you tell him. “I know that” is the most common thing to come out of his mouth. I don’t know what’s going to happen with him. He was at church on Sunday and came to FHE on Monday to celebrate Elder Blackburn’s birthday. He wears me clear out just being around him for a few minutes. I was glad to stay home while Dad went with the Elders.
President Rakow has no plans to move us from Wurzburg. In some ways it would be nice to see another part of this mission but in another way, it’s a relief not to have to think about packing up and moving somewhere else before it’s time to “pack up” and come home. There is plenty to be done here and it’s nice to feel a part of this ward and feel like maybe we are helping out in a small way. I think it’s good for people to know that we’re going to be here and that we are here to help in any way we can. Missionaries come and go so fast that it’s sometimes hard for people to know what they can count on from them. We’re happy. It was a nice interview with President Rakow. He is a very loving, caring president and we are always grateful for his leadership. He looked tired today. He was in a mission president’s seminar in Switzerland earlier in the week than back to Munich on Wednesday to release a few missionaries that were going home a few weeks early to get into school then to Nurnburg today for interviews. What a schedule these mission presidents have! I don’t know if I already told you that their youngest son leaves for a mission in Australia in 3 weeks. He and Sister Rakow were able to go to the Frankfurt temple with him along with another son and a daughter and it was such a great experience for them to be in the temple together.
Monday was Elder Blackburn’s birthday and he leaves to go home in 3 weeks so we decided to take him and his companion out to dinner. We asked Bishop Moffitt what is favorite place to eat out was and he recommended an Indian restaurant-----not teepee Indian but India Indian. The food was good, a bit spicy and very rich but very good. The music was a bit weird. I could have done without that but all in all it was a fun time and the Elders really appreciated it. Afterwards we went over to the church and had cake and ice-cream with some others. Needless to say, neither one of us slept very well that night.
We have felt a bit discouraged the past couple of weeks with all the cancelled appointments and people not at home when we went for an appointment. We were beginning to wonder if maybe we have been here in Wurzburg too long and maybe a change would be good. Then Sunday came and all those feelings quickly vanished. Tim Palmer, who we have been working with off and on for about 7 months, was at church. This is the first time in about 10 years that he has come to church. He really enjoyed it and felt a good spirit there. Two of his sons were with him. The 9 year old told his dad he felt a good spirit and wanted to come back sometime. The down part of this was that after church, he was outside the church “goofing around” with his boys and he jumped off a small wall and broke his heel. He has to stay completely off his foot for a week and will be in a cast for 9 weeks so I’m not sure how much we will see him at church in the near future. But we’ll call him and try to visit him at his home. He’s having family problems. He and the mother of his three sons have never married and now she is interested in someone else and wants him out. It’s a bit of a mess, to say the least.
The woman I told you about whose husband didn’t want to be a man any more was also there. It has been well over a year since she has been to church. She loved it and said she would try to come again next week. She still isn’t sure what she’s going to do about the situation with her husband or just what her standing in the church is in that situation. She was looking up scriptures the speaker was referring to and she really enjoyed the Sunday School class she went to. She’s such a nice person.
The lady who was curious about what kind of church this was the week before came and stayed for all three meetings. We had a “linger longer” lunch after church to honor Bishop Moffitt and his family. She stayed for that too and there were several people who visited with her. We now have her name and address and have been to her house several times but she told one of the members that her daughter and family were coming to see her on their vacation so we’ve wondered if she decided to go with them. We’ll keep trying. She told this member that she really enjoyed church and felt such a good spirit there.
The Wenzel family came for the gathering after church. Thomas Wenzel is a member but hasn’t been to church for over a year. His wife and kids are not members but she came with him. She had a pretty dress on and looked very nice. We noticed lots of people talking to them. They said we could call and schedule another appointment with them. We have met with them the past 3 Sunday evenings. All in all, it was a great day----payday for missionaries.
Sister Moffitt and the kids are leaving this weekend for Twin Falls so she can get the kids enrolled in school. Bishop Moffitt has about 3 more weeks of paper work to do to finish his time in the Army then he will be leaving. So sometime between now and the middle of September, we’ll be getting a new bishop. With the Army base scheduled to be completely closed by next summer, this ward will lose several more families. It will be an all German ward. I’m glad our time here will be up before that happens!! Sunday is my relief day when I can actually talk to people and understand what they are saying.
We’ve had some funny experiences this week----at least I thought they were funny. I was ironing some shirts and Dad was on the phone making some appointments. We have been meeting with a lady whose last name is Kurtzke. Dad hung up the phone and said he had made an appointment with Sister Kraut. I said, “You mean Sister Kurtzke”? and he said, “No. Sister Kraut.” So I asked him who Sister Kraut was and he said, “I don’t mean Sister Kraut, I mean Sister Sauer (pronounced sour). Yes, we have been meeting with Sister Sauer. I just busted out laughing that he got the name mixed up like that-----Sauer and Kraut. We’ve been in Germany too long!!
Another day we had walked to an appointment and on our way home we noticed a little lady across the street sitting down on her walker. It was a hot day and when I saw her I was worried that she was having a problem so we walked across the street and asked her if she was okay. She said she was just fine and was just resting before she went on home. Then she told us that when she woke up and saw that it was a beautiful day, she wanted to go for a walk. So she had a good breakfast “and had a good beer” and left for her walk. That struck our funny bone too. This sweet, little white haired lady having “a good beer” to get going for the day.
The last experience isn’t really funny but shows the mind set of some of the people we work with. This is another inactive couple. They have been to church a few times but then we didn’t see them for several weeks. We tried to call them and went to their home but got no response. We finally called her on her cell phone and found out she had been working way down on the German/Austria border but would be home soon. We made another appointment with them and when we got there, she had her Bible and Book of Mormon on the table and was ready to talk. She told us she knew the church was true but that she just couldn’t come to church until she got over doing all the wrong things she thinks she is doing. We told her if people didn’t come to church until they were perfect that no one would be in church and that the church is to help us overcome our mistakes. She seemed to like that idea but she wasn’t at church on Sunday. We’ll try to see her again sometime this week-end. We hear all kinds of excuses.
Petra is just awesome. At our meeting with her his week we asked her how she felt about being a member of the church and she is very happy with the church. We asked her how she felt about the Book of Mormon and she said she has always loved the Bible and still does but she loves the Book of Mormon more and since becoming a member of the church she knows when she reads in the scriptures that what they say are true and she understands them. She is so concerned about and so interested in the people in the ward. She is wonderful with investigators who come with us or with the Elders and just kind of takes over with them in the investigators class. She is just what a good member of he church should be. We are so thankful for the opportunity we have had of meeting and working with her.
I guess that’s about it for this week. It’s been a busy week, full of lots of different experiences but it was a good week. It was fun teaching the Eternal Marriage institute class on our 45th anniversary. When we told the young people that it was our anniversary and they asked how many years, they could hardly believe that someone would stay married to the same person for that long. We told them that that was what eternal marriage was all about-----eternal. We’re not done yet! Know that we love you all very much. Continue doing the good things you are doing. I like this little thought: “If the Lord takes you to it, He will help you through it.” Challenges and trials are a part of life and as long as we do what we know is right to do, we can depend on the Lord’s help in meeting those challenges.
Much love to all of you.
Mom
It’s Thursday evening. We spent most of the afternoon driving to Nurnburg and back for interviews with President Rakow and training from our Zone leaders. Dad went on a joint-teach with the Elders soon after we got home. They are working with a man who can be pretty intimidating and harsh and Bishop Moffitt told them that he wants Dad with them when they teach him. He’s someone who is always right-----always, whether it be about religion, government or anything and he always “already knows” anything you tell him. “I know that” is the most common thing to come out of his mouth. I don’t know what’s going to happen with him. He was at church on Sunday and came to FHE on Monday to celebrate Elder Blackburn’s birthday. He wears me clear out just being around him for a few minutes. I was glad to stay home while Dad went with the Elders.
President Rakow has no plans to move us from Wurzburg. In some ways it would be nice to see another part of this mission but in another way, it’s a relief not to have to think about packing up and moving somewhere else before it’s time to “pack up” and come home. There is plenty to be done here and it’s nice to feel a part of this ward and feel like maybe we are helping out in a small way. I think it’s good for people to know that we’re going to be here and that we are here to help in any way we can. Missionaries come and go so fast that it’s sometimes hard for people to know what they can count on from them. We’re happy. It was a nice interview with President Rakow. He is a very loving, caring president and we are always grateful for his leadership. He looked tired today. He was in a mission president’s seminar in Switzerland earlier in the week than back to Munich on Wednesday to release a few missionaries that were going home a few weeks early to get into school then to Nurnburg today for interviews. What a schedule these mission presidents have! I don’t know if I already told you that their youngest son leaves for a mission in Australia in 3 weeks. He and Sister Rakow were able to go to the Frankfurt temple with him along with another son and a daughter and it was such a great experience for them to be in the temple together.
Monday was Elder Blackburn’s birthday and he leaves to go home in 3 weeks so we decided to take him and his companion out to dinner. We asked Bishop Moffitt what is favorite place to eat out was and he recommended an Indian restaurant-----not teepee Indian but India Indian. The food was good, a bit spicy and very rich but very good. The music was a bit weird. I could have done without that but all in all it was a fun time and the Elders really appreciated it. Afterwards we went over to the church and had cake and ice-cream with some others. Needless to say, neither one of us slept very well that night.
We have felt a bit discouraged the past couple of weeks with all the cancelled appointments and people not at home when we went for an appointment. We were beginning to wonder if maybe we have been here in Wurzburg too long and maybe a change would be good. Then Sunday came and all those feelings quickly vanished. Tim Palmer, who we have been working with off and on for about 7 months, was at church. This is the first time in about 10 years that he has come to church. He really enjoyed it and felt a good spirit there. Two of his sons were with him. The 9 year old told his dad he felt a good spirit and wanted to come back sometime. The down part of this was that after church, he was outside the church “goofing around” with his boys and he jumped off a small wall and broke his heel. He has to stay completely off his foot for a week and will be in a cast for 9 weeks so I’m not sure how much we will see him at church in the near future. But we’ll call him and try to visit him at his home. He’s having family problems. He and the mother of his three sons have never married and now she is interested in someone else and wants him out. It’s a bit of a mess, to say the least.
The woman I told you about whose husband didn’t want to be a man any more was also there. It has been well over a year since she has been to church. She loved it and said she would try to come again next week. She still isn’t sure what she’s going to do about the situation with her husband or just what her standing in the church is in that situation. She was looking up scriptures the speaker was referring to and she really enjoyed the Sunday School class she went to. She’s such a nice person.
The lady who was curious about what kind of church this was the week before came and stayed for all three meetings. We had a “linger longer” lunch after church to honor Bishop Moffitt and his family. She stayed for that too and there were several people who visited with her. We now have her name and address and have been to her house several times but she told one of the members that her daughter and family were coming to see her on their vacation so we’ve wondered if she decided to go with them. We’ll keep trying. She told this member that she really enjoyed church and felt such a good spirit there.
The Wenzel family came for the gathering after church. Thomas Wenzel is a member but hasn’t been to church for over a year. His wife and kids are not members but she came with him. She had a pretty dress on and looked very nice. We noticed lots of people talking to them. They said we could call and schedule another appointment with them. We have met with them the past 3 Sunday evenings. All in all, it was a great day----payday for missionaries.
Sister Moffitt and the kids are leaving this weekend for Twin Falls so she can get the kids enrolled in school. Bishop Moffitt has about 3 more weeks of paper work to do to finish his time in the Army then he will be leaving. So sometime between now and the middle of September, we’ll be getting a new bishop. With the Army base scheduled to be completely closed by next summer, this ward will lose several more families. It will be an all German ward. I’m glad our time here will be up before that happens!! Sunday is my relief day when I can actually talk to people and understand what they are saying.
We’ve had some funny experiences this week----at least I thought they were funny. I was ironing some shirts and Dad was on the phone making some appointments. We have been meeting with a lady whose last name is Kurtzke. Dad hung up the phone and said he had made an appointment with Sister Kraut. I said, “You mean Sister Kurtzke”? and he said, “No. Sister Kraut.” So I asked him who Sister Kraut was and he said, “I don’t mean Sister Kraut, I mean Sister Sauer (pronounced sour). Yes, we have been meeting with Sister Sauer. I just busted out laughing that he got the name mixed up like that-----Sauer and Kraut. We’ve been in Germany too long!!
Another day we had walked to an appointment and on our way home we noticed a little lady across the street sitting down on her walker. It was a hot day and when I saw her I was worried that she was having a problem so we walked across the street and asked her if she was okay. She said she was just fine and was just resting before she went on home. Then she told us that when she woke up and saw that it was a beautiful day, she wanted to go for a walk. So she had a good breakfast “and had a good beer” and left for her walk. That struck our funny bone too. This sweet, little white haired lady having “a good beer” to get going for the day.
The last experience isn’t really funny but shows the mind set of some of the people we work with. This is another inactive couple. They have been to church a few times but then we didn’t see them for several weeks. We tried to call them and went to their home but got no response. We finally called her on her cell phone and found out she had been working way down on the German/Austria border but would be home soon. We made another appointment with them and when we got there, she had her Bible and Book of Mormon on the table and was ready to talk. She told us she knew the church was true but that she just couldn’t come to church until she got over doing all the wrong things she thinks she is doing. We told her if people didn’t come to church until they were perfect that no one would be in church and that the church is to help us overcome our mistakes. She seemed to like that idea but she wasn’t at church on Sunday. We’ll try to see her again sometime this week-end. We hear all kinds of excuses.
Petra is just awesome. At our meeting with her his week we asked her how she felt about being a member of the church and she is very happy with the church. We asked her how she felt about the Book of Mormon and she said she has always loved the Bible and still does but she loves the Book of Mormon more and since becoming a member of the church she knows when she reads in the scriptures that what they say are true and she understands them. She is so concerned about and so interested in the people in the ward. She is wonderful with investigators who come with us or with the Elders and just kind of takes over with them in the investigators class. She is just what a good member of he church should be. We are so thankful for the opportunity we have had of meeting and working with her.
I guess that’s about it for this week. It’s been a busy week, full of lots of different experiences but it was a good week. It was fun teaching the Eternal Marriage institute class on our 45th anniversary. When we told the young people that it was our anniversary and they asked how many years, they could hardly believe that someone would stay married to the same person for that long. We told them that that was what eternal marriage was all about-----eternal. We’re not done yet! Know that we love you all very much. Continue doing the good things you are doing. I like this little thought: “If the Lord takes you to it, He will help you through it.” Challenges and trials are a part of life and as long as we do what we know is right to do, we can depend on the Lord’s help in meeting those challenges.
Much love to all of you.
Mom
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home