From Mom 11/15
Dear Family,
It was exactly one year ago today that we arrived in Wurzburg. It doesn’t seem possible that we’ve been here for a year. We were promised “at least 6 months----maybe a little longer” by President Rakow. It turned out that the “a little longer part” won out. And we’re glad. I think it has really helped to get to know everyone so well and to work consistently with people over a longer period of time. We’ve definitely had our ups and downs here but are thankful for the progress we have seen and continue to see in some of the people we are working with. Sometimes I get a bit envious of the Elders and Sisters getting to go to Austria and other cities in Germany. It would be nice to see some new sights but seeing the sights isn’t the purpose of our mission and we’ve just thankful for the opportunities we have had here in Wurzburg.
We spent the evening with a sister who had her birthday today. Sunday she asked us if we could come and have dinner with her because her husband was out of town and she would be alone on her birthday. We already had another commitment but she looked so sad and disappointed when we told her that we were busy that we got on the phone and moved things around so we could go be with her. She was so excited when we called her and told her we could come and as we walked into her home this evening, she gave each of us a big hug and told us how much it meant to her for us to be there. Her husband is not a member but she was telling us tonight that the other night he told her that after he retired it would be okay for them to go on a mission. She told him that was fine with her but that he would need to be baptized and then go to the temple before they could do that. He said he was thinking about that so we’ll see what happens in the next few years. They are both just really nice people. He drives her to church each week but doesn’t come in. Their two sons both served missions and they both talk of the blessing that was to them to have them serve. He has a very demanding job-----travels a lot and has a lot of responsibility and the thoughts of joining the church and having more to do just boggles his mind. Tonight she said she thought it would make a big difference when he retired. We’ll hope so.
Earlier today we had lunch with everyone in our district. One of the Elders here in Wurzburg got a call late last night that there was “an emergency” transfer and that he, Elder Lee, would be going to Austria. He is really bummed about the whole thing! He was hoping to be here until after Christmas. They have finally got things really going and just last night got a baptism commitment from one of their investigators. The Elders and Elder and Sister Meng came over from Schweinfut and the eight of us went to a Mongolian restaurant for an “all you go eat” buffet. Those Elders can really put away the food. Elder and Sister Meng love to go out to eat and we’ve done a lot of that since they came in July. Dad and I knew we had another eating appointment later in the day so we just filled our plate once. It was a lot of fun being together. I really don’t life transfers. We get so attached to the Elders in our district and it’s like sending one of our own kids away when they leave. But that’s just missionary life-----transfer day comes around every six weeks whether we like it or not. The regular transfer day was just two weeks ago so this was a big surprise to everyone.
Do you remember me telling you about the lady whose husband no longer wanted to be a man? She hadn’t been to church since we got here and when Dad called her as he was going down the inactive list she told him he would need to talk to her former bishop and find out what the problem was and see what he recommended before she would come back to church. That bishop was the one who told Dad about this woman’s husband and he recommended that she talk to the bishop here. That was arranged and he wasn’t sure what to do so took it to the stake president who didn’t know what to do either so asked the bishop to write to the First Presidency and explain the situation to them and see what they recommended. This woman felt like she wasn’t worthy to even come to church but the bishop encouraged her to come and she has come a few times. Dad talks to her on the phone at least once a week and last week she told him that the stake president had called and wanted to visit with her. He had received a letter from the First Presidency and was able to tell her that her status in the church was not affected by the actions of her husband. This is something that happened after they were married and she knew nothing about this problem previously to their marriage and that she should not consider herself a part of it in any way. The stake president advised her to get some more training and get a good job and just gradually “move out” of her husband life. She was very happy and relieved after the interview and seems ready to get on with her life again. Isn’t it sad what some people have to go through but at the same time, isn’t it so wonderful that a way has been provided for them to overcome these obstacles and move on with their lives? Oh, the things we get involved with on this mission!!!
Well, I learned that my power of discernment is not very good. Last week I told you about meeting Sister Reynolds’s mother-in-law and how excited I felt as she responded so positively to everything we said. Dad was a bit suspicious but I thought we had a good new investigator. Well, I was wrong. We talked to her daughter-in-law a couple of days later and she said that after we left this lady told her that there was no way she could believe all that “stuff” and there was no way she could live the way Mormons are asked to live. And this is the kicker: she said, “I don’t want to give up smoking and lying.” The daughter-in-law told us that she lies about everything and that she doesn’t trust anything this lady says. We do meet some “choice” people out here!!
Today we looked up another member on the inactive list. There was a note to go during the day and ring the doorbell three times, and then she would know it’s someone from the church. It said that her husband doesn’t like Mormons calling on them----that’s why we were to go during the day. We rang the doorbell three times and her husband came to the door. His wife is taking a class at school and was gone. We told him who we were and that we knew his wife was a member and just wanted to come and get acquainted. He told us we were welcome to come anytime and when we asked if tomorrow would be okay, he said, “We’ll be looking forward to your visit.” Now I don’t know if he’s planning on giving us a bad time tomorrow or what. He was just so nice and made us feel so welcome. After my last experience of judging people, I hope I’m not wrong about this man. Anyway, we’re going back tomorrow afternoon and will see what happens. In one of our conferences, President Rakow said, “When you leave notes for the next missionaries coming in, don’t give too much information. Let them find out for themselves.” I’m glad Dad is bold enough to go forward with things like this. I just kind of stand behind him hoping and praying that we don’t get kicked out! I’m the brave one!!!
Tim Palmer is struggling. I think he knows there are lots of changes ahead with his family situation and also if he is sincere in wanted to get active in the church again. He needs lots of encouragement and support. Isn’t it interesting how hard Satan works on people when he knows they are trying to make changes for the better in their life and move toward a better life? It seems to us that that is happening to Tim right now. We’ll continue to hope and pray that he stays strong.
We just found out they have cancelled the Thanksgiving Feast in the ward. Most of the Americans are leaving town because they have a four day week-end and Thanksgiving really doesn’t mean much to the German people. So we’ll have to try to figure out something to do. The Elders were talking just today about this being their first Thanksgiving away from home and how glad they were that the ward was doing something. Our district is good at eating together. Maybe Sister Meng and I will have to fix dinner for the Elders. I can hardly wait for next Thanksgiving!!!!
Tomorrow we’re doing a service project. One of the sisters in the ward whose husband will be getting home from Iraq in a couple of weeks wants to do so heavy duty cleaning in her house and also wants to get her Christmas decorations up. She has five children and has carried a lot of responsibility alone for a long time and we told her we’d like to come and help her. She was very grateful for the offer and has a list of things she needs done. Elder Zern, who is the other elder here, will be with us waiting for his new companion to arrive so we should be able to get a lot done.
I just read this letter and I’ve rambled a lot. I’m tired. This has been a long day. We had a wonderful zone conference on Tuesday but the hour and half drive over, seven hours of instruction and then another hour and half drive back home wipe me out for a couple of days. We’ve had some good meetings this week. None of them were earth shaking but we feel like if we can stir even a little bit of interest in some of these inactive members, maybe we are doing some good. Sunday there were three inactive families at church. We are always grateful for things like that. Saturday we are going to a soccer game one of the boys of an inactive family is playing in and then we are going for a ride on an old tram with the family after the game. Fellowshipping seems to be an important part of this work. I remember working in the Primary and hearing the phrase: “They don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” I think that is an important part of missionary work.
We love you all. We are looking forward to Michael’s game on Friday. When we read Zach’s letter, Dad commented, “Zach sounds like a real missionary!” We’re so glad he loves his work. Take good care of yourselves and have a wonderful Thanksgiving. We are thankful for all of our blessings----especially our family.
Much love,
Mom
It was exactly one year ago today that we arrived in Wurzburg. It doesn’t seem possible that we’ve been here for a year. We were promised “at least 6 months----maybe a little longer” by President Rakow. It turned out that the “a little longer part” won out. And we’re glad. I think it has really helped to get to know everyone so well and to work consistently with people over a longer period of time. We’ve definitely had our ups and downs here but are thankful for the progress we have seen and continue to see in some of the people we are working with. Sometimes I get a bit envious of the Elders and Sisters getting to go to Austria and other cities in Germany. It would be nice to see some new sights but seeing the sights isn’t the purpose of our mission and we’ve just thankful for the opportunities we have had here in Wurzburg.
We spent the evening with a sister who had her birthday today. Sunday she asked us if we could come and have dinner with her because her husband was out of town and she would be alone on her birthday. We already had another commitment but she looked so sad and disappointed when we told her that we were busy that we got on the phone and moved things around so we could go be with her. She was so excited when we called her and told her we could come and as we walked into her home this evening, she gave each of us a big hug and told us how much it meant to her for us to be there. Her husband is not a member but she was telling us tonight that the other night he told her that after he retired it would be okay for them to go on a mission. She told him that was fine with her but that he would need to be baptized and then go to the temple before they could do that. He said he was thinking about that so we’ll see what happens in the next few years. They are both just really nice people. He drives her to church each week but doesn’t come in. Their two sons both served missions and they both talk of the blessing that was to them to have them serve. He has a very demanding job-----travels a lot and has a lot of responsibility and the thoughts of joining the church and having more to do just boggles his mind. Tonight she said she thought it would make a big difference when he retired. We’ll hope so.
Earlier today we had lunch with everyone in our district. One of the Elders here in Wurzburg got a call late last night that there was “an emergency” transfer and that he, Elder Lee, would be going to Austria. He is really bummed about the whole thing! He was hoping to be here until after Christmas. They have finally got things really going and just last night got a baptism commitment from one of their investigators. The Elders and Elder and Sister Meng came over from Schweinfut and the eight of us went to a Mongolian restaurant for an “all you go eat” buffet. Those Elders can really put away the food. Elder and Sister Meng love to go out to eat and we’ve done a lot of that since they came in July. Dad and I knew we had another eating appointment later in the day so we just filled our plate once. It was a lot of fun being together. I really don’t life transfers. We get so attached to the Elders in our district and it’s like sending one of our own kids away when they leave. But that’s just missionary life-----transfer day comes around every six weeks whether we like it or not. The regular transfer day was just two weeks ago so this was a big surprise to everyone.
Do you remember me telling you about the lady whose husband no longer wanted to be a man? She hadn’t been to church since we got here and when Dad called her as he was going down the inactive list she told him he would need to talk to her former bishop and find out what the problem was and see what he recommended before she would come back to church. That bishop was the one who told Dad about this woman’s husband and he recommended that she talk to the bishop here. That was arranged and he wasn’t sure what to do so took it to the stake president who didn’t know what to do either so asked the bishop to write to the First Presidency and explain the situation to them and see what they recommended. This woman felt like she wasn’t worthy to even come to church but the bishop encouraged her to come and she has come a few times. Dad talks to her on the phone at least once a week and last week she told him that the stake president had called and wanted to visit with her. He had received a letter from the First Presidency and was able to tell her that her status in the church was not affected by the actions of her husband. This is something that happened after they were married and she knew nothing about this problem previously to their marriage and that she should not consider herself a part of it in any way. The stake president advised her to get some more training and get a good job and just gradually “move out” of her husband life. She was very happy and relieved after the interview and seems ready to get on with her life again. Isn’t it sad what some people have to go through but at the same time, isn’t it so wonderful that a way has been provided for them to overcome these obstacles and move on with their lives? Oh, the things we get involved with on this mission!!!
Well, I learned that my power of discernment is not very good. Last week I told you about meeting Sister Reynolds’s mother-in-law and how excited I felt as she responded so positively to everything we said. Dad was a bit suspicious but I thought we had a good new investigator. Well, I was wrong. We talked to her daughter-in-law a couple of days later and she said that after we left this lady told her that there was no way she could believe all that “stuff” and there was no way she could live the way Mormons are asked to live. And this is the kicker: she said, “I don’t want to give up smoking and lying.” The daughter-in-law told us that she lies about everything and that she doesn’t trust anything this lady says. We do meet some “choice” people out here!!
Today we looked up another member on the inactive list. There was a note to go during the day and ring the doorbell three times, and then she would know it’s someone from the church. It said that her husband doesn’t like Mormons calling on them----that’s why we were to go during the day. We rang the doorbell three times and her husband came to the door. His wife is taking a class at school and was gone. We told him who we were and that we knew his wife was a member and just wanted to come and get acquainted. He told us we were welcome to come anytime and when we asked if tomorrow would be okay, he said, “We’ll be looking forward to your visit.” Now I don’t know if he’s planning on giving us a bad time tomorrow or what. He was just so nice and made us feel so welcome. After my last experience of judging people, I hope I’m not wrong about this man. Anyway, we’re going back tomorrow afternoon and will see what happens. In one of our conferences, President Rakow said, “When you leave notes for the next missionaries coming in, don’t give too much information. Let them find out for themselves.” I’m glad Dad is bold enough to go forward with things like this. I just kind of stand behind him hoping and praying that we don’t get kicked out! I’m the brave one!!!
Tim Palmer is struggling. I think he knows there are lots of changes ahead with his family situation and also if he is sincere in wanted to get active in the church again. He needs lots of encouragement and support. Isn’t it interesting how hard Satan works on people when he knows they are trying to make changes for the better in their life and move toward a better life? It seems to us that that is happening to Tim right now. We’ll continue to hope and pray that he stays strong.
We just found out they have cancelled the Thanksgiving Feast in the ward. Most of the Americans are leaving town because they have a four day week-end and Thanksgiving really doesn’t mean much to the German people. So we’ll have to try to figure out something to do. The Elders were talking just today about this being their first Thanksgiving away from home and how glad they were that the ward was doing something. Our district is good at eating together. Maybe Sister Meng and I will have to fix dinner for the Elders. I can hardly wait for next Thanksgiving!!!!
Tomorrow we’re doing a service project. One of the sisters in the ward whose husband will be getting home from Iraq in a couple of weeks wants to do so heavy duty cleaning in her house and also wants to get her Christmas decorations up. She has five children and has carried a lot of responsibility alone for a long time and we told her we’d like to come and help her. She was very grateful for the offer and has a list of things she needs done. Elder Zern, who is the other elder here, will be with us waiting for his new companion to arrive so we should be able to get a lot done.
I just read this letter and I’ve rambled a lot. I’m tired. This has been a long day. We had a wonderful zone conference on Tuesday but the hour and half drive over, seven hours of instruction and then another hour and half drive back home wipe me out for a couple of days. We’ve had some good meetings this week. None of them were earth shaking but we feel like if we can stir even a little bit of interest in some of these inactive members, maybe we are doing some good. Sunday there were three inactive families at church. We are always grateful for things like that. Saturday we are going to a soccer game one of the boys of an inactive family is playing in and then we are going for a ride on an old tram with the family after the game. Fellowshipping seems to be an important part of this work. I remember working in the Primary and hearing the phrase: “They don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” I think that is an important part of missionary work.
We love you all. We are looking forward to Michael’s game on Friday. When we read Zach’s letter, Dad commented, “Zach sounds like a real missionary!” We’re so glad he loves his work. Take good care of yourselves and have a wonderful Thanksgiving. We are thankful for all of our blessings----especially our family.
Much love,
Mom
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