I got on a little Christmas kick this week (or a big one) and bought Christmas lights, baked cookies and turned on Christmas music. Eep. I love Christmas, but it's all good we are carving pumpkins in like 20 minutes so that should bring my head out of the clouds and back to October right?
Oh man. What a lovely week. I learned something yesterday. I decided I need to not make my talks so personal. Sheesh. (yes that would be my third talk since being in Wiesbaden. You would think they would be sick of me by now right?) but yes. I thought that I would just simply share how I made the decision of how I came on a mission in German. Bad idea. Tears were a flowing and I don't even know why! Man. I am such a spiritual crier. Thanks mom. Hehe It just brought back all of those same feelings. "Mikayla, do you love me? Then why are we here? Why are we back at this same place doing the same thing? If I want fish I can get fish. What I need are disciples. And I need them forever." Oh man. Tearing up again. I'll stop. I just love my mission. Golly.
So the people, (which are absolutely positively the best part of the mission)are doing wonderfully. Sister litster and I have really been working on new ways of talking to people because I kinda get sick of the same old same old. And so we did a question and answer session. Where you basically just walk straight up to someone without introducing yourself and ask them a question. I have done that pretty much my whole mission actually thanks to sister teeples teaching me the power statement and a question thing but this time we tried it with new questions. What do you know about the Mormons? Did you already know that Jesus Christ was in America? Or my absolute favorite: do you believe that God knows your name? It is so out of the norm and totally gets people thinking. I love it. We have also been working on talking to more people on Sunday. I am kinda a wimp when it comes to Sunday missionary work mostly because I want a relaxing Sunday like lets just stay home and read the scriptures or something but we decided to put it to the test and we found two new people to teach in the course of 15 minutes! Talk about a call to repentance. So yes I will be working on that.
But during this whole question asking sesh we met this guy Bernd. And I am obsessed with him. So prepared and he doesn't even know it. Everything he said made me just want to throw out everything we know at him. Why are there so many churches that claim they are the truth? I just feel like I have no purpose. Why am I even here? My dad died when I was 8 I just wish I could see him again. I just have so much guilt I want to get rid of. Is God even there? Who is he? I have fear of God. Why are there so many bad things happening in the world? I can't pray because I am not worthy enough. And on and on. Seriously. Ask the missionaries they can help you! Haha it took all my self control not to sit there for 8 hours and just tell him everything we believe in. We stuck with the very basic knowledge of God is our Heavenly Father and even that took an entire different meaning to me. So many people believe that God is just this all powerful, all knowing being. Which is true... But they don't see him as a father. Someone who knows them personally. Someone who knows their name. Someone who wants them to have the upmost happiness but wants them to learn and grow for themselves. Oh man. I just take the most basic knowledge for granted!
We met with Julian (someone we met a while back when we had that "find 10 new friends to teach in one week" deal with God) which kind of just turned into him telling us about his church.. Haha but even that was just reaffirming to me how important this personal relationship with God is and how foreign that is to so many people. I kept trying to ask him questions like "who is Jesus Christ to you personally? Or how has this benefitted YOU? Nothing. Just pull out another pamphlet and point to a bible verse and move on to the next thing.
Even the basic doctrines of organized religion, a prophet on the earth today, the simplicity of this gospel, the sacrament etc took on a new meaning while teaching and testifying this week.
Wissen wir wirklich was wir haben?
Do we really know what we have?
I definitely don't.
I think so often we forget how incredible and amazing that knowledge is. And how much the gospel is just a part of who we are. Sister litster and I were listening to this talk earlier this week about how everyone has a conversion story. No matter if you were taught by missionaries or not. And she challenged me to write down my own conversion story. Oh man. One of the neatest things. It was so interesting for me to reflect on those basic truths I grew up singing in primary about being a child of God or that our family can be together forever that has taken on a whole new meaning. I am just so full of gratitude for the knowledge that I have and that I could come on a mission to more fully appreciate those things. I know without a doubt that this is the truth. This is the way that we can develop a personal relationship with God. His is the way that I can have true happiness.
wishin' you a week full of lots of goodies.
save me a recess.
xoxox
s. heywood
Good ol' relief society district. The only time we sisters outnumber the elders.
Pirate zone training.
Fall. Fall. Fall. Fall. Fall.
