TWO INNOCENT-LOOKING GIRLS INVADE CHRISTMAS MARKET WITH STRANGE BLUE BOOKS

So this week was so packed with so much that I don't even know how to begin. We went caroling as missionaries Monday night and did contacting and it was SO successful!!! We handed out a huge box of Books of Mormon. It was awesome!!! Then Tuesday was transfers. A very very bittersweet day. I said goodbye to Sister Jenkins and I was then left in charge to get all of the trainers from Hauptbahnhof to the church. And then tons of people missed connections and it made for a stressful transfer day. But we got the last trainer to the church pretty late so I got to sit in at the pairing meeting and see the missionaries get paired with their trainers!! Man. Frankfurt life. I'm gonna miss it when I'm transferred one day.

Then Wednesday our ward went caroling and us missionaries went and contacted while they sang. Once again. SO SUCCESSFUL! We got several potentials and handed out TONS of books. We are going again tomorrow with some missionaries because it is so successful.

This week Has definitely been a new adventure. It's been pretty scary to take over an area and luckily we've only gotten kind of lost once.

Wait. Twice. Wait I just remembered another time .....  but not all the way lost. So that's good. But I have definitely been working really hard on improving my transport contacting skills and was very successful with that this week. I had lots of really cool conversations with people and my German is improving little by little.

I definitely understand a hundred times better than my speaking.

My new companion sister weeks is really nice. She is ready to have fun and work hard. I'm really glad I didn't get a super quiet companion that doesn't talk. So I have a feeling we will be good together.

We had our ward Christmas party on Saturday night!!! It was so awesome because we had THREE investigators show up! Even though poor confused me told them the wrong time at first. Grrr. Hahahahahaha I don't know why I had the wrong time.

Christmas is coming!!! I hope everyone is as excited as me!!! Yay Christmas !!! Don't forget the light the world videos and to really look for service and missionary opportunities this week!!!

Love you all so much! I'm happy and good and excited for the continued missionary opportunities ahead!!!

Sister Losee

WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN TO SISTER LOSEE!?!?!?

Duhn duhn duhn...... transfers....... what will be happening to me and my lovely companion?!?!?!? Stay tuned and find out next week.......

  

Just kidding. But not really. But maybe. It's sad to Think about. So maybe I will let you know next week. Okay. Fine. I'll let you know.

Sister Jenkins is being shipped out to Hanau!!!! It's very sad. We liked each other TOO much. It had to happen. So basically transfer calls were one of the scariest phone calls on my life. Tomorrow sister Jenkins will be leaving to another city and someone else will be taking her place. Basically it's a rollercoaster ride of emotions at different times of the day. It's exciting because I will be taking over the area and it will be good for me to not use her as a crutch.

But on the other hand. I have to take over the area. That's terrifying!? We will be lost and I have to be the one in charge at lessons for a while until sister weeks (my soon to be new companion) learns the people. Plus it's so close to Christmas. But positives. We have some great member families inviting us over. Like the Robertson's. They are from England and I LOVE them! I'm so excited to be with them on Christmas. Also. Sister Jenkins new area is super close. So she can come into Frankfurt for a pday!!!

Anywhoo. What else happened this week. Oh. Friday dinner with Janet.

Chinese restaurant. Hot pot. Nuff said. So Janet wanted to take us out to dinner to experience a Chinese hot pot. She found this super authentic Chinese restaurant and basically force fed us. Everyone be so proud. I ate  sushi. But man. Sister Jenkins and I both felt sick for a couple days after. Not good hahahaha. So much food!!!

Oh we also showed up to have lunch at Alex's work (because he invited us to) and it turns out he invited us to have his birthday lunch with him and his whole family. It was awkward because she is sooo German and i don't know German. But we will be teaching her now!!! Success!!! Also Alex was soooo happy to see us and have us meet his family. 

Man. Missions are so amazing. It's so crazy how much you love your investigators and how invested you become in their lives. You really just want them to be truly happy and enjoy the blessings go the gospel. 

Oh really cool moment I had at the street display this week. I tried really hard at focusing on the work and talking to more people (instead of freezing to death) and I got this group of scary guys to stop and they watched the Christmas initiative video!!!! None of them were interested in learning more or taking lessons. But just watching their countenance and eyes change as they watched the video was amazing. It was so cool watching the spirit work on these intimidating looking men. Ahhh the church is true. 

Keep spreading the joy of the Christmas initiative videos. They're awesome. Oh!!! On day 23 go onto the church website and watch the daily video in French and Italian. That's me!!! (So our church is right by the church offices for Europe and a lot of the people in our ward work there. And our ward mission leader works in videos and helps make and design pass along cards and stuff. Anyways. They needed very last minute to make new films for some languages and sister Jenkins and I got to do it. ) 

Well. Wish me luck.  This will be an adventure. 

Sister Losee

(This last picture we were just taking selfies on the bus because they have new buses. Well all the sudden a creeepy red light turns on.  This was our reaction. Hahahahahaha) holy cow I love sister Jenkins.

Crying over Christmas?

Well. Thought I would start you off with a laugh: we had a street display on Thursday (where it was freezing cold by the way) and one of the elders told me how to say : do you celebrate Christmas? Well apparently my hearing and my German skills are really still lacking.

Because I tried to use it on someone and I said it and the lady was so confused and repeated the verb to me and said why that word. And I said ummm. Ummm. I don't know. Umm. I don't speak very good German (all of this in German) so she switched to English. Well I told the other missionaries about it. Apparently I was asking her if she cries for Christmas instead of celebrating Christmas. It was terribly embarrassing. Now I know why she was SO CONFUSED!!!

Ummm. I would tell you how my week went. But I honestly can't remember hahahaha. This week went by very fast and I can't even remember what happened!!

Sister Jenkins and I made cookies for district meeting. And the zone leaders were there for it. Well each of them ate about 10-15 each!

We had a really cool experience with the elders giving one of our investigators a blessing this week! The spirit was so cool there!! I love the church and how Heavenly Father works through other people.

It's awesome!

Had surprise interview with the mission president this week!!! That was slightly terrifying. Our zone leaders forgot to tell us we had interviews planned. But luck happened that we showed up at the church an hour after they were suppose to start. And they were an hour behind. Speaking of president. This is only a five week transfer because of the holiday season coming up and transfer calls come on Saturday!!! I am TERRIFIED of them calling and taking sister Jenkins away from me. It's very sad.

We went caroling with the Leimers this week. That was fun!! I love caroling.

That's about it for this week. Oh yeah. Christmas markets!!! They're fantastic !! Oh and we had three investigators at church on Sunday!!!!!!!

Sister Losee

Lost in Translation

Thanksgiving week!!! I hope everyone felt really fat from eating delicious foods and really grateful for friends and family and the gospel!! This thanksgiving I was especially grateful for Christ and the spirit that can be felt while talking about him. My thanksgiving this year was awesome!!! We started off our day with an awesome district meeting talking about Faith in Finding and just learning to be better and more diligent in our Finding. Then we had Thanksgiving take one! Most of the senior missionaries in the Frankfurt mission are in Frankfurt. So they had a giant Thanksgiving dinner and invited all of the missionaries in Frankfurt and president and sister Stoddard. So that was really good and fun. SEVEN TURKEYS!!! Holy cow. So much food.

I used REALLY good self control and didn't get seconds on anything except pie, because I knew I had a second dinner to go to. We were supposed to have a meeting with Alex in between but he canceled. It was really sad.

Thanksgiving dinner take two!: so for our second thanksgiving we were invited over to the Kearon's (as in Elder Kearon from the 70!!) we also got permission to bring an investigator!!!! How awesome is that!!

So we got picked up from the train station and went and had thanksgiving dinner with the Kearons, the bishop and his wife, and a French family whose name I only just learned how to say right. It was awesome!!! The food was fantastic and the company was lots of fun! But then. Just wait. The best part. Our message. So after eating, between dinner and dessert sister Jenkins and I gave our customary thought. We wanted to plan it around the new Christmas initiative and just about Christ and acting on Faith. (Aimed at our investigator). IT WAS AWESOME!!! Everyone shared their favorite Christ stories and conversion moments. The spirit was so beautiful. I feel like every Thanksgiving dinner should be like that. Just feeling the love of the savior and the love everyone has for him.

This week I also had the scary opportunity to take over the area on splits. WE DIDN'T GET LOST!!! I'm very proud of that fact. I also learned a lot from sister Jameson about being bold in contacting. It was a cool experience.

This week was stake conference. It was really omtwresssting because they have to translate for the English wards and also for the German wards. Normally apparently they have translating equipment that you wear. But they were having technical difficulties so they just had translators on the stage. So one person would say about a sentence and then the translator would translate it. It ,ade conference feel REALLY long. And it was really hard to stay focused. Hahahaha Janet fell asleep  ear the end there. But I don't feel too bad because she was up late last night on her thesis and she had to get up early to get a ride from a member because the conference was in Darmstadt. We are just glad she could come.

Speaking of Janet. She is awesome! We taught the word of wisdom and it went really well! She accepted it really easily. I love teaching Janet! She makes me smile.

We had a lot of member appointments cancel this week because of sickness. Everyone try and stay healthy!! Sickness is no fun!!

Everyone better have watched the Christmas initiative video!! It is AMAZING!! Also if you want something to do. Read the talk that I think is called the windows of heaven. It's about the blessings of tithing.  I have been thinking about that one a lot and just wanted to share.

Oh finding stories: I sat by this lady and used the approach : hi I am new to Germany would you be willing to practice with me? And it worked!! I had a really cool conversation with her and understood 90% of it!!! I didn't convert her. But I may have just made her day better. I know it made mine better. Talking to people on buses and bahns is really scary sometimes, but once you start doing it each person is a little easier. And it's so cool to meet people.

Not so positive finding stories: one lady I sat by on the bus ( I was going to use the help me with my German approach) I said like three words to her and she read my tag. Then said NO! I am NOT INTERESTED !  While throwing her hands up in the air. It made for a very awkward bus ride.

Then I challenged a lady on the street to just help a friend out or be nice to someone. But her response: I have my own problems. I am only strong enough for myself.

So that was sad to see and hear.

Anywhoos. CHRISTMAS IS COMING!! I am so excited.

Sister Losee

                                               
                                                                   Elder Kearon & Family

This is us after our two Thanksgivings!

Covered in cake pops

Hello family and friends!!! How goes it in America???  Germany is doing really good!! Is everyone getting so excited for the holiday season!?

I know I am!! The Christmas markets are starting to be set up and lights are going up everywhere. Also! The Christmas video and initiative!! Superb this year! Everyone should watch it on Friday and then start sharing it with your friends! Just all about being more Christlike and reaching out to others.

This week was mission tour! It was a really cool experience. We learned about the Christmas initiative and how to be better missionaries. It was cool being around so many missionaries and just all working toward the same cause.

Had a really cool experience contacting this week! Sister Jenkins and I were with other sisters so we split up and I contacted with the other sisters. We were just going door to door and the next door the Person was leaving their house. So the other sisters wanted to just keep walking. But I thought. Umm. We should talk to everyone. And this person is outside! So I went and talked to him and he was interested and set up a return appointment!!! Except he speaks German. So I don't get to teach him. But you know!! Follow the spirit!!

This week our ward had possibly the best ward Party ever!!! It was AWESOME!! It was called international evening and everyone came dressed up in their traditional clothes and had tables that they decorated and had food from their countries!! It was delicious!! So much food!! And then the missionaries had a table too! It was so cool.

We had Book of Mormons in TONS of languages. Some awesome member missionary work was happening!!

Also sister Jenkins and I had the burden opportunity to make cake pops for the event. They were delicious and possible the most unhealthy thing I've ever made. It was an adventure!

(This is elder Jensen and I ate like 12 of the cake pops and I can give my testimony that they change lives, they were amazing and yeah:) I know this to be true:) )

Final comments: Janet. She is my favorite EVER! She is the sweetest investigator and is progressing so beautifully! She came to church yesterday and it was the primary program and she just laughed at the children and loved every moment of it.

Oh today we went to my first castle. It was closed though. So we just walked around. But it was still really fun.

Everyone have an amazing week and happy thanksgiving!!

Sister Losee

I found two trees in the garbage!

GUTEN TAG! Hello friends and family! It's been a wondrous week in Germany. It was a little weird because of transfers and being in Frankfurt but good. It was so exciting to have the new missionaries fly in on Tuesday and not be the new meat anymore!! It was also super fun because I got to help set up and be at the new missionary street display. It was really funny watching the tired, scared, and confused missionaries try to talk to people!! It was also super cool because I had my best street display ever!!! I got two peoples numbers and gave out several Books of Mormon!!! Sadly we could only stay for an hour and a half because Sister Jenkins and I have the job of picking up all the trainers and other missionaries that are going through Hauptbahnhof (the main train station). But that was fun! We ate delicious Currywurst again and then had the coolest miracle!

Miracle: we had an awkward time in between people coming to the station and were just sitting around in the cold and sister Jenkins said: we should take a photo right now. So we did. We set up her iPad and placed it on a wall with the self timer to take a photo. Well suddenly a guy walks up to us and says: Hey! Want me to take your picture? I love taking pictures and I'm not a bad guy I won't take your camera or anything you can trust me!! Then he had us go a little walk aways to have a better background and took our picture! Then he proceeds to talk to us for HALF AN HOUR we learned all about him and he loves Christ and he took a Book of Mormon and is accepting to talk about the gospel!!! So we got his number and everything!!! It was awesome. 

Also funny story about him! We called him Saturday to invite him to church. When I asked him how is day went he responds with oh it was okay. But then he pauses and suddenly says: 

"Wait but I found two trees in the garbage today. It was awesome! I love trees!" 

"Are you going to plant them?......." (me)

"No. they're not real trees. They're the fake kind. But God made them. God made these trees!"

It was hilarious. sister Jenkins and I were having a really hard time not laughing out loud. 

Ummm oh last pday!! So we went out to Michelstadt with our district (because we got a car ride with the tech elders). We thought they just had to fix a tire on the car there. NOPE turns out the elders there are being changed to sisters. So we spent a couple hours cleaning out an apartment so that it can be semi livable for sisters. Yuck. Elders. Inside the fridge was a giant pot of chili that had only a couple bites out of it but was several weeks old. It actually turned out to be fun though. And then we checked out a palace and some Christmas shops that were in the town!! Plus the van ride was just fun.

This week we had a boy in the ward get baptized that her mom asked sister Jenkins

into teach the lessons to. So that was fun. Hahaha they asked sister Jenkins and I to sing. Luckily all the elders agreed to sing with us too. So it wasn't too scary.

Saturday night we had dinner at a members house that is about 45 min away by Sbahn. And the bahn only comes every half hour. Well we had a lesson that was really important before dinner so dinner got pushed back and so by the time we got out there, ate (really delicious food), shared a fast message, and left. It was 8:40. Well the bahn only comes every half hour and they were about  15 20 minute walk away from the station. We RAN but missed it by three minutes!!! So we had to sit in the cold for half an hour and then make a call of shame to the district and zone leaders to let them know we would be late. Hahahaha 

Umm so pretty cool week. It was a little off because of transfer things going on all week but altogether good. Got some AWESOME lessons in! And got to talk to and know so many people! 

Sister Losee

Ps. Today was mission wide cleaning day. So all day was spent deep cleaning the apartment. But it felt really good to get it all cleaned!

This guy in the picture came back and offered to take our picture.  We ended talking with him for a long time.  

Baptism in our Ward

Where's the chocolate!?

Hello friends and family!!! I hope everyone is doing well!! It was a fantastic week here in Germany!!! Last month our ward hard the "October Fast" and they all signed up for days to fast for missionary work and we have all been really stressing member missionary work.

Well October is over and November is here!! And honestly miracles are happening!!

So coolness: on my very first day in Germany. While my teeth were unbrushed and i was so tired I practically was falling asleep standing: they had us go out to a street display and talk to people.

Well another sister and I had been trying to talk to people and met a Chinese lady who seemed interested. We got her phone number and went our merry ways. Well turns out I got called to be in the Frankfurt area (AND THE CHINESE LADY SPEAKS ENGLISH AND I'M IN THE ENGLISH WARD).  So sister Jenkins and I tried to call the phone number but it wasn't working. This past week MIRACLE we got the phone number to work and had an appointment with her on Friday!!! She is fantastic!! She is very open to everything we were teaching her and she prayed aloud for the first time and LOVED it!! We are hoping to set a baptismal date this coming week!! Yay for missionary work! (If you so desire you can check out the Frankfurt mission website and there are photos from my first day at the street display. The lady in the hat is her!)

This week was also cool because we have started working with a less active and we finally found our what she has problems with and we can now start to try and better help her!!! I'm so pumped!

Oh Halloween was fun because we made and ate about a million sugar cookies! Mmmm pictures to be included.

I also had my first crepe and it was DELICIOUS and so big and glorious.

Oh this week we also taught the word of wisdom to Alex and he super eagerly accepted it and we are getting super excited for his upcoming baptism at the end of the month! This week we also set a baptism date with a woman who has been investigating the church for years!!! Yes!!!

Right before that happened I saw my first rainbow in Germany. It was a sign. But it was so cool because it was really just a listening lesson and the spirit did all of the work. After setting the date she said she felt so full!! Ahhh I love the spirit.

About the title: I have a chocolate problem. It is so bad. One night I had SO much Nutella on bread. So now sister Jenkins holds and hides all of the chocolate. It's really sad. But necessary.

Note about my area/ward: it rocks. Our boundaries are literally wherever the members live. So we regularly go into other areas and zones for dinner appointments and some investigators. Although that can be frustrating because it's long travel time on trains.

Oh transfers are Tuesday. My whole district is staying the same!! I'm so happy ! I love my district. Well. That's about it for today. I'm emailing a little early today because we are going to a different area with our district And supposedly there are cool churches and possibly a castle there. So road trip!! (Because the tech elders need to fix something on a car down there so we get to ride by car and not public transport since it's part of their job!!)

Love you all!!! You can still email me back! Because I can receive and read emails all week through my iPad. I just can't send any!

I think these are the Halloween Cookies

This is how they broke their fast on Sunday.

                    This is an 18 year old girl all alone going to school in Frankfurt.  She loves the missionaries so she hangs out with them.  Bonnie says she so fun!!

Baseball bat

Last week our heater knob broke and the tech elders came over and joked that we broke it with a baseball bat hahahaha. Umm the man that came to fix it was an interesting man.

Oh I met my one month mark on Thursday!! I can't believe I've been in Germany for almost a whole transfer already!!!

Umm I'm super on time again so what I learned: Heavenly Father answers prayers. He really does. Also the sons of mosiah and alma the younger are my heros!

Also our members and their missionary work is booming! So that is awesome!

Love you all!! Thank you so much for all of your prayers!!!

Sister Losee

What did we do all week?

Man. So looking back we had a crappy week. We had like no lessons.

Everyone canceled. Who we thought was going to be a new investigator that we klingled ended up rejecting us and so that was disappointing.But somehow it was a really good week and it went by really fast.  Oh TRUNK OR TREAT!!!! Perk about being in the international ward. Weird American holidays. But the funniest part is that all the non Americans got WAY more into it than the Americans. I really wish I had pictures. It was awesome. Except for the fact that none of the hundreds of investigators and less actives showed up. BUT a ward family invited non member friends and that was a success! So that was the bomb.

Also we showed up for a dinner appointment and they invited their non member neighbor over last minute and we taught the first lesson as our spiritual thought. Hopefully something happens!

Ummm. Oh we did splits and I spent 24 hours away from sister Jenkins.

It was weird. But a cool miracle happened! I was with sister Siems and we were klingling an area and we went through a huge apartment and not a single person responded!!! So unreal! We we're having no success and no one to even talk to. Then we get to a hidden apartment and an old lady LETS US IN!!! No one ever lets you in!!! And she talked to us and is awesome!!!! Sadly she is German and the sister training leaders but ahhh!! It was awesome !

Also we were doing another street display and I was getting super discouraged with my German (because I don't get to speak it very often) and I wasn't understanding anyone and no one was even taking my hand out cards. Well suddenly Heavenly Father gives me a tender mercy and sent this super nice guy who wasn't interested in church but was willing to just talk to me in German !! We had a great conversation and I gave him a family history card.

Also just a word for our investigator Alex. He is awesome. Every week he shows up to church wearing nicer things. This week he showed up in a velvet suit jacket and a vest. It was the cutest thing ever. I'm so excited for him to be baptized.

Well that's all for this week!! Ahhh week 5 is starting!!!!

Sister Losee

Bonnie commented that she shouldn't be let out wearing this outfit, but I think she looks so huggable.