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