One of the people I love got baptized thus coming closer to Christ. :)

     Tuesday we got to meet with the AWESOME Sister Neu and since it was Elder Burger´s last time before going to his new area she let him choose what we were going to have, he of course choose burgers. Man they were good but as always way too many Sister Zenger, Elder Burger and I all ate 4 and Elder Clement ate 6! Then came dessert which was grease pie which apparently we have in America too but I have never had it. Anyways it was really yummy, I just wish I had more room to eat that haha. After that we started our service idea. So I cooked some cookies and Sister Zenger grabbed her violin and we were off to Sister Offenbacher. We played her favorite song and a couple more gave her the cookies :) and then we sat and talked and this service thing really works. We asked her if she had any ideas of how we could help the ward do missionary work and she had some really good ones. She said she would invite her neighbor to church! Cool huh? After that we met up this Sister Curth and she went with us to teach Kristin the first of the commandments. Pretty simple ones obedience, pray often and scripture study. Sister Curth was the bomb! She gave great explanations and she had lots of personal stories that were really relevant. She also was super nice to Kristin. I feel like the lesson went super well.

 

     Wednesday we met with Sister Roch for the last time before her Baptism! It was a lesson about baptism, surprising I know! I loved teaching it and it was so nice to see the light in her eyes and how not only excited she seemed but also how ready she was to be baptized. After that we had a lesson with Kristin about the law of chastity and that went well. Then we had ward night which we were in charge of. This week and it turned out pretty well. We did a roll play of a street display. We had some people be members and then others random people on the street. Then switched and man our members are AWESOME!! They were bearing testimony like no one’s business. It was so cool to see. We did it for preparation for this coming Saturday because we have a street display. I hope these members can come and support. I also got to make cinnamon rolls and everyone loved them :) Thanks mom for teaching me!

 

     Thursday we met with Bonnie and that went well she is so fun. I would be friends with her if I lived here. Then we got to meet with Angelika and talk about the Plan of Salvation. It is always cool to hear the testimonies that people have of the plan of Salvation. Then we were supposed to have and appointment with the Pinks but they fell out so then we moved our other plans up which ended up being perfect and went to visit Sister Zierdt in the hospital. She had just gotten a new knee. She was so happy to see us and loved that we brought her cookies and Sister Zenger played the violin for her. She was so cute it was actually her last day in the hospital so it was good that we went that day. But she acted like she owned the place and was serving us the whole time haha. She gave us juice and cookies and a couple of other small things haha. It was really good that we visited her and once again helped with missionary work because we shared a scripture and prayed and there were others in the room. After that we wanted to go to the Bishop and his wife and give cookies and play for them. We got to their house and only Sister Linnemann was there, which I was fine with but she was in a super rush because she had to go to a class. Then were just said we can just play a song and we will be out of here and she said ok. Then a light bulb came on or something and she was like you can play for my neighbor and me! So then we went over to her neighbor´s apartment and she was home and we played a couple of songs and talked. I asked her if she had interest in learning about the church but she said she has wonderful neighbors and if she has questions she will ask them. SO not a total no. But that was cool, every time we did service there was always missionary work being done MIRACLE!

 

     Friday the big day. It started out well we were able to help Angelika by going grocery shopping with her and that was fun. After she gave us cake and showed us this song which ended up being 16 mins long!!! But over all good haha. After that we did weekly planning and then it was to the Baptism. Sister Roch looked so pretty all in white! The program went well. Right after she came out of the water she said "alle ist klar" (all is clear) which was funny. I talked to her and asked how she felt and she said clean which was cool she looked so happy. All that work paid off :) Her mother came to her baptism and that was cool. She was super nice and she felt the spirit. I was able to talk with her for a while and make a relationship I hope we get to teach her.

 

 

     Saturday we met with the Elders and were able to come up with some area goals for this transfer and some ideas of how to reach them. Then we went and helped Sister Arnold again and she gave us some super yummy chocolate (Sister Zenger laminated the wrapper and taped it to our wall haha). Then we had Stake conference and we went with Kristin to it. It was pretty good. Lots of people came and the speakers were good. Our ward also took part in that about 8 of us sang the song "I’m trying to be like Jesus" We had only practiced twice and one of those times was 30 mins before the meeting. But luckily Heavenly Father had our back haha. I was glad we did it but also glad that it is done with haha.

 

      Sunday was a little different we had a broadcast from Utah to watch. So church started at 10 instead of 9 and the Schmidt family was nice and drove us to church. Kristin came and the broadcast was pretty good and I learned something cool. President David A. Bednar can speak German! And pretty good! That was cool to see. After church we went home with Sister Kretschzmann and she made us lunch. She is super sweet and kinda crazy but I love her more and more every time I meet with her. She was pretty happy this time because she ended up getting her old job back which was good even though her boss seems mean. It was good to hear her laugh. After that we met with the Bishop and Sister Linnemann and the Elders and had dinner. They are wonderful and he is an awesome Bishop. I really feel like the work is going to get better in the Essen ward. I am looking to the future with hope :)

     Anywho that was my week pretty good one. One of the people I love got baptized thus coming closer to Christ. :) Love you all!

Love, Sister Wrathall

 

A P-day to go hiking!

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 
 

 

 

Being goofs with Kristen

 

 

 

 

 

"I am excited to be staying in Essen and to be working with this ward"

Hehe I like how dad tells us all the secrets!! (Talking about his surprise trip to NYC for me) I am glad you had a good time and that dad even when you guessed right didn´t tell you (good job dad!) Sounds like the other things you did we fun too even if there weren´t what you thought they were going to turn out to be. Haha I think it is funny how it is warmer in Germany than it is in Georgia. That is so wrong! Anyways onto the week!

So Monday night we meet with Kristin and we got into her apartment and we started the lesson and then there was a ring at the door. It was this friend of Kristin’s and it was so weird he comes in and sees us and then talks about how he can tell we are not German and then sits in on our lesson. The whole time he was agreeing with us but in a way that sounded like a disagreement. One time I said to him ya that is what we just said you just worded it differently. That was fun but Sister Zenger was good with him and in the end we both knew the thing that would get him and that was bearing simple testimony of what we know. We were right it got him. At the end he said he would read in the Book of Mormon and he said that we were good teachers and that Kristin was making a good choice in getting baptized. So we left a good impression on him in the end. I don´t know if it will ever lead to anything but the coolest part was that Kristin stuck up for her beliefs and she bore testimony to him that she knows the things we teach and believe are true that was cool to hear her say that in front of one of her friends.

 

Tuesday we had lots of things planned but they all fell out. So we ended up going by some people and we actually went to this less actives house and found out that she had passed away a couple of years ago...that is sad this lady was dead and no one in the ward knew! Crazy huh. Then we also went by on Sister Irgang which is Kristin´s grandmother´s sister (it seems like everyone in the ward is related somehow) and she is really hard to teach! She has a really hard time concentrating but she is super nice so I was happy that we went by her and you could tell that she is super lonely. 

 

Wednesday we met with Bonnie and had a good lesson with her. I love Bonnie she is sooo nice and super helpful. I wish we could be more helpful to her. Then we were supposed to meet with this less active but she fell out so we went to another less active that lived close by and she wasn´t home but we left her a note so at least she has that. Then after that we went to our lesson with Kristin and this lesson we talked about the baptismal questions so she would be prepared. Then we also set up a baptism calendar with her so now we have all our appointments planned until she is baptized! We meet twice a week every week so that will be good. Then we had ward night which the elders did and we made cake.  The Elders showed a couple of videos/movies on prophets, which is good because that was one thing Kristin was having questions about. Everyone loved the cake and asked for the recipe and are upset that us Americans use measuring cups....sorry rest of the world

 

Thursday we had the feeling to stop by Sister Kretchmann because she lost her job. So we bought her favorite chocolate and wrote a card and went to her house. Turns out that that day was supposed to be her last day but her boss called and left a message saying they didn´t need her. She still wanted to go in because it was her last day and when she got there the boss yelled at her and told her to go home. So then she went home and she was crying for an hour straight and then we came. When she answered the door she said "do you know why you are here?" and she said “because Heavenly Father knows all" we ended staying for a little while trying to make her feel better. I think we helped a little and when we left she called us her angels which was cute. After her we went to the Mensa to talk with some students but didn´t have much luck. Next time we go I think we will eat lunch and then go to a library and do German study so that we can ask people for help. Then we did some more go bys with no success.

 

Friday we had zone training and it was super good! First we did a practice of bahn (train) contacting where people from the Dortmund ward pretended to be normal people on the bahns and that was cool. Then we did a practice of teaching in 4 mins where members pretended to be investigators and that was really cool too. But the best part was the last part. Our stake president came, his son is actually serving in Dallin’s mission his name is Dominic and the last name I don´t know how to spell it is something like Salza but I really don´t know, he did a question answer time and that was awesome, so many good ideas!!! I am excited to use them! After zone training we went home and did weekly planning! Woot actually it really was good, the best one Sister Zenger and I have had yet and I think we are really prepared for the upcoming week.

Saturday was transfer calls... Sister Zenger and I are staying together in Essen, which means this will be the area I have spent the most time in so far on my mission. If I stay one more I cannot stay in an area longer than this one. For the Elders, Elder Burger is going and Elder Clement will be joined by Elder Lyman. I am sad that Elder Burger is going, he is a really cool kid but I am also excited to work with Elder Lyman. Elder Lyman is the zone leader right know so I know him a little and he seems super cool. He actually reminds me of Christian Groll a little! I am excited to see what miracles he will bring to Essen. After Transfer calls we had our coordination meet with the Elders and came up with some really good ideas that hopefully will help the ward and the missionary work progress. After that we met with this lady named Frau Rickl, she is a referral from bishop and she asked us to go to church with her and we thought it would be a good way to show her that we respect her so we said yes. Man that was sooo weird! It felt like a movie to me I didn´t think things like that really happened....I never want to do it again. I couldn’t feel the spirit. After that we were able to talk to her some and it turns out she believes a lot of the same things that we believe like that Jesus appeared to the Americas the only problem is she thinks that her church believes it too...which it doesn´t. So that was fun we will meet with her again and see how it goes.

 

Sunday was a miracle day. The Elders and we together had 5 investigators at church. It was AWESOME!! It was cool to see the church a little fuller and I know that they all felt the spirit there and it was just AWESOME!! After church we met with Sister Roch and we helped her get over her fears about being baptized. She is such a sweetheart her fears were that she was not worthy and that she wouldn´t be able to stay worthy. We told her that she will have the Holy Ghost to help and she has the atonement and that helped her out to be not so scared. After her we were able to meet with Kristin and that lesson went really well we talked about repentance and the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. She is so strong it is awesome. Oh ya so this morning we woke up and we had only cold water in the bathroom....I was lucky that I took a bath the night before so I was good but Sister Zenger had to wash herself with warm water from the kitchen and a rag. Poor girl. We later had a member come over to see if he could fix it and it turns out that a breaker was just switched off which is what we thought. We just tried the wrong ones...we felt silly but he and his daughter were really nice about it and they seemed happy to help us.

Ya so that was my week, pretty good in the end I am excited to be staying in Essen and to be working with this ward. I feel really blessed and super excited for this upcoming transfer! LOVE YOU ALL

 

Sister Wrathall

 

Had a crazy week!

Ok first I hope Dad has a happy Birthday this week and that you guys have lots of fun! You luckies getting snow! The only snow I get is from the freezer and that isn´t even supposed to be there haha. OH Milkshake that little guy I miss him even if he is whiny haha. Well MOM I hope you have a good week and don´t forget to tell dad happy birthday!!!!!!! Ok on to the week it is a crazy one!

 

Tuesday we met with Angelika and the lesson went well. I did the Pray and Holy Ghost Lego game with her haha. She liked it. After that we went and helped this older lady in our ward to get to her moving wheelchair. That was cool. Something so simple but she needed to go out to do none other than visiting teaching. That is dedicated. It was cool to see. After that we got to meet with this girl named Dorina which is someone I have been trying to meet with since I have been in Essen and finally just got to. It was worth it. She was an exchange student in America with a Mormon family so she already knows a lot and she knows what she needs to change. The battle will be just to do it. 

 

Wednesday was an awesome day. I got to meet with tons of my favorite people starting with Bonnie. She is so cool we really have a good relationship now and I am finding it very helpful. Then we went and ate at Sister Neu´s, woooooow so much food as normal. Also as normal it was amazing the only thing was Tammy her grandchild was not there and we had really planned the lesson for her and so that was kinda sad until we just finished eating and she gets home and we are able to teach the lesson with her there! After that we met with Kristin and she said she wants to get baptized in March and I said ok as long as you pray about a date and feel like it is right. 

 

Thursday we met with Sister Offenbacher and she is the cutest old lady in the world!!! She lives right across the street from the church and she actually helped build it. She has such a strong testimony of the scriptures. It is really awesome. After that we were told to make cake for the fireside! Sweet my favorite. So we made two huge things of yummy chocolate cake one with Nutella frosting and one with coconut frosting and then we also made lemon squares.

 

Friday was the day of the fireside. We got to the church at 10 to help with the food, we stayed in the kitchen from 10 till 3 ....it was a dream for me haha not so much for Sister Zenger. I loved getting to know the ward members better and how to cook some German food haha. It was awesome. After that we had to practice for the missionary choir and do a lot of other little stuff. Right before the fireside started I got a call from Kristin she said “I did what you said I kneeled to the ground and prayed for a baptismal date and 5 mins. after I got an answer march 25" Cool huh. Ok yes it is on a Tuesday a little weird but I don´t care!!! The fireside went well Kristin got to meet our mission president and tell him she was getting baptized on March 25. That was cool. After the fireside we got permission from president to get home late to stay and help clean the church. We were there till about 10 pm so that means we were in the church for 12 hours nonstop on Friday!

All the food they had for the fireside.

 

Saturday we went to the church and cleaned some more then did computers and went to a street display in another area which actually was just street contacting...in the cold wind and rain...fun haha

 

Sunday was good. Church was fun. In sacrament meeting president talked and 2 of my favorite ward members. Sad that sister Roch and Kristin were out of town. After we had a ward lunch together. That was fun and then it was cleaning again. After that we just went home studied and weekly planned haha.

 

This week was strange but good but I am thankful this coming week is a little more normal. I know that Heavenly Father is in this work. I would for sure not be able to do it without him. I know that he loves the people here and I am trying to help them love him as well. I love you all and hope you have a good week!!!

 

LOVE,

Sister Wrathall

 

Sister Zenger loves grave yards.