Guten Tag!!!

These ten two letter words mean so much :)
This week has been an amazing week I don't think I have ever been so happy in my entire life. I really enjoy having the opportunity to serve my Heavenly Father and the people of Berlin, Germany.

 

So this week started off right with a rainstorm. There has been so much rain here it made me think a lot of Germany. Because we are inside working a lot at the MTC we get really excited when it rains. My district ran outside in the rain reciting Joseph Smith's first vision in German.  (If you don't know what the first vision is, you should totally read it cause it so powerful and amazing) The rainstorms (Not as good as Texas) lasted a few days.

My teachers shared a talk with our class from Elder Jeffery R. Holland called "The First Great Commandment". Now many of you know that Elder Holland has a very powerful and firm voice. So this is definitely a talk I would encourage you all to watch. This talk is amazing and tells so much truth about who we are and who our Savior really is. It also helped me better understand my purpose on Earth and why I would need religion in my life. It is about Jesus and his interactions with his apostles. When he speaks to Peter (one of his apostles) about how if he loves him enough, he will serve him forever. "We can't quit and we can't go back. We will never look back until this work is finished." 

This Thursday we are supposed to get our flight plans and we are going to skype a member from Germany and teach them a lesson. I am so excited!!! This week is gonna be crazy awesome. Ich bin sehr begeistert! I will officially be in Germany in 1 week and 5 days! I love this work! I love you all!

Quote for the week:

"If we are not doing it with the right heart, we are not doing it for the right reason."

I feel like this quote can be applied to so many things in life.

Pictures:
1- Sister Moffet and I after we ran through the rain

I really loved hearing from y'all this week. Life goes on outside of the MTC? haha! This week has been pretty good. I got pretty sick and have a cold. But all is well! I wake up, study, go home and then sleep. :)

This week was super awesome! For our Sunday devotional (a devotional is a meeting where we have a guest speaker come) the violinist Jenny Oaks Baker came. She is an amazing violinist. She told us tons of stories and taught us a lot. The coolest thing I learned from her was humility and devotion. To be able to accomplish anything, we have to be willing to give it our all and be humble and willing to accept criticism. No one is perfect. With the help of our Savior, we can do all things.

There are a couple of scriptures this week that I really loved. They can be applied to anyone in any situation. In Alma 18, it is talking about Ammon and his service to King Lamoni. The amount of faith that Ammon had in this chapter was tremendous. Alma 18:10 says: 

 "...Surely there has not been any servant among all my servants that has been so faithful as this man; for even he doth remember all of my commandments to execute them." 

I want my Heavenly Father to be able to look at me like this. I want to be able to return with him knowing that I did the best that I could. 

The other scripture that I found pretty much describes my purpose here as a missionary.
3 Nephi 5:13

     "Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life."

My purpose as a missionary is not to convert people to the church. My purpose is to help bring people closer to Christ. Some of the ways we come closer to Christ is through baptism, repentance, baptism, and enduring to the end. 

OOH! Cool German thing I learned this week. Repentance in German is "Umkehren". When this is directly translated to English it means "to turn around". When we repent, we are able to humble ourselves and draw closer to Christ.

The German is coming  along pretty well. I can pretty much speak it now. I use very basic vocabulary, but at least they can understand me. On Thursday, we had the opportunity to speak to members of the church in German. It was kinda scary, but super awesome! I loved it! I can't believe I am already half way through my MTC experience and in three weeks I will be in Germany. I love this work and feel so blessed to be a part of it. 

-Sister Reed 

Temple Trip with my District

This week was probably the fastest week of my life. We are just so busy every day studying German and learning more about the gospel of Jesus Christ. And my companion got really sick this past week. She just had a cold. But working 16 hours a day and spending 11 hours in the classroom studying is not so fun for someone who is sick. But she is getting better!!!

This week was really a spiritual week for me this week. I really felt my Heavenly Fathers love so strong. I have been reading through the Book of Mormon this week. In my personal study, I came across this scripture found in Doctrine and Covenants 6: 36-37. Doubt not, fear not. If we have faith in our Heavenly Father, we can do all things.

"You don't know everything, but you know enough."

You are all amazing, thank you so much for the love. <3 

Hallo!!!

My first week in the Missionary Training Center has been difficult and amazing. I am so excited to have the opportunity to learn German and serve the people of Berlin, Germany. This past week has been crazy. They only speak to us in German and by the second day we had already taught our first lesson.... in German. Our investigator has been super kind. I care about him so much. After speaking with him, I'm just begging him to learn the truth. I want him to understand that his Heavenly Father loves him and that Christ lives. I want him to understand that the Book of Mormon teaches of Christ and teaches us how to be the best that we can be so we can be happy. I have learned so much already and can't wait to learn more. Here in the MTC, we are always on a time crunch. Running from one meeting to the next until we hit our beds at night to rest and start it all over again.

We have time every day to work out. My zone (all of the people here going to Germany) go outside to the field and play volleyball. We all have come so close throughout this first week. I love all of the people I am surrounded by. My companion, Sister Moffet, is amazing she is super spunky and always happy and full of love. The first time she saw me she pretty much tackled me to the ground while screaming. I'm grateful for her love because we literally spend every minute together. We can't even go to the bathroom during class without bringing our companion.

 

My district and I have become family. We care about each other like siblings. A district is a smaller version of our zone. There are eight people in it and all of their testimonies are so strong. Elder Winter, Elder Kreuz, Elder Chadaz, Elder Power, Sister Losenbee, Sister Hashimoto, Sister Moffet and I. The Elders gave us all blessings on Monday for strength and comfort. Although I had a background knowledge of German, this week has still been very difficult. This blessing helped bring me comfort.

Every day we wake up at 6:30 (or earlier depending on the day) and get ready. We go to breakfast and begin our day in class. We spend 11 hours in class every day studying German and the gospel. The spirit is so strong here and I myself have become closer to God because of it.  I know that Jesus Christ lives, I know that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God. The power of prayer is very real and very necessary to draw closer to our Heavenly Father. I love you all so much and hope that you have an amazing week. Write me letters! ;) 

 

Love,

Sister Reed