Happy New Year!!!!

Hallo!!!

Sorry for not writing last week. This week was really awesome. Germans celebrate three days of Christmas. The first one is the biggest celebration and that is on Christmas Eve. It is called Heilige Abend. Sister Garcia and I spent this day with our branch präsidents family. We had a very typical German Christmas. Duck, potatoes, soup... We sang songs and the kids opened their presents. The ward got Sister Garcia and I matching gloves. It was a very classy and fun experience. At the end of the night, I played some songs on my violin with the branch präsidents daughter on the piano.

Christmas day was spent getting things organized and the Elders making us curry for lunch. We then went to a members house to skype my amazing family. It was awesome! I miss them so much! But! I love doing this work too :)

Sister Garcia and I saw many amazing miracles this weekend. We had a new investigator (Arnest) come to church on Sunday. We went to Muemmelmannsberg (one of the areas that we work in) an we saw a investigator that we lost contact with a few months ago, his name is Kevin, he missed us so much so he gave us his Mom's phone number and we are going to try and to start visiting them again.

Another thing we do as missionaries is teach a English classes at the church on Tuesday nights and a German class on Wednesday night each week. We are hoping that our new investigator Arnest will start attending the German class. (Prayers please for Arnest!) :)

Another miracle these past few weeks is we have seen a dramatic change in the Branch. The people are becoming so inviting and loving. They embraced our new investigator like he was already a part of the family.

We have a lot to get done this week! Sorry the email is so short! But I hope you all have a happy new year!! I hear the Germans get a little crazy with celebrating so we have been instructed to be in by 6pm and leave at the earliest 1pm the next day. haha! Love you all!!!


Sister Reed

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Today was extra special as a family we were able to Skype with Summer on Christmas!
Best Christmas EVER!!!
She is doing amazing and loves serving the Lord!
You are the BEST Sister Reed!!! We love you!
Keep loving and teaching the people of Germany, your smile will brighten their world!

Pictures!!!

One very HAPPY Missionary!!! I love Germany!

It's been raining all week

This sweet German music vendor!

More rain!!! Love laughing with my companion!

No watching movies here....but when I get home....smiles!

German & Spanish!

Moin Moin, 

This week was very busy. I went to go get my German drivers license. So hopefully I will get that soon. :D Sister Garcia and I went to the Weinachtsmarkt in Hamburg last Monday. It was super pretty, huge and packed. It smelled like bread and beer. haha! But, that is typical German. They had all kinds of very German Christmas decorations, hats, scarves and food. Tons and tons of food.

Christmas Zone conference was also this week. We watched the church made film "He is the Gift". We also learned more about Präsident and Sister Kosak. I really feel blessed to work with such inspiring people. 

Sister Garcia and I have been working hard to find people all week. We have had the opportunity to talk to people about Christmas and Christ. I love being able to serve here in Bergedorf because there are so many different religions and cultures here. We are able to talk to people and learn about what they believe. It really is a very loving time of year. Sister Garcia and I also made our Christmas tree this year. We used what materials we found in the apartment. We also got into the habit of humming Christmas songs as we walk down the street finding. It really invites the spirit and always brings a smile to others faces. :)

Sister Garcia and I also have the opportunity to work with Elders who have been serving for over 20 months. Präsident Kosak asked that they teach me and Sister Garcia personally in German so that we can communicate faster with people that we come in contact with. I am really excited because I can communicate well now, but I can't wait to be able to speak with more ease.

I hope that you all have a lovely week! Really sit down and think of what is important to you during Christmas time. Being out on a mission, I can really see the sacrifice a mission really is. I dearly miss my family and the time we got to spend together for the Christmas Holliday.

I hope you all have a fantastic week!

Liebe Grüße, 

Sister Reed

 

***I (Mom) asked Summer some specific questions about her mission and loved her responses.  I thought I would share some on her blog:

            Mom – “Is your mission starting to be what you have hoped to do for the Lord?”

            Summer – “I love it here and I love serving these people, but my goodness... missionary work is crazy. I have come really close to my Heavenly Father and Christ. My testimony in the restored gospel has grown exponentially”.

               Mom – “Is your companion from Mexico?  Does she speak English well? How is your German coming?”

            Summer – “She was only born in Mexico! She is from Dallas Texas. We actually have quite a bit in common! She is a lot of fun and laughs a lot.  The other day I got to hear her bear her testimony to some  members in Spanish and it was neat.  She is going to teach me how to bear my testimony in Spanish as well.  About her German, the Elders are working with us by request from President Kosak to help be personal tutors for her in German. My German is now fluent. I can communicate totally fine with people so it’s great having the Elders come to help her because I feel like I am getting the opportunity to become more proficient at it by talking with them!”

First Week as a Trainer!

My new companion and President and Sister Kosak

Woww!!! This week was crazy!!!

Sister Sanders and I traveled to Flensburg on Tuesday to get her apartment ready for her new trainee. It was so nasty! Do Elders know how to clean. We bought about 50 euro of cleaning supplies and then spent about 8 hours straight cleaning. But, now it looks nice for her new companion. Flensburg is a beautiful city. It is right up next to the Denmark border. We actually almost crossed over on accident because it is just a normal street.

On Wednesday, we took a train all the way down to Berlin and stayed the night with some Sisters there. Thursday I picked up my new companion, Sister Garcia!!! She is super awesome! I am so excited to be working with her :)

This week, we experienced a little thing we missionaries call "ein wunder". We had some time on Saturday to do some finding. We were walking up and down the streets of Bergedorf and ended up talking to this man. We talked to him for a little while about God and how he really is our Heavenly Father. We talked about how he has a plan for us in this life and wants to help us return to him. We told him about the Book of Mormon and how much it can help him. So he took it! We exchanged information and parted ways. While he was walking away, he dropped his cigarette to flip through the pages of the book. It was really cool to see. It is interesting to me that so many people are searching for answers but really do not know where to find it. This man is actually from köln so we do not get to work with him, but I pray that the missionaries there will contact him and help him find the peace and hope that the gospel brings.

We also found out this week that our zone leaders have been teaching this lady that Sister Sanders and I found on the street a few weeks ago. She is starting to take the lessons and is excited to learn more.

I love being able to see how the gospel can really bless lives. This doctrine really is true. We can return to our Heavenly Father through the power of the Atonement. I am so grateful for it and I use it every day. I hope that at this time of year, we will all take some time to really think about the meaning of Christmas. The church made a wonderful video about Christ. I really liked it and thought it was beautiful. If you have a few minutes, I would really love to hear your comments on this video. It is called "He is the Gift".

I love you all and I hope that you have a lovely week :)

Sister Reed

Trainer!!!

This is us at Weihnachtsmarkt

I wear about three pairs of thermal tights and then some socks...and a few sweaters and some gloves when I go out!!! 

 

Wow this week was filled with so many suprises and miracles! 

 

Thursday was Thanksgiving! Germans don't celebrate...  But, Sister Sanders and I had lunch at our Branch Präsidents house. We also had an awesome lesson with a investigator and had a meeting with the ward. So overall, it was a very busy yet productive day. I celebrated Thanksgiving by writing a really long list of things that I am grateful for. Haha!

On Saturday, we worked with the Elders in our area almost the whole day. We spent a few hours of the day dooring out this area that our Branch Präsident calls "Mini Moskow" because it has a ton of young auslander (Foreign) families there. So we banged out about half of it with the Elders. We talked with all kinds of people and had plenty of doors shut in our face. But, I know that someone there is ready to hear our message.

This Sunday, we had our PV program or our primary program. One of our investigators finally decided that he was willing to come to sacrament. All of sacrament, he was smiling and laughing at the little kids. After church, we asked him if he would be willing to come next week. He said he isn't sure because he was too overwhelmed with the spirit. :) I'm going make sure that he comes! He is really great though.

And to end this awesome week, we had transfer calls. Sister Sanders is being transferred :( But, I will be staying here and training! I can't believe that I am already training. But I am really excited and hope that I can do my best. I am going to Berlin on Thursday to go pick her up!

I hope you are all getting in the spirit of Christmas. Germans take this time of year very serious. There are lights up everywhere and the Weinachtsmarkt are all open. Its nice and chilly. I really do love this time of year :)

"What if you woke up this morning with the things that you thanked God for yesterday?"

I love you all and hope that you have a lovely week!

Sister Reed