Love of God is like a Hug!

Sometimes there are weeks on the mission that feel like an eternity long. Not because they are not good, but because we have so much to do. But I guess it is good to be busy. :)

Tuesday, Sister Mittleman and I ate at a place called the Auerbachs Keller. It is a really old German restaurant. Goethe wrote the first part of "Faust" there... That’s all I know about it. haha! But it was super good and had some really awesome authentic German food!

Two times this week, all of the missionaries in Leipzig got together to do a street display. Our theme for the week was that we can be together with our families for eternity. It was really cool to hear the opinions of so many other beliefs. Many people believe the same that we do. One day we will all live together for eternity. :) It is such a happy message and I hope that everyone has the opportunity to hear about it one day. We sang songs, I played my violin on the street and we talked to people. You really can't get any cooler of an experience than being on the mission.

Mom asked me a question last week, “what is one of the most important things I would want investigators of the church to know?”

I feel the most important thing for me that my investigators understand is that they have a Heavenly Father that loves them and that they are his children. For you I can say that sometimes it is easy to forget what it means to be a daughter of God. There is so much going on in the world that we can forget. But through sincere prayer, He will remind us of who we are and really help

us be able to make sure that the things we do are according to His will so that one day we can reach our full potential and that one day we can see him again.

One sister in the ward here yesterday was talking about how important prayer is. She talked about how Heavenly Father knows us perfectly. But, she said that He still wants to keep getting to know us and learn more about us and our experiences so that when we return with Him one day, it won't be like a being out on a mission where you have all these things you suddenly want to tell Him, but it will be so familiar and loving. We will have already communicated with Him our whole lives so that we already know each other.

I want to know my Heavenly Father so well, that when I see Him in heaven, I can hug Him and feel that Fatherly love. That is the most important thing for me. God loves you. :)

Transfers! This week we got our transfer call! I will be staying here in Leipzig, but Sister Mittleman will be leaving me to go to Cottbus. I am excited to spend more time here in Leipzig though. I will miss Sister Mittleman dearly but will see her again in the near future.

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

Sister Reed

Torgau

Sister Mittleman & I at Church

Us and the Elders in front of a castle in Torgau

A Ward trip to the city of Torgau

The bus or the Germany World Cup Soccer Team!!!

Hello!!!

This week went by so fast I don’t even know what happened....

This week we had a few appointments with some of the members of the ward here. At these appointments, the members decided to bring some of their friends along to hear more about the church. This was a really awesome opportunity for us to be able to explain a little more about what we do and who we are. Although some of their friends didn't want to look into or learn more about what we believe, it was a cool opportunity to exchange opinions and beliefs. I love learning more about other religions and other beliefs. In many cases people’s religion end up being more of a lifestyle than just a title.

Yesterday in our Sunday school lesson for our investigators, aka, R. We asked him what he wanted to talk about and he said baptism...then about half way through the lesson, our ward mission leader taught about how important it is to have faith in Christ before we get baptized. We talked about why we get baptized and why it is important at all. Something that really stuck out to me was how Heavenly Father works with his children. Our ward mission leader said that for us to fully comprehend something like a covenant, we have to physically do something to help us remember. We learn better through action. By getting baptized, we are cleansed. But this symbol helps us to remember the promises that we make to Heavenly Father. Our investigator talked about how when he is in lessons with us and when he goes to church, he just feels so good. He said that that feeling goes away when he isn't there and he wants it to stay.  We talked about how the Holy Ghost works and the hope that we can find in our Savior. It was so powerful. It is truly amazing to watch the spirit work through the hearts of men. Although I haven't seen many baptisms on the mission but I have been able to see the spirit touch people.  :)

I am sorry for the short email this week! But I love you all and I hope that you have a lovely week!

Sister Reed

Kartoffelfest

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFBi67AI0m8#action=share

I feel like this week was just full of tons of surprises. To start off the week, Sister Mittleman and I celebrated a mini Oktoberfest in our apartment. There was a huge Christmas market looking things set up in the city center for Oktoberfest. The air smelled of beer and bread and they had loud music playing in the background. That is something I dearly love and will miss about this country. In Germany they have traditions. These traditions are a part of their culture and will forever stay a part of their culture.

Another surprise was at the Kartoffelfest (potato celebration).... haha! The ward had this activity all about potatoes. It was so fun! We learned about potatoes and we ate potatoes in all kinds of different forms. This is something you would literally only find in Germany.... the people here love their potatoes. It was a really well planned activity and everyone had a good time. Many of the members invited their friends. Let’s go! Kartoffelfest 2015!

This week, we were also able to help a sister fix up a room to take in a refugee from Syria. I am sure you all know about the war and that many refugees are fleeing to Europe. This sweet sister decided to foster a little child until her parents can make it here. Christ taught through acts of charity and this sister is an amazing Christ like example to me. She knows that it will not be easy, but she is prepared to do what she can to make an influence on this little girl and her family.

And last but not least, general conference. General Conference is really what every missionary looks forward to on the mission because we get to hear the leaders of our church speak and bear witness of Christ. It is super cool. Because the time difference here, we were able to watch most of the sessions, but not all. This General Conference in itself was full of surprises; we were able to take part in the historical event of watching three new apostles be sustained. I am excited to hear the inspired words of these three men. On Sunday, another surprise, my companion and I were waiting outside before the session was about to start and we saw a huge blue van pull up in front of the church then right after Sister Mittleman and I asked each other whose car it was, the side door slid open and both of our investigators were sitting inside and waving at us. They ended up bringing a close friend along with them as well!

Conference was so good. We really have so many inspired leaders, including our prophet. Thomas S. Monson is truly an amazing man who has accomplished so many amazing things in his life. I love him and know him to be the true prophet on the earth today.

I love you all and I hope that you enjoyed conference!  Let me know what you thought of conference, I would love to hear it. Have a great week! :)

Sister Reed

Pictures!
Me and sister Mittleman doing service :) and the moon over Leipzig! 

Gratitude

Sister Kronwitter & I on exchanges!

Mama misses me alot.......

Hello Everyone!

 

This week was rough at the beginning, but had a wonderful ending. The beginning of this week was difficult because one of our investigators came across anti Mormon literature. This was hard to listen to because everything that our investigator was talking about and the things that were making her the most upset were things that are not true. I love what God promises us about situations like this. Sometimes it is hard to truly know what is true. He promises us that if we come to him, the source, and ask Him what is true having faith, he will reveal it to us. If we ask Heavenly Father with an open heart and an opened mind what the truth is, He will let us know.

On the bright side, we had an investigator send us a text before church on Sunday and asked us if he could join the Sunday service. Of course we told him he could. After sacrament, he told us that he had been reading in The Book of Mormon and that he has a lot of questions and wants to learn more about Joseph Smith.

For my little thought today, I would like to use a talk written by Richard G Scott, a beloved apostle who passed away this past week. In his talk he said, "make the excercise of faith your first priority.”  He talks about challenges and how our faith can take a role in that. 

Elder Scott also said, "We were taught in the premortal world that our purpose in coming here is to be tested, tried and stretched. We knew we would face the evils of the adversary. Sometimes we may feel more aware of the negative things of mortality than we are of the positive. The prophet Lehi taught, “for it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things.”  Despite all of the negative challenges we have in life, we must take time to actively excercise our faith. Such exercise invites the positive, faith-filled power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ into our lives."

Some of you may have noticed that the more trials we go through, the more we understand what happiness and peace means. When we put our faith in what we know to be true and try our best to be our best, we will experience more joy and understanding even in times of hard trial. Life can get hard, but I am grateful for my Savior and this knowledge of the Atonement. I am able to look at things with a more eternal perspective.

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

Sister Reed