Liebe Grüße! 

Another short email because of time. 

This week was good. We found some solid investigators! Elder Happel and I get along very well. Transfers are this weekend though, so hopefully we stay. 

I studies a lot this week about science and religion. A lot of people find science as the answer to all of the questions in life, but it's not. Science answers the "what" and "how," but is completely silent on the questions that can only be answered through religion: The "Why" and the purpose behind it. It's pretty cool stuff. 

Anyway, Germany is awesome. I love it here. The church is true. 

Tschüss! 

Liebe Grüße! 

Sorry for the short email. Time is short. 

This week was good. We had Stake Conference in Düsseldorf (where I am at). I love the members here. The spirit was very strong. It motivates me to help the church grow here. 

The talks there were also awesome. They talked a lot about our Godly potential. They said "A lion shouldn't act like, or think that he's a house cat. We all are lions." It was pretty cool. 

Germany is awesome! It was a good reformation day (Oktober 31st). 500 years ago, Martin Luther nailed his thesis on the Catholic Church. He helped pave the way for the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through Joseph Smith. 

Vielen Dank für alles! Ich habe euch Lieb! 

Mitglieder aus der Gemeinde Düsseldorf

Liebe Grüße! 

This week was pretty good! We have a couple of pretty solid-looking investigators. One of them comes from Egypt. We are able to keep in contact pretty often through Facebook. It's been a really good tool for missionary work. The investigator even came to a baptism on Saturday, and the members did a really good job at making her feel welcome. 

This week I've been studying a lot about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. I like this quote from Elder Callister at the last General Conference: "This book is the one weight on the scales of truth that exceeds the combined weight of all the critics’ arguments. Why? Because if it is true, then Joseph Smith was a prophet and this is the restored Church of Jesus Christ, regardless of any historical or other arguments to the contrary." I believe the Book of Mormon is true. I've read it, studied it, and prayed about it. When it's true, then doubts and fears concerning the church don't have to weigh us down.

Vielen Dank für die Unterstützung!

Elder Ballard

Liebe Grüße! 

This week was good! We had the opportunity to have a meeting with Elder Ballard in Frankfurt! It was amazing. He said so much good stuff. 

One quote that I liked from him was: "Conversion doesn't start with what we know, it starts with what we feel." The more I study and live the gospel, the more I start to understand that these feelings are more powerful than words or visions. These feelings come from God, and they are unexplainable. 

Then, in a broadcast that was sent in all of Europe, he said: "The greatest miracle is that of seeing the gospel being brought into someone's life, and watching how it changes them. We can be a tool in bringing to pass these miracles. These miracles start while we are on our knees." 

Other than that, we got a new bishopric in the Düsseldorf ward. It should be good. The members here are amazing. 

Vielen Dank für die Unterstützung! 

Liebe Grüße!

This week was pretty good! Sad to hear that the US did not make it to the World Cup. Schade. Germany will take it again. 

So cool story. About 3 or 4 transfers ago, my companion and I talked to a guy in the train, and got his number. We had regular contact with him, but he was pretty flaky, and wouldn't show up to appointments or anything. He had a card, so we just dropped him. A couple of weeks later, we got a random call and text from a lady from Iran. She said she had a couple of questions about the church, and about baptism. We had know idea where she lives, so we told her to come to church on Sunday. She did. She brought her 13 year old daughter with her to translate, because she herself couldn't speak much German. We talked to them a little bit, and found out that they live about an hour away, and just in the area from another ward, Essen. So we told them where the church there is, and we sent their information to the sisters in Essen. They were baptized about a week and a half ago. It turns out that the flaky guy that we met gave this lady our card. She had been searching for a church to join and to get baptized in, but non of them could give her the answers she wanted. So she got our card, and called us. 

We also found out this week that we are getting Facebook in the mission. It should be good, so we will see how everything pans out. I think it will help us a lot. 

This is a pretty cool scripture I read this week: "For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it." That was just a good reminder, that we can still believe, even without having seen, or else it would be knowledge, not faith. 

Vielen Dank für die Unterstützung! Schöne Woche noch!

Alles Gute zum Geburtstag Elder Happel!

Liebe Grüße! 

This week was honestly pretty rough. Elder Happel was sick, and my toe was operated on, so we spent a lot of time in our apartment. 

I had a pretty bad ingrown toenail, and they had to cut it off. They numbed my toe, and I swear they cut off half of my toe. I couldn't feel anything, but I watched the whole thing, or at least as much as I could before I passed out...

We had a lot of appointments this week, so that was good. Some of them are progressing. 

We've been trying to go to institute a lot more to try and build our relationship with the YSAs, and teach their friends. The only problem is that the YSAs love to speak English. When they see a missionary, it is most likely that they are from America, and to them that's a big sign that reads "English Practice." So they get pretty disappointed when they realize that I'm German, and that I am not going to speak English with them. 

This week I read a pretty cool scripture out of the Book of Mormon. It's in 1 Nephi 19. 9 "And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men." It's pretty hard to love someone that doesn't love you back. This scripture talks about the physical pain Christ went through. I can't even imagine the amount of spiritual, mental, and emotional pain he went through, and it is all because of one thing. Love. 

Vielen Dank für alles! 

Liebe Grüße! 

This week was pretty good! We had two splits with Mönchengladbach and Köln. Hey we're pretty fun, and I learned a lot. Yesterday we had Zone Conference in Dortmund. That is always good. President Boyer is an awesome mission president. 

So a little more than a month ago, we had an investigator from Romania. He could speak enough German to barely understand, and we met with him about 3 or 4 times. He has no phone, and we met with him in a park. He was very reliable, and was always there. Then he moved to Romania, and we lost contact with him, and we had no information to send to any missionaries in Romania. Then we got a random call last week, and it was him! He said he is back in Germany, and the first thing he did was call us. It was pretty cool, and now we are teaching him again. 

This week I read a pretty cool scripture in 2 Corinthians 4: "While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." That was just a way cool scripture that can go pretty deep. 

Vielen Dank für die Unterstützung! 

Der Rhein in Düsseldorf
image1.JPG

Elder Augat
Deutschland Frankfurt Mission

Liebe Grüße!

This week was pretty good! Another week of lots of finding, and lots of member appointments. He members here are really cool, and they help us a lot. They can also cook some amazing German food! 

So we dedicated last Saturday to just finding. We didn't set any appointments for this day. We called our ward mission leader, and asked him to pick a couple of neighborhoods that we could go door to door in. We knocked doors for about 5 hours, and when we weren't knocking doors, we were talking to people on he streets. Altogether about 7 hours. We found about 5 potential investigators out of it. Hopefully some of them will become potential investigators. It was pretty fun though. 

This week I studied a lot in Alma 30. This is the story of Korihor, the Antichrist. It was really cool to see that Korihor's claims and accusations are the exact same claims and accusations we see from the world today. Almost literally word for word. Alma then gives some pretty good answers that we could use to counter these claims. If you want to study it, it's Alma 30 to about Alma 34. The Book of Mormon was really written for our time. It's true.

Liebe Grüße!

This week was pretty good. We were on a split in Wuppertal. Wuppertal is an awesome city with awesome people. We went to the University there to go dooring. One guy let us in, and we taught him the whole Restoration. The Elders in Wuppertal have an appointment with him next week. It was pretty cool. 

Elder Happel and I went to a huge park that's here in Düsseldorf to talk to people. It was way cool. We had 3 or 4 really good conversations and found some really cool people there. I guess that's where we should go finding. 

This week I started the New Testament again, but this time in German. Matthew 10 is an awesome chapter. Jesus commissions the 12 and teaches them about their calling. It is very applicable to missionaries as well as every member of the Church. 

Vielen Dank für die Unterstützung!

Liebe Grüße!

This week was pretty good. We had a lot of member appointments. The members here are awesome. 

This week was also Transfers. So Monday we spent a lot of time at the train station picking up and dropping off Elders, because Düsseldorf is a pretty big connection for a lot of trains. That was pretty fun and pretty hectic. 

Yesterday we were trying to be good missionaries, and we tried to talk to a lady at the bus stop. To start a conversation, we asked her what there is to do in Düsseldorf. She just said that we should ask a younger German, because she doesn't get out too much, and she is not from Germany. Then the Bus came, and we got on. My companion and I sat at the back of the bus, when this girl comes and sits next to us, and says she overheard our conversation, and she wants to show us Düsseldorf. It was pretty awkward, because she was really flirty. We told her we are missionaries. That didn't really mean too much to her. It was really weird and uncomfortable. 

I read a pretty cool scripture in 1 Chronicles. It's when David commissions Solomon to build a temple: "And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever." In the German Einheitsübersetzung of the Bible it uses the words "mit ungeteiltem Herzen," which translates "with an undivided heart." It reminds me of the scripture in the New Testament, where Jesus says that "no man can serve two masters." We either follow the commandments, or we don't. We either are active members of the church of Jesus Christ, or we are not. We are either for God, or we are not. 

Vielen Dank für alles!

Liebe Grüße!

This week was very interesting. We were on our way to a member appointment, and we talked to a family just there on the street. They are from Bulgaria, and only the 12 year old boy could speak a little bit of German. The family took us to there apartment so that we could talk about God with them. Thanks to google translate and a 12 year old translator, we got the message across that we are missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ, and that they should come to church on Sunday. Well, they came o church on Sunday! The Sunday school was very interesting. The teacher comes from England, and can't speak German. So I had to translate what he said into German, and then type it in to google translate, and show it to the 4 Bulgarians that were there. I just hope it translated correctly... We end up listening to a lot of General Conference talks in other languages.. 

Other than that, we had a couple of member appointments this week. The members here are amazing. I think it's just sad that there are only less than 100 active members in an area with more than 800,000 people (Matthew 7: 13-14). 

This week I read a pretty cool quote from M Russel Ballard. He compares the challenges of today's world with the world at the time the Church was first restored. "The Lord isn’t asking us to load up a handcart; He’s asking us to fortify our faith. He isn’t asking us to walk across a continent; He’s asking us to walk across the street to visit our neighbor. He isn’t asking us to give all of our worldly possessions to build a temple; He’s asking us to give of our means and our time despite the pressures of modern living to continue to build temples and then to attend regularly the temples already built. He isn’t asking us to die a martyr’s death; He’s asking us to live a disciple’s life." The Church of Jesus Christ is moving forward. It's growing. We just need to make sure that we are doing our part. 

Vielen Dank für alles!

Liebe Grüße!

This week was pretty busy. We were all over the place. From one side of Düsseldorf to the other with busses, trains, and street cars. We always need to be somewhere. 

We had a pretty interesting encounter with a pastor from Africa on the street. He thought the Book of Mormon was a demonic Book. We read a couple of scriptures with him out of the Book of Mormon from 2 Nephi 26 about Christ. We asked him "could demons have written that?" He then told us that we should ask God in the name of Jesus Christ, and then God would show us the right way. So we read Moroni 10: 3-5, and we asked him to do the same. He then asked if he could pray right there. It was a very animated prayer, and he tried to cast demons out of us with an authority he doesn't have. It was pretty funny. Unfortunately he didn't ask God if the Book of Mormon is true, so we left. 

When Jesus Christ was on the earth, "he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. (Luke 9: 1)" This authority is given to someone, who is chosen by God (Hebrews 5:4), through the laying on of hands, from someone who already has this authority Acts 6: 5-6). And for the people that work miracles without this authority (and there are people who do [Exodus 7: 10-13]), the outcome doesn't look too good: "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. (Matthew 7: 21-23)." 

Im grateful that the proper authority, the same authority that Christ had and conferred upon His apostles, was restored through he prophet Joseph Smith. There are so many people that claim to have this authority. The Book of Mormon is evidence that it has been restored through Joseph Smith, and that only worthy males in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, who have had hands laid upon their heads, hold this authority. But we don't ask anyone to believe us or Joseph Smith, but rather to read the Book of Mormon, to ask God (Moroni 10: 3-5), and believe what He says. His testimony is the greatest testimony anyone could have (1 John 9: 5). I have done this, and I know it's true. 

Vielen Dank für die Unterstützung!

Es wird dir schwer werden, gegen den Stachel zu treten

Liebe Grüße!

So we had a way cool lesson with a German family this week. We met the wife on the street, met once with her in the park, and then she brought her husband and two children to the next lesson. It was so cool. We taught the plan of salvation, and focused on the eternal family. They loved it. They had so many good questions, and they said that it would be cool if it is true. 

This week I read in Acts 9 about he conversion of Paul. He was on his way to persecute he church in Damascus when Christ himself appears to him: "And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks." Institute: "A “prick” refers to a goad, which is a sharp spear or stick used to poke animals to make them move ahead. Rather than move forward, stubborn animals sometimes kick back to retaliate, literally kicking “against the pricks.” Such a reaction only adds distress as the animal incurs more painful prompting from its master." 

I sometimes find myself "kicking against the pricks" when I receive a spiritual prompting. It might be that I ignore it, or pretend it is my own thought, or even try to justify. We shouldn't do that, but rather follow these promptings immediately. For example, when the spirit tells us to share the gospel with someone. Simple, but powerful truth. 

Other than that, this week was a lot of planning and setting up for the Zone Conference. We also had the chance to meet a couple of people on the streets as always. 

Vielen Dank für die Unterstützung!

Hier gibt es vier Deutsche // There are four Germans here:

Liebe Grüße!

This week was really good. A lot of finding, as always, but a lot of success, as a lot of the time. We have been finding a lot of cool and solid investigators that we can teach. It's pretty crazy how many people we talk to every day. I would have never have done that before my mission... 

Elder Happel called a guy that we had in our phone. We had no name, just his number from the missionaries before us. So we set an appointment with him. Turns out he is a man with a family from India. He is also way solid. We taught the Restoration, and he had some really good questions and comments. At the end of the lessons, he said his first prayer in his entire life. It was really cool. He moves to Essen next week, so we will be giving him over to the Elders there. 

This week I have been studying a lot about the role and the nature of the Godhead. Unfounded this quote from Elder Packer: "...we are literal sons and daughters of God. Other ideals flow from that great truth. Once you know that, you know that all men are brothers. That realization changes you. Thereafter you cannot willingly injure another. You could not transgress against them in any way. That simple, profound doctrine is worth knowing for another reason as well. It brings a feeling of self-worth, dignity, self-respect. Then self-pity and depression fade away. We then can yield to the discipline of a loving Father and accept even the very hard lessons of life." That is our relationship to God. He is not far from us, and he loves us. That is the first principle of everything. It's the first principle we teach investigators. I know it's true. Why else would God have sent us here to earth, to be tested, and to learn and to grow? 

Vielen Dank für die Unterstützung!

Vorbereitungstag!!!!

Liebe Grüße!

This week was good. Elder Happel and I get along very well. It is cool to be with a German. 

A couple of days ago we had an appointment with a man at a train station. He didn't show up, so we carried out our back up plan. There were a couple of potential investigators in the area, and a couple of former investigators. We went by on one of them, and he let us in. Turns out that he has met with a ton of missionaries already in the past. We taught the restoration, and a had a ton of questions regarding the Plan of Salvation. So we are going back tomorrow to teach him again. He should be promising! 

I also got to go on a split in Frankfurt with he Elder that trained me. It was awesome. Our one appointment for the day fell out, so we had about 8 hours of finding time. Nothing new. We saw a lot of miracles, but we were dead at the no of the day. It felt really good and satisfying though. 

So I read a cool scripture in D&C 138: 1-11. Joseph F. Smith receives revelation about the Gospel being preached to the dead. It is a way cool revelation, but it is also cool to see the process that he went through to receive the revelation, such as pondering, praying, and reading in the scriptures. 

Vielen Dank für alles! Die Kirche ist wirklich wahr!

Someone through an egg at us while we were going door to door:

Wie hemme's heute?

This week was pretty good. We met so many cool people. Lots of little miracles. I also got a new companion. His name is Elder Happel and he comes from Stuttgart. He is way cool and he is BVB Fan so we get along very well. 

So this week my companion and I went running in the morning. We got lost in the city, so we asked a couple of people outside of a pub for directions. Hey were a little drunk, but sober enough to give directions. One of them saw our nametags, and said "wollt ihr uns missionieren?" Directly translated that means "Do you guys want to missionary us?" Then we talked to them for about 45 minutes about the gospel. It was pretty cool. Only one of them was really drunk. We got one of their numbers and we will hopefully be meeting with him sometime. 

Im giving a talk in church on Sunday about the Priesthood authority. It's cool to see that the Priesthood is something that has always been on the earth. The prophets in the Old Testament held the Priesthood, and nothing has changed today. There is evidence of this in the scriptures. For example, when hands were laid upon Joshua to appoint him to his new office in the Book of Numbers. Jesus Christ also held this authority (Hebrews 7: 23-24). We are so blessed to be able to have access to this same authority, the authority to act in God's name, today. 

Vielen Dank für die Unterstützung!

Wir schickten Elder Mejía ab:

Liebe Grüße!

The new mission President came this week. President Boyer. He is way cool and I am excited to be able to work with him. 

Yesterday we went by on a Persian family. They speak perfect English and German as well. It turns out that it was their 8 year old daughter who wanted to investigate the church! It was awesome. She loves to visit churches and loves God and Jesus. I think she has a religion class in school, so that's why she loves it so much. She even wrote in big words on her bedroom door "Gott (God)." So now we are going to be teaching the daughter (and mom and dad). Hopefully they come to church this Sunday. 

Sorry for the short email. I have no time!

Alles Gute!

Düsseldorf am Rhein mit den Elders aus Mönchengladbach:

Liebe Grüße!

This week was pretty eventful. Lots of interesting people here in Germany. We do a lot of finding on the streets, and we meet people from just about every country that have just about every kind of belief and orientation. It's crazy. 

We met this guy who is a convert to Christianity. He is way cool and loves God and Jesus Christ. He's from Iran, but speaks really good English and a little bit of German. He came to church and now we are actively teaching him. His name is Timon. He loves he Book of Mormon. He said "I don't get why some christians wouldn't want to read this book. If I believe in Jesus Christ, I want to read and learn about Him as much as possible. This book claims to be scripture, and the only way to find out is to read and ask God." Finally someone who understands!!! We are really working towards baptism with him.

I read this way cool scripture in Job this week about repentance: "If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward him; If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles. For then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; yea, thou shalt be steadfast, and shalt not fear: Because thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away: And thine age shall be clearer than the noonday; thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning. And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope;... and thou shalt take thy rest in safety." Repentance is really a gift from God. It's not a punishment, and it shouldn't be seen as one either. Through the restored gospel of Jesus Christ we can become clean from past mistakes and experience what is described in this scripture.

Vielen Dank für die Unterstützung!

This is Präsident Stoddard's last week in the mission:

Liebe Grüße!

This week we did a lot of finding. It was good. Yesterday we were on the street for about 5 or 6 hours straight just talking to people. It was about 35 degrees (Celsius). We had so many good conversations with so many cool people, but for some reason, they didn't want to meet with us. Oh well. 

This week I also got to go on a split to Euskirchen, my first area. It was awesome. I had so much fun. Again, a lot of finding, way good conversations, but nobody wanted to meet with us. I got to eat dinner at the Ward Mission Leader's house in Euskirchen. It was awesome. 

So this week we read this quote in Church from President Hinckley: "The religion of which you are a part is seven days a week, it isn’t just Sunday. … It’s all the time--twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. The Lord expects that we will keep our lives in order, that we will live the gospel in every aspect." 

Everything here is going well! Hope you are all doing well!

Düsseldorf am Rhein:

Liebe Grüße!

This week was very good. A lot of cool things happened.

We were going door to door, and a man let us in. He was way cool. His name is Matias. We taught the whole Restoration, and then he said that wants us to teach him when his kids are there. So we have an appointment with him in about a week and a half. We are pretty excited.

There is also another investigator who's been to church the last couple of weeks. One of our new converts talked to him, and we found out that he wants to get baptized. We are also pretty excited about that.

I read this verse in Job: "But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee: Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this?" And then in Alma 30: 44: "But Alma said unto him: Thou hast had signs enough; will ye tempt your God? Will ye say, Show unto me a sign, when ye have the testimony of all these thy brethren, and also all the holy prophets? The scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator." The Earth is a pretty cool thing I guess.

Vielen Dank für alles!