Gluckliches neues Jahr, es ist 2014!!!

Hallo All, 

     I hope New Years was a wonderful time for you all and that you are planning on your best year ever! I absolutely cannot believe how fast 2013 has gone by! At the beginning of 2013, I had just returned home from BYU and getting ready for my mission. Twelve months ago, I was so clueless about what my mission would be like. I was excited to be going to my favorite country in the world and for all the adventures I envisioned- but there was no way to completely plan and prepare for the life I have been living for the past nine months- NINE MONTHS, can you believe, I am officially half way done with my mission! How can I slow this time down??

   

To celebrate, all of the Linz missionaries were invited to the Vogl's house for Silvester (New Years)!

We were allowed to stay out late as long as we had a safe ride home. I think it is possible that we have the coolest mission president ever! Some may argue, but I love President and Sister Miles, so their arguments won't work well on me. 

     We had a really delicious and traditional New Years meal called Raclette (which is actually a Swiss meal...hmm, ironic.) It starts with baked potatoes, a bunch of different types of meat, cheese, and vegetables. There is a big Raclette oven 

Picture of a Raclette grill from http://indoorgrillraclette.wordpress.com/

in the middle of the table with a grill on top to cook the meat.  

     The whole purpose of Raclette is to have everything FRESH at the same time. So you melt your cheese in the oven and the meat on top, and then put everything all together on your plate, eat, and do it all over again! It was so delicious, but super filling!  

pictures of the Raclette in action

    

Elder Szvoboda just couldn't stay awake until midnight

'S' & 'A' Vogl

'S' in Silvester confetti

     We played a bunch of games waiting for midnight, then went upstairs to their balcony to watch the midnight fireworks. The entire week before Silvester, everyone kept telling me that Americans don't know what fireworks are or look like until they celebrate New Years Eve in Austria. They were not exaggerating at ALL!!

      You know the really big fireworks that we watch for the 4th of July? Those are just a very small side show compared to what we saw on New Year's Eve! Everyone is allowed to buy those big and showy fireworks here. On New Years Eve, as it gets close to midnight, everyone starts firing their fireworks, so the fireworks display literally lights the entire sky. The city doesn't put on a show, no company is hired to sponsor an event! The entire sky, no matter where you look- everything you see is a fireworks display from the people in Linz. Not only is it spectacular- but it is such a show of community spirit and love! So much joy and happiness and SUCH a great way to start the New Year.

     It was so amazing to be outside at midnight, seeing the sky filled with fireworks, and having everyone scream 'Es ist 2014!  Glückliches neues Jahr, es ist 2014!!!'  It was so exciting, so amazing, but yet so surreal. 

     I couldn't help but think 'O my goodness, it is 2014. I go home in 2014!'  New Years Resolutions don't just include my mission life; but my post mission life of school, family & friends. It is an exciting thought, but also very scary. On the one hand, I feel like I have just started my mission and that I still have SO MUCH more to learn and SO MUCH more to give!! But then again, the reality is finally starting to sink in that I have been here a while and only have a limited amount of time left. It only makes me appreciate my time here so much more! Time is just too precious to waste- someone wise used to tell me that when all I really wanted to do was sleep until noon on lazy summer mornings :)

     We went over the Vogl's house again to break our fast on Sunday. Let me tell you, nobody knows more chocolate games than this family does! Grandma Nielsen needs to learn some of these games- she would love to spend a few evenings with this family. 

Sister E eating her chocolate from the game

'S' playing the Chocolate Game

More crazy Chocolate Games

     We played this really fun game; you need a chocolate bar, a fork, a knife, some big winter (or baking) gloves, a scarf, a hat, a dice, and other obnoxious accessories. The chocolate bar, the fork and the knife are in the middle of the table, and everyone takes turns rolling a dice. If you roll a 6, you have to quickly put on the hat, the scarf, gloves, and everything else, grab the fork and knife and cut a square of chocolate and eat it. But here is the trick-the dice is still being rolled as you are doing all of this, and if someone else rolls a 6, you have to stop what you are doing and give everything else to that person. Eating a small square of chocolate has never been so difficult before!

     O-kay, so on to the news you are dying for, I know!!! Transfer calls!!!  

Nothing too crazy this transfer. Sister Wunderli is going to Tubingen in the Stuttgart Zone, and Sister Erdenetsogt and I will be staying here in Linz to finish her training. Sister Wunderli is very excited! She was so worried that she was going to be sent to the Swiss bubble! (once you get called to serve in Switzerland, you NEVER LEAVE!!)  

     We had a lot of fun working in a companionship of 3, but I am kind of relieved to go back to having just one companion and being able to train Sister Erdenetsogt on my own. We will have a lot of fun together and do a lot of good, I know it.

     I have also realized that I have been getting really lazy with my German. The people in Freiburg told me that the Austrian's mumble, which I thought was impossible because German is such an articulate language. But as I have been listening to myself, I have realized that I have been making up words and sounds that I am pretty sure don't actually exist :P  But the Austrians understand me, so oh well! 

     We found an amazing man on the Straßenbahn this week, his name is 'L' and he is from Gambia.  In our very first meeting, he told us "I'm not a very religious person, and I am only here to exchange thoughts; but you need to know, I am not a very Christ believing person."  But by the end of our time with him, he was asking so many questions, AND he committed to read the Book of Mormon. We have met with him a few times since then, and it is so amazing to see the change that people make as they learn about the Gospel. Sometimes it is so hard to not teach him EVERYTHING because his questions are so perfect and he is so prepared to accept this gospel.  

     It is just the coolest thing to see the Spirit testify to these people that the Gospel is true, even if they don't fully understand everything that we are saying. It is the coolest thing to be a missionary! I love the change in people's smiles, their faces; their whole bodies seem to light up with the message of the restoration of the Gospel and the Plan of Salvation. This is a gift only offered through the testimony and witness of the Holy Ghost. It is not some magic trick we  missionaries learn in the MTC, this is the spirit and gift of the Holy Ghost working in real time. The only true magic is that missionaries are given a front seat vantage point to see it in action. 

    So with that said, share the gospel! Share it with yourself, with your family, with your friends and with the strangers you meet on the street each day. Sometimes it is just so hard to hold this joy and testimony in. 

     So my spiritual message for today is directed at a question mom asked me, but I think it applies to many people- maybe even a lot of people at this time of year when people are looking back on the past year and hoping for a bright and squeaky clean new year:

I made cupcakes for the YW in our ward

Sister E so happy that we found a new veggie store

A sister missionary slumber party with the Wels sisters

     Well, I hope y'all had a great new years, and I am excited to see what this year has in store!  I love you all so much :)

Gott sei mit euch!  Alles Gute!

Sister Peterson

Time to Get Back to Work

Hello All,

     I still can't believe how wonderful it was to get to talk to my family on Christmas Eve. We talked about some of the traditions that I hope to bring home from Germany & Austria to incorporated into my own family. Now that things are starting to unwind from the holidays, I definitely hope to celebrate the gift giving portion of Christmas completely separate from the celebration of Christ's birth. I think it is interesting that my mom had these same feelings this year- but I guess it shouldn't surprise me, she is ALWAYS better at knowing what is best for me before I do. For those of you who haven't met her, take my word for it! This is one of those things that drove me crazy before my mission and now I am gaining a huge appreciation for just how much this means she prays for her children. Friends & Family- please always keep that in mind, when you pray for those you love and serve, Heavenly Father WILL give you the counsel and instruction you need to help them most. 

     I did realize that this is the only Christmas I will get to spend in Germany! I don't know how this didn't sink in before, but now that this has connected I have found myself a little disappointed about spending only one Christmas and New Years on my mission. Actually, maybe it's best, I don't think I would be able to handle two Christmas'! My mom's fears would really be true and I may not ever want to come home (how can I convince everyone I love and care about to move to Austria with us). 

Christmas Decorations for our apartment

     We have had so much fun. We have spent a lot of time with different members and investigators, attended a ton of different activities and events and had dinner EVERYWHERE! But in all honesty, we are all ready to start doing missionary work again! I will just have to convince my family and friends to come to Austria next year to have another Christmas as a non-missionary :P

     For Christmas Eve, we had lunch at "R's" house and then went to a Christmas Devotional in the church, and then headed over to "M's" for the night. We played Secret Santa, sang songs, watched 'The Blind Side' (we got permission, I promise!!) and ate saurkraut and sausages, which I guess is a traditional Austrian meal for Christmas Eve.  

     For Christmas day, we went over to the Hess family and watched 'Paul Blart, Mall Cop' (don't ask me why, all the Europeans were so excited to see it!) and then ate a really big lunch together. We continued to spend time with members and investigators, 

Christmas with M

made and received cards for everyone, 

My FAVORITE Christmas Card EVER!!!

ate our body weight in cookies and cakes,

Talk about instant weight gain

and about fell asleep on peoples couches on multiple occasions. Whew, I am ready to get to work again!

     We did get to go Schwester S's house finally.  It was so much fun, she made a lactose-free Tiramisu and we listened to fun New Years music. We definitely got to know her a bit better, and met her husband. Her husband is actually really funny, but I have never met him before because he is a non-member. Apparently, they used to do a lot with the missionaries on P-days and such, but then they stopped having contact with the missionaries for some reason until us. I cannot tell you how grateful I am and how blessed I feel to be a part of her life and that she has such a warm heart towards us. I feel that in this relationship she is really the blessing to me and my life right now, so I feel very guilty when members of the ward express what I blessing we are to her. She will forever be known in my heart as my personal angel! I cannot tell you all the ways she has helped lift my spirits when my heart feels heavy. I will pray to be blessed to stay in this area through the summer so that we can go on fun hikes with the S family when it gets warm again :)

     Yesterday we went over to the Erlachers house after church to have ANOTHER Christmas lunch.  Sister Erlacher is from England, so we got to learn a bunch of English traditions, like the surprise christmas crackers,

British Christmas Crackers

and fun little chocolates. Another tradition of theirs that I thought was very cool is that every year they craft tiny little gift boxes and make them into Christmas tree ornaments. On the inside, they write on a little piece of paper a gift that they want to give to Jesus that year, and then hang it on the tree.  Cool, gel?

Sister Hess got to make cupcakes

     Transfer calls are this Saturday, where did this transfer go? Wait, where did this YEAR go by?  We are all really curious to see if we will stay together as a dritt or whether we will get split.  But I will know by next week!

     I hope everyone at home had a fun Christmas and has fun (safe) plans for New Years!  I love you all!

The traditional new pajamas for Christmas Eve... thanks mom!

    We did finally get the second Christmas package you sent to us. We were all so grateful for that little extra touch of love from home. Both Sister Wunderli and Sister Erdenetsogt would like me to tell you thanks for the Christmas presents AND they both think that I have a really pretty mom (that truly is from them :).  

     Oh, and the EOS chapsticks you sent...  I gave the pack of 3 to" M" for a Christmas present, and she was so excited! I guess Miley Cyrus uses one in a music video, and she just thought it was the coolest thing to have the same chapstick as a celebrity.  And Sister Wunderli and Erdenetsogt thought it was very cool too. American chapstick, who knew people would get so excited about that stuff?

     And Sister Smith did give me a hug when I was in Salzburg gave me your hug! I am not sure if I already told you that, but it was nice to get a 'hug' from my mom!

    Also, one of the members here, Achim Erlacher, knows Richard Hawks!  He came up to me a few Sundays ago and randomly took a picture with me and said 'by the way, Richard Hawks says hi!' It is a small world after all!

It was way fun to talk to y'all on Christmas :) 
Love you, miss you, but wouldn't want to be anywhere else than where I am right now!

-Sister Peterson

Merry Christmas to All-

Dear Friends & Family,

Well first of all, after we sent last weeks emails, we took some time to go shopping in the marketplace. I wanted to look at Dirndl's and we had some other small things we wanted to get before our Zone Conference. We had a great day and it was fun getting to show Sister Erdenetsogt around this beautiful little Austrian town! 

Introducing Sister Erdenetsogt

Shopping for Dirndls

Can you believe that it is finally Christmas??  I woke up today giggling like I was a young child. Sister Erdenetsogt asked what was so funny and I said, "Tomorrow is Christmas!" 

She said, "Yes, but what is so funny?" At this, I told her "My poor family in America still has to wait 2 full days! We just have to wait 1!!"

It's weird how quickly my mind has adjusted to the fact that Christmas is on the 24th, not the 25th. Between all of the eating appointments, Christmas parties, and activities we will be doing, I think I can say that by the end of this week I will definitely NOT feel like a missionary. With so much activity combined with the opportunity to go to the movies with our investigators to see 'Silent Night', we will need to work hard to avoid all feelings of normal, every day life.

Austrian Cookies given to us by a ward member

The Elders and their bells...

... Learning to make fufu

The fufu master...

A truly delicious African feast

On Saturday, President and Sister Miles came to Salzburg and our whole Zone had a big Christmas Conference.  It was so much fun! We sang a a ton of songs together, had a gift exchange, ate lunch, and then had a really good Christmas devotional. Anytime with President and Sister Miles is a gift. Anytime with the entire zone in one place is a privilege! And definitely combining the two is the recipe for a perfect and wonderful day!

At our Zone Conference

My companions and I in Salzburg

All of the Sisters from our Zone in Salzburg

Sisters in our Dirndl's

The District

Elders Szvoboda and Abel in Salzburg

Afterwards, our whole district went to the Salzburg Christmas market, which was absolutely gorgeous!  Even though Salzburg is a relatively small city, it is very popular for tourists, which made it hard to keep track of both of my companions. Yikes, I dont know how mothers keep track of all of their kids, especially in a Salzburg Christmas market!!  Respect, mothers.

Holiday Shopping in Salzburg

The lights in the Marketplace

A bridge in Salzburg under locks! I love this tradition

Welcome to Salzburg Weihnachtsmarkt

Mozart's Geburtshaus

I saw my first convert baptism today!  It was for a man that the Elders in Linz have been teaching.  His name is 'M', and he has been coming to church for a year now, but has had to wait for his Azul (which allows him to legally stay in Austria) before he could get baptized. He was baptized on Sunday after sacrament meeting, and the whole ward was there to support him. He was so happy! His face was literally beaming with joy. When he came out of the water it was the coolest thing to watch. 

I guess a lot of people could look at me and say "You have been on your mission for 9 months and still haven't seen one of your investigators baptized yet?" "Don't you feel like a failure?" "I told you Europe would be hard!"

But honestly, I don't feel that way at all, and surprisingly enough, it doesn't discourage me at all. Of course I want all of the people I teach to eventually be baptized so that they can have the same look of joy as "M" did when he was baptized, but that is my motivation to keep going, not the disappointment the slows me down.

 

Remember the elderly lady I mentioned in my email a few weeks ago? The one who always comes up to me at church and calls me by my first name? I honestly believe that she is more of an angel to me than I am to her. I gave her a card 2 weeks ago, just a little note to tell her how much I appreciate her and how grateful I was for her friendship.  

Well, she came up to me after sacrament meeting on Sunday and asked what we were doing for Christmas. I told her all of the days that we had appointments and when we were free, and she invited us over for next Sunday to enjoy a little Christmas dinner together after church.  

Afterwards, our ward mission leader also asked me what members we were visiting throughout the week, and when I told him that we were going to the old ladies house on Sunday he seemed super surprised.  

At first he was really confused and said, "You're going to her house? But she has been less active for a long time, and NEVER invites people over!" 

And then he had a big smile on his face, and said 'that is really great. Thank you, Sister Peterson."

I have no idea what kind of angel this lady is, but she always does something on the weeks that I am feeling down, depressed, or straight up unworthy to be a missionary.  

I honestly believe that there are people that the Lord puts in my path to remind me to keep working, there are people to help and hearts to touch! 

Thank you to everyone for the Christmas wishes, I wish all the best for you this Christmas and for the upcoming year!  I love you all so much :)

Liebe Grüße,
Sister Peterson