I am sure that General Conference is just as fun as a
missionary as it is a non-missionary,
I just never really understood how cool it
was until now :P
We read the Liahonas and Ensigns for fun :)
but this was
probably the first time that I was literally on the edge of my seat soaking up
every word that was said!
It was a really cool conference- except we were all praying for a temple in Vienna, Austria,
but that will
just be announced next conference after we have baptized the whole country.
It wasn't too weird of an experience watching Conference in another country.
The only times it felt kind of funny was whenever anyone would say 'Good
morning, brothers and sisters!' or say 'this morning I would like to talk
to you about...' and then to realize that it is 7pm here in Germany and it is
crazy dark outside,
but I'm sure that it was a lovely morning over there in
America :P
We didn't get to watch the Sunday afternoon session yet, but
everything else was AMAZING! Never before have I sat in front of the TV
for 10 hours and enjoyed it so much!
Funny story-so we were watching the end of the Saturday
morning session, and Henry B. Eyring announced that the concluding speaker for
the night would be Dieter F. Uchtdorf, after which there were a few people in
the room who exclaimed 'yes!' or clapped their hands. We all chuckled at
ourselves after that. It is impossible to not love Elder Uchtdorf :P
I also had a lot of really proud moments whenever anyone would mention
anything about Germany.
I just like being here a lot, if you couldn't
already tell haha
The family that was going to be baptized on my birthday has
been CRAZY BUSY over the past few weeks, so we have had a really hard time
meeting with them and getting lessons in.
At first, Sister Henry were
trying to deny that we would have to push the baptismal date back, worried that
by doing so we were telling the Lord that we didn't believe He could give us a
miracle.
As the weeks went on, and the more and more we studied and
talked about it, we realized that the Lord has a greater plan for these people
than we could ever imagine!
Everything that has been happening with this
family has been out of our control, we have been doing the things we have
needed to be doing, and yet there was no possible way for them to get prepared
for baptism by this upcoming Saturday.
One of the greatest bits of peace
that we have found as we made the decision to push the date back, is that we
know without a doubt that this family, and every other person that we will ever
talk to, will one day (whether in this life or the next) be able to hear the
fullness of the Gospel and be able to make a clear decision on whether or not
to accept it.
That is guaranteed, and that part I know. The part I
do not know is what role I play in all of it, whether my role is just to talk
with them on the street, be a good example, start teaching, or lead them into
the waters of baptism, that I do not know.
But the Lord does, and even
though it is SO HARD sometimes, I have to trust Him. And I do :)
So transfer calls come this week, CRAZY!
It is weird
to think that I have been in Freiburg for 6 months already.
As excited as
I am at the possibility of being transferred to another city, I am
also not sure if I want to! I love this ward, I love these people, I do
want to leave these friends behind!
I guess that is the hard part of
being a missionary, and having to leave these people behind, and I have never
experienced leaving an area yet.
But who knows, I could very well stay :P
Although it is highly unlikely :/ We will talk about that next week when I know
what is happening!
There is a couple that we meet with every Thursday,
the wife
is a member and the husband is an investigator.
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| The H-U Familie |
They are the sweetest
little couple ever, and Sister HU takes care of us missionaries so
much :)
We were at their house on Thursday and they told us that they wouldn't
be able to meet next week for whatever reason it was.
We asked if we
could take a picture with them, just in case it was one of our last times being
over at their house-
Bruder H asked us where we wanted to take the
picture,
to which we shrugged our shoulders and said 'Egal, outside would be
nice.'
He then said 'Ok, how about a mountain?
Hop in the car, we're
going to a mountain to take pictures!'
So they drove us to the top of a
really gorgeous Weinberg in Ihringen, just to take pictures with us!
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| Ahhhh, so much prettier in person |
It was way cool.
Oh, I almost forgot!
So last Pday, one of our members,
F, took us on a hike to take us to see the ruins of an old castle.
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| Three Elders, quite the Bromance |
It
seemed more like he was taking us on a tour than on a hike, he kept telling us
all of this random and interesting stuff.
He showed us an area in the
forest that the Nazis used to use to hide weapons and use as bunkers and other
things.
 | |
| An old Nazi Bunker |
It was really interesting to hear the story of World War II from
the eyes of a German, and every time I think about it, my heart breaks for the
German people :(
After touring all the Nazi stuff we finally made it to
the top of the hill to the ruins of an old castle.
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| What are they doing?? |
 |
| F and Elder Stricklin in his Lederhosen |
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| The edge of something beautiful |
 |
| Ruins of an old castle |
I don't think my mind
can fully comprehend how lucky I am to be serving in such a beautiful place!
I am just so grateful that God gave us eyes to see, because cameras never
seem to capture the beauty of Germany in the same way I am able to see it with
my eyes.
I guess y'all will just have to come here to pick me up in 18
months and see it for yourself :P
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| A vineyard |
I love you all so much,
Thanks for all your support and prayers, I feel them every day.
Sister Peterson
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| There is always... |
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| ... time for fun! |
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| A fun puzzle we made for the Elders |
