Laborers

This week we had a few interesting moments, Wednesday we went back to the city of Hartenstein to visit the investigator we found, but she wasn’t home… A bus didn’t come for a while, so we decided to do some doors, which we were reluctant to do because finding investigators that live far away can be hard to teach, and almost impossible to get to church. (No car, bus, member that can pick them up) anyways while dooring we saw this giant dog in the driveway… I’m pretty sure it was a cross between a Saint Bernard and a Bär (bear)!  And boy did he have a bark! He was tied up so we walked to the edge of his “ring of death” I let him sniff my hand, next thing you know he’s our best friend! Then we talked to his owner, nice guy, but no interest, so we talked about how cool his dog was.

On our way back to the bus stop we were about to talk to a guy, but then he asked us “Mormone ja?” So we told him yeah, he told us he gotten one of our books a while back and was wondering if we had any pamphlets with us he could have to read, which we actually didn’t. But then he asked if we had time today, so I told him “well how about right now?” So we walked to his house. His son passed away 6 years ago, it was a pretty hard thing for him he actually pulled out a beer to talk about it….  We asked if he believes that the family is eternal? He said “I don’t believe. But I know with my whole heart that it is.” It was wonderful to see his faith, I love to see that.  He has a strong belief in the bible so we talked about how the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ, and that it goes hand in hand with the bible. He said he believed it’s true but asked about why we don’t baptize children, Moroni 8 cleared that right up, and said he never thought about it that way. We had to leave but the next step is that Joseph smith is a prophet, it interesting to see that people will accept the Book of Mormon, but not that Joseph’s a prophet. It can be hard often but you can see the real desire in their heart to find out the truth.

Today we were walking down the street in the city, and some 16 year old girl stopped us… Usually this is when a weird moment happens. But in perfect English she said “missionaries!” then she told us that she’s been to America twice as an exchange student, once in Utah with a Mormon family, then in Texas was another Mormon family. She’d learned all about our church and found it interesting, but didn’t really have interest. But it was cool to talk to her, she’s from West Germany but is going around East Germany with a bunch of teenagers collecting funds for a humanitarian trip for her summer break. Super cool.

This week I studied in Mathew, right now in chapter 20, about ‘the parable of the laborers’ this has become one of my favorite parables, it can apply in so many ways to our life, Jeffery R. Holland gave a great talk in the 2012 ensign about it as well…

This parable–like all parables–is not really about laborers or wages any more than the others are about sheep and goats. This is a story about God’s goodness, His patience and forgiveness, and the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a story about generosity and compassion. It is a story about grace. It underscores the thought I heard many years ago that surely the thing God enjoys most about being God is the thrill of being merciful, especially to those who don’t expect it and often feel they don’t deserve it. 

The Laborers in the Vineyard http://www.lds.org/ensign/2012/05/the-laborers-in-the-vineyard?lang=eng

No matter what part of the race we finish, the reward is always there as long as we finish. Never give up hope on yourself or anyone else. The reward of salvation is always there.

Elder Winkel

Promise he was bigger in person!