Well the hectic week came to a close. But it was a good one. So Thursday we were in Magdeburg for district meeting, then we had to go home and plan for English class, but then we had to go check on our member from Nigeria who was getting ready for ankle surgery, and it turns out that he got stabbed by his roommate the day before in the refugee housing. He was pretty shaken up about it. He got it right in the leg. But he’s a champ, and he’s doing okay now.

After we went and visited him, we ran back to the church and taught our English class. Then to the train station, and caught our train to Berlin, We spent the night in Spandau with my boy Elder Glissmyer. We ended the night with a couple party buckets from KFC.
The next day Elder Perkins went with two other missionaries and went around Berlin while I sat in meetings for about 7 hours… then we caught the train back to Bernburg.

The next day we had to catch another train to Leipzig for Stake Conference, we were a little late and I had to buy our ticket, and Elder Perkins put our bags on… well as I went to open the train door the train left… I had a nice little hour long wait before the next train came, later we met back up in Kothen. haha.
Stake Conference was wonderful, and I got to see all my members and friends from Zwickau!

After the Saturday session, we traveled to Halle where we got permission to spend the night in the old elder’s apartment.
Then back to Leipzig the next morning for the Sunday session! They had a little girl give a talk and it was probably one of the cutest things I’ve seen. Also Elder Dykes was there and gave a great talk about the Sabbath and scripture study. It was also nice to hear a talk in English, and having to be the one translating!

I’m thankful for a busy week!

I have a testimony that it is through those small things that we can make real progress and have joy. I’m grateful for all your prayers and pray for you as well.

Elder Winkel

Reunited with our boy Jared from Zwickau!

This week we had some interesting moments.
We went to a city called Aschersleben, where we have about 7 less actives and
a few other members. It turns out there used to be a branch in this
city but then it was later combined with Bernburg.

We have now met/made contact with everyone on our list. On Saturday we
finally met with the last one, and it was a little tricky. I had been
by this sister in the branch in my second week here or so and she had
told us to get lost and hung up the klingel box. But we decided it was
worth a shot.

Well she answered for sure, and unlocked the apartment door, so we ran
up the stairs… What we met up at the top was an old lady in an
oxygen mask/helmet thing beckoning us to come in… sounding like an
air compressor trying to talk to us. Well Perkins was scared half to
death, but we reluctantly followed her in.

She then spent a couple minutes trying to get this helmet type thing
off and gasping for air. We had a great conversation, pretty much
she’s just been using her health as a reason to not come to church.
But she was very nice, and we talked about prayer and how awesome
Joseph Smith is. And she gave us testimony of both. In the end she
said we could visit her in a lung clinic the next week.

The next day at church a member caught wind that we had made contact
with her, and she told us she has been writing her a letter every
month for quite a while now, but for some reason this month she was
stumped when she tried to write the letter and just couldn’t do it, so
she didn’t send one. She told us it was quite the miracle that we were
able to meet with her.

In all honesty, I have no idea what any of that means. But we’ll
trust in the Lord and I’m sure the meaning will be made known in the
next life, if not this one.

I read a bit this week about covenants, what I learned is that we
shouldn’t forget that a covenant is a two way deal, that we should
always strive to be better, and not forget that blessings will come.

Alles gute! ????

Elder Winkel

This week Elder Perkins and I taught a lesson in ZTM in Leipzig, our
topic was “The Atonement”. Well we were quite pumped to have such a
great topic, but then after 3 days of trying to plan on how to teach
it, it put it back into perspective for me of how big it is. Really
big. Super big.

The Book of Mormon is one of THE BEST tools we have as missionaries!
There are so many examples of the Atonement being used. Enos shows a
great example of applying it, along with many others. And as it comes
together it stands as a testimony of Jesus Christ and that He
lives. Not bad.

The atonement is about love, and I’m happy I’ve got a great mom who’s
showed me love for almost 20 years now.
Jeffery R Holland’s talk hit a walk off last week:
A wonderful young mother recently wrote to me: “How is it that a human
being can love a child so deeply that you willingly give up a major
portion of your freedom for it? How can mortal love be so strong that
you voluntarily subject yourself to responsibility, vulnerability,
anxiety, and heartache and just keep coming back for more of the same?
What kind of mortal love can make you feel, once you have a child,
that your life is never, ever your own again? Maternal love has to be
divine. There is no other explanation for it. What mothers do is an
essential element of Christ’s work. Knowing that should be enough to
tell us the impact of such love will range between unbearable and
transcendent, over and over again, until with the safety and salvation
of the very last child on earth, we can [then] say with Jesus,
‘[Father!] I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.’
Meine Mama ist ganz wunderbar.

Have a wonderful week,
Elder Winkel

Last week’s BMX P-Day

A nice week. A highlight of the week was a Part III exchange with my friend Elder Barrios (from my first district). We hit the streets and did some street contacting. In the evening we decided to go by an old contact, and to our surprise they let us in! It was an amazing time to teach the Restoration again. It’s been a while but I’m always grateful for the opportunity. The message of the Restoration is a special one.

This week I studied the time that the Prophet Joseph had in Liberty Jail. Looking at the experience that the prophet had, I think of my own self, my own “prison-temple” experiences, my time in “the refiners fire”. Where the trials that I’ve had, they have only been there to strengthen and help me. We can learn the most of these moments if we Endure, and do as the Prophet did. Have faith. If we do those things we will be become our greatest selves, and become what the Lord wants us to become.

“Therefore … let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed” D&C 123:17

Yes,

Elder Winkel

If you stick your head out of a really fast train…