Well this week Friday was our last day in the apartment! We ended with 10 not going anywhere… it was rough but I had a lot of time to read in the Book of Mormon and watch every church video ever made… “Together forever” will always be a classic haha.

I studied a lot about the Atonement, it’s a great topic to study because there is so much that we just can’t understand about it. Listening to talks, reading, and praying, I really learned a lot, but I know that I really can’t know all the answers in this life (especially how intelligences work) but it’s OK, because it’s not as important of the “how” but the “why”, because our Savior really does loves us, and He knows our potential.

A new investigator showed up a church on Sunday! I recognized him a little bit, about a month or so ago we were riding bikes at night and stopped this guy (probably freaked him out) gave him a Book of Mormon and a card! He showed up said he read a little and that he would be at church next week too! Can’t wait to see what happens!

Sad to hear about Sister McEwan’s passing, she really is a wonderful lady. She was always super nice to me and always helping me, nothing but positive memories of her.

Transfer calls! Elder O’Keefe is going to Plauen? I don’t know where that is. But I’m staying and an Elder Paul is coming (hopefully a Paul Hatch).  He’s been on his mission for 13 transfers and is American but lived in Germany for 6 years before his mission because his dad’s in the military or something. So cool! I’ll be picking him up in Hanover on Tuesday!

L**** came to church yesterday! It’s hard for her because she has 3 little kids and one of them is 2 months old but she told us she could make it to sacrament and she did! She’s the one from Ghana and she said her husband wants to meet with us next time he’s in town, so that was cool!

Hamburg was cool! It was a long train ride but it was fun to be on a train with 30 other missionaries! After mission tour I went straight to Bielefeld for an exchange with Elder Rhode! He’s only been in Germany for 6 weeks but he got us around like a champ. It rained the entire day and all we had planned was dooring. We found this huge apartment building with 50 door bells on the klingel so we went to work on it. At 25ish the door unlocked so we ran in, took an elevator up 6 floors and some kid was at the door. He went and got his dad, and his dad said “we’re all Muslims but come in” then I freaked out because I realized that Elder Rhode speaks not a lot of German so this would be interesting.

So we went in and I told him who we were and that we are sharing the Book of Mormon and that our church didn’t force us to come here and we paid for it ourselves (people find that interesting). Then an atomic spiritual bomb went off and we taught him the gospel for an hour and a half! I’ve never spoken so much German in my life! He just kept asking questions that the gospel could answer, then the spirit asked him (through us)”what would it mean to you if we had a prophet on earth today just like in biblical times?” He said that that would just make sense and that the world is going to a bad place. We explained the Book of Mormon, the plan of salvation, and the first vision, and it all just seemed to make sense to him. In the end he said he could not accept the book or the pamphlets we gave him because his wife would be really mad, but he accepted a card and said he would look up more. Another seed planted, so hopefully it grows!

The Spirit is real.

From what we’ve heard M*****’s records have been reviewed and he can be baptized again! So probably in the next few weeks!

Love Elder Winkel

Eating a Döner on the way to Hamburg.

(Friday December 26th)

 

I probably made 200 cookies this last week, we took them to less actives and investigators with a joy to the world DVD!

We had our ward Christmas party Saturday! It was amazing we had 63 people there! About a billion less actives and only 5 nonmembers, but then at church the next morning we only had 16 people show up. It was quite a downer, the counselor who was conducting just got up and said “looks like everyone was too hungover from last night…” haha that was pretty funny, but yeah we have A LOT of less actives that just never show up…

There really is no place like home for the holidays! We listened to American Christmas music on Friday at one of our 7 hour eating appointments. Music really does make it feel like Christmas!

Christmas Eve we helped M***** move! He’s the guy that had his records removed from the church and is coming back. We’ve finished all the review lessons and now he just needs to meet with someone before he can be baptized again! So we helped him move from his mom’s house. She seemed like a super nice lady who looked and sounded just like Russell Anderson’s mom! But it turns out she’s bi polar and an atheist. So when we first met her she loved to talk to us and made us tons of cookies, but then the next day we dropped by and she wouldn’t even come say hello. M***** was really glad to be moving.

For the 25^th and 26th of Christmas we went to family Meckas and family Schwabs. They basically kidnapped us at noon and wouldn’t drive us home till night, so we couldn’t get much work done. The other problem is NO ONE is outside and we can’t go door to door for this whole week so we’re either trapped at a member’s house, or organizing the area book. But being at a member’s house is super fun, we eat tons of food and play games but you start to feel like a worthless missionary after a while. So we’re going to go by some less actives with some more cookies and stuff like that!

We committed a lady to baptism! She’s from Ghana and her husband lives about 3 hours away because that was the only place he could find work. He’s a member but we’re not sure how active he is. We’ve never seen him and he only visits like once a month. After the first lesson the spirit kept telling me to ask her if she would be baptized so I finally did at the end and she said yes! The spirit was way strong!

 

(Monday 12/29)

I gave a talk in church about prayer, it went okay! German was a little rough in parts but I got my points across. We generally have about 25-35 in attendance. Saturday we did doors in the freezing cold all day. Sunday afternoon we went to an eating appointment, then to a 98 year old member’s birthday party and brought a new ward member that moved in so he could get to know people better!

This week was great! The story is long but good!

We went knocking doors on Thursday (doors is always a last resort) and I was trying to be positive but was still surprised when we got a phone call from a guy named M*****.  He is a super educated guy with a law degree, who is fluent in German, English, and some other crazy language. He joined the church in 2005 while he was getting his law degree in San Antonio, Texas. He then moved back home where he just couldn’t find success here as a lawyer. Then his friends and family made fun of him and said bad things about the church and he slowly became inactive. His friends and family continued giving him a hard time about it, so he had his records removed from the church.

Six months ago he had a feeling he needed to come back, and then about a month ago he texted us asking when the next ward activity was which isn’t till Christmas. So then we didn’t hear from him again until Thursday, when he called and said he wanted to meet ASAP. Luckily we were dooring by the church which is cool because we’re NEVER by the church because it’s like a billion miles away. We met with him and he said he had a really huge spiritual experience this last week where God told him that he needed to come back.

So we met with him and the Bishop, and made a plan. He needs to meet with the Stake President and until then he said he would come to church. And yesterday he did! He was there the whole time and he made some really good comments. Then right when church ended he got a phone call that he got the apartment that he was trying to get so he could move out of his mom’s house. He’s currently a bus driver and he hates it. He even said “I’m honestly too qualified to be a bus driver”. And he told us he has to distance himself from his family and friends so that he can come closer to God.

Then (again at church) he overheard us talking to this member that’s going to be going to some country for a month. It just so happens that the third crazy language that he’s fluent in is for that country. He asked the member if he could find out if his company has any jobs available speaking that language. It turns out that they’ve been looking for someone that knows that language and a bunch about law – we think this members a debt collector (no joke). So then he got a job interview for later that day! He was so excited and he knows that the Lord is blessing him. Even if he doesn’t get this job the Lord is blessing him with opportunities.

He kept thanking us but I realized that we really didn’t do much. All we’re doing as missionaries is being an instrument. The Lord is just working his miracles through us. And I’m happy to be that instrument.

It’s weird that next week I’ll be 19… Elder O’keefe said he’ll make me Kneaders french toast for my birthday so it’ll be awesome! I love you all! And Christmas!

HE IS THE GIFT

Elder Winkel

The “debt collector’s” house. He is the German guy that is having us teach his mother. His house is an old windmill that has been in his family forever! He travels a lot and all he’s really told us about his work is that he “deals with a lot of dishonest people” in the mill industry. Haha. Probably not a debt collector but he’s got some crazy scars on his face, he’s like a henchman from James Bond or something.

I bought a tree! 15 euros! I found a stand in our storage too!