Happy Easter – it vas ferry grate.

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Elder Anderson was sick for most of the week, so that cramped our style but the weekend came and we had some nice things happen.

Once Anderson got better we decided for a fresh start so we rearranged the apartment. I may have broken a bunch of interior decorating rules but the place looks dang cool and we got “tons of extra room for activities”.

Friday we finally got back to some good finding but the Easter break took people elsewhere and they were replaced by tourists… But on Saturday we talked to a guy from Bayern and told him we were talking about Easter and giving out a book, he said he didn’t really believe in God, so we told him he could try it out. Well he accepted the challenge… too bad he lives in Bayern, and didn’t give us his info. But who knows 😉

Sunday there was a baptism! The other Elders in our cozy little 4 man district baptized a girl from Kazakhstan who’s lived in Germany for the last 9 years or so. It was a really cool baptism, it was really a special day for her.

For someone who’s been searching for the truth she said she didn’t think she would find it right across the street. (She lives straight across from the church)

Perspective is always everything, right now is important, but the eternal prospective is the one that matters. Problems of life become smaller and smaller as we determine what we really want in life.

Elder Winkel

Today for P-day we met as a zone with a bunch of YSAs and played football, like real football, pigskin and all.

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Geschwindigkeitsbegrenzung

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Right now we are doing a “40 day fast” where a different member fasts for the missionary work each day. And the goal is to give out 40 Book of Mormons in these 40 days. It’s been quite the blessing to have some of the members get excited about missionary work.

Tuesday we got the first Book of Mormon out, for that was itself a miracle. We had to both be in Hamburg by 1 for our exchanges with the Zone Leaders, so we only had an hour or so to do some street contacting but with the help from upstairs, we were able to give one out. Throughout the week we have been able to give out 5 Book of Mormons. And I cannot say it was because of what I did that is for sure. Each book we gave out came along with its own small miracle. Whether it was the husband saying yes to his wife that said no, or us only having 15 minutes to find, with no one on the street, but 1 of the 2 people we talked to accepted a copy. The miracles are not as transparent as I often think.

Unfortunately we haven’t been able to make an appointment with anyone yet, but only good can come from the work that we are privileged to do.

Saturday we went to help our member to finish off his “wood gathering” for the year, and he happened to have his son-in-law, and some of his grandkids visiting him for the weekend to also help, they are also all less active, which is a little hard to understand because his son-in-law talks about how wonderful his mission was. But it was good that we got to spend most of the day with them, the grandkids are in their twenties and haven’t been around missionaries for a while, so they were able to have some fun with the missionaries and see that we TOO are normal people. (Just a little strange and peculiar…)

To be honest, I’m loving having a car. Finding parking is a game I’d rather not play… but it’s been quite the blessing. Wednesday we drove to Hamburg to practice a musical number we are performing at a baptism, and I’ll have to say driving in a big city really keeps you on your toes!

Right now we’ve be able to make some good friendships with our less actives, it’s really easy to share the gospel with someone when you have a friendship with them.

Because the gospel is a personal thing, we have to teach it on a personal level, without that personal bond, true repentance cannot be taught and will not be accepted. Our investigators need to feel a touch of our love for them before they will choose to accept the gospel in their lives. I have come to love the people of Germany, not that I always react or think the right way when someone speaks rudely to us, but I do love them and if they will give me the chance I will show them that love. As a missionary I get to practice a peek of what the Savior offers to us, his loving hand if we are willing to accept it. There are many around us that need that help, Often these people don’t even seem like they need it, but as we are all called by God to help our fellow man, we need to make sure that we are ready to accept that call.

Were I elect like you,

I would encircle me with love, and raise

A rampart of my fellows; it should seem

Impossible for me to fail, so watched

By gentle friends who made my cause their own.

-Robert Browning

Elder Winkel

-Exchange in Hamburg

-The Elbe

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Gold

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Not a bad week, Tuesday we were in Hamburg for zone training meeting, where we got to teach old and brand new missionaries in two classes 30 minutes a piece about memorizing the good word (scriptures and such) it was good, and I learned a lot as well.

In other news I received my German license, and have the joy of driving a beautiful 2013 Opel corsa… 0-60km in under 15 seconds. One could call it a dream, or other things… Haha

My wish this week is that we all love people a little more. Forgive the sinners! Help the stragglers! If we apply faith in Jesus Christ more to our lives, we can see why it’s more important that we start working on the dandelions in our own yard. The dandelions we see across the street won’t have as much of an effect on us, and we may come to point where we see that every house in the neighborhood has dandelions!

We all have our struggles, and know our short points. Not as often is it needed that others point them out to us or those around us. But the Lord wants to help us along the way.

The refiner’s fire is real, I’ve seen it on my mission as I’ve searched to come closer to Christ.

When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,

My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply.

The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design

Thy dross to consume, thy dross to consume,

Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.

For P-day today we went into the Forest, and the wandering stick I have came out of retirement. We also tracked a family of wild boars that we saw, which then led to us getting lost for an hour…

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Wonder World with Wunderbehrndt

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For transfers this week I was up in Hamburg sending off my companion and waiting with the one and only Elder Bailey. Funny story I still don’t have my German license, so it should be here this week, but we had to repark the car. So Elder Bailey got to drive for the first time in Germany by trying to find a parking spot in Hamburg. Eventually we made it… Haha

Elder Behrndt (German) in my district had to pick up his trainee on Wednesday so we picked up my new companion Elder Anderson, and then went back to their area to teach English class and a lesson. We then ended up spending the night there as well.

Right now we are working to get the program up and running, we went back to the forest to do service again, met with the bishop, and a bunch of other members. Now we just need some solid people to teach!

On Sunday I bore my testimony of pondering, before my mission it was a bit of a foreign concept to me, music, sports, friends etc. but on my mission I’ve found so much wonderful revelation through the simple quiet moments of meditation. Not trying to sound like a guru or something haha, but it really is a great time that we can receive personal revelation.

Elder Winkel

Visited Lauenburg for P-day

Elder Anderson worked at Taco Bell… Crunch wrap to the supremeeeee

Elder Bailey

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House Hunters International

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Transfers came, transfers went. Elder Headley is off to Görlitz, and I will be receiving an Elder Anderson from Texas, I think it will be super.

This week we will be going apartment hunting with a senior missionary couple, pretty much if our current apartment was in America they would have condemned the whole thing by now, along with every building on the block… “How firm a foundation?” Not very…

Tuesday I went on back to back exchanges with the Spanish Elders. With only one lovely meeting that was completely in Spanish so I wasn’t lost. We had a few fallen out appointments – then we met with their solid 23 year old investigator from Kazakhstan, who’s lived in Germany the last 10 or so years. She was actually found by my companion who saw her reading the bible on a train. She’s quite sincere, but boy she had a big problem with the telestial kingdom!

We had some little cards to represent the plan of salvation and she just stared at the whole thing, covered up the telestial kingdom with her hand and such. (Haha) But we were able to clear it up a little with the bible and because she’s so cool, she let us know how she would go home and pray about it. In the lesson there came a point where we brought it back to Joseph Smith and asked her if she believed he was a prophet, she kept insisting “I’ve got no problem with Joseph Smith! That’s obvious and logical that he was.” Then we explained how important that it is that we not only know it in our mind, but also in our heart.

And OH how important that is.

“When the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.”

May we all think and ponder in our minds that the spirit may testify to our hearts.

 

Elder Winkel