Busy Week!

Family and friends, this week’s letters made me really happy. I am glad Grandma Carol was able to move into somewhere that makes her happy. I know there are so many memories in that house and it’s sometimes hard to leave a house that you have lived in for so long but I am happy for her and know that she is doing well. It sounds like the whole family is doing well and I am super happy about that.

This week consisted of a lot of planning and a lot of meetings for us; which was really hard because I absolutely don’t like just sitting and doing nothing. We were in Heidelberg for a Zone Training so that was really cool. I know this will take time being called as the University Elders. It has been hard but super worth it because I have learned so much. You get a new companion because there is always something Heavenly Father wants you to learn. This area is such a great area and I am really enjoying it. The ward here is incredible. It consists of about 200 members and they are all very strong members as well. They are all so kind and nice so it’s been a fun week for us to get to know new people. It is always hard because there are so many names and you try to get to know people and you can’t remember their names. One thing that I have seen that has been really cool is my German has become a ton better. I don’t know what it is about the first area you are in but sometimes it is harder to speak because you think the members don’t think you can speak. Ever since I have come here it has been a lot more relaxed and I have really been enjoying it and so much happier.

One really cool thing that happened this week was on Saturday we had this big street display right in the middle of Louisen Platz here in Darmstadt. I will send some pictures but it was really cool. We tried to make it as professional as we could. We had a big T.V. with Joy to The World playing. (The Christmas film). It was really cool because we also had about 70 different language Book of Mormons on the table with every different language. And so people would be watching the video and we would go up and talk to them. It was really such a great experience and gave us an extra boost of Hope. At the end of the day we ended up passing out 60 Book of Mormons and about 30 DVD’s. It was such a cool experience and I am so grateful for Christmas. It is different here in Germany but it still has that feeling. It has been snowing a little bit but not enough to stick. And I love the Old German look when it snows. It is sooo pretty. So that was such a fun day!

For something that Elder Bruneel and I started this week.. We read this talk, "The Verge of Success". It talks about how we can purify ourselves and how we can turn our hearts over to the Lord. It was really cool because it talks about a 40 day fast from something that you know you need to change to become better. Maybe its attitude, learn to love people, learn to serve out of love, etc.. It was really cool because we started that and you start to realize everything you need to take a step back and really think about. I have loved it and I know the Lord will purify me as I take the things out of my life that I don’t need in there. 

This week was a good one. I received both my Christmas packages and in there was a bunch of pictures with music on there and had a bunch of pictures of my family. I just sat there and thought about how much I love my family. My family means everything to me in my life. I know it will be hard during this Christmas time but I have these pictures to realize how thankful I am for my family. That is one thing I am SO grateful for.

Anyways, I am just rambling on and on. Thanks for all the support. Thanks for all the love. I really appreciate it. Remember during this Christmas time to remember our Lord and Savior. Find out what’s important to you in your life and make sure to put that number 1 on your priority list. I love you all.

Elder Emery