Glad to hear the week went good and we are enjoying the blessings of the Gospel. I am glad to hear that Halloween was great as well.. They don't celebrate it to much here but there were some people that dressed up. I didn't receive any pictures though so if you could send me some that would be great!
I don't think I have told you about Elder McGinn.. This kid is a stud!! ha from the very first day I met him we became great buds and it has only continued to get better. We love working together.. it's been great! He is one of the best teachers I have ever met.. He can teach a rock and convert it! Whats cool is we both are very sport mindedness.. He will play football for BYU after his mission. He went to Timpanogas High School and lives down in Orem!
This week went by so fast.. We were incredibly busy with all the new missionaries coming in. I will try to add everything that we did by day so I cover everything.
Monday was our P day.. Elder Lindsey wanted to pick up a few things before he went home and it was also Elder Lovelace's birthday so we took him out to Lunch. That night we went over to Königstein where the castle is and walked around for a bit. That night we met with Christian Ottiker for some Raclette dinner.. That was really good and we talked a lot about the world and how Satan is trying to trap us in things that seem important but really aren't. I learned lots and it was a lot of fun. After the appointment we went over to Thomas and Shirley's so that Elder Lindsey could say goodbye one last time to them at their home. Then got home super late that night.
Tuesday was another really busy day for us. We met with a bunch of members and missionaries that Elder Lindsey wanted to see before he left. That took us up to about 5:00 and then we went over to President Stoddard's and had dinner with him and Sister Stoddard and planned for MLC (Mission Leadership Counsel) and also the lessons we were going to give to the Goldens and Trainers the next day. My lesson was on "training your successor" and "how we can reach our goals." It went really well I thought. Tuesday after dinner Elder Lindsey had his Leavers interview and so Elder McGinn and I were just preparing for the crazy week that was before us. Lots and lots of work to do when 26 missionaries are coming in and 16 are leaving.
Wednesday and Thursday were the crazy days of the week. I have never been so tired in my life I feel like..Wednesday morning early we picked up the Goldens from the airport. I talked with Elder Homer and he is a great guy!! Let Shawna know that he is doing great! That morning we took all the Goldens back to the church here in Frankfurt and there were 3 stations.. Orientation to fill out all papers for visa's and stuff, Contacting on the zeil, and also interviews so that President could interview all of them. I stayed at the church to make sure everything was running smoothly and we ran into a few problems.. But we got it all done and the Goldens were super tired! ha at 5:00 the Goldens trainers' and us all had dinner. 26 trainers and 26 goldens can get crazy. At about 6:00 the goldens went back to the hotel to sleep and we then trained the trainers. Thats where I gave my lessons and I think they went really good. A lot of good insights were said. Elder McGinn my companion is an incredible teacher and its been awesome to teach right along side of him. After that we had to plan for more things the next day with President and we then had to deal with a few missionary related things that night and didnt get back till 12:00.. we were dead! haha
Thursday was the days of the pairing meeting and also of the leavers day. We paired the Goldens with who their trainers were going to be at the Hotel and then all headed to Hauptbahnhof where all the missionaries meet for transfers to head out to their areas. It was cool seeing all the missionaries together again and be able to see all the people in my group! Those guys are my boys and are all doing great. That day the AP's, President and Sister Stoddard and all the leavers go to the Temple and do a session. This was the most spiritual part of my week for sure. I LOVE the temple and I have had a lot on my mind lately. I am grateful for the experiences that I had there and I realized a lot of things about people in my life and it all makes sense now! I got some answers to some questions I had and I am doing really good. It was a great experience. After that we went out to eat with them and then came back where we had the final leavers testimony meeting. In this group its cool because the Sisters who entered in the MTC with me all went home this past week. So they finished their 18 months.. They are all honestly like Sisters to me.. ha they are awesome! I will send a pic over of them! It was cool to see that they finished something hard and how excited they were. A mission does change a missionary if he is willing to obey the commandments and the rules. It was a bittersweet feeling hearing Elder Lindsey say his final missionary testimony. That guy gave it everything he had. I am happy for him for what he has at home.. It was cool because a lot of members were there that I and Elder Lindsey worked with so I was able to see all of them again. One of the members gets married in the temple on the 11th and she wants me to be there :) That will be my first live sealing I see and I am excited! That is my number one goal is to marry in the Temple and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with my Eternal companion. That will be down the line though :) haha I still have plenty of time! But we then took all the leavers to the Hotel and got back again at 12:30 from everything..
Friday morning I was absolutely dead tired!! Waking up at 6:30 and continuing the day.. Its hard work but nothing better then it! Friday was the day of MLC where all the Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders come in and we train them from what President wants. it was a great meeting. Again, there are so many missionaries who I respect and are such good missionaries. All the missionaries who are in the leadership positions now I know personally and its cool to see all of them. Sister McMurray a good friend of mine gave a killer lesson about attitude and how we need to have better attitudes. She said something really cool though that helped me understand what we do as missionaries. She said the phrase "We leave Jerusalem." Comparing to Lehi and his family and how they left EVERYTHING behind. They don't think about the things at home but whats here on the mission. It hit me hard because I have not let everything go from home.. But I want to become a new person and change! She did a great job and it was really cool. So that is the phrase I use because of her "We Leave Jerusalem." Overall MLC was awesome! Lots of good insights and lots of new changes in the mission. President really emphasizes about how if we know our Savior Jesus Christ and act as if he were to act here then we would see miracles. He really wants us to study him and his life. Which I love because I still have a lot of weaknesses that I want better. I got to be patient with myself and with others. It's been a good new calling for me and has been humbling to see how the Church operates and how everything is ran and seeing it from a different angle. All cool stuff.
Saturday and Sunday were days where we did lots of contacting and met with some members and less actives and also a couple New converts. Overall it was great and I am so grateful for this week. Super busy and I think I got only 40 hours of sleep.. But honestly what makes me happy is following what the Lord wants. Trying to align my will with his. Because in all honesty I am not perfect and I have my weaknesses. I am trying to clean my life through our Savior Jesus Christ and become like him. I have been the most happiest in my life when I put the Gospel first and let everything come after it. No one can take my testimony from me. This work is the Lord's work!
I love you all, have a great week!
Elder Emery
No comments:
Post a Comment