Surprised to feel Nothing but Peace

We're in Munich for district p-day and I only have about fifteen minutes before I gotta skidaddle.
Was a slightly disappointing week for us in Landshut. The Christmas season is a wonderful time of reflection and spiritual growth on the mission, but it really slows down the work here in Germany. Unfortunately, as it usually is once a baptismal date is set with someone, the adversary has been working really hard on Surin and David. All of our appointments with them fell out this week and Surin is losing interest. This coming week we'll still be doing our best to bring them the gospel. We'll especially be working really hard with David because we know that HE has really felt the spirit testify that what we say is true. He even told us so.
There was one big glorious highlight of the week however. We had an amazing appointment with Tomas at the Klemm's home. They're a great young couple in our ward, and Br. Klemm really befriended Tomas and gave powerful testimony of the gospel. His cousin, a fresh R.M., was also there and really helped us out with his special R.M. spirit. I think it was really great for Tomas to see normal, for lack of a better term "chill" people who live and love the gospel. We watched the "joy to the world" DVD with him and he got teared up a couple times as the Tabernacle Choir sang those beautiful Christmas hymns. Br. Kelmm invited him to church and was ready to pick him up on Sunday, but unfortunately we couldn't get a hold of him. Was a little disappointing after such a great appointment, but I'm still full of hope and excitement for the guy. In the midst of our disappointments we must never forget our successes, because they are what makes it all so great.
Last night as I tallied up our low numbers, I was surprised to feel nothing but peace. I knew that I had given my best and the Lord was pleased with my work. As Elder Texiera of the seventy told us in Mission Tour, its a matter of faith! All I can do is continue doing my best and turn the rest over to the Lord.

Hope this Christmas is a great one for you all. I'm excited to spend some quality time with the members, enjoy the great cultural experience of Christmas in Germany, and even more excited to use this time to find people.

Merry Christmas every one!

-Andy

Christmas..A celebration of HIS life and HIS atonement

Hope the holiday season has been treatin' ya well. Christmas is really a beautiful time in Germany. We had a ward Christmas party last night at the church and watched the first presidencies Christmas Devotional at the end. When the tabernacle choir sang "For Unto Us a Child is Born" I was brought to tears. The spirit always seems to speak to me very strongly through that song. And as I listened to it sung beautifully by the tabernacle choir last night it reminded me again of what the Christmas season really is about. "For unto us a son is born, unto us a son is given." What a wonderful thing it is to have this time to celebrate the birth of our savior, to celebrate and give thanks that our heavenly father sent his son to this earth to redeem all of us. "...and his name shall be called, Wonderful Councilor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." Christmas is after all, more than just a celebration of Christ's birth. It is a celebration of his life and his atonement. It’s no coincidence that we all associate Christmas so closely with the family when the family is the center of God's plan, which is made possible through the atonement of Jesus Christ. I feel very close to my savior this Christmas season, and, even though I'm here and you're there, closer than ever to my family.
As far as the past week goes, I guess I can put it simply by saying it's been a great one! We've set a baptismal date with Surin's son, David, whose testimony is blossoming before our eyes, and will hopefully set one with Surin this week. We have a great new investigator who we found because Elder Hansen is so good at talking to everyone. His name is Tomas and he's from Africa ( I think). We had an appointment with another investigator on Tuesday night that fell out and while we were waiting outside Elder Hansen started talking to this guy walking passed us. Tomas was instantly very open and made an appointment out with us for the next day. Within the next two days we met with him twice and were able to set up a two times a week appointment schedule with him. We've been taught by our leaders to be very upfront with our investigators, to let them know that our end goal is to baptize them. This is what we did with Tomas and it was great to see him accept it so well. Its great to see that when we have faith in the authority that God has given us as missionaries, and let the people know who we are and what our goal really is, they recognize the truth and accept it far better than when we beat around the bush.
We've got another busy week ahead of us, but I'm grateful that the Lord has blessed us with so many prepared people that we don't even know what to do with ourselves. I must admit, I've been a little down this week because, maybe due to the Christmas season, I've been missing my family quite severely, but I've pressed on and tried my best to lose myself in the work, and have seen the fruits of that. It gives me a great feeling of comfort to hear from you every week and to know that you're all doing well. You mean everything to me and I can't wait to talk to you on Christmas! Have a great week and enjoy the holiday season!

Alles Gute!

-Andy

Lord is with Us, when we turn to him things will work out

Dear Fam,

The holiday season is finally here in full force. Must admit, my first Christmas season away from home and all of you is making me a little homesick, but I'm more than glad to be here, and very grateful that I get to serve in Germany where Christmas is such a big deal. The town is lit up with Christmas lights and the Christmas markets are out in full force. Hopefully I'll be able to get some good pictures today and also get a few little Christmas presents for the fam ;)
I must admit, being transferred to Landshut has definitely been the toughest transition of my mission. Being a senior companion has definitely been a little more stressful than I imagined. When I first got word that I would be senior companion in a new area, I thought I was totally ready. I was right in the fact that my time in Erlangen had prepared me for it, but the past two weeks have definitely been humbling. I feel a whole new wait of responsibility and accountability on my shoulders, which is causing me to have half the energy I used to. I can honestly say I've never been so tired on my mission, or in my whole life for that matter.
Yesterday proved to be the catalyst, or realization that I "wasn't in Kansas anymore." As Elder Hansen and I added our numbers up for the week, we realized that we hadn't even come close to achieving what we had wanted to. It was the first time in my mission that I had been so hard on myself, blaming myself for our lack of success, and it didn't feel good. I felt like I had failed this area, and failed as a senior companion. After about a half hour of talking about what went wrong, I made the decision to stop feeling sorry for myself and just get on with it. Elder Hansen and I made some goals as to what we can do better and I feel pretty confident that this week will be much more successful. I guess in the end all I need to do is be patient with myself and remember that I need to do is my best and turn the rest over to the Lord. My only problem is that the spirit is willing but the flesh is week. I could get a lot more done if I wasn't so dang tired all the time. Just gotta have more faith and keep on goin' I guess. Thank you for your prayers family. I feel them strengthening me every day.
Despite the tough times, the week definitely wasn't a complete loss. We had an amazing appointment the other night with Surin, an investigator from Romania. As soon as we went into his home Saturday night, I felt the spirit of a good, faithful family living in that house. I knew that we were meeting with someone special. President Auras was with us and really caught the vision for this family, which will be a huge help for the future. We taught them the plan of salvation, and it was great to see how well they accepted it. The real miracle was when Surin explained to US the three kingdoms of glory before we could explain it to him. President Auras really got a kick out of that and shared the experience in fast and testimony meeting yesterday. Elder Hansen extended Surin and his son the commitment to baptism at the end of the appointment. They didn't quite say yes, but they were very positive about the idea. If it weren't for the language barrier, this family's understanding would have lead them to baptism already, so we just need to adapt to their needs by being patient and teaching with a little more simplicity. It is our goal to have a baptism this transfer, and I feel pretty strongly that Surin will be that baptism. Hopefully we'll be meeting with him tomorrow and bring Bruder Reisinger, also a stud of a member in our ward. The whole family will also be coming to our Ward Christmas party next Sunday evening, which will be a huge help in integrating the family into the ward.
Kind of having an interesting epiphany right now. As I wrote that last paragraph, I found that I was focusing on the highlights of this past week and once again feeling good about myself and the work. Just another sign that the Lord is with me and when we turn to him, things will work out.
Enjoy the holiday season and know that I am with you always. Take care!

-Andy