March 15, 2010

As always, the week had its ups and downs. We didn't have a lot of lessons, but success came in other forms.
We weren't able to really teach Herr Hardtbauer this week, but we were able to have some contact with him through the ward. We had a "Männerabend" (Man's Night) on wednesday evening. A bunch of the guys from the ward went out for all you can eat Ribs at this pizza place by our apartment. Bruder Dengg brought Herr Hardtbauer and he had a great time. Anyone who has served a mission will agree with me when I say that the key to success with investigators is through the members!
Even better news from Wednesday night...we finally found Tomas!! We went by his place twice during the day and decided to try one more time before we headed over to the Pizza Stube. He didn't answer before we left but was there and saw us out the window. A ran after us for a couple of blocks until he finally caught up to us and asked for a new appointment right away. We also just barely ran into him this morning and should be meeting with him tomorrow. Thank you for your prayers in his behalf! It was on his time, but the Lord has answered them. With in no time we'll be preparing him to enter the waters of baptism.
Also found two new investigators this week. One's name is Herr Reichl. He lives alone and has lots of health and depression problems. In short, he needs the gospel as much as just about anybody. I'm really grateful that the Lord has sent us to someone who really needs his help.
As the time on my mission is winding down (I still have a long way to go, but once you've been on the mission for over a year, ten months doesn't seem that long at all), and as it does I find myself puttering out and losing focus at times. But Its the fact that I'm in an area with so many prepared people, and the fear of reaching the end without doing enough, that keeps me going. I hope that over the next week I can once again whip myself back into shape and lose myself in the work. After all, I know from experience that that is when a missionary is the happiest and brings forth the most good works.

Take care all!

-Andy

March 8, 2010

Unfortunately, just as the weather was getting better, it froze over again. We're in Munich today for a district P-Day and it's freezing cold. I guess we'll just have to have a good time anyway.

The past week was a pretty successful one. We had some great appointments and helped some great people come closer to Christ. Had a great appointment with Monika this week. Pres. Auras came with us and did a great job at helping us explain the priesthood and....church auxiliaries (couldn't think of the word in English for a second there...that happens a lot the longer you are on your mission...I forget so many English words all the time. My grammar is all over the place as well. Guess that's a good sign). Anyway, afterwords we went by a less active member from Brazil who had been gone for about a month and a half. She's a great Lady and wants to come to church, but I think its hard for her to speak up because her husband is not a member. They're both great people though, and as we shared a spiritual thought with them about the restoration the spirit was very strong. I hope her husband took some time to think about what he felt when we were there, because I know he felt something.

Herr Hardtbauer is doing very well. When we met with him last he told us that he had gone a whole week without alcohol. Its been really great to see his progress. We emphasized to him last time that we want to keep better track of his progress so that he can see his own progress more and motivate himself better to keep going. I'm really excited for Herr Hardtbauer's near future and can't wait to see him baptized.

Still not been able to reach Tomas. Its insane how once you set a baptismal date with someone, everything just goes crazy. Just a testimony builder to me that baptism in the restored church of Christ is the first step to eternal life. Satan knows that and does everything he can to stop these wonderful people from entering the waters of baptism. But no matter. The only thing we can do now is keep doing our best to find him, and then wait for the Lord to take care of the rest.

Hope Spring comes to you all ASAP. I know I'M sure getting sick of the cold. Take care and enjoy life!

-Andy

We are ALL Children of God

Can't believe its already the first of March! The time does not slow down! Back when I was with Elder Jensen, he told me that once you hit your year mark, the clock starts tickin' like a madman and the time just picks up more and more speed. He was right. I'm starting to realize what Elder Whitsitt said before he went home... "Two years is not enough."
But hey, I still got a while and a lot of work to do, so lets just stop daydreaming about the time that will be spent and start worrying about how we're going to spend it, shall we?
Herr Hardtbauer is making good progress. He read through the church's addiction recovery program that Brother Reisinger gave him and was really excited about it. He came to church on Sunday and Brother Reisinger talked about it a little more with him and offered to go through the program with him. Its always great to see members reaching out and helping investigators. We also had him over at the Zacherl's after church yesterday, where Brother Zacherl took the opportunity to do a lot of teaching during our spiritual thought.
Haven't been able to reach Tomas for a whole week. It seems that the adversary is fully aware of the great potential of this great young man and is still working hard on him. As worried as I am, i know that your prayers in his behalf are working. we'll be able to reach him and continue to lead him to baptism.
Monika is doing very well as always. Its always great to teach her and feel the great spirit that is in her home. Just by being around her one can feel that the atonement of Jesus Christ has changed her life.
This week we had zone conference, always one of my favorite parts of a transfer. Its always great to gather together as missionaries, enjoy each others company, catch up with old buddies, and strengthen each other for the days ahead. My ole comp and buddy Elder Erekson, now the new Assistant to the President, gave a great leadership training workshop on "potential." He reminded me of something that I think we all often forget, and that is the simple fact that we are children of God. He first talked about limitations that we impose upon ourselves, such as rationalization, self-condemnation, and of course, pride, and said that all of these things, these self-limitations, can disappear if we just remember our potential as children of God a little more. I know that I personally need to remember that a lot more. For the past few weeks I've felt that I've been plateauing a little in my personal and spiritual progression. Guess I just need to remember that I AM a son of God, with the potential, and the help of his son Jesus Christ, not only to become as he some day, but to bring souls unto him right now!
Thanks for your prayers, and your love. I feel it every day! Hope you all know that I love you and pray for you always. Take care and have a great week! Chao!

-Andy

We don't fear questions, WE invite them...

Another week has gone by and all is well in Landshut. Elder Ray is excited to be back in his greeny area and we're already having a great time together. Because he's already been here, and seen the difference in the work now and what it was like his first time around, he's already caught the vision for the area. Lanshut has been on the up and up since I got here, and there's not a doubt in my mind that that's where it's still headed.
Landshut was extremely lucky to have Elder Hansen here for the past six months. His obedience and determination were a huge factor in bringing the work to where it is now, and the progression of these great people. We were able to meet with Tomas the day before transfers and Elder Hansen almost single-handedly set a baptismal date with him! Tomas is so prepared! It's just a matter of meeting with him regularly enough to make progress. The adversary is still working real hard to make sure we can't get a hold of him, so as always your prayers in his behalf will be a big help :)
Monika is doing very well. It looks like she and Mario will be getting married within the next month, and she is still strong in her commitment to be baptized two weeks later.
Herr Hardtbauer is still making progress. We talked a lot about his biggest problem this week-- The Word of Wisdom. We committed him to stop drinking beer this week and, despite his doubts in himself, he gladly accepted. Brother Reisinger was there and was a great help in giving Herr Hardtbauer the support he needed.
This Saturday and Sunday we had the special opportunity of attending the satelite broadcast of the stake conference in Berlin where President Uchtdorf came and spoke to the members of all the German speaking nations. It was a great blessing, not only to hear President Uchtdorf speak German, but to hear the council and blessings of the Lord to the saints of this land through a modern-day prophet. Of the many words of wisdom and council he gave, there is something he said that helped me in my personal development as a missionary. He said that "We are a church that not only allows, but INVITES questions. It was because of the thoughtful and honest questions of a Young Joseph Smith that the church was restored." I think that's something that separates us from other churches. We don't fear questions. We INVITE them. That is something that I will try to more consciously remember in my teaching.. to not only allow questions but to invite them, for it is through questions that our investigators most effectively learn what will ultimately help them to accept our message.
Another thing that President Uchtdorf said that seemed to really strike a chord was the fact that as a church, WE ARE DIFFERENT from other christian churches. He counselled us to stop saying that we are really similar to the Catholic Church, or the Evangelical Church, but with a few differences, but to proudly say that we are different. We are the only church that has the fullness of the gospel, and the authority to act in God's name. Speaking further on this subject, President Uchtdorf urged us to let the world know who the real Christians in this world are through are charity and love for others.
This stake conference reminded me how wonderful it is that we have modern day revelation, that we have prophets on the earth today. I know that this weekend we heard from one of them and that Jesus Christ truly leads this church and this missionary work here in Germany.
Take care all!

-Andy

He is the Way

Sounds like things are chuggin' along as usual back home. It's been a tough week but I've learned quite a bit and grown quite a bit more.
It was another week of health problems for both Elder Hansen and me. Elder Hansen's headaches from his post-concussion syndrome have returned and my back was not getting better as quickly as I would have liked. Together we successfully shut down our finding time. Despite our limitations, however, our work did not slow down and our health is improving. Yesterday after church, President Auras gave me a wonderful blessing and my back feels unbelievably better today. Elder Hansen's headaches have also gotten better. We're still gonna have to be patient, take it easy, and remember what Joseph Smith said to the brethren in Liberty Jail (paraphrasing), "Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us do everything that lies in our power, and then may we stand still, and wait for the Lord's hand to be revealed."
This week we had an amazing appointment with Monika Hein. She and Mario are almost ready to set a marriage date and we committed her to be baptized two weeks later. She gladly accepted and was overwhelmed by the spirit. We all received a witness together that it was the right choice. She also was able to come to the baptism of a little girl in our ward yesterday evening and thought it was wonderful. She and Mario are great at sharing the gospel with others and will be important tools in the lord's hands in building the church here in Germany very soon.
Herr Hardtbauer continues to make progress, slowly but surely. We had a Family Home Evening with him at Schwester Fritz's house, and he played guitar and banjo for us. Olin you would have loved it. He first busted out some classic Johnny Cash songs and then played some great old southern tunes on the banjo. I could shoot myself for not having brought my camera at the time.
We were finally able to meet with Tomas again. Apparently he had injured his leg pretty bad playing American Football (I guess I don't have to call it "American Football" when I write home, do I) and couldn't walk for about two weeks. He had been reading in the Book of Mormon the whole time, however, and told us that he loves it. We asked him again about baptism and he said he would think and pray about it over the next two weeks and then would give us an answer. We'll be meeting with him again tomorrow at Julian Klemm's. He's so ready, and I know that over the next two weeks the adversary will be working on hard on him. Your prayers in his behalf will help him immensely in that regard.
Amidst my trials this week, I've felt the strengthening power of my Saviors atonement and the love of my Heavenly Father more than ever. Just want to bear you all my testimony once again that Jesus lives. He IS the way, and is ALWAYS ready to help us. Remember that amidst the hustle and bustle of living in the modern world. Its the most important peace of knowledge there is in this world. Love you all!

Alles Gute,

-Andy

Life is good, and that the gospel will never fail us

January 18, 2010

Man, the time continues to hurry on. I've officially been on my mission a whole year! What an awakening! I'm starting to realize that my mission isn't going to last forever...that this precious time is unbelievably short...that I have a lot of work to do before its up. For the past couple of days I've been thinking a lot about what Elder Holland said in his talk last general conference, which was something along the lines of, "Before I leave this world I wanted it perfectly clear that I testified of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon." As the time winds down, I've been realizing that at the end of my mission I want to know that I testified to these people as much as possible that the Book of Mormon is true. Guess I just gotta keep on doing what the good Dr. Thompson prescribed..."Buy the ticket, take the ride!"
Pleased to report that the work here in Landshut is still on the up and up. We are busier than ever (that's a good thing, however tiring it may be) and if everything goes through this week we'll have so many appointments that we won't know what to do with ourselves!
Last week we were able to set a baptismal date with an old investigator! His name is Eckhart Hardtbauer. He's been an investigator for quite awhile but was never able to make consistent progress because he wouldn't give up drinking. Elder Hansen and Elder Hintz had dropped him not too long before I got here. A couple weeks ago, however, Herr Hardtbauer called up Bruder Reisinger and told him that he felt bad that we weren't coming to see him anymore and that he was too ashamed to come to church. Elder Hansen had actually been thinking about Herr Hardtbauer for the past week, and after the news of his cry for help from Bruder Reisinger, we both felt that it was time to give him another chance. We committed him to a baptismal date for the 4th of April, and to meet with us three times a week 'till then so we could help him resolve all of his problems in time, and he accepted. Its going to be a long and winding road to get Herr Hardtbauer to baptism, but if the Lord thinks he can do it (which he does) then I'm definitely on board.
Had a really great experience Monday evening. We had decided to do what we call a "Power Besuch" ("Power Visit"). What we do is choose an area to work in where a member family lives, stop by the family and pray with them, and return after we have worked in the area to report the success. Naturally, the success part depends on the faith of the members and our willingness to give our best. We decided to go by the Klemm family (they're always willing to help us out) and made an appointment out with a neighbor of theirs within ten minutes of working in the area. It was great to return and report to them that someone willing had been found because they had a faith and excitement for the missionary work. We also got a referral from them and were able to contact her and make out an appointment with her for this week. Through experiences like these, I've gained a huge testimony of the member missionary work on my mission. President Hinkley was definitely inspired when he said that the best way of doing missionary work is through the members. The excitement for the missionary work continues to slowly but surely grow in our ward in general, which is a huge weight off my shoulders and a wonderful thing to witness.
Our other investigators are doing pretty well. Monika doesn't have a baptismal date yet but we're getting there. We'll be meeting with Tomas tonight and have high hopes for him as well. Once again, your prayers in behalf of these people will be a big help, and thank you for all the prayers that you have already blessed them with.
I hope you all are happy and healthy. I hope that you all try to remember every day what I forgot sometimes before my mission...that life is good, and that the gospel will never fail us.

Love you all! Take care!

-Andy

"The Book of Mormon gives me this power"

After a rough first transfer here in Landshut, the blessings are finally coming. It’s been a great week of improvement, in many areas.
We're actually having lessons again, which is a really nice change, and some of our investigators are making great progress. Tomas, our investigator form Africa, met with us twice this week. To our surprise he had been reading regularly in the Book of Mormon. "It's great," he said. "It’s like the Bible, but it...it...it gives me this strength, ya know...this power." We told him we knew exactly what he was talking about. He had even on his own tried to get his girlfriend to read it. Unfortunately she wasn't too interested, but we'll worry more about that once we've got Tomas taken care of. Thursday night we had a great appointment with him at the Klemm's, an awesome young couple in our ward. He doesn't smoke, doesn't drink, but of all things seems to have a problem with prayer. We'll be working on that with him this week so he can recieve his own strong testimony of the restored gospel. Our goal is to set a baptismal date with him as soon as possible, so your prayers in his behalf would be much appreciated.
We'll also be trying to set a baptismal date with Monika Hein. Monika is an investigator who moved into our area from Passau. She lives with a less active member, Mario Friedrich. She had had a baptismal date beforehand but had to cancel it because she was living with Mario and was at the time unable to divorce her first husband. Last time we met with them she informed us that she is now legally divorced and that she and Mario are ready to marry. We committed them to set a date by our next appointment and will set a baptismal date with her once they have done that. I feel very blessed to have such an investigator fall into our hands and I look forward to the great progress we will make with Monika and Mario in the coming weeks.
Elder Hansen and I are working more in unity than ever before. We've come to understand each other through a few pretty big talks and have really made it over the hump as far as our companionship goes. I have tried to improve myself a little more to show him that he can trust me, and I think it's really paid off. The Lord is blessing us quite a bit for our efforts and will continue to do so if we keep doing our part.
Lastly I just want to thank you all for your prayers. They've been working and have been blessing the lives of the people of Landshut. I'll keep praying for you all here and am glad to hear that the Lord is answering my prayers in your behalf as well.

Alles Gute!

-Andy