Sister Tasha Singer

This week was amazing! And before I forget…Happy Birthday Elder Singer!!! I hope you have a wonderful day! This transfer we will be having Zone Conference on my birthday, so that should be fun. Back to Dream Week…

Sister Singer and Käthe Singer Wöhe

Sister Singer standing near the plaque where President Monson dedicated East Germany

Sister Singer at the dedication site in Dresden

Käthe's temple sealing certificate in the Freiberg temple

the pictures Käthe found from her visit in Hyde Utah with Grandma and Grandpa Singer

Sister Scruggs, Sister Forsyth and Sister Singer in Dresden

The Frauenkirche in Dresden (Elbe River in the foreground)

Sister's Singer and Rasmussen at the Golden Conference

On Tuesday I dropped Sister Jensen off in Leipzig and then headed to Dresden to be in a threesome with Sister Scruggs and Sister Forsyth. It was sooo much fun to be in Dresden! On Tuesday we went to the dedicate ourselves for the beginning of a new transfer and we went to the place where President Monson dedicated East Germany. This was a dream of mine to be able to go to this place and it would have only been possible if I was serving in Dresden. I took a lot of pictures and it was soo cool to be at that sacred place where an apostle of the Lord dedicated this land and prophesied of the coming of the Freiberg temple. I take notes in my copy of ”Faith Rewarded” and make notes of every place I visit and person I meet that is mentioned in that book.

Then on Wednesday we VISITED A SINGER FAMILY MEMBER! Grandma Mildred had written the address in an email and I wrote it down hoping to one day go and visit her. Her name is Käthe Singer Wöhe and I think she is Grandpa Harald’s cousin?? I’m not sure how we are related and she didnt know either, so if someone could tell me, that would be great. We found the address and then I rang the doorbell. On the speaker she said, ”Who is it?” and I said, ”Hello, my name is Tasha Singer and I am Harald Singer’s granddaughter and I would like to meet you.” She responded, ”Well, it’s not really convenient, but I’ll let you come up.” I just laughed. We went up and she welcomed us in. She felt bad that she couldn’t serve us any food, but I told her we weren’t expecting anything. We just wanted to meet her. I gave her a picture from the Singer Family reunion with pictures of Grandpa, Grandpa and Aunt Heidi with the rest of the family. Then she got really excited and insisted on digging out a picture of her visit to Utah of her with Grandma and Grandpa. She went and brought out a ladder to reach the shelves and started searching for this album. After some time, she finally found the picture of her at the Singer home in Hyde Park. She would say over and over again, ”Harald and his wife please me very very much. I took an automatic liking to them.” She only had good things to say and was so grateful for their hospitality when she came to visit. She also told me of her love for the temple and the memories she had being sealed to her husband in the Freiberg temple. She is 85 years old and because of her health she is not able to attend church as much as she would like to, but tries to when she can. By the end of our visit she was soo happy that I had come to visit her. We sang the song, ”Families Can Be Together Forever” for her and she loved it. She said a really sweet prayer for us as we left and it went something like this: ”Thank you so much, that one of my family members would seek me out. This is an experience that one seldomly lives and I am so grateful for our time together. Please bless me that I will be able to write Harald and his wife a letter at Christmas time.” It was really special and my eyes teared up as I heard this prayer. What a special experience! I told her we would keep in touch and send her more pictures of our family.

Then on Thursday I took a train up to Berlin to pick up my new Golden. We had a great trainers conference and it was fun to see so many missionaries, especially the Sisters. There were 22 new missionaries and 22 trainers so it was a big party. When we find out who will be training who, the Golden is called up to the front and they read a letter that says what area they will serve in. I sat next to one of the Goldens at lunch and in my mind I said, ”I hope she’s mine.” We hit it off and sure enough…Sister Rasmussen was called to serve with me in Freiberg. She is from Sandy, Utah and is super sweet. She is so much fun and we already have a great time together. She makes me laugh and is just what I needed.

Yesterday we had a great discussion about service and wonderful meetings at church about missionary work. Here is what I have taken from it… We often hear the story of the Good Samaritan but this time I heard it in relation to missionary work. As members of the church we are the wealthy Samaritan and our friends and family without the gospel are the man lying on the street dying. We have a knowledge that can save others lives, but how often do we just walk by and not take the opportunity to help. Be the Good Samaritan and take every opportunity to nourish others with the knowledge of the gospel! Don’t see the opportunity to help or serve and walk by and let it pass. Christ is the ultimate example of service and regardless of what people or culture, He served others. Service is a universal language. I know that through Jesus Christ I can return to live with God, my Heavenly Father. There is no unique pain or unknown suffering that has not already been suffered before by our Lord and Savior. This comfort and absolute healing is only possible through Him. It is a honor to wear His name on a name tag every single day.

I love you all!
Love, Sister Singer

Sandy and Bischof

Sandy on the day of her Baptism

Sister Jensen, me, Sandy Schötz, Bischof Reichelt

Freiberg District

I love the temple!

This week was incredible! Everyday we met with Sandy to prepare for her baptism. This whole process with her has gone relatively fast, extremely fast for Germany! On Monday we had FHE with Becky and Manuel. For the activity, their one year old son James picked out an alphabet letter and we had to come up with a gospel term that started with that letter. Sandy got the letter ”W” and said, ”W is for the Word of Wisdom. In 1833, Joseph Smith received revelation for this health code called the Word of Wisdom.” We all looked at her in amazement. Then she pulled out a notebook of the notes she had taken from the lessons we gave and what she had read online. Incredible!

On Tuesday I went on an exchange to Dresden! That was super fun and very much needed! I loved being in that city and it has a special meaning for me as it is the place where Grandpa Harald was born. On Wednesday with met with Sandy at her place and invited a member with us. We reviewed the 10 commandments and focused on ‘Honor thy Father and Mother’. She had a hard childhood and left her home at age 11 to live at a kid care center, kind of like an orphanage. Her parents were abusive and alcoholics and she has no respect for them, so this commandment was a hard one for her to feel good about. The member that we brought, Schwester Teubner, had the same exact experiences and was able to relate perfectly. She told of her childhood and that once it was life threatening. She shared her testimony of the gospel of how the Atonement can heal those wounds. She said that by living the gospel you honor your Heavenly Parents and that is most important. She still has struggles with flashbacks of her childhood and the lasting effects it has had on her, but she is now to the point where she can be grateful to them- because of the way they treated her, she is a stronger person for it. The Spirit was really strong and I got goose bumps in hearing how closely their stories related. Bringing her to that appointment was inspired!

Then on Thursday we took Sandy to eat with us at our weekly appointment with Schwester Schönherr. She was so lovely to Sandy. Schwester Schönherr and her husband were never able to have kids, so all three of their kids are adopted. Because they worked so closely with the adoption agency, Sandy and Schwester Schönherr knew the same people from the orphanage. They made a great connection! Afterwards, Sandy had her baptisimal interview with our zone leader. She was really nervous, but did great from what I heard. She came out and was so happy!

On Friday we met with the Bishop and picked out a white dress for her. We practiced how it would all go and went through the program so she would know what to expect. We asked the Bishop what else we needed to do, set up chairs, etc. and he said, ”You are ladies and will do no such thing.” Normally the missionaries are assigned to be in charge of everything, but the Bishop has been so wonderful in taking initiative.

Saturday morning, Sandy’s baptism!! I spoke about baptism and then Manuel spoke about the Holy Ghost. Sandy was baptized and it was such a great day! The Relief Society brought a treat and there was a great turn out of members to support her. To see the light in her eyes and to want the blessings of this gospel is a fabulous feeling. Simply joy, as Grandma Fran said. These are the moments that brings last happiness. I describe it to people on the street like this…its not like when Germany wins a soccer game. That happiness comes and goes and is just on the surface. Lasting happiness stays and is a deeper emotion…joy! In the evening our other appointments fell out so we decided to go by on Sandy to talk about how she felt. She was watching ‘The Testaments’ that someone had given her. She was just so happy and wanted to write President Monson a letter. She told us his birthday is next week, so we’ll write a letter with her this week that she can send.

Sunday was eventful as well! It was a speical celebration sacrament meeting for 25 years of the Freiberg ward in connection with the temple being dedicated. Sandy received the Gift of the Holy Ghost and said she felt a warm feeling in her heart afterwards. At the speical meeting, the honored guests were the former members of Freiberg’s first temple presidency, Henry Burkhardt, Gottfreid Richter and Günther Schulze, plus current temple president, President Frank Apel and the Freiberg mayor. We sat on the front row and it was glorious to hear them recount their experiences of the DDR times and the work that they did to preserve the church in Germany at that time and to prepare for the temple being built. They also talked of the work they did with President Monson. They are all very old and fragile men now and it will probably be the last time they all meet together and share those experiences publicly. Each one of the talked about the extreme gratitude they have for God and his influence in guiding them and their lives. It was such a privledge to be present and to be a part of history. We often talk about our pioneer ancestors who crossed the plains, but these men are truly pioneers and of more recent history! I could not have been happier to be there that day.

Thank you so much for yours prayers for Sandy! I told her my family is praying for her and she got this sheepish/shy grin on her face. Thank you! I feel extremely blessed to serve here in Freiberg and to have witnessed these experiences this week! I love you all!

Love, Sister Singer

...the field is white already to harvest....

Sisters Singer & Schwartz, Sister and President Frank Apel (current temple president...read about him in Faith Rewarded)

Sisters Geurts and Singer on an exchange

Schwester Schönherr, my favorite member here in Freiberg, if you’re allowed to have favorites. She is an Apel daughter and has been my saving grace here in Freiberg. I called you from her home on Mothers day. She makes lunch for us every week!!!

in mission lingo that means IM TRAINING! BAHHHH! We had transfer calls this past Saturday and with the combination of the Hamburg and Berlin missions we now do them as a conference call. We call into the office in Berlin and they mute us all so we cant hear the reactions. I was the very last to be announced and President said, ”Now for Freiberg, city of the temple….Sister Singer will now be senior companion and will be training a golden!” I was so shocked and very humbled, as I am one of the younger sisters in the mission. Just as a reminder, we call new missionaries, ‘goldens’. Tomorrow I will be accompanying Sister Schwartz to Berlin as she finishes her mission and will stay in Berlin until I pick up my golden on Thursday. For the time I stay in Berlin, I will be with the Tiergarten Sisters, one of which is Sister Bangerter. I feel it is a real tender mercy that I can have time with her for a day and a half so that she can empty her brain out into mine. I am excited for the opportunity and feel it is a real privledge to train another missionary. Although I dont feel qualified yet, I know that the Lord qualifies who he calls and that the Lord will replace my inadequacies with strengths. Love and support is welcome!
This week we was Ukrainian week at the temple so we had the chance to meet with lots of Ukrainian members. While they were here we met one member that is the ward mission leader in his branch. His English is poor and our Russian is nonexistent so we used body language. They were having a sacrament/testimony meeting during the week and invited us to come. Passing the sacrament also has the same body language for ironing clothes so it took awhile, but we figured it out! I had the impression to call Nicko, who was a previous investigator we had worked with from Russia. We called him up that day and he came to the sacrament meeting in Russian. He loved it and he said he felt like he was back in Russia. After the meeting the members flocked to him and surrounded him. They all introduced themselves and made him feel very welcome. We talked with him about it and I have no doubt that he felt the Spirit strongly. But in the end, he denied it and still made the decision to reject the gospel. I am learning that even though as a missionary you can do everything you can, create a really spiritual experience, pray and fast for the people to accept the gospel, but in the end, they have their agency to choose.
Happy Birthday Josh!! I hope you have a wonderful birthday! And also Happy Birthday to Grandma Fran…cards are on the way and in the mail. I love seeing the pictures you send, thank you! Sorry its shorter today, lots to do!
Love, Sister Singer