Sister Tasha Singer

Ah. My heart is so full. It’s hard to believe that this is it. I’m coming home now. But before I get to that stuff, I’ll tell you about this week. On Tuesday I gave the Thema for our district meeting and I was supposed to tell about my mission and give any parting advice. I told of some of the miracle stories I have experienced, including Sandy. Such a huge miracle that she made it into the German Liahona magazine this month (the Ensign here) with a one page story about her conversion! I am so proud of her and how far she has come. I also talked about finding and sang them the “Ballard Song”. They loved it and they all wanted to learn it!

This week we set another baptismal date goal with our new friend, Ezekiel. We taught a first lesson about the Restoration and he really connected with Joseph Smith as one who is seeking for truth. Another random experience…we were on the bahn on our way to a district finding activity and I sat down next to this really small woman. She looked really unhealthy and was turning her hands around in circles. Everyone in the bahn was staring at her. I leaned over and asked, “Alles klar?” (Everything’s ok?) and she said, “No my apartment burned up 4 days ago, I haven’t had anything to eat, all my clothes are gone and I have no money. Could you buy me a drink at McDonald’s?” Of course! Until we got there I talked with her about the love of Heavenly Father and the healing sacrifice of Jesus Christ. She was touched and started to cry. We bought her a meal and let her call her son to tell him what had happened. We got kicked out of McDonald’s because they thought we were proselyting but it was still a really humbling experience. I gave her my scarf and yesterday we brought the Elders a bag full of clothes that have been left by sisters that served here to bring to her. We were both really grateful to have been given this opportunity to serve someone in a temporal way, as well as a spiritual way. I strengthens my testimony that the Lord is preparing people all the time to hear the gospel…we just have to open our mouth! We won’t know if the Lord has prepared them until we invite them.

I absolutely love my mission. I just love being a full time missionary for the Lord! There is nothing better. This has been on of the best decisions that I have made in my life and I am so glad I did. It’s a once in a lifetime thing to do something like this and I have been so extremely blessed, spiritually, mentally, temporally, and physically. I love having this special protection from the world and to be in His service. Even though it will be a big change for me I take comfort in the words from the hymn, “Be Still My Soul”, when it says,

Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change he faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as he has the past.

I have really come closer to my Savior Jesus Christ and my Heavenly Father. I am still learning so much but I have learned to trust in them like I never have before. This transfer I heard this song by Mindy Glenhill called, “All About Your Heart”. She is a Mormon singer/songwriter and this song was used in one of the Mormon Message videos. I have listened to it over and over again. I loved it so much that I decided to change the lyrics and express feelings of my own heart that I have seen in others as they learn and live the gospel, experienced myself with my own spiritual growth and felt through the tender mercies that He has given me. In my own version, I changed it to be a back and forth conversation between Heavenly Father and one of his daughters. So I’d like to share them with you…

Child:
From the start I’ve been your daughter
Wrapped up in your arms of love.
Longing to be like my Father,
Had to leave and learn myself.

My imagination sees me
Like a princess on your throne.
Long ago I left you there,
Help me keep your parting words,

Heavenly Father:
Oh, I’ve loved you from the start
In every single way
And more each passing day.
You, for you I’ve sent my Son.
Believe Him when He says,
“I can heal your scars,
its all about your heart.”

Child:
I recall this loving feeling
In despair and on my knees.
Angels wipe my tears away,
Whispering what you would say,

Heavenly Father:
Oh, I’ve loved you from the start
In every single way
And more each passing day.
You, for you I’ve sent my Son.
Believe Him when He says,
“I can heal your scars,
its all about your heart.”

Keep the faith, return to me,
with your family.
There would an empty seat,
if I could not have you.

Chorus repeat

On my mission I have found myself saying these same things over and over again to investigators, friends, members, companions, and to myself. And that’s what it’s all about. Your heart! Giving him your heart, feeling his love and following his guidance. And that’s what missionary work is all about…all of us returning to Him again. And it can only by done through Christ. He loves us so much that he has given us everything we need to have joy in this life and to make the journey back. He loves us so much that he has restored his church in this day with prophets and leaders holding his priesthood power, which binds us together with him and with our families.
Thank you so much for your love and support and your prayers especially as I make my journey back to real life.
Auf Wiedersehen!!!
Love, Sister Singer

So this week was another great one…in celebration of me being on a mission for 18 months, Sister Wakefield asked for permission for us to attend the Lion King (König der Löwen) musical here in Hamburg. President said yes! It was so cooooool! You take a ferry boat to the other side of the harbor where the theater is and the theater is right there on the water. It was so well done, the music was great, the costumes were incredible and it was especially fun to watch the whole thing in German. It was nice to experience something new and was totally worth it. Our other African experience of the week was meeting with Clemence, a new convert here in Langenhorn, from Africa. He has been on vacation there and just returned. We ate with him at another member’s home and he had us all sing “Hakuna Matata”, a real African song…not the one written by Elton John. He played the drums and had us dance around the room. It was fun and I am excited to have him help us reactivate some of the less active members in the ward.

On Thursday, Elder Causee from the Quorum of the Seventy came and spoke to us. It was so wonderful! We were combined with two other zones and again we were the only sisters there, but that’s ok. He talked a lot about bringing the focus back to just baptism and inviting everyone to baptism. Every investigator should know that the goal is baptism. Who are we to decide if they are ready and prepared or not? We often think that right after our baptism, we are perfect because our sins have been washed away. But being without sin does not mean being perfect. Perfection is a live-long (eternally-long) process that we learn line upon line, precept upon precept. Baptism is just the first step to show the Lord that you want to start this process. So Sister Wakefield have been inviting everyone we can to be baptized. I left the conference thinking, “Ah, I still have so much to learn!” But I guess that’s how life is.

This week we also started our own AA class for members that have issues with the Word of Wisdom. It was the Bishop’s idea of how we could support the ward and so we order the 12-step addict recovery book from the church and started! Normally on my mission I have taught English or German class so this will be something totally new. But instead of calling it an AA class, we call it our “Word of Wisdom class”. The program is very well set up and is focused more on using the Atonement and applying gospel principles than practical things. We have a few members that will take part and the first class went really well. Brother Diener, a member of the ward and stake high council, will help us since he’s taught the class in the past and he was great about being direct but loving at the same time.

Another highlight of the week was that the Schröder family from Cottbus came to visit me before I leave! They drove up on Saturday afternoon, we ate with them Saturday evening, stayed for church here in Langenhorn and then drove back Sunday afternoon. They have a brother here in the ward and when they first told me they would come visit I thought it was just another reason to come see their brother, but at church when people asked if they were visiting their brother they said, “No we’re here for Sister Singer before she goes home.” It really meant a lot that they would come to the other side of Germany just for me. They have become such great friends!

As far as investigators, this week was a little bit of a downer. Lots of fallen out appointments and flaky people. It’s hard to know when you should not give up on someone and when you should stop meeting with them. You really care so much about the people you teach and you want the best for them, but if they are not willing to change, you have to move on. There is no guideline or mission standard and the best thing and the only thing to do is to listen to the Spirit for guidance. Hakuna Matata, means no worries- we are just making room for somebody golden! This week we will be starting off with a clean slate will be “taking a break” from our “usuals”. We pray everyday for miracles.

Happy Birthday to Grandma Fran and Joshy!
Thank you for your support and prayers!
Love, Sister Singer

So my first week in Langenhorn was amazing! I thought it would be hard to start new again but this place and the people are easy to fall in love with. It is my first time on the “west side” it is a totally new experience. I am so used to talking with atheists that when I talk with people here and they tell me that they believe in God and belong to a church I want to pat them on the back and be happy for them. It’s refreshing to hear and this is giving me an opportunity to talk more often about the message of the Book of Mormon and the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Hamburg is so green and there are so many trees! It is so beautiful! There are brick houses and no DDR broken down apartment buildings. This is a whole other Germany for me. Not just the surroundings though, the people are great too. I have to say, this week I have met some of the most eccentric people I have ever met all in one city.
Here are the main characters of the week:

Juan- he is a less active from Chile who has been living in Germany for the past 40 years. He speaks English and German and is sooo hilarious. I could listen to him chat all day. He acts out every story he tells and is always super entertaining. When I met him the first time, I was laughing so hard I forgot I was on a mission. It’s like watching Nacho Libre but 10 times better. The Sisters have been using him as a joint teach for other investigators and it makes him feel important and needed and is helping him to be reactivated. I told him my brother was serving in Argentina and he got really excited. He loves the church and has a really strong testimony but has some word of wisdom problems too.

Ebbie- he is an invesigator from Persia. He is a piano teacher here in Germany and has also lived here a really long time. He says he’s Jewish but believes in Jesus Christ and says that Mormons are his favorite Christian religion. He has a lot of potential but can’t or won’t wake up early enough for church. He is bald and wears afro wigs sometimes for his piano performances. He let us try some of them on with him and he says I look like a Brazilian woman with my wig.

Schwester Nielson- she is a lonely grandma that has a lot of health problems which limits her participation in church meetings. She is a solid member and does member missionary work better than anyone else I know. She has given a Book of Mormon to every nurse or doctor she has and just loves the Book of Mormon. She wants to buy a new wallet to fit the pass-a-long cards. We had a sweet visit with her yesterday and as we were leaving she said, “Don’t forget the keys!” I turned around and said, “What keys?” “The keys to people’s hearts.” Super sweet woman.

Stephan- he is a German guy that just moved here. We talked to him on the street, made out an appointment with him on Friday and then met with him on Saturday. We gave him a Book of Mormon and he was really excited about it. He thinks that his sister might be Mormon. He agreed with everything we said. He didn’t come to church yesterday but we’ll see where that ones goes.

So I promise we don’t just play all the time. We worked really hard this week and saw so many miracles. We made out appointments with the first people we talked to- 3 days in a row. The first person! That never happens. I am really excited to work with Sister Wakefield too. She is from Pleasant Grove, Utah and is hilarious. We get along great and she reminds me a lot of Samantha Singer…who should also be going on her mission too.

Another great thing about this ward- we have an eating appointment every day this week. I feel like I’m in America. I have never experienced this before. I told Dad last week that I’ve lost 10 pounds since I came on my mission…maybe after this transfer that won’t be true anymore. I did notice that Elder Nate is looking a little thicker in his pictures.

It would be ideal to be working with more Germans and I think the ward would definitely be more excited about that but we are grateful to work with those who listen to the gospel. There is a desired blessing and then there is the given blessing. The desired blessing is what we hope and pray for and the given blessing is what you have to work with and what you can be grateful for. I already love these people and am excited to get to know them here and help them gain testimonies.

Love, Sister Singer

So my first week in Langenhorn was amazing! I thought it would be hard to start new again but this place and the people are easy to fall in love with. It is my first time on the “west side” it is a totally new experience. I am so used to talking with atheists that when I talk with people here and they tell me that they believe in God and belong to a church I want to pat them on the back and be happy for them. It’s refreshing to hear and this is giving me an opportunity to talk more often about the message of the Book of Mormon and the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Hamburg is so green and there are so many trees! It is so beautiful! There are brick houses and no DDR broken down apartment buildings. This is a whole other Germany for me. Not just the surroundings though, the people are great too. I have to say, this week I have met some of the most eccentric people I have ever met all in one city.  Here are the main characters of the week:  Juan- he is a less active from Chile who has been living in Germany for the past 40 years. He speaks English and German and is sooo hilarious. I could listen to him chat all day. He acts out every story he tells and is always super entertaining. When I met him the first time, I was laughing so hard I forgot I was on a mission. It’s like watching Nacho Libre but 10 times better. The Sisters have been using him as a joint teach for other investigators and it makes him feel important and needed and is helping him to be reactivated. I told him my brother was serving in Argentina and he got really excited. He loves the church and has a really strong testimony but has some word of wisdom problems too.   Ebbie- he is an invesigator from Persia. He is a piano teacher here in Germany and has also lived here a really long time. He says he’s Jewish but believes in Jesus Christ and says that Mormons are his favorite Christian religion. He has a lot of potential but can’t or won’t wake up early enough for church. He is bald and wears afro wigs sometimes for his piano performances. He let us try some of them on with him and he says I look like a Brazilian woman with my wig.   Schwester Nielson- she is a lonely grandma that has a lot of health problems which limits her participation in church meetings. She is a solid member and does member missionary work better than anyone else I know. She has given a Book of Mormon to every nurse or doctor she has and just loves the Book of Mormon. She wants to buy a new wallet to fit the pass-a-long cards. We had a sweet visit with her yesterday and as we were leaving she said, “Don’t forget the keys!” I turned around and said, “What keys?” “The keys to people’s hearts.” Super sweet woman.  Stephan- he is a German guy that just moved here. We talked to him on the street, made out an appointment with him on Friday and then met with him on Saturday. We gave him a Book of Mormon and he was really excited about it. He thinks that his sister might be Mormon. He agreed with everything we said. He didn’t come to church yesterday but we’ll see where that ones goes.   So I promise we don’t just play all the time. We worked really hard this week and saw so many miracles. We made out appointments with the first people we talked to- 3 days in a row. The first person! That never happens. I am really excited to work with Sister Wakefield too. She is from Pleasant Grove, Utah and is hilarious. We get along great and she reminds me a lot of Samantha Singer…who should also be going on her mission too.   Another great thing about this ward- we have an eating appointment every day this week. I feel like I’m in America. I have never experienced this before. I told Dad last week that I’ve lost 10 pounds since I came on my mission…maybe after this transfer that won’t be true anymore. I did notice that Elder Nate is looking a little thicker in his pictures.  It would be ideal to be working with more Germans and I think the ward would definitely be more excited about that but we are grateful to work with those who listen to the gospel. There is a desired blessing and then there is the given blessing. The desired blessing is what we hope and pray for and the given blessing is what you have to work with and what you can be grateful for. I already love these people and am excited to get to know them here and help them gain testimonies.   Love, Sister Singer

and I thought I was going to stay in Cottbus but I’m not…surprise! I got transfered to Hamburg! I’ll be serving in the Langenhorn ward. So for my last transfer I’ll be in Hamburg, Germany! Never thought I would make it this far west but now I am. Let me give you my new address before I forget…

Sister Singer
Kirche Jesu Christi
Gehlengraben 9a
22415 Hamburg

If you were thinking about ever writing while on my mission, today is the day to do it. If you don’t do it now, you will forget. Now is your chance!

So anyway, that was a shock. I really love the ward here in Cottbus and we have made so much progress and worked so hard here, it will be hard to leave but I am excited for the new adventure and Hamburg sounds beautiful from what everyone has told me. I think Aunt Jen served there on her mission too! The members and investigators were really sad too. It’s amazing to see just how much you are loved once you leave.

This week was a really great week in Cottbus, not too exciting but still good. We met with our African friends again and had a great discussion about the Book of Mormon. They were really excited to receive their own copies. Our appointment naturally ended with a jam session of dance and song of the Ballard Song and this time we did sing “I am a Child of God” so it was even better. I wish I had a picture or a video.

In our weekly planning, we were trying to think of way to involve Lara when we teach Christina so Sister Kitterman and I decided to make an epic Plan of Salvation. I’ll attach a picture. We cut out construction paper and glued it all together and hung it on a string. We had high hopes for the lesson but it lasted about 4 minutes, maybe 5. I felt like how a Sunbeam teacher migh feel- so much preparation and then the attention span runs out fast. It was super basic and fast but they seemed to really like it.

Marina and Bernd came to church yesterday and it is becoming a more regular thing for them now. Super exciting.

Well, I love you!
Love, Sister Singer

Congrats Josh on graduating High School! The pictures were great and I can’t believe how old the kids look. And Elder Nate should be not allowed to comment about only having 7 months left….I have 7 weeks left!! Eeek! I am the “oldest” Sister in the mission. The Elders in my district like to remind me of that. But really is a blessing to be serving as long as I have. This Saturday are transfer calls, so we’ll see what happens. Next week I will be starting my 13th transfer! Normally if a Sister spends 9 weeks in the MTC and does not extend, they have 11 transfers. I feel very blessed.

Before I give you the highlight of the week, I need to give you some background. One of our mission standards is to get 21 Ballard points every week (3 per day, for 7 days a week). Of the 3 points per day, you get one point if you talk to 10 extra people on the go, another point if your companion talks to 10 extra people and a third point if you make out an appointment with someone new. So our goal is to get 3 Ballard points every day. Among some of the Sisters, it is known that Sister Singer has a “Ballard Song”, which I picked up from Sister Nelsen back in my first transfer. After my companion and I get our third Ballard point for the day, then I sing the Ballard Song, which is a widely-known pop-christian song called “Our God is Awesome”. The words go something like this, “Our God is an awesome God, He reigns from heaven above, with wisdom power and love, our God is an awesome God!” Something you learn being raised in the Bible Belt of Texas. Ok so now you know about the Ballard song. So on Wednesday, Sister Kitterman and I were going by on a less active member and noticed this African guy with a big drum on his back. He had a friend that was Kurdish that also had a drum on his back. We were walking behind them but as we got closer, the African turned around and started talking in English with us. We talked with them for a bit about Christ and walked with them until they had change directions. We stopped and chatted some more and then out of no where, 3 more African women came out and greeted us. They all knew each other and are here in Germany seeking refuge. They are a small band of singers looking for sponsers. I asked them if they played and sang something for us that we would share a spiritual message about Jesus Christ with them. One of the girls said, “Well tell us one of your songs, we’ll sing one of your songs.” The first one that came to mind was “I am a Child of God” but you cant really sing that to a drum beat. So I suggested the Ballard Song, “Our God is Awesome”. They knew that one and they got really excited. I wish I got my camera out, but it was too much fun. Right then and there on the streets of Cottbus, Sister Kitterman and I danced and sang with 4 Africans and a Kurdish man to the Ballard Song. I could not stop laughing. It was so much fun. The Lord knew I wasn’t meant to serve in Africa…that would have been too much fun. We also sang, “He’s got the Whole World in His Hands”. Maybe this isn’t funny to you and it might be a location joke but I tried to explain it. But just so you get a little taste of Sister Singer. We have an appointment with them on Tuesday and they all want their own copy of the Book of Mormon so we’ll see how it goes.

Then on Thursday we had a ward party with the theme of family. It was mostly games and fun and eating but before that started we had a spiritual part and we, the Sisters, were assigned the topic, “Mission und Familie: Eine lange Zeit der Trennung” or “Mission and Family: A long time of separation”. What kind of topic is that to give a missionary? We thought it was mean, but it ended up being really great. We introduced our families with pictures and talked about the blessings of an eternal family. I printed off a blown up size of this past year’s Christmas card picture along with one of me and Elder Nate at the MTC. I also showed the one of Mom and Dad’s wedding from last year’s Richardson calender. I said how grateful I was that my parents were married in the temple so that we can be a family forever. Yeah sure it was hard to say goodbye and it’s hard to be away, but we left with the assurance that we will see each other again. Then I compared it to life. Can you imagine how hard that was to say goodbye to Heavenly Father as we were born on earth? Can you imagine how hard that must have been for Him without the assurance that all of us would return to live with Him? That’s the spirit of missionary work! Helping all of our brothers and sisters to make it back home after our “mission”. When you look at my whole life and even at eternity, 18 months is a small sacrifice what I can give to help others have an eternal family. I heard of a Grandma that had this printed on her gravestone: Families can be together forever, no empty seats.

On Friday I also did my fourth or fifth exchange in Dresden with Sister Calder, who went to High School with Sister Rasmussen. Super fun to play junior companion again! Church was great and Marina and Bernd came again! The gospel principles class went pretty well and we are making progress with Frau Kallies and the others. After the class I went up to her and gave her a copy of a story from a General Conference talk that I had read. After thinking long and hard about what could possibly help her, I kept coming back to this one talk by Elder Quentin L. Cook in the October 2008 conference. I didn’t even copy the whole talk, just the one story and when I gave it to her and she skimmed over it, she said, “This is the exact conference that my husband and I visited in Salt Lake and this is the exact talk that we have discussed over and over again.” Bah! Inspiration! What a cool feeling! She was touched and really grateful and said she would read it over again during the week and we’ll discuss it when they get back from vacation!

I love you!!!
Love, Sister Singer

This week was great! We got to go to the temple as a district and once again, it was wonderful to be in Freiberg again. While I was there, I met Aunt Sandy’s aunt and uncle! I was talking to some of the new American couples that I had never met before and I asked, “Do any of you know Sandy Singer?” And sure enough! What a small world. How fun to meet your aunt’s aunt in the temple in Freiberg!

After the temple we had to rush home back to Cottbus to make an appointment. I was sure that the appointment would go through and we ran from our train to the tram to be on time. We were punctual and then waited and waited. She didn’t come. So we thought, “Maybe something happened, we’ll wait for the next tram to come by.” We showed our faith by being there but she never came, so we got on the next tram to our next appointment. As we were waiting for the tram to leave, the driver came up to us and said, “Hey, so what are you? I see you all over the place.” Sister Kitterman was on the phone with a member and I got to explain that we were representatives of the church and that we help people get to know God. He said he had a lot of questions and wanted to know if we had a website! Ah key phrase! I was stoked to tell about the new website! He was really busy this week but he said would call us. I felt like Elder Calhoon on the movie The Best Two Years when he tells of this great contact and then says, “And the best part was that he said he would call us!” Instead of naive, I see it has having lots of faith and it’s always cool for someone to approach us. So we’ll see what comes of Phillip the tram driver.

We met with Frau Baruck this week and in a loving but direct way we wanted to say, “What is keeping you from getting baptized?” We were suspicious that there were other icebergs but we caught her in a good mood and she just wants her husband to have a good opinion of the church. I dont think she’s asked him if she could get baptized but she just wants him to have more understanding for the church. He has cut down quite a bit on the alcohol and is very friendly with us. Her plan is to invite some members over for lunch once their living room is done and use that as an opportunity for her husband to get to know other members. He won’t come to church or any activities so she is confident that that is the solution. We keep praying with her!

We also have a few new people that I’m really excited about. We just started meeting with this German couple, Bernd and Marianne. They are really open and don’t consider themselves to be “typical German”. They are both teachers and she teaches Kindergarten. They are somewhat religious and pray regularly and mostly just interested. We hit it right off with them and they already want to take us to museums, concerts and bike tours. We’ll see about that, but it was a positive sign. And they both came to church yesterday! They just came to sacrament meeting and as they walked in, our Relief Society President turns around and they both looked at each other as to say, “Hey what are you doing here?” Apparently they are distant cousins! What a great surprise!

Our other new guy is named Achim. He is a Rolling Stones fan and has visited every Rolling Stones concert there ever was in Germany. He knows every song by the first strum of the guitar and says that Rolling Stones is his god…and is probably where all of his money has gone too as well. We talked with him on the street and he said, “If there’s food, then I’ll come.” A member unloaded a bunch of food cans on us last week so we agreed. As a Sister, you have to be careful about who you are charitable to (unfortunately), but we felt good about him. We met with him yesterday and made him soup and he was very grateful. We talked about God and he said he’d love to learn, but that nobody can force him.

Our Gospel Principles class keeps getting better. This week Bishop taught the class this week and did a great job preparing. He shared personal stories about how the Atonement has had a powerful influence in his life. There really is no good answer to the question, “Why does God let these things happen?” But with time we can understand that God lets us make good decisions. We don’t understand all of his purposes and we don’t know what He knows, but we can take comfort in the fact that He loves us and wants the best for us. Bishop focused a lot on peace. He promised Frau Kallies peace through the Atonement. By the end she said, “Yeah, I want that.” It was a great little step in the right direction.

Thanks for your prayers and your love! Love, Sister Singer

Thank you for all of your wonderful emails. I love hearing from you. So this weekend we got permission to accompany the sisters of our ward on a Relief Society temple trip. Yay! Back to Freiberg! We got permission because we got to bring our investigator, Frau Baruck, with us. While the members did a session in the temple, we took Frau Baruck and gave her a “temple tour” of the info center in Freiberg and prepared a little program for her. We sang the primary song, “Ich freue mich auf den Tempel” and then had a “pondering time” when we played music and wrote down spiritual goals that we have. We did all of this in the baptismal room right next to the font to see if that would help influence the spiritual goals part. She got emotional and was really grateful that we had prepared that all for her. She didn’t quite come out and say, “Yes, I want to get baptized asap!” but she felt the Spirit really strongly. There are still some remaining icebergs and we are slowly chipping away at them. There seems to be something else in the way that just getting permission from her husband. One of the member’s daughters, Kimmy came with us too. She’s 11 and can’t go in the temple but wanted to stay with us while her mom did a session. She is so excited to be in the Young Womens program and really looks up to us as sister missionaries. She did the “pondering time” with us too and said she wants to go on a mission!

After the temple we came back and did doors. We got let in by this 59 year old man named Herr Becker who lost his wife and son in a car accident over 20 years ago. He has turned to alcohol to help numb the pain but we was really friendly (besides being somewhat drunk) and agreed to come to church. We weren’t sure if he was serious so we invited him, called him again Sunday morning to remind him and picked him up. He smelled a little bit like alcohol but behaved himself very well. The members were great with him and even a few of them recognized him as a friend from high school. He came to the first and second hours, but then ran out to the tram before we could talk with him afterwards. Maybe it was too much for a first time, but it was great that he came! Especially since we just met him the day before.

Christina and Lara weren’t able to come this week to church but we had a great appointment with them during the week. We brought Sissy with us (a member) and she was an awesome joint teach. Members are so wonderful and it was probably the best, most focused lesson we have had with them yet.

We also had zone conference on Friday and it was in Leipzig! It was so fun to go back there after having been gone for so long. Ah my first city. The church building still smells the same. The members that prepared lunch for us remembered me and were also excited to see me. Probably the coolest part was as I was walking to the bathroom, I walked by the bulletin board and saw a wedding announcement from Oliver Maslow! My very first appointment on a mission was with him. At the time he was recently baptized and we had helped him to learn to love reading the Book of Mormon and read it together with him. And now he met an American member and is getting married in the Boston temple in July! I was really excited to see that!

Yesterday church was great. Sister Kitterman and I both spoke in sacrament meeting, but that’s not why it was so great. I had one of those “Mom-was-so-right” moments. You have a lot of them on your mission. I should have started a list at the beginning. In Relief Society, the lesson was on protecting our children from the evils of the world, specifically pornography and avoiding moral decay. I thought back to something that Mom said to me that I can’t forget. We had just seen the movie August Rush. I loved it and I thought the music was so great and inspiring. I asked Mom if she liked it just as much as I did and she said, “Yeah it was ok. I didn’t like that the whole premise was about an couple having a child out of wedlock though.” I remember thinking, “Oh come on Mom, it’s rated PG. That’s not the point, you missed the best part of the movie- the music!” Mom is so right. Seriously what do we tolerate and what do we just look past? As the sisters in RS were making different comments it became more clear to me that as members of the church and disciples of Christ we have to do more that just avoid evil. We have to do more that just click away or turn off the TV. It’s opening your mouth! Being proactive! Standing up for what is true and good! I feel so privileged as a missionary with a name tag to be a living and walking billboard for what is wholesome and good in this world. Recently as we were riding the tram home one night, we noticed that we were the only ones on the tram without a beer bottle in hand. Sad, but true. We as disciples of Christ are the warriors of truth and light! How blessed are we!

Before this gets too long I do want to mention that the Gospel Principles class went well this week again. We talked about our divine identity as children of God, our Heavenly Father and about how we are here on earth to learn and gain experience. I think I mentioned something about her before, but one of the members of our class who is not a member is really struggling to find answers. As a young child she was sexually abused and cannot understand that as a child what can one possibly learn from such an experience? Where is the gain? She had no agency then. Yeah maybe it has made me a strong person today, but maybe I’ve become too hard and now I can’t trust people. For someone that has been atheist their whole lives, this is a really hard thing to explain in terms that they can understand. Even for me, I can’t understand how the Atonement works. No one can! But I know it works, but that’s because I trust Christ! It is a huge burden she has been carrying her whole life and still brings lots of tears to her eyes. We discuss the Atonement and she’s made some progress from last week but it is still hard to explain to someone that doesn’t trust God. In preparation, I have read over 20 different conference talks this week but still feel like I can’t find the right words. Situations like this just pulls at my heart strings. You want nothing more than for them to understand the gospel and to feel the healing and loving power of the Atonement. Please pray that Sister Kitterman and I will find the words to help Frau Kallies understand the Atonement and the love that Heavenly Father has for her. I will be essential for her conversion. Thank you!

Ich habe Euch lieb! Love, Sister Singer