Transfers, Fish, and Men without Pants...

Meine Familie,

 

So this week has been crazy.

 

Like Dallin, we had transfers this week too.

 

Saturday morning Sister Thornton and I were sitting at our desks pretending to study, staring at the phone waiting for our call. It was so nerve-racking. We are expecting 17 new sisters in this next transfer and so we had been told a lot of the sisters from my transfer would be training. That made me super nervous. Then Elder Fullmer called to tell us that we were still together and we were both in Dahlem!

 

When we finally stopped screaming and dancing around the apartment, he told us the rest.

 

We couldn't just expect that to be the end of the news. Nope. That would have been way too unadventurous.

 

So we are, as of this Tuesday, a quad with two other sisters. Not a drit, a quad. Was ist das???

 

Like he said, Sister Thornton and I are staying together in Dahlem. We just are going to be joined by two more sisters. One of them was in the MTC with me and I don't know the other one. She is a German sister here who has been waiting for her visa to go to her mission in Arizona. She finally got it and leaves in 3-ish weeks. After she leaves then the three of us will be a drit for the remainder of the transfer. Then we get to go through all the fun anxiety of a transfer call all over again!

So that is the status after the transfer call.

 

So our investigator Helga "tschüssed" us this week. (Tschuss is the informal goodbye in German) It was sad for me. I know that in that first lesson she felt the Spirit and had interest. I'm not really sure what happened there but at least I don't feel disappointed in us. We taught and testified and invited. That's all we can do!

So one of the elders we serve with had a birthday but didn't tell any of us. Not even his companion knew until President called to wish him a happy birthday. We felt bad so we all met up as a district for lunch one afternoon. We let him pick the place because he was the birthday boy and all.

 

Sushi.

 

He picked sushi. I am a fish lover but I usually like it cooked. It was fine. We all ordered a bunch of different ones and then just shared. My favorite had avocado in the middle. It was a strange combo but I liked it a lot. Plus no one threw up so that was a bonus!

 

The next time was in an eating appointment. The husband went back to get us some water and comes back with plates of food. His wife makes homemade bagels and they are delicious. He had made us bagel sandwiches with some cheese and raw fish. Big fat thick huge slabs of raw fish. That was raw fish meal number two.

 

The other day we were finding and we got klingeled into a building. Went in and knocked on the door. It was a really dark hallway and the man opened up the door just a bit and then peeked his head around while he hovered behind the door. We gave our door approach and then he told us "Oh I don't have time for that. I am about to shower." Then to prove his intent to bathe to us, he stepped out from behind the door.

 

He was NOT wearing any clothes.

 

We gave him a card while awkwardly looking up at the ceiling and then we fled. We did sure not see that one coming! I tell you, finding is always an adventure!!

 

We had an eating appointment this week with that nearly put me in a food coma. It was an enormous multiple course meal. We had salad, soup, bread, meat and potatoes and sauerkraut, a cheese and fruit tray, and berries and cream. It was intense! This member owns a restaurant and is an amazing cook so it was all delicious, there was just SO much food.

 

The elders taught us this trick they call the sumo roll. It is this really silly looking almost dance move that you can do while sitting to help "compact your food so you can eat more". It makes you look really dumb and I don't think there is any way that it could physically even make a difference with your digestion, but we did it. If nothing else it was just a mental thing. So a few sumo rolls later and we were back to eating!

 

So here's scripture thought with Sister Brown time:

 

"This is the day which the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it."

-Psalms 118:24

 

This was my scripture this week. I am so blessed to be able to be a missionary right now. It is a little miracle to me that I am here on a mission. I never really saw myself serving one and it wasn't even a choice until last October. I just like waking up every day and being able to think of what a blessing the day is. I am here in Berlin serving the Lord. That is amazing and definitely worth rejoicing and gladness!

 

So that is the end for this week.

 

Bis Montag!

Love,

Sister Brown

 

We got to play sunshine fairy this week and took around flowers

and cake to members who we had been meeting with. 

 

Woche 6

Familie,

This week has been another one full of finding. I feel like that is all I ever talk about but we do a lot of it and sometimes the stories are just too good not to share. There sure is never a dull moment when we play the finding game!!
 

We had a lot of the typical finding where people flee and say 'I don't have a need for that.' Or my current favorite 'I don't speak English.'

 

Did you not hear me gagging on my own tongue??

That was most definitely NOT English!

 

I also talked to a man who yelled at us about how God was nonsense and only stupid people would believe in Him. We get a lot of funny and crazy conversations from finding. However, I picked to talk to him because he looked safe. He was kicking around a soccer ball with his son in the park. I hadn't seen that one coming. You never know!

 

 We did have some good experiences finding this week too!

 

 

We had district finding in Lankwitz this week. We set some goals before. Every companionship was supposed to pass out 15 of the big Book of Mormon pass along cards and 1 Book of Mormon and then our usual little Mormon.org cards too. I will be honest and say I wasn't super convinced we would make it. It may not sound like a lot to do, but sometimes we can't even get people to stop and talk to us so finding people to have enough interest to take cards and a book seemed daunting.

 

It would be safe to say I was lacking some serious glaube.

 

We got started and it was pretty slow. I was thinking we would be good to get 5 cards out. Then we prayed and things started to pick up. We continued to find and not only met our goals but we passed them. We ended up placing 2 books and passed out 17 big cards and some small ones. We got some names and numbers too. It was incredible. The best part was that when we all came back together to share, everyone had the same experience. We had all given out books, cards, and made out appointments. It was crazy how much success we could see in one small area in just an hour of finding.

 

 

On a completely unnecessary side note: one of the men we gave a Book of Mormon to was wearing a cowboy hat. That was the first time I have seen one here. So yes, we are converting the German cowboys!

 

 

We have been visiting lots of members this week as well. We go by lots of less actives or just older members who have a hard time making it to church. It has been so great to meet these people. We usually go and just listen. They will bring out pictures and tell us stories. The older members have lived through the war and the wall and have amazing stories of the church through all of that. It is so interesting to hear. I also made a new friend this week during one of these visits. Her name is Madie R*** and she is 5 years old. She calls me Sister Brownie!

 

 

We also had another English class this week. We were teaching how to show possession. One of the ways we showed was with 'of'. For example those are the shoes of the man. Anyways we taught all the ways to show possession and then asked for examples of each one. Steven had the 'of' way and his sentence was ''I am a child of..."  At this point all the missionaries in the room are holding their breath. He finished the sentence with 'my parents' so it was a little bit anticlimactic but still a grammatically correct sentence. We all thought he was going to say 'I am a child of God.' That would have been awesome and a great teaching moment. One day, Steven...One day!

We ran a race this week. Yes we did!

 

About a week ago the Zone Leaders called to see if we wanted to run. We thought they were kidding, but they weren't. I don't know how they got President to agree to it but he did and even let us count it as our weekly service. I have no idea how that went down! It was so fun though.

 

We ran through a park in Tiergarten. It was 7K so just over 4 miles. We got a free race T shirt and they also made us missionary shirts. That was the best part of course.

 

We all know I only run for the shirts!

 

It was so fun to be at a race again. There were a bunch of different distances so we got to watch other races before ours. The numbers had names printed on them and it was so fun to cheer everyone on as they finished. We didn't complete the whole experience though because we decided to opt out of the drinking parties at the finish line :)

 

 Nothing pumps you up for a race like a weird dog cow thing in a belly shirt!

 

photo from Germany Berlin Mission 2012-2015 blog

photo from Germany Berlin Mission 2012-2015 blog

 

I feel like I need to share something kind of uplifting after all of the random stories from my week.  

 

So here's a shot at that:

D&C 64:33

'Be not weary in well doing for ye are laying the foundation for a great work and out of small things proceedeth that which is great.'

 

That was our scripture for the week. It was just good to remember that our efforts do matter. We may not see success right away and it might feel like we aren't making a difference but we are laying a foundation for something amazing.

 

The gospel is going to be spread all over German! How exciting is that!?!??

 

I am so thankful for the tiny role I get to play in it.

Hope everything is going great! Thanks for all the love and prayers.

Have an amazing day!

Love,

Sister Brown

Klingeling

 A fort we found in the forest

Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral)

 

 

Ampel Man and Checkpoint Charlie

Hallo meine familie,

 

I went on my first Tausch (split) this week with Sister Curtis.

 

I spent the day in Neukölln.

 

One of their new members had her sweet 16 and we got invited to the party. We didn't have a lot of prep time so we just threw together some no-bake cookies. We had to explain to the other party guests that they really were edible cookies. Some thought it was cat food and others thought it was dog poo.

 

After that drama the girls turned on some music to dance to. The party mix included some Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, and F.U.N. The other missionaries I was with have been out too long to know the songs. I was happy I could add my voice as we all sang Call Me Maybe! It was a fun party with delicious food. I think Maia had a wonderful sweet 16.

 

So, the finding adventures continue.

 

We had a trend going this week of people talking to us through the door. It is a super odd thing to talk to someone through their door. We have to bend down really close and speak really loud. Plus it is awkward to think that their faces are also so close on the other side.

 

It is just an extremely awkward situation that I wish could be avoided.

 

I don't quite understand why they don't just open it up and talk to us.

 

We did have some conversations that went better and even gave out a Book of Mormon on the street.

Then, on Sunday we were meeting members of the ward.

 

We were talking with Schwester Coleman and then a lady walked out of the bathroom and talked to us for a minute and then walked out. She just asked if there was a picnic after our meeting. There wasn't. We didn't really think anything of it.

 

Then the Elders run over and ask what went on. We told them and they freaked out and told us she wasn't a member. We obviously don't know the ward well enough at all!

 

Sister Thornton and I both just stood up and ran out. We seriously chased her down the street. We weren't even sure it was her and had no idea what to say but that didn't stop us.

 

It turns out she lives really close to the building and was just checking out what was going on. We invited her to come back next week and got to know her a bit. When we went back to the church the Elders were all shocked we had ran after her.

 

We need to find, Elders.

 

We do what it takes!

 

 Plus after the rug and bunny cookies weird looks mean nothing ;)

 

 

As a mission we have been memorizing Auserwählt zu Dienen (Called to Serve). The words have been in my head a lot lately. They have been super helpful and uplifting to think about when we are finding or just have a long day. God really is our strength. He is there and helps us every tiny step of our crazy days here in Dahlem. So "weiter immer weiter!"

 

Hmmm. What else can I share??

 

So Sister Thornton and I have been eating chocolate. Ok that is an understatement. Since being here in Germany, I have consumed an obscene amount of chocolate. It might be possible that I have consumed more chocolate in the past few weeks than I have in my whole previous life... So yeah a lot of chocolate.

 

Anyways we went to the Ritter Sport store where there are walls and walls of chocolate.

 

 

They also have a little bar where you can make your own chocolate bars.

 

We sure did! It was so much fun. They just came out with all their summer flavors so we happily sampled berry and coconut chocolates. German chocolates will be the death of me!

That is pretty much all for this week!

 

Can't wait to hear all the updates next Monday.

 

Have a great week!!!!!

Love,

Sister Brown

Berlin South Zone

 

We got pizza after zone training. It was a meter in diameter. We ate two. I seriously thought I would explode.

This is the little sign on the crosswalks here when you can cross. There is a little walking green one for "go" and a little stopped red one for "stop". He is called the Ampel Man (ampelmann) and I love him. 

Berlin Wall

 

Checkpoint Charlie

 

Catching the Missionary Wave!

 

 

Meine Familie!!!

 

I feel like I haven't written in ages.

 

It was so fun to open up my email and find all your sweet messages. So much has happened.

 

I just can't wait to tell you all.

 

So Easter came and went. It was snowing like a blizzard and unbelievably cold but we still celebrated the springtime holiday.

 

 

 

We had a wonderful sacrament meeting.

 

We got recruited to sing in the ward choir too. They take it pretty seriously in this ward. We weren't just settling for your average hymn out of the green book. We were singing serious choral arrangements of Bach and Handel pieces in German. It was hard core. The Elders kept getting yelled at for singing too loud and throwing off the balance. Sister Thornton and I just prayed to get the German pronunciation right and just opened our mouths and faked all the high notes.

 

It was glorious!

 

Our ward members are so loving and generous too. We walked out of church with bags of chocolate and treats. It looked like we had just been grocery shopping.

 

We had an eating appointment with a family and we did a little activity with Scriptures about Christ's life in little plastic eggs. It went really well and the food, of course, was delicious. I wasn't sure how that particular eating appointment would go because two minutes after walking in the door the daughter came up and put her pet mouse in my hand. I was so stunned. I just kind of stood there with the mouse running around my palms. It was white with red eyes too so I was utterly freaked out. I just looked at Sister Thornton but she wasn't about to hold it. Luckily the appoitnment went up from there!

So the Easter festivities continued onto Monday as well. We got invited to a Brunch at a member's restaurant.

 

It was so fancy.

 

He sat us down at a table and let us order whatever we wanted. We seriously ate and ate and ate. They just kept bringing out more courses and more menus. It was all super delicious and I have honestly never felt so full. Thanksgiving doesn't even come close!

We also were invited to a little service project. We were told we would be helping make Easter cookies to take around to less actives. We were super excited and thought it sounded super fun. Our understanding of cookie decorating was frosting a couple egg shaped cookies and throwing sprinkles on top.

 

That wasn't really how it went.

 

Schwester Schultz helped us mix the batter and then poured it into big sheet pans and baked the cookie sheets. Then when they came out she cut them into little rectangles. She handed them to us with a knife and asked us to cut out bunny shapes.

 

What?!?! Sister Thornton and I are the most artistically ungifted pair on this planet. We didn't really have a choice though and she just was rapidly giving us more instructions in German. So we just went for it. We started carving bunny after bunny out of cookie sheets. They turned out alright. The really ugly ones we gave to the Elders to eat. We got some awesome looks when we took a box full of awkward looking bunny cookies on the bahns but it wasn't as good as the rug...

 

 

 

This weekend was conference. AHH! It was so great. The time change makes things kind of funny and we haven't had an opportunity to watch the Sunday night session yet. When the speakers would talk about the beautiful morning we we were looking out and seeing dark night time sky. When the morning sessions end at noon there it is 8 pm here. We watched the sessions at the chapel. The first session they had a problem getting the equipment all hooked up so we watched it on the senior misisonary couple's ipad. The speakers weren't very loud so we all had to be so quiet. We also watched a session with an American family from the ward. I was thankful for the opportunity to be able to hear the talks in English.

 

I loved all the talks about misisonary work. Elder Nelson's was a favorite when he spoke of the surge of missionary work starting with the restoration. I hadn't made that connection or thought of it like that before. I also loved Elder Anderson's talk. This is missionary fun!

So I saved the best news for last!

We found someone this week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

We found sweet Helga!

 

Here's the story:

So we had been klingeling and street contacting with not much luck. We had had a fair amount of doors shut and klingels hung up on us. So we just moved down the street a ways and continued. We got klingeled into a building and walked up to meet a little old German Lady. We told her we were missionaries and we were speaking with people about Jesus Christ. She got excited and invited us in. I was shocked and not even sure what to do. This never happens! So we went inside and she brought out her bible to show us. She told us about what she believes about Christ. We taught her about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. She looked through the Book of Mormon and then we read Moroni's promise with her. She just started crying. She shared with us her testimony of prayer and how she knows God answers her prayers. We were almost in tears too. She was an answer to our prayers! We made an appointment to come back and teach her more this week and I am so excited. She is so excited to learn more and I know the gospel will help her be so happy. She kept asking how we knew to come or who told us to find her. I don't really how things like that can just work out but I am so grateful. I know that Heavenly Father loves Helga!

 

So there's a little glimpse of how cool being a missionary is!

Have a great week!

 

Love,

Sister Brown

 

Oh and as an odd PS: We went temporarily insane and decided our lives here, talking to strangers about God in German, just wasn't adventurous enough . So we cut bangs. Sister Thornton and I were talking about it and agreed to do it if we both did. So yeah the adventures really never cease here in Dahlem!

 

That's all.

 

 

 

Oh and we found some pants on the ground. (I hope you are singing the song in your head right now!) I don't even want to know the story there...

 

 

Oh and I forgot to talk about the Cedar City temple!!!

 

I was so excited to hear that. When I was down there we had a stake conference and they promised us we would get a temple if we made a serious effort to do temple work. We would go down almost every week to do baptisms at St George and we all started doing our family history work and finding names. We set goals for the number of names to take to the temple by this April conference.

 

It was so cool to see that promise fulfilled. Those prayers were answered. I can't wait to be able to go to the Cedar temple!!!