Warning! This is a LONG one :)

President Kosak has a quote that he loves to share with us:

"God will put prepared people in the way of his prepared servants who want to share the Gospel."

~President Eyring

I have gained a testimony of this on my mission.  Especially while working with B.  I want to share her story with you all.

B's mom had a coworker who was a member of the church, Bruder  B.  They built a friendship and did a lot together.  He would occasionally talk about the church, but she wasn't ever really interested, but they remained friends.  About a year ago B's mom died.  Bruder B helped out with funeral arrangements and took time to explain to B that he knew where she could find peace and that he would tell her more when she was ready.  They stayed in good contact and recently she began to ask questions.  So Bruder B decided she was ready for the missionaries.  So he called our GML (ward mission leader) Bruder H and asked if there were sisters in Osnabrück.

[Enter Sister Brown and Sister Hayden]

One morning we got a call from Bruder H.  He told us that he had a referal for us and that he had already made out an appointment with her.  He gave us what limited information he had and then said, "Sisters, we have one shot with her.  Don't mess this up!"

 I can honestly say I have never been so nervous for an appointment.  It was hard to plan what to share when we knew so little about her.  We weren't even sure if she would let us in!  Sister Hayden and I prayed and prayed to know what to say.  Referrals are tricky. The members are trusting us with people they love.  We want to do our best to be trustworthy.  It is a hefty thing!  With B we all felt an added pressure.

The day of the appointment came.  She lives just around the corner from us, but it was quite the nerve wracking walk! We klingeled and she let us in and then invited us in.  She had seats all set up and tea ready for us to drink.  We got to know her and introduced ourselves. We explained why we are here in Deutschland and what we do as missionaries.  We briefly introduced the Book of Mormon and then read with her Alma 7:11-13.  We bore our testimonies of Jesus Christ and how we know that this is His church.  We invited her to come to church.  She said she would come.

And she did.

It was a fast Sunday and we all just prayed that the testimonies would stay focused on the gospel...  Our prayers were answered and it was an uplifting meeting.

We set up appointments to go by in the week.  She was always so eager to learn.  Every time we came, we would start out by answering her prepared list of questions.  She was really pondering about what we were teaching.  She was also ready to apply it.   She kept  ever commitment we gave her. Every. Single. One.  She was so open and willing to try.  Her faith was a great example to me.

We invited her to baptism when we explained Moroni's promise at the end of the Book of Mormon.   We asked her if she would be baptized when she received her answer that these things were true.  She said yes.  We knew the answer would come soon enough.

At the next appointment, she talked about a spring baptism.   We discussed baptism a little more and why it is important and why she wanted to be baptized.  At the end of our talk we invited her to a specific date.  We had really prayed to know when she would be ready.  The answer we got was the 7 of  December.  When we invited her to this date it tested our faith too.  It was only two weeks away and just a few minutes before she was planning a baptism in 3 or 4 months.

We invited and then waited.  She looked at us and thought about it for a minute.  Then she said, "The 7th is a Saturday.  I have to work all day because of our Christmas sale.  Do you think we could do it on the 6th?"

There is B for you :)

So we continued meeting and planned a baptism.

What really impressed me through this whole experience was just how prepared she was.  Her whole teaching process, from our first visit to her baptism, was just 35 days.  She was prepared a little by Bruder B through the past year and also the years before that.  He was a great example of what a member of the Church is. He also shared the Gospel with her and invited her, when she was ready, to learn more.

She had also, in a way, prepared herself.   She has done a lot of research of other religions.  She was baptized Evangelisch as a baby, but when it was time for her Konfirmirung she decided not to go through with it because she knew that some of the doctrines weren't right.  She visited a lot of different Christian churches and even tried out Buddhism.  She was on a search for the truth.  She had also chosen a lifestyle that prepared her for the Gospel.  She doesn't smoke or drink alcohol and she lives the Law of Chastity.  She was a self proclaimed "coffee junkie"  but gave that up a week before our first appointment.

Crazy timing right?!?!?......  ;)

She was just ready for baptism.  Planning the whole thing probably gave me grey hair.  There was so much to organise and a huge to do list.  We encountered problems with the water heater.  Sister Hayden and I spent our afternoon heating water in the kitchen to fill up the font.  We got a system going with the stove, microwave, and water cookers.  Somehow we ended up with a font full of warm water!  It may have been a little hectic but things worked out, as they always do.  By the time she got there in her beautiful white dress, the chaos was passed.

The meeting was so great!  My favorite part was being able to stand at the top of the stairs leading to the font with my cute companion and watch someone we have grown to love be baptized.  She looked so bright and happy as she walked up the stairs out of the water.  We asked her how it was and she said, with an enormous smile, "Herrlich!
" 

That, it was!

On Sunday, she received the Holy Ghost.  The blessing was so wonderful.  The spirit was there so strong.  I attempted to write pieces down so that she could have it.  I ended up with a stack of sticky notes and a mess of shorthand denglish to decipher...

My favorite part of  Sunday was when our branch president stood up after the confirmation and welcomed her to the ward.  Then we all raised our hands to show our love and support.  It was cool to see the whole ward ready to support their newest member.  I am just so excited for B and I know she will be such a solid member!  (She invited her nonmember friends to her baptism and is already planning what she will do for the ward Christmas talent show :)

She called us this morning, but we didn't quite get to the phone fast enough.  She left us a message that starts out, "Hallo Sisters!  Hier ist Schwester B K..."

That melted our little hearts.  We will be sure not to delete that anytime soon.

I am so thankful for the opportunity I have had to get to know B K.  She is amazing and a great example to me.  Helping her gain a testimony has strengthened mine.  It has been quite the humbling experience to see how the Lord can use a 19 year old crazy who pretends to speak German, to bring His children the Gospel.  I just have to try my best and somehow He helps fill in the holes so that my best is good enough.

I am doing missionary work and seeing miracles everyday!

And that is that!

I love you all!
Love,
Sister Brown

This was our taufe (baptism) gift

Ritter Sport- she loves really really dark chocolate

Tea- we drink all of her tea everytime we go over there

Towel- we got her a nice new white towel for her baptism

Note- we both wrote down our testimonies for her

Friday!

Friday Friday Bap-Ti-Sm on Friday

Everybodys lookin' forward to the weekend weekend :)

B****** will be baptized on Friday!!!

We are really planning a baptism!  Sunday after church we tried on the clothing.  This morning we filled out the recommend.  We have the program set.  We learned how to turn on the water AND the water heaters.  After email time we are going to find the perfect taufe gift!  I am so excited!  

We had a great experience this week with planning by the Spirit.  We have been working with a less active member named Schwester B******.  We were planning one night and both had the idea to go by on her.  The problem was that the time slot we were trying to fill was 12-2 in the afternoon and she works until 7:30 at night.  There was no way she would be home.  We both just really felt like we needed to be there.  So we planned it in.  

Then the next morning we got a call from a member.  He  gave us the names of two of his friends that he wanted us to go by on.  He wanted us to do it ASAP and asked if we could get it done that day.  We said we would try, but weren't sure, because of our other appointments, if we would make it.  Then we hung up the phone and looked up the two addresses.

Where did they live?

Around the corner from Schwester B******!

We were able to contact them both that day.  It is always a cool experience to realize that God has a plan.  It happens so often on a mission, but it is still so powerful. It is also cool to learn that when we just act on the promptings He gives us, that we will be able to find out what His plan is.   We knew we needed to be in Sonnen Hügel that afternoon, we just didn't know why.  So we put ourselves in a position to be there and He showed us what we needed to do.

The church is true!

So this week was Thanksgiving!  Happy Thanksgiving, family!!
We celebrated Thanksgiving here in Osnabrück.  There is one American family in our ward and they invited us over.  We had a perfect American thanksgiving dinner.  Sister Frehner had made cranberry stuffing,  fruit salad, potatoes, turkey, roasted vegetables, sweet potato cupcakes, and even lion house rolls.  The rolls were probably my favorite because they reminded me of my cute mom!  

It was a really nice lunch and we were all so thankful for the invite.  It was fun to be with a family eating turkey on thanksgiving, even if it isn't your own family...  

We aren't allowed to play card games but we played a few rounds of Catch Phrase because they have the electronic game.  It was fun but I think the Cobabe/Brown Catch Phrase battles still win ;)

Christmas has hit Germany in full force! 

It is now Dezember so we are officially in the advents time. So pretty much every day is a holiday.  And Osnabrück got a weihnachtsmarkt!  Germany at Christmas time is awesome!  I am a huge fan of the winter teas and also lebkuchen (soft gingerbread covered in chocolate).  Pretty much a match made in heaven!

Enjoy your Christmas preparations in America!

I love you all!!

Love,
Sister Brown

Oh and this week I saw polizei on horses.  

Mind Blown!

More photos from the Zoo

District Bad Bentheim

The Weihnachtsmarkt came to Osnabrück!! It is basically a bunch of little stands that sell food and Christmas decorations and toys.  There are lights and Christmas music all over. There are even carnival rides.  it is so magical!!

Post!  My favorite thing to see :)

Family,

It was fun to read all the family missionary news this week.  

Maddie's call comes in a matter of days and Dallin is now home! 

Here is the missionary news from Osnabrück:

B*******!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She is on baptismal date. December 6! She is so ready. The Lord has really prepared her. She is so excited to learn everything we have to teach her. She keeps every commitment and comes to everything the ward does. We have worked hard to integrate the members into the process. We always have a joint teach and the members have been inviting us all over for eating appoitnmetns and FHE. The ward is really excited. 

She is just so amazing and I am thankful for the opportunity I have to be here and help her gain her testimony.  It has strengthened mine. 

We will be having a white Christmas here in Osnabrcück!

I am so thankful for this 150 goal from President Kosak. It has really focused how we work. It has strengthened our faith. It has us praying for and expecting miracles. And we are seeing them every day!

We also met with G**** this week.  She could be baptism ready soon as well.  She is reading the Book of Mormon and loves meeting with us.  She always tells us how much fun we are to meet with.  Wrong!  That is the Spirit, Ginda.  We just come and sit on your couches and eat your cookies :)

Frau K******** came to church.  I have waited 4 transfers for that! 

We also had a really good lesson with L****. 

We are seeing progress here in Osnabrück!

We also got a member referral for Herr and Frau W******* so we visited them this week.  Turns out he has played violin since he was 12.  He has like 5 at his house.  We started talking about it and then he whipped them out and we started playing.  He pulled out a bunch of Bach and Mozart duets and we got to work.  Surprise jam sesh!!   Some of the songs he pulled our were familiar from Suzuki.  I never ever imagined as I practiced after school that one day I would be playing the exact same song in Osnabrück in a stranger's living room.  He invited us back and is preparing something for us to play at  the ward Christmas party.  

So there's that :)

That was pretty much our week!

I love you all!

Love,

Sister Brown

I have discovered why Pday is on Monday.

Last night I found myself in a zombie state waiting for the DL to call and get our numbers so I could finally crash in my bed.   After a day of  meetings, scheduling appointments, picking up investigators, teaching Sunday School classes, stressing about investigators coming to church, eating appointments, finding joint teaches, following up with members, and teaching appointments I was worn out.  Sunday is quite the production.  And we do it every week!  Without the hope that comes from knowing it is Pday Eve, we would never make it through!

This week was extra special too.  It was the mission farewell for Martin! There was Gemeinde Essen afterwards too so we had invited everyone. EVERYONE!  It was cool to have so many of the people we are working with show up.  It was a great meeting and the Spirit was there so strong.

A little while after the farewell and lunch we got to watch him be set apart.  It was so cool.  No, cool doesn't even begin to describe it.

It reminded me of my setting apart. It was such a speical experience to have all my family there. I was so excited to just get to Germany and share my testimony with everyone.  I just remember the Spirit confirming that what I was doing was right.  That I was making a good choice and that it would all be ok. 

Viel Glück Elder Wenke!  

I just have to tell you all about B******!  We met with her three times this week.  She is SO excited and eager to learn all we can teach her.   We invited her to baptism.  She accepted and is really working towards it.  She is coming to church every week.  She is reading the Book of Mormon and praying to gain her testimony.

On Sunday we showed her the font and the baptismal clothes.  She was planning it all out with us.  It is just amazing to see how prepared and ready she is.

We might just be having a white Christmas here in Osnabrück!  

Miracles!

This weekend is transfer calls.  This next transfer has Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and my birthday.  It will be a party transfer.  I am anxious to find out where this partying will be taking place :)

I will let you know next week!

Bis Dann,

Sister Brown

So we went to the zoo last  week for Pday.  It was one of the coolest zoos ever.  It was incredibly interactive.  

Here are some pics from the goats.  You can climb right in with them.  It was a little scary because they were all fighting each other.  

This is just a glimpse of the adventures we had at the Rheine Zoo :)

We're halfway there

...Livin' on a prayer!

But for realsies.  It is a little heartfelt German prayer :)

This past week we hit November 6.  

Do you know what that means?!?  

I will tell you!

It means 9 months ago crazy Sister Brown walked into the MTC and put on a name tag.  This adventure is half way over!

I am still in Osnabrück and just loving it.  Being a missionary is just so great!  We are seeing miracles every day.  It has been amazing to see how the Lord will put His prepared children in places where we can find them, no matter how crazy those places may be! 

I am so glad I decided to serve a mission.  I think my favorite part has been all the wonderful people I have met.  I have had the opportunity to serve with amazing missionaries, companions, members, and investigators.

I love being able to watch people make changes in their lives.  I love seeing the happiness it brings them. The gospel is true and it changes lives!

I wanted to share what I have been learning. 

Alles Güte,

Sister Brown

PS thanks for all of the fun mail!  

We have that community mail box so all of our neighbors see our mail.  Recently I had a few wish me happy birthday.  I was confused at first, seeing as it isn't my birthday.  Then one neighbor explained that he keeps seeing fun cards for me, so he thought it was my birthday.  

No, neighbor, it isn't my birthday.  Those stickered colorful envelopes of happiness are just letters to a sister missionary from the best family in the world!

But I will gladly take the happy birthday wishes trotzdem :)

We are Family

So this week we had mission tour in Hamburg.  

We ended up leaving the night before and sleeping over with the Sisters in Langenhorn  because there were so many trains falling out because of the storm.  We didn't want to risk not being able to get to the meeting.  

So we traveled with the Elders the night before. 

Our second train was super late getting in so we ended up with some time to kill in Bremen.  We walked out of Bahnhof and stumbled into a magical carnival land waiting for us.  We walked through and saw roller coasters and games and food stands.  It was so fun.  

We did finally make it to Hamburg and the meeting was great.  It was fun to be with so many other missionaries too.

This week was Halloween!  It is pretty much nonexistent here in Deutschalnd but Sister Hayden and I kept the spirit alive.  We made little mummy hot dogs and eyeball Oreo truffles.  It was a lot of fun!  Who needs pumpkins or costumes?!?  :)

Oktober 31 is also Reformation Day.  That is celebrated here.  I didn't even know what it was. It is to celebrate the reformation of the church.  I was able to learn more about Martin Luther and what he did here in Germany.  He realized that there was corruption in the church and wanted to change it.  He translated the bible into German.  It is cool to see how God prepared men like the reformers to help set the stage for Joseph Smith.  I am blessed to have this experience to share the message of the Restoration in the language and land of the Reformation.

We saw miracles this week.  

One of them is named B******.  She was a referral we got from our GML.  He just called us up one  afternoon and said "Sisters, I have an appointment for you tomorrow at 10."  He gave us a name, number and address.  That was all we had.  We were both pretty nervous going into this appointment.  We knew nothing about this woman. 
It was a great lesson to me on teaching by the Spirit.  We explained what we do here on missions and then we read a little with her in the Book of Mormon.  We bore testimony and shared experiences.  The Spirit was definitely there.  Something caught her interest too because when we invited her to church she said she'd come.  

And she did.

It is cool to see how God puts his prepared children in the paths of His prepared missionaries.  We try  to find them on our own.  We talk to as many people as we can.  Sometimes we find them and other times they find us. 

So yeah, believe in miracles.

We do!

I love you all and wish you a happy week!
Love,
Sister Brown

Reunion with Sister Odenwalder!

 Mission Tour: Sister Brown and Sister Hayden

Waiting for our bus after visiting IKEA to buy hangers.  

It was pouring rain...

Interviews District Bad Benthein

So my wurst kick continues.  Wurst of the week were these little guys wrapped in bacon and filled with cheese. Delicious!

We made banana bread and took it around to some investigators and less active members.  Baking here in Germany is always kind of a gamble but one of the elders gave us a solid recipe.  It turned out great.  The Germans really liked it but we ran into a problem calling it Banane Brot.  On more than one occasion they argued the fact that it was bread with us.  Who argues with a treat giver over the name of the brought treat?!?!?  After a few  drop offs, we learned our lesson and started calling it Banane Kuchen.  All was well!

We got an extra hour of sleep last night because it was German daylight savings time.  I'm not really sure how it 'saves' any daylight.  It is pretty much dark when we wake up and dark by dinner time but I was pretty happy for the extra sleep anyway.

We walk around and talk to people a lot.  Sometimes all day long.  So we say Hallo to a lot of people.  We have started ranking people on a scale from 1-10 based on their responses.  It is quite a fun game to play. Believe me!

0 is no response.  1 is when we get grunts or other caveman noises.  5s are when we get an audible greeting back but it is late or quiet.  10s are a greeting with a smile.  It is a bonus if they throw in a wave or a wink! 

My favorite ones are when we get hallos from people on bikes, in cars, or talking on the phone.  This week I got a man in a bulldozer to say hallo with a wave. Pretty proud of that one!  There was also another man who sang Guten Tag to us.  He had a sing songy snow white voice and he most definitely changed pitches between words.  It was a full out song.  

We had interviews with President Kosak this week.  He is such an inspired man.  It was really good to get to talk with him.  He emphasized the 150 baptisms we are working towards and helped me make a plan for how I can play a role in that.
FAITH!

President Kosak also brought Zoko post.  Thanks for all of your fun letters and packages!  You guys never disappoint.  Best Family Ever!!!

Love you all!
Love,
Sister Brown

We got this from an investigator.  It is a mysterious brown color and has a foul odor. 
The label says "drink with a kick!"

We haven't been brave enough to try it yet...

Briefkasten: So we have a community mail box.  There was a post emergency this week.  The key was gone. There is always just a key in the key hole so we can check our mail.  This week it mysteriously disappeared.  We went a few days just waiting for it to return.  Then the curiosity got the best of us.  When we looked in from the outside we could see the mail inside.  We were forced to use creative measures to retrieve our post.  Luckily the key has now been returned!

 The Penny is finally opened! This is where we did our grocery shopping this week!!

Distrikt Bad Bentheim

So family, transfer calls came and went.  

I am still in Osnabrück.  

I am thrilled!!!!  I am so grateful for a little more time to work here.  I feel like we are seeing a lot of progress and are right on the edge with a lot of our investigators.  We have really worked hard to build up relationships and trust and are now seeing the results.

Miracles for days!

That is all!

Have a great week.
Love,
Sister Brown

Keep on Rolling :)

Mormon 8:218:22

Fam

This week I found a new favorite word:

Ausflippen

It means to freak out.  

I'm going to use that a lot!

I also got going 120 mph in a super sweet car on the autobahn.

I have been on a wurst kick.  I eat it multiple times a day.  That is quite something considering how I didn't eat anything closely resembling sausage before this mish adventure.
Look at me go, Germany!

We talked to so many people this week.  We found and found and found.  We got quite a few new contacts so we are praying something will come of that.

We just went to work.  

We would load our pockets full of cards in the morning and then talk to people and give them out all day long.

We also got to watch the last session of General Conference.  President Monson rockin' the purple tie!  It was quite the sesh.

Fall is under way here in Germany.  The leaves are all changing and we crunch them as we walk around all day.  We have made some fun plans for Halloween.  We are hoping to find pumpkins big enough to carve.  Germans aren't so big on the pumpkin thing.  We can only find baby ones.  And there is not a can of pumpkin in sight :)

There is already Christmas stuff in the stores. It seems pretty early, but when you don't have Halloween or Thanksgiving getting in the way then there is really nothing stopping you!   I am getting so excited.  I hope I get to stay here in Osnabrück.  I have heard they have one of the best weinachtsmarkts in northern Germany.

Well that is all for this week.

I am wishing you happy autumn wishes from Osnabrück!
Love you all

Love,
Sister Brown

Spreading Sunshine!

GeneralKonferenz

So this weekend was conference.  It was absolutely amazing.  I am so thankful for the crazy technology that makes it all possible.  We were able to watch a few of the sessions live.   We  haven't seen Sunday Afternoon yet but hopefully we will soon.  Sometimes the translations are a little funny.  Especially when someone makes a pun or when President Monson quotes a poem but overall it is pretty impressive.

We witnessed a few General Conference miracles this weekend as well.

We started the Stop Smoking workshop with Schwester M*****.  We found a new investigator named N*****.  We had an appointment fall out with G**** but then through a miraculous case of being at the right place at the right time we made contact again.  It turns out she missed our appointment because she had a crazy day of things out of her control and not simply because she blew us off. 

But I saved the best for last. 

Frau K******* and Bruder J***** came to conference!! 

 

I repeat Frau K******* came to conference!  

We were sitting and talking with some members when our sweet elders poked thier heads in and said "Sisters you need to get out here.  Frau K******* is here!"  My heart seriously jumped.  I flew out of my chair and down the hallway.  And yes.  There she was.  Just standing there all dressed up with Bruder J*****.  It was a conference miracle! 

 

We watched the Saturday morning session with them (which was really our Saturday night).  President Uchtdorf's talk at the end about joining the church or coming back was seriously an answer to our prayers.  

After we had a chance to talk with them and it went really well.  They both said how good they felt and that they had really enjoyed it.  Then we continued to talk with Frau K******* and I watched Bruder J***** walk over to the wall and grab a tithing slip and envelope and put them in his pocket.  Later I also found out that he talked to the Elders Quorum president and would like to get a home teaching assignment.

 

It is such an amazing feeling to watch people change their lives to follow Christ. 

I love it.

That is all

Love,

Sister Brown

We had another district Pday at the Bad Bentheim castle.

It was awesome.

Maybe more pics next week?