Sunday, March 31, 2013
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Risk the Awkward
Meine Familie,
So it is not a Monday, it is a Thursday.
Germans love their holidays and everything shuts down for the Easter weekend. Easter is on Sunday but Friday and Monday are national holidays too. We got to move our Pday up so we would be able to email and shop while things were open. So that explains the random email.
Now for the update from Dahlem:
Risk the Awkward
That has pretty much become my theme here.
(another side note: awkward isn't even a word in German)
So there you go!
Like I said last week we do a lot of finding.
This can be street contacting or talking with people in the bahns or going door to door. All of it is such an adventure. Every time we knock on a door or klingel a building we just get to wait and anticipate who could possibly be on the other side.
-I should pause here and explain what klingeling is. Everyone lives in apartment buildings so to get in we have to be let in. So we stand outside and buzz until someone lets us in. Then we go to the top of the building and knock our way down. So there you have it. That is how one klingels.-
-I should pause here and explain what klingeling is. Everyone lives in apartment buildings so to get in we have to be let in. So we stand outside and buzz until someone lets us in. Then we go to the top of the building and knock our way down. So there you have it. That is how one klingels.-
We have had some good street lessons and even some return appointments set. It is always so scary to go up and initiate a conversation. Throw in the fact that I am stumbling through it in German and it gets super scary. We just pray to not be nervous and then open our mouths.
Sometimes we run into some awkward situations like starting up a conversation on a silent bahn so the entire bahn becomes our audience or even just stopping someone in the freezing cold street and asking about their faith in Christ.
We are just learning to take the risk.
I feel so far out of my comfort zone a lot of the time here. We get lots of really weird looks with the name tags and skirts alone. Then when we start talking about God people run. Seriously.
Yesterday I stopped a man and said "Hello we are from the church of Jesus Christ. It is Easter time and we are talking with people about Christ." That is as far as I got before his eyes got big and he ran away. So probably no baptism there...yet!
We are just learning to take the risk.
I feel so far out of my comfort zone a lot of the time here. We get lots of really weird looks with the name tags and skirts alone. Then when we start talking about God people run. Seriously.
Yesterday I stopped a man and said "Hello we are from the church of Jesus Christ. It is Easter time and we are talking with people about Christ." That is as far as I got before his eyes got big and he ran away. So probably no baptism there...yet!
We got some other good responses too like "Not with me, you're not." and "It is too late to talk about Jesus. Come back after the weekend." We were excited with that last one. We're counting that as a return appointment :)
I found a scripture that I really liked this week. It is in Matthew 17:20. This is where Jesus is teaching and comparing faith to a mustard seed. He teaches that if we only have the faith of a mustard seed "nothing shall be impossible unto you."
Mustard seeds are tiny! In the MTC they gave us one and read us this scripture. I taped it to the back of my name tag so I can always remember this idea.
If I have even the tiniest bit of faith my Heavenly Father can work miracles with that. If I can have a mustard seed of faith I can talk to Germans about God. If I can have a mustard seed of faith I can find someone here in Dahlem who is ready to hear the gospel and be baptized.
I think that is a pretty cool promise!
Mustard seeds are tiny! In the MTC they gave us one and read us this scripture. I taped it to the back of my name tag so I can always remember this idea.
If I have even the tiniest bit of faith my Heavenly Father can work miracles with that. If I can have a mustard seed of faith I can talk to Germans about God. If I can have a mustard seed of faith I can find someone here in Dahlem who is ready to hear the gospel and be baptized.
I think that is a pretty cool promise!
Have a great week!
Love you all so much.
Thanks for all the love and prayers.
Heavenly Father loves us all so much!
Love,
-Sister Brown
My Hilde found her street! ~Kim Brown
Catching up with some PHOTOS!
Today is pday AGAIN! Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Monday are National Holidays in Germany. So my missionary has to prepare for the week on Thursday!
President Kosak allows the missionaries to upload photos in their emails. So I just got a whole bunch of photos via email. And the emailing restrictions have been lifted. Now anyone who is interested in emailing Sister Brown may do so (previously only family was to email). Her email address is listed on the right side of the blog.
She also mentioned that her apartment is currently close to the mission home and they can pick up mail/packages easily. Hint hint....
Enjoy the photos.
~Kim Brown
Packing at the MTC
And making the 50lb weight limit!!
Saying goodbye at the MTC
MTC district and teachers
Sister Brown and Sister Hansen saying goodbye to their teachers. Thumbs up only- no hugs :)
MTC district with the branch president and his wife
Sister Brown and Sister Vanderhoef (New Hampshire Manchester Mission)
Sister Hansen, Sister Brown and Elder Smith (Germany Frankfurt Mission)
CALLING HOME from the airport!
Stuffing that phone with quarters!
This was when she first landed in Berlin. "I look tired and scared out of my mind...I was!!"
Sister Brown and Sister Hansen in Berlin
The MTC district just before they were assigned their new companions/trainers
Monday, March 25, 2013
Hallo from Berlin
Family,
So this is being typed up from a German keyboard and some random keys are moved around so I am trying my best and apologize for any mistakes. I also can't find the exclamation mark so that is a bummer...
I am finally here in Berlin (insert a million exclamation marks here)
It took a couple long flights and quite a few hours of lost sleep but it was totally worth it.
The first thing I noticed was the SNOW. There is snow everywhere. Yeah. So no one warned us it is still the middle of winter here. Provo was just starting to warm up. I showed up in a dress, cardigan, and flats. That quickly changed.
When we first got here we loaded into a bus and went to a church where we checked in and filled out paperwork. Then we had interviews with President Kosak. I don't think I have ever been more nervous to speak in German. He asked me to say the opening prayer and I cringed as my little nervous voice squeaked out the words. He is kind of an intimidating man. I can tell he loves us a lot and is very excited for all of these new missionaries.
Side story: I went to the bank to exchange my money. When it was my turn the lady behind the counter started talking. My eyes got really big and I couldn't remember any German. I turned to the AP who I was with and he helped me get my money and we left. On the way out the door he said, "Hey Sister Brown, wanna know something funny?"
"Of course"
"That woman was speaking English."
He was serious too. In my defense though I hadn't slept well in days, we were speaking through a huge thick glass window, and she had a very heavy accent. I'm not sure that really makes anything better but it's all I've got.
So I'm a real missionary here in Berlin. (In desperate need of exclamation marks)
My companion is Sister Thornton. We have been assigned to work in Dahlem. We are opening up the sisters' program there. I guess there haven't been sisters there in like 4 years. There are two companionships of elders that work in our area too. They have been super helpful because we are basically starting from scratch.
Our area book is an empty binder.
We've got nothing.
So we find.
We contact all day long. I am quickly getting rid of my anxieties of talking with random people in German about the gospel. It is pretty much my hobby now. A hard part for me is when the people tell us "That isn't for me" or "I don't need that" AHH it just rips me up inside. Yes you do need this and Yes this is for you. Our Heavenly Father loves these people in Germany. I know that. And I also know there is someone here in Dahlem that is ready for the gospel. We just need to find them.
A big plus to being the first sisters in Dahlem in years, is the apartment. We have the nicest place ever. The first night we spent unpacking our stuff but also all the stuff for the apartment. The kitchen stuff and dishes and bedding is all brand new. (like pulling-it-all-out-of-Ikea-
Our ward is amazing and also huge. Sunday was such a great day. One of the Elders' recent converts received the Holy Ghost in sacrament meeting. It was such a cool thing to see how happy she was. That is what this is about. Then the young woman sang a special musical number about standing in holy places. It reminded me of all those hours spent in YW and all the fun activities we did.
We had an eating appointment with the Gruse family too. The food was so delicious and they are an amazing family. It was so fun to get to know them. Their teenage daughter Hannah is so cool. She is one of the sweetest kindest people I have ever met. She is so excited to go on a mission and can turn her papers in in 2 years. She really wants to go to the temple square mission. I hope she gets to.
So, what do I love about Deutschland???
I love the food. (goodness I need to find that exclamation mark) It has all been so delicious. German bakeries will be the death of me. I could seriously consume everything in there. Sister Thornton is the best and helps me decide what the best ones are but so far I can't imagine anything being bad.
I also love the cobblestone everywhere. Snowy cobble stone wasn't so fun to haul suitcases through that first day but I have found a strange love for it now.
Well the adventures continue in Berlin. This is all so new for me but it is also new for Sister Thornton. So we are meeting families in our ward for the first time and figuring out where to email and where to buy groceries. Whenever we go anywhere we pull out the gigantic map and look at all the tiny lines and try to determine which U bahn to take and which stop to get off at. We are just figuring it all out together.
This week we had to stop by the mission office to pick up cards and books. They also gave us some more things for the apartment. The problem was then hauling it all home. We just boxed it up and went. Problem solved. There were the four of us all bundled up arms full of boxes and bags as we voyaged home. I got the job of carrying the rug. They gave us a massive rug to go on our floor because it is all tile and gets kind of cold. So yes, I was carrying a rolled up rug through the streets of Berlin and on the U bahns like it was no big deal.
I looked like a serious Gypsy.
I thought we got weird looks when we talk to people about God but those have nothing on the weird looks you get when you carry a rug through the city.
So that was this week.
That is what's up with the Dahlem Sisters.
Have an amazing day. (I really wish I could find that button...)
I appreciate all the emails and prayers and letters so much.
Love you all so much
Love,
Sister Brown
Sister's Meeting Berlin, Germany 3/24/2013
Photo courtesy of Germany Berlin Mission 2012-2015 blog
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Sister Thornton (trainer) and Sister Brown with President and Sister Kosak
31 new missionaries with 31 trainers
both photos courtesy of Germany Berlin Mission 2012-2015 blog
~Kim Brown
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
BERLIN
Blog stalking paid off: 31 missionaries arrived in Berlin!
Sister Hillary Brown pictured in the very center!
They had to get a bus! So many new missionaries!
And look at the SNOW!
Both photos courtesy of Germany Berlin Mission 2012-2015 blog
~Kim Brown
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Twelve Thirty (young girls are calling from the airport)
Today is the day.
Sister Brown is on her way to Germany.
Armed with a calling card, the plan was for her to call from a payphone once her flight landed in Houston, TX. She had a 3 hour layover, so we figured that would be sufficient time to talk and catch up. She was expected to call about 12:30pm.
My phone rang at about 8:15am from an unknown Utah phone number. I assumed it was the appliance repairman scheduling a service call for today.
SURPRISE! It was Sister Hillary Brown calling from SLC International Airport.
She had already been fed breakfast by a helpful stranger, when another nice gentleman offered her his cell phone to call home.
I told her to call Dad since he would also be in an airport today and I wasn't sure if she would be able to talk to him from Houston.
After talking to her Dad, she called back and we solidified our Houston phone plan.
Which worked out perfectly.
She first called Maddie because it was her lunch time at high school.
Then she called me, just in time to say goodbye to Kai as I dropped him off at Kindergarten.
It seemed like we had only talked a few minutes when the 1 minute warning sounded. That's when she told me that the MTC bookstore had run out of calling cards, so she had been sharing her card around so others could call home, since she had borrowed the cell phone back in SLC.
So that call ended.
I tried to call the pay phone number back, but it didn't ring through.
A few minutes later, a new number was calling through on my phone. She was successful in bumming another cell phone!
That was good for a few more minutes, but eventually she had to go get a whole bunch of quarters and start feeding the pay phone as we talked.
I loved hearing all about the highlights of the MTC and how awkward it was saying goodbye to her teachers, but not being able to hug, or even touch them at all. Her district as well as the teachers all got to be very close in these 6 weeks together. Her teachers are all recently home from Germany and all of her district will be serving in Berlin, so she is grateful for the friendships that have been forged in the MTC.
I am overwhelmed at how much she has grown and matured already.
She shared her testimony in German with me. And she also prayed in German with me.
I'm still emotional as I'm typing this.
I am so proud of this girl. I miss her so much, too.
Her mission president, President Kosak, posted this photo on the mission blog. It was taken at the SLC airport this morning. Hillary is not pictured, but I guess the good news is neither is her companion. Maybe they are enjoying their gifted breakfast or talking on a stranger's cell phone??
Join me in stalking the mission blog GERMANY BERLIN MISSION 2012-2015 over the next 24 or so hours. President Kosak will post photos of the missionaries when they arrive as well as the new companionships.
~Kim Brown
Sister Brown is on her way to Germany.
Armed with a calling card, the plan was for her to call from a payphone once her flight landed in Houston, TX. She had a 3 hour layover, so we figured that would be sufficient time to talk and catch up. She was expected to call about 12:30pm.
My phone rang at about 8:15am from an unknown Utah phone number. I assumed it was the appliance repairman scheduling a service call for today.
SURPRISE! It was Sister Hillary Brown calling from SLC International Airport.
She had already been fed breakfast by a helpful stranger, when another nice gentleman offered her his cell phone to call home.
I told her to call Dad since he would also be in an airport today and I wasn't sure if she would be able to talk to him from Houston.
After talking to her Dad, she called back and we solidified our Houston phone plan.
Which worked out perfectly.
She first called Maddie because it was her lunch time at high school.
Then she called me, just in time to say goodbye to Kai as I dropped him off at Kindergarten.
It seemed like we had only talked a few minutes when the 1 minute warning sounded. That's when she told me that the MTC bookstore had run out of calling cards, so she had been sharing her card around so others could call home, since she had borrowed the cell phone back in SLC.
So that call ended.
I tried to call the pay phone number back, but it didn't ring through.
A few minutes later, a new number was calling through on my phone. She was successful in bumming another cell phone!
That was good for a few more minutes, but eventually she had to go get a whole bunch of quarters and start feeding the pay phone as we talked.
I loved hearing all about the highlights of the MTC and how awkward it was saying goodbye to her teachers, but not being able to hug, or even touch them at all. Her district as well as the teachers all got to be very close in these 6 weeks together. Her teachers are all recently home from Germany and all of her district will be serving in Berlin, so she is grateful for the friendships that have been forged in the MTC.
I am overwhelmed at how much she has grown and matured already.
She shared her testimony in German with me. And she also prayed in German with me.
I'm still emotional as I'm typing this.
I am so proud of this girl. I miss her so much, too.
Join me in stalking the mission blog GERMANY BERLIN MISSION 2012-2015 over the next 24 or so hours. President Kosak will post photos of the missionaries when they arrive as well as the new companionships.
~Kim Brown
Monday, March 18, 2013
Meine Familie!!!
So the last email contained a little bit of a lie.
I am emailing you again but it is from the MTC laundry room and not from Germany. They gave us unexpected email time!
So here is officially the last email from the MTC.
The next one will come from GERMANY. I promise...
Morgan fliegen wir nach Deutschland!!!
Tomorrow Germany gets 90+ new missionaries. 31 of those are going to Berlin with me!
It is such an exciting time. Our travel group is almost split half and half Elders and Sisters. How cool is that?!? Berlin is getting lots of Sisters!!!!
My whole district is headed to my mission too and I am looking forward to the opportunity to continue to serve with them. We are the first German wave of 18-year-old Elders and 19-year-old Sisters. We are also the first group from the 6 week track in the MTC.
So Germany here we come!
This week has been full of lasts. We had our last devotional, last service Freitag, last lesson with investigators, last laundry time, last ice cream Sunday, and last sacrament meetings. Today is full of goodbyes. Ich hasse goodbyes.
I read a scripture this week that I really liked.
I was in Jacob 5 and it was talking about the servants laboring in the vineyard. In verse 72 it says that the servants went out to labor and the Lord went with them. I loved that! I am positive that the Lord is coming with us to Germany. He will help us find and teach the people who have been prepared.
So cool right?!?
Ich liebe das Buch Mormon!
Have a great week! I pray for you all every day.
Love you tons!!!
-Sister Brown
PS I am so excited to call tomorrow. I can't get to the Houston airport fast enough!!
So the last email contained a little bit of a lie.
I am emailing you again but it is from the MTC laundry room and not from Germany. They gave us unexpected email time!
So here is officially the last email from the MTC.
The next one will come from GERMANY. I promise...
Morgan fliegen wir nach Deutschland!!!
Tomorrow Germany gets 90+ new missionaries. 31 of those are going to Berlin with me!
It is such an exciting time. Our travel group is almost split half and half Elders and Sisters. How cool is that?!? Berlin is getting lots of Sisters!!!!
My whole district is headed to my mission too and I am looking forward to the opportunity to continue to serve with them. We are the first German wave of 18-year-old Elders and 19-year-old Sisters. We are also the first group from the 6 week track in the MTC.
So Germany here we come!
This week has been full of lasts. We had our last devotional, last service Freitag, last lesson with investigators, last laundry time, last ice cream Sunday, and last sacrament meetings. Today is full of goodbyes. Ich hasse goodbyes.
I read a scripture this week that I really liked.
I was in Jacob 5 and it was talking about the servants laboring in the vineyard. In verse 72 it says that the servants went out to labor and the Lord went with them. I loved that! I am positive that the Lord is coming with us to Germany. He will help us find and teach the people who have been prepared.
So cool right?!?
Ich liebe das Buch Mormon!
Have a great week! I pray for you all every day.
Love you tons!!!
-Sister Brown
PS I am so excited to call tomorrow. I can't get to the Houston airport fast enough!!
**We were asked not to send pictures in this last email because they wanted it to be more goodbye and buisnessy than social. I will send the goodbye pictures from Berlin!
Love you tons!!**
Love you tons!!**
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
TRAVEL PLANS
Meine Familie!!
This week was full of more adventures.
I sprayed an Elder in the face with window cleaner, walked into the wrong classroom in the middle of their lesson, and had a serious wardrobe malfunction in the TRC.
ALL were accidents.
The days here are never boring, but sometimes I wish they were a little less adventurous!
This week we got our FLIGHT PLANS.
Yes!! That is crazy.
I can't believe this is my last P day.
This time next week I will be on a plane headed to Germany. That makes me a little bit nervous... Ok a lot bit nervous.
I have gotten comfortable with everything here at the MTC and I really love it. There will be lots that I will really miss. However I wasn't called to serve 18 months in the MTC so Berlin here I come!
So I guess this means I will need to pack soon. We'll see how that 50 lbs weight limit goes...
I can't believe it is already time to go.
Time is a funny thing here in the MTC. On my first day here we had a meeting where someone told us, "Here you will have the longest days and shortest weeks, the longest weeks and shortest months, the longest months and the shortest mission."
At the time I thought it was crazy and it didn't make any sense.
It is SO true though.
The days can seem really long because they are so packed with things to learn and lessons to plan and teach. But then they just start flying by. Sometimes it feels like I have lived 3 lifetimes in here and other times it seems like it was this morning my family dropped me off.
As I reread this, I realize it doesn't make any sense and I have joined the group of those who use cryptic riddles to describe missions. So there's that.
Teaching is still going well. We had two investigators accept baptismal commitments this week! Both were really great experiences. It was so amazing to see their desire to follow the Savior. I loved hearing them bear their testimonies to us. It was a neat thing to be able to teach someone and then see them really take the doctrines to heart and develop a testimony and then want to act on their knowledge. The Spirit was so strong during those appointments. Even when I totally slaughtered one of the commitments. I'm thankful for that!
The German is coming too. It is easy to get overwhelmed by all I don't know. I just try to remember how far I have come. A month ago all I could say was Guten Tag. I can now do more than that. So progress is being made. Baby steps with the German language!
I know the Lord loves me and helps me every day. Even if I can't speak German :)
This gospel is true and I am so excited and thankful for the opportunity to share it with others.
That is pretty much all for this email. I hope everyone has a great week!
Next time I write I will be in Germany!
Ich Liebe Dich!!
-Sister Brown
P.S. So guess what job I got on Service Freitag??? Yeah, totally got bit with the Karma bug. This week I swept the rocks and leaves into a dust pan with a smile on my face :)
This week was full of more adventures.
I sprayed an Elder in the face with window cleaner, walked into the wrong classroom in the middle of their lesson, and had a serious wardrobe malfunction in the TRC.
ALL were accidents.
The days here are never boring, but sometimes I wish they were a little less adventurous!
This week we got our FLIGHT PLANS.
Yes!! That is crazy.
I can't believe this is my last P day.
This time next week I will be on a plane headed to Germany. That makes me a little bit nervous... Ok a lot bit nervous.
I have gotten comfortable with everything here at the MTC and I really love it. There will be lots that I will really miss. However I wasn't called to serve 18 months in the MTC so Berlin here I come!
So I guess this means I will need to pack soon. We'll see how that 50 lbs weight limit goes...
I can't believe it is already time to go.
Time is a funny thing here in the MTC. On my first day here we had a meeting where someone told us, "Here you will have the longest days and shortest weeks, the longest weeks and shortest months, the longest months and the shortest mission."
At the time I thought it was crazy and it didn't make any sense.
It is SO true though.
The days can seem really long because they are so packed with things to learn and lessons to plan and teach. But then they just start flying by. Sometimes it feels like I have lived 3 lifetimes in here and other times it seems like it was this morning my family dropped me off.
As I reread this, I realize it doesn't make any sense and I have joined the group of those who use cryptic riddles to describe missions. So there's that.
Teaching is still going well. We had two investigators accept baptismal commitments this week! Both were really great experiences. It was so amazing to see their desire to follow the Savior. I loved hearing them bear their testimonies to us. It was a neat thing to be able to teach someone and then see them really take the doctrines to heart and develop a testimony and then want to act on their knowledge. The Spirit was so strong during those appointments. Even when I totally slaughtered one of the commitments. I'm thankful for that!
The German is coming too. It is easy to get overwhelmed by all I don't know. I just try to remember how far I have come. A month ago all I could say was Guten Tag. I can now do more than that. So progress is being made. Baby steps with the German language!
I know the Lord loves me and helps me every day. Even if I can't speak German :)
This gospel is true and I am so excited and thankful for the opportunity to share it with others.
That is pretty much all for this email. I hope everyone has a great week!
Next time I write I will be in Germany!
Ich Liebe Dich!!
-Sister Brown
P.S. So guess what job I got on Service Freitag??? Yeah, totally got bit with the Karma bug. This week I swept the rocks and leaves into a dust pan with a smile on my face :)
Ich Liebe mein Distrikt!
My daily reminder
Ich Kann Deutsch!
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Excerpts from a mailbox letter
March 1, 2013
Oh and PS the blog has gone crazy. Everyone here keeps getting DearElder.com letters saying their moms found it and love all the pics or whatever. That’s great and I’m glad to help. Thanks for keeping that up for me.
Brown Family!!
Thanks for
the St. Patrick’s Day package. I loved
all the notes and pictures. I’ve gotten
so much fun mail this week. I love it. Lisa S. sent me an enormous package of
homemade treats. She is an amazing
baker. It all tastes so good. She sent a little note that they were all nut
free too! It was totally unexpected.
She’s a crazy lady. I wrote her a
thank you.
Speaking of
nuts…Sunday night is Ice Cream Sundae Sunday with BYU Creamery ice cream. Just
so everyone is aware, the dark chocolate one has nuts. Yeah. A few Benadryl
solved the problem. Great way to keep fast Sunday interesting.
To clarify
about the investigators, the progressing investigators (ones we teach multiple
times) are MTC German teachers. So pretty much German returned missionaries. We
get to teach them and they take on the role of someone they really taught on
their mission. We teach in the TRC once
a week too. This is where volunteers come
and we just teach them once. We also teach each other in our district. Everyone picked a role of someone to be and
assignments were made for that too.
Marcus, Chu and Thorsten are my current progressing investigators. So there’s that. Hopefully that clarifies the
confusion. We are not tracting the
streets of Provo looking for German speakers, although that would be cool too.
I prayed in
Sacrament meeting this week. I got my German scriptures engraved. And I am
learning how to whistle. I want to
become a professional whistler. Who can name that quote??
Mom! I’m so
excited to hear about your job. That was such fun news. All the sisters here
were excited to hear about it too. You’ve won over a fan club with the
lanyards. Side note: don’t worry about those rings for the lanyards. They work
just fine as is.
I know you
will be a great teacher and you will have so much fun with the kids. You are a
really good teacher and think of all the fun stories you will have to share!
Ok, well
that’s all for tonight. I need to go to bed!
I’ll write
more on p-day!
Sister Brown
Oh and PS the blog has gone crazy. Everyone here keeps getting DearElder.com letters saying their moms found it and love all the pics or whatever. That’s great and I’m glad to help. Thanks for keeping that up for me.
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