LETTER #28 - NORDHAUSEN

HI!

Don't worry mom I don't need $1,327 for a bike haha. (Editors Note: I had a dream that Isaac sent an email and said he needed $1,327 for a bike. The price was shocking in a nightmarish sort of way.) Pretty much all the apartments already have bikes but I've hardly even used a bike so far on my mission. I've either had a car or we use all the public transportation. Anyway! I'm doing good. It’s kind of warming up. The weather kind of tricks you, you never know what it’s gonna be like. So I just put on a short sleeve everyday and put my rain jacket in my bag. We get rained on lots but its still fun!

Last Pday after emails and lunch we went to this UEAFA Futsal court in town and there were a bunch of kids there. We watched for a while then asked if we could play with them. They were kind of hesitant but they said sure. So we hopped on and played for almost 2 hours! It was the first time I've really played in 6 months. It was so much fun, just like playing back home. I was a little rusty at first but it all came back quick it was awesome. The kids were talking to us after and asked if we played on a team somewhere. I explained we were from America and they asked if we were studying in Nordhausen or something. I said 'No were missionaries. Those 2 guys you see walking around town in white shirts and ties, that’s us.' Ha you should have seen the look on their faces. They were so confused and didn't believe us at first. It was pretty funny. Now we aren't just the weird guys who walk around, now were the weird guys that walk around and are surprisingly good at soccer ha.

So we got transfer calls on Saturday night. I am staying in Nordhausen and Elder Loynes is coming to me. He is from Manchester, England and has about 3 more months on his mission. He’s way cool and I'm excited to work with him. He was an Assistant when I first got into the mission so him and his companion were the first Elders I met out here. I remember when I heard he was from England I asked him what who his favorite soccer team was, he just took of his name tag and showed me the back, and there was a picture of Wayne Rooney on it haha. I don’t dislike Manchester United but they aren't my favorite so I just said 'ah man' then he asked who my favorite team was and I said 'Liverpool' and he said 'That's disgusting' ha. It will be fun working with him though I'm excited. If there aren't any blitzes or anything this transfer then come July 1 and I will be serving in the Frankfurt, Germany mission! I'm getting more excited for that but it would also be really cool to stay in the Berlin mission. However the Lord wants it! 

This last week was pretty good though. It is kind of weird working with a missionary who goes home in a week, and now in...2 days ha. Pretty weird but it was good. We did lots of finding and were able to teach as well. On Thursday we went to go by on a lady that lives kind of on the outer part of town. As we were walking out there and getting closer I said a silent prayer that we would be able to meet with her or that we would be able to do whatever it was that we were supposed to be doing out there. (Because it was kind of a weird decision to try to go out on this lady) But at the end of my prayer I got a really good feeling. We continued walking to her house and decided to walk up another road we hadn't taken before. As we came around a corner there was a family in their backyard up ahead that we could see. As we walked by we said Hi and started to talk to them. The Mom came over to the fence and we ended up talking for about 30 minutes or so. It was a way cool discussion. We talked to her about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith, and how the true church has been restored. She said at the beginning of the conversation that she believes in God and that she believes it is enough to just be a good person and believe. At the end of our conversation she said 'well up until now I believed it was ok just to be a good person and believe in God...’ Her 2 daughters even came and sat on the stairs by the fence and were listening. At the end we gave her our card and told her to pray about what we had talked about and to call us. Then she said the next time we walk that way to come by again. It was a pretty cool experience! The lady we had planned to go see in the first place wasn't home, but God had something else in mind. Even cooler was the next day in town that Lady we had planned to visit saw us and came up and invited us to come by this next week! It’s so cool seeing how the Lord works. His work will roll on and nobody can stop it.

Things have been going pretty good and we are beginning to see the fruits or our labors which is really nice. You work for so long and don't see anything and then all of the sudden things start coming from everywhere. It's all on the Lords timing.

Well I hope everyone back home is doing good! I can't believe it’s already summer and everyone’s out of school there. Stay focused on what’s important and be happy! I love you all!

Elder Puriri

ps - The Muhlsteins took us to dinner just before transfers.  Here's a picture.

LETTER #27 - NORDHAUSEN

Hi!!

So today we don't really have a lot of time either but I'll try not to rush through this. It’s actually a holiday here right now so nothing is even open. We're blessed to have to Muhlesteins in our area though so on days when the library is closed we can use their computer to do emails! The rest of the mission has to wait until tomorrow. Pretty convenient. We have an appointment at 12 though with a member so that’s why I have to hurry. Everything seems to be in a hurry ha but I guess it’s good. Keeps us busy and focused.

Six week of the transfer has started. I really can't believe how fast this transfer went by. Transfer calls on Saturday so next email I'll let you know who my new companion is! I don't expect getting transferred away from Nordhausen but you can't really plan for transfers. This last week we had Zone Conference in Leipzig with the Leipzig and Dresden zones so there were tons of missionaries there. Elder Weidmann, a 70 from Switzerland came and talked to use. It was way cool and I learned so much! President also talked to us and talked a lot about increasing our faith. Help me see more how big of a role our faith plays in finding and teaching people. It was a very good Zone conference. I also got to see all my old companions ha it was fun.

This last week we taught a kid from Bangladesh on Monday. It was a way cool appt and made out another for this past Saturday. We got a BoM in Bangali from the office and took it to him and talked a little about the Plan of Salvation. It was lots of fun. We read a lot from the BoM and he would always read out loud in Bengali. It sounded really cool ha but that’s not the point. You could see how much he was learning and that the BoM just made sense. He was reading something and as he finished he just kind of stared at what he read and just went "Wow..." it was cool! Then as we were leaving he was like now that I have the book in Bengali I can read all night! He's a cool kid. Going out of town but we'll most likely be meeting this weekend! Then we taught Evelyn last Thursday, the lady that had a baby back in March and couldn't get baptized the same time as her husband. The last few times we had taught them it hadn't gone how we had planned and it seemed like she was straying away from baptism. So that morning during planning E. Kearl and I tried hard to get a lesson ready that would get her excited and back towards baptism but we really could think of anything. We had no idea where to start, we just wanted to b. So we prayed throughout the day and asked the Muhlesteins to pray for us as well so that we would know what to teach when we got there. As we walked to the appt. though we still didn't know and we were kind of nervous! We talked for a little at the beginning then said an opening prayer and then it was kind if quiet for a second because we weren't sure what to teach. So to start it off we just asked if they had any questions or anything specific they wanted to talk about. Then Evelyn goes "Yea I want to get baptized and was wondering when that could happen?" I'm sure E. Kearl and I both just looked ridiculous at that moment, confused look, big eyes, wondering if she really just said that. It was pretty awesome! So we ended up talking openly about baptism just like we had wanted and set a date for June 26. We were worried all day and had no idea what to teach, the Lord knew what was going on though and that she was ready. Helped me see even more how much we just need to trust in the Lord. Of course we have to do our part, but when we do that, and trust in him, and if it is his will, it will work out.

It was a pretty exciting week! Only one more left in the transfer. It will be a good week though. I hope everyone back home is doing good! Next week I'll have time to write without rushing through. I love you all so much! Thanks for everything. Have a good week, and look for the good in everything!

Elder Puriri

LETTER #26 - NORDHAUSEN

Hello hello!

Sitting at the computer again emailing you! That’s aweseome Dixie is doing so good! The pictures are way cool too. Don't worry about that natural roots song, I like it! I think its pretty good. I like all the music on there, and I'll probably get more Mormon Tab. from the Muhlesteins and other music from other missions. It’s nice to have music again! We're in Erfurt today for Pday with all the other missionaries in our district. We kind of got here late and are the last ones doing emails so everyone’s kind of waiting on us. So sorry this kind of just has to be quick.

Things in Nordhausen are going good though! We spent a whole lot of time this week doing doors and finding new people. We talked to a guy in his like mid 20s from China, he is studying in Nordhausen. But we were able to meet with him on Friday and give him a book of Mormon in Chinese and introduce it a little. We also talked a lot about prayer and some basic parts of the gospel. During the lesson we read a lot from the Book of Mormon and at the end asked him to say the prayer and he did! I think it was the first time he had ever prayed. We gave him a little card with directions on how to pray with 3 steps. The first just addressing our Heavenly Father, the 2 saying what we feel, thanking, asking, and the 3 closing in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. He looked at it and just said 'so I can say whatever I want in the middle?' we said yes and he

started to pray! It was so cool, he even asked for help on his upcoming tests in school. At the end of the lesson we tried to make out another appointment but he can't meet for about 3 weeks. It was cool though he said he was very curious and wanted to read the Book of Mormon as soon as possible, then he said it was good that we meet in 3 weeks because then he has time to read the Book of Mormon! It was a way good lesson. I'm looking forward to teaching him again.

I had never really taught anyone that has no idea about Christ or his gospel. Most people we teach have a basic idea of Christ. It was a very interesting experience and I learned a lot. It reminded me of a part in Jesus the Christ, in Ch. 11 it talks about miracles Christ performs. At the end of the chapter it says ''To Comprehend the works of Christ, one must know him as the Son of God; to the man who has not yet learned to know, to the honest soul who would inquire after the Lord, the invitation is ready; let him 'Come and see.' '' That was Christs invatation to Andrew and John when they asked 'Rabbi, where dwellest though?' he said 'Come and see'. I think thats so cool, just come and see.

Sorry this is so quick. I love you all!! Thank you for everything. Have a good week and be happy!

Elder Puriri

FROM THE MISSION BLOG

Erfurt Zone

Backseat Driver

Back Row - Third from the left

LETTER #25 - NORDHAUSEN

Hello Family!
It was really cool being able to talk last night. I'm glad everyone is doing good and it was cool that James and Corbin were there as well. Elder Kearl called his family right after so we got to meet them as well. Then after we finished the Muhlesteins called the rest of their kids. It was a good day though!
 

Started out going to church and we had a mothers day program. Elder Kearl, Elder Muhlestein, and I sang teach me to walk in the light. Then we went home and cooked out own Sunday meal, it was actually the first time my whole mission where I haven't had a meal with a member on Sunday. The branch here is smaller though so it’s alright. Then we got back to the church quick for an appointment, which sadly didn't go through. We weren't sure where our next appointment was and we had left the map at the apartment. So we were either going to go to the Muhlesteins real quick because we were close to their house, or take the tram back up to our apartment and get our map. We sat there for a second and decided to go back to our apartment. So we headed left up the road instead of right. As we came around the first corner we talk to a girl walking past us and made out an appointment for this week. We were able to talk a little bit about the purpose of life with her and she seemed really interested to learn more. It's pretty cool how things like that happen, if we would have went to the Muhlesteins we would have missed her. At our next appointment the guy wasn't home so we just did doors for the next hour and a half or so, then went to the Muhlesteins and called you! It was a pretty good day. This transfer is already half way through, it’s kind of scary sometimes how quickly transfers go by. We have to get the most out of the little time we have. It’s a lot of fun though and we're always busy so it’s good.
 

Well since we skyped yesterday I don't really know what to write about...thanks for the package though and getting me that ipod! Tell Ben thanks as well for helping out. Elder Kearl is ready to head out so I'm gonna finish this. This morning I studied Alma 5 though, it is an amazing chapter. Verse 26: 'And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of hear, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can you feel so now?' It is a good question to ask yourself often. Can you feel so now? We should be striving for that feeling and using the times in the past that we have felt like that as a motivation or reminder. We remember those feelings and remain worthy and do our part to have more of the sacred experiences. I can't remember who the speaker was right now but this last conference someone was talking about Sundays and the spirit we feel and sacrament meeting, and then he said something like on Monday we have to return back to the world. After he said that I asked myself, how will you return? It’s helped me a lot to ask myself that. Not only just on Sundays but each day before I leave the apartment or after I have a very spiritual experience.
 

The Gospel is amazing, my love for it grows each day as I study it and teach it. My love for all you grows daily as well, and with that, my love for the Gospel grows. I am so grateful for it and for the blessings we as a family receive from the Gospel. I love you all, it was fun talking to you yesterday! Have a good week!!
Elder Puriri

MOTHERS DAY - MAY 9, 2010

SUCH A DELIGHT!

LETTER #24 - NORDHAUSEN

HI!

We're on the computer at the same time, thats pretty funny! We could send emails back and forth and chat haha but that would take forever. Plus we're going to talk on Sunday so it's ok. Oh and I can skype on mothers day! I'm going to use the Muhlesteins computer at 6PM Sunday night so 10am for you guys. That’s crazy Garett's farewell is this coming Sunday. That's way cool, I wrote him a week or so ago so maybe he's gotten my letter. I haven't gotten Asa's letter yet or the package. It will probably come in today’s mail. Except I looked at my blog and it’s not Stollberger Str. 18 its Stolberger Str. 78. I've been getting your letters anyway but just so you know.

The first of May was pretty nice. The ward went for a spaziergang...a walk I guess ha. But through this big park in the city then we had lunch all together it was pretty cool. People had lots of ribbons in their trees and stuff but I didn't take any pictures sorry. Maybe next year ha. Then that night we had our windows open and could hear some concert that was going on down in the park. The band was playing old Beach Boys songs and stuff it was pretty funny.

This last week was good though. Pretty busy and it went by pretty quick. We had interviews with President Pimentel on Wednesday then I went on tausch in Weimar with Elder Webb again right after. President and I didn't talk about the Frankfurt mission at all or even the missions combining so still have no idea what’s going to happen there. May end up a Frankfurt missionary or I might stay a Berlin missionary. Won't find out about that for another month or so. Doesn't really matter, just have to serve my best where ever I am. Elder Killpack is now serving in Erfurt and we are tausching tomorrow so that will be cool to work with him again for the day! He thinks we're both headed to Frankfurt but we'll see.

The tausch in Weimar was pretty good. Elder Webb and I taught this couple from Azerbaijan, it was an awesome lesson. A member of the Branch Presidency from Weimar was there well with us. We talked about the Atonement in Alma 7:11-16. They both want to be baptized! So Elder Webb and Elder Watkins will continue helping them prepare for baptism. I really like how Alma 7:11-16 talks about the Atonement. The first 3 verses talk about Christ’s part and what he did for us. Then the last 3 verses talks about our part and what we need to do. Christ’s part is very long and there are many things he has done for us. Our part includes 5 things; faith, repentance, baptism/receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost (two things but one without the other is not complete), and keeping the commandments. Comparing his part with our part in those 6 verses, his part is much harder. If we do our part, we don't have to suffer the things he suffered for us. The Atonement is a real thing, and we should take advantage of it. If we don't do our part then Christ suffered for us in vain. He suffered for us out of pure love, so that we could become clean and have a way to return to live with our Heavenly Father. We show him our love and our gratitude by using the atonement he has provided for us. It’s a pretty amazing thing and kind of hard to grasp the real meaning of it. Elder Scott talked about it this last conference, the significance of the Atonement. He encouraged all of us to study and pray for a better understanding of the Atonement. I've been doing that and hope to be able to better understand the Atonement more and more throughout my life. I do understand it more now then I did before my mission. But there is always more to learn.

Sorry this one is kind of short, but we'll be able to talk on Sunday! Thanks for all your guy’s letters and love. I hope everything is going good. Be positive and be happy! I love you all so much.

Elder Puriri