LETTER #45 - NORDHAUSEN

Hello!

It has been a pretty good week! The weather this week was actually warm and sunny then Friday hit and it’s been getting colder each day ha. I'm kind of refusing to wear my winter coat in September but we'll see how long I last. I’m thinking positive and hoping that this will blow over and sun and warm will come back ha. It’s the 6th week of the transfer already, which means transfer calls on...Sunday most likely. Each transfer goes by fast, then I think that was quick, there is no way any other transfer could go quicker. But somehow they do, it is a scary thing! Time is weird on a mission!

The week was good though. We ended up doing 2 tausches so that kinda made the week seem like it went by even faster. I was with Elder Davis in Nordhausen Tuesday then with Elder Malyon in Erfurt Wednesday. Tausches are always good, you get to learn from other Elders and see how they do things. There is always so much to learn and so many ways to become better. Some times it’s kind of overwhelming, gotta stay focused and take it one at a time. We had a pretty different experience on Sunday. The Muhlesteins were in Weimar for Sunday so Elder Gassman and I were the only 2 priesthood holders there. 

I was conducting the meeting that day anyway it was kind of funny that it was just us 2. Sadly the other brothers weren't able to make it to church Sunday so it was only sisters. So I conducted and blessed the sacrament, and Elder Gassman passed and gave a talk. It felt weird doing all of that but it was good. Before I came to Nordhausen I had never thought about being in a branch presidency and before yesterday I never thought being the presiding authority at a meeting. It was pretty funny.

It was a very good Sunday meeting though. It was actually kind of humbling to be able to do all that. Like Joseph Smith would often say and many others how they are our humble servants, I never really got that. Then yesterday I kind of understood that a little better. We are given Gods authority so that we can serve others better. I was thinking about it during church and it’s not like 'check out Elder Gassman and Me, we're presiding, without us you guys couldn't

have church'. I stood up to begin the meeting and felt suddenly a very humbling feeling, almost inadequate. Everyone was kind of looking at me funny because it took me a little to begin speaking. But I realized as I stood up and looked at them that I had the opportunity to be their servant that day, and what a blessing that is. I've continued to think about that and the opportunity I have daily to serve. As Eric kept talking about, how great is my calling. It is a very humbling calling and to fulfill it completely I do need help.

It’s just such a cool thing though. The Gospel is built around love, charity, and service. I was able to learn even more about that yesterday and am very grateful for that. The purpose of all the things we have and the priesthood and ordinances and things are all there so that we can better serve people. Its like we can do a little, but then with the things God has given us we become like super helpers. We can accomplish so much more. 

The gospel is a blessing, and can bless our lives. When we however forget ourselves, we can bless others so much more. Then it becomes easier and easier to forget ourselves because we are realizing the true meaning of happiness. We feel this real meaning of happiness as we live the gospel and serve others. As we do things that are pleasing to God. Our desire for this happiness is a motivation to do all we can to have it. When we feel it we obviously want others to experience the same happiness, which is our motivation to share the gospel. The word happy now has a new meaning to me. It’s not just how I feel in that moment. Happy is an eternal thing. Things could be going wrong at some moment and things not working out, it could be a tough day, but you can still be happy! Happy is a deeper feeling then just how we feel right in that moment. Keeping an eternal perspective is

important!

The Gospel is amazing. Br. Löhrman in annaberg used to always say ''Das Evangelium is einfach wunderbar, und wunderbar einfach!'' The Gospel is simply wonderful, and wonderfully simple! Very true. There are still though many many things to learn! 

Well I hope everyone is doing good. Hope you’re all excited for conference!! I've never been so excited for it my whole life ha, I feel like it’s gonna be like Christmas. All the talks are like presents and they will be slowly opened throughout the weekend! Its gonna be good. I love you all very much. Have a good week and be HAPPY!

Elder Puriri

LETTER #44 - NORDHAUSEN

Bloggers note - Definitely read the last paragraph of this letter.  It's the best part!

Family family!

I got Aunt Moana's package on Tuesday in Nürnberg. Thank you! Elder Gassman and I are enjoying everything in it. Germany is good and Nordhausen is good. Fall kind of arrived. It’s definitely getting colder, which is definitely not cool. I am not looking forward to fall and winter and wearing layers of clothing again. But its ok I guess, it’s not like I can do much about that.

It has been a pretty good week though! So much happened it doesn't seem like it could have only been a week. We were in Nürnberg Monday and Tuesday, Wednesday we had a full day in Nordhausen, Thursday we tausched with the Elders in Weimar and I went there, Friday we had interview with President in Erfurt and tausched back to our normal companions, then Saturday we went to a town called Sangerhausen for an appointment and spent some of the day there, then Sunday was a normal day. So we kind of only had 2 normal days in Nordhausen. So much that happened so quickly it’s crazy it was only a week!

Nürnberg was cool. We had some time to go walk around on Monday and see a bit of the city. It’s huge compared to Nordhausen, and so many people everywhere! I don’t know how your supposed to talk to all of them! Then Tuesday was the zoco thing which was good.

Thursday I was in Weimar with Elder Schuetz (Californ.i.a.). It was a fun tausch. It kind of rained a lot but that’s alright. We did a...Straßenausstellung...street display I guess with the members there. It was pretty cool. I went on a little split with the Branch President there and we walked around the city for an hour talking to people. That was pretty cool I'd never done that before. Right before we headed back we talked to this way cool couple and made out an appointment for the Weimar elders. I was grateful the branch pres. was also able too see a bit of success with the missionaries and hopefully it continues coming. The members there were so ready to do missionary work it was awesome. We did splits with a couple of them and just went and talked to people around town it was cool. I hadn't seen members doing that before. We also taught a really cool lady for the first time with one of the members who will continue meeting with the Elders there. It was a good austausch.

The coolest thing though was Friday morning we were still in Weimar and Elder Gassman called me and said 'guess who the Muhlesteins just saw!' I had no idea so I just had him tell me ha. He said 'Ahsan!' and I didn't believe him for a little ha. Ahsan went back to Bangladesh for the summer break and it turned out he wasn't going to be able to come back to Germany. Then we lost contact with him for a month or more so I wasn't sure if I'd ever be able to see him again. He saw the Muhlesteins taking stuff to their car and ran over and helped them carry stuff and told them everything worked out and that it’s all good. I was so happy, such a blessing. Apparently he also had some friends with him and they all said they wanted to learn more about the church too. Ahsan couldn't make it to church this Sunday but were going to visit him this week; I'm way excited to see him again.

I was giving a talk though yesterday and from the pulpit you can see the front entry into the church and some kid walked in, came into the chapel and sat down in the back. After sacrament meeting Elder Muhlestein told me that was one of Ahsans friends who wanted to learn more and they had invited him to church. So we were able to meet with him during the second hour and will be again on Wednesday with Ahsan there. It was so cool!

We have been praying for Ahsan so much that he would be able to come back and that everything would be able to work out. Then we stopped hearing form him and got a little worried. But we never stopped praying and hoping. Then he just shows up! Prayer and faith are very powerful things. God was watching out for Ahsan that whole time. And He has answered our prayers and helped Ahsan come back.

We were also able to meet again with that German/Polish family. The Moms name is Agnus, well its something else but its polish so they pronounce it Agnus in German. She is way cool. She has lots of questions and is willing to listen and learn. She is a very humble lady and way nice. The appointments with her are always good. We are meeting with her again on Wednesday so that will be cool.

Things are going pretty good though. There’s always high times and low times and things in our way to slow us down, but we always have to remember to never give up. To push forward with faith and things will work out. Mission life or non mission life there are always things trying to slow us down and stop us. We just have to always keep an eternal perspective. Remember our goals and who is on our side helping us along the way, and we can overcome everything.

Remember Mom when you had Romans 8:31 on the fridge for a while. That became one of my favorite scriptures. 'What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?' As we keep the faith and press forward, with God on our side we will succeed. God is our heavenly father and loves us more then we can comprehend. He didn't send us here to earth so that we could have a tough life, become discouraged, and fail. He wants more than anything that we succeed. We must simply recognize this and push forward. God is there ready, waiting, and pleading that we allow him to help us. He will give us all that he can in order for us to succeed. We just have to allow him to. In allowing him to we are doing our part and living the gospel, even when it’s hard. Then we know that we really will be ok, that nothing can stop us, and that whatever comes can be overcome. Our Heavenly Father is God Almighty, and he will always prevail. As it says in Romans 8:31, with him on our side, nothing can stop us. I love you all with all my heart! Thank you for everything. Have a good week and most importantly be happy!

Elder Puriri

LETTER #43 - NORDHAUSEN

Hello!

I'm doing good mom! Looks like last weekend was lots of fun. I haven't gotten that package yet. If she sent it to the mission office then I will get it tomorrow probably. We are going down to Nuernberg today and have a zone conference thing there tomorrow and they will bring all the mail from the office. But yea this last week was pretty good! We had lots of time to find and it went pretty good! Things were going a little slower then Wednesday we had a good day and met 4 cool people and were able to set up appointments with them.

We had a really cool experience with a family here in the ward. The Schoepp family who just joined the church this year. Evelyn had a baby back in march and the doctors had said that he might have water on his brain and some other problems that I'm not quite sure how to translate and put in English. So of course the Schoepps were a little worried. We went by last week and read with them Elder Oaks talk about priesthood blessings and talked to them about it and then asked if they would like us to give one to Jonathan(their baby). It was a really cool experience. Before we went in I asked Elder Gassman if he would give the blessing, I just felt like it would be good if he did it. He hadn't given a blessing yet but he said he'd do it. I thought back on when I gave a blessing for the first time and in German and how nervous I was so I could relate to how he was feeling. As we gave the blessing though a very calming feeling came over the room. It kind of felt like a warm blanket that came down on all of us. It was already quiet since we were giving a blessing but in this moment it seemed to somehow get even more quiet. As we said amen we all felt really good. And Evelyn then picked up Jonathan and said If its the Lord's will you will be just fine. It was such a cool thing. Of course she wants him to be fine but she understood the biggest part and said it would be according to the Lord's will. So we continued to pray for Jonathan and then we called them up a few days ago to see how it went at the doctors and Evelyn said "The doctors checked again and said they must have seen wrong because there is no water on his brain". It was such a blessing and a few days later we visited them again and were blessed to be able to hear Daniel and Evelyn bear testimony of the power of God and his blessings. 

It is such a blessing that we know that God, our heavenly father, is there and honestly loves every one of us. His power is real, his blessings are real. As we so often hear, he is a God of miracles. The blessings and miracles we see will never cease as long as our faith is there. I read Mormon 9 this morning and he talks a lot about him being a God of miracles and what that actually means. His blessings and gifts are there, we just have to exercise faith and do our part and he will give them to us. I am grateful for this knowledge. And I am grateful for the gospel, that it is real, and not just some comforting thing we made up to help us through life. It is very real, and we see that as we test it. As we keep the commandments and receive the blessings, and as we exercise faith. I hope you all will continue to test it, to push forward and trust in God. Blessings really will follow, I promise you that. I love you all so much. As always, look for the good! You’re all in my prayers.

Elder Puriri

LETTER #42 - NORDHAUSEN

Hi!

Feels weird I emailed last Thursday night then again today. That came fast. I haven't gotten Aunt Moana's package yet. I don’t know how long packages take but if she sent it I’m sure it will get here. I already told you a lot about last week and what happened. It was good though. I've had some time to organize my thoughts and am still learning from last week. We had a pretty cool experience last night though.

So back in...May with Elder Kearl. I told you about this like Polish/German Lady we talked to. Just to refresh though. We were walking out to go by on another lady and decided to take this other street that would also take us there that we hadn't gone down very often. While we were going down this street this lady was out in her yard so we talked to her and ended up talking to her for about 30 minutes over the fence. Her 2 daughters even came over by the fence and sat on the stairs and listened to our conversation. In the end she said she sees us a lot in the area and next time we run in to each other we could talk. So for the next few weeks we would try by but never seemed to be there. Elder Loynes and I tried a bit but then eventually I kind of just forgot about them. 

Then last week as I were sitting in Friedrichsdorf taking notes this thought just

came into my mind that we should try by on that Lady again. I was kind of surprised since I hadn't thought about them in a while and that that thought came out of no where. So I wrote it down so I wouldn’t forget. 

Saturday night we were planning and planned to go by Sunday night. We prayed that we would be blessed to find them at home and that we would have the opportunity to give them a Book of Mormon and teach them. As we headed out in that direction Sunday night I felt good and was sure we'd be able to find them there. As we turned the corner to the street we saw her car out in front of her house that was a good sign ha. I wasn't sure what I was going to say since we had only talked once and that once was 3 months ago. I said a quick prayer and still felt a little worried. Then I figured whatever I'll just ring and I'll be able to say the right thing. So that’s basically what happened! I rang and she came to the door and was actually way excited to see us. I just asked if she remembered us and that last time we mentioned that we wanted to bring a book by. She said well why you don’t come in! Those are nice words to hear as missionaries ha. So we went in and sat down with her at the table. I pulled out the Book of Mormon in Polish and German and handed her both and told her we were going to explain a little bit more about them. Then the daughter was coming down the stairs to do something and she ended up standing there for like 10 minutes just listening. Then she left and then on the way back upstairs she stopped again and ended up standing there for the whole thing. She even started asking questions as well. They were both way cool. Very down to earth and the lesson was very just like natural. It was really one of the coolest lessons. We were able to be very down to earth and just explain things very openly and they were both paying attention and had good questions. The Mom even promised to read the book before we even asked her which was sweet. We're going back next Sunday so that will be good. 

It wasn't just some random thing though that I thought of them during that meeting. And that everything worked out perfect so that we could meet with them. God knows when people are ready and if we are listening we will know too. He definitely guides us when we are ready to listen and to act. The spirit plays the biggest role. The song 'Let the Holy Spirit Guide' or however it is has been stuck in my head the last few days. It is so important though. The spirit down so many things, we just have to be receptive and willing to listen. Which also includes being humble and recognizing that we cannot accomplish this alone. We are dependent on the spirit and the Lords guidance in all aspects of life. I don’t really understand it all yet and so I can't explain it all either. But that’s why we're here, to learn and grow. But we can't become what God expects from us without the help from the Holy Ghost. Mosiah 3:19. We need to listen to know how we can accomplish this.

Sorry this is a bit short. Elder Gassmans finished and waiting and we are going to go see if we can play a little soccer. I love you all so much though. I hope you’re all doing good. Find real happiness in the gospel!

Elder Puriri

LETTER #41 - NORDHAUSEN

Meine Familie!

Hi! It’s Thursday night and I’m emailing you. Kind of weird. But it was a crazy week, but so amazing!! So many things happen every day that I can't like remember and differentiate between days ha. They just all happen and I try to learn and grow and do what I can and yea. Days mix together and time flies by. But yea I guess I just forgot to tell you that? I don’t know I just never thought about it I guess.

Anyway! So Sunday night we got a call at about 6pm from the elders in Erfurt and they were telling us about the train times for Monday morning since we were going to Frankfurt. They said "yea so the train leaves at 5:18am" I just started laughing playing it out in my mind me and Elder Gassman trying to make the train at 5:18 in the morning when we would have to get up and all. Then he goes "oh 5:18 from Erfurt" then it wasn’t so funny anymore ha because its about 1 hour and 20 min train from Nordhausen to Erfurt. Then it was ok though because they said we could come down that night and then just get up and go from Erfurt. So that’s what we did! Elder Gassman went with Elder Conrad to Gera and I went with Elder Conrads comp and the zls in Erfurt to Frankfurt in the morning. We walked from the Elders apartment in Erfurt to the banhof at like 445am ha. 4 guys in suits with backpacks on carrying duffelbags walking through the middle of this silent dark city at that time. We figured we probably could have done doors right then and had a good chance at catching everyone at home, but we figured we probably wouldn’t catch them in the best mood so we decided against that. 

Train ride to Frankfurt though then we changed trains and caught a smaller one to a smaller part outside of Frankfurt called Friedrichsdorf where the temple is! The church building is on temple grounds and they have like dorms on grounds for people to stay in who come from far away. So about 30 of us missionaries were staying in those. It was such a cool 3 days. Kind of like the MTC again but a bit more intense/advanced I guess. It was a very spiritual few days.

We spent all day everyday on temple grounds and when you're there you basically can't see off temple ground because of the hills or buildings.  So we had beautiful temple grounds surrounding us and the temple right there and the whole atmosphere the whole time was so cool.  It just felt good.   

We got taught a lot from Pres. Ninow and we did a whole ton of roll playing and practicing the stuff we were learning. It was so good. Learned a ton and realized how much more I need to learn. It always works like that I swear. There was one other elder there from the Berlin mission but other then that it was mostly Frankfurt elders with a few from Munich mission and Hamburg. It was cool though being able to meet all of them and learn from everyone. Lots of very cool spiritual learning experinces. Apparently we are having this meeting every other month for at least the next year. I may not go to every one but I hope just because it was amazing. Such a cool learning experience.

Today we had a district meeting and it was so good. Everyone is just excited about the new stuff. And like its not really knew its just stuff we never really thought about that we could be doing to improve our teaching.

Sorry if this email doesn’t make a lot of sense. I’m basically still overwhelmed with lots of ideas and new things and haven't had a chance yet to sit down and just figure it all out. Maybe I think Saturday morning I have study and can do that. Tomorrow it’s back to Erfurt for a meeting thing. But just for the morning. It’s crazy we haven’t been in Nordhausen all week! Today we were but this morning we were in Erfurt, tomorrow morning we’re in Erfurt.

I feel like a new missionary kind of. Like when we got back last night we had one hour to go out. As we prayed and left our apartment I just felt new like refreshed kind of. Today was also good. We even caught Xiang again at home! He went back to China in the middle of June I think it was and today we went by and he was there! Awesome guy and we made an appointment out with him for later. Things feel really good right now. I've also been learning a ton about the importance of the spirit. How much a literal and real role he plays in our lives. I've been focusing more on the spirit and been praying to better recognize and understand the Holy Ghost. It’s amazing how much of a difference I’ve noticed. It makes me excited to improve it more and for the things that could come from that.

Yea this email is kind of confusing probably. Saturday I have study and can hopefully organize my thoughts then my email on Monday won’t be so all over the place! I’m gonna send some more after this email from a p-day we spent with the Muhlesteins visiting a denkmal...memorial probably I think. Its pretty huge and cool though.

The spirit is amazing though. Study up about it and pray for it and learn to recognize and better that ability. It is a life long process and requires a constant effort. We talked about Captain Moroni and that verse that says what would happen if every man were like him and Pres Ninow simply said "you get there by every little decision". I've been thinking about that lots. Anyway before I confuse you anymore I’m gonna end this and go home ha. I love you all so much!! Find the good in everything and be happy!

Elder Puriri