LETTER #69 - FRANKFURT

Hello!
It’s finally getting warmer here! You almost don't even have to wear a coat. I guess it’s warm enough not to but to avoid getting sick randomly I still am. Sun isn't shining but it is warmer, which probably means rain. Weather is how it is though so whatever. The last week was good though!

 
Lots of the people we are teaching right now were busy last week so we weren't able to meet with many of them, but that gave us time to go find new people! Wednesday night our phone rang, when I answered I couldn't tell who it was. She was saying 'it’s your mother' but in German. So I was confused obviously ha. Then she started laughing and said it was Sister Muhlestein! It was pretty funny, she basically was my mom in Nordhausen. They were in Frankfurt for the night before they left home. They had served their mission and were going home! I couldn't believe it. They were at a restaurant in downtown Frankfurt and asked if we could come by quickly to see them. I was way excited to go see them again and we had time to go down there.

 
On the way there I talked to this man sitting next to me in the tram. We had an interesting conversation. He was not willing to learn more, but he explained to me he had 2 sons who were also around my age. He said he wishes they also had an anchor to hold them solid like I have. He basically told me a lot about how he finds it so interesting that he sees so many different young missionaries like me. Young men, taking time to go teach others about Jesus Christ. He didn't understand exactly why we do it, but he has a lot of respect for it. I tried to explain why and to bear my testimony, the time was short though and he got out. It’s interesting to see the little effects we have on people. The way what us just being here makes them think. With the over 50 thousands missionaries out there. It’s hard to think all 50 thousand plus of us go out just because we're told to or because we're bored or don't know what else to do. We go and do this because we have a love for our Father in heaven and our Savior, Jesus Christ. And this important message is the only thing that will truly, eternally help anyone.

 
We got out at the tram stop and hurried quick to the restaurant I was really excited. I was thinking how weird it is that almost a year ago I got to Nordhausen. And that the Muhlesteins had only been out for a little while. Now they are leaving! I thought a lot about all the different things that happened there and the awesome experiences and things I was able to learn. It was so cool to be able to see them once more before they left. We were able to talk shortly, I found out more about how things in Nordhausen are. They are wonderful people! I learned a lot from the Muhlesteins and was very grateful to be able to see them again before they left.

 
It was almost 9 as we left them so we were half jogging back to the tram stop trying to hurry to get home. Just before we got to the entrance to the underground a man walked by us Elder Amandoron quickly spoke to him. He stopped, and listened. We talked for 15 minutes about Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon. He was from India and was leaving Germany the next morning. He only gave us his email so we emailed him with a way to contact the church and the website mormon.org. He was really cool and you could see he was sincere in his current search for religion. We had hurried by so many people on the way there but Elder Amandoron said he felt like we needed to talk to him as we almost jogged past him. We did, and even if we can't do much more to help him right now, we feel like we made an impression. Hopefully things will work out for him.

 
This week we also had 2 tausches where I was able to learn a lot. I was here in Frankfrut with Elder Gunnell for one and the other I was in Usingen with Elder Metcalf. They are both hard working Elders, it’s definitely a blessing to be able to serve with all of them. I am learning more and more to simply love working. It’s a blessing to be able to work. And so many blessings come from work. Obviously we get tired, hungry, or whatever else, but there is something about just pushing through.

 
I compared it in my mind a lot this week to soccer. When you’re running to a 50/50 ball. Racing your opponent. Often your shoulder to shoulder, he's elbowing you, pulling your shorts or jersey, trying to step in front of you, your legs are beginning to sting and burn. One of my favorite feelings was to be in this 50/50 race. You're both at a sprint. As all this is happening the best feeling was to push harder! Break this barrier. Often I'd think I was already running my fastest, but I was still shoulder to shoulder with the kid. I didn't want to have to deal with him when I got to the ball. So I'd think what if I just pushed a little harder...and a little harder, slowly I'd pull away, gain distance, and get to the ball first. It was such a rewarding feeling to feel myself actually speeding up instead of slowing down; when I already thought I was at my full speed.

 
The mission is the same!! So often you feel like you're already giving everything, working your hardest. Then you think...what if I pushed it, what if I talked to one more person, what if I pushed through this sting and burn? The coolest thing is the feeling that comes as you are doing that and then afterward. Continually pushing the previous limit. You slowly recognize limits are mental.

 
As I compared this to soccer I realized once you win that 50/50 it is definitely not done. You don't push your hardest then push some more to get to the ball touch it stop and say ''I won''. You get to the ball then push even harder. Now you have to be moving faster than the kid behind you and so does the ball. You just created more work for yourself. But then you send the perfect pass, take the perfect shot. The work continues and becomes increasingly harder throughout the 90 minutes. It is not over until the whistle is blown. Then can you breathe, then can you rest a little.

 
It’s the same here. You think ok I'll push it, I'll talk to more people, I'll extend more invitations, I'll work better with the members, I'll help the other missionaries more. Continually pushing yourself, continually creating more work becoming accountable for more and more. But for some reason it becomes more enjoyable, easier to do, you begin organizing better, you’re more focused, the spirit is stronger, you simply having more fun.

 
Soccer is like a mission ha. You've been working hard all day, it’s almost 9 and you’re heading home. You get in a tram and sit down dead tired and hungry. Your eyes keep shutting and your head dropping in between stops. Then a man gets in and sits down by you. (88 minute, legs are burning, you have cotton mouth, haven't been subbed yet. You just got kneed in the calf and it’s cramping. 50/50 ball sent in the air over your direction. You know you’re not supposed to let it bounce and risk losing it) Your eyes are heavy, you want to just sleep for the next few stops. But you know you should talk to the guy, and you don't know how soon he'll get out. You take a deep breath, push off the thought that he'll get another chance, look up, smile, and begin the conversation. (you take a deep breath, and push away the thought that someone else will get it and take off towards the ball as fast as you can. you push through the pain, don't let down, and you’re the first to the ball.) You continue smiling; fight off the distractions of sleep, food, and whatever else is around. You bring the conversation to the gospel and invite him to learn more. He gives you his contact information and you make out an appointment. You now have an appointment, and you push diligently forward and decide how you're going to handle that now. (You now have the ball and your pushing forward as fast as you can. You now decide what you’re going to do with it.) This is the beginning of the work, the building up to the greater joys.

 
Of course the ball doesn't have free agency; you can make it do whatever you want. A Soul is most definitely different. But you still do all you can to help them to use their agency correctly. The rewarding feelings come along the way. When you make out an appointment, when someone agrees to keep a commitment, when they keep the commitment, when they are baptized, when they enter the temple, and in many other things. (When you win a ball, send a good pass, give a good assist, score a goal, and other ways). But it is not over until it is over. And we cannot rest until it is over. No matter how tired or warn out we are. You play until the whistle.

 
There is a quote from Elder Christofferson that basically sums this all up, ''Work builds and refines character, creates beauty, and is the instrument of our service to one another and to God. A consecrated life is filled with work, sometimes repetitive, sometimes menial, sometimes unappreciated but always work that improves, orders, sustains, lifts, ministers, aspires''.

 
I've experienced this, and am very grateful for this. It’s in the little things where the big differences are made. Keeping all the little rules, having a good study, planning seriously. (Working back, being the 2nd defender, staying ball side/goal side, pushing up or back even when you don't think you're in the play). As he said, many of these things are menial, sometimes unappreciated, but they always improve, order, sustain, lift, minister, and aspire.

 
I am grateful for the opportunity to work, for the capability to push harder than I thought I could and for the simple joys and truths in hard work.

 
I love you all, and I hope you are all doing good. Thank you for everything. Have a good week!
Elder Puriri

LETTER #68 - FRANKFURT

My dear family!
Sorry this is a day late! Random things come up all the time and through out pday so don't worry when you don't hear from me on Mondays. This time it was a German holiday though. President didn't want us to have pday on it and be out with all the people partying during the day so he moved it. Which didn't really matter since the thing basically went since last Thursday and ends tomorrow. So there will still be partying people everyone. Frankfurt was only bad in certain parts of the city though which were easy to avoid.

Anyway! The last week was good and flew by. I was looking back through my planner to find something and looked back like two weeks and couldn't find where I wrote it down. Then I just started flipping closer and closer to today. Then on Wednesdays page last week I found it! So strange I thought it was over 2 weeks ago. Time doesn't exist. It does actually but it’s weird.

The week was good though. We did a few tausches and I was the one who usually went to the other cities last week. It was cool though I was in Wiesbaden with Elder Schwitters. That area is an American Military ward. It was so weird! All the stuff we did was in English. I kept messing up and would switch in to German and realize they had no idea what I was saying. My ability to pray in English is basically gone. I have to go really slow and think really hard. And still I mess up and organize the sentence according to German grammar and when I'm at the end of the sentence I want to say the unconjugated form of the verb and realize that makes no sense in English. So I pause and wait and think ‘how I can somehow make it make sense.’ Usually I don’t know so I just start the sentence over and remember to put the verb where it’s supposed to be.

It was cool to be there though and see the dedicated US Military members. They are really cool. The ward there is also pretty big. At the end of the night we did splits with the Elders quorum. So I went with this one brother to go do some home teaching. We visited this family with a few little kids and all the little kids were running around speaking in English and it was confusing me so bad. I would forget it was an American family and hear all the little kids speaking English so fast and then it would register. I don't think I would do good in a military ward. I don't know how to do gospel in English anymore. Plus the English I've been speaking for the last however many months has been with others who speak German as well. So we use a whole lot of German words in there and German grammar. That’s ok though! Because I'm serving in Germany among German speaking people. So my English doesn't have to be perfect.

Then we had these 2 Elders from Koblenz come down and stay with us for a day because there city turned into party city. They are both German and can speak zero English. Elder Amandoron can understand basically everything and can express himself pretty good in English, we only speak German though. It was funny though being with them for a day. They don't understand any English at all. The funniest was they brought their areabook with them for us to translate. They said ''Look it doesn't work. We want to do areabook work and find people out of it. So we open it up, sit down in front of it. And see words all over that we don’t understand. Everyone writes in English! Imagine you sat down and opened an areabook up and it was written in Arabic. That’s how we feel.'' They're good Elders though and they work hard. Its way cool being able to work with so many different missionaries.

We helped one of the Romanian families move last week. That was also fun. They love having us around and they seem to be accepting everything pretty well. The other Romanian family was too busy to meet with us for a while (the 27 year old father and mother with 5 kids). Then he called us Saturday and asked if we could come that night. We had time so we went out there. As we walked in they already had visitors. All the kids and mothers were in one room talking, and they showed us into the dinner room. Around the table were a few men speaking Romanian with their bibles in front of them. The father stood up and showed us our chairs and said ''finally, finally you are back''. We were able to give them all a Book of Mormon in Romanian and to talk to them about why it is so important. They are all Pentecostal and very strong in their faith. So the 2 other men had tons of questions and were basically trying to prove us wrong while Herr Tinislaf (the father) had his book open to 3rd Nephi 11 and was reading quietly. One of them started to tell us that we were weren't teaching certain things that were very important, then Tinislaf spoke up (with his head still down reading) and pointed at the book and said ''yea but it’s all here'' then he just kept reading. The man looked at him confused and we said ''yea. Let’s open up and all read together''. He is searching and wants to know if it is true, and he will find out. It was a cool appointment.

Today was also cool. We started off our pday with a quick stop at a member’s to help her. She is actually in the International ward in Frankfurt and we had never met her. But the Sisters in the International ward called us last night and asked if we could go help. The sister in the ward had just had an operation and had her hip replaced and she couldn't walk up the stairs to her apartment. So we met her and her son there in the morning.

We decided the easiest way to carry her up would be if she was sitting in a chair. So her son went up to the 4th floor to get a chair from her apartment. As he was gone the Sister took her crutches in one hand, grabbed the railing, and started pressing forward up the stairs. We kept telling her it’s ok and that she could wait but she just went. So we stood at her side until she had made the first flight. Then her son came back with the chair. Her son grabbed her bags and everything. Then we got the chair and sat her in it then Elder Amadoron and I carried her in the chair up to the 4th floor. They invited us in quickly to sit down and talk.

They are from Bolivia but have been in Germany for 40 years. The sister was probably in her 80s and her son in his 50s or 60s. They both just kept saying thank you and explaining how grateful they were. It was just a quick stop along our way in the morning. We didn't really feel like we had done much but the way they were thanking us you'd think we just saved their lives or something. Shows again how amazing service is.

We may not think its much but to the people we are serving it means everything. They made out an appointment with us and would like to have us for lunch next week. Just for a 15 min thing. They were 2 very cool people. The sister was so grateful.

As we sat and talked I thought about other acts of service we do. And what the Savior did, and what he taught about it, and what service really means. It was a humbling experience. While we were sitting there I asked what kind of an operation she had had and she said she had her hip replaced. I was pretty surprised and said 'and you just climbed a flight of stairs!' Then she simply said ''yes...I wanted to do what I could to make your work easier''. In this moment where she needed help she was trying to figure out what she could do to make it easier for us. And she did something that was surely not easy or comfortable for her.

I learned a lot from her this morning. I hope to keep that always in mind, to also do whatever I can to lighten the burden of others. Even when it is not easy or comfortable. Because most the time it is not easy or comfortable. Like Elder Busche said--The pain of sacrifice last only a moment, it is the fear of the pain of sacrifice that makes us hesitate to act.

I am really grateful for my life. For the life God has given me and the experiences I have had along the way and the people I have met. For the many things I've been able to learn from so many people who don't know the impact they have had. Many of them I will not be able to thank in this life. Many I don't even know, or only knew for a short moment. The only way I can say thank you or repay them right now I think is to live what I learned from them. And to live it the best I can. And become the best I can. And doing that so that I may be more capable to serve others and pass on what I have learned to enrich the lives of others and bring them closer to their father in heaven. The Gospel is the best tool to do that.

I love this work, and I love you all so much! I hope you all have a good week. Look for opportunities to serve.
Elder Puriri

LETTER #67 - FRANKFURT

Dear Fammmmiilllyyyyyyy
I hope everyone’s doing good and that Ammon is getting better! Being sick is really lame. I experienced that also last transfer. We were at Shahab's house (from Iran, baptized in November) last night and our spiritual thought after dinner turned into what a blessing it is to be healthy. Shahab is such a good guy. I'm really grateful I was able to meet him. The week though was cool! We had Zone conference and did a couple tausches. And found some cool people to teach!

 
On Tuesday I went to Wetzlar with Elder Hofbauer from Austria. It was a sweet tausch. He also loves soccer so we had a little soccer talk ha. I have no idea about anything now in the soccer world which I'm ok with. But it was weird talking about it again. We'll be playing soccer today again too so that’s sweet, also this might be short because of that. In Wetzlar though we taught the young men’s lesson on Missions and how you prepare and what it’s like, it was cool. Then there was a girl who is studying in Wetzlar from Hildesheim (small city close to Sarstedt where I lived!) and I recognized her. We saw her quick at the church. But I met her the one time I went to church in Hildesheim on my exchange, since the rest of the time I went in Hannover. That was pretty random though. The next day was ZOKO and that was good.

 
We then tausched with the Elders in Wetterau. I went there with Elder Staley who is from St. Louis, Missouri and has been out about 5 months now. He was really involved in missionary work back home and would go out all the time with the elders. He said one time he was with elders who were teaching Nelly! haha. I laughed so hard but he was serious. They went by and visited him but he wasn't there. Then the guy at the gate said ''Look Jesus boys. You know and we know that Nelly likes you comin by, but he 'aint here right now so you're gonna have to come back later''. I found that pretty funny ha. Nelly was meeting with missionaries. haha Anyway, the tausch was good. Towards the end of the night we were doing doors in a small town and we usually stop around 8 with doors. So we walked back to the car and got in then found a list on contacts on the street that we hadn't seen. We still had a bit of time so we went and tried by but they had no interest. So we walked back to the car, got it, then saw one more we missed. It was pretty late now so we weren't sure if we should try by. We decided to go so we got back out and walked down the street to the house. As we walked I prayed that this person would be home and be open for the Gospel so that we could have some success on that day. I wanted Elder Staley to have a good experience and for this person to be willing. As we rang the bell no one came. So we rang another bell then a lady opened the door and said hello. We introduced ourselves and talked to her about what we were doing. She explained she just moved in 3 weeks ago and doesn't know the people we were looking for. Our conversation continued and we talked about the love of God. She then said ''I would invite you in right now but it’s kind of late can we make out an appointment?'' Of course! So we did and exchanged contact information. Then we drove home! It was sweet. It was a little thing but way cool. Lots of miracles like that, they are always awesome to experience. Prayer is so cool, and that God blesses us with simple little things like that is amazing.

 
Being here has given me so many opportunities to learn to serve and love people. I am very grateful for that. The gospel is the best tool we have to serve people. There is a cool quote from Pres. Uchtdorf ''It seems only right and proper that we extend to others that which we so earnestly desire for ourselves.'' As we learn more about the gospel and our Savior. As we learn more about what he has done for us and what he has to offer us. Our desire for this grows, and so does our want to allow other people the same opportunity. As we learn in Helaman 5:10-11, Christ's power is conditional upon our actions. Because he knows this he sends people to declare these 'tidings and conditions' so that everyone can know them and act according to them. So that he can then use his saving power to redeem us! He loves us so much and knows we cannot be saved without knowing and acting in accordance with these things. He gives us all the opportunity to learn about them so we can then activate his power in our lives. I am very grateful for this and his mercy. I pray that we can all learn these things and choose to use them properly in our lives. Only in this way can our Savior and Redeemer use his power to save us.

 
I love you all very much. Thank you for everything you do to be good people and live the gospel. Have a good week,
Elder Puriri

LETTER #66 - FRANKFURT

Hello hello,

I'm writing again already! How did Ammon’s lesson go?? The dreads looked pretty good ha. How long can he keep them? It’s a good thing p-day isn't always this close together because its weird to be writing again so quick! Between Thursday and today it was a good 4 days! Not everything went good but the goods overcome the bad for sure.

On Friday we had a tausch with the elders in Hanau. I was with Elder Romriell in Frankfurt. He has been out now like 2 weeks! It was a fun tausch though. Our first appointment was this interview thing I had. A week or 2 ago a girl came to the church Monday night for the YSA fhe. She is a student at the University here studying psychology and they are supposed to be practicing interviews and stuff. Her main area is religion. So she found out about that activity and decided she wanted to interview 'mormons' and find out more about them. On the day she was there she was just standing there with her friend and I didn't know them so I went up and introduced myself and then at the end she asked if she could do an interview so we scheduled it for this last Friday. It was interesting though. It started with her asking me just to go through my life basically telling about important things that have happened that have played a part in shaping me into who I am today. So I took the opportunity to talk a lot about my family and the gospel and was able to bear lots of testimony! Then at the end she would go back on certain points and ask more questions about them. She had a little recorder and recorded it all then when it was done and she shut it off she began asking questions about the church and all. It was cool we were able to talk more about what we believe and she said she wanted to keep coming to the activities and to learn more about the church. Towards the end I asked if she had any more questions, then she sat there quietly for a second and said ''so, say somebody wants to convert to your church, but their life style is not the same as your guys's, do you accept them? Is that allowed?'' it was 'hypothetical' but we say through it ha. We talked more about why we are here as missionaries and what we do. Then we made out an appointment for later this week and we'll see! I feel good about it though and she seems like she’s sincere. It will be cool!

Then that night we went by on one of the Romanian families. The other one couldn't meet. The family we met with though was family Stancu. Only the Father was there this time but it was really good. It was weird though because the first time we met him he looked really really familiar to me. It was bugging me the whole time because I couldn't figure out where I knew him from. So during the days between our appointments I tried to think back on it but I couldn't remember. Then during that appointment the whole time I was thinking and couldn't figure out why he looked so familiar. So I gave up trying to remember but I could swear I knew him! So anyway the appointment went good. We taught the first lesson about the restoration and at the end emphasized the Book of Mormon. He said ''I need to first study this book, and the bible. Then I need to make out my thoughts about it, then I can pray about it and see if what I figured out was right, then God will tell me. If I don't study it, it won't work.'' It was sweet we just agreed and said yep you’re right! Usually we teach that but he said it first.

As we ended with a prayer and stood up he looked at me and said ''you know what. For some reason you look very familiar to me... I don't know where but I know we have met before.'' as he said that I was a little surprised and told him I felt the same way and explained to him I was trying to figure that out the whole time! I was thinking maybe I had just talked to him on the street somewhere. Then he said ''No...I know you. You and your companion who you came with last time (elder Amandoron). You have been in my house before, we have met before. We sat together and talked about God.'' I assured him that that wasn't possible and that I've been here since November and Elder Amandoron since....2 weeks. Here was very serious and had a confused look trying to figure out how it was possible. We never came to a conclusion. It is strange though! I could have sworn I had met him.

As we sat and talked during the first appointment I felt like I was having weird flash backs. Like I had some time before sat and looked at him and talked with him. Like I had sat at that same angle from him and seen him just how we were there, but like it was a long time ago. Then during the second appointment I was having the same weird flashbacks. But I wasn't like flashing back to anything; there was nothing solid to flash back to. Just like this pulling in my mind trying to remember when. It is hard to explain. I was very surprised when he said that I looked familiar to him though. I thought I was maybe just confusing him with someone else (which I had already considered and tried to figure out who I was confusing him with). When he said it though I didn't feel as crazy as I thought I was. It’s interesting though. As we left he said you can come back whenever you want. He is a cool guy and has a good family. I'm excited to continue to work with them.

The other Romanian family we weren't able to meet with during the week. The father however, came to church on Sunday by himself. I think just to check it out and all. He seemed to really enjoy it and participated in all the classes answering questions and all. It was good. At the end he also asked us to come again this week whenever we have time. We haven't given him his Book of Mormon in Romanian yet so that’s probably what we'll be doing. He is super advanced in his gospel knowledge though. He's only 27 and knows so much and has lots of good ideas. I am very grateful we were able to find them and that we have the opportunity to work more with them.

Then yesterday in the train on the way to an appointment I was spoken to by some random guy. Happens quite often as a mission but this one was strange. I was standing with a group of people around the doors because it was pretty full. There are big sliding doors on both sides. I was leaning on one side and had a clear view to the doors across from me. Threw the people I could see this man. He had gotten in the train right after me and asked somebody in German where the train was going then said thank you in French when they told him. As far as I could tell his German sounded German then the French ‘merci’ threw me off a little. I didn't think a lot about it though. Then as we were driving I looked up at him and he smiled and said (in perfect English, you could tell it wasn't his native tongue but it was almost without accent) ''Hi elder, what are you doing in Europe?'' It was weird because the train was loud but it was like I could only hear him suddenly. I was confused and said ''...serving a mission.'' Then he said “you’re on a mission saving peoples lives. You know Elder, America was the land where religious freedom was. It’s not a coincidence that it happened there. The only way we can spread this is by taking action. You are taking action. You are doing something.'' Then the train stopped and he said ''I have to get out here. Remember this though, I love you brother!'' Then he got out and disappeared into the crowd. Then all the sudden he was back at the doors and said ''Elder! Remember, there is only one truth in every matter! I love you!' Then he disappeared again. He had only gone one stop. During this time I was in awe for some reason. I think I was just really confused about what was happening. Why I could hear him so well and why he was speaking to me in English and also about the restored gospel. I said nothing during the conversation. It began, it ended, and he was gone. Super weird but it had a strange effect on me.

So many things happen on a mission!! So many things to learn to figure out. I love it all though. Were going to play soccer so I don’t have a lot of time today. The gospel is amazing and it is true. I love you all and pray for you every day! Be happy!

Elder Puriri

LETTER #65 - FRANKFURT

Hi!
Sorry it’s Thursday and I’m just writing. It has been a pretty eventful week and so was last week! This week we had another 3 day training meeting in Friedrichsdorf at the temple. Instead of staying overnight there though we had to ride a train to and from each day since we live pretty close. It was way cool though. It was basically the same as the last one a while ago but now that I was familiar with the stuff I was able to go into more of the details of it all. There has been so much change in the mission in the last six months that it was necessary to do it again basically the same as the first time. Apparently the training thing is supposed to be taking place a lot more frequently though. Until we learn how to do it all well I guess! It’s cool though it’s helping us develop our teaching skills; mostly in the area of focusing on the individual and their needs and trying to rely more on the spirit while teaching. I like it all though a lot.

 
There are advantages and disadvantages of living so close to Friedrichsdorf during the training. When you live far away you stay on temple grounds for 3 days and can just focus so easily because of the peace on the grounds so I missed that this time. But being so close we were able to get back to Frankfurt at night for at least an appointment each night. Then we were able to apply right away what we had learned that day and see how it changed the lesson. So that was also cool to see. I think though if I had my choice staying of temple grounds is what I would choose. It was a good 3 days though. I was able to see a lot of the missionaries I've met and worked with one way or another. It was nice hearing how they were doing and how things were going where they are serving. We were also able to do a temple session which just added to the whole feeling of being there. I really liked it, now it’s back out to your city and apply what we've learned.

 
Last week though was also cool! Elder Anderson and I had a list of a bunch of people who had formerly investigated the church but who hadn't had contact in a while. When we had time we would pick a few off the list and go by and see if they still had interest. Unfortunately we never had a lot of success with it. On Thursday last week after Elder Amandoron got here we chose a couple of the last few we hadn't gone by on yet and went by. At this one building we rang and nobody was home where we wanted, so we decided to try the people in the house. A guy answered and said 'I have no time right now but could you come back on Sunday at 2:00?' We said of course! And so Sunday we went by after church. He wasn't home at the time but his wife said he should be home soon and that we should try back in a bit. So we went back outside and were going to just go do doors on the street but we decided to try the family above them that we were trying to contact in the first place. A lady answered and wasn't interested at all at first and we just continued to say what we were doing and why we were there then she yelled something to someone in the house in some language we didn't understand then she said to us 'Ok we you have time right now can you come in?' (we love hearing this) So we went in and sat down with her and her husband. There were a few people cooking in the kitchen and a little girl was playing on the floor. They were all speaking Romanian as we found out a bit later. They were way cool though! They have a really strong faith in Christ already and were really interested in the Book of Mormon and finding out why it is so important for us. So we made out another appointment to bring back a Book of Mormon in Romanian tomorrow! Then as we left we asked if they knew anyone else who would be interested and they said yea you should try the family below us they also have a lot of questions about God. (Little did they know we actually were going to them anyway!) It was cool though.

 
We went down the stairs and knocked on the door and the wife opened again and said 'ok he's here now come in'. We went in and sat down with the father at the table and he put his bible on the table and sat down. Then said ok, why are you here. It was sweet. ha We explained a little then asked if we could begin with a prayer which he gladly agreed to. Slowly his children came in one by one and sat on the couch to the side of us and just sat and listened as well as his wife and the grandma. Before they were out playing and being loud so that was cool to see. By the end the whole family was sitting on the couches just looking at us and their dad talking. The dad by the way is 27, his wife around there as well, and they have 5 kids! 4 girls and a boy. It’s so cool! The Dad said ''We all believe in God. There is only one God. But there are so many different beliefs in the world and so many opinions about God. I believe that only one of them is right. I am not saying mine is right, I am not saying yours is right. I am simply saying we need to find the right one somehow so that we can truly follow God.'' You can imagine how we felt after he said that ha. We continued to teach about the Book of Mormon and then he said ''When do you have church? I need to come to your church and see how I feel there. I believe it is very important when thinking about a religion to visit their church services and see how you feel there before you know if it’s good'' So we told him when it was and explained to him how church normally went and that his whole family is welcome. He said that he and his family would try to come to church on the coming Sunday to see how it was. We made an appointment out for later this week to bring by a Book of Mormon in Romanian for him and his family. Then we said goodbye and went home for the night.

 
It was so cool! It all just went like almost too perfect it was weird, but a blessing! Both families are from Romania but speak good German and have been here for a long time and both had a sincere interest. We are very excited to continue to meet with them. Finding families is such a blessing and good feeling. It seems to be a rare thing here in Germany to find full families to teach so when it happens it’s really really cool. It’s a blessing and good feeling either way though simply finding someone who has a sincere interest in finding out if what we say is true. And if it is true, what that means for them.

 
It is such a significant thing that we are proclaiming. That God today, out of his love for us, has restored the true and pure church of Jesus Christ to this earth for the purpose of bringing to pass our salvation. Why a restoration was necessary, what it means, and how that affects literally every single individual person. It’s not just some nice thing that happened that can improve our lives or give us a hope to move forward. It is a very literal thing that is very necessary for us to find out if it’s real or not. Then to choose whether or not we will accept it and apply it. He has revealed to us the Plan of Salvation - God's perfect plan for us. When we understand this we understand better why things happen and what we are actually supposed to be doing here. We better grasp the seriousness of our use of our free agency. Almost every choice we make effects our progression or digression, either moving us closer towards God, or further away. There is no gray area. That is something I continue to learn more and more about. Light and dark cannot occupy the same space at the same time. We must realize this, and realize the magnitude of the effects of our choices. When we understand better and consider this more often we think much more about the choices we make.

 
God loves us very much. For that reason, he has created a plan to help us progress. We understand this better when we learn about the restoration of his church and the functions of the church today. Then as we do that we better understand our purpose and what our part is. How we can use these things God has given us to reach this divine potential we have inherited from our Father in Heaven. I am very grateful for the restored church of Jesus Christ. I am grateful for how much it has blessed my life and our family.

 
Before my mission I never really noticed how much it helped us. I'm sure I still do not realize what it has done for us, but I become more grateful for it as I learn more. I am also grateful for you, Mom and Dad, for raising us according to the Gospel of Christ. For putting up with us and being patient with us and for loving us no matter what we do. I am grateful for both of your examples in striving to live the Gospel, and I'm grateful for our Grandparents, aunts, and uncles, and that they strive to do the same. That we have had such a powerful influence all around trying to help us be better and do what God expects from us. You have been 'of God' as explained in Moroni 7:13, “But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, everything which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God.”

Thank you.

 
I love you all very much!! Thank you all for everything. Have a wonderful rest of the week!
Elder Puriri

LETTER #65 IS MIA

If you are a mother of a missionary then you know the state of my mind having not heard from Isaac this week.  Very frustrating!  In an effort to calm my nerves I emailed Sister Muhlstein whom Isaac served with in the Erfurt Zone for a little more than 3 months.  Aside from Isaac she is the only contact I have in the Frankfurt Mission.  

I think that one day when this blog becomes a book Isaac will appreciate this email correspondence so I copy and paste to this blogpost - 

---

Hello Sister MarJean,

Thank you for including us in your email.  I'm sure you are excited to see family and friends again.  I will keep you posted on Isaac's return home and maybe if it is convenient you can attend.  Speaking of Isaac, I haven't heard from him this week.  He said that if we did not see an email on Monday that it would arrive on Tuesday.  Today is Tuesday...there is nothing from him...a mother worries.

Do you know how I can check to make sure everything is fine?   

Laninina

 

Dear Sister Puriri,

Thank-you for keeping track of us. We definitely want to know when he has his homecoming address. We will want to be there. I know that there has been a leadership meeting in Frankfurt for all zone leaders this week. I'm sure that is what he is involved with. He is a wonderful leader and we have heard many good reports from other missionaries who have served with him. He leads gently, but directly and encourages everyone to do their best. I'm sure you will hear from him soon. I follow the blog that you are doing for him, and can see in his words that he remains dedicated to the Lord's work here in Germany. Thank-you so much for preparing your son to become a warrior for truth in these latter-days.

When you come to Salt Lake please let us know as well. We will look forward to meeting you in person soon.

With Love to you and your Family,
Sister Muhlestein

LETTER #64 - FRANKFURT

Hello hello, 

So we got transfer calls this morning! A day and a half late as usual but it’s alright. Not really late since I usually expect them Monday morning then it’s like they're on time! But Elder Anderson is being transferred to Dusseldorf! I'm getting another new companion! His name is Elder Amandoron. He was born in the Philippines and lived there for a while but has been in Germany for like 10 years or so. I worked with him once on a tausch in Heidelberg. I'm excited to work with him. It’s his last transfer though so I only get one with him. It’s a good opportunity to rise up a level for his last six week with him and then hold that level and later rise up more. This is my 11 transfer and he will be my 10th companion! That’s a lot ha, and next transfer I'll have another one. It’s cool though being able to get to know all of them and to learn from all of them. I've learned so much on my mission from my companions and am very grateful for each one of them. So yea, that’s transfers! Six new weeks ahead of us now. It’s always a refreshing feeling and I'm excited for this transfer.

 

The past was pretty cool. We were able to get in contact with a few investigators who we had lost contact with for a while. Now we are teaching them again and they are moving forward. We were able to do a temple tour with a guy named Ruben as well (picture). We live about 30 minutes from the temple here so when we have investigators that would like to go we organize a tour with the sisters there and go. It was cool I hadn't done one before; it was cool to see how the Sisters there did it. Ruben liked it and hopefully he continues forward in his faith!

On Wednesday we got another Elder to our companionship ha. His name is Elder Siebert, from Leer, Germany. He was in the Preston, England MTC and they are off schedule with the Provo MTC. So he came a week early and is with us in Frankfurt for the week since we're right here. Then when the new missionaries from Provo come he'll join all them. It’s been cool though working with him. I had never worked with someone who was brand new before. His German is perfect so there's no worries there, that’s like one of the biggest difficulties to overcome ha.

Last night our plans and appointments fell out so we decided to go to this area that looked pretty nice and do some doors there in the little bit of time we had left. It was sweet though we met a ton of way nice people and made out 3 appointments for this next week with people there. One lady even knew us and had met with missionaries 5 years before or so. It was cool to find people who are so willing and open to listen and also cool for Elder Siebert to experience that.

On Thursday night we had institute in the church. It was a big one where all the YSAs in the stake come to Frankfurt for a fireside thing. We were there early for a quick meeting then tried to figure out who else we could call who could come and would benefit from being there. I decided to call this one kid who is in his early 20s but is pretty shy and doesn't really do anything with the other YSAs in the ward. I had never seen him at an activity at the church before. He answered and said he'd think about coming but he wasn't sure. I told him when it would start and that we were hoping to see him there. The fireside had started and I was sitting on the back row next to a kid in the ward and the rest of the row was basically empty but I couldn't see out the window of the door to see if he had come into the foyer or whatever. I knew he'd be to shy to come in by himself and that he'd either just stand out there the whole time or just leave. I didn't want to get up and go look and have him not be there then come back in and get up and go look later and keep disrupting the meeting. So I said a quick prayer and asked that I could somehow know if he was out there or not so that I could go get him. Right as I said amen and sat up straight the door opened and a kid named William came in and sat down by me. We said hi quickly and quietly then I asked him if anyone else was out there and he said yea Patrick is out there. I shot up and went out and got him and brought him in for the fireside. It was so cool! I had no idea how I was going to know if he was out there or not I just prayed and asked hoping that something would happen and right away William came in and told me! It was a small but cool experience with prayer. Patrick enjoyed the meeting and is planning on coming to some of the other activities this week. Prayer is such a cool thing.

Things lately have been going pretty good. I'm beginning my 3rd transfer in Frankfurt and love the place more and more. The ward has a lot of awesome members and the city has a ton of potential. There’s so much to be done and it seriously feels like there's no time! Just have to keep going forward and giving my best effort. It’s comforting to know that God has a plan and that things will work out one way or another. I've been able to realize more in the last little while how real our relationship with God is. And literal it is that he does know us and love us. There are always tons of questions running through my mind and I'm always thinking about different things trying to figure out why or how. Sometimes it’s so much it seems overwhelming. And sometimes I don't always find the answer to my thoughts, wonders, or questions. I often do though and am very grateful for how real that is.

There are many small experiences and also some big ones where I have honestly felt Gods love for me and have been calmed by these experiences. Even when I still have lots of questions or whatever. I know God is my Heavenly Father and loves me. I know that is true for every individual person. I know with patience and faith I can conquer anything. I know it is not easy and I don't expect it to be. I also recognize at times it all may sound cliche or repetitive. It is however possible and answers are there. Patience plays a huge role. When we want things isn't always when God wants things, if we wait in patience and faith, the end result will be bigger than we ever knew.

I do love this gospel. I continue to recognize and see how much it has blessed me and our family and how it continues to do so. I love my Savior and my Father in heaven. I am honestly very grateful for their patience with me, and I'm grateful for the patience you have all had with me throughout my life. I hope to meet Gods expectations of me and I hope to meet your expectations of me, as well as my expectations of me. However, God’s should cover all of that ha. I love you all very much. I really hope you also strive to recognize and feel Gods love for you. It is always there and manifests itself in the smallest things. Be open and willing to recognize. Thank you all for everything, have a wonderful week. I love you!! 

Elder Puriri

LETTER #63 - FRANKFURT

Hi!
Week six has begun already. Transfers are so weird they begin and end and you don't know what happened in the middle. Elder Anderson and I are pretty sure we'll both be staying, guess we'll find out though. Yes I got the card from Grandma and am very grateful for it! I was planning on writing her back as soon as I can. So hopefully that will be soon ha.

The week was pretty good. Sunday was cool, we taught the young men’s class and talked mostly about preparing for a mission and what it’s like on a mission. It was cool to be able to talk to them about that. I kind of pictured me in their place at their age. Then we tried to plan our lesson according to that. Like how interested we would be when we were 15 or 16 and had missionaries telling us about a mission. Although back home we never really had missionaries in our ward so it was always special when they were there. Here though they've had missionaries their whole lives so it’s nothing special. But it went pretty well and the normal teachers made the lesson really cool.

 
After church I went around trying to meet members as normal and met the stake patriarch who is in our ward. He is a really awesome guy! It was funny though he looked at my name and couldn't pronounce it like normal so I told him you roll the R's but since lots of people have trouble with that you can kind of replace the R's with D's. He could roll his R's though. Then I explained how it’s a Maori name. He got way excited and asked if I was maori and then went off telling me how much he loves the Maori people. He told me lots of stories about Matthew Cowley and the faith of the Maori people. Then he said ''You be proud you are Maori and that you come from a people of amazing faith''. So that was pretty cool. We have such an awesome heritage!!

 
This week I was on a tausch with Elder Carlson from American Fork. He said he knows Sarah, that she was a grade older than him I think. It was cool though he's a good Elder. We went to go by on some potential investigators and they weren't there then when we came around the corner we talked to this guy and it was like miracle! He comes from Nigeria. We asked him what Jesus Christ meant to him and he gave us all these awesome really good answers. Then we asked him if he had the book of Mormon and he said ''Oh the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints?!' And we said yes! He said no I don't have a Book of Mormon; do you have one for me?? (Conversation was in English) I said yes actually I do have an English one with me. (The people we were going by on were from Ghana but weren't there so I had their Book of Mormon). As I pulled it out he asked if there was a church he could go to on Sundays. So we told him about it and how he could come. Then as I wrote the address down he said ''yea I am a baptized member of your church. I came to Germany and I could not find the congregation of God so I did not go to church.” I stopped writing and had to rethink what he just said because I wasn't sure if I had heard right ha. Turns out he went from Nigeria to Italy, met missionaries in Italy, got baptized and then a while later moved to Germany. So he was literally lost! It was cool to be blessed to find him and help him find the 'congregation of God' as he called it. Luckily there is a International ward in Frankfurt as well where it’s all in English so that’s where he'll be going. That was a cool miracle though!

 
We have also been working with a kid named Liang from China. He loves meeting with us and coming to the YSA activities. He is still learning German and getting settled here so life's still hectic and stressful. We taught him about prayer and asked him to read Enos. He said he went home and did it then went to bed, then woke up and prayed and ate breakfast. As he was eating and reading a Chinese paper he read something about how so many people now days are stressed and going through hectic times and how they can handle those times. He told us he thinks that’s how God answered his prayer and calmed his worries. Then his computer was broken and he needed it for something. He called and asked a lot of people trying to figure out what to do but couldn't do it. He didn't know how to explain in German what was wrong so he didn't want to take it to a shop. He called us though and asked if we could help him. Then a few hours later he called and said I fixed it! And was way excited. He said he was really worried about it and decided he could try praying. So he was home alone, knelt down and prayed and asked for help. Then he said when he went back to his computer and tried to fix it it all worked out. So he wanted to call us and tell us how prayer worked! It was really cool he had 2 really good experiences with prayer this week. So we're going to continue working with him.

 
It’s been cool to see how the Lord's work goes on. It’s not his work just to get people to obey him and to conform and join his church. It is his work to help people reach their divine potential. HE LOVES US. He wants us to feel and experience his love. He gives us experiences and small tastes of these things and then we have the opportunity to grab on and take it in. So it’s been a blessing to be able to see how others experience these things. Even when they are very small. These small little things can have big effects if we allow them to.

 
God recognizes and knows that for us to learn, grow, and become what is best for us we have to struggle. We have to have hard times, to go through hard things. Our perspective is what makes the difference. We can notice the terrible things going on in the world, the hard times we have to go through, the hard times others have to go through. Then we have a choice. We can blame God, and continue to distance ourselves from him. Which will result in more and more doubt, becoming more and more bitter, and never really gaining the understanding we need. Or we can focus and try to find good and hope still there. We can try to notice and feel his love. God does still do things to manifest his love in our lives. It’s up to us to notice them. Then recognize when we notice them, and try to multiply those moments.

 
I'm grateful for what I've been able to learn in the last while about why we must be patient, why we must struggle, why things are the way they are. Like Elder Busche says 'On the road to salvation let questions arise, but never doubts'. I've had a lot of questions and I've met people who have had a lot of questions, when we don't doubt and try to find an answer, we find an answer! When we have to wait longer for answers or struggle more, it is an opportunity to grow in patience and faith.

 
I hope everyone back home is doing good. I hope everyone is trying to find the love of God in their lives. I wish I could better express how I feel about the gospel but I don't know how. I love you all very much and pray for you all every day. Find good, be happy, and have a good week.
Elder Puriri

LETTER #62 - FRANKFURT

My familyyyyy!!

Hello everyone! I am not sick anymore! It’s so wonderful! I can do morning sport and breathe and feel good! It took a while but towards the end of the week it went away and today it feels like it’s all gone. On the not so good side though, Elder Anderson got sick half way through the week. It’s hard to avoid getting your companion sick since you are always together. He wasn't too bad though then today it’s pretty gone for both of us so we're healthy and ready to go, it’s really nice.

Also I learned how to whistle this transfer! Pretty awesome I know. I'm not the best but I'm getting better. So in a transfer or so I'll be able to whistle good. Its fun because you can whistle basically all the time! Then I can't help but start laughing because I'm so excited I can whistle and its kind of pathetic that I just learned so that’s also a part of the reason I laugh. Then the people on the street or bahn or whatever look at me weird and I ask them if they can whistle and they usually say of course. So I tell them very excitedly I just learned and they think it’s funny. So it works as a good conversation starter! Elder Anderson is a good whistler so he is helping me ha. You learn a whole lot more on a mission then just the gospel! I've learned a lot of cool random things.

Anyway I’m kind of wasting time. I don't have a lot of time today we are supposed to go meet up with our district and we're going to go do something today. So this will probably be pretty short sorry!! My love for you all is growing even if my letters are getting shorter!! This week was pretty cool though. We had 3 tausches in a row it was pretty strange. Elder Anderson and I were together for maybe 6 hours in 3 days. Its tons of fun being able to work with other missionaries though and to learn from them and see how they do things. In one of the districts there is a 'drit' as we call it. Which means trio I guess. That’s 3 elders together. Its when one elder is on his last transfer and then 2 who are in their second. So I went to the 2 younger ones and Elder Anderson worked with the older one in Frankfurt. It was so fun; they are both young and basically ran the area. They have this huge wish to work hard and do things but sometimes just don't know what to do so they have this kind of frustration feeling. It was fun to work with them though.

Right before we tausched back I was talking to the two of them and then one asked how long I had been out and I almost answered back less then year. Then I looked at the date and thought about it and realized it was 14 months to the day. It was like this overwhelming feeling all the sudden that I have been out for so long! I don't even feel like it’s been that long. Then they were both like wow you've been out a long time! I felt like I was just as young as they were. I guess that was when it actually hit me how long I've been out and how little time I have left. Not a very comforting feeling. I definitely gained a little more sense of urgency about things. To them though I'm like the old missionary! So weird. I still feel like I'm one of the younger missionaries. So weird I don't know how to explain it. Our mission is super young right now though. More then half of the missionaries here right now have been in the field less then 6 months. So yea. That’s something weird that happened. I realized how long I've been out ha.

Then on Friday I was on a tausch with one of the APs just here in Frankfurt. It’s not really like a tausch. Well yea since you’re not with your companion but both of us work in Frankfurt anyway and we’re in the same ward so we see them lots. Anyway I was with Elder Ellis and we went by on this guy who we got referred to us. I asked him how he had met the missionaries before and he said he was on a business trip in Samoa and on the plane to LA he was seated next to an Elder returning home. And the Elder talked to him throughout the flight and got his information and then it got passed to us now we're teaching him in Frankfurt, Germany! Pretty awesome huh. The guy was cool he said he'd think about it all and when we called him next he'd let us know how he feels about it. So we'll see, he seemed really cool though.

Then as we left that appointment and were headed to another one we stopped this lady on the street and talked to her about prayer and told her how much it helps us. Then we asked her about her experiences with prayer and she stood and thought for a bit then answered back really concerned and honest and said, 'I don’t know....not good experiences but not bad. I pray, or I try to remember to, but I don’t know if God hears. I don’t know if I'm good enough to have him notice of if I’m praying right' (As a missionary getting such straight honest answers like this is awesome.) We both were able to bear our testimonies on prayer and how much God loves her and knows her. The spirit was strong and she began to cry and said how she didn't feel like she was good enough to have God notice her prayers. We just talked to her about the love of God and asked her if we could meet and share with her how we have felt this. She agreed and we have an appointment this week. It was really cool though just to meet someone like that; very sincere and wanting to feel the love of God. I love being a missionary and having experiences like this!

Well we have to go. I love you all!! Thanks for everything you all do and for your examples. You all individually are a much bigger part of my motivation then you know.

Elder Puriri

LETTER #61 - FRANKFURT

Hi!
Quick pictures – Frankfurt Fireworks and last Sunday I put my camera on the bahn tracks and took that picture.

So about that guy you were asking about mom. (The guy from a couple of weeks ago that they found while doing doors. He was the one who came cursing to the door. He nearly shut the door on Isaac but Isaac pushed on the door with his hand until he finished and then the guy was willing to listen. The story is in letter #59.) We did go back and we were able to teach him. He loves us now and is really friendly. He doesn't know a lot about God so we teach pretty basic but it’s good. He is in the hospital for a foot operation for the week so we won't be able to meet with him. Things seems like they're going pretty good with him though.

The past week was pretty weird. Instead of getting healthier I got more sick! It was super annoying. I thought if I just kept going it would fade out you know but the opposite kind of happened. So we had to stay in for a while and I tried to get healthy ha. Not really a lot I could do other then sit or sleep. We read and listened to a lot of talks and I learned a lot but still it was pretty lame.

I figure the most important thing I learned was how awesome it is to be healthy. And how we need to take advantage of that. I mean I already knew that but I guess I hadn't thought about it in a long time since I hadn't been sick in the last year which was pretty good for me. I compared it a lot to when I couldn't play soccer my senior year. How I didn't really realize how much I loved and wanted to play until I really could not play. Then I developed a real gratitude for being allowed to play. And finally I was allowed to play! I guess I didn't realize how nice it is to be able to go out each day and be a missionary. Until I really could not go out. Each day was like a fire growing in me burning more and more to go outside and be healthy again. I'm almost there! A few more days hopefully and I'll be totally good.

Basically I learned; when fully capable, fully commit. Lots of times you get tired or kind of discouraged so you think it’s ok if I don't give 100% today. You don't think it will be a big deal, or you think ah whatever it’s alright. I'll just do better tomorrow. Then that continues to happen over and over again. You have to do it now. Commit now. Because when there are actual real reasons holding you back or something is over, you have regrets. So when you are fully capable, recognize that and fully commit. That’s basically the short version of what I've been thinking about while being sick ha.

We did have a pretty cool experience this week though despite being sick. We had an appointment with a man named Karsten that we had met the previous week in a bahn. Trolley or I don’t know what we call it…the trains that go down the roads and through the cities. Whenever we get in a bus or bahn to go anywhere we usually split up and go sit by different people and just start talking with them. Its way fun, of course we try to bring the conversation to the gospel but when it doesn't work we just enjoy the conversation! But we got in the bahn this one morning and I sat down across from this guy. I smiled and said good morning then the phone rang. He smiled back and said hello but then I had to talk on the phone. The phone conversation was taking a while so I was praying the guy wouldn't get out soon because I felt strongly to talk to him. Finally I got off the phone and sat there for a bit because I went blank and didn't know what to say. I don't remember really what happened but I ended up talking to him and he was way friendly. We brought the conversation to God then I told him about the Book of Mormon and offered to bring one by to him and he said yes. So I got his phone number and we called him almost a week later and made an appointment out for the next day. At the appointment he was way excited to get the book and everything went really well. Then as the appointment came to an end and I told him how to get to church and which stop to get out at he remembered and said ''Oh yea that’s where you got on that one morning'' I said yep then he said ''yea when you got on and sat down by me I felt something strange. It was a warmth or light it’s hard to explain. I was watching you and you were radiating calmness. I was glad you talked to me'' We explained to him this was the feeling of the Holy Ghost and that he could have that feeling while he reads, prays, comes to church, and meets with us. He was pretty excited about that. I was really grateful though for that. Sometimes you never know how you’re doing or if things are working, but when someone says something like that to you, you know the spirit is being your companion. Because I alone could never have that effect on anyone.

Me being an instrument for the spirit though, it can work like that whenever it’s necessary. It’s like that scripture you mentioned mom in Philippians 2:12-15. 

12Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

13For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

14Do all things without murmurings and disputings:

15That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

In fifteen, all of us really are lights unto this world. Beginning with ourselves as individuals, together we will literally light the world. People can and will notice. I've experienced that so much on my mission, even pre mission. You often don't realize how much you affect people until much later. But it is very real.

I love being here, I love the gospel and am so thankful for the experiences I've been able to have and for the things I am learning from everyone. I hope everyone is doing good. Be happy and take advantage of each day. It may all sound cliché but it’s so real! I love you all!!
Elder Puriri