Spring (week 54)

We had just walked through the town market where people had
little shops up, selling flowers or fruit or meat, and then we
walked down to the river where the ducks were playing by the side
or swimming and the flowers here are blooming, and then there's
a typical German church in the background. The sun was shining,
a little wind was blowing, and it literally felt like spring.

I thought I liked Christmas in Germany, but spring...dang.

For a few days we totally thought it was spring (see picture) but of course on the day when we help some investigators move it rains all day long. Yeah I think it's back to winter weather, at least for the time being.

Sister Barlow left this week and I'm here now with my new companion Sister Jensen. Getting a new companion is always pretty rough cause you just don't know how they work or really even who they are, then suddenly you're with them literally 24/7! But as we were doing weekly planning for this week and receiving inspiration from PMG, we decided that if we wanted in with this ward, we needed to start by building a relationship with the branch president. It was Saturday and we asked him if we could visit him and his family on Sunday around 3. Not only did he say that we could come for a visit, he invited us to lunch! And they gave us a ride to Wolgast (in their really nice new minivan, might I add) so we didn't have to take the train! We really didn't expect any of it but it was great to see how the Lord was blessing us because we wanted to put our best foot forward. We're finally starting to build up those relationships with the members of this ward and that's a good feeling.

Other things we did this week... Spent the day at Frau Braasch's stacking wood. The Elders and Sister Jensen were making fun of me stacking my wood because I was being more careful at it than they were and then Frau Braasch came out and basically said the whole thing looked horrible. Which I found pretty funny, haha.

We're teaching a Syrian guy German. He brought us flowers last time and calls us either "my sister" or "my teacher", haha. His English is also not that great so it's actually pretty hard trying to teach him German in English but we make it work. He loves it though, haha, we taught him how to say "I don't know" I think and he just like smacks the table and says something in Arabic and is just like YES, haha. He's also teaching us a little bit of Arabic, which I immediately forget as soon as he says it and I repeat it, haha.

In other news, our appointment with "C" fell out. She wasn't there. We went back later and caught her coming home from work. She said she'd—I don't actually know the right English word for this—but she more or less said she'd contact us...man. People say that all. the. time. and never do it! Total bummer.

Anyways... Good stuff.

Spiritual thought for the week found in Romans 8:32:

He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

God the Father gave His own Son, even Jesus Christ, to the world—not only just to suffer for our sins or carry our burdens, but to be smitten, to be tempted, to be cast out, to be brutally killed. We know He did that because He loves us. OF COURSE He is willing to give us all things we stand in need of! when we are worthy and willing. He can not and will not withhold blessings from us that we righteously deserve—He simply waits for the perfect time to give them. I know this is true. I've seen it in my life and will continue to develop the ability to wait on the Lord. When we righteously ACT, He WILL bless us with what is best. He wants to give us all things, we must just be willing to act now and accept them on His timetable.

Church is true!

Sister Seamons

Another typical German scene...little bit of rain,
overcast, walking by a church. Then there's me!