Another week completed in the work of the Lord! Can you believe I've been gone for five weeks?! Lots of good learning experiences this week.
On Thursday morning we began the day with another Teaching Resource Center session. This time we actually Skyped a member in Deutschland! Kind of intimidating but Elder Morton and I did well. We shared the story in Alma 17 where Alma meets up with the Sons of Mosiah after their fourteen year-long missions and he is so happy to find that they are "still his brethren in the Lord" because "they had searched the scriptures diligently." We talked about how you can find answers to your questions in the scriptures. We understood everything he said until we asked him to say the closing prayer...he went 100 mph and I missed everything... But its okay! Apparently, another missionary and his companion had taught a lesson to that same member before us and the member had told them their German was terrible and hung up on them! Kind of ridiculous but I guess that means we're doing alright, right? We also taught a lesson on the Word of Wisdom to Benjamin on Thursday--he committed to living it.
At breakfast Friday morning I talked to Holden and he said he got an email saying he didn't get selected to be an Instructor Pilot which means I probably didn't either. But it's all good 'cause we can just apply when we get back and we'll be applying to '17ers so we will have an in with them. In our morning class we talked about the first and second commandments, to love God and to love your neighbor. We went around the room and said what we loved about each member of our district. It was a really nice experience. The Spirit was there. The general theme for me was that I was caring, understanding, and funny. We also taught a lesson to Alex on the Atonement and repentance. We got our travel plans! SLC to Seattle to Amsterdam to Berlin! Tuesday can't come soon enough!
Here's a picture of my district--so close to leaving for Germany!
I decided Saturday that Mosiah is one of my favorite books in the Book of Mormon--interesting stories but also great teaching from Abinidi and Alma. Elder Morton and I taught a great lesson to Benjamin on the second half of the Plan of Salvation. Bro. Garlick told us afterwards that we did a really nice job teaching by the Spirit. Saturday night we learned simple past tense in German and practiced using articles of speech.
Sunday was a good day. I prepared a really good talk in German on enduring to the end. Didn't have to give it though. Elder Pilling forgot to assign someone to teach during the district meeting so he asked Elder Morton and I to do it ten minutes before. Fortunately we put something together on enduring to the end. I shared a scripture, Alma 1:20-25, that fit really well: the people of the church were blessed when they endured through persecution. Elder Pilling played a crazy good arrangement of All Creatures of Our God and King in sacrament meeting. The devotional was given my Brother Holzapfel who just returned from being mission president in Birmingham. He was a loud and animated man--like they had to turn the mic down. But he gave a great talk on the importance of keeping a study journal. He shared lots of great experiences. Afterwards we went and watched an Elder Bednar talk that I loved. He talked about the difference between doctrines, principles, and applications. He said that our tendency is to teach with applications, but that we need to teach with doctrines. This applies to missionary work and parenting. For example, when explaining the Word of Wisdom, don't go through all the do's and don'ts. Direct the individual to Section 89 and and have them pray about it.
On Monday our daily schedule changed since BYU classes started up and most of our instructors are students. Now we have both class periods in the afternoon, just like our usual Saturday schedule. Class from 1830 to 2130 is long! We taught our "less active member," Anita, about the power of the Atonement. We focused on the other half of the Atonement, meaning Christ took upon himself our pains, sicknesses, and afflictions in addition to our sins. Alma 7:11-12 hits this point perfectly. This was especially fitting for her since her illness continues to hinder her church attendance. We got a new "investigator," Lukas, Monday night whom we committed committed to baptism! In our first lesson, we covered a lot of doctrine but he really responded well and committed. The Spirit was definitely there.
Yesterday I got some one-on-one language practice with Bro. Garlick. He helped me better understand sentence structure as well as giving me a suggestion that I think I'm going to try out--take a German Book of Mormon and go word-by-word, highlighting and looking up everything you don't know. He said by the time he got to Mosiah he stopped because he could read everything. Kind of a project but an interesting thought. In the devotional choir last night we sang Where Can I Turn for Peace? Elder Clarke of the Seventy spoke. Kind of a quiet guy but gave a great talk on salvation and retaining converts. He gave lots of counsel on retention like extending callings, providing friends, etc.
I think I am becoming a better student of the scriptures, slowly but surely. I will continue to have the chance to become a teacher of the scriptures. Elder Morton and I continue to work well together as well as our district as a whole. I am looking forward to getting out into the field on Tuesday! Complete immersion is the best way to learn, right?? The next time you hear from me I'll be across the pond!
I love and miss you all!
Elder Germann
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