Another fantastic adventure of a week in Wiesbaden

Drinking from a hot spring

Hallo,

It has been another fantastic adventure of a week in Wiesbaden. :)

First thing to take note of, Sister Eschenmann and I both wear a lot of black. She wears it because she thinks it's elegant and it's her favorite color. I wear it because it's slimming...haha

So...on Thursday morning, we were studying, and we noticed that none of the lights would turn on. We thought is was strange, but decided to wait it out. Three hours later, still no light, and it was starting to get cold. It was then that we were starting to get worried. We totally didn't have any power in our Apartment...

          That meant, no hot water, no hot food, no cold food, no heat, and no light, and in Germany, they are already little scanty with the lights. They already prefer the dark (I think the percentage of people afraid of the dark in Germany is quuuite a bit lower than in America, just because Germans always sit in the dark). So no electricity meant sitting in the DARK. Sister Eschenmann decided to ask the neighbors if they had power. Our neighbor across the way had her power and was like

"Uh oh, someone forgot to pay the bill!" We were like NAHH...but she was right. We went down to the cellar and checked the stuffs (well, Sister Eschenmann, not me, as she actually would know how to fix said stuffs) and we found a blue paper that stated that indeed we had not paid. We called the church office and they started trying to figure out what in the world happened. Meanwhile, our food the in the freezer was starting to thaw, so Sister Eschenmann starts clingling ALL the doors in our apartment building. Mensch, does it feel weird to "contact" in your own building!! After working our way up most of the floors, with no one home or with no room in their freezers (Germans have TINY freezers), we called the District Leader, and he rescued our food.

We weren't sure how long it would take to get power, and there was a distinct possibility that it could have been until Monday. Later that night, we had a dinner appointment in a restaurant and we needed to wash our hands. Sister Eschenmann went to the sink in the bathroom first, and turned on the hot water."It's warm!" She exclaims. Then a lady comes out of the stall, and Sister Eschenmann, always the awesome friendly person, turns to her and says,"Sorry, we don't have power in our Apartment and the water is warm!" (or something like that) The lady looks at our name tags, laughs a little and says it's no problem. I then wash my hands and Sister Eschenmann starts laughing.

Black + missionaries/religious + no power = ...Oops. We just supported every incorrect idea of Mormons ever thought of. good thing we don't actually have horns.

I thought it was funny, but all I was thinking as I was washing my hands was "The water isn't getting warm. :("

We got power back the next morning. :) But not before we were gifted a candle from our sweet neighbor who was really excited that she was right about us not paying and doing our planning by candle light, because we didn't have flashlights. FAIL. I guess we like the dark too. 

I just want you all to know that God will ALWAYS show His love. Sometimes it's through people, flowers, birds, dubstep, random compliments, chocolate, or other things, but He always sends little tender Father-to-child love notes. I challenge you to look for them. :)

So back to finally finishing the Thema that has been going on for three weeks.

So what would you dream for if you thought you could have whatever you wanted?

Maybe you would dream for the perfect body (I did) or to win the lottery, and you're like,

"Sister Roderer, the Lord doesn't care about that because it's not important." Oh, but He does!

He cares about how you feel. But He knows that sometimes it isn't the Thing itself that we want, but the feeling that accompanies it.

You can't magically change shape overnight,but you can gain a sense of self-respect that no body could ever give you, and will out-weigh any other satisfaction that could come with that.

 Maybe you won't win the lottery, but you will gain a zest for life that will pay off in the long run and bring you sincere happiness.

Maybe you won't get the fame and notoriety that you want, but you WILL be known by and treasured by those most important to you, and will always be one of God's VIP children.

The best part is that you can have both the feeling and the thing you want. In God's plan of happiness, you get to have the cake, and eat it too. haha sort of.

You might say

"Aww Sister Roderer, all of this stuff is just another way of saying I can't really have what I want. It's a form of resignation."

Actually, no. :)

If we were to get what we wanted in the height of when we wanted it, it would create a crutch-like dependency on the thing itself. It is only when we have filled and addressed the desire, desperation, need, that the thing we want most will become beautiful to us. Otherwise, it might end up only being a self-preservation thing. Like wanting so much to eat the cake, and then feeling like one piece isn't enough, so you end up eating the whole thing, and then it wasn't worth it anyway.

I think that is what Christ meant, when He said "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all things shall be added unto you." Or something like that.

Anyway,

"Expression of love"

Sister Roderer

P.S.

Forgive the possible awkwardness here, but hey, I am encouraged as a missionary to understand the culture, so I'm just being super European, and being super open about awkward topics (seriously though. There are some conversations, especially with older Europemans on trains and such where my eyes kinda just bulge out. I almost have to start singing Primary Songs.) I was reading a talk by Elder Ballard in the Liahona (in German) about Women and the Priesthood.

It brought me back to something that I realized last year. We quarrel about Priesthood/women/equality/fairness because we do not understand the importance/role/power of motherhood.

But Sister Roderer,

Raising children is dirty, frustrating, langweilig, undignified, unglorified work. No one sees (unless it's on pinterest) no one knows (unless it's on pinterest) and no one cares ( unless it's on pinterest).

But God, God has been very open about what makes Him happy. He who created us, who is the mastermind behind all organized intelligence and beauty has told us what brings Him a sense of accomplishment.

Moses 1:39 For Behold, this is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.

He gave men His glory.

He gave women His work.

haha jk.

But seriously though. God gave women the Gelegenheit to do what brings Him glory, happiness, and satisfaction. And He knows. Oh, how He knows. And He doesn't care if it makes it onto pinterest.

That's kind of simplified, but I really liked it. :)

Secret Dreams

Liebe Gruße!!

Things are flying along here in Germany. I can't believe that I have almost finished my first transfer. I have almost been in Germany as long as I had been in the MTC. CRAZY! They say that on a Mission, you need to seize the opportunity to savor every moment, and that is definitely true. The good, the funny, the hard, and the wonderful all roll into one beautiful crazy moment that flies by all too quickly.

So, I am now completely language-less. I can't spell in any language, and I keep using English words in my German conversation, and often German words in my English conversations. Oh well. :) It is a really good thing that the only language that matters is that of the Spirit. Even in communication, the Lord covers our weaknesses with His tender loving care. God is truly good.

So I learned some super awesome things this week! I wish I could share them all, but then this email would be so long that no one would read it...except me. :)

We are so busy!! I mean, we go from appointment to appointment, talking to people in the bus, on the street, and if we have a spare few minutes, we knock on doors (though my personal preference is definitely the building doorbells). We clean, cook, talk, pray, sing, and read with our appointments. The people in Germany are so wonderful. I look at them all, and I love them. I love Wiesbaden! It's hard to describe how much I love Missionary work. It's tough, and it demands everything that you have to give, but it gives so much back! It is one of the best investments a person could ever make. But I think that is how the Gospel works. I think one thing that is easy to forget is that with God, sacrifices are not about giving up to get something better. He is so much kinder than that. With God, sacrifices mean investing our desires, acting on our faith, and in return, we get back our original hopes and desires, but expanded. Perfected.

This brings me back to my point from last week. I hope you seriously thought about what you would dream for, if you felt you could have anything. I got one of the things I wanted! Haha like I seriously got what I wanted this week. I'm still a little blown away, but it's so much better than I expected.

God has promised us ALL that He has. The Creator of the Universe, the Master of all Eternity, the Almighty God is our loving Father in Heaven, and His work and glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. That means that his job is to brings us happiness and eternal life, what he does on the weekends is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man, what He does for fun is to bring to pass our immortality and eternal life, His hobby is to bring to pass our eternal life, what fulfills Him is "to bring to pass our immortality and eternal life." You think about what it is like to be a father, a mother, to have children that you want to be happy and safe, and then times that by the number of stars in the heavens, and the grains of sand of the oceans, and then, and ONLY then will we begin to come closer to understanding the love of our Almighty God.

And there is more, so much more!! But I will have to share that next week.

Also, the world needs to read this talk: https://www.lds.org/ensign/2015/04/it-isnt-a-sin-to-be-weak?lang=eng

It takes the life out of perfectionism. Like, the title left me lost in total wonder for like 10 minutes.

So, I have three invitations this week:

1) If you haven't yet, take a minute to write down your secret dreams.

    Think about why they are important to you. Why did you pick that one?

     And then read my blog next week. ;)

2) Follow the link to read the talk.

3) Ponder for next time:

   What do you expect God to be able to do for you?

I would love to hear thoughts from you all!!

With all the love this soul holds,

Sister Roderer

Baking Cupcakes!

Enjoying Cupcakes!

All Things are Possible

Sister Roderer by the Frankfurt Temple

Hello Y'all!

I hope every one has had a really great week!

We are soo busy here in Wiesbaden! Always busing from place to place, talking, planning, teaching, cleaning, serving, this is the life! :)

I got to give a Musical number this Sunday in Sacrament Meeting. It was cool, because it was also a Ward Conference, so some of the leaders of the stake were there and such. I sang the Jay Richard's Arrangement of I Stand All Amazed...except that I sang it in German! Elder Strong, one of the German Wiesbaden Elders (and Zone Leader) accompanied me. We get to do two numbers at Zone Conference this week, so we are super excited!

So I went on my first split this week! I went with one of the Sister Training Leaders from Hanau, and the other Sister Training Leader stayed here in Wiesbaden with Sister Eschenmann. It was pretty awesome. So it's like an hour Train ride to Hanau, so there was plenty of time to talk to People. We started talking to this great guy from Connecticut. He was in Wiesbaden on Business. After talking a bit, it became super obvious that he and I think a lot alike, about love, happiness, success, and finding real peace. The only difference was that he knew a lot of it had to do with Christ, but he didn't know how or why exactly, as far as I could understand (although he was talking in English). It was so cool!! In the end, I gave him MY personal copy of the Book of Mormon, because that was the only English copy I had on Hand. He was so cool! He is another one of those People that I will never want to Forget, and will always feel love for.

One really cool Thing is seeing that phrase "When a door closes, God always opens a window" in action. I understand that better than I ever have. There have been two times this week where appointments with people have fallen through, and they weren't there when we knocked. But in both cases, because we were free, we had time to meet with someone who called out of the blue, and to talk to someone that we would never have run into otherwise. It's such a beautiful feeling to know that despite the fact that as people, we are rather weak, but it is those weaknesses that allow us sometimes to be in the right place at the right time. That, in my opinion, is the gift of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

I have an Invitation for you, since I'm a missionary, and that's what I do. Here is a quote from a talk I read this week that I really liked:

Heute können wir einige dieser entfernten Galaxien sehen.Wir wissen, dass es sie gibt.Sie sind schon sehr lange dort gewesen.Aber ehe die Menschheit über Instrumente verfügte, die stark genug waren, das Himmelslicht einzufangen und diese Galaxien sichtbar zu machen, haben wir dergleichen nicht für möglich gehalten.
Das gewaltige Ausmaß des Universums hat sich nicht plötzlich geändert, aber unsere Fähigkeit, diese Wahrheit zu erkennen und zu begreifen, hat sich drastisch geändert. Mit diesem größeren Licht eröffneten sich der Menschheit auch herrliche Ausblicke, die wir uns nie zuvor hätten träumen lassen.

I am going to be really mean and leave it in German, so that you have to go read the talk through. And everyone who can read German should read it anyway. :)

What would you allow yourself to hope for, to dream for, to wish for, if you believed you could have whatever you wanted?

I want you to seriously think about it. I did it, and it is totally fascinating.

Part of my Job as a missionary is to represent Jesus Christ. So I am here to tell you, as a representative of Jesus Christ that those things that you thought of, those impossible wishes of your soul are possible.

You might be thinking

"Now now, Sister Roderer, don't you think that you have overstepped your bounds? Isn't that a little irreverent? How do you know what I want?"

Well I don't know what you would dream about, but I know that I have doctrinal basis for my statement, but that will have to wait for next week. For now, I challenge you to write those dreams down, then pick some scriptures, and start reading. Look for an answer.

I know that God lives. I know He is our literal Heavenly Father. I know that it can be hard to believe sometimes, but I know it's true, Independent of whatever anybody says, I know for myself, that Jesus Christ is my Savior and Redeemer.

Until next time!

Sister Roderer

The Land of Miracles

Beware of Dog Sign that lists all the casualties. Hehe!
Mailmen, Theives, Flat Tires, Cats.    

Guten Morgen!

It has been an amazing week here in Deutschland! Meine Gute, it is hard to fathom sometimes the wonder of this work that we are doing, and the Barmherzigkeit Gottes (mercy of God).

Story Time! It's Long, sorry, but it was the Highlight of this week!

So we were doing a go-by (which means we stop by without a prior appointment) on a church referral (which means we got their Information from either mormon.org or the church, saying that These People had requested a Book of Mormon) and it was in a sketchy part of Wiesbaden, and it was dark and there were lots of shady places, but we found where we were going, due to a random man that just happened to be there and know exactly who we were looking for (the door bell for the apartment was broken, so there was no way we could have contacted or found them otherwise!). So we talked to this Family, and they were SUPER sweet and we left the Book of Mormon, and made an appointment to come back and talk more about it. Then as we were Walking home, I thought of what Cassie said about the last 30 minutes of the day being "miracle hour" oder etwas wie daß. So I turned to Sister Eschenmann and asked when we could try that out. She was like,

"This is a sketchy time to be out, but I saw this apartment building that has a French flag in the window, so I think it should work." I don't know what I was expecting, but it was something like "COOL! Miracles!"

Then we get to this building and she turns to me and says "Ok. I'll do the first one, and then you'll do the second one, and we'll go back and forth. Good?"

I was like "Yeah, OK sure!....wait WHAT?!" I watched in Horror as she turned to the first doorbell. (the buildings in Germany are like NYC, so you ring the doorbell, talk to them through the speaker, and they decide if they want to let you into the Apartment building or not) I was quickly regretting my decision, and there was a small part of me that wanted to say never mind! It IS SUPER sketchy out here, let's go home!! But nope. And of course, the first bell she tries, no one answers, so now it's MY turn.

 I turned hesitantly to Sister Eschenmann..."What do I SAY?" What if they...ANSWER??

 She told me I could say whatever I wanted to.

So I rang.

 And a voice answered.

 I explained who we were and that we wanted to share a message about Christ. She basically told us (very civilly) to go bug someone else. And so it went back and forth. And then I started laughing. It was SO MUCH FUN!

The best part of being a missionary is that you do your best, and put the rest in the Lord's Hands. We know what we are sharing is true, and that it is crucial for current and future happiness, and that it is the "only way under heaven by which man can be saved." (or something to that effect) So we trust that if they are ready, they will be able to feel that.

Unbeknownst to me, Sister Eschenmann had been praying that we would be able to have a good discussion with someone, so the last doorbell we tried, they hit the buzzer and let us in without talking to us.

We go into the buildling, and there is an older gentleman waiting for us. We start talking to him, and find out that he is a Doctor...of Philosophy. What followed was 20 of the most beautiful, inspiring, and intense minutes of my life. And, let me tell you, the gift of tongues is REAL. The fact that I could understand most of what he was saying as he went through some deeper philosophical ideas about God is a testament to that! Through logic and testimony, we could see that he was Feeling the truth of what we were saying. He didn't want a Book of Mormon or to meet with us again, but it was so clear that a seed had been planted.

And that was enough. This was my miracle.

I will love this man for the rest of my life, and I only spent 20 minutes talking to him. Charity is real, Folks!

Oh, Sister Eschenmann explained that she didn't want a Book of Mormon when the missionaries first talked to her, either, but that she couldn't sleep until she had gotten a copy. So that night we prayed that he wouldn't sleep well. :) When spiritual health is on the line, a week of bad sleep is a small price to pay. ;)

Anyway, life is good! The church is true! God wants to give us all the evidence of His reality and love, but we have to seek it, otherwise we won't recognize it when it comes.

In my study this morning, I was reading 1 Nephi 1. I stopped short when I got to verse 14. I don't have it on me, so you will have to go look it up. :) But I was so impressed by Lehi! He had just read a lot about the Horrors, difficulties, and pain that would come upon the People that he loved so much, and yet his reaction was to praise God. To me that says that if we were really to understand the mind of God, we would never accuse Him of being unfair ever again. Lehi saw his People, and saw the Lord's "vengeance" and feels justified in praising the Name of God. God's "vengeance" must be one of love, mercy, and understanding, or it cannot come from God, for He is a being of light, love, intelligence, justice and mercy. Of that I testify.

Sister Roderer

Sister Roderer, Sister Eschenmann and an investigator

From the Rooftops!

Mission Home Address:

Sister Gabriella Roderer

Kirche Jesu Christi

Corneliusstraße 18

60325 Frankfurt a. Main

Deutschland

Germany!

Sisters Roderer and Eschenmann

Guten Tag, or I guess for most of you it will be Guten Morgen :)

So I am in Wiesbaden, Germany and I am IN LOVE with everything German. The People, the Food, (the weird noun capitalization Thing that the computer is doing), and most of all, the Gospel.

My companion/Trainer is Sister Eschenmann, and she is from France! Her German is incredible, and I already love her so much! We have a lot in common, and we get along great together. I think it has been the start of an excellent companionship. She has taught me so much already, and has really instilled a confidence in acting on the Spirit, and doing what I feel is right, and not what is expected.

The coolest part was that the Minute I met her (before we knew who our Trainers would be) I thought: "Mensch! I hope she is my Trainer! She is soo toll!" Tender mercies all over the place!

I feel like I have lived in Wiesbaden all of my life, except I don't know how everything works, and most of the time I am running around like a headless chicken, trying to Keep people, bus stops, languages, and myself all in the same place at the same time.The public Transportation System is extensive and fantastic, but it was definitely a blur the first couple of days. :)

Our Apartment is BEAUTIFUL! And the view from our kitchen window is positively dreamy. I feel like I am in some European Version of Mary Poppins, from that scene when they all start singing on the Roof.

German is coming along just great! The gift of tongues is a real Thing. When I Need it, it is SO there, and when I don't, it doesn't matter anyway. :) Sister Eschenmann and I speak German together 3/4 of the time, so that helps a lot. Sometimes I will be talking in English, and I can't find the right word, so I just use a German one. Looks like Danglish will be my Muttersprache from now on.

So right off of the plane they gave us a taste of contacting. We spent an hour in a square in Frankfurt and talked to People as they went by. Talk about baptism by fire! I was super grateful for it, because it totally prepared my expectations for the rest of my Mission. I knew immediately what my reactions were, and what I would Need to Change in order to be more effective.

President and Sister Stoddard are totally sweet and loving! It was really fun to get to meet them and know them a Little bit better.

I had my first Termin, on the morning after I got settled in Germany. It was loads of fun. We visited, sang, cleaned, and ate together. Missionary work is the best!

The ward is super fun, and super welcoming. There are a lot of US Military People in Wiesbaden, so to accommodate that, there are two wards: Military and German. Sister Eschenmann and I are in the German ward, and Sister Peterson (from my branch in the MTC) and Sister Brown are in the English ward. The four of us share the Apartment, which works out really nicely. We have such a different schedule, that we barely see each other at all!

So the first man I had the Courage to talk to in the bus on the way to the church was an older gentlemen. So I mentally practiced for like half of the bus ride and then finally blurted out "Wie Geht es Ihnen?" To which he replied "Wieso?" I was totally confused, because wieso basically translates in this context to "Why do you say that?" I knew that was not the usual response to the a greeting, so I couldn't process anything else and just kinda sat there. He saw my distress so he answered that he was good and asked how I was. I brightened, and then went on to talk about how it was my first day in Germany. When I said that, he got this huge smile on his face and was all friendly after that. He had to leave before I could explain anything about who I was, but I watched him from the window and he still had the weird, huge smile on his face. I found out later that that greeting is one that you would give to a good friend, so he was basically saying "in which universe do I know you?" to which I would have replied "The pre-earth, life, sir."

My other favorite Moment was when some of the other sisters, after talking to a man about the Book of Mormon, he said "I believe in God and the bible, but this Book of Mormon..." and here he wiggled his fingers like he was casting a spell "...Hocus Pocus!" Not quite right, my dear.

My favorite insight of the week has to do with faith. I was reading in Ether 12 (totally one of my all time favorite chapters) and I was pondering on why God would require faith before miracles. and I realized that if God always gave us the assurance before we Chose to act, we would never actually gain anything more than a Basic hope in God, because our Feelings about the Gospel would only ever be reactionary. It is when we act without evidence that we really are able to gain knowledge that we can call ours. And God always keeps His promises, so when the assurance does come, it will be sweeter above all that is sweet, because God is a God of sweetness, and a God of joy. I challenge you to try it out. Act in faith, expecting that the miracle is just around the Corner.

Anyway, if you are looking for something to pray for, pray that the People on the street will do a spiritual double-take when they see our Name tags and that they will have the Courage to open their hearts to our message of Christ. Pray that the missionaries will have the confidence to trust God's Timing and the Courage to prepare with faith and to speak with boldness. And pray for yourselves, that you will feel more beautifully and deeply the love that God has for you and for all of His children.

Much love to all of you!
Sister Roderer

Train Station - These are all missionaries!

Our Street