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!