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

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