Nertz, Trees and Puns

Guess what I got to do this week?!? I got to play the European Version of Nertz! I was soo happy! But I am a little out of practice. We had a Termin with a sister who invited a bunch of her non-member friends to come and we ate food, played games, and talked about religious things. It was super fun.

One really funny experience this week was when Sister Eschenmann and I were trudging up the hill back to our apartment, and we passed by this man who looked at us strangely (that was no surprise) and then he was like

"Wait a minute...you are female Elders!!" I was like

"Uh..Yeah! hehe Have you seen missionaries like us before?"

It turns out that he had seen Elders before, but had never seen Sisters before.

So we got to help paint a member's apartment the other day. She is healing from some leg operations and things, so sometimes it is hard for her to get around. She has a dog and a cat, so sometimes the hair builds up, because she can't always reach down and clean everything up, which makes total sense. That's why we have missionaries! :) So one of the members of the ward came to help paint, and he started comparing getting the apartment ready for painting to the purpose of missionaries.

Glauben-------Have faith-------Have a vision of the Apartment after painting, and begin to act

Umkehr--------Repent-----------move out all of furniture and change what was before

Taufe-----------Baptism----------wash the walls, etc.

die Gabe des Heiligen Geistes empfangen-----Holy Ghost----Receive the new paint

At about this moment, I am holding open a garbage sack as Elder Strong is putting a broom pan of dog hair into the sack. And then I started laughing.

"Und...." I said "bis ans Ende Aus Haar-en"

Aus=out  Haar=hair  but Ausharren=endure (as in endure to the end)  and it is all pronounced the same way.

FIRST GERMAN PUN! I feel legit now. haha

I don't know if that made any sense. Hopefully it did.

So I have always been bothered with the saying "When at first you don't succeed, try try again." Because to my perfectionist mind, I was always like "Hmmm...no. If at first you don't succeed, then when you finally get around to doing it, it's not "real" because you had to create it, so it's not natural. If you have to convince, then it's not legit."

Well, you can imagine how healthy that mindset has been for me.

And while I hope not everyone has such an intelligent way of looking at things as I do, I think everyone suffers from some type of "Ooh, I don't want to risk that" Syndrome.

But last Monday, we went to Kletterweld, which is basically an obstacle course....in the trees.

I had been so excited for this, for WEEKS. There were levels of courses, and I got through the first, more easy one with very little problem. Then we decided that we should try one of the hardest ones. Great idea, right?

So the first step was climbing up a board covered with rock climbing hand holds. No problem, except this board flapped loose in the wind, and was only connected at the top. hehe  No problem. Climbing up, I'm good at that. But that's where it got interesting. The next steps....hehe I totally cheated, but whatever.  Then the next part included me, and three ropes. There was no way I felt like I could do it, so I awkwardly zip lined across and heaved the mass known as Sister Roderer up onto the platform. By this point, I was pretty convinced that I couldn't keep going, but I was kind of stuck. I couldn't go back because there were two Elders behind me, and going forward looked basically impossible. But that seemed the only logical way. so forward I went. (see pic 6313) So two hand holds, where you hold your own weight, swing forward, and get your footing on a swinging bar. And so it went. I almost made it. But the problem was, that the further we went along, the further apart the boards got. Long story short (the short part was my legs. Call me stumpy) I fell, got tangled in EVERYTHING possible, and was totally stuck. So I had to grab the bar behind me, Shimmy my way onto it, go from sitting to standing, reach back, unhook the first of my safety hooks to untangle it, then hook it back closer to me, and then do that again with the other safety clip. Well I TRIED AGAIN. AND TRIED AGAIN. And got tangled every time. And finally had to be rescued by this very nice (acting and looking) climbing expert. Probably hands down the 30 most embarrassing minutes of my life. And then I look down (from the tree as I am dangling on my support lines) and see like a BUNCH of people watching. Like they don't have anything else to do with their lives than watch my ego dissipate into a puddle! The words that went through my head can be translated to "Go away meanies!!"

Anyway. What is so great about trying again if all it brings you is a painfully nicked thumb, bruises all up and down your arms, and such a sore body that you can barely climb up the FOUR FLIGHTS OF STAIRS every time you want to get back to your apartment? Not to mention what happened to my pride. Um...well....it was totaled. The price for its repair would be too great. I had to leave it in the dump.

This is what I learned. Without risk, there is no possibility, without trying, there is no becoming. Without failure, there is no real knowledge.  But someone else said it better:

President Thomas S. Monson has taught, “One of God’s greatest gifts to us is the joy of trying again, for no failure ever need be final.” Even if we’ve been a conscious, deliberate sinner or have repeatedly faced failure and disappointment, the moment we decide to try again, the Atonement of Christ can help us. And we need to remember that it is not the Holy Ghost that tells us we’re so far gone that we might as well give up.
God’s desire that Latter-day Saints keep on trying also extends beyond overcoming sin. Whether we suffer because of troubled relationships, economic challenges, or illnesses or as a consequence of someone else’s sins, the Savior’s infinite Atonement can heal even—and perhaps especially—those who have innocently suffered. He understands perfectly what it is like to suffer innocently as a consequence of another’s transgression. As prophesied, the Savior will “bind up the brokenhearted, … give … beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, [and] the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.” No matter what, with His help, God expects Latter-day Saints to keep on trying.  (Dale G. Renlund)

God lives. He loves you. Of this I bear witness.
I love you all!

Sister Roderer