The days...erm fields are white

Hello all!

It has been an interesting week! First split, first "white" day, first super super hot days of the summer, and that's just a snippet of what's been going on in Wiesbaden!

So last week I talked about the "missionary exchange rate" and I wanted to highlight an example from this week.

White-day blues

So a "white" day is when you don't have any appointments at all scheduled. After four solid hours of study, we went out to talk to people randomly on the street.

We talked with one woman who thought that according to the TV, we were that religious group that wasn't allowed to go on the internet, use phones or computers, and that we could have several spouses.

That seems to be a consistent assumption on the side of the Germans.

If that's what they think when they see us, no wonder they get angsty and refuse to look at us! haha

I told her, that actually, we were very normal, and that we would be getting iPads next week. :) 

Here is a pic of us venting our frustration about our white day under our desks. :) You should see the movie! hehehe

Another lady we talked to thought the same thing, but she could also see how it could be convenient to have more than one spouse...

We weren't sure what to say to that one!

It was really funny, she was almost disappointed when we said believe in just one man and woman. But, she did take a Book of Mormon. She was a violin repair woman, and she was carrying some violins, so we were able to chat for just a second about the joy of sharing music with children, Those small moments are the best!

Then we headed back to our apartment to wait for a package that was supposed to arrive from the church office, and in Germany (like other apartment-rich places that I've lived in), if you aren't there to get it, you aren't going to get it. We were tired, frustrated,and stressed by our white day, and so we started looking madly for a solution. I had the distinct feeling that we needed to pray and then start reading in the Book of Mormon, and that there we would find our answer. Now, it's not like we didn't have ideas or things to do, it was more that we didn't want to waste time doing something that wasn't worthwhile, and it was there that we were having issues. We prayed and then proceeded randomly open and read out loud in different sections of the Book of Mormon. I think I was somewhere in Alma, and Sister Hadfield was in Mormon. We went back and forth, one verse from Alma, and one from Mormon. Within the first 2-3 verses, we had our answer.

And so that's what we did.

And along with a very specific answer, the Lord also sent us this feeling of love, acceptance and power.

It was incredible.

It has totally redefined my understanding of success. Like, I always knew that success, especially as a missionary, but not really, was defined by criteria that encompassed so much more than we usually think. Success is so much more than the happenings of an exact moment, it is the conclusion that comes over time. I think it is more of a "lose the battle, but win the war" kind of idea. Or a Helix? Is that what it is called? I don't know. But the idea of growth through repetitive evolution.

Also, the Atonement is REAL. Like I am more positive of the reality of the Atonement than I am of anything else.

LOVE YOU ALL!!

Sister Roderer