Well, folks, it's finally p-day for the Duisburg trio. It has been a
jam-packed, miracle filled week!
Shorts for the week:
*We only had to wait until
Saturday to get a third bed.
*The police knocked on our door while I was about to get in the shower
one morning, and asked the Sisters if they knew a guy. Turns out they
had contacted him on the bus a few days before. I had no idea it was
the police, but I was listening closely through the door, ready to
jump out if needed.
*We had Zone Conference
Monday, and Missionary Leadership Council
meeting on
Tuesday with Elder Johnson from the Seventy, which is why
I'm sending this on
Wednesday. It was AMAZING
*We got to go to such a fun Ward Christmas Party, where three
investigators came!
The party started the moment I got arrived in Duisburg.
We go straight from the bus (where we taught half of the Restoration
lesson to this awesome guy who was so excited) to the church,
at a dead run,
with my suitcases.
hair, scarfs, and coats flying behind us, we chuck my suitcases in the
church foyer, turn right around and run for the bus going the other
direction. As Sister Johnson is locking the church door, the bus comes
up, and we run alongside it, trying to beat or meet it at the stop.
Sister Terry goes on ahead, and gets on the bus. Sister Johnson and I
are behind, hoping she can convince the driver to wait half a second
for us to cross the street and jog up the last ways.
The bus driver didn't wait,
and the driver, bus, and Sister Terry pull away.
It's been less than an hour and the drit is already separated...
We figured it all out and had a fabulous first day.
The three of us were walking to an appointment and we see this lady in
front of us. We all comment on something that she's wearing, and we
decided to go contact "classy lady". We go up behind her and say
hello, she turns around and sees three eager, sparkly eyed girls with
name tags right in her bubble, all looking at her expectantly.
Understandably, she ran away.
So when we get on the Bahn or the bus, we split up, scatter like
chickens and start conversations, usually focused on sharing the
awesome Christmas video.
This works super well, and we get to talk to a lot of people...the
only glitch has been that I have no idea where we are going.
So, a variety of things have happened...
*Look up mid-sentence to see my companions getting off of the Bahn,
and I jump up, say a hurried goodbye, basically chuck a card in their
lap then dive through the closing doors. (Only slight exaggeration)
*About to get the contact info of a really cool person, and see that
my companions are already off the Bahn and on the platform. I wedge
myself into the door to keep it from closing, and hurriedly,
frantically scribble his number, with the door beeper starting to go
off.
I wish I could say that I wrote down his number correctly....
*Trying to start a conversation, but having to keep looking back, and
popping my head up like a groundhog, trying to locate the heads of my
companions.
*Or, get the soft tap in my shoulder, and "this is our stop" and then
awkwardly "nice day"in the person I'm talking to and leave.
*Or, someone that your companion talked to on the platform sees you
sitting alone, and comes to sit by you and ask you another question
about the church.
We've met some amazing people who are so ready for the gospel. It is
such a testimony, again, to me that this is the Lord's work, not ours.
This becomes clear when a guy that was stopped by us on the street
comes to church, and talks about how he stayed up until past
midnight
the night before reading the Ensign...
Also, I went up to a sweet looking lady and commented on how nice her
earrings were. We talked for a bit and when I went to say goodbye, she
pulled her earrings out of her ears and gave them to me!
Something that hit me this week was hearing the account from the Old
Testament when the children of Israel were bitten by the fiery
serpents, due to their own bad choices despite warnings, and the Lord
provides a way from them to be healed. But what He provides is a snake
on a staff.
It made me realize that sometimes the very things that seem to bring
us down or cause us pain are the things, when converted through the
Atonement of Christ, will be the things that heal us. Hearts of
children turned to fathers, mirror siblings becoming unified,
annoyances at people bringing awareness, weakness being made to
strength. It's a beautiful thing.
So look at the serpents in your lives, and bring them to the Savior.
Because He was born, we don't need to fear. Or sometimes more
accurately, we can act despite it all.
All my love,
Sister Roderer
