All Good Things

Three baptisms!

Highlights:

 

*An investigator texted us on Monday, and said he wanted to be baptized on Saturday...and he was!

*I got to eat FUFU for the first time in my life!! It was DELICIOUS!

*We had called a couple in the ward a while back to ask if we could do come contacting with them by their apartment. Before that could happen, they went the second mile, contacted a lady by themselves, invited her to church, she came, and wants to learn more! Turns out she had met someone from the church years ago, and had been super impressed by what she saw and felt, feels ready now to learn more. She is incredible!

*I bawled like a baby in church yesterday. The feelings of love and charity and everything else were incredible. I will miss Germany!

*Met a group of Bulgarians standing outside of our church building, trying to read the sign on the wall. We invited them to the ward summer party, and showed them a Mormon message in their language. The Spirit was there, and they are curious to learn more!

 

This week has blown my mind. It has been absolutely incredible. Like I am speechless...so I'll just send pictures. :)

 

 

 

As mortals, we have to accept that all good things come to an end. But, as eternal children of a loving God, we know that good things never have to end, and that endings are only a gateway to new surprises.

When a chapter in a book ends, it doesn't mean that the book is finished, it just means that something new, wonderful, or exciting is about to happen. Life is that way too.

And because we believe in an Eternal God, and that we are children of said Eternal God, we know that our stories will never, ever end.

 

Hallelujah!

 

much love,

 

Sister Roderer

 

 

Small Things

Favorite pic from the Köln Dome

Highlights:

*That one time you tell an older gentleman that the missionaries are
his postcard from God telling him that God knows his name and loves
him, and he kisses your hand...

*You get offered a slice of pizza by a guy riding buy on his bike..

*You try to head to the Ubahn the normal way, and the Spirit says to go a different direction, and you start walking and he points to one person in the whole Bahnhof and says "That one!" and you talk to them and they want to learn more about the church.

*A new convert from Iran brings all the people he meets on the street to church and sets up appointments with you for them...and one of them wants to get baptized.


The Lord cares about the small things. They mean a lot to Him. He even wrote a scripture about it..."by small and simple means, and great things brought to pass..." or something like that.

If you ever feel like what you do is not enough, don't worry. It never will be.
haha
We're human.
But, we believe in a God who appreciates and treasures the small things.
So, even if what we have to give is small, it is accepted by Him Who created us.
By our loving Father.


Love you!!


Sister Roderer

Why?

Richard!!

Highlights:
 *referrals from our Iranian members just keep coming in!
*One of our investigators told the story of how they survived crossing the Mediterranean in a tiny boat that should have sank, and surviving death at gunpoint, while sitting in their living room, folding clothing for children in war torn countries and talking about faith in Jesus Christ.
*Spending the third hour of church with an adorable special needs daughter of an investigator, drawing cats and dogs and the story of Noah and the Ark.

We were on our way to Bonn today, and the Elders spoke with a couple studying at Cambridge. They were shocked to hear that we only skype twice a year and that we don't have more than weekly communication with our families. It made me take a second and think what it must be like for someone who doesn't know the church to wrap their heads around what we do.

Haribo Outlet in Bonn

I guess it would seem really strange! But you know what, it's not if

you know it's true.
I know it's true!

I made a list of things that I lost from coming in a mission, and then the things that I found. It amazes me that at the end of 18 months, I
can honestly say that I have lost nothing, but gained everything.

So why is it worth to try?
Why is it worth it to fall, and try again, and fall, and try again?
Why is the confusion worth it?
Why is the sacrifice worth it?
Why is the dedication and the discipline and the determination worth it?

Because it's true.
Because Christ lives and He can fix it.

People ask me all of the time why a loving God would let there be so
much injustice in the world. I tell them that the story isn't finished
yet. Justice is real, and it will all work out in the end. I believe
that with every part of my soul.
That's why.

Love always,

Sister Roderer

Mana from Heaven

It doesn't rain like this in the desert!

Highlights:
*Sister Markl is on the mend...and in the meantime we have had piles and piles of adventures! From catching allowed rides with the Elders to Sisters coming in from other areas to help with appointments, it's been a testimony to me that there really are angels among us.
*Had an incredible lesson with a girl from Kenya, who literally ran for her life because she believed in Jesus Christ.

Heading Back from the Multi-Stake Conference

*Came face2face with myself in a new way.
I'm so excited for life,
God is really good.
Hard or easy, rain or shine, this life is BEAUTIFUL!
*Got to go to Düsseldorf for church yesterday to hear Elder Christofferson in the multi-stake conference. Super cool!!
*Had a moment this week where I physically was not strong enough to lift something, and somehow was given just enough strength to move what needed to be moved. God really gives us "according to what we need".

Ok.

Power Split

I was on a power split with Sister Sant on Saturday, and we were at an apartment complex and saw this guy on the bottom level on his balcony, just watching the flies buzz by.
We went up to him and started talking about Jesus Christ. Turns out he's a Pentecostal Pastor. We showed him the Easter video which he LOVED.
All of a sudden I hear a
swish
And something whacks me on the shoulder.
Confused, I look down and see a large chunk of...
Bread?
Yes.
Bread.
Yes, please hit the one gluten-intolerant missionary in the head with bread.
Totally confused, we look up and see a lady on the top floor shaking out her kitchen tablecloth.
I make a comment about feeling like Elisha in the wilderness being fed by Ravens.
We keep talking, and then we get showered in...
SAND
We look up again, and there is a kid on a different balcony pouring a cup of sand out on our heads.
We took a couple steps back out of the splash zone to survey the situation.
The family was super apologetic and let us up.
We shared part of the Easter video and a card.


It made me think a bit about mana from heaven.
Our spirits as well as our bodies require daily nourishment. It requires care, thought, and time. And God is ready to give us exactly what we need in that moment. Though sometimes it doesn't look like the portion we would have picked out for ourselves.
Haha
Sometimes I'm like
"What!? I can't POSSIBLY survive on that!" But I can, and I do. And I'm so much, much better for it.
It reminds me of my favorite Mormon Message (Hope of God's Light)
Where he explains that answers come slowly, softly, and only as fast as we can digest them. And that "it is part of our condition as mortals to feel like we are constantly in darkness", when we really are not.
I guess my point is that there is enough mana for all of us, all of the time.
Sometimes even a little bit extra, haha.

I promise you that no matter how much you've feel you've lost, given up, or sacrificed, God repays in eternal proportions. He loves you. You are His precious child, and you mean heaven and earth to Him.

Love always,

Sister Roderer

You Bitter Believe It!

This week I've learned:

*that broccoli can go bitter, which is something I never knew...also bitter broccoli is incredibly disgusting.
*that The Gospel of Jesus Christ is best described as a loaf of bread:
Yeast: Faith
Sugar: Repentance
Water: Baptism
Salt: Holy Ghost
Flour: Works/endure to the End
Mix well, and add some heat!
*that I really only know "missionary" German. My companion had some medication she needed to take, and I was in charge of reading the instructions to her. Well...I'm clearly a missionary as I read
'Erbrechen" (throw-up) as "Ehebrechen" (adultery)
and "Vorbeugung" (prevention) as "Vergebung" (forgiveness).
Whoops.



My favorite thing about faith is that you don't have to always feel it to use it.
That is something that I will be eternally grateful for.
God promises us through Alma that if we "only desire to believe" that He can work miracles through us.
If we desire to believe enough to act on what we'd like to feel, it's enough.
I guess this is what you'd call "FAITH it 'till you make it".
For example:
Maybe one day 'I' don't feel like contacting someone on the bus. I can think of 1000 reason NOT to talk to that person across the aisle. But, I know that the promise is if I try to lose myself in His work, I will feel joy. I don't necessarily feel excited, or particularly hopeful, but I decide to try.
And the joy comes pouring in.
Or...
Maybe 'I' want so badly for such-and-such to happen, but it doesn't. In fact, I feel like it shouldn't. I have no desire to change what I want, and don't feel a huge excitement in what the Lord has promised me, but I choose to keep going anyway, because at some point, I hope it will change.
And it does.
One day at a time.

Sometimes, it just takes the act of trying, and the belief comes.
I guess what I'm trying to say is sometimes doing good things won't be your natural or initial reaction, but if you try anyway, it works out on the end.
Waiting for all the complicated squishy mess that is your insides to find its way out of its emotional "human knot" before you act is like waiting for chickens to fly. They very rarely do, and if they do, they don't get very far.
Terrible analogy, I know, but I'm short on time.

Anyway,

God lives.
He's really there.
He's worth following.
He's worth trusting.

Love you all!

Sister Roderer

Hallo!

The Jazz Man

Highlights:

*Two splits, one Düsseldorf zone training, and one MLC make for one
very busy and wonderful week!
*Met a man in Essen who is about 89 years old, and is a Jazz
accordion/piano player. He had met with missionaries decades ago, and
told us about being 18 at the end of the war, and playing classic
American Jazz for the troops in Heidelberg. He told us how a
missionary's father sent him the most wonderful tie with an American
flag on it, and how he loved it, but wasn't sure where to wear it.
We told him to wear it to church. Haha
*We were standing by a bus stop in Köln and we saw this man who looked
at us briefly. The feeling to talk to him was pretty direct, so we
chose to do so.
1.5 hours later, we had traveled into the city on the same bus, and
taught him the ENTIRE lesson about the Restoration of the church in
McDonalds, given him a Book of Mormon, and committed him to read it
and pray about it.
He lives in Hamburg, and was cautious about giving his info out, but
the Spirit in the lesson was super strong.
So cool!
*The "Spider" gave his first talk in German yesterday in Sacrament
Meeting! He did such a wonderful job!!

They are Elders!!

*We had a "Persian only" class, where two newly baptized members taught two other interested people about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the importance of being baptized. They shared their baptism experience, and the Spirit was there! So cool to be able to watch
their interaction (even though we didn't understand everything/anything that was being said hahaha) and share their newfound love for the Savior, His Gospel, and His church.


                                                                 

                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                
I was studying Preach My Gospel about the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Under the first point it says:

"Becoming clean from sin is being healed spiritually"

That struck me like a jolt.
I was like
"Wait a second...that means that when we don't feel "healthy" or
"healed" or when we feel listless, lost, frustrated, forgotten, alone,
or confused, the solution literally is repentance."

At first I was not so comforted by this idea.
"Great"
I thought
"Yet another way we can fail.
Fail while you're failing...
Beautiful."
But then I realized that my understanding of Repentance was
fundamentally flawed.
It reminds me of another quote from Preach My Gospel:

"Repentance includes forming a fresh view of God, ourselves, and the
world. When we repent, we feel godly sorrow, then we stop doing things
that are wrong and continue doing things that are right. Bringing our
lives in line with God’s will through repentance is a central purpose
of our lives."

So, repentance is a beautiful thing, and it works.

That's all!

Love always,

Sister Roderer

It's true

Muenster - the Land of Bikes

 Highlights:

Last Saturday...round the world Book of Mormon tour

*We had Dortmund Zone Training this week, which is always fun.
*We met some incredible people who are willing to give literally everything up to hear more about Jesus Christ.
*Our new converts are thriving and progressing, and it just warms my heart! Their conversion strengthens mine.
*We got to go to a medieval fair for pday today, which was super fun!




I was studying the Restoration this morning, and I read a sentence that really hit me.

It's either true or it's not.

It doesn't matter if it's easy or hard, convenient or inconvenient, or fun or boring.
It comes down to six simple words.



It's either true or it's not.

And folks...it's true.


Love you!

Sister Roderer

Small Moments

It's funny how the smallest of moments can change everything, 

and that one single thought can change an entire life, 
and redirect the course of generations. 
It's sobering.
and wonderful. 
And rather terrifying.

So, once upon a time in Duisburg, two sisters were on a split. 
We were on our way somewhere on the Bahn 903, and I saw two men standing in the belly section of the Bahn, in-between the two cars. I knew immediately that they were not from Germany, and I knew that I could get their number. 
Still I hesitated talking to them. #fearlohntsichnicht
The urge to talk to them didn't leave, so I went for it.
They weren't standing super close, but their body language told me that they were traveling together. I looked from one to the other, and then picked one. 
Before "Hallo! ich bin Missionarinnen für der Kirche..." was out of my mouth, I knew he couldn't speak a lick of German. 
Luckily for me, his friend saved us both from the awkwardness of speaking troll. 
With the little German his friend knew, we established that they were from Iran, that they had been in Germany for about 4 months, and that he had two weeks of German.
Oh, and that they were Christian. :)
With my non-existent Persian and limited German, and various hand signals, I tried explaining that we were missionaries, and had something about Jesus Christ that we wanted to share with them.
We exchanged info, and hopped off the Bahn.

To be honest, I didn't think anything would come of the contact. 
But, thankfully we had a "call all the potentials" day thanks to Sister Markl, and felt the need to call them.
So we did.
They were surprisingly willing to meet, which confused me. 
I don't know why.
So, exactly one week to the day they were contacted, I was on another split, and we headed to the Bahnhof for our appointment. We told them to meet us at Bahnhof, but somehow their Bahnhof was not our Bahnhof, and we wandered around our Bahnhof for about 10 minutes, calling them over and over again, until I finally figured out where they were.
They kept saying
"Targo Bank, Bahnhof, Bus Station." Over and over again, and I was frantically looking Targo Bank up on the mapsme app, and all the while, my poor split partner just had to follow the whole circus around. 
We finally located them, clear on the other side and outside of our Bahnhof. They gestured emphatically to the buildings around them.
The SUBWAY Bahnhof
The Bus stop
And Targo Bank...
Which was basically a skyscraper
P gestured at it, and then looked at me, showing me with his hands how HUGE it was.
TARGO. BANK.
Alles Klar
We then had the funniest, most hilarious Restoration lesson over google translate. 
Interspersed with:
"Translate, bad...but understand". 
We laughed and testified, tried to teach...and set up another appointment.

Fast forward, and now they're baptized! 

When I think about how subtle and seemingly irrelevant those gentle urges were, I feel very small. Small because I can feel the fragility of split seconds, and how easily it could have gone the other way; how Philip and Sairos could have gotten lost on the list of "potentials", because I, in my weakness did not clearly see theirs.
But it also brings me joy, because I know that God can work through who we are RIGHT NOW, and we should never be afraid to give what we have. 
With God, it will always be enough.

Pday in Muenster

All my love,

Sister Roderer

Really Real

Last week's pday adventures - football/catch in the rain!

Grötzie 

Highlights:

*We drove the CAR for the first time!! Now that was an adventure. I've learned that I 'back-seat' drive just as well as I actually drive. haha Just kidding

*We had Dusseldorf Zone Training where we were able to talk about stress, and do a variety of stress-relieving activities, that included eating edible paper and facing our stresses with a broom handle and a mattress.

MLC

*We were able to go to MLC in Frankfurt this week, which is always wonderful.

*All the buses and bahns were on strike on Tuesday in Duisburg...made it hard for our investigators to meet with us, but they tried to come! One stood at the Bahn station for 30 minutes in hopes one would come.

"That one time when..."

*Your investigator is trying to express what believing in Jesus Christ means to him, and through google translate he describes it as "honey for his heart".

*You watch a new member pay his Fast Offering for the first time, and you see the joy that just lights up his face. Church is true!

*Your investigator class on Sunday has to be translated into three different languages, because they all want to hear it in German so that they can learn...luckily the Spirit can speak all languages!

*An investigator comes up to you in the bus and tells you he wants to be baptized...and your jaw hits the floor, and you forget for a moment to promise blessings, because it was the last thing you thought he'd say.

I was thinking about what was said in General Konferenz, by Elder Rendlund.

The concept—“the greater the distance between the giver and the receiver, the more the receiver develops a sense of entitlement”—also has profound spiritual applications. Our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, are the ultimate Givers. The more we distance ourselves from Them, the more entitled we feel. We begin to think that we deserve grace and are owed blessings. We are more prone to look around, identify inequities, and feel aggrieved—even offended—by the unfairness we perceive. While the unfairness can range from trivial to gut-wrenching, when we are distant from God, even small inequities loom large. We feel that God has an obligation to fix things—and fix them right now!

 

...and I was thinking how that applies to goals, desires, and reality in general. In a world that seems to hinge on the latest newsflash, headline, Instagram post, or 'satisfying' moment, I think that this quote becomes incredibly relevant.

And there are several different variations of it:

*The longer we wait to act on the things we know to be right, the more fears we will experience.

*The more we 'consider' what we think we need to be happy, the less we will be able to recognize what we already have, and that it is actually enough to fulfill us totally.

*The longer we wait to turn to God, the more we will assume that He is not there.

*The more we consider what reality we would prefer, the less we will feel connected to our actual reality.

It's a good life!

love always,

Sister Roderer

Acting on a Hope

3.5 Swiss People....all in the Swiss Missionaries are serving in the same zone

• We had Dortmund Zone Training, which was focused on stress relief, which means we threw  spaghetti at an Elder wrapped in Saran Wrap. 
• Taught the Ten Commandments to our Iranian friends, and they surprised us by asking what our favorite commandments were. I didn't know how to answer! One of their favorite ones fit perfectly with the next part of our lesson...Law of Chastity. It is so wonderful to hear them talk about how sacred and beautiful marriage and family are! They are so fantastic!!
• A former member showed up to church with his wife a couple of weeks ago, and they both want to be baptized! They are so incredible, no email would do them or their story justice!
• We found out the character differences between our companionship when we found an invasion of squiggles on our balcony: 

Sister Markl: Let's pool our resources and find the best, most sanitary solution.

Sister Roderer: We can wash our hands when we are done.

I also learned that Sister Markl does not like bugs, and if you want to make her scream, bugs are the best way to go. Hehe






I studied one of my favorite verses this morning, which I see as the companion scripture to Ether 12:27.  It's in Jacob, who is simply brilliant with his word choice. :)  Jacob 4:6-7

From my study I learned something beautiful about hope, which changed the way I see faith.

Hope means you acquire the grounds or justification
for acting on the words of Christ.
Faith means you have enough hope to act; it means your heart is soft enough to change.
You can gain hope through studying the experiences of others, and by making
your own experiences.
Miracles and mountain-moving-faith comes from the experience of having completed the process of acting on hope and faith.

So, faith is acting on the grounds that something will happen. Hope is the initial thrust that  provides the desire to change. Faith is the act of changing or acting, which activates the power of miracles.

Dortmund in Spring

It's really the small things that make
the biggest difference! God's plan is really perfect.
God lives.
He's really there.
Jesus Christ is His Son, and our Savior.
What you do matters.
You matter!

All my love,

Sister Roderer

Heavenly Blessings

SPRING!!

Highlights:

*We got to take part in a lot of District Meetings this week, so we could be there for their goal setting, and understand where they were coming from, and what we could do to help. That was fun, and we got to use Skype!

*In Germany they watch the last session of General Conference as part of church, which we did yesterday. We had the session in German, English, Persian, and Chinese!


*Everything is blooming, and I got a sunburn last Monday, which was a beautiful feeling.

"That one time when..."

*you try to talk to your Iranian investigator with google translate, and he slaps his hand on your iPad and says:
"Nein! Translate schlecht. Nur Deutsch sprechen!"
We put the iPad away.

Sunday Linger Longer

*you are at a member's house, and leave the appointment before your investigators do, because they are watching soccer on the big screen with the members.

*you are in a Bahn, and lose your balance, so you go to grab the pole that should be there, but instead you grab a person instead, then suddenly realize what you are doing and snap your hand back like it's been burned.

*you watch "A Shower of Heavenly Blessings" with a family, then write down your blessings on a blue piece of paper, the crumple them into "raindrops" and play a version of umbrella dodgeball for Family Home Evening.

Making a wish

I have been rather excited about the new Mormon Message that just came out last month. It's called "A Shower of Heavenly Blessings". I'm not sure why I like it so much, but I have literally come up with reasons to show it to people.

It has made me think a lot about patience, faith, blessings, joy, etc. I read a quote this week that hit me really hard, and I wanted to share it with you all.

"Patience is a willingness, in a sense, to watch the unfolding purposes of God with a sense of wonder and awe, rather than pacing up and down within the cell of our circumstance. Put another way, too much anxious opening of the oven door and the cake falls instead of rising. So it is with us. If we are always selfishly taking our temperature to see if we are happy, we will not be.” Elder Maxwell

Well, as usual, there is no time to say what I want to say, but be patient, and the blessings will flow.

Christ lives.

He is our Savior.
I testify of Him!

Love always,

Sister Roderer

The Bird-en of Growth

Almost my name

Highlights:

*We taught a first lesson in a men's African barbershop...in Germany.

*The man we contacted so quickly last week said he'd like to be baptized...but he doesn't live in our area.

*We did a finding activity as a district in Wesel, and I contacted this guy who was most definitely under the influence of something. I asked him if he believed in God, and he looks up at me, and says
"Believing in God means to be able to see without wearing glasses."
Thanks, friend. Haha

*A couple in our ward went contacting together for Easter, giving out
candy and #Hallelujah cards, and they talked to this sweet lady from
China....who came with her daughter to church yesterday!

World-o-meter:
*Turkey
*Syria
*Iran
*Germany
*Ghana
*Nigeria
*Angola
*India

Deutsch:
There is this hobby shop in Duisburg, and we were considering going in
there for something, and I was speaking in German and turned to Sister
Markl and said something about finding a "craft" except in German
"Kraft" means "strength", not something you create. Whoops.

I've been studying what it means to have a soft heart this week, and I
found this AMAZING quote a couple of days ago that I wanted to share
with you.
January Ensign 1999:

"Few mortals share with Alma the Younger or Paul the Apostle the
dramatic experiences which resulted in their spiritual rebirths over
short periods of time. In fact, I believe those experiences are
recorded in the scriptures not to define the time frame during which
one may be reborn but to provide a vivid picture of what the
accumulated, subtle changes are that take place in a faithful person
over a lifetime."

It was such a lovely thought, that it's not about just a few people
finding this deep conversion and the rest of us struggling for our
entire lives to feel something, rather, it is ALL of us on the same
journey to total and utter conversion.

Despite this knowledge, it is so easy to feel like an ugly duckling.
Something that the Lord has been teaching me this week is that no
matter how ugly we may be right now, if we keep trying we someday will
still become a swan.

Love always,

Sister Roderer

Baptism right before Elder Evans gets transferred - Friends always!

The Gentle Dews of Heaven

Duisburg in its Glory

*So...I was on a split, and we were heading for our Bahn. We had exactly 4 minutes before it left. We walked passed this guy, and I had the impression to talk to him.
NOW? I thought,
but I stopped and said the first words which came out of my mouth, which were...
"Hi, we're missionaries for the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints...do you believe in Jesus Christ?"
"Yes."
"We know that the church that we represent is true and that it can fulfill all of your deepest desires...
Would you like to learn more?"
"Yes, I would."
We typed his number into my phone, and booked it for our train.
God has promised that He will fill our mouths if we open them,
 and sometimes the words that come out are surprising.
*I was on a different split, and we were running for the Bahn, were
Sister Markl was waiting for me, so we could head home. We were
running, and some guy yells out
"Run, Forrest, RUN!"
We keep going, and then every muscle in my body tensed and froze.
I was literally running as fast as I could, and it was a waddle.
Like if snails could waddle, that's about how fast I was going.
We get to the stairs, and there at the top is our Bahn, waiting to go,
held back only by this tiny little chocolate man, who was standing in
the doorway, keeping the doors from closing.
Sister Markl is at the top of the stairs, yelling at me to RUN
And here I am
Waddling
One excruciating step at a time
I finally eeeeep to the top and we jump in.
. . .
We go one stop and then realize that I still have the other sister's Bahn card
. . .
Back to Herne we go!


*Showed the Hallelujah video to two girls smoking and drinking in the
middle of a field.
*Had that moment when your mitglied dabei plan doesn't work, and you
teach half the lesson outside over loudspeaker on your mission
cellphone.

General Conference in Bonn!

*When your sick investigator studies the gospel principles book in the corner of the train on the way to General Conference, and he doesn't want to sit too close, so he doesn't make anyone sick.
*And then after eating together as a group between sessions, you have to boil hot water in the church building to wash dishes covered in
beef and tomato sauce.

I read this incredible talk this morning.

It's called The Atonement Covers All Pain
Here's a snippet:
Elder Orson F. Whitney wrote: “No pain that we suffer, no trial that we
experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development
of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude, and humility. … It is
through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the
education that we come here to acquire.”


I have so much I want to say, and literally zero minutes to type it
all in, but I want to testify that because of Jesus Christ, there is
always enough strength to keep going. The pain can be excruciating,
and sometimes we will fail, just a little but, or maybe a lot, but I
PROMISE you, with all of the authority that my calling holds, there is
no pain, no suffering, no mistake, no failure than can not be made
right through the atoning blood of He who committed no sin, made no
mistake, and yet took it all upon Himself.
Christ lives.
He is your Savior.
He is mine.
That's truth.
I give all that I am for that truth, because I know He lives.

Love always,

Sister Roderer

General Konferenz selfie

Be Still and Know

Hallo!!

Wow, it has been a long and short, and wonderful week!So many things happened!

Highlights:

*We finally are officially living in Duisburg (we got Anmelded, thanks to the genius of Elder Kress)

*We had some incredible appointments with our investigators from Iran. They are so cool! We have been using Skype to translate, which has made things super fun!

*We had MLC this week, where we gave a musical number AND a thema!

*I got to go to ALDI! I love Aldi...almost as much as I love Trader Joe's

The Offenbach Dragon

As usual, there is never quite enough time to write about all of the wonderful things that happened in a week.

I just wanted to say that I know God lives.

It's been a turbulent few weeks for me, with joy, and sorrow, comfort and frustration, all mixed into one big ball, and I have felt weighed down by it all.

But

We had this incredible experience today. We were headed back from a pday Easter Monday brunch, and we had four minutes before our bus came. We decided to walk zum Fuß, and took a super cool picture. Then I turned around, and there was this guy there, so I just offered him a card. He said no, and that he was atheist. He was walking away, so I called out after him (in this empty, echo-y cobble-stone street)

"If you pray to God tonight, and ask Him if He is there, He will answer you...Have a nice day!"

And then we headed back to the bus stop.

He came around the corner as well, and I was like

oohh...awkward....yup, we're still here

And then he comes up to us, and is like

"Ok. I want to take the two of you out of coffee, and you have until 17:30 to try to convert me."

We were shocked.

Well, in a nutshell, three hours later (only possible because it was a pday) we had talked about God, energy, light, the earth "rolling together as a scroll", church, faith, and a host of other things. We left him with a Book of Mormon, which he said he would read. He is convinced by his current belief, and has no desire in changing, but we have hope.

Anyway, during this conversation, it really hit me how perfect the plan is. I was filled with this inner peace that was truly wonderful, and it made me realize, that sometimes we just need to take a moment to be still and know that God is God. Just to listen to what He has to say.

He lives!!

Hallelujah!

love always,

Sister Roderer

Playing Football with most of the Duisburg District

Marinade of Life

When you have two people in two phones talk to each other.

Highlights:
From the last three weeks
*Got beard burn from an overly friendly potential investigator, who shocked me on the street, and greeted me in his culture before I could react.
*We were in the church and someone called the church phone, and we picked up, and the person on the other line said he wanted to be baptized and asked what he needed to do! We set up an appointment with him, but later felt like we needed to give him to the Elders to teach. At the moment the Elders were meeting with him, I was in a bus being told by a man that if I would join his religion, he would marry me...I think out of some misunderstood pity. The irony though. But, inspiration always hold true.
*We were dropped by an investigator through text, who told us amid smiliey emoticons that he researched us and didn't buy it and to never contact us again. It felt strangely like a break-up text.
*We explained the Atonement with the analogy of a rose bush to a Muslim, and he said that were extremely convincing, and that he'd have to think about it. Christ is our Savior!
*Someone who saw the beard burn encounter called me out and said simply "Du bist schlecht". When I further questioned him to figure out why, he got all confused and didn't give me a straight answer, and then ended up apologizing, just so I would go away...
*Someone called us yesterday to say that he had had an appointment with us two months ago, but at the time he cancelled it, and threw his Book of Mormon away. Since then, he has had only bad luck, and he knows it is because he has offended "our God". He wants to meet now.

World-o-meter
Egypt
Poland
Russia
Turkey
Croatia
Bangladesh
Iran
Syria
Gambia
Kenya
Afghanistan
Germany

Deutsch:
"Expectations" auf Deutsch is "Erwartungen", which is closely associated with the word "Warten" which means "to wait". Are our "Erwartungen" causing us to wait to act, wait to serve, or wait to love?

Be sure to watch the new video for Easter, my folks!


My thoughts today come from the talk What Lack I Yet.

Part of my MTC group at Zone Conference.

"Years ago I read these words of President Spencer W. Kimball, which had a lasting impact on me. He said: “I have learned that where there is a prayerful heart, a hungering after righteousness, a forsaking of sins, and obedience to the commandments of God, the Lord pours out more and more light until there is finally power to pierce the heavenly veil. ... A person of such righteousness has the priceless promise that one day he shall see the Lord’s face and know that he is.” (What Lack I Yet?)"

NOWHERE does it say "a perfect person", "a popular person", "a -whatever-you-currently-think-you-don't-have person". However, it does talk about being honest and genuine, about facing your weaknesses with honesty and love. It does talk about taking responsibility, and softness of spirit, and never EVER giving up.

If spiritual growth is not a priority in our lives, if we are not on a course of steady improvement, we will miss out on the important experiences that God wants to give us. (What Lack I Yet?)

And if we are, we need to not hyperventilate if it doesn't go as quickly as we think it should. God wants, and we want the change to be permanent. That means it has to go deep. Like when you marinate steak, you want it in the marinade for at least a few hours, so that the flavor seeps through. Same with the lessons that we learn. Don't be afraid if you seemed to be swimming in the marinade of life. It is not a sign of weakness or failure, but rather one of permanent and lasting change. It's a good thing.


Anyway, Happy Easter! Christ is our Savior, He has redeemed us. Hope is reachable, and we can be healed, fully completely, totally, and utterly.

Love always,

Sister Roderer

One Life

That one time I don't have any time to write
because we went to Köln for p-day.....
533 steps later...

Here is a quote that blew my mind this week...

In Maxwell Anderson’s play about the youthful
Joan of Arc, she says, “Every woman gives her life
for what she believes. Sometimes people believe in
little or nothing, nevertheless, they give up their lives
to that little or nothing. One life is all we have, and
we live it as we believe in living it, and then it’s gone.
But to surrender what you are, and live without
belief--that’s more terrible than dying--more terrible
than dying young.”
(Maxwell Anderson, “Joan of Lorraine,” New
York: Dramatists’ Play Service, 1945, act 2, scene 4.

Sister Roderer

#areyoumyinvestigator?

Highlights:

*Stake Conference was this weekend and the Spider came with us. All of the people who talked to him knew his story, and they were really happy to talk to him! It made my heart so warm to see that!!!!!!

*We were able to explore places in Duisburg that I have never been before...that was an adventure!

*Some former investigators showed up again, and we are excited to teach them!!

*We were dooring by a referral, and Sister Markl felt like we needed to have a theme. So then we both prayed and felt that it should be "peace". So we went to the next door, and klingeld.

No one answered.

I almost walked away, but Sister Markl tried again.

A lady opened and we were able to have a great conversation about the Restoration.

She shut the door, and I mentioned that I wished we had had a Book of Mormon with us to show her as evidence, because she wanted to know what evidence we had about Joseph Smith. Sister Markl said she had one with her.

So what do we do?

We turn around and knock again.

She was surprised to see us again.

We offered her the Book, which she didn't take, but we walked away knowing we had done our part.

*You know the book "Are You My Mother?"

Well, we played "Are You My Investigator?" this week.

We were going to an appointment with someone who had been taught by Sister Terry and Sister Johnson, so I didn't know what he looked like. I only had a few defining features about his family, so on our way to his apartment, I stopped EVERYONE who looked like they could match the description and asked them

"Are you K?"

"Is your husband K?"

There was one family who were really confused when we asked them. When we realized that they weren't "K", we asked them if they wanted to learn more about Christ anyway.

They did.

World-o-meter:

Bangladesh

India

Pakistan

Syria

Ghana

Gambia

Nigeria

Germany

Turkey

and some I can't spell

We had an incredible member missionary moment this week. In our last member appointment, we challenged them to write their testimony in a copy of the Book of Mormon, and we would pray over it, and then give it out to someone, and then we would report back on the story.

So...

We were on the U79 (again) and I talked to this lady who was telling me about her "return to faith" and then I started talking to her about the Book of Mormon. She was super interested, and she wanted a copy. I didn't have one on me, but we made an appointment out for later that week. I also got her number so I could confirm the appointment.

I was packing for the day of the appointment, and I felt sure that this specific Book of Mormon was the one that was supposed to go to her.

When I went to confirm the appointment, I realized that the number didn't work. We were not sure if the appointment would go through, and it was really far away, and we knew when we got there that we wouldn't know where to go to meet with her, so we decided to stay and meet with another investigator that was leaving the next day to move to Poland.

I felt really bad about missing that opportunity, even though there was not much that we could have done.

In comp the next morning, I said a prayer, and apologized for my weakness, and the possibility that I had written the number down incorrectly, and prayed for another chance to see her and give her the Book of Mormon.

Due to a few fallen out appointments, our day put us back on the U79 at a different time than originally scheduled. As the Bahn pulled up, to my shock, there was the lady!! She saw me, and I saw her and I immediately sat down and started talking to her. I gave her that copy of the Book of Mormon (which I still had in my bag) and was able to recount the story of the Restoration.

When I called the members back to tell them this story, they were so excited.

I am so grateful that the Lord's mercy covers our failures, and that He is at the helm of this work.

"The Atonement is real, and it works". It cleanses us, purifies us, empowers us, heals us, and motivates us. It makes change possible. It brings hope. And it is all through the matchless gift of Our Father, even that He sent His Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.

I love Jesus Christ.

John Donne said once: “We ask our daily bread, and God never says, ‘You should have come yesterday.’ … [No, he says,] ‘Today if you will hear [my] voice, today I will hear yours.’ … If thou hast been benighted till now, wintered and frozen, clouded and eclipsed, damp and benumbed, smothered and stupefied till now, God yet comes to thee, not as in the dawning of the day, … but as the sun at [full] noon, to banish all shadows” (Collected Sermons).

Love Always,

Sister Roderer

The Spider and the King

*A member in our ward talked about how her testimony of the power of prayer was strengthened as, after seven years of praying, the Berlin Wall came down. She recounted that prayers were said on both sides of the wall, and it came down. And it was then that she began to understand the power of prayer.
*I gave a talk at our baptism this week, and it was being translated into three different languages. It was weird to hear my words immediately repeated and translated into German, Arabic, and Twi.
*Our "Spider" was baptized and confirmed in Twi, his mother tongue, which was INCREDIBLE!
*I am getting a SWISS companion!!
*We got to go to a castle on Monday!!!


World-o-meter:
*Germany
*Bangladesh
*England
*Syria
*Turkey
*India
*Ghana
*Egypt
*Romania








Deutsch:
The word for trying something new out like "I tried a new dance move today" is "Versucht", which is very close to the German word "Suchen" which means "search". I love the idea of "searching out" new skills and experiences. I think this also applies to our agency, which is the conscious choice to search out God in whatever aspect of our lives that we are currently facing. Next time you're asked to do something new and possibly scary, see it as a "search for something new" rather than a potential catastrophe. :)

Eep! Where to start?
I'm going to miss Sister Terry and Sister Johnson more than I can say!
They have had such an influence on my life, and they're going to go change the world.







Two quick miracles:

We were printing out programs for the baptism, and the printer cartridge was printing out this super gross line across the program.
Ok,
It was like pencil thin, but it still shriveled my heart. It kept printing out like that, and it was driving me crazy.
I remember looking up at heaven and saying
 "Could you fix that?"
And then I went back to something else I was doing. When I cam back to the printer, I pulled out the programs
And they were perfect.
Flawless
Line-less
This heat grabbed my heart in its fist, and I teared up. I didn't know the love of God would LITERALLY come
line upon line.

We have this member in our ward who is from Ghana and speaks Twi, just like Spider does, and on top of that, he is a tribal king in Ghana.
Yes, you did read that right.
We have an African King in our ward.
We involved this member a lot in the teaching and such of Spider. He was supposed to be in Ghana the day of the baptism, but we prayed and he stayed, and so...
The king baptized the spider.


So, I guess what I'm really trying to say is...
Don't forget to pray!

Love always,

Sister Roderer