The Font Is Filled

 
Warm Greetings from a very frigid Germany.
Whee!




Highlights from this week:
*It snowed!!!
*Ralf got BAPTIZED!!!!
*We laughed a potential into changing his mind and choosing to meet with us.


So, we were contacting on the way to an appointment, and Sister Terry stops this tall blond guy with a scar on his face, nursing his little cup of coffee. She asks him about God, and he shuts her down, declaring that he only believes in what he can see...
His cup of coffee, for example.
I overhear this conversation, just as he starts to cross the street. I ask Sister Johnson for a German Book of Mormon, because naturally, I only have English on me?
Anyway, I dart across the street.

"Excuse me"
I call out, in my most brilliant and beautiful missionary voice
"You said that you only believe what you see, right?"
He nods, looking back at me, partially annoyed, partially confused.
"Well,"
I wave the Book of Mormon in front of his face
"Can you see THIS?
This is your evidence."
He was not impressed, and mumbled something about seeing his coffee cup.
Then I was not impressed.

Then a couple days later, we were contacting a guy that turned about to be a member (happens quite often) who points out a friend of his. We turn to look at this guy, and watch him as he's talking to someone else, and I decide that he HAS to be talked to. Finally I get the chance when we get out at the same Bahn stop. I start talking to him and we find out he is an American from Boston.
Next thing we know, he's told his German nickname: Chocolate Angel
He is probably one of the funniest people I have ever met, but there was something he said that hit me really hard.
We asked him if he has heard of the Mormons before, and he looked at me like I was crazy.
"I'm from America, of COURSE I have heard of Mormons."
So he said he's on a hunt to find a church, but he didn't really know what the Mormons believe.
We were like
"What?"
And this is what he said:
"Yeah, you Mormons don't brag about what you believe the way other people do."

That made me super sad.

Cleaning the Font

We have SO MUCH to brag about. What are we afraid of? I think that one of the biggest reasons why we don't talk to our friends or co-workers is because we're worried that people will be annoyed, but then we run the risk of them knowing nothing about us, and assuming that we are weird and strange. But here is this guy, searching for truth, who didn't know where to find it because his friends were too careful.

Contrast that with Ralf, who when fighting the temptation to smoke the day before his baptism told us that he had won. He said this: Satan can say what he wants, it's too late. The font is already filled.

Is your font filled, or are you still waiting to be convinced by circumstance?

Anyway, that is all that I have time for.

Love always!

Sister Roderer

I Propose

Contacting in the Bus

It's been a great week!

Highlights:
*Two Zone Conferences this week, and we gave a Thema about goal setting at both.
*A former investigator came back to church, and is simply fabulous!
*We figured out what was wrong with my Bahn card...it wasn't for Duisburg, it was for Dortmund...

So, we got another random call from someone who called himself something we didn't understand, but heard as "Yellow". Well, Yellow was super anxious to meet, and so we set up an appointment at the Bahnhof. Once again, no one remembered contacting him. Well, we get there, not sure at all what to expect, and then this guy comes over, and my heart drops. I recognize him as a guy contacted on a split, and he was super interested in the Sister I was on a split with. I pulled Sister Terry aside, and let her know that we were entering potentially awkward waters, so she suggested a quick lesson and then leave.
That rang true.
Well, it didn't work.
He didn't really want to hear what we had to say, which happens sometimes, but then he looked at me and was like
"I have one question,"
Uh oh, that's never good.
"Are you married or do you have a boyfriend?"
In that moment, I sincerely wish I could have said yes.
Alas...
"Nope,"
I answer.
He then asks if we can be friends.
I grasp the corner of my name tag, and hold it out to him,
"You see this?
This is a shield.
It means I'm not available as anything but a missionary."
He doesn't take that as an answer.
Frustrated, but flattered, I try again.
So does he.
But he ups the game.
"My parents would not be happy to hear that I went to your church, but if you take me to your church right now, and marry me, then I can explain to my parents why I went to a different church."
In the background, Sister Johnson whispers,
"Flirt to convert..."
Meanwhile, he looks at me and says again,
"Take me to your church right now and marry me, and then I can come to your church."
We didn't make a return appointment.

Looking for baptismal pants. These are a little large!

I'm flattered, and also feel really bad. I hope he finds another way to truth.

Just a thought for the new year.
No one will find a spouse, become a great missionary, overcome a weakness or whatever it is, on accident.
We will not get to Heaven on accident.
You will not be surprised as to where you end up.
It's not going to be some shocking thing at the Judgement Day where people will be waiting for God decide whether or not you are worth it.
You will know exactly where you're going, He is not some biased judge, and it is not a competition where your success is decided by someone who has their own view of what is acceptable.
We get to where we want to go through daily, inspired, and consistent reaching to achieve goals.

It's doable.

All things are possible to him who believes.
Are you a believer?

I am.

And I believe in you.

So,
I propose a change this year.
I propose that we become more believing, and if that's all we got, that's ok.
It's enough.


All my love,

Sister Roderer

Off With a Bang!

Hello, my peeps!
Happy New Year, or as the Germans say it
Frohes Neues Jahr!

I'm sorry,  I have like three minutes flat to write this so......

Highlights:

* we found out that we were accidentally being disobedient when we opened our jar of pepper spice and saw that we were keeping pets...larva, to be exact.

Aftermath of fireworks...total chaos!

We repented.
Very quickly.
*We saw a couple being very affectionate next to a Christmas Tree in the Bahnhof, and I turn to Sister Johnson and say
"We should go up to them and say: Ooh! You're in love! How sweet! Do you want to be in love forever?"
She laughs and dares me to do it.
I almost didn't.
But I went up to them (with her moral support)? and said something
almost to that effect.
They were not happy.
I guess I ruined the mood?
*That one time when someone calls you randomly from a payphone, and no
one remembers talking to a guy of that name, and you stand in the
Bahnhof, waiting to see who he is, like waiting for a blind date, and
when he comes, it turns out it was you who talked to him, but failed
to remember his name. But then it turns out ok, and he is super
interested in learning more...

My thought is about self-worth this week. I was realizing that often
when people compliment someone in something, it is because they see
the lack of that thing in themselves, or they are afraid that there is
a lack of it. And I decided that I didn't want to be concerned with
people's opinions if they are based on their lack of self-worth about
themselves.
That's another great thing about Christ, He knows who He is, and
therefore when He tells us that we are worth His life, we can trust
that it's the truth, and not some twisted way to feel better about
Himself.

The other thought is God doesn't forget our goals, even though
sometimes we do. His faith is perfect, His power is perfect, so we
just have to trust him. He never loses hope that our goals can be
fulfilled, and part of our submitting our wills to Him has to do with
taking on His confidence and strength through hope and faith.

So, pray over your goals, or set some, and ask God if they're the best
you can do, and if they are inspired. Whether it is finding 150 people
in a month who might be interested in learning more about the true
church of Christ, or catching your bus, losing weight, learning
something new, finding ways to serve others, und, und, und...God is in
the details and will help you.

All my love,

Sister Roderer
Happy New Year!

Gulping Air

Wow.

 

Just wow.

 

Christmas on the mission. This week has blown my socks off.

 

Highlights:

 

*Singing Hark the Herald Angels Sing as a duet in German and Arabic (please see video)

*Teaching a lesson to two amazing Chinese girls, using pictures, German, English, hand motions, and google translate.

*Eating very very very German food like everyday this week.

*Christmas Miracles pouring down like rain... or rather like snowflakes.

*Tangerine cream cheese frosting on Christmas sugar cookies. That takes the cake. #terriblepun

 

I love that Christmas comes every year. I love that good things repeat, giving us second chances to enjoy them more. I am also so incredibly glad that hard things repeat too.

 

I was recently reading in Ether in the Book of Mormon. God asked the people of Jared and his brother to cross the ocean in tightly-built barges.

 

Once the Brother of Jared procured lights they were ready to go.

 

I love this verse.

 

5 And it came to pass that the Lord God caused that there should be a furious wind blow upon the face of the waters, towards the promised land; and thus they were tossed upon the waves of the sea before the wind.

...therefore when they were encompassed about by many waters they did cry unto the Lord, and he did bring them forth again upon the top of the waters.

 

Think about it. You're in this barge made of wood, and it basically acts like a fish, so you're sometimes on the water, just under the surface, and sometimes shark-level deep, and the entire time, your only source of fresh air is this hole in the top of the barge.

 

I realized that every time they wanted fresh air, they would have to "cry unto the Lord" so that when they unscrewed the top that it would be air and not water that came pouring in.

 

God tried them again and again. They had to have faith for the very air they breathed.

 

Talk about a growing opportunity!

 

The it made me think about the mercy of God,mans His desire to show miracles to all of us, and I wondered how that could be.

Then this hit me.

 

They had the opportunity to ask in faith every time they needed air, and see it fulfilled.

 

The beauty of being tested and challenged is the increase of opportunities we have in seeing God's promises fulfilled. This is one way that challenges are actually blessings. He is giving us the means by which we can receive evidence.

 

God is all about the evidence.

Are we really ready to receive the answers?

 

I think one of the greatest challenges in this area is waiting upon the Lord's timing. To trust that there will be enough "air" for us, so we don't feel like we have to gulp it down every time we break the surface.

 

I challenge you all to look for the evidence this week. Look for the proof, the reason, and the meaning behind what you are experiencing.

 

I love you all!

 

Sister Roderer