Missionare versuchen während der Weihnachtszeit zu missionieren

Moin!

So it has certainly been a long time since I have felt like I have gotten to sit down and really write a letter to everyone probably because it has been. Our schedules as missionaries are definitely shuffled around a bit during the holiday season. So I haven't had the chance to even do any emailing until this current P-Day. And I am sure you all might be wondering. What is it like to be a missionary in Germany during the Christmas season? Well to share my honest experience, holidays in Germany are probably the last kind of days of the year when you want to do missionary work. And in fact, this last week we were all given specific instructions on what we could and couldn’t do during the three day Christmas holiday. They celebrate Christmas for three days (24, 25 &26) in Germany in case you were wondering. But back to what I was saying. It is kind of disappointing to be honest, you would think during the holiday season people would be the happiest and most welcoming. On the contrary nobody has time or they have guests over or they just feel even more disturbed by your presence than ever. So really it is a good thing that the holidays are over because then the work picks back up again. However Christmas is not doom and gloom for a missionary, do not get me wrong. And we were not alone during the Christmas season either. We were invited by the members over to their houses for most of the week. And those moments for me are always a nice little breath of fresh air. If there is something that I will miss when I am not a missionary, it will be that I will not really be able to hang out with members of the Church in such a way again. I will not really have very many opportunities to sit down and get to know someone over dinner and really get to see how cool people really are. I wonder quite often if there were people back in my home wards that I could've grown such a bond with or enjoyed my time with. It is just nice to form a bond with the people you go to Church with. It is nice as a missionary to feel like you are a part of the family in some way. Although it can be quite hilarious when it comes down to the missionary rules, for instance when we were at the Pitari's (branch president's) house last week during one of the Christmas holiday days. They have a little 3-4 year old granddaughter named Sophie that is always there. And she is a pretty silly little girl. President Pitari's family is Italian so it’s funny when she speaks because half the time it is German and the other half of the time it is Italian so at one moment you have no idea what she is saying and the next moment you do. But what was funny is that at one point while we were there she was holding onto my arm and she would try to sit on my lap and even try to kiss my cheek. And it was just hilarious because as a missionary you can't pick up kids and other things like that. So every time she tried to do one of those things I have to try to get away and then her whole family is trying to pick her up and get her away but she keeps coming back. Basically the relationship of a missionary and the members is pretty hilarious sometimes.

But yeah I guess you can say that things are pretty tough right now as a missionary or for me at least. I feel the exact same as I did when I first got into Hannover and we were white-washing the missionary program there. It is hard when just about every day the only thing you are doing is dooring and street contacting and trying to go by on contacts and less actives. Thinking about these kinds of times reminds me of a conversation at an eating appointment back in Hannover. We were eating with two young married couples and the rest of the missionaries in Hannover. And of course we were asking them were they served their missions. And so one of them served in Greece and the other served in Utah. The one that served in Greece did nothing but doors and the other usual methods of finding people and had zero baptisms. While the one that went to Utah did absolutely no dooring and it was actually completely discourage anyways and he got around 80 something baptisms. It really makes you ponder your role as a missionary and what it takes for you to accomplish your role as a disciple and representative of Christ. For instance President Joseph Fielding Smith served a mission in England. A country that is very well-known in church history for converting large amounts of people and even now I would say that the numbers in England are comparatively higher than to those in other European missions. But at the time when Joseph Fielding Smith served there, a future prophet of the Church, he had a total of zero baptisms by the end of his mission, although he served with all his might, mind, and strength and I do not doubt it for a second that he did otherwise. He did not see the success of his labors at that point. And although I have already seen success in my mission, I cannot say that the current situation that I am in now does not shock me or have an effect upon me because I yearn to be a striving force for good. Although sometimes I may think that I am not much to look at in terms of a missionary. I am still all the Lord has right here, right now, to fill this position. My only hope is that as I take advantage of this experience I can be magnified by the Spirit of God, and become effective and powerful. I hope only that the Spirit may bear record of my testimony. And that although many have sought for more impressive ways of saying it, singing it, or writing it, and used all matter of poetic expression. When all is said and done, the declaration which is most powerful is similar to a declaration of love in its three-word variety. I know that my Redeemer lives! My mission so far has opened my eyes to a prize much bigger than that of a so called successful mission with many baptisms but to a prize of a firm testimony that which I can build my future life upon and my future family upon. A testimony that is based on the foundation of Christ of which I cannot fall from and even more than that a promise of eternal life. And as President Gordon B. Hinckley once said, “What will the Church do for you, a man? It will give you the assurance, as certain as life itself, that death is but a graduation, and that those most precious to you may be yours through all eternity." I cannot express the enabling power of the gospel and what it has done for me already, so young and so weak in my current state of life. I could never regret my mission whether or not I saw many baptisms or other successes. I am glad to be where I am right now, even if it means I plant only the tiniest of seeds. However I will try to accomplish greatness nonetheless.

I just want to end my letter by saying that I am grateful for all of those who sent me something during the Christmas time or who kept me in their prayers. I am very grateful for all the love and support that I receive from each and every one of you. And I think and pray for you all as much as is permissible. I love y'all!

Tschüss,

Elder Foster

 

 

Umziehen

Moin!

If any of you were wondering why I didn't send a letter this Monday it is because I was moving into my new apartment in the actual city of Bremerhaven. Which is far better than living in Nordholz which is a little town out in the woods, north woods that is haha. But this move will make it a lot simpler to plan things and just plain get out and do some work. But oh goodness that was the most obnoxious move of my entire life. Mostly because of how complicated it had to be. Moving is Germany is just a pain especially if you live in an apartment. I mean we are missionaries and don't have that much stuff in our apartment but it still took four trips to get everything and us into the new apartment. I mean I am not sure if they have bigger moving vans than what we were using but it was small and we had to take every piece of furniture apart to get it out of the apartment, in the van and then into the new apartment and build it all back up again. We were up at 5am and we didn't get done until 8pm. So there is a small glimpse of what happened to me in the last week.

I am not sure what to say about this last week because really the central point of last week was basically moving and getting ready to move and talking to the landlord and having people check out or old apartment and this and that. But something of significance that I can talk about was that on Saturday we had our Branch Christmas Party. And if I want to be honest...it was probably one of the most awkward Christmas parties I have ever seen in my life. haha it was kind of robotic in sequence and not quite as comfortable for that reason. It didn't help that only a week before it one of the Branch presidency told us to do something for it. So we had to come up with something really quickly. So we tried to show the He is the Gift video and sing silent night as missionaries. But we had technical difficulties so we weren't able to show the video and we awkwardly had to give our testimonies in place of it and then sang Silent Night after much embarrassment. Haha that will be an interesting memory to say the least.

In Bremerhaven we have to do a lot more finding because we don't have as big of a teaching pool as I had back when I was in Hannover. And this week was just hard. And I don't say any of this to be pessimistic or to be down on myself. But to just honestly tell you how things go sometimes. So for instance just the other day the very first person we talked to, literally the very first door where somebody answered. There was an old man maybe in his seventies close to eighties is there. And even before I can finish what I am saying he interrupts me. And then begins to talk about how he was all alone and that a year ago yesterday his wife died and he begins to start crying a little and then talks about how they were married for so many years. And then just slowly begins to close the door as all we can say is sorry. And then right as the door is completely shut he begins to absolutely and sincerely bawl, we could hear it even better than when the door was open. I don't think I will ever be able to forget that moment. I have never cared for people as much as I do now in my entire life. It is hard to have so many people reject that which will truly bring them that peace and comfort that will give purpose to their lives. I know that Christ is the source of all peace, comfort, hope, and joy. It is not enough to just have that for myself. It is not enough for me to be the only one on my mission to grow and be blessed. But alas I will keep going. I will never give up.

But I hope all is well wherever you are right now. And I have received all of your presents from zone conference that we had last week. And I got entirely too much. I am ashamed in all of you! haha. I'm just teasing but I truly do appreciate the love you have shown me in sending me stuff although I have not opened them yet. Of course I am thinking of you all during the holidays and being away only makes me appreciate all of you more during this holiday season. You are all missed.

Tschüss,

Elder Foster

 

A Merry Zone Conference

Here is most current picture of  Elder Seth Foster at Zone Conference in Hannover on December 9th--where all of the Christmas packages and letters were distributed.   We did not receive an email from Seth this week as he was probably busy moving to his new apartment in Bremerhaven. 

Der Heilige Geist Gottes hat zu mir gesprochen

"Nicht durch das Ohr, nicht durch das Auge, sondern zu meinem Geist, zu dem, was in mir lebendig und ewig ist. "

Mion Mion,

So here I am in a new city in Germany. Bremerhafen in case you forgot. And when I say Bremerhaven I don't exactly mean the city itself but rather the area. Because I believe so far I have spent more time in Cuxhaven proselyting than I have in Bremerhafen. They are both port cities which you may have already known if you knew that Der Hafen in German means port or harbor. Even though as of right now I can't say that I know too much about this area or that I really feel like that I am right by the sea. Despite having seen big ships in the distance while being in neighborhoods. But thankfully it has been actually a little bit warmer here than it was when I was in Hannover. That or I am just getting used to the weather already. The Weather has ranged between 6 to -2 degrees Celsius, even though the sun is completely down before 4:30, but it’s not too bad as of yet and probably won't snow until the middle of January or at least according to those who live in this area.

And so to tell you a little bit about where I am living now. I actually don't live in Bremerhafen but in a village called Nordholz which is really quite the hindrance sometimes. I mean we literally have to bike through a forest every day to go proselyting and get back home, and that is if you want to take the short way. Haha The trains to leave where we live or get back to where we live only come around once every hour so if you miss your train you are basically stuck wherever you are for another hour (already happened). However there is good news in light of that. Next Monday we should be moving into an apartment in Bremerhafen, unfortunately that means there is no point in me sending you a new address. But so when we are actually in the small cities of Bremerhafen and Cuxhafen we don't have bikes those are only used for getting to the train station in Nordholz. So we use our feet and the buses. Not nearly quite as convenient as the Bahn system in Hannover and I have already had to walk some distances to get to lessons (always worth getting to an appointment though). There are four missionaries in our area a set of Elders, so my new companion (Elder Garner from the U.S. "basically" because his dad was in the military) and I and then the Sister companionship, which has someone from my district when I was in the MTC.

Okay now to talk about the Branch itself. So of course we don't have a real church building but instead meet in an old mansion, believe me, it’s not as fancy as you may be thinking right now. And we have about 30 or so active members that come to Church every Sunday. It is quite a bit different from being in Hannover where there is a full functioning ward and stake. Whereas a branch can disappear from one or two families moving or from one generation passing by. It is kind of funny too because there used to be 3 wards in Bremerhafen because there used to be an American military base in the area before they shut it down. Of course though we still have like 60 inactive members in the area. If anything I only hope I can help build a strong foundation for this branch, one that is excited and aware of the importance of missionary work. It truly is missionary work and that spirit of that work that keeps your own testimony growing. When you lose the spirit of the work in which we are engaged, you become infidel in your feelings. You say that you do not know whether the Bible is true, or whether the Book of Mormon is true, neither about new revelations, and neither whether there is a God or not. When you lose the spirit of this work, you lose the knowledge of the things of God in time and in eternity. It seems to me that many receive the Gospel because they know it is true. They are convinced in strong judgment and strong argument overpowers them, they are rationally compelled to admit the Gospel is true based upon fair reasoning. They try to follow and obey the first principles but they never try to seek to be enlightened by the power of the Holy Ghost. One of the grand keys to success in this life and eternal reward in the life to come is to cultivate the gift and gifts of the Holy Ghost. Unfortunately it took me so long to figure that out. That rather than being led by man or by my own actions and thoughts, I could be led by the very light itself.

A mission is certainly not easy but it is worth every minute of your time when you put your heart and soul into it. It is much more than an opportunity for me but a divine responsibility. Even though there are days when you wake up and you don't want to go out in the cold and talk to people who don't want to listen and the holidays come around and your thoughts drift back to home and the warm experiences in your mind are firmly set in place. I am truly grateful to be here and I only hope my faith and devotion will be there when everything else in this world seems to fight against me from getting out there and opening my mouth. Even then I cannot describe the joy and thankfulness for the knowledge that I do have and the eternal hope that accompanies with it. I know that my Redeemer lives. And I know what I must do.

I am grateful for all those who send me letters, emails, and packages. And all those of you who may find some kind of enjoyment out of these letters. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas season and that you truly get into the spirit of the season rather than the commercialism hype. I love you all.

Tschüss,

Elder Foster

Bremerhaven

Hallo!
Welcome one and all to another epistle of Elder Foster. So this last Saturday morning I found out that the days of Hannover are now over and that the days of Bremerhaven have just begun. In case, you are wondering off the top of your head where Bremerhaven even is. It is more north than Hannover and it is directly on the coast. So woo that will be an interesting scene. Too bad I will be there during the winter and not the summer. But anyway, if any of you think it is lame that I am leaving right before Christmas and I am now going from a big ward where they knew me to a small branch of about 30 people where they don't know me. Have no worries because I am perfectly fine with going wherever the Lord needs me to be. I need no pampering and I am already sure my mission is filled with certain types of amenities or luxuries that other missions do not have. The only things that are unfortunate about me leaving are that I have to leave the new converts and the new investigators especially when this last week went so well. It was a good week to end on to say the least.
So an experience that I had this week that I haven't yet had before happened on Friday while we were in Bad Falling Bostel which I like to call little Britain. Because there is a British Army military base that is nearby and so we teach a lot of people that are stationed but not on the base. We had a lot to do that day and we were really debating whether it was really worth the trip to go up there and only be there for a few hours. But we did so nonetheless. And within the course of a few hours we gave about 4 lessons. It was quite a great feeling to go from one house to another and to teach so many people in such a short time. I was kind of envious for a moment of people in other missions who may really just go from one appointment to another all day long. However I still believe that it is possible here in Germany and that if anything I hope I can strive to achieve that in my next area. I hope what I have learned and how I have grown can be continually added upon wherever I go. This last Sunday after all the meetings were over, one of the members who is dear to me or at least of whom I am very grateful told me something. And that was that she hoped that I lived up to the potential that she first saw in me when I was being trained by my first trainer Elder Lyon. I too hope I can live up to the potential that the Lord may have in store for me. I only hope that my testimony will develop and become more complete and that it will be quickly accomplished in my missionary work as I turn my heart loose and let it rule my mind.

What else can I say about this week? Last Monday we had a turkey bowl with our most of our zone for P-day and I found the field for us to play on.  Also, all the missionaries in Hannover on Thanksgiving Day went to the Knabe's house and had a genuine Thanksgiving dinner and even did it with a non-member family.  On Sunday my companion and I went with the Sisters to an American family's (Priddis family) house for another Thanksgiving dinner and the beginning of Advent. Their little kids are pretty funny. It is safe to say that there will be families that I will miss and I do not exactly like that I will miss out on the people that have been recently found and those that are preparing for baptism. But alas new adventures are underway. And it is pretty crazy to already be so close to being on a mission for half a year. Time is flying by just a bit too fast. But I get the feeling that there is still plenty of growth and experiences left in the future. Sometimes weeks feel like they are going up and down. Truly, it is more about “forward and backward”. The greatest asset of a man is faith. Men who established this church made it prosper during its darkest days with unshakable faith, “men of courage, men of vision, men who always looked forward and never backward” – with unfailing testimony and unwavering faith. President Gordon B. Hinckley expressed, “Well was it said of old, “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Prov. 29:18). There is no place in this work for those who believe only in the gospel of doom and gloom. The gospel is good news. It is a message of triumph. It is a cause to be embraced with enthusiasm. I hope that I can live to that kind of standard. 

 

Tschüss,

Elder Foster

 

Missionaries and Investigators in Hamburg with the Piano Guys -November 2014

Verkünde aller Welt die frohe Nachricht

Hallo und Hallo,

I guess some things never change. I remember when I was in the MTC and I struggled to think of something to say and even now whilst in the mission field do I sometimes find it hard to think of something to say. Or at least how to start these things you might call letters. Well its cold in Germany or shall I say its pretty wet. You can't seem to escape from the wetness. I have never before in my life really had to worry about mold as much as I have now in my life. Just this morning actually I was scrubbing off mold from the walls in the bathroom and then spraying it with anti-mold spray. Just imagine black spots of mold suddenly appearing on the ceiling and high parts of the walls over night. But easily managed with the proper care and attention. 

Yeah this week was like most other weeks unfortunately. You just push forward and make progress here and there a little. As the winter slowly approaches the work also slows down in itself. Less and less people are on the streets and doors are not opened as frequently. And also something else I found out or am experiencing is that whether a missionary is in his last transfer or still has a year left on his mission or more. They can still be just as distracted or as unmotivated. I will just have to try to be an example as much as I can even if I am the junior companion. Although this last week I had my second experience being the senior companion when my companion went on exchange with the Stadthagen Elders and the trainee came to me in Hannover. At first I was a little nervous but then things turned out pretty great actually. We even gave the very first lesson together to a brand new investigator that we found prior. And I am very happy to report that it went quite well and that she is very excited to meet with us again and come to church next week. It is when these kind of things happen or these little miracles that make me so very grateful to be a missionary. I mean this lady just lost her husband about a year ago and she doesn't really have anybody close to her here in Germany because she is originally from Russia. But it was just so satisfying to hear her say at the end of the lesson that her heart felt lighter. That is truly the rest the Lord offers us through his spirit. 

Other things that have been going on around me is that last saturday there were six different demostrations going on in Hannover and the Saturday before that there was a Nazi demonstration. Haha there was a lot of policemen at Hauptbahnhof (Main-train station) that day. There was even a demostration for "Pro Babytragen" haha which means they are pro for babies being carried or held. That babies need more physical interaction. Haha kind of random. Also I don't think anywhere else on my mission will I have more african food than I have had while being here in Hannover it is just a fact. Also on Saturday I gave my first two blessings to some member's kids. If there is anything that is going to be hard about leaving Hannover someday it is that I will have to leave behind some of the new converts and investigators and members behind. You don't really want to leave them but at the same time you don't want to stay in the same area for too long. I will have to be sure to get some pictures with them. I haven't been very good with taking pictures unfortunately. So I am sorry to all those who may have been wanting to see more pictures of me and all that. But I think I am ready to leave Hannover. Not that I don't enjoy being here and that I haven't had good experiences here. I just feel like its time to go somewhere new. The Hannover days will soon be coming to an end or if not after this next week then probably only one more transfer here. 

Last time I talked a little bit about my newly found interest in scriptures or that I now have a little collection of German bibles. And as much as I am grateful for the interest I have found in scriptures and in other written materials from prophets and books about doctrine and that Heavenly Father has helped me grow this interest in them. And even Jospeh Smith himself had old editions of the scriptures in Latin, Hebrew, German and Greek languages. But I thank God even more for the Gift of the Holy Ghost. I have got some of the oldest written scriptures in the world, but I have the got the oldest book in my heart, The Holy Ghost. It is within me and its comprehends more than the world. And I will associate myself with it. And that is something worth sharing with the world. I know that if I continue to follow the leadings of the spirit, it will always lead me right. Sometimes it may be contrary to my judgement, but if I stay true to its whisperings. With time it will become a principle of revelation so that I will be able to know all things. 

I hope all is well wherever you are right now. And I hope that my small writings have helped bring some kind of joy to your day. 

Tschüss,

Elder Foster

Sich Beherrschen

Guten Morgen, Tag, Abend!

Not sure whether the weeks are going by fast or whether they are going by slow. It is kind of a weird paradox to say the least. You will think to yourself whoa it is already Sunday and then at the same time you can't even remember what happened at the beginning of the week because it feels like it was so long ago already. You know the scriptures often speak of "the rest of the Lord." But I am here to tell you...that is a lie! Haha there is no such thing as rest. Even President Joseph F. Smith said,"The rest referred here is not physical rest, for there is no such thing as physical rest in the Church of Jesus Christ." However of course this rest does mean that we will be spiritually at rest and peace which come from settled conviction of the truth in our minds. And most certainly happy are they who have attained such. I say these things because that is what it has felt like for me while being on a mission. I feel a never-ending physical tiredness but at the same time I feel a limitless oppurtunity stirring inside me to become better and happier as time continually goes on.

Something that I have been doing a lot while I have been here in Germany is helping people to move in and out. I have already done it too many times to lose count or more like I have lost even the desire to remember them and then count them. It is funny too because you are never helping anyone out of the first floor of a building. It is always from the highest floor! And guess what there are barely any elevators in apartments in Germany. Haha it seems the members in Germany like to use missionaries as work horses sometimes. This is not an uncommon occurence for any other missionary in the mission. Even this week we went to a members new apartment, which is of course at the top of the building, and we helped them scrap off all of the wallpaper in the entire apartment. I don't say any of this to be begrudging or anything, I just think it is quite amusing sometimes in the ways the members decide to use the service of the missionaries.

So i have to tell you about one of our new investigators. His name is Friedrich and oh goodness he is one of the coolest guys if not the coolest guy I have met on my mission so far. Okay so a little background this isn't the first time that Friedrich has been taught by missionaries. And he himself is in his 70's. You might be thinking,"wait what, did he just say a guy in his seventies is the coolest person he has met on his mission?" Ya I did! It's kind of funny because he is the one who called us and wanted to meet with us. I guess I don't have a ton of time to say everything about him but basically he picked us up with one of our new converts and took us to a chinese buffet (so good) with him and his wife. We even said an opening and ending prayer out loud in the restauarant haha kind of funny. And basicall we talked to him about the gospel and ate really good food and got to know eachother. Then he paid for it all and took us back home in his car and took the joint teach/new convert that we brought along back home too. And he is just so goofy and hilarious. He even talked to us in English for about 80% of the time because he loves talking in English. When he speaks English he sounds British, which is funny because he is so German. Although I feel like he is collecting missionaries or something because he has a little book with missionaries names with their emails and addresses in it. Haha Times like those make you even more happy that you are on a mission because of all the great people you get to meet.

Something else that I have learned on my mission or at least that I am still in the middle of learning. Is lets say preparing for marriage in a way. Haha before you get any ideas let me explain. Learning to have to get a long with someone that you are around for 24 hours and did not choose to be with, definitely prepares you to get along with someone that you are going to be around for 24 hours whom you did choose to be with. Do we understand eachother? haha And it really makes you think about the kind of qualities you want in your future friends and wife. But in other news I went to Hamburg for the first time yesterday. To go see the Piano Guys, because all the missionaries were invited to go for free. That was pretty cool and the Piano Guys definitely have strong testimonies and had great things to say.

Another thing that has changed about me on my mission is my intrigue in the scriptures in general. Especially with the Bible right now at the moment. I mean I had read the Bible before but I never really took to it or I guess I wasn't reading/searching in it like I should have and I had always liked the Book of Mormon better. But man.....I have like 4 different bibles in German right now! Don't ask me why. Haha and I am even thinking about learning Hebrew just so I can read the Old Testament in its first form. All of this has to do with my growing curiousity in languages and how one thing is portrayed in one language to another. Fun and intriguing stuff though.

But anways thanks for reading these letters and hopefully they have entertaining and valuable insight of my life in them. I hope all is well back in the states or wherever you are at the moment. I pray as much for you guys as I do for myself. And for those that are curious it takes about 5-7 days for me to get a written letter if it is sent to my apartment. And it probably takes 3-4 weeks for me to get a package, even longer sometimes, just depends when we have the oppurtunity to get mail from the office. But yeah have a nice week everyone!

Tschüss,

Elder Foster

Beharrlichkeit

Hallo hallo, 

Starting the actual letter is always the challenge for me. But this week was filled with nothing and everything at the same time to say the least. We had zone training meeting, interviews with the mission president, and stake conference this week. So it was certainly packed with spiritual support for the missionaries. And I do have to say that it was quite fun to help Elder Karlen, one of the zone leaders, to set up for zone training meeting in our chapel at the Hannover ward building. Although it was quite hilarious as we were..ahem..practicing for it when we were speaking into the microphone. And then Brother Jensen, who is in the stake presidency, shows up in the chapel and tells us the whole building can hear us....haha then he said he was joking and that nobody really heard but it is still being broadcasted out in the foyers. So that was a memorable moment of the week. And I would say that the interview with president was good although it did make me a little nervous at first, for some unknown reason. Although, the president did say something very interesting to me during the interview which was that the missionaries in my group are going to be the future leaders in the mission. Whether that means he is foreshadowing something for me in the future or not I am not sure. But these next six months will be interesting because if we are the future leaders we are also the leaders that are going to have to make the transition for the new mission president that will be coming in the eventual future. There are some interesting insights for you about the mission if you cared to know.  

On the actual missionaring side of things not a whole lot happened. I met my first person from Nepal haha so that was cool and she could speak English and better than German and Hindi....I feel like everyone in the world knows English. Something that really is cool that happened to me this week is that I have been sticking random books of Mormon in other languages in my bag this week and so far I have been giving all of them out. It is really interesting how the Lord works sometimes. And I am sure a lot of you have been wondering whether I actually teach any Germans. And the answer is...very few. And it is really quite sad. Sometimes when we have really bad days where no one talks to us or talks to us for more than 30 seconds, it is usually because most of the people we talked to were Germans. It really goes to show the kind of society the Germans grow up in. They have no desire to serve God or to try to find him. Many Germans say that the only thing they believe in is themselves. Sometimes members will ask why we don't bring any Germans to church or have any German investigators or only have very few. It is simply because barely any Germans ever listen to us or they think we are Jehovah’s witnesses. This is sometimes the bane of my existence. This thus is the reason why member work is so very important. Germans that are friends with Mormons or have family members that are Mormons are far more likely to open up and listen when we are referred to them by a member. And believe me referrals in Germany are almost none existent sometimes. If more members realized this and put it into practice then there would be a whole lot more Germans being taught. But no worries the work moves forward nonetheless. Next week we get to meet with Friedrich and he said he is going to take us out to get some Asian food and then have us teach him the gospel. Woo! And we are going to met with Frau Schlaa at the church with the Freimann's as well on another day. The Lord prepares people for prepared missionaries. 

So far with every new companion and every new week I feel like the Lord is trying to teach me something. Sometimes I am not sure whether I get the message he is trying to send. But most of the time I realize the benefit that I receive from the experience. Sometimes my head is jammed packed full of things that I know I need to work on or that I need to learn about or to help someone else find out for themselves. But really it all just comes down to sticking to the work and to simply never give up and push on through. Real faith fosters hope for the future. It allows us to look beyond ourselves and our present cares. It is as I constantly try to apply that in my life and in my missionary work that I am able to see the fruits of the Lords work in my life and in the lives of others. Other than that I am not sure what to say. Other than I have accepted the cold, cold reality of the changing weather. And that there is no such thing as physical rest in the Lord's kingdom! Haha I guess I will leave you with a little spiritual nourishment German style!

Wenn ich einer Herausforderung gegenüberstehe, schaue ich zuerst auf Jesus Christus. Ich weiß, dass ich weiß, dass ich weiß, dass Er weiß! Das ist mir oft schon genug. Wenn es nicht genügt, habe ich Muster, die mir helfen diese Beharrlichkeit und diese Widerstandskraft zu finden und zu behalten. Das Gebet und das tiefe Schriftstudium sind ein wesentliches Muster dabei. Denken Sie daran, es ist die Veränderung der kleinen Dinge, die wir oft tun – jeden Tag. Der wunderbare Fortschritt der Kirche des Herrn auf dieser Erde ist dem Glauben an Jesus Christus zuzuschreiben, den schon unsere Vorväter und Pioniere hatten. Ich stehe in Ehrfurcht, wenn ich ihre Lösungen sehe und ihre Beharrlichkeit, niemals aufzugeben – „Niemals, niemals, von dir lass uns gehn“ ... „Immer, immer, zu dir wir nur stehn!“ 

Viel Spaß,

Elder Foster ;) 

Macht ein licht an! Und weiter geht's!

Hallo Leute!
      Here is Elder Foster reporting to you from a internet cafe in Hannover. The weekly report will now begin. Starting off with my new companion who I met this last tuesday. His name is Elder Johnston and he comes from West Jordan, Utah. That would be my third companion from Utah. Its like my program in Hannover is cursed to be composed of two missionaries from Utah. So of course we are the least exciting to hear from during the Sunday member eating appointments when the other two missionary companionships are there. Haha its fine though, I just find it funny. But this companion thankfully has only been on his mission for just barely a year now and just came from the Bad Bentheim area, which is a driving area in our mission. And for the first week together it has not been so bad. If we can really unite in companionship I know we can really start to see the blessings.
     This week actually felt kind of long. Some significant things happened to say the least. One of our investigators is really having a hard time right now. And by that I don't mean with the gospel but with his life in general. I don't really want to go into the specifics because it probably wouldn't be okay to talk about something that personal. But it is really hard to see him struggle so much and I really wouldn't know what I would do either if I was in his position. Doesn't help that we were born on the same day and year, just kind of gives me a trippy feeling. And unfortunately because he is from Syria and he doesn't quite meet the standards for us to teach him unto baptism. We can only do so much too help, and encourage him. Honestly a lot of the people we teach have things in their lives that are really hard to deal with. It really makes me glad that me and all the companions that I have had can be there to help them or at least give them some comfort. I have met a lot of cool people and I hope some day when I am back home in the future that when they visit Utah, they will be able to come see me too. Especially the Tamani family, they are from Fiji and they are so cool. Or Edward Kane and his family who are from Ghana. The have all inspired me to be better in some way. Oh and  of course Saud has to come, I mean just to hear him try to do an "American" accent is hilarious. We had fun one night on the train coming back from the Knabe's house while he said a few English lines in his "American" accent.

        So actually just last night Elder Johnston and I made out a baptismal date for a lady who is in a part member family and who has been taught for the past six years or so. When stuff like that happens it just makes me happy. I imagine in my head, somewhere where all these past missionaries are going woo! Even though not all is said and done, I have faith that it will happen. Although last night I was thinking what has this lady been taught the past six years?! Why doesn't she know any of this. Haha. For some reason in my mind I had this idea that missionaries were brainwashed by the time they got back home from their missions or that at least other people thought that. Really that is not true at all. You may imagine a mission as being notorious for a lot of rules and a lot of enforcement behind them. That is also not really true. Yes there are a lot of rules and yes there are consequences when you break them. Ultimately all the missionaries here are on there own and have complete control over what they do. It is actually quite mind boggling to me. Because we have such a structured system of missionary leadership that is all being led by a bunch of 18 to 20 something year olds with pretty much little to zero leadership or management skills prior to the mission. If the Lord isn't helping out with that then I don't know who is. It really is amazing the things that can be pulled off by missionaries who are united in one purpose. This whole mission could become a mess in little to no time if missionaries decided to be disobedient. But somehow all of us or at least most of us stay the course and do what needs to be done. 

     I guess I will end with sharing a little bit about my birthday. First of all thank you to all of those who sent me letters for my birthday or sent me something or other by whatever means. I am really grateful for your support and love, sometimes a little too grateful, like when I am thinking in my head. "Aaaaw I miss you guys!" Though yeah thanks a lot! And on Saturday which was my birthday it just kind of started like any other. Nobody really said anything and nothing really happened. But....when I went to district meeting that day. Suddenly in the middle of district meeting they flipped over the white-board and it had happy birthday stuff written on it and they started singing happy birthday and then Brüder Metzig came out of left field with a cake. So it was safe to say that I was really surprised and really happy about that. And apparently my last companion set that all up too. So that was super nice of him. And even on Sunday, Kim the recent convert that I sent you a picture of gave me a present too! I wish I had the card with me so I could tell you what it said. Basically it was very sweet and she even said I was like a little brother to her. Of course it was companioned with chocolate and even a little book. So I was surprised by her kindness as well. Even though its weird being 21 and still not even close to finishing my mission. A member yesterday already thought that I was pretty close to leaving back home because of it. It is all good though and I am glad that I still have plenty more time. But all in all it was a good week and hopefully only more growth and adventures will be in store for me. 

Mormon 9:24-28

Tschüss,

Elder Foster

 (With Kim at her baptism)

Die Nächste Versetzung oder Das Neue Abenteurer

Hallo Meine Schätzen!  

So this week we had transfer calls and the verdict is.....I'll be staying in Hannover and my new companion will be Elder Johnston who was serving in Bad Bentheim but will now be serving with me. I will get to meet him tomorrow. I am pretty glad though that I get to stay in Hannover for at least one more transfer. Even though I am sure everyone in the ward and everyone that I teach is probably a little bit confused or possibly complexed that this is my third companion in my first city. Quite hilarious to say the least and even more so that for my last two companions this was their last transfer so they both went home.  

Now the report of the week.....or the long blur of a week if that makes any sense. On Tuesday I went on exchange with the district leader and oh what a breath of fresh air was that. I went from a lets say trunky companion to a companion that was more than happy to go finding. Unfortunately Elder Gerharty the district leader is being transfered to Dresden so I won't get to hear his funky Jersey accent on the phone at night anymore. Haha so on that day we found some good contacts and we actually met a woman named Mahboubeh who is from Iran and she was such a nice lady. She even asked us what came next. And said she would love to come to church but didn't know if she could this Sunday. And here is why I say this and how it applies to my missionary life. Everytime we invite someone to come to church or go to institute or watch general conference. Everytime and I mean everytime it is something that they would've absolutely loved to see or hear...but then of course they are not there. Hopefully more oppurtunities will arise for these people that I teach. Something else that I have learned or have seen is never to underestimate the value of member and inactive member lessons. Just this week me and my companion went to this place called Burgdorf that is in our area to go help a less active family move a piano....yes a piano, out of a basement up a very narrow and steep long staricase no less. And from this one little act of service. The family came to church this Sunday and they want us to come back to Burgdorf and talk to all their neighbors and other less active members in the area. Which there used to be a ward back in the day there...now there is nothing. The Lord truly will bless you with many oppurtunities when you simply serve him and his people in whatever ways you can find. Safe to say that me and my new companion will be going back there and will be going through the member list a lot more often now.  

This last transfer was kind of a struggle. It was a seven week transfer so it was even longer than usual but really at some points it felt like a set-back. A lot of the people that were really making progress with and even had baptism dates with kind of fell out. Unfortunately the events in their lives and the events in our lives kept us from being able to visit them as much as we wanted and needed to. And unfortunately some of the other people we teach or the people we meet on the streets are really struggling honestly with pride. Just this week I read a quote from President Ezra Taft Benson about pride that said,"The proud wish God would agree with them. They aren't interested in changing their opinions to agree with God's." And it is unfortunate to see that in so many people since I have been here. Sometimes though you have to drink the bitter cup and know that there are times when you must accept the situation and reach upward and outward. I will not let self-pity or despair beckon me from the course I know is right. The Savior set the compass: I must be born again in spirit and heart. I am very grateful to be a missionary and already only after a few short months I already feel like a completely different person than I was when I first entered the MTC. The mission may be a sacrifice to some but to me it is truly a blessing and the small and simple principles of the gospel have been opened up before my eyes that they are now of great value and the scriptures themselves have become an endless library of knowledge and joy. With this next transfer I will try to do as President Gordon B. Hinckley has said. That the only way he knows to get anything done is to get on his knees and plead for help and then get on his feet and go to work. That combination of faith and hard work is the consummate curriculum for learning the language of the spirit. 

Sei mutig und stark!

Elder Foster