Wichtiger Hinweis

Hallo Familie, Freunde, und so weiter. 

What kind of week did I have? Well it was kind of interesting. It was all on the edge of being something great and then ultimately unfinished. 

 So first, we got two media referrals from the office. But of course, when we tried contact these people and go to the address where they live no one by that name lives there and the phone number that comes with it is not a real number. So we are convinced that someone is making fake referrals or something of the like. 

 Something else that was very interesting is one of our investigators. So he comes from Afghanistan and we actually hadn't met with him for a while. So we are talking to him and we are asking him about his Book of Mormon reading and just kind of following up and seeing what’s been going on in his life since we last met. And then he stars telling us these very interesting stories which happened recently which I will refer to in a second but then he starts talking about how he became a Christian and came to be here in Germany. Okay so check this out, he is 23 right now and he has been here for the past 3 years. But he was converted to Christianity when he was in Afghanistan. So told us this story of one day when a man in the street came up to him and said hey I have a gift for you. (Sounds a little odd right haha). So he was naturally thinking okay chocolate or money or something. But then the guy is like okay follow me and then he follows the guy into this secret courtyard and they sit down on a bench together. And the guy says I have seen you and I think you could use God in your life. And then he hands him a Bible in Persian. And he tells him not to show it to anyone and to read it in secret. And then the story continues and he says, “I read from it and my mind just opened.” And ever since then he has been on the run because then we found out that his dad is actually a governor or high up official in Afghanistan. So for who knows how long he escaped to Iraq and then to Turkey and then finally to Germany where he has been for the past 3 years. His family disowned him and all I am thinking is WOW. I have never seen such faith in my entire life!! And then it gets even crazier because then he talks about how he has been reading the Book of Mormon and got his answer and knows it’s true and that he was thinking about coming to this church and everything. But here comes the other things that he told us first. So there are a lot of afghanians or people with connections to Afghanistan here in Hannover. And at first he just thought that his family disowned him, which is still sad. But because of all these people having connections to Afghanistan they know his father and they know him in a way. And that one day his mom, who is in the hospital, called him and told him that his dad was watching him and even explained to him a specific time and day and what he was doing at that moment. And he told us about how some big guy showed up on his door and he didn't answer and that his uncle was going be in town this week. So we don't know if his dad is trying to kill him or that it may even be dangerous for us to visit with him. So yeah we can't meet with him anymore, until things settle down. And that’s even what he said himself, that he got his answer and that it was true but for right now he needs to lay low and wait for a time. So Heavenly Father was naturally already a step ahead of us. I don't know about anyone else but for me it was truly inspiring to see someone who had so much faith like that. That he just knew it was true and got up and did it no matter the consequence. Sorry that was a long story, which was poorly written to add to it. haha what was cool though is that he said he gave a family our number and that there were looking for a church in the area. Unfortunately, though like much everything else this week they didn't call us. Or at least haven't called us yet. And to add to it even more another man called us who is an old investigator from past elders in our area. And he hasn't been taught in two years and said he wasn't ready to be taught back then but he is now. Then had a small conversation and then said he would call us back to make an appointment. And that hasn't happened yet either. I could add even more to the list but I really don't want to.  

So really a lot this week, I have been thinking and trying to get to the edge where miracles occur, where faith knows no bounds, so to say.  President Kosak in a way gave us a chance just to do that. A couple of weeks ago during zone training conference, the Zone Leaders announced the mission goal of getting 125 baptisms before the year is up which equates to about one baptism per companionship. And I know that is possible for everyone to do and it has been interesting to see how many people have been making baptismal dates and the little miracle stories that have been going around in texts these past two weeks. I only hope to help out more as well. I only hope that I can be both humble and fearless. And that is a little hard for me. It is a very interesting concept that my mind can not quite comprehend yet….to be brought low and to stand tall at the same time. Truly having faith on Jesus Christ is both simple and complex. If anything in ending of this letter I want to quote a favorite prophet of mine, Spencer W. Kimball who said, “Remember is the word, remember is the program." When we remember the Lord we know what we need to do and we know how to do it so all that’s left is to, “Simply Do It”.  

Tschüss

Elder Foster