Monday, December 1, 2014

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

 

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