"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
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