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
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