It's Been a Rough One

December 8, 2014

Hallo liebe Familie,

This last week was definitely the toughest of them all so far.... lots of stresses came to a head, doubts and discouragements seemed to be on a high too. But there has been light at the end of the tunnel, nevertheless. :)

Well, just to summarize in general- We had fallen out appointments every day. No one answered their phones, and people seemed to truly drop off the face of the planet! And all my doubts about my abilities, progress, everything- seemed to be in the front of my mind constantly. And most of all, our one amazing investigator Celine doesn't feel good about her baptism in 2 weeks and wants to push it out further. My heart completely dropped when she told us that. We've been preparing her for this date for a month and a half now. She just isn't sure about this change and wants more time. We just nodded our heads, and told her we understood. But nevertheless, I was terribly discouraged! And many Germans decided to let their opinions known through loud... words...

The week started out great with P-Day, we went to Alexanderplatz, where a huge Weinachtsmarkt was. Had a great time with our zone, walking around and taking lots of pictures! They have amazing hand carved things here- way too many to count!! Lots reminded me of the cool wooden bowls Matt can make! And many other wooden things, including the classic "Pyramidas", those huge, rotating house type things with the fan on the top. Ha, that's the best I can describe it. And we had FHE with a family in our ward, the Silvas- they are the best!

Then Tuesday we had service at the Art School Center, and because of transfers and craziness, it was just me and Sister Stacey. So the main man there let us play with clay, and make wreaths! What a deal! We were supposed to serve him, but instead he was serving us. :) Then we had English Class, super great with a member in our ward. The best part of that day was later that night we got a call from one of our friendly older investigators; saying, "Hey, I came by the church, hoping to see you, (because he thinks we just live at the church... haha) and you weren't there. I brought by some gifts for you and your friend!" Haha, and had given them to the Bishop who was there. Ha, we love our investigators.

Then Wednesday we did lots of finding, and had one lesson with a ward member which was killer! We love joint teaches here. So golden.

Then into Thursday we got our new elder in Spandau!! Our District Leader left, and now the elder that just finished his own training is training the newbie, along with being our District Leader! We are trying to do all we can to support him! And that day just everything seemed to go wrong. Ha, those days just happen. Everything fell out and we felt really discouraged. And a man yelled at us for wanting to put a card in a member’s mailbox. And he was not satisfied until he could no longer see us, clear around the side of the building. So that put a damper on things.

But one amazing thing that day- we went to McDonald's for lunch!! It was so expensive, but so worth it. There are truly little things every day that we can be grateful for! :)

Friday and Saturday were a bit of a blur. Had District Meeting, appointments, and then we crashed into bed!

Sunday was the craziest of them all! Lots of appointments, which was great. We're currently teaching some people of other faiths, that are basically trying to convert us at the same time. Ha, so it makes for an interesting conversation. But it works out. :)

Although things are hard, the Lord provides!! I learned that this week. And as I've been studying "Jesus the Christ", my testimony about Christ has grown incredibly. The greatest book ever!

Most of all this week, I learned how much the Lord loves me. And the importance of where my heart is. That to have success isn't by numbers. We all have the capacity to serve the Lord, in our own unique ways and capacities. And I learned that although I can always choose to see my weaknesses, that finding my strengths with the Lord is so much better. And having my heart in it, no matter what, is most important.

And with Skype on Christmas- we are only allowed 30 minutes on Christmas with the fam! Not as much as I had hoped but... yeah. Apparently is European- missionary wide. So I'll be able to Skype Christmas night, most likely here. Between 8-10 in the morning, Utah time. I'm excited to see you all!!!

Enjoy this holiday season!!! Watch "He is the Gift" a million times- plus one more. We've been inviting everyone to find someone to share this with. And someone to share this message with that needs it this season.

I love you all! Frohe Weinachten!

Liebe Immer,

Sister Titensor

- McDy's lunch :)