Easter week

As I sit here and look through my journal for an idea of what to write you guys about, I realize that I've been really slacking on the journaling...whoops.

I'm guessing since I don't have much written, that this week was fairly uneventful.  I went on an exchange to Stuttgart this week with one of the Sisters serving there, and it was a nice refresher.  Working/living/spending every waking and sleeping moment of the day with the same people or person (ya companions) gets really tiring.  Having a different companion (and only one!) for the day was nice.  I was exposed to different methods of contacting and teaching, I got a fresh opinion on my progress, and I learned a lot.  Twas a good day.

Transfer calls come this week, but since I'm still being trained, I'll most likely stay here.  We're not sure if/how they'll split up our drit.  It all depends on how many new Sisters we get and what area needs new people.

So, Easter is coming and since I've been here, I've been helping spread the word of the Church's new Easter video.  It's about 2 minutes long and can be found here; http://helives.mormon.org

I just watched it for the first time a few minutes ago (it came out on Saturday!) and it's beautiful.  Nothing cheesy or over-religious about it.  I really like it. :) Share it on Facebook and spread the word! All the missionaries and the rest of the church are trying to show this video to as many people as possible! And on Easter Sunday, ALL the ads on YouTube will be for this video.  The Church bought them all out, guys! It's okay to hop on this bandwagon, yo! Have no fear! This message is joyful and welcoming, so why hold back? Go go go!

Enough of my excited rantings.  Since I don't have a lot to write, I will post some pictures.

So our ward mission leader is named Bruder Hofmeister, which translates to Hope Master, or Master Hope (So how awesome is that??) and he's the greatest.  He's unmarried with no kids and he's like a grandpa to us.  Yesterday he took us to this castle near his sister's house and we took pictures.

This is Lichtenstein Castle.  It's not actually in Liechtenstein, though so don't be fooled.
Behind that tower and the small bit behind it is this massive cliff. I wasn't able to get a picture of it because it was Sunday and the gates were closed, but the tower reminds me of Rapunzel and I love it.

From left to right: Myself, Sister Ahlm, and Sister Baugh. :)

That's all I've got for this week.  Thanks everyone, for the encouragement, love and prayers.  I love you all!

Tschuss!

Sister Sally Priest

Wanting, Showing, and Trying

Whoop! Group email time!

I realize that I forgot to send pictures last week... whoops. I'll get on that today!

This week has been CRAZY. We were planned down to the minute every day. I barely even remember which day was which, and they were all so jam packed, I won't give you a rundown of my week. I will, however, share my favorite moment.

We've been teaching this guy named M___, and he grew up Muslim, but has a strong desire to be Christian. He says he's seen how Christians act and want to know what it is that makes them such good people. He didn't know a lot about Jesus Christ, so we started there. This week, he brought a friend along. His friend explained to us that he is Muslim, he doesn't believe in Christ, but he's here to support M___ because they're really good friends. We decided to talk about the Atonement. We read in the Book of Mormon, Alma 36:6-21. I won't go too much into detail due to time, but long story short, as we read those verses, I bore my testimony of Christ and the Atonement. The room was quiet and the Holy Ghost was SO present, I had goosebumps. After some explaining, reading, and telling them why I believe in Christ, I asked M___and his friend what they thought. M___ sat quietly, pondering our question. His friend, however, spoke up after a pause. He said "You know... I believe... I know that Christ is my redeemer. He's our savior. I can feel it. There's something inside me telling me it's right. I can't deny it."

THAT, my friends, is the power of the Holy Ghost. THAT is how every person on this planet can find out for themselves if Christ is their savior. I want to be clear that I do not convert people here. I only help them understand and learn. I can tell you all that I know that everything I teach-- the Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ, Heavenly Father's plan for our eternal salvation, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, EVERYTHING-- is true. And how do I know that? Because something inside of me has confirmed it in my heart. I cannot deny it. I cannot say that God doesn't exist, because I see and feel His blessing on a daily basis. I cannot say that Jesus Christ isn't our redeemer, because I myself have truly been changed because of His sacrifice. If you compare who I was 4, 2, or even 1 year ago to who I am now, you'd see a different person. Some of that came with age and maturity, but some of it also came because I wanted to change. I wanted to become a better person. I knew what Heavenly Father had in store for me and I wanted it. I wanted it so badly that I willingly changed my whole life. I had to show that I wanted it. I left things behind. I changed my actions and my thoughts, and through the Grace of God, my heart was also changed. 

I cannot stress enough how important it is for you to want change. If you want change in your life, if you want to become a better person, if you want to see and feel the blessing that your Heavenly Father is anxiously waiting to give you, you have to show it. You have to try. And I mean, think about it! It makes sense! If you sit there in bed and think "Aw man, I just really want some ice cream right now" sitting there and wishing for it isn't going to do squat. You have to act, you have to move, you have to try. So if you want change in your life, go get it. Seek the happiness. Show God that you want it, and I promise, you'll find it. 

Now I must say, I think I just lectured myself a little bit in that paragraph. I need to be a better missionary. I need to be able to talk with and teach people. I need to help others find the joy that I have in my life. I need to find people who are feeling the same pains I have felt, because I have gotten through them and I know I can help them get through it as well. The thing is, I haven't been trying hard enough. I make excuses. I give up some nights. I let myself get distracted. I let my anxieties and fears tell me that I can't do this. I have to try harder. I have to show God that I'm willing to become what he wants me to. I have to want it. So I'm promising all of you right now: I'm going to change. I'm going to keep these 3 points of want, show, and try in my mind. Maybe I'll post it on my mirror, or write it and post it on the fridge, but I'm making this decision right now to change, and it's about time. I've been out here for 2 months. 

I challenge you to do the same. Find something in your life you need to improve. Want the change. Show that you want it. Try. Work for it. Ask God for help, and you'll get it.

I want to make something clear with you right now. Any fear, doubt, discouragement, frustration, anger, sadness, worthlessness and loneliness you may feel comes directly from Satan. That might sound a little naive, but think about it. I promise it makes sense. God wants you to be happy. Satan does not. Satan is an unhappy creature, and misery loves company. He wants to bring you down to his level. Don't let him. You are in control of you. If you are having trouble with these feelings, seek the help of the Lord. That's why we have Him. Use that to your advantage. Pray. God will never withold His feelings of love from his Children, just as a Father would never withold comfort from his crying child. God  loves you. I know it. I feel it.

I will attach some pictures in a reply and leave you with that. 

Have a great week :)

Love,

Sister Sally Priest

Sisters and Elders

The sun is in her eyes - but I like this one anyway. :D

At the RitterSport store on P-Day

16 March, 2015

Hallo, all!  I hope you've all had a great week!

A little summary for this week --

Monday, we just kind of chilled for the day. It was our free day, and I think we all went to bed early.  I don't remember, honestly.

Tu
esday, we went up to Stuttgart for a Zone Meeting.  All the missionaries in our zone were there.  We had some good lessons (One of which I helped teach!) and we did a finding activity afterwards.

Wednesday....I have no idea what happened.  Work. Lessons. Busses. Trains. Food. Work. Yup.

Thursday was a fun day.  We went with a lady in our ward to this castle/fortress thing (no one knows which one it is --it's a bit too destroyed) for her birthday! She's from the Phillipines and speaks English (THANK GOODNESS hahaha) and she made us food (A REAL MEAL, YOU GUYS!!) It was a fun day, and I got some good pictures out of it. :)










Friday....I don't remember much of what we did that day, either. Probably very similar to Wednesday.

OH WAIT, just kidding, I remember now.  We had gotten a phone call saying that there was a woman who wanted to meet with us.  She lived a little out of the way, and since she's a referral, we had 2 Elders with us.  We got horribly lost for a good hour in this wheat filed.  The town we were in was completely desolate--not a soul in sight.  We felt like we were in a Walking Dead scene and that walkers were about to start coming out of the field or something.

Saturday was another normal day of meetings and busses.

Sunday was cool though.  We had a small success story.  Some backstory: We've been meeting with a man whose wife is an active member.  He is not a member, and he has no interest.  We've been meeting with his wife, and he will stay for conversation and dinner, but he leaves during the spiritual thought.  I haven't actually been in a lesson with his wife yet - she's been in Finland for the past few weeks with their kids.  He's been alone at home.  His German is about as good as mine, so he doesn't have many friends here.  We've been trying to go by about once a week.  He likes to cook for us and have conversations, so that's what we do.  his wife and kids came home this past week, and he came to church for the first time in 7 years.  Now here's our miracle of the day: We had asked someone to teach the English Speaking Sunday School, but he got sick, and found his own substitute--a man who is an actual expert on the scriptures.  He teaches university classes and lectures on the doctrine and history of the Bible.  In doing this, he also has some really in-depth knowledge of the Book of Mormon as well.  Long story short, this man's first Sunday in church in 7 years was a very good experience, because he's a very intellectual man and this teacher was able to answer a lot of his questions.  We have high hopes. :)

So since I'm kind of on the topic of the Book of Mormon, I'd like to discuss one of my favorite chapters.  If someone were to tell me "I'll read one chapter of the Book of Mormon, and then I'll decided if I want to read the whole thing, based on that chapter" I'd respond by saying "Well , that's a real shame." Then I'd have to do some digging, praying, and pondering to figure out which chapter would be good for that person.  One of the main chapters that would come to mind, however , would be 2 Nephi 9.  This chapter outlines God's plan for us.  It answers questions such as "Why are we here?"  "What is our purpose on Earth?" "What lies beyond this life?"  and many more.  It's full of rejoicing for our glorious Heavenly Father, and it describes His love and plan for us.  We call this plan the "Plan of Salvation".  This chapter is harsh at times, crying "Wo" unto the persecutors, the deaf of the gospel and the blind of the evidences of Christ, the liars and the murderers those who worship idols and devils, and "wo unto all those who die in their sins" (verse 38) . However, right after that, it offers the knowledge that Christ has paid for our sins.  He has felt our iniquities and our turmoils and through him, we can return to the presence of our Heavenly Father.

I'd like to remind you all that we have a God above.  He loves each and every one of us.  We are His children.  He has made it possible to return to Him in glory and happiness forever.  I know that this gospel of Jesus Christ that I share with people on a daily basis is true.  I know that God has made it possible to come back to Him, no matter how far we may have strayed.  I know that this gospel brings nothing but joy, comfort, and everlasting peace to the soul.

I love you all.

Bis nexte Woche

Mit Liebt,

Sister Sally Priest

9 March 2015

Hello all! Guten Tag :)

This week has been insane! We've been packed with meetings and traveling and lessons.  We went up to Munich on Thursday for a Mission Leadership Council (since I'm paired with sister training leaders), stayed overnight, and came home the next day.  On Saturday, we made a last minute trip up to Stuttgart for stake conference, and we stayed there until Sunday afternoon.  Lots of trains were ridden this week.  Our area is pretty big, and we tried to meet someone who lives about 90 minutes by bus/train away, but we only got halfway there before we realized that we had taken the right bus, but at the wrong time, and it was going to take us an extra hour or so to get there.  That was the same day we had to catch the train to Munich too, so we ended up cancelling.  :( We'll be going back there on Thursday, though!

I figured out the photos!

Here are some from the MTC:

This might be my favorite picture.  It was taken on Bruder Toropainen's last day with us.  I'm in the corner, Elder Donald is between Sister Kramer and me.  Elder Bates is in the back, and Elder Carter is the one hugging Bruder Toropainen.  We love him (obviously).

Sister G!  (Mom, you can post this one and tag her in it.)

And this is Bruder Wilkinson.  He's not the biggest fan of photos, but he's a great teacher and we all love him!

And now: Tubingen!!!

This is one of my favorite parts of town.  I love the colors of the houses on the rivers. :)

I'd love to include more photos, but I'm running pretty short on time.  I've got some taken from the top of that church you can see in the background - I've created a dropbox account and my mom will have access to it. (Note from Mom: I'm having tech issues and can't seem to upload any of the new pics.  Grrr. Working on it!)

Other than catching up on all the photos, I've been having a pretty decent time.  I pushed myself a little hard and had a rough morning a few days ago, but I readjusted and bounced back.  Aunt Linda is totally right - if I want to progress, I need to be humble.  Not that I'm all prideful, but I'm setting my bar a bit high and I needed to lower it to better fit my situation.

Oh, fun story - the Ward Mission Leader here is an AMAZING musician. He's a great pianist.  We spent a train ride talking about how he rearranges songs on the piano, and I rearrange them vocally.  Then he asked for my vocal range and composed a song on the spot (Well, once we got to a piano) and it just so happened that he chose my favorite Primary song -  Love is Spoken Here. It was a beautiful arrangement and it made me really happy. :)

This week we've got a Zone Conference, so all the missionaries in the Stuttgart Zone will be meeting in Stuttgart, and we'll have a lesson over what the leaders learned in the MLC in Munich, then we'll have an activity of some sort.  I'll let you know how it goes!

Love you all loads!!

Sister Sally Priest

Hard Goodbyes, Countless Hellos, Rapunzel Town, and Dogs.

*Editor's note: Unless I re-type all of Sally's emails, the background stays white, instead of the green she set up, because I am copy and pasting them.  I may actually start retyping them, but not until I figure out the German shortcuts. NONE of them seem to work on this out-dated computer!

Guten Tag von Tübingen! Ich habe in Tübingen für 5 Tage gewohnt. Tübingen ist SEHR schön :)

I apologize in advance for misspelled words: This computer marks anything not written in German as misspelled, so basically every word in this email has a red squiggle underneath it. 

Tübingen has been nicknamed the "Rapunzel Town" because it's this bright and colorful little villiage/town located right on a river. The cobblestone sidewalks and marketplaces resemble the ones in Tangled. I really enjoy it here!

So, I got a janky computer, and I can't send my photos. Kind of upset about that, because I have some really great ones of the town, along with all the goodbye photos from the MTC :( It'll just have to wait until next week. 

Saying goodbye to the MTC was easy. Saying goodbye to the people I spent my time in the MTC with was not. One of our teachers, Bruder Toropainen, left a couple days early to spend some time with his family in Finland. We all knew he was leaving, but for some reason, it didn't click within me that I wouldn't be able to hug him goodbye until all the Elders were hugging him and I felt incredibly left out. (For those of you who don't know, there's a rule about not hugging people of the opposite sex while on a mission, for the purpose of avoiding potentially inappropriate relationships. The point of a mission is to serve the Lord, and relationships can be really distracting) But yeah, that was weird for me, not hugging someone goodbye. It was easier the second time around when we said goodbye to Bruder Wilkinson, but that was also a bit difficult. We had bought them Thank You cards and chocolate. We really did have great teachers. 

The travel to Munich was simple enough. Relatively short flight, a train to the mission home, food, training. We stayed in a hostel for the night and then went to our respective areas the next day. I met my companions (I have two!) and we got to work!

So, my companions: My trainer is named Sister Ahlm. She grew up in D.C. and is super chill and kind. She's been in Munich for 6 months and is brand new to this area, which is why we're in a group of 3. Sister Baugh grew up in Utah and has been in Tübingen for 3 months. She knows the trains and busses and is teaching Sister Ahlm and me. I try to say hello to as many people as I can. I've been meeting so  many people over the past few days, it's a little hard to keep track of who is who. I also have been told a bunch of names, but I haven't seen any of their faces yet, so that's also difficult. It'll come with time.

We have a rule in our companionship where we speak only German from 9 am to 9pm. There are some obvious exceptions-- if we're running late and I need to be clear on something, they'll explain in English. 

Our days are a bit hectic. We get up and study, I learn more about how missions work, what I need to do and such. Our area is pretty big, so we spend a lot of time traveling on busses or trains. 

So the three of us are the Sister Training Leaders for our area, meaning every two weeks, we go to Munich to receive updated info and more training. I think. I'm not entirely sure what it all entails, to be honest. 

Ummm, in other news, a lot of the people we teach speak Arabic, so I've decided to learn enough Arabic so that I can help them find scriptures. So really, only numbers and then the titles of the different books in the scriptures. My companionship also teaches a German class every Thursday night, and we mostly have people who's native tongue is Arabic. Arabic is weird. 

Okay, so I've covered the Hard Goodbyes and the Countless Hellos... If I could send pictures, you'd understand the Rapunzel Town part. So now it's time for my Dog story.

For those who don't know: I LOVE dogs. I've always had at least one dog growing up, and I think they're the best pet ever. So my companions and I went to lunch at a Church Member's house yesterday. They own a dog. They kept the dog away while we ate-- common courtesy type thing. My family has often done the same thing. I noticed that the dog had a bit of sass-- kept giving little woofs after being told to be quiet and such. He reminded me of my old dog, Tango. I didn't think much of it. So after we've eaten, we're all sitting in the living room and the dog has been brought down, but is being kept by the Father. Still emitting little woofs. So everyone is talking, and I feel really awkward because I don't understand much of what they're saying. I also feel pretty darn inadequate. It's not fun having to sit out on a conversation because you don't know how to communicate. So this dog gets up and starts walking around the room. I get a little happy, hoping I might be able to pet it. It comes up to me, sniffs my feet, I reach out my hand to let him sniff it as well and he straight up BITES me! Took a chunk of skin right off my left ring finger. I yanked my hand back and just stared at the dog in shock. I've NEVER been bitten by one and it took me by complete surprise. The father effectively scolded the dog and they helped me calm down (it scared me pretty badly!) and they helped me clean up and bandage my hand.The poor family felt really bad. Apparently, they had been saying something about the dog being weird, but I, of course, couldn't understand them, because I don't speak German well enough. 

I'm laughing at it though, so no one worry. Just picture some brand new sister missionary living in a land that doesn't speak her language. She's got all these crazy emotions and stress, then this cranky and stupid dog bites her hand. Kind of sad when you write it out like that, but really, I'm laughing. It's just so ridiculous. 

Sorry if this email is poorly organized. I'm still pretty overwhelmed with everything and I'm having trouble remembering what you all would like to know, so I'm just kind of saying whatever I feel like saying and that'll have to be enough for you :P Honestly, if this darned computer would let me access my photos, I'd be able to remember more of what's been going on. Oh well. You'll just have to wait.

That's all I've got for now! Have a great week! I'll be more organized next week (Hopefully!!)!

Love,

Sister Sally Priest