New Shoes!

Hello, all! I hope you've had a good week. My week has been pretty uneventful, but I've had some good experiences!

First things first, I bought new shoes. For those who don't know, I LOVE shoes. I have WAY too many at home and they are my weakness. But, I did need new ones, so, I bought some, and they're adorable and WAY more comfy than I expected. I could totally walk around in these 24/7. 

Okay, anyway, moving on from the shoes...

This week has been pretty decent. I'm still slacking on the journal writing, so I don't have too many stories to share with you this week. 

This week was cold, windy, rainy, cold, a little snowy, and COLD. I have totally become adapted to the desert heat and my body barely remembers how to handle the cold. While walking in the pouring rain with the wind blowing my umbrella apart, I remember thinking "Ooo babies, I wish I had my desert heat right now!" Do not be fooled though, I love it here. Just not a huge fan of that piercing wind.

Okay, so we had transfer calls this week, and to my surprise, I'm leaving Tübingen. My companions, Sister Ahlm and Sister Baugh, will stay, but I will be heading down south to Singen on Thursday. So if you're hoping to send me a letter, PLEASE send it to the Munich address. That's definitely the safest place to send things. I'll be companions with a Sister Smith. I've heard lovely things about her :) Singen is in the Black Forest and right on the border of Switzerland. I'm hoping for mountains, fairytale forests, a fresh start, and (of course) people to teach!! I actually took a walk with my companions and a member family on Friday, and we ended up in the forest a bit. It is TOTALLY the inspiration for fairytales, you guys. The ground is soft with moss, there are little meadows and the trees are all so skinny and spaced close enough to create density, but far enough apart where you can walk through them. I felt like a princess, guys. No joke. It's wonderful. I'm looking forward to the new experiences that will come in that area :)

Alright, onto General Conference. For those of you who do not know, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has a living prophet and apostles who receive modern revelation for all of the world. Every 6 months, a conference is held in Salt Lake City. Our Prophet and Apostles speak to us concerning topics that they  have received through revelation, and it is broadcasted throughout the world via television, internet, radio, etc. Their talks (speeches, sermons) are available for reading, listening, and viewing on lds.org. These conferences help us stay close to God and Jesus Christ, provide us with spiritual strength, and help us unite together on a world-wide level. It's truly amazing. Please note that these conferences, while primarily viewed by church members, are meant for everyone, regardless of age, gender, culture, lifestyle, religious beliefs, etc. I highly encourage you to see for yourself the message they share :)

This conference had a very strong focus on families. A lot of times, when people express what they know about Mormons, the focus on the family is one of the most commonly mentioned qualities. Families are incredibly important.

I'm running a little low on time today, but here are some of my favorite talks from this conference. I honestly have no idea what you guys would like to hear about my opinions on conference, so I'll just... come up with something? Yeah. Sounds good.

Wilford W. Anderson's talk during the Saturday Afternoon session. I LOVED the music analogy. I've been missing symphony so much out here, and his knowledge of musical terms made me smile. Comparing family life to a symphony, with it's crescendos and decrescendos, staccatos and legatos, were all so dead on. 

Following Edler Anderson, Dale G. Renlund spoke. I have marked next to his name "PRINT THIS TALK!" so I guess it must have really struck me, haha. He talked about the atonement of Jesus Christ and how people change. He quoted Nelson Mandella by saying "A Saint is a Sinner who keeps on trying." He emphasized that we are not Latter-Day Sinners, Latter-Day Quitters, or Latter-Day Hypocrites. We are Latter-Day Saints. We mess up. We're human. It happens. But we need to KEEP TRYING. He also quoted a play by Shakespeare (I didn't write down which play, please forgive me!!): "'Twas I, but 'tis not I." That one stuck with me a lot. I've done some things I'm not proud of. Anyone who knew me in high school probably has some opinions on that. Please know that I've changed. And please know that if you're reading this and we have had a disagreement of a sort, that I have changed, and I recognize the fact that you are also changing at your own pace. I've been working at becoming more Christlike. I've been letting go of the grudges I've had against people, and I hope that those who have grudges against me will find it in their hearts to forgive me and move on. Find the peace that Christ has to offer you. It'll change your life.

As for Jeffery R Holland, in the Sunday Morning session, I had stepped out before it started to say goodbye to someone. I missed the beginning, but I have written under his name "Dude, don't even try to write this down, You'll miss too much. Just print it out and analyze every sentence. SO GOOD!!!" So, looks like I'll be printing that one out!

I wasn't able to watch the Sunday Afternoon session (yet). When it happens in Salt Lake, it's 10pm here, and we're in our apartments by 9:30, in bed my 10:30, so that wasn't an option. I'll either print them all out or I'll wait for them to be published in the next church magazine. 

Alright, since I didn't actually take photos this week due to having no time, and because it's me, I took pictures of the shoes. It's something, right? That counts.

Enjoy your week! If you missed conference, CATCH UP.  If you have no idea what I'm talking about, LOOK IT UP!!