September 30, 2013

Lieber Familie,

Hey, late emailing today, we had an appointment this morning and then went shopping for some fall/winter clothes. I don't know what happened but all of the sudden it's cold here. Haha the cute Sisters in our ward are freaking out that winter is coming on too soon. Apparently last winter was the longest winter Germany has had in 15 or 50 years, I don't remember which....

Haha, Mom, I just bought the same sweater you are wearing in the pic of you holding baby Nick. Süß! Oh my goodness he is soooooooooo cute!!!!!!!! How is Janae?! Send me more pictures! Please :) Also super funny when we are at clothing stores and people come to me asking questions about where things are because they think I work there...different name tags.

We have been really busy this week and we are getting so excited for General Conference and getting our investigators excited as well! With the time difference it will be a little different, but I can't wait!

Sister Lartey is so great to work with. We have been getting so much better at teaching together (with the Spirit). It's kinda funny seeing how we're rubbing off on each other. Haha we work hard and we play hard, or I should say we learn to love what we are doing and everything is enjoyable, haha mostly. The language is still frustrating, but it's coming. One investigator we are working with called us because he found our card in his mailbox a few months ago and finally decided he needed to learn more (that is a miracle because no one does that) we have met with him several times and he is so ready! He is worried because his wife is a hard core Catholic and he wants to be so sure that this is the right church before he talks to her about being baptized. The spirit is so strong when we teach him. He accepts everything so excitedly and loves reading in the scriptures. I love seeing the enthusiam and faith develop as our investigators read Book of Mormon and find out for themselves that it is true. It has been very humbling studying more about the atonement and seeing it bless the lives of those I work with. I am so amazed at the love Christ has for us.

Funny/awesome experience this week: Sis Lartey and I were coming back from playing soccer and she really wanted a strawberry fanta. I told her she was nuts and we just needed to go home and get water. She insisted on going to the store. As soon as we walked in a girl came up and grabbed my arm, in English she said looking at my name tag ''Jesu Christi, you go to church?? I need to go to a church, I'm brand new here and I have been looking for a church to go to!'' You can imagine our excitement! We exchanged info and we will be meeting with her this week. The spirit works in mysterious ways, haha sometimes through companion's need for STRAWBERRY fanta.

Berlin is soo beautiful! Especially with the fall colors, changing leaves, beautiful Sunday. Not sure how I got to be so blessed to serve in the best mission in the world ;)

I love you all so much! Thank you for all the prayers and support!

Sister Turner

September 23, 2013

Lieber Familie,

Thank you so much for the package!! Really! I got on Wednesday when I got back from Tausch (exchange) in Cottbus. I am so grateful to be serving in Lankwitz. Sooo excited!!  We had Zone Conference this Friday and it was awesome!! Seriously so grateful to be a missionary right now! I am so excited to set Lankwitz on fire with the enthusiasm for missionary work. We can see the Gemeinde starting to come around. We have a taufe planned a family on 12 Oktober and we will have the whole Gemeinde there to support and love this family. I love this ward and our investigators so much! I am so blessed to work with these people.

This was a little rough and very emotional. We had a few investigators share sad life stories and that was a little emotionally draining.

I am doing great. My ankle is almost better which is great because I really want to play Fußball again.
Last P-day we went to Peacock island! And guess what! There were echt peacocks there! My goodness, we keep finding these awesome places in the middle of Berlin. I think I might be moving back here in 15 months... This P-day I will be practicing the organ for sacrament meeting, musical number for zone training and cutting the Dahlem Elder's hair-- secrets out the Sis Turner cuts hair.. there goes my p-day.

I love the little tender mercies I see everyday that remind me that Heavenly Father knows and loves me personally ie. Our bus being there exactly when we need it, beautiful sunsets, rittersports on sale!

I am so grateful to be here and to help others come nearer to Christ.

I love you all! Thank you for the pictures in the package, soooo cute!!

Sister Turner

September 16, 2013

Lieber Familie,

Hey, everything is great here! As a mission we have started over in the Book of Mormon and want to finish by Christmas. I love what Pres. said in his last letter ''I invite you, together with Sister Kosak and me, to wake up - let us focus and live our purpose we have. Knowing it by heart is not enough. Feeling - Doing - Becoming will help others to come unto Christ.''

Haha immer noch a roller coaster though. Haha on Tuesday Sis Lartey and I spent two hours looking for two different addresses that didn't exist, haha. We finally bought a soccer ball and now we are so excited to get up for Morgensport. It has been a little colder and rainy and when we get up at 6:30 it's all foggy outside, I love it!! We meet with a specific inactive member of ward every week and this week she had her son come. He is super interested and wants to keep meeting with us. So I still don't understand the language, but on Saturday during one of our lessons, I realized that I was understanding almost everything! I know it is only through the spirit that I am beginning to understand.  Yesterday was Stake Conference and it was awesome!! I really wish I could have understood more of it, but the main theme was really trying to get members more involved with missionary work. I have some super exciting news for next week so stay tuned! Viel Glück Adam!!

Love you all!

-Sister Turner

September 9, 2013

Lieber Familie, 

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WIZ!!! Heilge kuh (holy cow) I can't believe you're 19 tomorrow! Seriously, was ist los? Love you so much! I hope you have a fantastic day!

 

Quick clarification, I'm still in Lankwitz with my trainer Sis Lartey. We are working on setting the ward on fire with excitement about member missionary work! This week we have been working with a lot of members and inactive members. We are working on strengthening the ward and having more members involved with lessons with investigators and other activities. Every other week we play fußball or frisbee with members, inactives and investigators. I feel like most of the enthusiasm will come from the youth rather than the parents. We are working on sharing Der Erlösungswerk with the whole Gemeinde one family at a time.

 

One investigator we have been working with for a while finally came to church with her whole family yesterday!! We were so excited because she has been trying for months to get her husband to come to sacrament meeting. Yesterday I lead the music for sacrament meeting-- 'no problem' I thought 'leading music is easy, nah' haha well I forgot I still can't speak German and suddenly I'm trying sing German hymns in front of the whole Gemeinde....peinlich....

 

Wednesday we did new missionary first finding. So I got to take a fresh missionary out on the street, just the two of us trying to get contact info, make appointment, talk to people etc. When the APs called and asked if we wanted to come I said heck yes! First finding = delicious food! It wasn't until I was with a missionary who knew less German than I do, that I realized what I had gotten myself into, haha. Good news, I know more German than I give myself credit for. Bad news, I still can't speak this language. I am truly grateful for all that I can do and understand and I am trying to take it just one day at a time. BTW the food after was definitely worth it. 

 

I want to say thank you to all who are praying for me and missionary work. I can really feel your love and support. 

 

Ich habe sie lieb!

 

-Sis Turner

 

Picture 1:  My district last transfer: Sisters Norton, Schrade Lartey and Elders Beck, Geharddson, Hansen and Wolfley

 

Picture 2:  Not the best picture, but I found Humperdinck Staße!

September 2, 2013

Lieber Familie,

 

First transfer finished. CRAzzzy. I will be staying in Lankwitz with Sis Lartey. We are so excited!! We are really trying to get the members involved with the work. For every lesson we plan we try to have a member present. This week we had a tausch (exchange) with the Dahlem Sisters (Norton and Schrade) and the Sister Training Leaders (Walker and Babbit). Shout out to Scott Clark from Sis Babbit, from Morgan, UT.

 

So excited for one family that we are working with. On Monday we brought one of our ward missionaries to the lesson and she was getting the girls so excited to come to church! The girls are so stoked to have friends with similar standards, I am beginning to understand how important the different organizations in the church are such as Primary, YM/YW, RS etc for supporting and strengthening each other. I played the piano again in Primary, love it! German speaking children are soooo cute!

 

In my personal study I have been realizing more and more how merciful and loving our Father in Heaven is. I was reading in Jacob 6 and laughed out loud when Jacob describes our two options a) the Kingdom of God or b) a lake of fire and brimstone and endless torment. It's our choice, it only affects our eternity and he says ''oh be wise; what can I say more?''

The scriptures put it so simply, and yet every day is a struggle to show God my love by being obedient, trusting Him and not getting discouraged. I am so grateful for the Atonement so I have hope and the means to progress and become better each day.

I was thinking about you Dad as I was eating blueberry yogurt and reading Jacob 6:12. You told me that a few years ago when I moved out. I miss and love you.

 

Love you all!!

 

-Sis Turner

 

One more thing.  We have been eating really well....