February 24, 2014

Hey Mom and Dad,

Haha this week has been great, ha a lot of interesting experiences. I was really stressed the last two days so this morning on our way to Kaufland (grocery shopping) we stopped by the zip line. I think you should get a zip line in the backyard, it relieves stress and you can´t help but smile when you ride it!

Sister Bradshaw thought I was crazy when I kept saying it is spring! ´´No, winter hasn´t really come yet, just wait. It will get really cold really soon.´´ Surprise! I´m not even wearing a coat today! Well just for p-day hours, it still gets cold at night and I´m sure that it will get cold again very soon, but for right now, I am enjoying spring!

So Monday Sister Bradshaw and I ran around saying goodbye to a lot of investigators we haven´t had a lot of contact with. It was a great excuse for return appointments so they can meet my new comp. Eww the mouse is sticky... We got up early the next day to get her to Hauptbahnhof and on her train to Chemnitz. Sister Knecht and Sister Jardine´s new comps were coming about 4 hours later, same time as Sis Dunlap.  We didn´t want to just sit around, so the three of us ran over to Bergedorf and taught a few lessons. Miracle! On our way back we talked with a lady from Ghana who was interested in meeting with us, but said she couldn´t because she lived too far away, by Elbgau. Guess what! That is in my area, like a 5 minute run from me apartment! We will be meeting with her later. So we make it back to the train station, pick up Sister Stringham and Sister Keller, but there was no Sister Dunlap....I got a call from her, she had missed her train, and the sisters had to leave, so Elders Hays, Bendixon and King waited with me for a few hours til she got here. Haha long crazy story...Sis Dunlap´s district leader was helping her get on the train with her stuff, well the door closed and she was on the train with her stuff and her DL, but his comp was still standing on the gleis! Haha she said it was the weirdest exchange she had ever been on. Everything got worked out and everyone made it where they need to be. Haha it was a long day.

Sister Dunlap claims Virginia, but she has lived everywhere. She has lived in Germany for 7 years and has no American accent. Ha hopefully she can help me. She is so sweet and so full of love! It´s kinda weird not having Sister Bradshaw here. I don´t know Altona that well, so Sister Dunlap and I will be figuring things out/getting lost together. We have had a lot of appointments fall out this week, it has been a little frustrating, but Heavenly Father lets us know that He is in charge and that He loves us. We went to find the lady we gave the Book of Mormon to last week, the one who was so excited she kissed us. Well her name was not at the address she gave us. So we went down the whole street, we went around the corner and suddenly she was right there taking her trash out!! She has been reading, but won´t be able to meet with us til next week. We have had an experience similar to that after almost every appointment has fallen out. Blessings for enduring?

Saturday and Sunday were Stake Conference in Wartenau. So awesome!! Sunday was a broadcast from Salt Lake just for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. We got to hear Elder Bednar speak in German. They talked a lot about member missionary work as individuals and families. How important it is to have family councils. I love when we pointed out that it is easier to live the gospel than it is to not live the gospel. When we make and keep our covenants, we receive blessings and we can access the power of the atonement! He asked, do treasure it above everything else?

I am so grateful to be here! I miss Sister Bradshaw very much, but I am so grateful to have Sister Dunlap here.

Thank you for the packages! Because Sister Dunlap was in Berlin, she ran by the mission office and brought me the package and mail. The caramel was amazing and we are rationing the potatoes, ha we will have one pack each week. We´re pretty excited to try them all! And we have already made some cookies! Thank you thank you!!

I am so grateful for your love and support! I love you!!!

-Sister Turner

February 17, 2014

Oh my goodness, where did the last transfer go?? I can't believe I have already been in Hamburg for 6 weeks. We got our transfer call Friday night (instead of Saturday morning) from President (instead of the APs). Sister Bradshaw is getting transferred to be a Sister Training Leader in Chemnitz. I guessed she would be transferred...we were getting along way too good. But I will be picking up Sister Dunlap tomorrow. She and I were in the same Zone in Berlin, and I know her pretty well. I am very excited! She grew up in Germany so her German is awesome and she will be able to help me. The Elders in our district will be receiving new companions as well, big changes in the Pinneberg District.

So Monday was maintenance P-Day, the day where you do your deep cleaning and fix broken stuff. Nothing was broken and we clean up as we go so we didn't have much to do. Later I gave the Elders haircuts.

Valentine's Day was fun. Haha Sister Bradshaw heart-attacked my bed while I showered and I heart-attacked her desk. Later I made ''hearty'' pancakes- fruit musli and apple sauce pancakes in the shape of hearts. That night she made dinner, while I made a fort, we then had dinner and weekly planning in our ''fort''. It was and a good little change. Earlier this week I got my first kiss as a missionary. We were talking with a sweet old lady on our way home after an appointment with a less active member. She offered us candy (the second time this week a stranger has tried to put candy in our pockets.) We offered this lady a copy of the Book of Mormon after we told her about it. She was so excited but said she didn't have the money to pay for it. It's free! She was sooooo excited! She took the book, and kissed up both on the cheek. About 7 minutes later we had a similar experience with a younger man equally excited about the Book of Mormon, but he did not kiss us. He will be meeting with the Elders.

This week I was reading in Matthew, I have been thinking about how I can be a better missionary, I just realized my half way mark is next week, gasp. I was think about the story when Christ is talking with a wealthy young man. He has been a great kid, he has grown up in the church, keeps the commandments, always participates in service projects, went to young mens, earned his Duty to God award, graduated from Seminary. Really good kid and then asks the Savior, what more can I do? The Savior asks him to give ALL he has and serve the Lord. So my question for self evaluation is what more can I give? Where am I not giving my all and how can I change that?

I love you all so much! Have a great week!

-Sister Turner

February 10, 2014

Lieber Familie,

Oh my goodness, where did the week go?  I won't be able to get the packages for a few weeks because I have to wait for someone to bring them from Berlin. Ha I was so spoiled being in Lankwitz.

Sister Bradshaw's parents are Keith and Tracy. They are both very musically talented.

Church was great! Two less active/part member families (that are related to each other) came to church!!!! We were so excited and the sacrament meeting was so good! We also helped a member who recently moved to Germany from Spain?(maybe) get to church. She has a 12 year old son who has not yet been baptized that we will be working with.

I am still struggling with discouragements and doubts, please pray for me. Though today has been great! I really am so grateful for Sister Bradshaw, we went running to a park for Morgensport today. We jumped on the swings there and then ran over to the zip lines and then sprinted home. I love running! During personal study I read through part of Pres Uchtdorf's talk in the Young Women Session last conference. What I realized is something I have heard so many times. I am going to overcome these discouragements by not focusing on myself and my problems, but trying to focus more on serving my companion and others around me. And trust more in the one who knows me better than I know myself. This is going to be a week of miracles.

Thank you for all that you do for me!

I love you so much!

-Sister Turner

February 3, 2014

Emailing a little later today because we already did the shopping and cleaning. On our way to Kaufland, the Walmart of Germany, we went a different way and found a zip line! So of course we had to jump on. Nothing like the Mexico ones, but still so fun! I'll take pictures next time we go there.
Well you were right about spring being right around the corner, ha it started yesterday and it still feels pretty good today. I hope it lasts, but everyone says that winter isn't over yet...

This week was pretty rough. Not exactly sure why, we're used to rejections, appointments falling out and slammed doors and cold weather. But it was just so wearing this week. One night we were on our way home and I just started crying while we were on the bahn. Wie peinlich! Sister Bradshaw was so great though. We got home, I started on dishes. I then was told not to leave the kitchen so I made cookies. When I was ''allowed'' to come out she had laid our blankets out on the floor, cut out paper stars and a moon and stuck them on the ceiling. Haha ''comp date night'' We looked at stars and ate cookies and ice cream. That weekend we did weekly planning and comp inventory. We talked about why things we so rough for us, we had so many great plans, but it seemed like everything had fallen out. But when we looked at our numbers at the end, we realized that we hadn't taught as many lessons, but the overall quality of our work improved. We hadn't reached our goals, but we are improving. We also ran into so many people on the street that we have been trying to get in touch with. It was awesome! We also worked harder than we ever had to get our investigators and less actives to church. We had 9 people committed to coming. We got up super early Sunday to pick up two families and they never got up. We got to church and had nothing to show for it. We were tired and trying to stay positive, but we were just so discouraged. What more could we do to get them to church? Where is the agency line? Did we hit it or is there more we could have done? We go to Relief Society and Sunday School and then we go into Sacrament meeting and one investigator came with her less active husband and their children!!!!!! We were ecstatic!!! How great will be your joy when one investigator comes to church!!!! We are trying not to get discouraged so easily so we are going to mix things up a little. We have set a lot of great goals to find people in different ways, hoping to find a variety of people and to help us have fun and enjoy it. I love the scripture in Joshua 1:9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

I love how easy it is to get along with Sister Bradshaw, we take care of each other. We also actually work out which I have really needed and I didn't realize how much I needed it for my sanity til we started running again. Today we are going to take a ferry ride with the Elders and the Zone Leaders, pretty excited and then we are going to go finding focusing on FamilySearch as an intro. It's going to be good :)

Love you! Have a great week!

-Sister Turner