March 31, 2014

Hey! How is everyone doing?  I cannot believe another transfer has come and gone. Sister Dunlap and I will be staying together here in Altona.  We are very excited and we have some great comp goals.

Guess what! General Conference is this weekend!!!!! I am so excited!!!!

We had a good week.  Really cool experience yesterday: we were taking care of some planning in the ward house and a lady and her mother walk in.  The daughter is leaving, but her mother just moved to Hamburg and wanted to get to know nice people.  They were going for a walk and saw our church and they ''just had to come in.''  She is anxious to come to church next week.  We told her a little about the church and general conference and we will see her on Sunday.  So excited!

We have teaching a little boy named Carlos who just wants to go to the Celestial Kingdom.  He is planning on being baptized this month. Again so excited!

Sister Dunlap and I are excited for another transfer together, but we were a little sad to hear that our district is being dissolved.  Altona Elders and Sisters will now be with Whilhelmsburg.  Our new district leader is a little nervous.  Ha, his district just doubled and now he is getting sisters.  It'll be great.

Angelina is doing well.  She is a tough little thing.  Doctors said she will fully recover, she just has to take it easy for a little bit.  Keep her and her family in your prayers.

Sister Dunlap and I have started a scripture study with the young women.  We are all reading the Book of Mormon focusing on God's love.  So amazing!  How Great Thou Art has been in my head all morning.

Happy Birthday Grandpa!!  And Happy Birthday Mom!!

I hope you have a great week!  I love you all so much!  Thank you for everything!!

Sister Turner

March 24, 2014

Wow, crazy morning. Around 9 we got a text finding out that a girl in our ward that we have been working a lot with, was hit by a car and is in the hospital. She is doing ok, but it's still pretty bad, we're going to the hospital in just a little bit. Please keep Angelina and her family in your prayers.

Yesterday a little girl in the ward was baptized. It was such a beautiful service! To anyone who questions if an 8 year old is not old enough to make that decision, I wish they could have seen her after she was confirmed. She knew exactly what she was promising. The spirit was so strong. I am so glad that one of our investigators was able to be there.

On Wednesday we had District Meeting and interviews with Präsident Kosak. I love getting to talk with him.

We had a busy week, I love busy weeks!

Sorry I am out of time. Thank you for everything. BTW I got the package on Tuesday. Thank you thank you! We love all the treats. Especially the 4 min potatoes and the eggs are my FAVORITE!!

Thank you!!!

Love you so much!

Sister Turner

March 17, 2014

I spoke too soon.  Looks like Hamburg is not quite ready for warm weather.  It's getting cold again, but summer will come!

This week we have been working with a 12 year-old boy from Italy.  He and his mother moved to Germany a few months ago.  His mother is less active, but wants to come back to church and she wants her son to be baptized.  We have a little bit of a language barrier, but he has great faith.  We have invited him to be baptized and he is excited.  He LOVES soccer.  We were able to take him and another investigator to Pinneberg on Saturday to play soccer.  Everyone loves him.  Ha!  I am sooo sore.  I haven't run in 5 weeks, but it was so fun!

Sister Dunlap and I are working hard and loving what we are doing.

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

Sister Turner

March 10, 2014

Yup spring is definitely here :) And to celebrate I decided to wear just one pair of tights with flats instead of boots! I know, gettin a lil crazy there. Also No Shave November that actually started in October is officially over. The weather is so beautiful. We didn't need our jackets yesterday or today. It's just beautiful and sunny! Still gets a little chilly in the evenings, but It's great! I have been blessed with a very mild winter. Thank you Janae for the weather reports! So helpful!

This week we have been working with a lot of less active members which is my favorite and the most frustrating. We can't exactly ''tschuß'' them when they aren't progressing. But we stay patient and love them. We about die of joy when we meet with less actives and get to see their testimonies grow.

I have had a thought on my mind all week. How do I overcome my fear of light? The past few weeks I have felt incredibly inadequate which turns into greater negative feelings. Last week on exchange Sis Keller shared a quote with me.

"Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our greatest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves: who am I to be brilliant, fabulous, gorgeous, talented? Actually who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the Glory of God that is within us. It's not just some of us. It is in everyone. As we let our own light shine, we automatically give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fears, our presence will liberate others."

-Marianne Williamson 

As I began a personal study, I had the question how do I overcome my fear of ''light''? I opened up to where I was reading in Mark and saw a line highlighted. ''Be not afraid, only believe.'' This easier said than done. But I have noticed that as I try to have faith and not worry about what I cannot do, that Lord does take over. I have also been studying faith. In Mark 5 a woman was healed because of her faith. Christ still had to will it, but because of her faith, miracles could not be withheld. And PMG says ''You are able to do miracles according to the Lord's will...God works by power, but His power is usually exercised in response to faith.'' Jeffery R Holland told us to be true to the faith that we have and we have more faith than we think we do.

Let the Lord work miracles through your faith! I love you all and hope you have a great week! Thank you for your prayers!

Love

Sister Turner

March 3, 2014

We had some really cool experiences this week. Last Monday I went on exchange with Sister Keller in Bergedorf. They actually live in the boonies just outside of Bergedorf which is just outside of Hamburg. There was a wishing well in their backyard! I seriously felt like I was in a fairy tale book.

I had a very graceful moment getting squished by an elevator door that made me fall over onto the buttons. We hit every floor on a 13 floor building. At least the men in the elevator had a sense of humor. Well this little ''accident'' slowed us down to put us exactly where we needed to be. We perfectly ran into one of our investigators and her sister. We walked with them and had a really good lesson. They both came to church on Sunday and the older sister is praying about being baptized on April the 6th!

 

Then we were supposed to teach the Sunday school lesson for the youth (2 YW) but Sister Dunlap was needed in the main Sunday school to translate. One member sat with me as a taught the lesson. It went so well and the spirit was so strong! It was so cool hearing the testimonies of these girls.

On Saturday we had a joint teach with an investigator who has been investigating for a few months, but not really making progress. The member could only speak English, and the investigator could only speak a little English, but we witnessed the gift of tongues as that member bore his testimony and shared his conversion story. That was one of the most amazing lessons I have been a part of. The spirit is not limited by language barriers.

 

Two things I learned this week. Don't just endure to the end, ENJOY to the endure, and pray for gratitude and look for the Lords hand in all things.

 

I love you! Have a great week!

 

-Sister Turner