Transfers...

Transfers!! My dear beloved companion Sister Garlick is leaving me and Sister Sprouse here in Dortmund for the beautiful city of Heidelberg.  Transfers are definitely from Heavenly Father because He knows exactly what needs to be done in the missions all over the world and He knows how to make missionaries grow into the people that He knows they can become.  Example, me and Sister Sprouse.  I am now technically the older companion but I am still in the first half of my mission and right now 1) We barely know Dortmund still 2) Still getting to know the ward 3) Barely can understand German 4) Barely can speak German and now we are together for at least 6 weeks.  Boy oh Boy Dortmund you better be ready and Heavenly Father You better be ready to help us :)  Bitte :)  I am excited for this point in my life to grow and to do things I have never done before.  I have a testimony of setting goals and when having the faith they actually come to life and become reality.  Our mission has a goal to find 10 new people to teach every week.  And we (the drit) have not been able to reach that yet so last week we set that goal to reach it!!  Yesterday we were still 4 people short.  After a wonderful day of church and being filled with the Spirit we had 3-4 hours to find them.  It all started after we got out of an appointment at 2pm.  We missed a call from an unknown number.  These are the best treasures because you honestly don't know who they are from!!  We called it back and it was actually a young man that I invited to come to FHE and gave him a pass along card.  I didn't think much of it but he called and wanted to meet that day!!  His name is Abdoul and comes from Africa and is really confused on why there are so many churches in the world and his parents are Muslim but he is not practicing\active.  He has a sincere heart and we explained the story of a yound man named Joseph Smith who had that same exact question.  The only way he found out was by praying to Heavenly Father and asking.  We taught him how to pray in the park on a bench.  After we said the closing prayer and after him promising next time he will try, he opened his eyes and said, "O das ist  nicht so schwer," und ich habe gesagt, "Nay, es ist nicht so schwer." :)  I love teaching people how to communicate with Heavenly Father.  He truly wants to hear from all His children because "the worth of souls is great in the sight of God."  My life dramatically changed when I started to pray.  I started to understand that I matter to Him, that He loves me, and that no matter where I go or do He is always with me.  I am so grateful to be able to teach people how to pray to Him so that they can experience that for themselves too.  I love this work and I love hearing people say, oh that isn't so hard, and walk away wondering on what they will say to the One that always wants to listen.  And I love seeing the change in people.  Kathir is a man that the elders are teaching right now and we had the opportunity the other day to teach him.  He is from India and truly wants to know "the God."  He wants to know who "the God" is and how we get to know Him.  He has been to every activity the church has, every baptism we have been able to witness, and every church meeting.  Every time I see him he looks brighter and happier.  Just the other day the elders called us because he decided he would like to be baptized.... My heart filled with warmth and joy.  Someone who didn't believe in God is now wanting to enter into the waters of baptism.  I know that this gospel is true and I know that when we live it, it always changes us for the better, and we feel so much "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance" (Galations 5:22-23) and these feelings only come from God, because everything good comes from God (Alma 5:40).  I am honored to be a part of this work and to witness God's hand in my life and to experience it personally as well.  Bis Später!  Tschüß! Liebe, Sister Tuschling