Checking out an investigator's sweet Nikon 7000D - I was in heaven!

Happy New Year!

Well, almost all of our appointments fell through this week and I'm pretty sure there was a Bremen-wide movement to ignore our phone calls, BUT ...

On Tuesday, when we went over to Michaela's apartment to teach her, her 22 year old daughter was about to leave to have coffee with her friend. Right as she was about to leave, she got a text from her friend saying that she couldn't meet anymore and she got to stay! Her name is Irina and we love her! Irina is so ready for the gospel - she wants to know what God's plan is for her. We had an amazing 1st lesson with her, and Michaela bore powerful testimony of the Restoration and the Book of Mormon. We have plans to meet with her again this week. 

One of our other investigators, Victor, called us and said that he really needed to meet with us. We met with him the next morning.  Apparently, he had been talking to a friend about the nature of God. His friend proposed the correct concept that the term "God" as used in the Old Testament does not refer to our Father in Heaven, but rather to Jesus Christ. Victor was really confused, but as we talked to him and read the Bible Dictionary and some scriptures that I had miraculously studied the day before, it all made sense to him. He called us later that day and told us that he wants to be baptized - an incredible step forward. 

Another highlight of the week was that Gordon, our awesome ward secretary, brought all of the missionaries these strange middle eastern burritos. I liked them and thought that they tasted like schwarma, but they didn't sit too well with some of the other missionaries. I guess I have a stomach of steel from 3.5 months of sketchy Israeli food.

I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY. I love being a missionary because I know that what I teach people about is true. I love all of you and am so grateful for your support and prayers.

Liebe Grüße, 

Sister Hendricks

Frohe Weinachten!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Christmas on the mission is definitely different, but we really had a great time. I haven't been able to write in a while so I'll catch you up:

Missionaries are the go-to moving force here in Germany. We moved two families last week! One was a family that has been investigating the church for a few months now, and the other is an older couple who are moving to Leipzig. I'll be honest, at first, these German men had a hard time letting Sisters help with anything heavy, but after I helped move an oven and a fridge, they snapped out of it and actually let us help. (Are you proud, Daddy?)

We've had two really great lessons with Sarah, a young Iranian mother, who loves everything that we have to say. Her English and German is perfect and her 3 year old daughter is absolutely darling. The Spirit has been really strong every time we meet with her. 

Christmas was great. We spent it with the First Counselor in the Bishopric and his family and it was so much fun! When we walked into their house, it finally felt like Christmas: Christmas music playing, handmade ornaments on the trees, family pictures, kids running around screaming. Perhaps the best part was the fact that they showed us THE NEW STAR WARS TRAILER!!! Best Christmas present ever. Markie and Dad: don't spoil it for me next December. We'll see it the day after I come home. 

The most important part of Christmas is the reason that we celebrate it - Jesus Christ. Taking time to think about the life, sacrifice, and resurrection of Christ is something that we should do every single day, not just on Christmas. I am so grateful to be here in Bremen. It's hard to be away from my incredible family, but I wouldn't trade this opportunity for anything. I get to wear a name tag every day that has two names on it: my name, and the name of Jesus Christ. I know that He is the Gift that our loving Heavenly Father gave the world. I know that He lived a perfect life to give us a perfect example. I know that He is our best friend. I know that He lives and that He is with us every single step of every single day. That is why I am on a mission. I love you all and I am so grateful for you. 

Liebe Grüße, 

Sister Grace Hendricks

"After the fire, a still small voice"

Well, this week was a little rough. Martin's baptism fell apart, two of our most promising investigators told us that they didn't want to meet anymore, and our efforts to work more with the ward have been fruitless. With regards to Martin, Enoch, and Victor, we are incredibly sad, but we are taking this as motivation to really clean out and rebuild our teaching pool. With the ward, my frustration comes from this pressing sense of urgency to find people, to teach, and to help them on their path to Christ in any way that I can. This feeling isn't exactly shared by the leadership and members in Bremen. And for me, I'm having a hard time accepting the fact that people have their agency in how they prioritize and act and balancing that with my burning sense of responsibility and duty. It makes me feel impatient and flustered - I don't quite feel like myself.

I was able to find some comfort in my personal study this morning. I studied the story of Elijah in 1 Kings 18 and 19. I learned that the Lord has the ability to make incredible miracles happen, but that that doesn't necessarily promise smooth sailing from that point on. Elijah had done nothing wrong - he was obedient, bold, and faithful. But Ahab and Jezebel were chasing him with an entire army, swearing to kill him. Elijah was exhausted. He was frustrated. He felt alone and confused. Then the Lord came to him and showed him huge winds, an earthquake, and a massive fire. But the scriptures say that the Lord was not in these mighty manifestations of power. Verse 12 says: "And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice." That is where the Lord is - in the small, quiet moments. He is always there. I am determined to follow the counsel of Elder Holland to "Hope on. Journey on." I am fixed in my purpose. I will move forward in faith. I love being a missionary and I am grateful for every day spent here in Germany.

I invite all of you to read those chapters in 1 Kings. Not only did I find a lot of comfort in these verses, but Elijah's sass with the priests of Baal is pretty entertaining. 

Liebe Grüße, 

Sister Hendricks

 Bremen is beautiful.

 On the train with a random man.

 Bowling with the District on P-Day

Ha!

W U N D E R

I can hardly begin to articulate the gratitude that I feel for my experiences this week.

Sister Moffet and I felt the need to really try to find new people to teach this week. In the rain, wind, and cold we walked, trying to find people on the street who wanted to talk to us. We had no success. I was a little bit disappointed because we really did feel like we should go finding. On the train back home on Thursday night, we met the coolest Palestinian guy. His mother is from Jerusalem (!), his father is from Bethlehem, and he moved to Amman, Jordan when he was 17. Small talk about Jerusalem led to us talking about why Sister Moffet and I were in Bremen and lo and behold we got to talk about the gospel and bear testimony right then and there! He sounded really interested in our message and we hope that he will call us next week. 

Martin Guhl, a 28 year old university student, has been investigating the church for 3.5 years. On Friday, we committed him to be baptized on December 28th. We talked about faith and how faith yields confidence (he has been so afraid to tell his parents that he has been investigating the church and that he wants to get baptized). We used some of my very favorite scriptures: James 2:17 and 26, D&C 6:36, and Ephesians 3:11-20. The Spirit was so strong as we testified that he is ready for this - that it is time to ACT on his faith. We are so overwhelmed with love for this awkward, sweet 28 year old man. We know that he is ready. 

Our day on Saturday started out pretty slow - studies, finding in three different cities with no success, and then we needed to let the Bremen 2 Elders into the church building (we wish they had a key). Right as we were leaving the church building, the church doorbell rang and a lady said that she always passed the church and wondered about it and asked if she could look around. Sister Moffet and I gave her a tour of the church and as we walked into the chapel, the spirit hit us like a wall of bricks. Her face was indescribable as she told us how she felt that this place was holy, sacred, and a place of real worship. We asked if she had time to talk with us for a while. While we talked with her in the classroom, she told us a bit about her life. She's had a really hard time. We taught her the 1st lesson and she loved all of it. She was in tears. We invited her to be baptized and she accepted. We are so excited to meet with her more (we have an appointment for tomorrow at 11!). Sister Moffet and I just sank to our knees in prayer after she left. 

I apologize for the length of this letter, I just am so overwhelmed with gratitude. As one very wise Elder serving in the Russia Rostov mission explained, 2+2 does not always equal 4. I think that despite our lack of success on the streets, labor is labor in the Lord's eyes and He puts prepared people in the path of prepared servants.

Big things are happening in Bremen. I love my companionship: Sister Moffet and the Spirit. We're working really hard. 

Liebe Grüße, 

Sister Grace Hendricks