Yay! We all get to stay in Mannheim!

 To get the news you've been waiting for: I get to stay in Mannheim with Sister López! It's also another 5-week transfer. I'm not too surprised I'm staying and I'm really excited about it. The new transfer has already brought in some funny stories and miracles.

Let's start with the funnies:

It all started with a phone call from a potential investigator asking me out to see the new King Kong movie. When I explained that missionaries don't date he asked me "Darfst du nicht flirten?" (Are you not allowed to flirt?). Needless to say, we passed him over to the elders. Later that day we were waiting for a Bahn and this guy comes up to us and at first, he started talking to me. His name is Wisdom from Nigeria and is very interested in American girls. He took the same Bahn as us and I'd successfully seemed disinterested so he moved on to Sister López. He found out she was from Mexico and said, "Eh you got the right continent at least." We got off the Bahn as quick as possible. THEN! During our finding activity in Worms we were headed back to Worms Hauptbahnhof (train station) and there was a lot of traffic. There were 5 cars in a row full of dudes and they all rolled down their windows and started asking for our number. We gave them the Worms Elder's cards/number. At least one of them has to be interested in the gospel, right?

Sister Kemperman before
she leave for Cameroon for 2 months

Miracle stories:

Last Sunday the Elders had 3 investigators come to church. It was cool because one was found by me, the other by Sister López, and the third by the Elders themselves. They all spoke English though which means all the missionaries are on translation duty. Spaß (fun)!

We had a member appointment on Tuesday and they had invited their non-member cousin. Robin is 13 and grew up going to church with his grandma (Schwester Wegmann), but had never actually been baptized because he moved away. He remembers a lot from primary and said he'd try coming to church again with his cousin.

We finally got Frau 100's name! We had an awesome lesson with her in January, but somehow never got her number to get a return appointment. We had to rely on going by when we were in the area. We finally got her at home and got her number!

Geistige Gedanken (spiritual thought):

Short people got no
reason to live! ♫♬

Our STL's gave us a theme for this transfer. It comes from D&C 6:34,36:

"Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail. Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not."

If we doubt the power of God and doubt the Savior, we will live in eternal fear. However, if we center our lives on Christ, on good works, and follow Him to the end. We will be led to eternal joy.

Zweifelt nicht, fürchtet euch nicht.(fear not, do not be afraid)

Liebe grüße!
Sister Luymes

Lovely little Ilvesheim chapel.

Traditional German style home in Ilvesheim.

Typical backyard garden

The official Käfertal Afrikanisches Frühlingsfest!
(coffee mug African spring festival --whatever that is)

The Kempermans -- two of our favorite people.

 I definitely learned a lot this week. We had found a bunch of new people and had set up appointments for the weekend and beginning of this week. We were super excited and pumped to be teaching a lot of people finally. Then slowly one by one they all fell out..... I was not too happy about it because I'd worked really hard to make sure everyone remembered where and when we were meeting. I prayed about it a lot asking if there was anything more I could've done. My answer came pretty strongly "Vertraut mir" (trust me). So, I decided to just trust in God and be 100% ok when things fell out. And of course, as soon as I did that the miracles came pouring down. So, on Monday our appointment with someone fell out but we happened to be with Sister Siebert (the stake Relief Society Leader). She asked us what exactly we would have the woman in the stake do to help us. She's already taken our ideas to the stake president! Another appointment fell out and we did our backup plan and ran into a woman who was having sever health issues and thought she might die soon. The Spirit guided us both to share the right scriptures and say the right thing. It ended up being one of the biggest spiritual highlights of my mission.

We had our first street display in Mannheim and it was so great! It was amazing how many people were interested in at least hearing about our beliefs even if they didn't have interest in meeting with us. There was a constant flow of new people coming in every 5 minutes because we were right next to 2 Bahn (train) stops in Paradeplatz.

We also got lost a little bit and left the zone for a couple minutes. Something about the bus schedules in the tiny dorfs (villages) just don't like me.

Sister López also EPICALLY broke her umbrella when we were running for the bus. She took it with her into the bus even though it was open still. (See pictures below)

Woops.  Sis. Lopez's umbrella didn't like the bus.

Transfers are coming up in 2 days. Who knows if I'll be emailing from a different place next PDAY! Mal schauen (we’ll have to see)!

Great last week to the transfer and to training! I really wouldn't have had it any better :)

Mannheim Schloss -- Palace, museum, and former place of the Prince Electorate

Sunshine on my shoulder makes me happy.

This painting and this cottage are strikingly similar
and very typical of German style.

Weinheim -- the home of happy cows (sorry California).

 This week was amazing! We've been steadily finding new people and adding them to our teaching pool AND they're all progressing. Woohoo!

My favorite surprise of the week was when we found this man named Andreas while dooring last week and from what we saw from his door everything was normal. On Monday we taught him and brought Sister Siebert with us (she's an angel). When we walked in I noticed that it was super humid but when I rounded the corner I saw he has a huuuuuuuuge botanical garden in his bedroom/living room. He sticks his arm in one and takes out a chameleon, then another one, then another one.  I wish I had a picture, but I was so surprised.

The lesson went so well too. He kept asking "wo is die Gerechtigkeit im Laben?" (Where is the justice in life?) We got to really testify of the Savior and his atonement and how everything unfair in this world will be made fair through God's plan. We hadn't had enough time to prepare the lesson very well before hand so we were really following the Spirit. It worked! The three of us were incredibly unified. Sister Siebert is a saint and she made sure she would be able to come to our next lesson. Yes!

We also have found a Mongolian family and have a Skype lesson set up with the missionaries in Mongolia this Saturday!

We've found some German woman to teach as well! Seriously, I don't get it. Finding men here who will meet with missionaries is pretty easy. But finding a woman who speaks German is so hard sometimes! We found 2 this week! One in the beginning wasn't too interested, but after we taught the Restoration to her and explained the Book of Mormon she suddenly had so many questions and was very interested. The other one was a cool experience. We were walking towards Waldhof to go visit some people and I contacted a young woman. We asked her some questions and learned that she had a lot of faith in Christ, but had some questions. We testified of God's plan and she almost started to cry. She told us she'd been praying a long time to receive these answers and here are two random girls who answered them. We gave her a Book of Mormon and made a Termin (an appointment). She kept thanking us for the Book of Mormon and for everything. We're really excited to start teaching her.

I absolutely love the feeling I get when explaining the plan of happiness to people. It is one of the most rewarding experiences of my mission. 2 Nephi 9:13 "O how great the plan of our God!"

It is so simple, so profound, and answers the questions of our soul. Where did I come from? Why am I here on the Earth? Where do I go after death? The answers are there because God loves us. He has a plan because He loves us. He sent His Son because he loves us.

Liebe Grüße
Sister Luymes

Ilvesheim just before a storm

Pretty much the standard window sill
adornment all over Germany.

Here is my letter I wrote to President Stoddard this week. I felt like I should send it to you. 

Präsident Stoddard

This week was so great! We were able to recognize the Lord's hand in our work everyday. He guided us to the people who REALLY needed our message and were prepared to hear it. Almost everyone we found/taught this week had some question or concern that could be easily addressed through the Plan of Salvation. We have such a loving and generous Heavenly Father! I could feel His love for these people as I taught and testified of His plan. One woman we met on the street almost started crying and told us how she'd been praying for a long time to hear something like this. When we gave her a Book of Mormon and set up an appointment she kept thanking us. The same day we went by on a potential. She let us in and at the beginning she didn't seem very open about our message. Sister López took the lead and started teaching the Restoration. The Spirit was confirming every word we said. She ended up having a lot of questions and is legitimately interested in the gospel. 

Saturday was my half way mark and I've been reflecting on the last 9 months. I couldn't help but stand in awe of how Heavenly Father has shaped and molded me. There have been very specific promises in my Patriarichal blessing that have been realized in ways I never dreamed of. My relationship with the Savior and knowledge of his gospel has become my rock and foundation. 

God loves His children. Christ lives. His Atonement is real and available to all. 

Hallelujah!

Fasching/ Karneval before Lent
BTW - on a ferris wheel

Today is the beginning of Fasching/ Karneval. It's the one holiday where the Elders might actually be in more danger than the sisters! There's a tradition where woman can go up to a guy who has a tie and she cuts it with scissors and kisses him. The Elders have planned to wear their biggest scarves so their ties are covered. In some cities people dress up in costumes or in fancy clothes with masks, but Mannheim is not that into it. There will be a parade though and today we're going to the actual Karneval part! The party started today and will go until Tuesday and life will be normal on  Aschermittwoch (Ash Wednesday). Of course, there will be a lot of Betrunkene (drunk people) so the sisters must be careful too. JA WOHL!

As for the rest of the week we are still finding a lot. We had zone conference and I got to see Sister Harris again! The conference was focused on teaching the Restoration. It was really good and we even had a sister breakout. So, we got an hour to meet just as sisters. It was fun and people had some fantastic insights.

Conference break out session for my sista's.
We might get crazy any minute now.

In 2 days is my 9-month mark. Ich bin halb fertig (I’m half finished)!? I can't believe how fast it's all gone! Honestly this has been a huge challenge. Luckily, I'm a person who finds joy in a good challenge. I've experienced pure joy doing this work. I wish I could share everything that I've learned and how much I've grown. However, the most important thing I've learned are the 2 greatest commandments- "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."

I hope you all have a good rest of the week!

Liebe Grüße
Sister Luymes

Martin Luther -- not to be confused with Martin Luther King.

Big Pom -- always wanted to try it.

Pommes Frittes anyone?

Fun at the Karneval

Gulcerin's baptism. Love this girl

Then on Sunday it was Gemeindekonferenz (Stake Conference) and there were double the amount of people at church than usual. We didn't have enough seats because so many people were there! Gülserin is pretty shy, but everyone congratulated her and she loved it! There were also some people from Kaiserslautern there and I got to catch up with them about how the ward is. But the coolest thing was someone that I had contacted during the week actually came to church!

Gulcerin and Family

Because of the changes in key indicators, we've really been focusing on finding/ inviting people who are willing to come to church. We were waiting for a Bahn(train) and had about 10 minutes before it came. I thought 10 minutes was plenty of time to find so I walked up to Kennedy and started talking to him. We ended up taking the same Bahn a couple stops. He was new to Germany and only spoke English. I tried my best to describe how to get to the church (which is incredibly complicated) to someone who didn't know any of the Bahns. But lo and behold 5 minutes before sacrament meeting Kennedy shows up! If you knew how complicated it His to get to the chapel you'd understand. It takes us at least 30 minutes to get there and we live in the Stadt!

We had Gemeinde essen (ward lunch) afterwards and so many people kept asking us who found Kennedy and how we got him here. They couldn't believe that he just came because we quickly explained how to get there and invited him. He really connected with our other new convert Kevin and they became buddies. Way cool!

The rest of the week has been a ton of finding. We did some service for a less active. I've taken apart like 4 IKEA shelves. We've also had some awesome member appointments. We were with the Lorz family, Oma Broo, today we will be with Vi, and Friday we'll be with Bischof.

Oma Broo

I found a new favorite quote this week. I was watching the restoration movie and in one scene Joseph Smith says "the worth of souls is great in the sight of God." If you look at the world we live in today, everything tells us otherwise. Our self-worth gets torn to shreds so easily because we compare ourselves relentlessly. But the truth is so much better! We have GREAT worth! Being kind to ourselves is just as important as being kind to others.

Ich habe euch lieb! Schöne Woche! (Love you, have a nice week)
- Sister Luymes

Some castle we went to -- I forget.

A cool sticker I found. Made me laugh.

Here live a hound and his subjects.

Cleaning the font for Gulcerin's bapsims. Spic und spanne!

Gulcerin's (in red) and family

This has been an INSANE 10 days. To begin GÜLSERIN IS GETTING BAPTIZED IN 3 DAYS! Who knew that you need to go to Germany to baptize Turkish people. She had her Tauf (baptismal) interview yesterday and was nervous, however props to our new District leader Elder Flickinger for bringing her a Book of Mormon drawing book to help her open up. She ran out of the interview room yelling "GESCHAFFT!" (Made it/passed). She was adorable! The little sister Fidan (7) made us all boat hats to celebrate the moment.

We had a split this week and I was in Mannheim with sister Krysanski. A woman let us in, sat us down, and started telling us all the reasons why she could NEVER join our church. I was genuinely confused about
some of the things she was saying and it clicked in my head when sister k said "uhhhhhh we aren't Jehovah's Witnesses." The woman was super embarrassed and started reading our name tags. We taught her the first lesson and she excitedly accepted a Book of Mormon. It was an interesting beginning of a great lesson!

We made Mexican food with the Geziciari family with Turkish brot (flatbread) as the tortillas. Yummy! It's interesting to see how service changes your perspective of people completely. When I first met this family, I was super hesitant and did not want to spend any more time than I had to with them. After almost 3 months of teaching them and serving them I can honestly say I LOVE THE GEZICIARI FAMILY. I love reading in the Book of Mormon with the kids and seeing how it has changed their attitudes. Before they would always be rambunctious when we came, but now they all sit quietly, listen, and even ask questions. Their love for the gospel has grown so much and they make an honest effort to get to church every Sunday.

I also finished reading in the Book of Mormon last week! In its introduction, it quotes the prophet Joseph Smith '“I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.”' It DOES NOT say man would get nearer to God by reading it than any other book, but by ABIDING BY ITS PRECEPTS. After I had finished I looked through all of my highlights and notes, each one had a very personal meaning. It has been so wonderful to see how much closer I have become to Heavenly Father. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God and I know when we study it and find the precepts within, that we will get nearer to God than by any other book.

Wish me luck for the next 3 crazy days!
Sister Luymes

BILDER
We exercised our Thursday PDAY power and actually toward the Mannheim
Schloss. 10/10 would recommend! 👍

Mannheim Schloss is a Baroque style palace that
was the original home of the Prince-electors of the
Electorate of the Palatinate of the House of Wittelsbach.
Today it is part palace museum and part University of Mannheim.

Market and food trucks outside the Schloss.

Paper hats compliments of Gulcerin's sister.