Well I‘ve arrived in my last area with only 6 weeks to go... let’s do this! 

It was a hard couple days saying goodbye to some amazing people in Wiesbaden. Having General Conference was a huge help. It was the best one of my mission mainly because we had so many investigators and potentials come. What was even cooler was they would come for a session, then they loved it sooo much that they would stay the 2 hours between sessions and watch another one! We still have one more session to watch, but I‘ve loved every bit of it so far. You should go watch some! LDS.org 

Well after 3 hours by myself on a train I arrived in Erlangen.  My new companion is Sister Swain from San Diego! What’s funny is in mission slang I‘m her ‚grandma‘ (I trained Sister López who trained Sister Swain). It’s been so much fun being with her so far. This will be a work hard play hard transfer which are the best. 

Meet Sister Swain from Oceanside, CA

Erlangen is beautiful! This southern dialect is HILARIOUS and yes I can understand it (hallelujah!) There are 3 University campuses here so we‘ve already found some awesome people. We taught a part member family from Vietnam and they’re my favorite! We had such a bomb lesson, the Spirit was strong, the son who’s like 13 knew so much and was able to explain a lot to his younger sister. The parents were bearing their testimonies and really opened up about some hard things they’ve had to overcome and how God and their faith helped them. Afterwards Sister Swain was so excited and kept hugging me because she was sooooo happy. 

Panoramic view of Erlangen

We‘ve already had some funny moments together as well. We sat on a train next to 2 Syrian men and started talking to them. We were talking about how hard German was and one of them asks Sister Swain if she had a boyfriend (Hast du einen Freund hier?) She misunderstood and points to me and said „Ja sie ist meinen Freund“ (yeah she is my boyfriend) and I looked at her and said „Sister Swain he just asked you if you had a boyfriend, and then you said I was your boyfriend. We should probably talk about this before we become official.“ The guy understood English so we all laughed pretty hard. 

Another cool moment was we were talking to people on our way to an appointment and we saw these two men. One was Christian and the other was Muslim. Sister Swain talked to the Christian guy and I talked to the Muslim guy. Usually Muslims won’t really listen to what we say and it gets pretty frustrating. This guy did exactly that. But then when I was able to actually say something I asked him about prayer. If he believes that God hears and answers our prayers. He said yes, but then expressed some concern that he felt like he recently hadn’t received answers. I taught him how we need to be sincere when we pray. We also need to be willing to do what God needs us or wants us to do. If we ask God for a car he doesn’t just give us a car right in front of us! He guides us to the work opportunities or the people we need to talk to in order to work to get a car. I asked him if he had asked God specifically about his problem, about who and when and where he should go to receive the help he needs. It was cool to see him go from very prideful and not willing to listen to being humble and teachable. This is the difference humility and the Spirit makes. He told me that he wasn’t interested in religion (not even Islam?), but what I had said touched him and that he would try to be more specific and sincere in his prayers. What made it even better was that Sister Swain totally got the info from the other guy. 

The Spirit is strong here in Erlangen. I‘m so grateful for the opportunity I have to be here, even if it’s so short. God hears and answers prayers guys. It’s so cool.

Liebe Grüße,

Sister Luymes 

St. Lorenz Church in Nuremberg

Kaiserburg Castle Garden, Nuremberg

Der Blaue Reiter - Bayern, Nuremberg

Well here am I in Erlangen. It’s a pretty big difference from what I had. The apartment is miniature. Seriously our microwave is in our bedroom because our kitchen is a hallway and doesn’t have enough room. At least we’re only on the 2nd floor. 

All the other missionaries in Erlangen got trained here (and the elders are in training now) so there’s a ton of new missionaries vibes going on (both good and bad). They‘re maps.me is a catastrophe so I’ve made it a goal to fix it. Our shower‘s water pressure is so hard that it hurt! Our stove is really ancient and takes about 10 min to warm up. My bed and bedding is also ancient and is quite gross. I‘ll be ordering some new stuff from the Ehepaar or the tech Elders. I‘m convinced that this area has been a be-trained-and-then-train area for so long that no one actually realizes that they shouldn’t have to live with some of these things. I said that to Sister Swain and she was like „oh my gosh I‘m so grateful you are here! There is hope now“ 

On the bright side this southern dialect is hilarious! I can understand it so that was a relief! They roll their R‘s and they use different phrases like „ganz eilig“. We were in Nürnberg for district meeting and we were on the elevator in the Hauptbahnhof and this guy started talking to me about how in Bayern you don’t have to stay on the right side of the elevator in case someone needs to walk fast on the left. He said they just needed to use their words and then you should move. He had this awesome accent and how he said Nürnberg it was more like nürn-bursch. I love it. 

We have some awesome people that we’ve found and some cool appointments coming up. Last night we taught this part member Vietnamese family and they’re adorable! The ward seems cool so far and laugh when I tell them how much time I’ve got left. They‘re all good eggs. I‘m missing Br. Tiebing hard Core. Our ward mission leader is your typical Deutscher GML and on the older side. Lots of good intentions, but slow on the following through. Naja it will be a Great 6 weeks. Sister swain is awesome and I i‘ve found my excitement for being here. The Lord has a lot for me to do still.

 Sister Swain reminds me a lot about myself during my third transfer (she’s in her 3rd) when the training wheels came off. She keeps saying how grateful she is for having me here. After our lesson last night she seriously cried out of joy and yelled I DIDN‘T KNOW MISSIONARY WORK COULD BE THIS FUN!!! She’s way dedicated and motivated and has a work hard play hard attitude that I have. I‘m really grateful to have her as my last companion. Being in a dritt was fun, but training in a dritt with so many personalities was sucking a lot of energy out of me. With this companionship I feel like I can finish as strong as I had imagined myself finishing at the beginning of my mission. She’s from Oceanside, CA so we’re 2 peas in a pod. 

I‘ll be completely honest saying goodbye to Wiesbaden has been one of the hardest things. It felt like home, the ward felt like family, the people were familiar even if I didn’t know them. I felt like I could keep going for 6 more weeks. Even in the dritt. When the members found out they all kept saying „ohhhhhhhhhhh wie schade!“ (oh what a shame). Yeah it sucked, but you know what I‘m here now and I‘m ok with that. I‘ve prayed a lot about it and at first I was pretty depressed, but now that I‘m here and I‘ve met some people I‘ve realized that I still have a lot of room in my heart to love a lot more people. I feel needed here and I feel loved. I‘ve had so many members offer their house to us when we come visit in December. The problem is I have to remember their names haha. 

How was your week? I love you guys so much and I appreciate your love SO MUCH. 

Liebe Grüße,

Sister Luymes 

We had lunch with the elders and Jawad (pronounced Jafad he‘s a member from Iran). Jawad speaks Persian and a passable amount of Denglish. He was trying to say something and ended up typing it into Google translator. It came out saying “I’m strangled“ we were all laughing and then he asked for a drink and we realized he was trying to say I‘m thirsty. It was a good moment of confusion. 

WELL this may or may not be my last couple days in Wiesbaden. Who knows! We‘ll find out on Saturday. I’ll also start my last transfer next week... YIKES when did that happen! Time keeps flying by without asking for my permission. 

This week was amazing and surprising! On Sunday we went to Darmstadt for a YSA devotional for the Frankfurt, Friedrichsdorf, and Heidelberg Stakes. We brought our new convert, investigator, and potential from Colombia. As soon as we got there we ran into some YSA in the Spanish ward in Heidelberg and they totally bonded with our Colombians. It was great. The talks were perfect and I got to see a lot of people from my last areas. 

 

YSA devotional with a new convert, a member, and 2 potentials

On Wednesday we had lessons with Xia and Marion. We taught both of them the Plan of Salvation. Oh man both were amazing! Last week we invited both of them to be baptized, Xia said that her husband didn’t like other religions other than his. Apparently, he had seen her Book of Mormon and looked up the church. When she came home that day he told her that he wanted her to keep learning about the church because it would probably help strengthen their family. It’s so obvious that the Lord is softening his heart. After we finished the lesson she shared a dream she had had when she was 25 that matched perfectly with what we had just taught her. She shared a lot of experiences she had as a child in China and how she came to believe in God without knowing anything about churches. The spirit was so strong throughout the whole lesson and she noticed how much the Lord had prepared her to hear and accept the gospel. Highlight of my mission right there 

Marion‘s lessons was also a highlight of my mission. She’s a HUGE inspiration for me of letting God heal you. She’s gone through so much trauma and when we explained God‘s plan at the end she just said “I know. I know it’s true.“ The Spirit was blasting and Sister Wright was bearing such beautiful testimony. She still wants to pray about baptism and accept to watch general conference with this question in her heart. 

God’s plan is perfect. It brings meaning to life, our trials, and triumphs. It takes away the sting of death and when we repent it takes away the grief and sorrow of sin. I’m so grateful for God and Jesus Christ. They are real and have brought so much peace and joy in my life. I recommend giving them a chance. 

Liebe Grüße,

Sister Luymes 

Kiss goodbye Wiesbaden.  I'm off to Erlangen.

Salman got baptized (l-r: Sis Peck, Sis Tait, Salman, Eld Barker, me)

Oh man this week was crazy. I felt like things kept happening and I wasn't able to really comprehend everything until Tuesday when I ended up having hours to sit and think. 

 First things first-- SALMAN GOT BAPTIZED! We put together his baptism and had everything ready and then he called us on Friday asking if we could change the time from 4pm to 6pm. We were freaking out because we had to call everyone and tell them that it was moved. Saturday came a long and we were a MESS. We had organized a finding activity with the Elders where you write a question on a white board and ask people what they think. The problem was we forgot the two things we needed-the whiteboard and our cell phone. So, we had to go all the way to Dernsches Gelände to tell the elders that we were going home again to get our stuff. By the time we got back we had barely any time left to find. We went to fill the baptismal font and for 30 minutes the stopper wouldn't work so the water was just draining. We finally figured out how to make it stay tight enough so the font would fill. We ended up getting a hose to help. 

The baptism itself was amazing! Sister Tiebing gave a talk about baptism and then Elder Barker and Sister Tait sang "Nearer My God to Thee." For whatever reason everyone came 15-20 minutes late to the baptism so they really only heard the music before Elder Barker baptized Salman. I gave the talk on the Holy Ghost and then the first counselor to the bishop welcomed Salman. Afterwards Salman kept smiling and saying that he had never felt so peaceful and so loved before. He bore his testimony in sacrament meeting and cried a little bit as he was expressing his gratitude that me and Sister Kryzanski had found him and taught him the gospel. It was one of those moments when all your hard work pays off and the stress of it all just melts away. 

On Sunday after sacrament meeting we got a call from the Bishop of the American ward telling us that Marion had been released from the rehabilitation clinic, but had had a massive anxiety attack Sunday morning. He asked if there was any way possible for us to go see her at her house. One of our amazing German members drove us right after second hour all the way to a Dorf by the Frankfurt airport (yeah, our area has doubled since combining with the American military). We came and sat by her as she was lying in bed. She talked a little bit, but she just seemed so sad and scared because of what had happened. We found a guitar and sang some hymns for her so she could get something simple, but spiritual. She had heated floors and ended up laying on the ground where the heat was coming from surrounding herself with blankets and pillows. We talked to her a little and helped her feel loved and then we watched Meet the Mormons. Again, something simple and spiritual. Afterwards she was feeling a little bit better and we got to testify of the power of Christ's Atonement and God's Plan. Not fully into detail, but enough to bring some light into the darkness she was feeling. 

This is a gospel of healing. These moments that I've had teaching and comforting Marion have made it so clear that God does not forget His children. He knows what it feels like to suffer from anxiety and depression and He will succor His children. He is a God of love, patience, and mercy. Christ took upon himself our sins, pains, and afflictions. When we trust Him and give Him our pain we will feel His deep love for us. I know that there are angels round about Marion and I feel so blessed and so grateful for the opportunity to take part in her healing process. 

Love you all so much!

Sister Luymes

P-day trip to Rudesheim

Overlooking the Rhine from Rudisheim

Monument of Germania -- celebrates the German Empire after
the Franco-German war of 1870.

Ferris Wheel ride over the beautiful Rudesheim,
Rhine river, and Bingen-am-Rhein town.

Found my twin - kind of freaky
(red light NOT a sunburn)

We had a dinner appointment last night with our favorite American family the Cleggs and they have twin 2 year old girls and are pregnant with another set of twins. During the spiritual thought we showed them a picture of Christ and we asked them if we knew who it was and they replied "Jesuschristamen." They're adorable!

We had a very busy week and it continues to get busier as we approach SALMAN'S baptism this Saturday! He passed his interview on Tuesday and we are trying to pull together his baptismal program. Yaaaaaay! 

Well like I said last week we've seen some amazing stuff happen because we are over both Wiesbaden (America and Germany) wards. One woman's name is Xia from China. We met with her suuuuper early on Tuesday morning in the Bishop's house. She's a good friend of Sister Horner and has observed how good her kids behave and she felt so much love in their home. She had questions about what they do to help their family be more unified and loving. It was a perfect example of members living the gospel and others noticing the difference. We taught her the first lesson and it went really well. She really like the Book of Mormon, but sadly didn't quite understand everything we taught her due to a language barrier. She's really awesome though and wants to meet with us regularly. 

Then later on Tuesday we met with Marion! She's recovered SO QUICKLY from her stroke (it wasn't a full on stroke, but still pretty bad). She was able to walk around without any walking sticks and she seemed a lot happier. We went on another walk and sat on a park bench in a corn field and taught her the first lesson. It was really peaceful and the Spirit was really strong. She told us that one day she felt so sick and so depressed so she read in the Book of Mormon and watched the movie Prophet of the Restoration. She said she took a nap afterwards and when she woke up she just felt the Spirit and immediately felt so much better. She said ever since that day her health has improved very rapidly. She should be out of rehab this Saturday! 

I love being a missionary and I love the people I've met! Go and serve someone this week! 

Love you

Sister Luymes 

Sorry no pictures this week! 

Hallo ja lieben! 

So I was standing in line to day to get our food stuff and I look up and see a bottle of Vodka and on it it said "Wodka" I had a good laugh because.... Wodka hahaha. Speaking of which we were on a train coming home from a far away place Geisenheim and this drunk guy sat next to me. He was very very nice and started speaking to us and wanted to practice his English. Well Germans don't realize that in English we pronounce our V's like they do their W's and their V's are pronounced like our F's. So the get it confused. So we asked where he was from and he said "I come from a willage not too far from Wiesbaden. It sucks though because it's far from my Uniwersity." Wodka, willage, uniwersity... I'll miss the German accent.

Well Salman passed his baptismal interview BUT because we weren't there on Sunday (we were with the American ward) no one reminded the ward about it and they thought that it wasn't going to happen............. so virtually no one knows about it and it's way stressing me out to get this thing planned.

Speaking of America it's funny to have American last names again I'm used to family names like Hasselbach, Grünewälder, Wagner, Franz, Heins, Kopischke. But now we have names like Carlson, Shirt, Foot, Black, White, Smith, Brown (what's up with colors for last names?). 

I cut my companion's hair. This is my 5th time cutting someone's hair on my mission. She cut about 6" off and it looks way good on her. One of my better haircuts. 

Oh I also learned to play the guitar! Sister Tait taught me and it's way fun! I've been learning for about 2 weeks and I've gotten pretty good at it. Here's a video:

Das ist was! Ich liebe euch!

Sister Luymes 

Sister Tait has been teaching Adrienne how to play the guitar; she's picked up a few things fast. The following is a video of her playing "ketchup" the guitar.

Selfie with beautiful Taunusstein in the background

What a wonderful and slightly weird week we've had! After ending PDAY last week we had our first Gemiko (ward missionary correlation meeting) with the American Military Ward! I am super excited to start working with them. They are pretty excited to have sisters again, even if it means they have to share us. It was really weird to be having meetings in English-- praying in English was a struggle. They have a really positive outlook on missionary work and everyone thinks it's genius to have the missionaries over both wards. I do too.

We've already gotten 3 referrals because of it. One is a new investigator now for the German Ward and we set a baptismal date with her during our first visit. Another requested sister missionaries to come visit her in her rehab center (she had a stroke!), and just as she had requested that we got put into the ward. Another is a good friend of the bishop's wife. She has major interest and has wanted the discussions, but because they only had Elders it never worked out since she's home alone. MIRACLES!

On a slightly sad side Salman didn't make it to church and we felt like he needed some more time so that he could understand a few commandments so we pushed his baptism back a week. After church we called him to ask what was up and told him about how we felt like we should move his baptism. He felt so bad and said he felt the same way. He was grateful that we had followed the Spirit even though it was hard. In a way we called him to repentance, but it was very very very gentle and he took it way better than we thought.

On Wednesday we met with our new investigator Florence! She's from Ghana, but speaks flawless German with an African accent. It's awesome! She's accepted to be baptized on Oktober 7th! She's super sweet and loves that the church has tons of programs in place to help other people - locally and internationally. She was blown away to discover that we pay for ourselves to come out here so that we can serve people. We are really excited to start working with her! 

Sis. Tait -- our fellow Brit

We ended the week with a dinner appointment with our American bishop and got to talk to him about his vision for the missionary work in Wiesbaden.

I've been thinking about repentance lately and I've felt a sense of relief knowing that when I make a mistake it's not the end. As a missionary we have a lot of extra rules that we have to follow, but at the same time we are constantly striving to be "exactly" obedient. I've struggled a lot with this concept and have often beat myself up when I'm not "exactly" obedient and even worse when I don't feel like it (honestly said- sometimes I don't feel like it!). BUT I also
understand how many more blessings will come from being obedient and that "exactness" allows me to be worthy to receive miracles. In the beginning I was obedient because that's what you are expected to be as a missionary. When I wasn't, I felt awful and guilty. So the repentance process starts. I try again and I'm better at being obedient. However, after awhile of making mistakes and repenting, I realized how much I came to rely on the Savior. Soon, I WANTED to be obedient, not just because it's what was expected of me, but what I wanted to do to please my Savior. This change of heart took some time; but learning to love obedience and loving to be "exactly" obedient helped me to learn the importance of using His Atonement to repent.

Schöne Woche!
Sister Luymes

Taunusstein after a rainstorm

Yup! Still having fun.