Service at the Asylheim with the Mü 2 Sisters was incredible

Servus!

So I just wrote you one of the most beautiful, long detailed emails I have ever written and then BAM. What happens? The internet glitches annnd it's gone so forgive me - if I'm lacking in detail ;)

Miracles of the week:

So S. Our 17 year old miracle. He's been reading and reading like crazy (he's in Mosiah now) and praying and praying and praying but, doesn't seem to be recognizing any answer that God's trying to give him.  Sister Smith and I had already talked to him about recognizing the Spirit, given him so ideas, scriptures to read, and general conference talk - and still.. he still wasn't sure.  Until, bam! We are meeting and talking and then all of the sudden, you just see this lightbulb go off in his head and he just starts saying: that's it!! THAT'S IT! You've given me my answer! I just stopped talking and was super confused and he then proceeds to quote a scripture that he had read the night before and tell us that now he knew what to do.  Funny thing is, he still thought that he or I had given him this solution. We then got to explain about the Holy Ghost even more and WHAM. Finally, he understands! It's so incredible teaching him because you can just FEEL our much Heavenly Father has in store for him. 

Oktoberfest has started and we're still alive! It is basically a massive carnival with big rides, lots of food, and, of course, beer - but we won't dwell on that one too much. Yesterday we had a combined Sacrament meeting with München 1 and it was so great to see our little chapel BURSTING at the seams. Because our church is about 300 meters away from the fest, we had only one hour of church and even that hour, combined. There was a MASSIVE parade that started around 11 and the noise would be far too much to have a church service.

The Parade was awesome.

Teaching N at the Habermann family's home = amazing. She was just so ready to accept more commitments (to live the commandments (in particular, Word of Wisdom and Law of Chastity) and to prepare for her baptism! The Habermann's were phenominal joint teaches and I really felt like we had four missionaries teaching that lesson instead of two! David O. McKay really knew what he was saying when he said, 'Every member a missionary!'

Service at the Asylheim with the Mü 2 Sisters was also incredible. This is a gated community where many refuges live (many are from Africa, and the middle East) It was so humbling to help men, women, and children, find shoes to fit their bare little feet.  We were able to help give out clothing to those who were and need and man. It just makes me so grateful for all that I have! 

Well, I love you all oodles and oodles.

Sister Harman

P.S. I met three roller derby girls (think Psych, where Jules goes undercover as a derby girl) 

Funny story Sister Harman shared with me:  "Some creepy guy kissed me on the cheek. (well he just like grabbed me and ran his lips across my cheek... and then whispered that he might come to the activity in Rosenheim we were inviting him to. Now. That might not sound funny, but telling the Elders the story afterwards was absolutely hilarious. They all freaked out so much, meanwhile Sister Smith and I were just like.. welp.. that was weird and moved on. Sister Missionary powers! :))"

P.P.S. Only 5 more emails until Sister Harman heads home.  

I'm so grateful that I have the opportunity to help people help themselves. That's really all we do.

Hallllloooooo!

Oktoberfest started out as a festival for a wedding and then became a tradition. It's basically like a carnival with loads of rides, food, and ginormous 'beer tents', which are actually massive buildings built juust for these two weeks. Am I excited to go? YES!

What a week! Seriously. I didn't even have time to blink. We were running to and fro doing some great missionary work this week. We were able to meet with several less actives, teach our great investigators, ward council, Zone Training, meet all the goldens, say goodbye to our dear friends that are now home, and just do work!

It was really strange listening to the missionaries going home give their last testimony at Zone Training. (We have this tradition that at the last Zone Training before missionaries head home, they have the opportunity at the end of the meeting to share their final words before they 'die' aka go home.) It was super normal listening to the sadness, but excitement coming from the missionaries headed out until I realized, that at the next Zone Training - I'd be giving my last testimony.  My eulogy (haha). I looked at Sister Smith, became sad for a second and then became utterly and completely grateful! That I've been able to come here, do some work and that I still have 6 blessed weeks in full time service! There is so much work to be done and this is only the beginning :D

Speaking of great beginnings, we taught Sebastian again this week. What a miracle child! As we taught him more about the Restoration, the Plan of Salvation, you could just see the wheels turning in his head.  He has such a great heart and is really trying his best to figure out how his will and the will of our Father in Heaven come together. It's really helped me reflect this week and what I do to align my will with God's, what do I do to find out what God's will is!  

Sister McCormack referenced this talk in relation to this topic and I really enjoyed it! (I don't know if you remember it.. but, I quoted it a couple of months ago in an email haha)

Elder Richard G. Scott, October 1989 General Conference.

Across from me a woman sat sobbing. With tear-filled eyes, she told me, “I don’t know what I believe anymore.” She spoke of having struggled and prayed many days to know how to make a vitally important decision in her life, without success. She anguished, “I don’t know what to do. If you’ll tell me what to do, I’ll do it.” With her hand on the scriptures, she said, “God told us He would help us. He answers everybody else’s prayers. Why won’t He answer mine?”

When one is caught in a whirlpool of emotion, it is difficult to find a way out alone. My prayer is to help you who have similar feelings.

When answers to urgent prayer don’t seem to come, it can be that we don’t understand some truths about prayer, or because we don’t recognize answers when they come.

Our Heavenly Father did not put us on earth to fail but to succeed gloriously. It may seem paradoxical, but that is why recognizing answers to prayer can sometimes be very difficult. Some face life with only their own experience and capacity to help them. Others seek, through prayer, divine inspiration to know what to do. When required, they qualify for power beyond their own capacity to do it."

When we really want to come to understand our Heavenly Father's will, we have to seek him in prayer.  But, what's the point in seekeing him - if we don't seek just as hard for a solution, an answer, a salvation?  I'm so grateful that I have the opportunity to help people help themselves.  That's really all we do.  We give people the tools, inspire them to believe in themselves, and more importantly trust that there is someone up there that knows, cares, and is incredibly aware of our joys, pains and struggles.

Thanks for all y'all do for me!  I'm so lucky to have such wonderful friends and family! :D

Love, 

Sister Harman

Week of 9/8/2014 Happiness is the destination, but it's also the path.

Liebe Familie,

.We just got transfer calls and we're staying until my bitter end. I can't believe this is it.  My last transfer haha CRAZY.  I'm just glad I get to stay and finish up Sister Smith's training. Whitewashing and training my last two transfers wasn't exactly what I had envisioned but, I'm so glad it's happened! It's kept me super busy and has been an adventure.  It's been incredible learning to do something I never thought I would be able to do. Well, just learning to depend on the Lord utterly and completely because there is no other way.. Sink or Swim.

We had an exchange with the STLs this week.. which was just lovely. I had the chance to work with Sister Peterson, who will be heading home this week. It was really nice to finally work with her. I've heard so much about her (she was one of the only Sisters I hadn't met before coming here and I replaced her in Linz). She's hilarous and really cool! We saw lots of miracles just talking with everyone, despite all of our plans falling out. 

Other miracles: Our cooking abilities. Seriously, we're getting pretty talented! We were finally able to get in contact with some less active members who would like to meet with us. So our work is expanding really on every front - finding new investigators, teaching those investigators, helping reactivate members, and keeping the strong members.. well just that, STRONG! :) 

I'm so grateful that I'm here in Munich with so many great missionaries, especially my great companion, Sister Smith.  Life is good. The work is going forth annnd yeah! We really can't complain!!

Cool quote this week:

'Happiness is the destination, but it's also the path.'

Sometimes we get so focused on the end goal that we forget to enjoy the whole path that we are on. That's what we've been encouraged our investigators to do - to get excited about the destination.. heaven, but to also enjoy all the blessings and trials that come from being here on the Earth.  

Schwester Kopischke shared a story about her little four year old boy this past week. They were having a family home evening with a little lesson about Joseph Smith, when the little boy started crying and saying he just wanted to be with his Father in Heaven. Why couldn't he just go now? He was upset the whole night, and, despite, his great parents' best efforts - he could not be consoled.  Finally as it was time for bed, his Mother was laying beside him and explained to him that there was a way for him to return to live with his Heavenly Father. As he kept the commandments, made covenants and did his very best.. he would be able to live with him again :)  And so it is with all of us, as we give our best, and strive to enjoy the journey, while looking to hope for the future, we'll be able to attain just what we desire - a life with a loving Heavenly Father!

Love you all!

Sister Harman

More miracles!

SO OH MY GOSH. SO MUCH HAPPENED THIS WEEK.

Tuesday. Miracle central!  

 Miracle Number 1: S

'He is a young adult and is not very religious. His girlfriend had hidden that she was a member for a while and then finally told him and said that he didnt have to keep going out with her now that he knew she was a member of our church. His friends all told him to dump her, that our religion was crazy, but he decided that he loved her and he just wanted to start making a decision by figuring out what this religion was anyways. So, he looked up everything he could, tirelessly. He works at a hotel, night shifts, so he has very little time. He watched some really incorrect documentaries and also found mormon.org and just took everything in. He decided that wasn't enough so he wandered around 4 bookstores asking for a Book of Mormon. He couldn't find one. Then he got an extra night off, (that he shouldn't have had off but thanks to the Lord he did,) and was ''somehow'' in the area of our church. He remembered that he had read that we had a church building near Theresienwiese and decided to check it out. He wandered over to it and found the church. Dark, and locked. He waited for 5 minutes, lights off and no one was there, and thought... what am I do here? I should just go. But had a feeling he needed to stay. Then one of our young adults, who recently joined the Church from Catholicism,  (the religion that S had been raised in but since fallen away from.) just popped by to see if anyone was at the church. Not five minutes later, we showed up. 

We had been hustling from a member's house to make it to the church in time to do German studies before our Ward meeting. We rush to the door to find them (A and S) standing outside, waiting for someone to unlock the doors. Then we were able to talk to him, learn about his background and give him a church tour. He was very polite, interested and serious about what we shared. He was actually like ''wow you are actually really normal and this is all actually normal'' and I think that is very true, but funny that he had said that after all he had seen. The truth is we are just normal people working with God to be better. 

Anyways, after the church tour we invited him to take the lessons and he hesitated because he usually has about 0 time to do anything in life, let alone meet up with us and learn what we believe. The Young adult that was there asked him if he had time right then to listen and he was very excited to say YES!! Right then an AWESOME young adult who is a return missionary and was atheist before he joined the church came and asked if he could talk and teach with us. YES. 'These two young adults together had his exact background. So we taught him about the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ on the earth today :D and he was very interested. It was super spiritual and we could all feel the beauty of the Lord's miracles working!! We finally got him that Book of Mormon, free of charge of course, and he left with our phone number and finally some correct information.

We immediately ran upstairs, thinking we were super late to our ward meeting only to find the bishop and Elder's quorom president on a call and it was a PRIESTHOOD meeting! Which, naturally, we didn't need to be there for. AKA MIRACLE that we were super confused and thought it was OUR meeting that night. If so, we would have gone home to do our studies. CRAZY AWESOME!

 BUT, (to make the story even more dramatic haha) we didn't get his phone number.. which usually means that they will forget we ever met and never ever call us. BUT, he is amazing! Sebastian called us back last night and will meet with us this week. We now have his number, will see him at church and the Lord will take care of him!! Ahh '

-Sister Smith

It was so absolutely incredible. Really. It's one of those times where we look around and think this is NOT us. We aren't doing anything. The Lord is the one that makes all these crazy wondrous things happen. (And yes, I just quoted my companion's email. TEAMWORK :)) 

Miracle number 2: Wir sprechen mit Jedem!

Sunday, I was chatting with this girl on the way home from the church annd she had to get out really suddenly... so I handed her a card and told her to call us if she had more interest. After the miracle lesson with Sebastian, the phone starts ringing.. GUESS WHO IT IS! Yep. This girl asking when we can meet. Sister Smith and I were just freaking out like.. we need to talk to more people.. everything is working right now.. So we both sit down on our S-Bahn heading home and Sister Smith (that amazing Sister Missionary) starts TEACHING this girl about the Book of Mormon and gave away her first Book of Mormon all by herself! (Proud Mama!) Meanwhile I was talking to this cool guy from Germany, who of course, HAD INTEREST TO MEET WITH THE MISSIONARIES! 

Another cool fact, we as a Munich Zone went to Augsburg and recorded a cd ;) Yep. It's true. I'm now officially a recorded awesome singerin. My life is complete! This CD will be used as a way to reach out to less active members, particularly those who are unable to come to church due to illness. There aren't very many religious CDs in German so it was exciting to be a part of making one!

 Also, with the amazing referral from last week.. She prayed about it and set a baptismal date for herself! She originally wanted to be baptized this next Saturday but, we talked to her about all the lessons we would need to teach and she decided on the 11 of Oktober! We're so excited for her and all the incredible progress she is making in the gospel!

Safe to say, the week was incredibly busy. Full of waaay to many miracles to write them all down but, never doubt. I'm absolutely loving my time here in Munich. I'm working with an incredible sister missionary, Sister Smith (the one.. the only ;)). And yeah, we're doing just that.. WORKING. :)

Thanks for all the love and have a super week!

Sister Harman

Miracles, miracles! Letter from August 25

This week was awesome! Here's a cool story! 

Our first Sunday here in Munich. Sister Smith and I were just meeting everyone and trying to figure out names, and where to sit, etc. When an awesome member stole Sister Smith away, to talk to a REFERRAL.  This lady, whose family had investigated the church as she was younger. She had remembered what a good experience she had had with the missionaries and during a crisis in her life - thought she'd stop by the Mormons, in order to feel some peace.  Crazy, right? We taught her this last week and she just starts talking about baptism and about how she feels like that is probably the path for her.  We were so surprised, I didn't know what to say (which.. yeah... a little surprising for me) but, she's praying about a baptismal date and it's great to see how even already, the Lord is throwing people into our path. 

The work has still got a long ways to go but, it's definitely starting up.  We're working with some awesome individuals. Schwester Kopischke, Bischoff Hettenkofer, and Bruder Arnold to give a few shout outs and doing great work and I am really so grateful for their guidance and leadership in our ward.  Another great huzzah of gratitude goes out to Elder Spencer and Elder Vitel! They are two great hard working Elders and have been so helpful in getting the work really going here in Gemeinde München 3!

Miracle Story that happened in our ward this week!

Svetlana is a ward missionary and an amazing member in the 3rd ward. She is always serving, and sharing the gospel.  Her Mother is a sweet little old lady living in Moldova. Svetlana would continually tell her Mother how wonderful the blessings of the Restored Gospel are, how much the Book of Mormon meant to her in her life.

So when Svetlana's Mother came to visit her here in Munich, naturally, she was intrigued to her about this 'new' church her daughter had found. That's where the Elders come in! Unfortunately, Schwester Chiaric (Sr.) doesn't speak any English or German but, never fear! The Lord transferred an Elder Vitel from Romania here! As the Elders were meeting with her (and teaching her in Romanian...

Sister Smith, Elder Vitel, Elder Spencer, Sister Harman
Munich 3rd Ward Missionaries

She explained that she had read the whole Book of Mormon already and was currently studying in Doctrine and Covenants.

The Elders taught her about Baptism, and she committed herself to get baptized before she would leave.  Schwester Chiaric became the newest member of the 3rd ward at 9 am yesterday morning and, even though, the service was mostly in Romanian the Spirit of God and his love could definitely been felt!

The Lord really is preparing all people EVERYWHERE to hear about the restored gospel.  All we need to do is open our eyes and our mouths and the Lord will help us find the people that are searching :) 

Love you all!

Sister Harman