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

Another week has flown by

SEEEEEEEERVUS! 

Well. Hate to say it, but another week has flown by. Adventures for this week are included (but not limited to): Zone Training, finding new investigators, calling lots of people, teaching lessons, getting lost, playing frisbee, getting soaking wet (practically everyday), cleaning our apartment (still in progress), giving a talk, teaching primary, and loving every second in the service of the Lord.

To highlight some things:

The Fomenko family. Mom is a new convert, the kids are investigating the church and as we were teaching and meeting with them this week. I was dumbstruck. These kids KNOW the gospel. They were teaching us about the creation, about who God is and what we need to do in order to live with God again. Richard, the eleven year old, pulled out his Book of Mormon - with loads of sticky notes and marked verses and shared with us his favorite scriptures. It was amazing!

München 3. How to describe the amazing little ward in which I now serve :)  There are about 60 active members I do believe, about 10 children in primary this week (but, loads are on vacation at the moment) and they're just stalwart. They have such strong testimonies of our Savior Jesus Christ, and have been so welcoming to Sister Smith and I as we've come in with.. well not a huge clue as to what we've got going here but, with HUGE desires to work like crazy! 

I'm working with one of the greatest Sister missionaries, SISTER SMITH! We've had such an incredibly unified week as we've studied, worked, taught, found, and planned together. Seriously, it is such a privilege to be working with such a capable Sister and I have learned so much from her this week. Zum Beispiel:  how to make delicious meals with our leftovers, the Christ-like Attribute of Diligence, and just enjoying how beautiful every little thing we experience is. She's so grateful for all the miracles that happen and things that have seemed a little normal to me - she stops and enjoys the gift! I'm so grateful to be working with her!  

We've been finding lots of new people, calling lots of old people (from old records), and just doing our best to work with the ward. We've got a small ward here in Munich 3 but, they're really solid.  

Zum Beispiel, The Kopischke's super hilarious young family with three little kids. 1, 3, and 4. Two boys and the littlest is the girl. They're super spunky and sarcastic and ready to work! Schwester Kopischke is the RS President and so we've been able to meet with her a few times and really get it all set out - how we can work WITH the ward to accomplish the goals THEY want to achieve. Because that's really our job as missionaries to accomplish what the ward has decided is important, in the way the Lord has prescribed.

Thanks for all the love and support ya'll give to me! I really don't know what I would do without such a an incredible family and friend group cheering me on! You are amazing! Don't you ever forget it!

Love,

Sister Harman

Munich = Miracle City

Hellooooooooo!

So this week was really great! The apartment is clean - minus a bit of power but, that's a different story haha (blame the waffle maker!), we found loads of new people, we taught some great families (don't worry, more details to follow!), and just loved meeting all the great people the beautiful city of Munich has to offer us!

E is an amazing recent convert. She has 3 adorable children and a super great husband. We were able to go over this week and teach her and her children.  A (9) and R (11) are so adorable and really have a desire to know God's will for them. They've been coming to church for quite a while with their mother and are making great progress to being baptized themselves!

We had interviews with President Kohler - not too much to report there! He's really great and all is clear for me to return to BYU this Winter (he did my ecclesiastical endorsement interview!) 

In other news, our ward mission leader Brother Arnold is amazing! He and his family are from Colorado (woot woot!) and just so fun to be around. He's an incredibly hard worker and it's been great being able to look to him for guidance and ideas on how we can kick start the missionary work here in Munich! Sister Kopischke, our Relief Society President (leader of the woman's organization here in Munich 3) has also been instrumental in giving us direction in our efforts to help the Munich 3rd congregation progress! I just feel so grateful for all the great people with whom we work!  

3 Generations, Sister Woods, Sister Smith and Sister Harman

Funny facts.

1. We tried to make waffles and blew a fuse.

2. We played soccer and I was sore for five days (I haven't run so far in ages)

3. Getting ridiculously soaked in the rain.

4. Ripping holes in 3 pairs of shoes (you know you've been on our mission a while when...)

5. You laugh so hard with your awesome companion that you literally start to cry

Cool story I wrote to Katie... :) Contacting = miracles

We met the coolest guy named A this past week! We just started talking to him on a straßenbahn and we ended up having one of the deepest discussions about faith and what it means to be faithful. It was one of the coolest conversations I've had on my mission! It was so spiritual I almost felt kindof dazed afterwards haha (he took a book of mormon and said he'd start it that night!) ;)

1 quick story.. new investigator.. got a Priesthood blessing. LITERALLY HEALED. SHE CAN NOW WALK!  God's power really is here on the Earth!

I love you all so much and am so grateful for your support in my life! Being a missionary is really the BEST and I wouldn't exchange this time for anything!

Love,

Sister Harman

Sister Smith and I would be grateful for any prayers sent our way :)

Seeeeeervus!

This has been the craziest week ever. Mad dashing all over Linz, saying goodbye to everyone, making sure that M is completely ready for her baptism this week and just working out all the little details! Then insert me packing, teaching Sister McEwen as much German as possible (writing loads of example sentences for her to use), heading out to Munich, saying goodbye to all my friends (lots of my mission friends died this last week).. died as missionary died... they went home haha, meeting Sister Smith.

 

Getting transferred here in Munich has been absolutely crazy. I arrived at Bahnhof (the main train station), was given a set of keys, a cell phone and a map.  Oh and a 20 year old Californian, who just came from America. haha it's been an exciting couple of days - teaching her loads of German, trying to read maps, talking to everyone, trying to figure out what we're supposed to be doing here. But, it's been really really amazing to see that no matter how crazy or messy our situation is, we can clean it all up and build that new foundation. A foundation that leads us to smooth work, organization, and actually being able to help other people.  

We just went by a lady from our congregation, we saw her name and just thought we should go by a say hi.  So we went by and she had been taking a nap. She let us in anyways and we were able to just talk to her, to let her know that some people still remember her and that most importantly, the Lord still remembers her.  Sometimes amid all the craziness of life, we forget who we are. We forget how important we are to the people around us, to ourselves, to God and all it really takes to remember who we really are - love! Prayer! Friendship! The Scriptures! The Holy Ghost! These things help us remember what this life is really all about and I just know that it's the same with you dear! Remember what's really important.. not just the money, the dream job, having people text you, being the coolest,  but, that you are an AMAZING child of God. Just because you're you! 

I've felt so lucky to have served in the areas that I have. I've learned so much from all these great people and I'm excited to get to know Munich better. To see what the Lord has in mind for this area and to work with my fantastic companion Sister Smith. (She's 21, today!) Also, adorable, graduated from ASU in Journalism, Oldest of 3 kids, from California, and an avid swimmer!  

I love you all and would be grateful for any prayers sent our way :)

Love,

Sister Harman

P.S. 1 Thessalonians 2:8 (actually the whole section is great) 

P.P.S. Munich is beautiful

P.P.P.S. We already have one new investigator! :)

Editor's note:  Sister Harman said the internet was too slow for pictures this week, but promised some next week.  

Yep. I'm getting transferred. Sister Harman is Munich bound!

SEEEEEEEEERVUS! 

Well, to answer the question we've all been waiting for... Yep. I'm getting transferred. Sister McEwen and I saw it coming. This past transfer has been a missionary holiday. What do I mean when I say that? From day 1, we've been able to really teach in unity and just do work.  We've been able to see incredible miracles through progressing investigators, new people learning about the church, and helping the less active members come back and man, I'm so just grateful that we've been able to have these 6 weeks together. By the way, Mom, Sister McEwen would LOVE for you to be her American Mom. She says you'll get to make her American cookies when she comes to visit me.  It's a bummer leaving Linz so quickly, but I can already see why the Lord needed me to come here, even if it was for only for 12 weeks.

On a happier more excited note, I'm headed to (drumroll please!) München 3!  I'll be whitewashing with a golden! (That's mission talk for you!) That means the two Sisters that have been serving there are both getting transferred away and I'll be coming in with a fresh sister missionary.  I've heard really great things about serving in München and I've always wanted to serve there.  There are Elders serving in the ward as well and that's all I know about it. My poor new companion will have to be a bit patient with me because I won't know any where things are or who people are haha, but, the Lord definitely qualifies whom he calls! (Do you sense my positive attitude? :))  But, learning a new area will keep me sprinting to the end.

In other news, I've finished the Standard Works! DONE! I have absolutely loved studying in the Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price.  It was a little funny, as I finished up Doctrine and Covenants, it just made me so sad! To know that I was finishing up this goal I've been working on since... November.  But, then I just decided to set new goals and we're back and running!

This week has been crazy. We've been teaching so many lessons. We've got P, M1, M2, and M3 progressing towards baptism and ah. Now we've been running around trying to get everything ready for me to leave and Sister McEwen to train. It's been absolutely crazy, a bit sad, really fun, and well, just like missionary work! I love it!  I'm definitely sad to be leaving Linz after only 12 weeks but, I've really seen the Lord's hand in my work here. I can't complain! Well, I'm working on not complaining haha Just trying to be grateful that I got to come here at all!

Fun adventures:  Running through the rain, knocking on doors (we were going by some people in our area books) and laughing until we're both crying. I'm going to miss my crazy Scott but, I'm glad we've had the chance to work together!

Full steam ahead for M1 and her baptism! She'll be getting baptized on the 9th of August and her baptismal interview will be this Saturday. It was hard breaking her the news that I would be getting transferred and that I couldn't come to her baptism but, we'll Skype probably the next day and she'll get to tell me all about it. I feel so blessed to have been able to see her from the beginning. First interaction with the church, the missionary lessons, baptismal interview, and then I'll get to hear all about her baptism. This path toward Christ is never easy but it is always worth it! The song, I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go, really comes to mind. Christ really does want us to follow Him. To take the steps we need to, to align ourselves to his will. I'm SO grateful that I have the opportunity to serve and to KEEP serving.  Linz has been a really special place for me and I know I really did all I could to help this ward make progress. I can't wait to hear from my Linzers how the work progresses here! 

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! I think it's safe to say, I'm CRAZY thankful that you two found each other and put a ring on it ;) But, in all seriousness, I'm grateful for you two. The great example you have given me - helps me know what kind of person I'll need to find (in the far, far away future) and how I want to raise a family (an even further away future). I love you both!

To everyone else, you're fine and dandy as well! 

Love,

Sister Harman