Happy Thanksgiving!! Enjoy the holiday with your family and friends! There isn't Thanksgiving in Germany so eat twice as much for me :)
This week was crazy. I feel like a chicken running around in circles. There's so much to do!
We got to finally throw out a bunch of the furniture from the closed apartment and so we have now a but of room to breathe and organize our apartment. We been deep cleaning hardcore, throwing out years worth of garbage and junk left by former missionaries. It's a beast but we've made a ton of progress already. Alles ist klar :)
In addition to that we've been able to pick up a few new investigators this last week and basically the work continues. Finding, calling, dropping, teaching, it's good to get back in the flow of things as I figure this giant city out. Woo!
Someone way cool this week! So this Member was visiting Essen from Canada and she brought a friend to our ward on Sunday. His name is Björn and he is way cool. He speaks nearly perfect English in addition to his native German, and he's super friendly! What's crazy is that he first got to know the church when he went on a high school exchange student program about 20 years ago. What's absolutely bonkers is that for his exchange program, he went to California, lived in Mission Viejo, and spent a year at Trabuco Hills High School. HE WENT TO MY HIGH SCHOOL. THIS GERMAN MAN WENT TO MY HIGH SCHOOL. Like what the flip?? Coincidence of all coincidences! And by that I mean the Lord is orchestrating this big time holy cow! What a blessing! We are meeting with him this Saturday and it's gonna be awesome. I'm way way excited for him.
We got to split with the Zone Leaders in Dortmund this week and I had a way fun split with Elder Burch. He's only a month older than me on the mission and we taught one of the coolest lessons of my mission on our split. We worked in crazy unison and harmony and the spirit was really powerful. It was a blessing for sure!
So one scripture that Elder Sabin asked us to read a few weeks ago before the conference we had with him really struck me.
It's Romans 8:31-32 reads:
"31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?"
One other scripture that is very often quoted but I feel is also often under appreciated is John 3:16:
"16 ¶ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
God loves us all so much that he gave up his Only Begotten Son. That is absolutely priceless and unfathomable gift. Christ makes everything possible for us, and without him we are nothing. Christ was perfect. He was God's only perfect son. We all make mistakes and come short of his glory. To give up his ONLY perfect son I can't even imagine. He loves us enough that he didn't just give us Christ, he gave him UP for us. It wasn't sharing Christ, it wasn't loaning Christ, it wasn't partial or incomplete. God gave us his Only Begotten Son. He let us kick, scourge, beat, and spit upon him. He LET Christ take our sins upon him and experience unimaginable pain and suffering. He let us crucify him, because he loves us. He knew it was the only way for us to return to him. Christ was the price of our mortal experience, and ultimately our Eternal life.
1 Nephi 19:9
"9 And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men."
This scripture is talking about Christ himself, but I like to also think of it applied to the Father, watching it all unfold, and staying his Hand so that we might live. He knew, and Christ knew, that this was the only way. He is the Way and the Light. He is our Salvation. Everything is possible through Him, even eternal life.
What a Gift.
He is the Gift Light the world
So this Christmas season, let's appreciate this gift a little more. As we hustle and bustle and try to keep it all in order, let's remember Him. The Church has gone through great lengths to create this year's Christmas initiative, "Light the World". Show Christ your love and participate in these little acts of service and love every day leading up to Christmas.
I love you all! I love my Savior! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and now Christmas! FROHE WEIHNACHTEN!!!
Bis dann!
Elder Harps
Pics
Funny text from an investigator
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