Ein kleines servüschen an euch!
I'm loving my time here in Friedrichsdorf. Everything is just a really rewarding and satisfying blur. There is so much to do and we rarely have a day without some Form of meeting to attend. But the work is cruising forward and it's cool to see the members making strides.
We split with the Wetterau and Hanau Elders last week. I got to be with Elder Felix again in Wetterau! It was a really good split. Second splits are so much fun because there's a lot less trying to figure the person out and get know them and more jokes and work! We had a party.
I also got to split with Elder King on Hanau again. It was just as amazing as the first time. He's a really great district leader. It's been a lot of fun having him in my district.
We also got to participate in the Baptism of a kid in the ward! His parents are super great and asked us to teach him the missionary lessons in preparation, even though he's just turning 8. His baptism was great! They invited a ton of friends too and it was awesome.
We have only a few people we are teaching currently, but they are making slow and steady progress.
We had a really cool lesson with a man named Frank last Monday. Frank moved here from Nigeria and he works as a cook! We had given him 3 Nephi 11 from the Book of Mormon to read between our last visit and then, and we asked him if he had read. He had! And he had some questions. We discussed baptism and priesthood authority and answered his questions.
As missionaries, we really stress the importance of reading the Book of Mormon, but 100% just as important is praying for an answer as to if it is true. The book is great, but it's lasting power comes though the confirmation of its truth by the Holy Ghost. That's when the answer becomes unshakeable and life changing.
Frank hadn't prayed, and we wanted to figure out how to make it personal to him. We wanted him to care, one way or the other if the Book was true. He needed a connection.
So we asked him "Frank, if God was sitting here in this chair at this table, what would you ask him?". Frank kind of muttered and said he had too much to ask and he couldn't think of anything specific. But we asked him again "if you had 1 question, what would it be?"
He looked up at us, and said "Okay, you know, actually I would ask what's up with Adam and Eve. Why did God allow them to fall?" We smiled and he explained his concerns further. When he was finished and we had established that we understood the question, we wrote it down, opened 2 Nephi 2 in the Book of Mormon and promised Frank he would find an answer as we read the chapter together. He said "Really?! Right now?" to which we said "yes".
We read the chapter (which was basically written purely to answer that important question) and the spirit was strong. At the end, we discussed briefly.
Frank said it made a lot more sense, and he wanted to reread it on his own time and ponder more. He said "this was written to answer my question directly. I need to think more". He particularly liked verse 25 which reads:
"Adam fell that men might be, and men are that they might have joy"
It was just a really great experience for him in finding answers through the Book of Mormon. That personal connection and importance was reinforced and now he has a reason to pray and seek.
I know the Book of Mormon is true and that it can answer our questions! If not directly, then the Holy Ghost that it invites can. I have found countless answers in its pages.
Life is great, Germany is amazing, the weather is finally getting cold, fall is almost over.
Ich hab euch alle sehr lieb! Macht's gut und bis nächstes Mal!
Elder Harps
PS: Our District went to the Lego store in Frankfurt last week for Pday and we made ourselves as Lego people. It was really funny
Pics:
Elder Felix and I at an appointment in Friedberg
Elder Johnson, myself, John and Marcus visiting a baptisms in Wiesbaden
Josué's Baptism!
Abandoned railroad tracks
Our District as Lego people
Lunch at Ikea with the Koblenz Elders
Us with the Familie Jaursch! (Josué's family)
Our District Council
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