Streichholzschächtelchen

Hallo Leute,

Having a German companion is the best haha. We make fun of each other's attempts of speaking the others native language like just randomly Sister K will say Streichholzschächtelchen and I will combat it will quadrilateral and ya we struggle haha. If you are wondering, Streichholzschächtelchen means little matchbox...so yes the training
is going well, she trains me most of the time. 

One of the coolest things happened this week, we went to Innenstadt to find potentials and the 2nd person we talked to talked for 45min about evolution and to be honest I tried to focus in but it involved too many big words in German and I had no clue what they meant. Which left us with 15 minutes before we had to catch our train to get back to the church. We could have easily gone back and waited for the train.  But we told each other that we'd stay and find the 3 ready people that we prayed to Heavenly Father for. So we went to work and in 10 minutes we got 3 numbers from people! And I'm telling you right now, that is a miracle because normally we would go for hours and only find one person ready to hear the gospel. But we found three. Sister K and I evaluated what had just happened on the train ride back and how when we pray to Heavenly Father with a specific plan in mind (help us find the 3 people ready to hear the gospel) and then we put the effort in and have faith we can do it, we see miracles! We can apply that to any situation, prayer is powerful and often taken for granted. I feel like say that every email, but it's so true. 

We had Zone conference and I got to see 4 of the 7 original members of my district in the MTC! So fun too see how far each of them have come! Also, there was time for 6 people to share their testimony on the restoration during the conference and they asked for volunteers and 4 elders rose their hands and I'm like come on sisters and I turn to look at the sisters and sister Meure was like you go and tapped me on the back and for some reason my hand shot up.....what??? I was like what did I just do, there's 50 missionaries here. What the heck. But I went up and bore my testimony and was filled with the peace of the spirit, held back the tears....mostly.. but I can tell you I did not raise my hand the Holy Ghost moved it up haha. 

THANKS so much for the packages! My lovely mother sent me a Valentine's Day one and Keely, my boss form work sent me a belated Christmas one:) really appreciate them!!

Hope you all have a wonderful week! I'm so glad to be here and spread the gospel!

Liebe Grüße
Sister Farner

Die warm Dinge ist kaput

Hallo Leute!

Been a long time since the last time I wrote (10 days). So much has happened I don't know where to even begin. I guess I will explain my title for this email. That is not correct German but a sister said that to the landlord in Frankfurt when her heater was broken and I thought it was funny haha. Oh ya and our heater was broken for a week and it's a water heater which also serves as the house heater too. So we took showers by dunking our head in a pot of boiled water. We could've been worse off for sure, but I found it hilarious how I welcomed my new missionary to Dortmund with a cold house and cold shower.

Luckily she was a good sport about it:) Ya so Sister Kleiner is the best! Headed down on Tuesday to pick her up in Frankfurt and get a little training on being a trainer. She was the only sister which meant during the training for the trainers I was the only sister in the room with 8 Elders. It was funny because Elder Jones would say "elders and sister". But ya so it goes. Sister Kleiner is from Stuttgart which is southern Germany for you people that don't know(I didn't know). She speaks pretty good English but we usually speak German until 9pm and my brain is so messed up now. Both languages are smushed together and boy is it fun..

IGOT PACKAGES! Thanks Fam for the dresses I wore them all multiple times this week...and thanks Hunter Family for the sweets! My comp had her first hi-chews, cheez it's and apple with peanut butter this week...crazy!!

It is seriously the coolest thing having a German companion. We compare cultures so often and laugh. How weird is it that Germans listen to music in English, a foreign language and don't understand the words. Like what? She asked me how it is listening to music in my native language.

Cool thing, yesterday we decided to go to Innenstadt to do some contacting and we talked to one guy and asked him what made him happy and he said family and we then talked about our church and how families are important and then he told us that he reads he bible when he is sad and we were like cool! We have the Book of Mormon that we also read when we are sad and asked if we could exchange numbers to talk to him about it and he said "Ja klar!" Which basically means 'no duh' hahaha. Some people are just ready, ya know?

It's so cool to be able to come in contact with those God has prepared for us. I know He listens to our prayers and knows the desires of our hearts and leads us to those who need to here the message the most at this time. I've definitely received lots of help this week and I'm blessed to have such a mission-ready companion who knows why she is here! What else can I ask for? She makes training so much easier! Oh did I mention that she is like 5'0"? Haha

Sorry this email is so short...we may have scheduled a few appointments today forgetting it was pday...,whoops

Liebe Grüße

Sister Farner

Ich bin eine Mutter

Hallo Leute,

Yep. My life this last week. Wow so much change I can't even explain!!!! 1st off we had our worldwide missionary broadcast on Wednesday and ya they changed our schedules! Also, as a mission, we now have preparation days on Thursday so the next email I will be sending out isn't this Thursday but the next Thursday hahaha. Oh and did I mention transfers are tomorrow and I'm....TRAINING!!!!! Whooop whoooop!!!!!! Yep staying here in Dortmund for my 5th transfer and training Sister Kleiner, I know her name because there is only one sister coming into our mission and she's a Visa waiter most likely which means she most likely will not be here for too long and then go to her assigned mission somewhere else. I'm 99.9% certain that she is also German:) But I meet her tomorrow in Frankfurt and then I will see if my assumptions are correct! I'm so excited to help her love the mission and to work hard, be obedient, follow the spirit and see miracles from it!!

We had another street display this last week and it was so lustig because we thought we'd have a car to help bring the tables over and no....hahah so I carried a table 3 km again! Good exercise for sure! We met some really awesome people and I failed at speaking English so that's life now..but alles klar. Dortmund continues to amaze me! We had a lesson today with someone who actually was in Utah for 6 months and met with the missionaries because her friend is a member and KJ (shout out to my brother-in-law) actually met her once haha wow the world is small. She is so awesome and she speaks fluent English too so we had a good time comparing American and German cultures and how emotional Americans are and such. Hahah good times:) She knows so much it amazes me and she actually attended the same ward as Hollan (shout out to my brother). Sooo weird!!!! But she knows she's a child of God and that repentance is real and she loves the Book of Mormon! Can't wait to meet with her again!

Tuesday we went to the twin’s house to make pizza and teach a lesson!  Haha we had too much fun.. and Lisa and I tried to make pepperoni pizza. They don't have pepperoni here. They have Peperoni which is a type of "spicy" pepper. So we decided to make this sauce out of the peppers and dip the salami in it to make "pepperoni". We had a good laugh about it and the pizza turned out really good! Just didn't taste like pepperoni haha.

Something that stood out to me in the missionary broadcast: Do what you know is right and that it isn't necessary to always be conscious of the Spirit. That struck a chord in me because a lot of times I wonder if I have the spirit in lessons or when I go contacting on the street. But being able to understand that I don't always have to be conscious that the Spirit is with me is comforting because I know by doing those good things that He is there whether I notice or not.  We've had a lot of lessons this week focusing on the Holy Ghost and who he is for each of us. It's one of the hardest lessons to teach and describing who he is is difficult because everyone feels the Spirit their own way. But when an investigator notices it, their understanding increases so much and it's the best because they know what we are saying is true!! 

I’m so grateful for the opportunity I have to train! To help a new missionary love the mission and to help her come closer to Christ. I'm so grateful to be here, to meet so many wonderful people and to be a representative of Christ. This is truly the best experience I have ever had and I love every minute of it!

Liebe Grüße

Sister Farner

JA ES GEHT

Hallo Leute!

What a week!

We had zone training this week and my very best friend, Sister Litster gave her leaver’s testimony! It's crazy how you make good friends out here and then how they have to go and finish their mission before you:(  But what was really cool was that we got to hold the first translated Book of Mormon into German!!!! Wow that German was rough to read because it's old time Deutsch. Ya nein danke. 

  

We went less active finding and we got let in!!! Yay someone was home!  We had a good lesson and getting to know you conversation and we even got hot chocolate! His wife is from England and told us that "Good-Bye" is a shortened version of "God be with you" and that "Howdy" is "how do you do". Like do I know English? No. Hahaha seriously tough. I have found that my English is awful haha it's pretty sad to be honest because when I say something wrong in German a lot of times it's because I translate from my bad English. So ja es geht.

We also had a street display!!! First one here in Dortmund in the last 5 years or so and man I love them! It started rough because the Zone Leaders were in Paderborn....with the car..and the street display was 30 min from the church. So Elder Apel and I carried tables from the church up a hill to the bahn, on the bahn and then up a bunch of stairs to the spot. Haha let's just say I got a good workout in and we laughed all the way there. Good times. I met some really cool people at the display. I was walking towards a man and his son when Elder Apel and Sister Litster called to me but I was already mid introducing myself which turned really awkward because I went "Entschuuuuuuuuuuuldigung Sie" and did this awkward step and ya it was embarrassing. But I ended up being able to make an appointment with him for Wednesday! So the Spirit guides and sometimes you make a fool out of yourself but then it's not about you and you end up helping someone else out!!! Ya good times:)

Love this place and transfers are coming next week but President said pretty much that I will stay for my 5th transfer here in the best city ever #Dortmund. I have found that happiness takes effort to start and when you start seeing everything with a positive attitude it becomes part of you. It's so much more fun when you do this work with happiness! When you radiate what this Gospel brings. 

We went to the castle I went to my 2nd Transfer here, but this time it was snowy and haha we had so much fun! This place keeps getting better and better and I never want to leave!

I hope you all see the great things God has placed in your lives because we are all so blessed! I got my Christmas package too!!!! Thanks Mom!!! It was the best thing ever to open in front of all the missionaries haha

Liebe Grüße

Sister Farner

Geist

Hallo Leute!

This week oh man...I don't know where to start!!  Okay so Monday a drunk man stroked my face,

Tuesday we taught Lisa and her uncle came,who is a nonmember, and we got to answer his questions!!! So cool! He asked how we can know that this is the only true church and why the others aren't and we were like well listen up my friend, we are about to change your life. We didn't actually say that but I thought that:) He has a Book of Mormon now and said he will try to find time to read in it! 

Okay, so I went on a split with Sister Litster in Hamm and honestly those were some of my favorite days of my mission so far. We went over to a less active’s house on Wednesday night and she was sick but she had so much enthusiasm as she described the allergic reaction that happened the day before and was throwing in Spanish words (from Venezuela) and I was able to understand them and translate a bit for Sister Litster! Surprising what happens when you teach a Spanish family a few times, those words never go!

The next day we met with an investigator, Anna, who is from Bulgaria! Well we were able to skype the Elders in Bulgaria and then taught the lesson to her in Bulgarian. Well we Skype them and then she went rapid fire with her Bulgarian and then the Elders in English told us that we should change the lesson plan. We were originally going to talk about the Plan of Salvation, but what she said prompted the Elders down a different road. I whispered to Sister Litster that maybe we should talk about the Atonement because Anna was in tears and I could tell something was troubling her. Then the Elders told us hey, we are going to talk about the Atonement instead. They didn't hear me say that. Sister Litster and I were like whaaaaat! Then later in the lesson I had pulled up a scripture, then the Elders went to share a scripture and it was the same one I had pulled up! This lesson was truly amazing. It shows that we don't teach the lesson, the Spirit does because there is no way that they could've known about the topic or scripture I was thinking about if it wasn't for the Spirit. I think it was easier to recognize that the Spirit was leading because three languages were being spoken and honestly without it, I think all of us would be very confused. The gift of tongues is real!! And I am so grateful to have it because knowing that if I listen to the promptings I am being given, everything will turn out for the good! He knows much better than I.

We then went by a member’s house and I said the opening prayer and after it she asked me if I was from Germany......WHAT? I was like no. She said you speak perfect German. I was like uh...haha I'm pretty sure once we started talking more she realized how American I am but wow it was so cool! I think the gift of tongues carried over to her lesson from Anna's haha Sister Litster is seriously the best STL ever! She goes home in two weeks and I'm sooo sad! But she taught me so much over the split and she has so much positivity and is so happy that I couldn't help but be that too:)

Last little thing, we got to teach the youth Sunday school class! I forgot that the youth don't really pay attention in class and are talkers - I'm so used to teaching lessons to only one person so 7 was crazy haha but I love them all so much!

I love being a missionary! It seriously brings so much joy into my life and I meet the best people and learn so much!!! Grateful to be here serving the Lord and spreading the happiness! Sorry mom and dad, I don't know if I'm going to come home:)

Liebe Grüße

Sister Farner

Was macht Sie glücklich?

Hallo Leute!

Weirdest thing happened this week....I HIT MY 6 MONTH MARK! AHHH I have less than a year now on my mission what the! Zeit geht schnell Germany is wonderful! It snowed a little and it was beautiful and now it's all gone but it was fun while it lasted! We seriously have the best members ever in this ward. They have the strongest testimonies and are always so happy! The knowledge that Christ died for us so that we can be free from guilt and our sins really brings joy you can't find from anything else.

We walked a lot this week(shocker:)), I think I will try out for the fast walking event in the Olympics. If there is such thing. It's so calming! Also my shoes got destroyed hahah after only a month! Whoop whoop! I did rip the whole sole off, but before the first half was hanging unglued...

  But anyway we ask a lot of people "Was macht Sie glücklich?" Which means what makes you happy? and a lot of times they say the have no idea. That makes me so sad!! Then we share with them what makes us happy and that is the knowledge we have gained about Jesus Christ and how through Him every bad situation can be made better. 

We also took a district photo, so here are all the Elders that are in ward along with my comp

This is not the best email I have sent...hahah don't have as much time as I thought but I love it here, the Church is true and I'm grateful for everything I am being taught here!

Have and wonderful week and remember to find joy in everything:)

Liebe Grüße 

Sister Farner

Guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr

Hallo Leute!

Guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr! Which means good slide into the new year! I can't believe it's already 2017!
This week was full of walking and finding less actives to reactivate. Most of our investigators were out of town and with family during the whole week which led us to going all over Dortmund! Such a beautiful place!

On the 26th we went to a members house, since it was the 2nd Christmas Day and we (my companion and I with the other four Elders) ate food from the Raclette (it's a stone that you cook meat on and the under it you melt cheese and vegetables and stuff then put it all together). Elder Rowe had to go make a call and set his glass on his chair and he came back and sat on his cup....it shattered and glass went everywhere. He was okay so we laughed, but ya that was interesting haha. I love the members here so much they are so nice and give us lots of sweets...that I wish I didn't eat but it happens.

I was studying Faith in Jesus Christ this week in personal study and I think I tend to not give faith enough credit hahah I mean I will say I have faith that this will happen but I don't really say it will my heart. There was a part that said "Faith is a principle of power. God works by power, but His power is usually exercised in response to faith. He works according to the faith of His children. Doubt and fear are opposed to faith" and that really hit home to me. I've been working on being more sincere with my prayers and with contacting and truly having faith that miracles will happen and that we will be in the right place at the right time to help people.
In our apartment it says "Glaube ist die Macht, gehorsam ist der Schlüssel" which means faith is the power and obedience is the key. When we do what we are supposed to, those things we ask for in faith will be given unto us. There are too many times where I have said "ya maybe I will find someone to share the Gospel with" and then I don't and I wonder why. Now I know...it's because I lack the faith! That's how God works, through the power of our faith! One day I prayed to find someone that would have interest in our message and so we went out during the day and a guy walked in front of us to go to his apartment and he was far enough away that we could of easily kept going but I yelled to him and he ended up being interested!! It's important to remember that with faith you also need to act! You can't just say I believe that God will help me find an investigator and then sit on a park bench and wait, you have to go talk to people! 

Okay I'm done with the rant hahaha New Years was crazy!  We were supposed to be in our apartments at 6pm because of how dangerous it was and at 12 I thought Germany was under attack. I couldn't sleep so I went into our study room and out the window it was so foggy and it looked like a wizard battle was going on hahaha

One ended up hitting our window...so now there's a black spot hahaha got to love Germany:)

Hope you all made your New Years resolutions:)! 

Liebe Grüße 

Sister Farner