Date
December 19, 2016
Area
Bruck an der Mur - Austria
Companion
Elder Sorenson
To be a witness of God at all times and in all places reflects both how we live and how we speak.
Liebe Freunde und Familie:
Merry Christmas everyone!! 😄😁🤗😙
I'm so happy that we can celebrate this together and be in the wonderful world we are! How very privileged we are to have the opportunity to celebrate this Season! This season is a gift, and we all should shout with joyous voices the carols of our king! "FOR UNTO US A SAVIOR'S BORN!!!" I'm so happy I cannot even begin to express it to you guys! For me the one thing that I am grateful for more than anything second to my family is all of you! You guys are my guiding star and fire in my heart! You guys are what I thank my Father in Heaven for all the time; what would I do without you all? 😄
This week, we had transfers and Elder Wilkerson is not here anymore. My new companion is called Elder Sorenson, and he is an amazing guy! We get along very well because he is just like me in one important aspect: organization! I wouldn't call him OCD, BUT he is very orderly and clean which I love! One of the first things we did together was sit down and finally reorganize our BoM shelf! It was something I had been dying to do, but never had the chance. He's very hard working and a lot of fun to talk with. He even reminds me a bit of myself back home. 😉 He has really high ambitions which are amazing and definitely needed here in Bruck. One thing I also find extremely admirable is that despite him being the senior companion and my trainer, he still respects the fact that I have been here longer and know my way around. He will ask me about things in the area and leave choices to me when they pertain to travel times and such. I plan all our trains asked travel, and he is very accepting of it. It really makes me feel like we are working together as equals. 😄
Before I get into the story, don't worry; we haven't missed anymore trains and that's not the purpose of the title. 😋 So like I said, this week was transfers, which means that we make the long trip to Salzburg to drop off Elders Wilkerson and Hunter, and also pick up our new companions. (I mean Elder Hine and myself of course.) It's about a three hour train ride, and we played lots of cards on the way there. I have a video I'll put into drive. Once there we chilled as the other missionaries started to trickle in and form a large group. We hung out together in the Bahnhof until the departure times started coming around. The train that Elder Hunter and Wilkerson were on was also a train for a lot of other missionaries. There was one sister that wanted to run after her companion as the train took off. As others heard her talking about it, the idea spread to all of us (8 or so in total) and we all wanted to join in. So as our companions sat in the windows, we ran after the railjet on the platform. It was quite the sight, and unfortunately I can't send a video because it was taken by a sister and we aren't allowed to email each other at all. 🙁 Just imagine a bunch of elders and two sisters running after the train as it sped away. 😅 That was our running after trains experience this week.
Other than that, I honestly don't have anything else exciting to share from my end. Storywise nothing super awesome has happened, but it's just been day after day of hard working missionary work. 😊 We did manage to find 4 potentials on Saturday which was AMAZING. We have never gotten that , any while I've been here, and even for a while before. The work is moving on and I have confidence that the Lord is guiding us to those people who need us the most and are ready to hear the message of Saving Grace. I read something from Elder Sorenson about how we need to ask the Lord for referrals. We are so good at asking members and other investigators, but how often do we ask the Lord for referrals. He knows everyone the best, and therefore knows who is ready to hear our message. It's literally one of the easiest and simplest ways to get more referrals! We have been going that more as a companionship and praying for revelation on where to find, and it has been amazing. Just the other day amazing Just as I said, we found 4 potentials!
Other than that it's been a relatively average week here. I wish there were more stories this week, but it's been slow. Christmas is always exciting, but missionary work is progressing the same as before for me. I'm so happy to share the joy of Christmas, but people just aren't really interested right now, which is alright. They will gain the interest someday. 😁 I love you all and hope that Christmas is an amazing experience for you all! Just remember to offer that service and make someone else's Christmas as well! "When much is given, much is required" so go give out that love that you all have so much of! 💓
Elder Mühlestein
Picture 1: Transfer day in Salzburg
Picture 2: Pretending you're stylish
Picture 3: What you get when you point a camera at me and say smile 😉
Picture 4: MTC guys, he knows how to play! 😉