The unexpected seems to be the trend while on this mission for the church. The language was harder than expected to learn and feel comfortable with, the missionary work the Young Elders do every day is a lot harder work than we had imagined; the disappointments when people did not accepted our message was more painful than we thought; the love for the Saints developed so quickly; the joy of working with the young people with so much potential and enthusiasm was breathtaking; the joy of working with the missionaries has been a blessing and the thought of leaving so many things undone is painful. The Sacrament meeting today was an experience we will not soon forget. We had a chance to thank the Saints for all of the love and support we received from them. We were grateful for so many that came. We felt the Spirit and many were touched. Tears came freely as we communicated with each other. Anina gave most of her talk in English with a member of the Bishopric interpreting. At the end she thanked him for his service, and than talked to them in German for a few minutes. I think people witnessed a miracle. Days before she ask me to help her with a few words and she never was able to say the words in a way anyone would know what she was saying. So, to me, it was amazing how well she spoke and able to bear her testimony of the gospel and of the love she had for the saints, in the German language. It was amazing!!!!!!After the meeting block the ward had a potluck dinner for us. They presented a book of remembrance to us with lots of pictures of ward members. We visited with many for quite a while. We felt a bond of love and respect and the embraces were heartwarming.
This will probably be the last e-mail from this side of the ocean. We hope to see you soon.. Don't be too surprised when you see us and you find that we left part of our heart here among the people that we have learned to love.
The banquet Table
No comments:
Post a Comment