Letter #53 - What you make outta nothing, shows that you are something. :)

WELL HELLO once again my raging followers. This week has been one of my favorites. It kinda really showed me, personally, the kind of missionary I am. But, I will get to the big news now, because I can't contain myself:

I'M TRAINING!!!! I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!

I am getting a new, straight outta the MTC, awesome missionary. I couldn't be more excited. I am so excited that the Lord is trusting me with this opportunity. What blessings and adventures await. :)

Except for the exciting news that I got on Freitag and Samstag, the rest of the week was one of those weeks you just feel like, everything that you had planned and felt good about... doesn't click with the other side of the spectrum of LIFE.

So is das.

What you make outta nothing, shows that you are something. :)

Montag we had a good, exercise-ish P-day basketball and soccer for about 5 hours. We met some kids and played with them. We started making some friendships. Missionary work is everyday. :)

After, Elder Wright, my Distrikt Leader, came back to Werdau with me for a good solid split. I was so excited. We had all these termine [dates/appointments]. We really had appointment after appointment scheduled, and it was just gonna be a good day. No sugar coating, EVERYTHING fell through. Ha. By the time the 3rd one fell through, I was just dying LAUGHING. I was like, there's no way that this can be! Ha. But I thought to myself: you know what, I need to make the most outta this situation. So, I did. Basically, I did anything and everything. We went and did more contacting, went to the library and talked to some more people, baked cookies and brought them people, and did EVERYTHING. I said to myself that day, I will not shrink. I had a little angst before this split, just because there was so much to do. But I said to myself, I will give my best and forget the rest. And that's what I did. :) You know, sure the numbers didn't show it. But, I went to bed HAPPY. I gave my heart out this day. I went to bed thinking: Wow, we did a lot. I gave my zeugnis [testimony] a ton. I made people smile. I learned that Elder Wright and I totally have the hipster style, and man, it was a SICK day. When we, no matter what the World does to bring us down, take that weight on our shoulders and say: Hey, I'm going to have a wonderful day! I am going to stand up. Then, you find that you can't fully. But then Christ comes in, and He makes it into a day that you could never have done by yourself.

Well that's my little rant. :) It was a great day. :)

Mittwoch, was a day full of travel. I went on a split up to Erfurt with Elder Brown. We both had to get ingrown toenails checked out. Luckily mine didn't look like a head was growing outta the toe like Elder Brown's. But he is still walking, so its ok. :) It was a good day, and fun stuff.

Donnerstag!! MY YEAR MARK!

The day where you think: OH YES! OH NO! Booyah! Oh, it's that far... Ya, a bunch of mixed feelings, and also a lot of reflecting. :) Something that I did to celebrate: I bought this huge thing of flat bread, cooked it (only 80 cents), put Nutella all OVER that thing, and ate it. :) Haha. Good eh? I loved this day. We had a lot of service with a wonderful member, the Kosak familie. He is working on building his house right now, because the entire basement flooded. So guess what we did, (mom will get a kick outta this) WE SHOVELED (I cant spell anymore) DIRT!! Ha. The exact same thing I did a year ago, before the mission. Except, for those who were my neighbors and friendly friends, they all know that that pile of dirt outside my house never actually disappeared... 'til a machine had to do it for us. :) BUT this time, I shoveled the entire thing. I was singing, and just felt like a propelled machine that couldn't be stopped. It's amazing how one's perspective changes. With love as the over-arching factor, our motivator, it some how gives us a strength we cannot find with anything else. I love serving with all my heart. :) I will serve until the day I die. That I promise.

Well my liebe Freunde and Familie, I am a Servant of the Lord and I LOVE it. I looked back on the first year of my mission and what has happened.  I have so many amazing memories. The Lord shapes you through MIRACLES.  But, only when we choose to allow ourselves to be shaped. I just finished the Book of Mormon again. I am now starting it with a question in mind, and you know what? The very first verse, right at the beginning of 1 Nephi, is just how I feel. I KNOW that this book is true. I know that if you read it, and listen to the words of the people who had faith that a Christ WOULD come, you will know it too. These people were amazing. Apply what you read to yourself. Have faith in a Christ that has ALREADY come, and will come again. I know, that I will shout it from the roof tops. It is true. No matter how many doubts, philosophies, accusations, persecutions, or whatever happens to this church, this book, or the Prophet Joseph Smith, it will not fail. This is the Truth. I know, that He will come again, with ministering angels on His right, and on His left. Look towards Him this week, and ask yourself: Would I say the same words He said? "Here am I, send me?" I love the people in Werdau, and I know this work is true. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Love with all my heart ,
Elder Mayne

Oh and a joke for yall :)
Ein Kind und sein Opa sitzt zusammen und der Opa liest etwas und das Kind machte ein Kreuzworträtsel
Und das Kind fragte sein Opa: "Opa, was ist ein drei Buchstabe Worte das beschreibt den Tod?"
Und der Opa überlegt eine Minuten und dann sagte: Die Ehe. :)
[Copy it into Google Translate...]

Letter #52 - Reflection

This week, I could tell you all the things that happened and what not, but I really feel like I just want to talk about one thing that has been on my mind and that happened this week. This week, I found out that a less-active from the ward in Feucht, Brother Miller, has passed away. He was from America and had lived here in Germany for about 25 years. I was down-trodden. I was devastated. Even as I write this email, it is very hard for me.

The night that I found out about what happened, as I needed comfort, I naturally turned to my Heavenly Father and asked Him what I was doing. Did this really matter? Was his wife ok? I felt like my work, was in vain. Honestly. He never ended up coming to church, and I felt like he was in the same situation as when I found him. But, then I turned to the scriptures. I flipped to Alma 34, and started reading. Amulek, after Alma had finished preaching, stands up and starts proclaiming about the Messiah and how through Him and His Atonement, we can be saved. One thing that stuck out to me, was when he says: "And thus he shall bring salvation to all those who shall believe on his name." I know that to be true. Honestly, I know if I hadn't met with Brother Miller almost every Saturday, fixed practically everything in his house, tried out new tools, had a new project every time, called him on his birthday, had his classic pancakes with cinnamon and peanut butter, hadn't given my testimony and my love for him and his wife and the gospel, I know that he wouldn't have accepted Christ again in the afterlife. But I KNOW people. When we believe on CHRIST, we will be saved. This life is too short to just go through it and feel like, I am doing okay. It doesn't matter too much if I do this. Or, I know I should be doing this. But, this makes me personally feel better... NO. We are all sons and daughters of God. WE are given and chosen, by God, to live His PERFECT Plan of Happiness. We will have hard times, we will have questions, and our faith will hit rock bottom some days. BUT WE WILL NOT SHRINK. I know that through the Gospel and the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can and will be saved. But, the time is NOW. We need to do something on our part. Give it our all. Don't hold back. WE are the deciders of how ready we want to be to receive our Lord after this life. And just as much as we should care about what we are doing, that means we need to look out for each other. There is not enough time in this world to tear each other down, to judge, to justify it and walk around with pride. CHOOSE NOW who you will serve. Christ paid the price, so we could live, so we could be given that chance. Don't mess up that chance. Don't let others miss this chance either. My desire for these people in Germany, and everyone else, is to come again to our Heavenly Father. We are ALL children of God. We ALL deserve to live with Him again. This is my testimony, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Elder Mayne

 Good old Germany. :)

 Our investigator that we translate emails for. I took a creeper photo of him.

There was totally a bike race in our area. Well, long story. :)

Letter #51 - WELT MEISTER DEUTSCHLAND!!!

Well yes, I am part of the country that just won the World Cup. Yes, I am pretending that I know a lot about soccer. Yes, I do love it now. And yes, WEEEEE ARE THE CHAMPIONS, my FRIENDS!

Anyway...

This week was sooooo great. So many miracles. So many things that happened. If I could summarize this week into one sentence, it would be: When you are led by the spirit, the action you take, makes wonders happen.

There is a specific experience that I would like to talk about that happened to me this week. We met with a member this week, and prayed with him. We prayed that we would find someone as we went dooring in the area. So we went dooring, saw some hilarious klingel [doorbell] names, and didn't have any really big success... Until the last apartment. We had an English course in 10 min, and so we really didn't have any time. But, we just decided to do this last one. As we knocked on the door, this little tiny lady opened it. She looked to be around 80. We started talking to her. She told us that her husband died about 4 months ago. Then, she just started to cry so hard and told us to come in. We were just there to comfort her. She didn't take a Book of Mormon. But, we told her that she will see him again. She is a daughter of God. Christ knows exactly what she is going through right now. She really appreciated that we came. She told us that we could come anytime. Sure, no numbers showed up from this experience. But I knew, without a doubt, coming out of this experience, that I was a Disciple of Christ. I was here in Werdau, to be in her home at that moment in time. I know that I am His Son. Through my experiences, I am able to share His love with others, and comfort them. How blessed of an experience that was. :)

As for the rest of the week... the rand-y's

-Fireworks, cars honking, people screaming, horns blowing, DOES wake you up at 1 in the morning when a country wins the World Cup.
-Had a wonderful time celebrating the pioneers here in Germany with our ward this Samstag. SUPER fun, and I got to sing which pretty cool too. :)
- Gave a talk in Sacrament Meeting. I went a little bit over my 10 mins. The Lord really does put the words in your mouth. :) Ha and then,
-I LOVE OLD LADIES. Maybe that sounds creepy. But, eh... Ha. I could listen to all they have to say all day long. A lot of them gave me compliments on Sunday after my talk. And for some reason, all of them talked about me being a good husband and father... Ha... Uh... ya.
-Germany won
-Germany won
-Germany won
-OH YA! Met with our Branch Pres this week and his fam. They are such HIPSTERS! Loved their apartment. The kids are the cutest two little girls in the whole wide world. Love this fam. :)
-We have an investigator, Rolf, who is an antique dealer and loves America. We help him translate emails, teach him the Gospel, and marvel at all the stuff he has. Ha.
-Dazu [for this purpose], I had my first peppermint Oreo this week. EVER.

There is only one way we will be able to live with our Heavenly Father. That is through our obedience. As we are obedient, we find the most happiness. Even if the short term disobedience seems like the most fun. I LOVE GERMANY. I love my mission. I love my family. I LOVE THE GOSPEL.

Servus [goodbye].
Have a great week ya'll. :) Machts gut [so long].

Elder Mayne

 This was on our last p-day while hiking.

 And well... I held Mein Kampf [My Fight]. Written by your author, Adolf Hitler. :)

The field is white. :)

Letter #50 - AMERICA OH AMERICA!!!!

So the real question is, does little America exist in Germany? Well it did for a day in Werdau, that is for sure. Listening to Mo Tab sing all American songs. Eating burgers, watermelon, mac and cheese, ALL on paper plates. THEN teaching English, aka making them read a paragraph about the revolution. Then, having a quiz about America while eating nachos and cookies... I'd say Werdau did a pretty good job in celebrating America's Birthday, that is for sure. :) As for the weekly randoms:

Splits are some of the greatest times. Went to Gera and worked with Elder Brown from Texas. Then, went to the ward's weekly Gemeinde Abend (Community Evening). I totally beat some old ladies in Rummikub (I think that is how you spell it). Then, they ganged up on me. Ha. I learned my lesson.

I met the sweetest old lady, actually two of them, this week. Not suprising, they are both best friends. :) They are so amazing. I could listen to stories about the DDR for hours. :)

I may or may not have an ingrown toenail. Ha. Don't freak out mom. It's getting better already. So, no need to worry. :)

Our new mission President, President Stoddard, is SO AWESOME! We haven't formally introduced ourselves yet. Think of the classic old grandpa who knows how to love, and is just excited to be in Germany, and that's him. :)

The only thing that stands in between me and talking to people on the street, is if they have a bomb suit on and a big bazooka or something. Even then, I might ask them why. Ha. What am I trying to say? I love talking to everyone.

This week wasn't anything special. But, actually a great week. We got our new Mission Pres, President Stoddard, and he is a great man. He loves the people here in Germany, served a mission here long ago, and he is that grandpa you just want to have.

I want to share a story from a lady in our ward. She was behind the Berlin wall, you know, and a member still. And if you were a member, you weren't allowed to have any jobs. So, she and her husband just survived in a little apartment with their 4 kids, and grew a garden in the back. Then, her husband got called as the 2nd Counselor in the Branch Presidency. So, in order for him to get called, he had to go to the temple... But, they were behind the wall. Sooo, to make the long story short, the church somehow got permission to fly them to Salt Lake City, go into the Salt Lake Temple, and then come back.

How cool is that???? I am so grateful to be surrounded by members, and amazing children of God. Because of their faith, they kept going and didn't give up. I am so grateful to be living in this time, and be serving in the work of the Lord. WE ARE ISRAEL. ISRAEL, ISRAEL, God is calling. And when we answer this call, we will experience the most happy times ever in our lives. :) Have a great week. I want everyone to... go give an older person some help this week, and ask them for a story. :) Love you all. Have an AWESOME week. :)

Elder Mayne

 Me and my boi Elder Checketts after eating.

Not getting our ties all messy. Classy, eh?

This awesome lady I told you about.

Every missionary that has been to her house has taken a picture outside her door.

But, not with her. :)

 We were in Zwickau, in the Berlin mission, traveling home.

Oh and PS, I totally had to shower in the dark this week. So, thanks mom for sending me that light up light saber. Ha. Construction sucks sometimes. :)