Letter #88 - Anticipation Awaits: The Easter Bunny, Baptisms, Christ

You want to know something? Goals are fantastic. They are the only way we grow. We show the Lord where we want to go, and with His help, what we can really achieve. But that's why we have to set them with His Spirit, His purposes, and His instruction, because otherwise we wont be able to become what He wants us to become. Our goal for this transfer, by April 11, is and was to have 10 baptisms. We felt the Spirit as we set the Goal. We have worked our little panties off for it, and still keep doing it, and yet, we still have no baptismal dates. But a miracle did happen this week that still puts a smile to my face when I think of it.

We had a chance to meet with the Reinhards, a wonderful couple. The husband has been investigating the church for quite sometime now, and they are just wonderful. They love each other so much and are so intertwined with the gospel, you can just see the love that they have for each other is based so much on their belief and faith. Well, this time I have been in Heidelberg, Bruder Reinhard has been progressing a lot, but still felt like he needed to learn more and more and the desire to be baptized wasn't really existant. But at this appointment, the Spirit was AMAZING. We just came back from splitting back with Karlsruhe and had comp study in the car to prepare for the lesson. They wanted us to talk about blessings and what a blessing is in general. We had the thought to ask them to write down all the blessings they could think of and share it together. Just that spirit of thankfulness brought a wonderful, sweet feeling in the room. And then we shared some scriptures that showed us that our Father in Heaven gives us so much, all out of his love. Then Elder von Wallwitz pulled out the wonderful baptismal scripture, D&C 39:10. As we read that, Schwester Rheinhard started crying and we took a pause. I testified that one of the biggest blessings we have is the covenants we make with our Father in Heaven. I can not even begin to explain the Spirit in that room. We asked him to be baptized on April 11th, and he said "I can't be baptized then, because I want to be baptized by someone that I have been wanting to baptize me for a long time." He explained he wants to be baptized by his grandson who is coming home from his mission in August. And I was just almost to tears, because I have loved this couple ever since I first met them and have prayed so hard for him to have the faith to make this decision, and then this happened, it was an absolute miracle. Glorious I tell you :)

Another good time this week was this Saturday. We had a concert at our church, where a lot of the members and kids preformed and shared their talents. Totally a typcial Mormon party :) The best part though was that we invited so many people, and they showed up! The stake president wanted to have class right before and teach whoever would come and it was fantastic. Our stake president, President Henkel, is an inspired man. I love this man so much and look up to him. We had ward conference, and it was all about the verse Moroni 10:32:

32 Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.

I love this verse so much. It became so evident this week that I really need to be perfected in Christ. I am changing so much here, and I feel like sometimes for the good, sometimes for the better. But I am growing. I want my love in God to be strengthened. I want my Heavenly Father to know that I love Him by my service. And I know one of the best ways is to work hard and smart. I'm constantly reavaluting myself and wanting to know what more can I do, what more does He await of me and sometimes I overwhelm myself. But I know through His grace, I can be made strong. He is there, always. I just need to find Him.

#BecauseHeLives

Have a wonderful Easter weekend all my "Peeps".... ha ha bad joke :) But have a great time with General Conference, remember preperation is everything, and I love you all so much. Jesus ist Auferstanden. :)

LOVE YOU!!

Elder Mayne

Pics: All I know is theres a couple of selfies... haha i took random pictures this week.

BUT WAIT: REALLY REALLY IMPORTANT!!!
Anyone have suggestions on what I should register for at SVU? I have no idea what to study. Haha so insights, opinions, revelations and dreams would be sweet to hear :)

Letter #87 - Meet the Mission

Alright so for starters, I want to apologize to all those that emailed me this week and did not receive an answer.... Today has been a craaaazy day. We went to Karlsruhe, and played soccer. I also had my first experience shopping at Primark.  It is a super cheap place, a.k.a. missionary central.  I'm now on a split with my boy, Elder Nelson from my group at the MTC.  It is so good to be with the homie. He is such a good missionary, and I've loved this kid from the first day at the MTC.  So, shout out to him. :)

This week was a building week. A week of reflection, and gratitude. A highlight of this week was going to good ol' Zone Conference, and watching "Meet the Mormons" again. I love being around all the missionaries. I had a good time with my homies, and with my son, Elder Shelley. It was great. The Conference was centered on the new initiative by the church, coming out this week, with the video "Because He Lives." I love that video so much. During Conference, I really got to reflect on the "why" of Jesus Christ. What He means for me personally. I realized that this Easter, is going to be my last one in the mission field. I just want to make sure that I make it special. If I've realized anything on a mission, it's that Christ is the center of everything that I do. When I don't look towards Him, I fall.

That's what I want to talk about a little today. During the week I just kind of had a break down. I had been hard on myself, and just wanted to know what I could do better to serve my God. It felt like I was doing good, but not good enough. I constantly kept asking myself, "What can I do?" Then, I realized that a big "thing" about me, is that I doubt my abilities. I look too much to others for their opinions of who I am, who I should be, and what I am good at. So, I went out on the balcony of our apartment and I jumped rope until my feet burned and my calves ached. I just wanted that little weakness out of me. I was talking to God saying, "Why am I like this? Why do I look so much to others? Please, can you change this in me?" I thought the harder and harder I worked, it would just magically go away. But it didn't. I sat out on the tree for the rest of the night thinking and talking with Him. Then in the morning for personal study, I decided to read the recent edition of the Liahona.  I found that right in there, it talked specifically to me. It talked about the difference between sin and weakness. The biggest difference, is that God gives me weaknesses, to show me that I'm imperfect, that I'm always learning, and that through His grace, I can be made strong. I know that that was an answer to my heart felt prayer. I work on it constantly and try my best. I am so incredibly thankful for weaknesses, so that I can grow.

Preachy week. Sorry people. :)

On to the other highlights... we have a new investigator, Ali, who is SO AMAZING, and prepared for the gospel. He came this week to church and wants to bring 4 friends. So, hopefully that works out. :) We also met with Andreas, who I hold as one of my best buds on the mission. He and is a wonderful tüp [?] who is a great example to me. AH, if I could lay down to you ALL the miracles happening right now, I would. But, I don't even have enough time for just a small fraction of the miracles. :) What I can say, we love testifying. I know going out with faith, is the right thing to do. Some missionaries lose motivation, and the best way to get over that is to just go out with absolute faith. And well, when the Lord calls me to stand on park benches and preach, I will. :) Because, I know this work is true.

One last thought: I know Christ lives!

LOVE YOU ALL!!! These are some good ol' pics from the week. :)

Mucho Lovo, Elder Mayne

P.S. Familie... How is family home evening, and scripture reading together going?

Letter #86 - The Golden Cycle...in Spanish

Attitude. Attitude. Attitude.

It all starts with you.

That was the theme this entire week, and for our transfer so far together. We recently have been reading a talk by Elder Ballard titled "Creating Success," and it specifically talks about the difference between missionaries that baptize regularly and those that dont. It all just starts with what's going on upstairs, in the mind. What you set your mind to, you can achieve. It seemed like every single day, that talk came up with someone and boy, it has lead us to how we do our work everyday. And to be honest, it's not always the easiest. But we know it is truth. And I know that is what the Lord wants me to learn at this moment.

So this week we met with the sisters and the missionary couple in the ward (Gublers from Vegas). We prayed and pondered and felt that the 13 baptisms that we want to have this transfer, are going to come on a specific date. We decided that on April 11, there will be a huge baptismal service. That is the week after the transfer (because the last week is General Conference) and we have a strong feeling it's going to happen. We fasted on Saturday about it, and it just feels right. And this week showed just how much faith we have, and how the Lord bleeeeesed us (nacho libre voice).

This week we literally got 7 referrals... unheard of. And we still have 2 more to contact, so technically 9. And well, we met with 14 members this week. When I saw that I was like woah.. I didn't even notice! It's like, Elder von Wallwitz and I just make calls, we go there, we teach, we pray, and we leave. We have been so busy, and it's so nice. One of the highlights though this week was some of the lessons we had: We got a refferal from the Kaiserslautern sisters of someone they met on the Train-American, named Johnny. We met with him at the church on Thursday. He is this older man, and we just start talking about life, how he has been in the army since he was 17, all the amazing war stories he has and all the times he has been shot at. And we were just stunned. This man has lived through so much and I'm just like... I graduated high school :) But then he talked about his son and how he tragically took his life. In that moment the Spirit just came over me so strongly. I felt so strongly that this man, who has been literally through the thick and thin of everything, has been kept alive for many reasons, but one specifically, and it's the gospel.

So right after he told us this, he shook our hands and said goodbye. We were like woah wait, can we show you around the church building? And we did, and as time went by, I was feeling the Spirit as we were talking, but I felt like I missed that opportunity of really testifying. We got to the chapel and taught him about the restoration and testified that God has kept him alive for this and that He has a plan for him. You could feel that wonderful Spirit, but you could tell it wasn't the right moment. He said thanks for our time and said goodbye, and we sat in the chapel thinking. We knew we did what we could, but we knew that what he needed was to hear that families are forever. We may never experience what he went throuh, but we know that this knowledge is most precious above all, and I keep it so close and dear to my heart :)

As for the other side of the work (the other "sides" meinte ich because honestly, it's so crazy over here :))... On Saturday, we taught a language class at 9 in the morning, had district leader council at 10, a street display at 1, an appointment at 3, an appointment at 4, another 6, and then one at 8. Luckily we were fasting that day :) Ha but let me just tell ya, the Lord blesses those that serve Him.

To end, I just want to say, the Lord can change any heart, any mind, any desire, if we choose and allow Him to. On one of the days (I can't even remember which day) it was rough towards the end. We had just met with a Spanish-speaking member, and I was on Spanish overload so I was just nodding and pretending to understand everything, and it was just getting to me. And then we had an appointment fall out, I got "blitzed" while driving (over the speed limit. Literally going 1 km above) and my German just failed me. And so, I had a poopy attitude. A couple more things happened and I was just done. Hit bottom again. And at that night, I was gonna give the closing prayer... and it was so hard to even speak. I just felt so unworthy. I just was frusterated, so tired, and was just like, "Why?" But as I prayed.. I just felt the comfort of my Father in Heaven. I picked up my feet, and went full speed ahead the next day. It's not easy. But it's worth it. Because I'm serving my brothers and sisters here. And I love them so much.

Have a great week ya'll. And MY INVITATION FOR ALL IS: just share some love to someone this week. Literally though, if you have a thought to compliment someone or to send a little love note or bake a cake, just go for it. Life is better with love :)
MUCHO LOVO,

Elder Mayne

this is spanish food, basketball shots, and a funny class at a members house :)

Letter #85 - The week of humility to absolute strength.

Being humbled by the Lord isn't a thing that I desire, most of the time, until after it's done. :) Because in the moment, its definitely not the easiest. This week was absolutely wonderful though. Every single day is one to put another piece into the foundation of my testimony. This week, I felt like a golden. Absolute, 100%. Spanish. Spanish. Spanish.

We had about 4 out of 7 days, of entirely Spanish meetings. I had no idea what was going on. One of them was with an investigator and I just sat there thinking... Ok... what can I do? Ha as hard as I focused, nothing was coming. So, I just prayed my tiny little heart out thinking "If I can't speak to them, why not speak to God?" And so I just prayed for Elder VW and teaching the investigator. It went really well actually, and it was good. :) I absolutely love the Spanish language because it's so smooth, and romantic. But the more and more I listen, the more and more I pick up. I am making so many flash cards, and maybe have a written a prayer down in Spanish on one of them. BUT, I'm making progress. :)

This week, we also met with Prakash and with Gianluca, a member. It was a fantastic lesson. The Spirit was so strong. We read Ether 12, and talked about faith and the miracles that follow when we have faith. We watch the new Bible video of Christ calming the sea and wow... This lesson just sparked something in me. First off, Gianluca is one person I will never forget throughout my life. He is the nicest guy in the world, and cares about everyone. But his spiritual level is what makes him stand out. I came out of that lesson wanting to be more like him. :) I have so much left to learn on my mission, and I just can't believe how fast it is all going.

The other thing I would briefly like to talk about (not too much time left) is this Sunday. We went with a member to visit his friend in the hospital that had a stroke a month ago. He was found two days after it happened. It was one of the most humbling moments of my life. He couldn't move the right side of his body. He couldn't talk. The only thing he could do was put the blanket on top of himself, and smile. As I sat with him... It haunted me at first, to think of all the people that must feel this way. But that man's smile as we came in, talked with him, and as I prayed for him... It made all the difference. I testified to him that Christ knows exactly what he is feeling, and suffered that pain for him. I promised him that he wouldn't feel alone. Elder VW and I left there, and just felt humbled. We felt like we take things so much for granted. The daily struggles we deal with, zum beispiel [for example] not being able to speak Spanish, sure are hard in our eyes, but the Lord knows! He knows and never leaves His children behind, never forgets. That's what I want to testify of today, that I know that through our faith and diligence, the Lord will always be with us as we search for Him.

Quick shout out to my boi Elder VW for giving a talk in Spanish this week. :) It was sick. And I gave one in the German Ward. :) Sundays are crazy for us. :) I got to go on a split with my Australian golden, Elder Butler! :) And....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE BEST MOM IN THE WORLD ON FRIDAY!!! LOVE YOU!!!!

Much Lovo, and I wish you all the best week. :)

Elder Mayne
Pics: self explanatory. :)

Letter #84 - Walking on the road to FAITH

The new transfer arrived, and I got shipped a Brazilian named Elder von Wallwitz. :) And oh boy, are we super excited.

This week has been amazing. We feel SO GOOD about what lays before us, and we know we can accomplish so much. The Lord is hastening His work. To give an example, I'll tell you what our day was like on Sunday...

First, on Saturday night, we fast, finish weekly planning, and make a bunch of calls to see if people can come to church. We called the Familie Singer, who is a wonderful family that is Catholic but really open to our church, and they said that they would try to come. We show up to Church, and we are going around, introducing the members to Elder VW (his name is long :))and it was just a great time. And, Elder VW can speak Spanish. :) So, the members of the Spanish branch and their faces, were absolutely priceless when they saw him at the door. It was so great. :) We talked to the President of the Branch, and then went and sat in the Spanish Sunday School class. I felt like a golden again. :) Then we got asked to give our testimonies in Sacrament! I was like, oh shoot... I literally know nothing in Spanish. Haha. But, I was all for it. I thought, it'll be an adventure. We then went back to our German Ward and sat in Sacrament Meeting. Then, just as it is about to start, the whole Singer family came walking in! I was beaming. :) We went over and sat by them and talked. Elder VW gave his testimony, and we left together to go over to the Spanish Sacrament and give our testimonies there.  Someone translated for me, and then we ran back to our German Ward, talked to the members/investigators, and ran back to Spanish Branch to do the same. Everyone was just SO HAPPY and it was so much work, but so much fun. Both wards are just ready to do work, and we are just here to help and guide them along. It was just a miracle Sunday.

I came home absolutely pooped. I woke up Sunday morning feeling just so achy. My body was telling me it's going to rain, and the seasons are changing. :) Ha. Then, well (mom don't freak) we were helping an awesome family in the ward move, and I went to bed with my elbow hurting and I didn't know why.  I looked at it in the shower the next day, and my entire elbow was red and it had this white puss thing on it... I think I got bit by a spider. It hurt the entire day and it was terrible. So I come home, wanting to eat right away. But Elder VW was better than me, and wanted to set transfer goals. We had an awesome day, the spirit was strong, and we really needed to set goals first. So while at first I was like "my stomach needs FOOD," I decided that he was right, and I said "ok, lets do it." We prayed and pondered... We want 10 baptisms this transfer. You look at all the success that anyone has had, and that just hasn't happened before. But, we are not looking towards what has happened in the past. We are looking towards the future. We know the Lord is ready. We just need to make ourselves ready, and be willing to call upon His power. It's not going to be easy. But it will be worth it. We were driving home, and these were the words I was screaming in the car. It's our motto this transfer :)

Can't stop!

Won't stop!

CAN'T BE STOPPED!

With the Lord as my arm, His strength, it's absolutely true. And that was so true, when I drove for the first time this week on the AUTOBAHN!!! I did so good. Elder VW was freaking, but I did so good. I had to give myself a little pump up talk at first, but it went great. :)

The Lord is there. We visited a Spanish member, and talked to him about hope. How hope will conquer any feelings of doubt, loneliness, or despair. The gospel can changes our lives, when we desire it. :)

LOVE YOU ALL AND HAVE AN AMAZING WEEK!!!

Elder Mayne

 Our first pic together (WE'RE NOT FAT).

 MLC with Elder Melanson (another homie).

On that basketball grind. :)