Letter #70 - #HAVEATURKEY :) and a Merry Christmas too!

Happy Thanksgiving ya'll! I hope its going to be great for ya'll. Because unlike last year, (if you can remember) my Thanksgiving will not consist of me sitting in my onesie at like 9:30 at night thinking about food and eating a bowl of Nutella, peanut butter, and stale corn flakes for my Thanksgiving dinner. :) Thank goodness for Americans in Heidelberg. We have 5 appointments scheduled, 2 on one day, and leftovers on Sunday. :D Say goodbye to losing weight, and hello new goals for 2015. :) But anyway, lemme tell you about this week, something that I learned, a spiritual experience, and the goals that I have for this upcoming week, all mixed into about a paragraph.

So this week was going kinda sluggish and we weren't hearing from people. We kinda just thought, what really is going on ya know? And so we hadn't heard from Silvi all week and were wondering what was up. So we decided to stop by and check on her. She had been having a terrible week, and has been struggling with depression, really bad. As we came in, we talked to her about the decision she is making [to get baptized], and how Christ suffered for her and knows exactly how she feels. We hope that she can find happiness in Christ. Then, I opened up to her. I told her about my story, and why I came out on a mission. At first, I honestly didn't want to share my story for reasons like: I don't want to be open, or she'll think I'm weird or something. But, I decided to tell her anyway. I totally told it in botched German. But as I did, I had this overwhelming feeling of love for her, and for her decision to get baptized. I knew that I did the right thing, and that I was suppose to be there, at that time, at that very moment. She really appreciated the story. We then watched some Mormon Messages with her, and we both didn't want to leave. But, at least we knew that we left her heading in a totally 180 degree different direction then where she was heading before we came. She is great, and we met with her again on Sunday during church. It was wonderful. :)

Another thing that I learned this week is what it really means to think, "What would Jesus do?" It really is quite life changing. I can see the change happening almost daily, even hourly. I see the strength and happiness I receive from thinking that way. Like when I go up, all happy and smiling, and ask someone if they have ever heard of the Book of Mormon, and they just yell "NEIN!" Then, I just go bouncing off to the next one, who immediately thanks me and truly appreciates that I just wanted to "give" them this book. :) The thought, "How would Jesus Act?" brings one closer to Him more than anything else. This week, a lot of little temptation and hard things came, that hit me in spots I wasn't ready for. But, as I turned to Him, I tried my best to think of how He would act, and what I could do to serve. It's not easy, and I am still learning very rudely at times (if that makes sense). But, I know how much He means to me. This path I am on shows Him how much I love Him. I know that I have tasted a very, very small portion of what He suffered. But I do it with gladness, because I am grateful for the gift that Heavenly Father has given us, Jesus Christ. :)

This week, think of how you can show your gratefulness for the Atonement, eh? :) Then, eat a LOT of mashed potatoes that are homemade, because all that Germans eat is pureed stuff. ;P Love you all. I hope you have a FANTASTIC week, and a wonderful, wonderful Thanksgiving.

With the Charlie Brown theme song in my heart, and my praise from my people (the Indians) for joining our land. :)

Elder Mayne

Welcome to Heidelberg. And these are like, the worst pictures I have... :)

Me and Elder Brown going to MLC this week. :)

Letter #69 - You ready for this? Carls Benz made the first car, not Henry Ford... #mindblown

I found that out yesterday. That is so crazy. Mind and childhood just turned around. No, I'm kidding. But this week was absolutely AWESOME!! So crazy. I wish I could include every tiny detail. But, due to my lack of proper training in the keyboard department, and me trying to share love all the time, it doesn't work. :) But lemme tell you why this week was so great:

Dienstag:
Well, we were running around all over the place. It was raining. We had to help at the church for some service. Then, we went to a less active member appointment. After that, we met with a part member family. The member, Bru. Rheinhardt, loves the gospel. His wife, just wants to know more. We asked them in advance what they would like to hear specifically, and they wanted to know about the Priesthood. Well, that's a heavy subject for sure. But, we taught with the spirit and it was such an intense lesson. He said that he would come to the baptism that the sisters were having, and then pray about his decision about baptism. Really, really, awesome. :) THEN we had a member appointment. But, we didn't know about it, and so right as we got out, we found out we totally missed it. I accidentally wrote it on the wrong week. #stupid. Haha. But it was ok, because we got to give Sis. Godwin a blessing, and make soup for her because she had been throwing up all day. Annnnd to top it all off, President called during the day to tell us that he was coming to our Zone Training the next day. So, we were kinda freaking out. We ended up doing a lot of last minute planning that night, and maybe/maybe not staying up really late. This week was definitely not for sleep. That is for sure. :)

Mittwoch:
FIRST ZONE TRAINING!!!! It went so great. What we planned out, went so smoothly. The Spirit was able to testify to so many of the missionaries, and tell them the truth. It was so great to see, and hear, and to just be there. It was totally nerve racking. I just kept thinking about how much I love these missionaries. I was able to express my feelings and love. It was ah, what an uplifting experience. I then went on a split with Elder Von Wallwitz. I LOVE MY BRAZILIAN BROTHA! We had such a fun time. We went and taught a less active, and had a good time with the Sisters. We got home late, and had what we like to call "pillow talk." It's where we just talk about life, mission life, and just everything. Kind of like women do, but Elder style. It was so fun. Love that guy, and I am glad that we are out here serving the Lord together.

Donnerstag:
What a day for miracles. We all met at Ludwigshafen (can't spell) as a Distrikt, and had a Distrikt finding time for 4 hours. And guess what?? We found 4 new investigators for the Speyer Elders and Sisters, and we placed overall 23 copies of the Book of Mormon. Haha. It was SOOO fun. We would just talk to everyone. We would start approaching someone, and they would hold up their Book of Mormon or a card to say that they have already been talked to. :) It was so great to see everyone just have no fear, even the Goldens. They would just go up to someone, get totally rejected, and then just go on to the next person. I LOVE FAITH AND AWESOMENESS.

Freitag:
Ha. What a surprising day. We had an awesome day planned, and then we get a call from the APs. They said we have to do a CCM report, which is a quota that the Zone Leaders have to do. We gather all the numbers of the zone, and get information on investigators and what not... 7 hours. Barf. Ha. It was sooo long, and we were struggling because we had never done it. Boy, when we got outta there, we ran. Haha. We were running around the church screaming. :)

Samstag und Sonntag:
Let just say, love rules all. I LOVE PEOPLE. But, this is gonna be quick: we got in a car wreck, no damage to anything or anyone; met with a wonderful convert who cooks amazing; had a street display; stopped a robbery from happening, and  caught the guy; and then finally came home and had to clean forever because of a cleaning check on Monday. Haha. That's the watered down version. Sunday, I just want to give a shout out to Jessie and Brian McDummert. I love this couple. They are in our ward, and he is our Ward Mission Leader. They literally have had such a big impact in my life, in the tiny little time that I have known them. Then I give a shout out to our new investigator, Valentine, who has committed to be baptized on Dec 20th. :) Despite how busy life gets, the Spirit and I have a wonderful connection, because I make time for him. I put what God wants me to put first in my life, first. I just want to leave with my testimony, with the scriptures from Markus 9:22 and 23:

    22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou
    canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.

    23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

These are some of the most moving scriptures for me. I know He lives, and He can heal. LOVE YOU ALL!

Elder Mayne

The police and I became good friends. #SKETCHY :)

Letter #68 - Bautismo y Confirmacion

That means baptismal confirmation. :) I am learning Spanish right now through my German studies, and I absolutely forgot how hard it is to learn a language. :) But, I love it. We have a Spanish Branch here in Heidelberg, and Elder Brown and I want to show that we love them and are willing to work with them the best way we can. So, why not speak their language, eh? :)

This week was CRAZY:

Dienstag:
Drove down to Karlsruhe, and attended their Distrikt Meeting. I then stayed and went on a split with Elder Lee. Elder Lee is from Provo. He's a great kid. We had a lot of fun, met with their two investigators, and had a good time. I got to cook him some really good chicken, that he was impressed with, and had a good day just laughing, contacting, and enjoying life. :)

Mittwoch:
Elder Brown picked me up and we switched back. We then drove to Speyer, and had our actual District Meeting with our District. We had a lot of fun. I love our District Leader, Elder Von Wallwitz. He is from Brazil, and is a really awesome dude. Love the kid. After Distrikt Meeting, we planned a little for Zone Training with Sister Erickson, the Sister Training Leader. She is also from my MTC group. It was fun to all be back together again. We then raced home to visit some Spanish members and invite them to church. That was really fun, and I tried speaking Spanish. Well... at least I can roll my tongue now. :)

Donnerstag:
The Karlsruhe Elders slept over because one of them had to get his VISA here in Heidelberg. So, we had a good time being hosts. :) We then met with a couple of investigators, Ping Cho and the Dembroski familie, and they were super quick and short visits, but good none-the-less. We then went contacting, and met two really cool people that want to meet with us again. We found them in like only 30 minutes, so it was really great to see. Elder Brown and I love being bold with people. It's great. :) We then had Institut, talked about missionary work over social media #Sharinggoodness, and had a great time with the young peeps in the Stake.

Freitag:
We had our weekly planning, and then went and played soccer with a member and a bunch of his nonmember friends. We committed all of them to pray for our investigator. Silvi (I know these are a lot of names, sorry :)), the one that was going to be baptized this upcoming week, had a daughter give birth two weeks early. Her daughter had to have an operation. So, we asked them to pray for her, which was really cool. Silvi is doing alright. Sadly we didn't get to meet with her, but we kept in contact with her the entire week. We just hope everything is okay.

Samstag:
Had a street display with the sisters, handed out some cupcakes and B.o.Ms, and drew some awesome stuff with chalk on the ground. Scary thing happened though. I got a call from the Stake President in the morning. He asked me if I could speak at the Stake Leadership Meeting before the general session of Stake Conference. I was scared outta my mind. So, after the street display (which was awesome), we went to the meeting. Luckily, people took too long speaking, and we ran out of time.  So, I didn't have to give anything. It was actually just going to be about the teaching records that we as missionaries keep. So, it really wasn't that hard. But, I would be lying if I said I didn't give a sigh of relief when I knew that I wouldn't have to speak. :)

This week, we didn't reach a lot of our goals. This upcoming week though, we really want 10 people at Sacrament Meeting, and to have 6 baptismal dates. We have the faith. We are going to do everything, and anything, we possibly can. It really is so AWESOME to know, that when you have faith, the Lord can work through you. Elder Ballard, when he was here, taught us to not worry about the work. Don't even worry about it. Because the work is in HIS hands, and He does what He does. But, if we make ourselves worthy, go out on the lookout for people to serve and to tell about the Gospel, He will guide us there. I have come to know that I really am only a tool in the Lord's hands. I hope He can use me as much as possible. :)

Have a great week y'all. :) #Lovelife #hashtagsmakelifebetter #Jesuslives

Elder Mayne

Most of these pictures are out of a car...

 The sun makes everything look awesome.

 Welcome to Heidelberg :)

 Street display.

Cool eh?

The girl in the middle is Faye, the Sister's investigator,
who is like my new homie and is going to get baptized this week or next. :)

Letter #67 - Heidelberg is the AWESOME. Done.

HELLOOOO from Heidelberg. This week was absolutely INSANE. SOOOO many changes, moves, luggage, trains, and OH MY GOODNESS. Heidelberg is amazingly gorgeous, especially coming from Werdau. ;) This letter will sadly be a shorty, as that I have only a little time to email because things have been so nuts this week. #ZoneLeaderProbs (I can use that now)

Montag:
Had a "Dead Man's P-day" for all the elders and one sister that were finishing their missions. We celebrated by having Mexican food, and auctioning off all their things. We then finished off the day by having dinner with the wonderful mission couple, the Seelos.

Dienstag:
Member Lessons off the charts. We met with 6 members in one day. It was sooo crazy (good thing I finished packing early). It was so hard to leave the family that I now have here in Werdau. But, it was good to say goodbye, and to be able to spend some time with them.

Mittwoch:
A couple more last goodbyes, and then we slept over at the Elder's apartment in Gera so we could catch a train early in the morning. Elder Checketts, Elder Wright, and I stayed up a little late and just chatted. Sadly they are done with their missions. But, I have come to love these homies. I am glad that I was able to meet them.

Donnerstag:
TRANSFERS!! Great to see everyone, and to see Elder Brown, and Elder Aubrey!!!! THE HOMIE FROM AF HAS ARRIVED! We talked for like 40 minutes at Bahnhof. It was so great to see him. Elder Brown and I then headed back to Heidelberg late, and gosh, it is absolutely GORGEOUS. My camera honestly can't do it justice. Wow... sooo beautiful.

Freitag:
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! We had MLC (Missionary Leadership Counsel), and that was super fun. I got to see all my friends, play some ball with Elder Emery, and then... We met with our investigator Silvi, and set a baptismal date for the 16th of November!!!! She is so prepared, and has been coming to church for a little while.  She met us 3 months ago. You could just see in her eyes how much she wants this. Elder Brown and I were on top of the world.

Samstag:
Awesome day, running around so much and talking to people. We had a street display, and that was great. PS: Sister Lyons and Sister Godwin are the sisters also serving here in Heidelberg. They are really great. We then went and contacted some referrals, found an awesome castle, took some AWESOME pictures, and then talked to a guy at a gas station that ended up calling us at 2 in the morning, drunk, saying he wants Jesus. Cool eh?

Sonntag:
I LOVE THIS WARD!! These members are awesome. We have some Americans in the ward, and they are really amazing. I love them a lot. The ward is really like a ward in the U.S., only German style. Make sense? Anyway, I bore my testimony, met some of the great people in this ward, and gave a blessing to an investigator being taught by the sisters that is so AWESOME. She bore her testimony in church, and is just a homie. Her name is Faye. She has the biggest love for the gospel. Then we met our Ward Mission Leader and his wife. They are probably the most favorite people I have met (bad English). We just talked the entire time, and laughed. We showed up in our Lederhosen because it was a Halloween Party. :) Gosh, they are so cool. We then hustled to the Church, did numbers, and then had a conference call with the Distrikt Leaders in our distrikt.

TIMES ARE CRAZY right now and I may be stressed a little. But, if you aren't stressed you aren't growing. :) I love my mission. I look forward to this awesome adventure that will happen here in Heidelberg. I want to promise to you all, that the little things count. When we do the little things, like praying, reading daily, and turning our thoughts toward Christ, we will be the happiest. Have a great week ya'll. :)

Elder Mayne :)


And to whom it may concern, my new address is:

Curie Strasse 6
69126 Heidelberg, BW
DEUTSCHLAND / GERMANY

Letter #66 - BYE BYE

That was the common saying in my ward this week, because: 1- I am being transferred, and 2- No idea why they were saying it in English. But, I really liked a bunch of 70yr old men with a German accent saying "bye bye."

Sadly, I am being transferred and have to leave Werdau. I am being transferred to Heidelberg, one of the prettiest cities in Germany, and I got called to be a Zone Leader! It is a total change, but my favorite motto keeps poppin' into my head: "Adventure is OUT THERE!!" I really am so excited. Elder Brown from my MTC group is my new comp, and it'll be really great to work with him.

As for this week, I just want to say, it was a special week. :) I'll give an account of the experience that made the entire week... We had an appointment with Katrine on Donnerstag and we wanted to meet at the church so that we could have a spiritual atmosphere and show her the church. We just figured that everything would be better. :) So, she shows up with her grandson Paul. We start giving the tour, but Paul is getting a little anxious and wants some attention. So, I left Katrine with Elder Shelley and our member, and gave Paul his own personal tour of the baptismal font, the chapel, the primary rooms, pictures of Jesus and explaining who he is and why He is important, and then ended with a nice Pictionary game on the blackboard (sounds like a long time, but it was only 10 min). Then after Katrine finished her tour too, we had planned to watch the Joseph movie, the 20 min version and have a lesson. So, we went and watched the movie and the spirit, was kinda just like filling up a pool. As the movie went on, the spirit just kept filling up and up. After the movie ended, we just sat for a moment and she was just staring at the TV. I asked her what she felt after watching the movie.  She tried to talk, and then just burst into tears. Uncontrollable, and just sobbing. We sat there, wondering what we should do, and I was trying to make eye contact with Elder Shelley to make him rub her shoulder, or something. But after she finally got back, she just sat there in silence as little tears kept coming. The spirit was absolutely in the deep end. It was flooding out the doors, and it was sometimes hard not to cry yourself. We sat there for a moment, and then I testified that this is the Holy Ghost speaking to her, and He testifies of truth. She then said that she has never felt this way before, and that man goes through life, living so much, and questioning so much. Then she started to cry again. I asked her if she believes that she has found the way. She said yes. Then we asked her to be baptized, and again she said yes, but that she needs some time. We reassured her that this is the way, and that we'll be guides along this path that she has found, and that it will bring her ultimate happiness. I was one of the most rewarding, cleansing, beautiful experiences of my life.

On Sunday, well, it was super hard to say goodbye to the family that I now have in Werdau. I really love all these people, and they mean the world to me. I have never gotten so many hugs, and I never really have been thanked so much. I really, didn't know how much of an impact I made, until this day. I really just wanted to make sure these people knew that, in this labor of love, I am serving them with all my heart, and wish them all the best. Werdau will be a very special place for me. I have never gone through harder times in my life. But it's because of the constant, outward reaching towards the Savior and His Atonement, that I did not shrink. That instead of turning inward, I asked the simple question: "Who can I touch because of what I am going through?" We are never left alone, and that path we are on, was walked on before by the Savior of the World. I know He lives. I know that He has made me into someone I could never have dreamed of, and I thank Him forever.

Have a great week ya'll. Love you in bunches. ;)

Elder Mayne

The best family ever: Bauerfiends. 

Told me to come back and hang with them so we can do stuff I can't do now on a mission. :)

I totally don't know about the other pics #badmemory. :)

[I guess somethings haven't changed. :-)]