Week #8 Feed My Sheep

September 06, 2017

Week #8 Feed My Sheep

Hallo von Deutschland und von Ulm!

This week went by really quick. I thought I was just here writing emails. Kind of weird to think I have been gone for almost two months but I try not to think about it too much.

So, I am beginning to understand that more of my experiences have to do with spiritual things (I mean I'm a missionary right?) but there are still some fun things. For example...

1. We started playing basketball with our branch. Only Bruder Zhang came but it was still fun. Looking forward to more oppritunities to play.

2. German bakeries!!!- Yeah, I love bread. Especially if it is buttery or sweet. There are actually a ton of bakeries around here and their stuff is cheap. Only let myself get a snack like once a week but still, so good!!!

3. Trash in Germany- Yeah, we Americans could do a little better with trash. Trash here is seperated into so many different categories. Paper, Bio waste, Resident Waste, Gelber Sack (Stuff like milk cartons and plastic). This is one of the many reasons why nature in Germany is so beautiful!!! Not like America is not beautiful but Germans take pride in their nature. So, hence the trash system.

4. Fried Vanilla Pudding- We had a lunch appointment with members and they took us to a chinese buffet. It was so good! I ate plenty of vegetables but there were these fried cubes of vanilla pudding. I know, I know, be healthy but this may never happen again for a long time. So, yeah, craving some fried vanilla pudding right now.

5. Correction- Okay, so you know how I was saying Kebaps are fantastic? They still are but that is actually the restaurants where you get it. Doners are the sandwiches. Yeah, lots of turkish influence here, particularly in food

(Note: If you have not noticed by now, a lot of what I talk about is food...)

Okay, onto the more exciting things this week. I feel a lot better and I am loving the work. German is slowly improving and I love this area. There are still struggles but I realize more ways I can overcome them. Here are a few examples:

1. Spiritual insight- An incredible talk by Elder Bednar is called Character of Christ and he suggests studying what Christ did. I took his advice and here is what I found. Here is what I learned about Christ: He keeps going! Despite discouragment or accomplishment, he keeps serving and working. He also really loves missionary work. Here is an example. After His death, Christ goes to the Spirit World and directs a new force of missionaries to the Spirit Prison. He then comes back to Earth as a resurrected being and establishes missionary work in both Israel and ancient America. Isn't that so cool? Whatever we feel, sad or happy, we keep pressing forward

2. Finding- I hope that everyone who is preparing for a mission realizes that it is okay to struggle. I thought it was scary and abnormal at first. I thought, " Isn't this supposed to be one big spiritual experience?" I was suprised when it turned out not to be. That happens a lot in finding. I want to share the gospel but I struggle to open my mouth. And sometimes when no one wants to listen, I sometimes ask "Why keep trying?" I regret that but it was a real question I had. While studying the Savior this week, I came across the character of Peter. Peter is a hero for me because he struggled too but he became something incredible through Christ. At the Sea of Tiberias, Jesus asks him three times if he (Peter) loves him (Christ). Peter says yes three times and Jesus responds each time "Feed my Sheep." I realized this week that even though I may struggle with rejection or opening my mouth, my love for Christ should be the force behind my actions. Joseph Smith said, "A man filled with the love of God is not content with blessing his family alone but ranges though the whole world, anxious to bless the whole human race." Yeah, that was a lesson for me this week. If I love Christ, I feed His sheep.

3. Okay, one more experience from this week. Bruder Whittake is our Elders Quorum President and he asked if we would join him in visiting a less active family. They are from Africa and they struggle coming to church because the wife cannot drive and the husband travels constantly for work. His travel plans are slowing down so they are coming back. We had a spiritual thought for them and Elder Kaufusi asked me if I could share what Christ meant for me. My response kind of suprised me. I know it was inspired by the Spirit. I said to them that Christ is why I made it this far and Christ is how I am still going. Missions are hard, really hard. But I know that Christ knows my struggles a lot more than I do. Christ is why I am here in Germany and he is why I am seeing this to the end.

Alright. I think that is all. Apologies for the long email again. Thank you guys for the prayers, emails and support. It means a lot. Love you all. I will talk to you soon.

Elder Mason Evans

Note from mom: Here are some answers to a few of the questions I asked Mason this week.

- How is the weather? The weather is great. It has been a little downcast and rainy but it also has been really sunny.

- Do you feel safe? I feel completely safe. I think I would feel different as a tourist but people who usually do not like us just tend to stay away.

- How is your German? German is getting better. I am picking up more and more. I do feel better about my German than how I did leaving the MTC. Still a ton to learn though

-What food are you making on your own? I eat pasta, oatmeal, or some heat up snacks. The heat up snacks are like dehydrated pasta or mashed potatoes. It is really good and I feel like I pull energy from them. Yeah, any ideas for better dinners though? I just do not want to get sick of the food. I usually cook something. Eating out is like once a week.

The biggest church tower in the world and it is here in Ulm! This thing always pops out in the city

Me after finding in the rain. I do not know if you can tell but I was really wet.

This is a quote from this week: It reminds how much I love my family but also why I am here. It also comes from one of my heroes. My love for Joseph Smith has grown this week.

A wonderful metal art of Ulm! It has braille on it so the blind can read the street names.

Very cool!

A tree absorbed some of the fence. Not sure how that happened...

A Deutsch Zeitnung (German Newspaper)

Hello Dirk. How is it going?

This is a little taste of the many construction projects in Ulm. They are trying to make the Bahnhof (train station) under ground. Ulm has so much construction. Makes me miss those little projects in Mapleton :)