Week #16 The Need of the Restoration

Hi everyone. To start off, I want to talk about today (October 31st). Today is Halloween for you guys but today is the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in Europe. November 1st will be Halloween for the Germans. Yeah, 500 years ago the Reformation started because people wanted to continue back to the original form of Christ's church. It is kind of cool to be here as a missionary because I remember studying the Reformation in AP European History but I never thought I would be in the country where it all started 500 years later. It is also interesting because we know from modern revelation that a restoration was required, not a reformation. That is what makes our church so unique and why our message is so powerful.

With Reformation Day and Halloween, people are on break from work and school. Everything is shut down and no one is on the streets this morning. The thing is that the Germans are going to have a lot of fun tonight and we have to stay off the streets. We tried to find this morning but no one was on the streets. There were a couple of people but they were on their way somewhere else. It was just so weird because Ulm is usually busy and loud but it was dead quiet. Kind of fun to see. 

Empty Streets in Ulm on the 500th anniversary of the Reformation

(We went to do finding today and not a soul was out...Ulm was a ghost town)

This week was productive but still had some disappointments. We found a ton of potentials the last two weeks so this week we had a lot of first lessons with people. We handed out quite a few Books of Mormon in different languages and we now have seven new investigators. There is a lot of potential in Ulm; we just have to reach out to the right people. However, there are always disappointments. Sometimes appointments fall through or investigators don't come to church. Agency has taken such a new definition for me because I am learning that it is only my agency and my attitude that I can control. I can invite, teach, testify, find and work so hard. Sadly, it is up to them if they really want it. 

I had a cool experience on the bus the other day. We were taking a bus to visit some less actives and the bus was just us and two other people. One guy had a Carolina Panthers hat. A lot of Germans buy American sport hats and have no idea who the teams are. However, this was the first time I ever saw a German with a Panther hat. I sat down by him and asked him where he got his hat. This led to a long conversation about the London NFL games, fantasy football, learning German and finally God. I was able to get his number and we are meeting with him this Friday. We will see how it goes. I have always loved football but I never thought I would use football to find someone in Germany of all places. It is kind of cool how God uses different parts of our lives to make friendships and find new people. 

On Sunday, we were walking on the streets and all of the sudden, I heard English. American English. I turned around and asked this small family if they spoke English. They did! They lived in Stuttgart and they lived on the American base. It was just cool to talk to Americans again and to thank one of our servicemen for his service. It did not result in a new number or a future appointment but I was glad God gave me a chance to light up someone's day and in the same turn, light up mine. 

Today for P Day, we went on a hike to an old German castle. The castle itself was kind of disappointing but the view made up for it. Germany and its green nature is quite beautiful. Honestly, I think I came on this mission for many reasons but one was to realize how beautiful God's creations are. The green fields, the blue skies, and the small dorfs (villages) mixed in between is just gorgeous!

Wonderful Views of Germany from the Castle

 Life is incredible when you put the light of Jesus Christ in your heart. Sure, it is hard. Life requires a lot of faith and patience but it becomes something spectacular with Christ. I know that God and Jesus Christ live but I also know that they do so much more than that. They love, comfort, protect, guide, and praise us. When I begin to slowly understand how much they do for me, I want to give in return and help those around me. 

Love you all! Remember you got a friend here in Deutschland who loves and prays for you. 

Elder Evans 

So many Germans were staring at me for taking this picture hehe :)