Week #26 The Prophet's witness of the Book of Mormon

Well, here we are again writing emails. Sometimes it is unreal how fast time goes. It will be six months this Friday which is really a suprise. I am grateful for all that has happened so far and pray for good blessings and lessons in the future. 

This week was a nice start to the new year. It went by fast and I have to look at my journal because I can hardly remember any of it. On Wednesday, we took our bike to be repaired. Yeah, I am in a bike area but the public transportation system is a lot more efficient. The bikes do come in handy though. We tried to visit a referral ( he was not home) and continued to find on the streets. 

Thursday was so wet. It rained so much but we still had fun. Finding was really tricky because no one wanted to talk. We tried to visit people at home but again people are not home. A little difficult but we get past those days. Friday was really similar to Thursday. Wet but we still tried to find. 

Rainy week

Saturday was a clear morning and the bike was repaired so we went on a bike ride! We rode through this path in a middle of field. It was weird to think that I am in the middle of Germany on a bike being a missionary. Those moments come by often. Saturday was a holiday in Germany so we tried to find but still kind of difficult. We had an awesome member appointment with the Seitz family. They love Star Trek, Harry Potter, Doctor Who, and a bit more. I was so happy to have people to talk about nerdy stuff like that (I mean it is nerdy but I love it :) ). We used the bikes to get to their home and to return home. Elder Hansen and I were talking and we felt like real missionaries riding on bikes to a member appointment. 

Sunday was fun. I played the piano for sacrament meeting which was fun. They have a few piano players but they liked to have someone else play. We had a lesson with a long time investigator. He works in Frankfurt but for some reason lives down here. He is super busy so we can hardly meet with him but does have a good heart and loves the Book of Mormon. In the evening, we had a member appointment with the Apels. Bruder Apel is so cool (he is in our bishopric). He works for the Church and actually had the oppritunity to drive President Monson around Germany when he visited. It was cool to hear stories about President Monson and how he was always serving. 

Yesterday we had zone training. The main focus was personal and companionship study. Those two hours really make a difference in missionary work. We met with our GML that evening and also met a new investigator. He thought we were Jehovah Witnesses but we will try to keep him more informed :) 

This morning, with a little bit of free time, I decided to watch a video produced by the Church back in 2000 titled "Special Witnesses of Christ." It was touching to hear powerful testimonies of the servants of the Lord. One that stood out especially was the one of President Thomas S. Monson. He gave his testimony of the Book of Mormon in the Grandin Printing Office and on the Hill Cumorah. He testified of how the Book of Mormon answers life's big questions. He related a story about a young man named Robert Williams. Robert Williams was near to death and President Monson visited him. As Robert laid in pain, he asked President Monson,"Where will I go after I die?" In a search for an answer, President Monson opened the Book of Mormon to Alma chapter 40 and readd to Robert verse 11 and 12

"Now, concerning the state of the soul between death and the resurrection...as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life. And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow."

After watching that clip, I remembered his last conference talk with the theme of the Book of Mormon. It seems to me that the message from President Monson has never changed: the Book of Mormon is true and a testimony of that book will bless us tremendously. President Monson was an incredible prophet who bore strong testimony of Jesus Christ, the Prophet Joseph Smith, and the Book of Mormon. It is sad that he is gone but we know where he is now, not only resting from sorrow but continuing to do this work on the other side. The Lord does indeed call a prophet to guide this Church and how grateful I am for the great examples of the prophets and apostles today. 

Alright everybody I love you all so much! Have a fantastic week!

Elder Evans 

Joking around

Root-beer Floats are in Germany! 

Another scripture quote on the train