Last Week of this Transfer!

Holy cow!! This transfer has just gone by so quickly!!! I can´t even believe it!! I have just had such a great time with Elder Heil, and things have been picking up so I have been really excited!! I hope that I get another round with this kid because it has been great!! Other than that I have been reading in Jesus the Christ on my free time. Like I have said before, what a sweet book!! I also love getting the pictures of little Travis. What a cute kid. Wish I could hold him, ah well, we´ll save that for later. Can I just say how grateful I am for temples by the way. I was able to go today, that is why I am writing today, just so you know. Either way, it really was just the most awesome experience. There is such a peace in the temple that you just can´t find anywhere else!! Something that is worth working for in life that´s for sure. By the way, there are a lot of nice cars in this area. Have I said this before? Drove by a Lamborghini the other day. White, and beautiful. I´m sure my face pressed to the car window wasn´t pretty professional...or the crying...but eh, it´s a lambo, I´m a big fan hahaha can´t help it sometimes. We also had an investigator in church this sunday and he loved the environment but he couldn´t understand a lot because everyone speaks really fast so we were working with him, going over the lesson a bit slower than everyone else...maybe a lot slower hahaha. Either way, the work has been going well! I got teased by a man today, it was pretty interesting, I´ve gotta work on still loving people even when they get on my nerves a little bit. The lord really is way to kind. I am sure that I could use a lot more humbling. A lot more. I try to humble myself but it´s not exactly the easiest thing to do in the world. What I really need to do is just focus on the good in every situation. Elder Heil has a great quote that says "Happy people aren´t always thankful, but thankful people are always happy." Time for me to get a little bit more thankful!!! We have to take off to an appointment now, I didn´t write very much at all this week and I am sorry but I want you all to know that I love you so much and I am so grateful for all of you!! Keep having fun and stay positive!! 

Tschüss!!

Elder lee

Old Baptismal Pic

Neighborhood in Germany

Drawing I am working on for the Tree of Life story. Lots of work needed on that one but we´ll see how it goes hahaha

Dear Lee Family,

I am on my way home from spending a few days with my sister and her husband in Germany. They are Anne and Richard Clement who are serving as the senior missionary couple in Darmstadt. They absolutely love the opportunity that they have to serve with your son and the other missionaries. During the time I was there, I had the chance to spend time with them as well—including attending two district meetings (and lunch afterward), a ward mission planning meeting, a brief interaction at last Thursday’s football night in the cultural hall, and church on Easter Sunday. I told the missionaries that if they would share their parents’ addresses, I would send you all an update as well as these pictures that I took at Tuesday’s district meeting.

 

It was a pleasure to meet Elder Lee and to hear and see his enthusiasm for his mission. The great thing about district meetings is that I got to watch him teach and be taught, role play, plan, sing, and pray (his German is sounding good) during the meeting itself and then, during lunch, watch him relax, laugh, and simply enjoy being with other righteous young men and women who also love the Lord and this opportunity to serve Him. (The common theme among the Elders is how much hair they will lose and/or how much weight they will gain. They have a good sense of humor about both possibilities. He looks great!) He and Elder Heil seem to get along and work well together.

 

He and the missionaries serving in Germany and throughout the world are in my prayers.

 

Sincerely,

 

Marilyn Jenson

Ostern Zeit

Well, in the last week or two I have realized two things...1. Easter can be such an awesome time!! 2. I am starting to get a little bit more fat on my body than I had originally planned....I can straight up say that I have become addicted to chocolate. And the members are always more than happy to give you most of theirs, which makes it so that I have a ton of free chocolate that I "must" eat. I continue to remember Jen´s distinct quote that those with some extra fat got that extra "love" ;) I think by the end of my mission if I keep it up at this rate I am going to be full of a whole lot of love. I mean, just my stomach right now has enough rolls I could start a bakery out here!! Maybe even start a candybar line called Chunk A´ Dunk...I´m gonna be rich. I can see it now. Other than that, these last couple of weeks have also been incredibly hard and super awesome at the same time. Because of the Easter Holiday everyone has just taken off...and I mean everyone. All of our regular weekly appointments fell out, any other appointments we had then cancelled on us and we were ending up doing a lot more finding than we had originally planned. Which was defnitely great! There is nothing quite like going up to someone and trying to speak to them in a language that you don´t know all to well. It´s even funnier when you go up and don´t rely on the spirit and Blah blah blah is the only phrase that your mouth can come up with. We still were able to find two new investigators though and this week we have been able to meet with tons of people already!! We actually just had an investigator appointment with a Muslim yesterday and it really was so great but at the same time it hit me really hard how different their Culture is. As we were talking with Muhhammed he said that he really wanted to get baptized and wanted to do what was necessary to become a part of this church.

He then apologized for talking so quietly on the phone before our appt and I was a little confused because I didn´t think it was that important but he then explained how he has to hide from his friend because if he ends up converting to the church and he goes back home and his family finds out he will be killed. It really was a shock to me. I have known that those things can happen but it never really hit me until that moment. I don´t know what to do, but he wants to keep learning and so we will keep teaching him. Nobody should be kept from the truth. Nobody. I definitely have also realized that I need to open my mouth a lot more than I have lately. I talk to lots of people but I definitely could be talking to more and so my goal is to do just that haha so keep me in your prayers when it comes to have the courage to get out of my comfort zone just that extra bit more. Other than that I have been learning some church songs on the guitar to use with our inactive Andreas and we also are going to be going and playing in the square and singing for a contacting activity. I´m super pumped!! Gotta make sure to get everything down though, I tend to get nervous still XD Guess that will never go away.  We have had some really exciting things going down though and so I am super pumped! I have been trying so hard to keep on top of things lately since I took over the area but it´s been going really great and now things are running smooth like a well oiled machine and Elder Heil and I are just tearin´ it up!! I love you all so much and I miss you all so much as well. I hope that this Easter Sunday went well and that you were able to feel the joy and spirit of this gospel and also of Christ!! I wish you well and I am sorry that I didn´t write more but I am in a bit of a rush!! With much love from Germany!!!

Elder Lee

I´m an Uncle!!

Oh gee, I can´t even contain it right now bahaha so legit! I´ve got myself a nephew!!! So I am just going to spend this entire letter talking about it and what I am going to do with him!!............................................................................Sweet. Mission accomplished. Remember, each dot is at least a page of material. I just had to do some serious editing because let´s be honest, it was all way to awesome for you all to handle. ;) Either way, I am hoping that you are doing well Morgan and Jon and that you´re recovering quickly and that little Travis is as well!!! This week definitely was a little bit harder than usual...but I think the Lord decided that my head needed some serious deflating. So after probably ten dropped appointments and the loss of most of our potentials I am thinking that starting from ground zero is a place I will become well acquainted with. For which I am grateful, no better thing to be practiced in then starting something eh? Either way, the new comp is awesome! We have been getting along really well and we´re both excited to just keep at things out here in good ol Darmstadt! We had a rollercoaster of a ride this week that´s for sure but I have had the great opportunity to read in Jesus the Christ and can I just say that that book is legit! Holy cow, I absolutely love that book. There is so much awesome information in there. I also learned a really cool memorization technique that I am going to be trying out so hopefully that helps me out with my memory since it´s pretty terrible no lie. We did have a really successful appointment this week with Andreas though. He´s one of the less actives but he normally just doesn´t want anything to do with the church but our last appointment with him we brought our guitars so that we could play and we ended up spending most of the time talking about the gospel and he really says that he wants to come to church he just doens´t want to come looking terrible and since he is sick really often he gets embarrassed but he really wants his wife to convert and get on the straight and narrow....full 180 from anything I have ever seen in that man. Totally blew my mind!! I have been praying so hard for him and I feel that he is finally softening his heart. I hope so badly that we can reactivate him because this gospel really would help him so much in his life!! Well, I have to take off a little bit earlier than normal today we´re doing a little activity so we´ve gotta go do some prep but I have to say that I love you all and you´re still continuously in my prayers. What a sweet thing prayers are eh? Good stuff. Can´t get enough of it these days! Have a great week everyone and keep having fun wherever you´re at! 

Tschuss!
Elder Lee

Transfer #1

Well I became a single man this week...good thing I recover quickly and found a new companion...lol I am sure you can all imagine that transfers were this last week. We have our calls on Saturday for transfers and then our Transfer day doesn´t end up being until that next Thursday. So, Elder Bruneel ended up being transfered out of the area to a tiny place in the Northwest. I then took over the area and got my new companion Elder Heil, who in one word could be described as legit. I actually knew him from the MTC. He came out one transfer before our group did so we have a couple of young guys over here in our area. It´s been great though!! I finally understand quite a bit and can pull together some okay replies so we´re in good shape ;) Elder Heil is way good with the language as well and we´re really excited to do some work in this area! This last week ended up being a little bit hard though. We had just about every single appointment with our investigators fall out and a lot of our other appointments fall out to. I actually contacted a guy and he just burped in my face...that was great. Straight up rotten like that cheese I ate the other day. I think the lord is putting these people into my life so that I will be able to survive my own cooking when I return home...but either way life in good ol Darmstadt is still a blast!! I have been eating like crazy and we have been doing some solid morning workouts so I have jumped up to 202 pounds....I think I am going to go for a record for the amount of weight gained on a mission. Luckily I´m still thin but my thighs are getting a lot larger than they used to be. Whenever I try and put my pants on I feel like I am trying to get into those leather pants they wear in that Grease movie or whatever it´s called. Jen will understand what I am talking about haha. It´s definitely the European style to wear tight pants though, so I´m fitting in just fine...sadly I can´t say the same thing about me fitting into my pants. And I just have to say that conference was so amazing!! What a wonderful time to receive modern day council for the things taht are going on in our lives. Just so cool! I kept filling in page after page of notes, it was great!! I wish that I could share all of the amazing inspiration I received but that´s just way to much to type. I do want to recommend that you all read a great talk that I read on Pride. It´s by President Bensen and it really is just so amazing. I also want you all to know that I love and pray for you. Extended family included. I have gained a deep and abiding love for this gospel. It really is so crazy when you are not able to speak as eloquently when bearing testimony. It helps you state the simple truths that you truly believe in. I am sure that I have said this in a letter before, but you can never give enough testimony eh? ;) I have seen that there are going to be many times and many things in our lives that will test our faith and test who we are. Life was never meant to be easy. Like Elder Bednar said, "It was the Load". The trials of this life are what make us successful. And just like any other test it may be a short time of a lot of worry and stress but how fullfilling it will be to stand together in the prescense of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I have no doubt in my mind that the advice given in conference can truly help each and every single one of us. Through reading my scriptures every day I have truly had the chance to see how it can strenghten our testimony and also bring clarity of thought and joy into our daily lives. I also want to give testimony of how important it is for each one of us to develop testimonies of our own. This gospel is not a gospel of men, but a gospel of God. Do not let the failures of men persuade you one way or another but test God. For in him nothing faileth. I have seen that too often with people we work with and it is one of the saddest things to see when someone who is going so well turns away from that truth because of the persuasions of men. Truth is always simple. We can not redifine it. We can try to interpret it in our own ways but no matter what it will always be the same. I give testimony of these things. "For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old, and as well in times of old as in times to come; wherefore, the course of the Lord is one eternal round." Remember that he loves you, and is waiting just outside the door. All you have to do is open it and let him in. I send my love from out here! You´re all amazing!! Tshcuss!!