Pig...

Well as you can see from my title....my week was awesome!! Hahaha what a wonderful thing it was. We got to have an awesome P-Day where we went to the black forest!! It was so cool and so pretty! We went to this lake and it was just surrounded by forest. There was a huge building that serves German food and such and they have a little shop where you can buy "Black Forest Clocks" They are the ones that when you hit the hour they have all the funky things happen. It´s similar to a stage I guess you´d say. People doing the same thing over and over every hour. We then went and had a really cool picnic and I got to play monkey in the middle with some of the kids there. Fun stuff! My camera ended up dying so all of my pics are on another and I am waiting till they are sent to me :P Bear with me on that one haha It still was such a blast though!! We also had a little birthday party that we went to this week. The kids there seem to enjoy stealing missionary tags. I had to hide mine....well, the kids here have no problem doing whatever they can to find what they want. I was attacked from the front and the back and it was really difficult to keep them away and maintain myself as a missionary XD I just wanted to pick em up and wrestle but sadly I cannot do either of those things :P We finally had to bust out of that place so we could make it to our next appointment. We got to meet with our investigator and we went and had some chinese with him and some of his friends...well, I ate some interesting things. I have to say that I am getting pretty practiced at stomaching the horrors of life. I didn´t think that those things would come in the food that I eat but the more I go along the more I find that those are the only things that really tend to be scary here XD I don´t have to worry about Giant sized spiders at least. Those suckers put me on edge these days. Either way, I downed that Pig Stomach like a champ! Boom baby! They want to get chicken feet next time but I think I´ll take my spoils and go home for a season haha. We also had a really cool gathering on Sunday. A lot of members gathered together and a next stake was made in Germany! Pretty big stuff over here! Got to see a ton of old friends and I had an absolute blast meeting and getting to know some new ones. Well, If I don´t end up writing this next week it will be because I tried those chicken feet and will be hospitalized...or Germany will have lost to the US in the world cup and I will be taken prisoner by some angry members. Oh, that reminds me. I ended up seeing 7 minutes of the game between Germany and Portugal. It was super funny because we went into a member´s house for family night (He is a new convert) And he was like, "boys, we´re not playing games tonight, we´re watching the game!!" He brings us in to his living room where his massive T.V is set up and he has drinks out and everything else. Bahahaha we ended up sharing our spiritual thought at half time, luckily that was seven minutes later. And then we said we had to take off. Of course he counters with the "I won´t tell bishop" trick bahahahaha elder Jensen pointed upwards and was like, "ah but he knows." And Brüder Dörschner was just like, "Bah! Elders He is probably cheering you on to watch just as much as I am!" Lol it was quite funny. We were able to make it out of there but I will have to say that it was hard to. Seeing the fireworks going off later on was proof enough that Germany won so that was great! Well, I am off for the week!! Hope you all have a great one!
Tschüss!
Elder Lee

Jammin

Well this week was great!! We had so many meetings that we had to go to this week and so it made the week go by very quickly. We had a really great Zone Finding Day as well that ended up being really quite successful. On one of the people we contacted I ended up starting the conversation by asking if she was from Africa...she was black...sometimes I feel like I am profiling people way more than I should be XD bahahahaha luckily it turned into an amazing conversation of her looking at me and being like, "is it cause I am black?! I want you to know that I am brown....and yes, I am from Africa." We then both started to crack up and talk about Fufu. If you don´t know, ask someone from Africa, great contacting tool hahahaha we then ended up getting onto gospel topics and she actually was really quite excited to go to the activity that they were going to be holding in the area. There were defnitely some other crazy contacts but I think that that experience will suffice for now. We also had a really fun family home evening with a member family in our ward. They have a son who just hopped on his bike and started riding it around...on his first time. No training wheels or anything. I predict him going into motocross and being some mad trick maker haha. We also had a really great activity the other night. It was kind of an "Argentenian" culture night. We had food and people were supposed to invite nonmember friends. Well, ends up that only one family brought a friend...we then had an investigator of ours who brought 4...Somehow someone who wasn´t even in the ward brought more friends than our ward combined. We´re trying to figure out how to get the ward to get out of their comfort zones a little bit. Hopefully we can figure something out. At zone training we had some amazing talks by some really well prepared converts who had some amazing ideas and stories. We had plenty of laughs and some great advice. Best way to learn I think. I also gave a talk on Sunday in my ward. I have to say that I had a pretty awesome one prepared but the other speakers took to much time so I just bore my testimony and called it at that! I love you all and I hope that you have a wonderful week!! I will talk to you all later!! 
Tschüss
Elder Lee

Based Upon a Firm Foundation

Well, I got to visit a castle this week!!! Oh man that was so sick!! We ended up having a holiday yesterday which made it so that we couldn´t do our shopping or emails but we still had time to go hit up a castle...haha I finally got to reach that goal and I am super stoked because it was one of the really large ones. It´s just ruins but a huge part of me enjoys that way more than the ones that have been maintained. I got to run around like a little kid pretending to be legolas and shooting down orcs off of the walls...yup, mission accomplished. The view was also super amazing! I absolutely loved it! I got plenty of pictures so I´ll be sure to send some. I think I took a couple hundred...better than I usually ever do so I hope that you are happy mom!! Being at the castle also helped me think a little bit more about the wear and tear of the elements on something that, at one point in time seemed so sturdy, that is now wasting away. At the same time though, there is still a chance to repair it. (If someone wanted to haha) I find that our testimonies are the exact same way, and also our lives. What an eye opener it was to find out that grandpa had passed away. I never felt like he would ever pass away. Just that invincible Super Man that was always flying around fighting crime at night without anybody having any idea about it. Reading that took the fight out of me a little bit, not going to lie. And then I realize how blessed I am. I know for a fact that I will see him again. There is no question or doubt in my mind about that. I also know that when I see him I will be with my family for eternity. Some may say that I am being a little overzealous in what I am saying but why not? Why should I let myself have less than what I know I can obtain. I have recieved a confirmation of my testimony and so no matter what satan throws at me I will hurdle it and move forward. No matter what person says I can´t do it, no matter who tries to affect me I won´t let it happen. I felt that confirmation. I know it was real. That will never change. Time will not dull the truth no matter how many times those who are against it try to snub it out. Sometimes the truth is not easy to come by. Sometimes it is even harder to swallow. Every moment we live we must conciously decide whether we want to let those forces affect us. Why must we build ourselves upon a firm foundation? Because I know that no one will try harder than satan to bring us down. He uses countless means to make that happen, sometimes he will even go through our closest friends and family. Even those at church. We are all human, and because of that we must work every day to keep what we have obtained. Don´t let others take away from that happiness or that truth. It is killing me to see how many people I serve who have had this truth, this light, and they turn away after they have obtained the fruit because they are embarrassed or have taken offense. It kills me to pray day in and day out for people and then have them reject me harder than before. It kills me to say hi to people and have them scoff at me and make fun of me as I walk around trying to help them find the happiness I feel and so I then come to a crossroads...I can Choose to go forward, I can Choose to be happy, I can Choose to let the light of Christ shine through me and touch those that are ready to see it, or I can Choose to sink into that pit of despair, that Hell of knowing that I could´ve have made it but I chose not to. I know that what I am writing may seem harsh or intense but why should it be anything different? I used to find myself thinking the same things. When others would call me to repentance and I knew that I was guilty of the things that they said, and so I would make excuses for myself by trying to dull the import of the words that they had shared. I am a weak vessel. I know this. And because of that I can talk from experiece. I have let plenty of other people affect me and my testimony, but that was because I based my testimony on others. How can we be built upon a solid foundation when it is built upon someone elses that may or may not just crack...and where are we then? So, my invitation to you, is to build up your own testimonies and then shore them up so that they can best anything that is thrown at them, and if you´ve lost them go find them again. Don´t lose out on the opportunity to become something greater than you could have ever imagined. If you need help, I will be there. If you need words of comfort, I will be there. If you need German Chocolate, I will be there. If you need a friend, I will be there. If I fall through, he won´t. Like I say every week. He is there, but you can´t find anything if you are not looking. I pray for you all every single week. I ask for your safety and for the blessings that you need to receive to be received. I love you all. I am excited for the time when we will all return and be together again. I pray for it, i hope for it, and I continue to chase after it. Have a wonderful week!!

Elder Lee

Life is Crazy..but So Awesome!

Well this week has just been great!!...just like every other week in the service of the Lord can be haha I think I have just been having a blast with individuals this week that think we don´t understand them...XD We also have committed one of our investigators to baptism and he said yes, so we´re pretty pumped about that!! I have also become really good at killing fruitflies. Elder Jensen always rocks the "whipping towel" Technique and the "Open dictionary slap" I went on the creative route and used the vaccum...genius is never appreciated hahaha We´ve been to some pretty awesome places this week though! I´ve gotta get the pictures from Elder Jensen since my camera died...I need to be more responsible with charging that thing....and taking pictures with it XD Ah well, I think this week has been filled with more rejection than I have ever had on my mission...I loved it! I think I´m starting to go crazy but there´s nothing quite like a challenge to make a man chipper at the end of the day. We still ended up having a ton of appoitments so I was pretty pumped about that when I was sending in the numbers for the week. We ended up having 5 lessons yesterday...yes, to some, that is a normal day...maybe even a slow day, but to us it was great!! I also got free cookies and 3 bacon burgers so...yup, miracles happen hahaha even if it´s me finding solace in a burger I know that the Lord has got my back...he´s probably eating something way more healthy but hey, you take what you can get ;) We also had one of our Elders get Blitzed so we are now down to four. We have no idea why but he´s gotta go fill in for someone else so hopefully no one got injured or something like that. We´ll see. We had some great basketball contacting this week as well! Got to play with some really good guys so that was an absolute blast!! It was crazy, one of the guys we played against had just been playing street ball for 20 some odd years. Never been on a team in his life...but he was insane!! I stuffed him twice though...so that was sick. I think I am finally starting to get a little bit better at basketball with all of this basketball contacting we have been doing that, or the lord helps his servants...not suck. The latter is probably correct. I know that this is another really short letter, but I kindof like it that way....If you don´t mom I will change my ways. haha. I guess if you really want to know I walked 3600 steps yesterday....okay, not really. Thanks for everything guys. Thank you for your help and your support. Remember how great the Atonement is. The lord truly has done a lot more for us than we can or probably ever will comprehend. When you taste the bitterness of rejection or sadness or regret, remember that he has the antedote. He has his arms spread wide open.Take in every moment, remember them, learn from them, and then let them change you. Become something better every day. The lord gives you plenty of opportunites if you look for them. Serve one another, give yourself over to the spirit of service. Therein you will find the happiness and joy that the Lord gives to those who give of themselves to others. Happiness is always found when you give it to others, just like when we lose ourselves to find ourselves. I talk about the Atonement, I dream of the Atonement, I help others understand the Atonement, and above all else, I use it. "Trust in the Lord with all the heart and lean not to thine own understanding." We can not comprehend the things of God, but we can trust in him. We can trust that he has a plan, we can trust that he gave of his son, and we can trust that he loves us. Search the scriptures diligently. The lord and his prophets don´t give you these commandments willy nilly. Test what they say...Test them. If there was anything that I learned on my mission so far that I will take with me forever, it´s that the Lord never falls through. He keeps his word. Always. Take advantage of that. Understand him by understanding his works. By their fruits ye shall know them. It isn´t any different with God. I bear testimony of his divinity. I bear testimony of the truth of this work and I bear testimony that we all have a Savior who is waiting for us to hear him knocking at our doors. "Choose ye this day whom ye will serve, as for me and my house we will serve the Lord." Have a great week everybody, I love you all.

Elder Lee

Cachow!

Boom! What another sweet week it has been!! We have just been having a blast down here and I have really been loving every moment!! We have been getting a lot of investigators and referrals and on top of that we have three really serious investigators that are really interested in the church and considering baptism. One has had a baptismal date before but he is scared that he is not ready. We tried to get him to come to the baptism that we had in the area just this last week but he wasn´t able to because he ended up being in France. Great thing about living by everything. People can just drive for an hour and then use the excuse that they´re in a different country and can´t come to church XD hahaha It was great though, because we were able to have another inactive back in church!! I really love working with inactives so much because I feel like it´s so much more important to get those "lost sheep" back into the fold. It is even better when they come back and they are super excited about things. I really have started just having such a great time serving these people because you learn and see so many different things. We help with refugees, students in classrooms, rich people, poor people, and everyone in between. Each with a different background and different experience with so many things. Either way things have been pretty normal when it comes down to it. Life here is just sweet. Some of the days can drag on and yet when you look back it feels like the blink of an eye. It really has been such a great opportunity to be out here on the mission I have seen and learned so much and I am so pumped to see and learn more. I just wish I had prepared myself a lot more than I had, paying attention in German class definitely would have been one of those things that would have helped hahaha we speak from 9 in the morning till 9 at night now. I guess that is normally the common rule throughout missions but we still used a lot of English here. The change has been great though, I feel my understanding and my language skills increasing exponentially. I really believe that the lord helps us when we give it our all. That´s where I need to be. 100 percent in all the time! I have been reading through all of the standard missionary works and I am just about totally finished...except for the bible....that might take a little while hahahaha and I´ve been reading in German so that takes a little longer but it has been so sweet because I understand about 80 percent of what I am reading. The rest I can usually figure out with context clues so I am pretty pumped about it all. My grammar is definitely not where I would like it to be but Elder Jensen has really great German so I have been picking up on a lot of things really quickly! We also had a way sweet pingpong night the other day. I got to play with some really good asians...ya...I have learned some Chinese so that I can contact them and ask them to play pingpong with us....I think Elder Jensen started it. Genius. They all love ping pong! Such a great way to find some new potentials. We actually shared a small spiritual thought with one of them and he ended up not even really knowing who Jesus Christ was. I know that that is pretty common in some areas but I guess I have been so immersed in this gospel that it just blew my mind when I found out!! Just so cool! 

There is so much more to write but not enough time to write it all down. I have to let you know though, that things are going great! Elder Jensen is awesome, the apartment is...interesting. (Showering with a bucket is actually starting to grow on me) Our faucet is busted and the "House Master" Hasn´t gotten anybody to come fix it yet so I have become quite good with bending metal with my bare hands ;) hahaha We also eat a lot healthier now after Jen called me fat on our skype chat ;) Don´t worry Jen I am going to make sure that I don´t stay that way!! Also, good job at graduating seminary! The hours that you put in were definitely worth it! Keep up the good work! Also, I hope that everything is going well with the family! I pray for you all very often and I really hope that as you do the things that are required of you that you feel the strength of the Lord behind you in every step!! You guys are so awesome! Keep having fun and keep eating well!! Love you all!!!

Elder Lee

Inspiration

Well this week has been sick!! I just have to say that I love when the Lord provides those small things that end up being huge things. So this week we started out with a bunch of appointments (5 ended up falling out...which wasn´t to great) but we still did really well. The other day I was looking through the Ward list at Inactives (2/3 of Germany is inactive in the church...) and so I started making some calls with Elder Jensen. I ended up coming across a name and I was considering whether or not I should call it and then I just started dialing the number...I think the spirit helps me to not think sometimes XD I probably think way to much for my own good hahaha but either way, I ended up making this call and a lady answers and I just say that it´s the missionaries and that we were wondering if we could share a small message with her. She was super pumped to have us come over and at first I was a little confused because you never really have that happen...hahaha so we ended up going to her house with a member and she had been waiting for us at the door. We then go in and have just a wonderful appointment. We then find out that she had called her mom up in Brazil because she hadn´t been visited by missionaries for nine years....it was crazy!! She really was so excited to be in contact again with the missionaries. She ended up referring an inactive sister and a person that might become an investigator....so we were pretty pumped about that. We then had another day where we went to an investigators home who has been really busy and he ended up not being there...which was really disappointing. On the way back to the Bahn we ended up running into him and a friend of his and the friend is going to meet with us and him this next week!!! So sweet! We´ve had plenty of other awesome experiences as well! From stealing a grandma´s cookie to me pinching something in my back we´ve been having adventures right and left! XD I love you all and hope that you have a wonderful week!! I bear testimony of the Holy Ghost! Listen and when you have the thought to do something good, do it. You´ll find that that call to remembrance, that prompting, was from The Holy Ghost. Crazy how he can guide you when you continually immerse yourself in the service of the Lord. Have a great week!!

Tschüss!

Elder Lee

Finally Transfered

Well, this week has definitely been an adventure!! I am now being transferred. Going to be heading down to the south of Germany to get an awesome accent...I don´t think I am going to be very understandable when I get home hahahaha. I kept thinking to myself that I wouldn´t be getting transfered but alas, I am having to take off. This week went really well though!! We were able to meet with some more of our investigators and we had some really spiritual lessons which is so great! I am sad to leave but hopefully I end up getting some solid emails about baptisms. I am praying for it!! I am just going to have to tear it up down south!! I am also almost done with Jesus the Christ, which I am really excited about! That book is just top notch, such a great read!! For some reason I am not exactly sure what to say today....everything has just been up in the air and things have just been pretty crazy. We got to go see a way cool park and stuff today though. It was way pretty and it was such a great time just going out and relaxing for a little while for our P-Day. Things are starting to warm up and because of the humidity if I run for a bus I am sweating...normally i´d say I am just out of shape but I´ll be honest this humidty doesn´t help whatsoever. I am still trying to get over the smell of some people as you walk by or get stuck on the bus with but we all learn from every new experience.

I really have just had such a great time reading all of these letters from Steph and Amy, it´s so exciting to see how the work is going in the states!!! The girls are doing so much work!! Keep it up!! It really pumps me up so much to hear about all the work that you all are doing. Even dad converting traveling salesmen...like a boss!!! I am so excited for Jon and Morgan as well, good luck to you both!! Also good luck Jen at your internationals and Happy birthday Steph!! Love you bud! I guess I´ll just close off again today with my thanks again for all of you!! You´re great and I am so grateful that I have had this opportunity to be out here, it really has changed my outlook on so many things. I also am grateful for the talks that are given to us by the apostles and others. What great sources of inspiration and revelation. I really am sorry for another short letter but I seriously can´t think of anything to say at the moment. Have a great week everybody, I love all of you!!

Elder Lee