Monday July 27, 2015 Gera, Germany

Hallo! Looks like you had a fun week! I was thinking about Fiesta days this week! I hope you ate some good food! And enjoyed the rodeo! I had a pretty event filled week also! It went by very fast! 

Montag: we had a half p-day. We met with a member and then the Meckel family. Schwester Meckel started crying when we told her that transfers are coming up. Sometimes I guess I just don't realize that we actually have an effect on people’s lives. 

Dienstag: We taught Michael. It's hard to have a focus with his lessons now that he doesn't have a specific goal! Have goals people! It helps you have direction in life! I hated goals/to do lists before my mission. You should see my desk and notebooks now! FULL of goals! We also had Gemeinde Abend (kind of like a ward FHE). Oh! And then we ate pizza with Tony and Lucy! That was a fun little dinner/lesson. We made Lucy a planner like ours and gave her topics to study every day. She's really bored for the 6 weeks she has of summer. So we have been trying to keep her busy! ;) 

Mittwoch: Distrikt meeting, talked about setting miracle goals. I liked it a lot! God is a God of Miracles. If he can work miracles then, then why not now? We took a bus home from DM. It was HOT! No AC there either. Then we taught German and English class. I like this part of the day. The people are so nice and so eager to learn! I love it! Plus I get to speak English and not feel bad about it. 

Donnerstag: This day was Buchenwald concentration camp. Our visit to Buchenwald was really amazing. Walking into the camp there is an indescribable feeling that was there. The feeling was heavy, almost like you could touch it. Everyone there had a reverence of respect. It was quiet, the wind was blowing, and the sky was grey. I could imagine it looking and feeling the same about 80 years ago, as it did this day. So many people died and suffered there. So many children and young teenagers also. To see pictures and think of what the people had to go through makes me cringe. I don't know how the people that survived did it. 

I had seen a few Holocaust Museums before, but not an actual camp. I had felt this heavy feeling, and had the sense of reverence before. However, I had never learned, or realized what I learned and realized in Buchenwald. As I was listening to the history, and feeling what had happened there an overwhelming feeling of pure love swept over me. It was a Christ like love. For all these people that died, and suffered in Buchenwald, and in World War II itself. The scripture in D&C 18:10 came to mind, "the worth of souls is great in the sight of God." I know that is true. I know that it’s true now, I know that it was true then, and I know that it will always be true. However, because of the things that people went through, and even just the remembrance of what the people during World War II went through, people have seem to lost their faith. I don't blame them. It would be hard to believe there is a God while being in a concentration camp. However, because I have the knowledge that God loves me, and that he loves all of his children, I can go through trials in my life with hope. I have the assurance that as long as I live the gospel of Christ, and keep the commandments, that nothing in life can go permanently wrong. Things may change, and things may be hard, but I know that as I live the gospel my Heavenly Father will watch over me. The importance of knowing who we are and what we mean to God is very important. If we forget how much we mean to our Heavenly Father, then we will lose our self-confidence, and self-worth. This week I read a talk by President Uchtdorf, called "You matter to Him". One line that really hit me was about how compared to God we are nothing, yet to God we are everything. God created the universe for US! Do you know how amazing that is? He did all of that for us! That makes me think that he loves us very much! I wish that more people could have this knowledge, so that they could go through trials with the assurance that God loves them! 

I read "man’s search for meaning" when I was in school and it is about someone in a concentration camp, but how he stays positive. I don't remember if he believed in God the whole time, but he had a WHY. Find your WHY and stick to it! 

Freitag: we went finding!! WAAHOO!! I’ve never been so happy to have finding time on my whole mission! We found 4 new contacts this day, and hopefully they will all be new investigators this week! We also met with the Meckels in their garten (garden)! Pascal bought Schwester Meckel a garten! SO cool! At the Meckels garten there was a guy that we were talking to and he asked Sister Medley why her last name was different from mine. We explained that we weren't related and he was totally shocked! He said that he thought sister Medley was my MOM!! I was dying!!! Oh sooo funny! And better yet, he thought she was my mom because I was short!! haha! I must look REALLY young! Plus, Sister Medley has a birthday this week, so I guess she's just starting to show her old age of 20!! Ha! Funny!  Then my favorite part of the week... Weekly Planning.

Samstag: We had a joint teach with Michael about the organization of the church. God is smart, that’s all I have to say about the organization of the church. Just Wow. Then we had finding again! We found another contact!! YES! Then we met with Lucy and she made us pancakes! SO good! And we had a lesson that I think went really well. We love her so much! And she is making great progress and learning so much from her studies! We are proud! 

Sonntag: The whole Meckel family didn't come to church, but Fynnlay and Nele came! They are very good and love primary! The ward is good to them! We then ate at Schwester Dörlitz's house. I dread the words "alles muss aufgegessen werden!" Which translated means: "here, I cooked enough food to feed the stripling warriors and I expect you and Sister Medley to eat ALL of it!" I honestly almost threw up after this eating appointment. At least it was good! 

I really learned a lot this week and loved every minute that I had! I'm enjoying my time with Sister Medley! We are working hard. We try not to think of transfers very much, but we know they are coming. Wish us luck. I pray for you always! I'm also so proud that you read together as a family. Have fun camping siblings. I can count on one finger how many times MOM has suggested that we go camping and it’s this time! Have so much fun and enjoy the nature. Remember how much you mean to God. He created everything for you! I love you so much! 

Mit Aller Liebe, Sister St. John

*Note from Mom: included below are Cassidy's pictures from the concentration camp she was able to visit. Just a warning that a few of the pictures are quite graphic.*

Us with Sister and President Kosak. He still wears his nametag inside of his jacket! We love them! 

 Buchenwald gate

 Barbwired fence

 Role call line up place

 The crematorium. Pretty horrible, but I thought you might want to see some pictures.

 The bunkers were all torn down after the American soldiers invaded the camp, so they weren't there anymore. However, the block numbers and places of the bunkers were there. We listened to a audio tour and it told us things about specific blocks. Very interesting.

 

 A panorama, and the little camp.

 They put 2000 people in a stable built for 50 horses. Awful.

 Some of the original fence.

The depot, where they held all the clothes and food.

Another view of the crematorium. 

We went on another hike today. it was beautiful and raining and fun! 

 

Monday July 20, 2015 Gera, Germany

In 9 months...

Let me just start off by saying that I have to write my email on my iPad and it's not very fun. So...It may be short today! Sorry!! It looks like everyone is having SO much fun! The flower field is beautiful! I miss the mountains, and actually being awake for sunsets. So...As you all know, I will hit my 9 month mark on Wednesday! I know, you are all thinking the same thing as me...Like, "how could this be? It was like last week that she left!” But at the same time I don't remember her being home. That's about how I'm feeling about it. If you could do me a favor and just pray that it would go a little slower that would be nice!

A little overview of my week…

Tuesday: we taught Michael. I ate liverwurst at geminde abend. It wasn't too bad! And we taught the Meckels.

Wednesday: normal day with district meeting, studies, English, German. Then we went on exchanges. I went to Chemnitz with Sister Kromwitter. She's German!

Thursday: I was still in Chemnitz, we did a service project with the Elders there. Then we came home. While I was gone…Sister Medley had a lot of appointments. One of them being with Michael. To make a long story short, he doesn't feel prepared to be baptized anymore. Really really sad, because he could have.

Friday: We did weekly planning, taught schwester Wolf, and visited a couple members. (I needed to use their bathroom. There are no public bathrooms).

Saturday: We handed out balloons to little kids that said "I'm a child of God!" That was fun! Then we went park finding. Then taught Sandy, he wasn't drunk this time so that was good. Taught Michael about temples with schwester Dörlitz. And also met with Lucy! (We aren't supposed to have favorites...but we do. She's definitely it!)

Sunday: This was a great day!! Because guess what? The Meckels came to church!! Oh my goodness we were soooo happy! Everyone but Aja came! And also President, or former President Kosak was there! We were very happy! We also met with Lucy again this day and talked about the importance of having the Spirit with us.

Today: We switched some P-day hours so we can go to Buchenwald on Thursday!!! We are very excited! We met with the Fügmann family today and they said to tell you hi! We will later meet with the Meckels! Then...the real week will start. We are busy, but always having fun! The weather isn't so bad anymore.

A lot happens in 9 months. And I don't think anyone but me will ever get the full effect of how I've changed, or what I've learned. But I can tell you it's amazing, and the mission is worth it.
In 9 months I have....

-used 1 can of hairspray. That's it
-lived in 4 different cities in 2 different countries (MTC counts)
-been with someone 24/7
-eaten my body weight in potatoes
-been the happiest in my life
-worn a selection of about 10 skirts, and 12 shirts
-been the saddest I've ever been in my life
-learned more about East Germany than I thought I ever would
-talked to hundreds of people...in German
-gained 15 pounds
-ordered my OWN food, in German, more than once
-given out 100's of pass along cards from our church
-learned that I can do anything if it's in English
-read the Book of Mormon in German
-received calluses on my feet from the many miles I've walked
-noticed ALL of my weaknesses (a mission will do that for you)
-have turned some weaknesses into strengths
-eaten turkey liver, fish with scales on it, liverwurst, African food
with mystery meat and my fair share of bakery goods
-gained a closer relationship with my Heavenly Father then I thought
was possible
-learned how to use the Atonement every day in my life

In 9 months I will...
- hopefully doubled and strengthened all of the good experiences that I've had
- take what I've learned so far, and apply it to my life, and through
the eternities

9 months...goes fast. I hope it slows down. I only have this opportunity once! I love you!! Have such a fun 24th of July week! Don't forget that it's about pioneers! (I didn't know that until I was like 16...so remember to teach your kids what it's about too!;) Love
you all!

-Sister St. John

Panorama for dad especially! View from the castle. These "mountains"
are actually the biggest that I've seen here in Germany! 

Monday July 13, 2015 Gera, Germany

Der Tempel und die Segnungen davon

Title translation: The Temple and the blessings there from. Or…The temple, and the blessings from it. I don't know how to put that into right sentence structure. :)

Hallo!! Summer here in Germany, or in Gera at least is now in full swing! The kids only get 6 weeks of summer! So everyone in America should be grateful for their summer break! 

Montag: We had a wonderful lesson with the Meckel Family! We talked about the Doctrine of Christ. We made another little puzzle with a bridge that you have to build that gets you to the other side. It's fun for the kids and gets everyone involved. We also made the kids Baptisim calendars and helped them know how to do those. At the end of the lesson we watched a Mormon message about the blessings we can receive when we live the doctrine of Christ. It was really focused on the family. The Spirit was very strong while we were watching it, and I cry anyway every time we watch this film. But, Schwester Meckel also started crying. When it was over I felt the strong impression to just bear my testimony of the family. I got through my tears just enough to bear a short, but very strong testimony of how the gospel could bless their family. It was maybe the strongest testimony that I have ever given. I have never felt the Spirit help me as much as it did in that moment to know exactly what to say and how to say it. As I was set apart by our Stake President, he promised me that I would be able to speak the language as if I was born here. Most of the time I look at that promise and think it will never happen, but...sometimes, when I am talking with the Spirit, I can see this promise fulfilled. 

Dienstag: We taught Michael. He is really struggling right now to find his testimony. We talked a lot about the Word of Wisdom, and his is still hung up on that Jesus drank wine, so he doesn't see why it’s bad. If anyone has any suggestions with this let me know. Also, we were supposed to teach Sandy, but he didn't show up. So, we finally had a little bit of time for finding. We then went to Frau Dhillion! She is an amazing cook and always has some kind of small dessert made for us! We had Gemeinde Abend and watched the Testaments auf Deutsch, which, I have almost memorized by now! It's funny! Then we had a little Gemi-Co with Bruder Krause. 

Mittwoch: We had an appointment with Sch. Morgner. A less active in Werdau that we found a couple weeks ago. Her daughter was also there. We were just talking for a while and then her daughter said, "Ok, I have to tell you something" and she proceeded to tell us how grateful she is that we came at this time to help her and her mom. She talked about the timing and how we were very open and how they connected with us very quickly. It was another moment on my mission that I KNEW without a doubt that I was supposed to be there to help these ladies. Sister Medley and I were in the exact place at the exact time we were needed. I am very grateful that God has a specific plan for each of us. We also taught Frank, English and German this day! 

Donnerstag: We went to Leipzig for a zone conference with our new President! But, before I tell you about that I have to tell you something pretty typical of me! As we were leaving I forgot my name tag, so I ran in to get it and Sis. Medley held the door open. My keys were still IN the door INSIDE our apartment. I didn't even think about it and just walked out and let the door close! Shoot. My keys. But hey, no problem because Sis. M. had her keys with her. Wait...problem, the keys are still in the door so Sis M's keys don't work. Ugh! Looking back it’s funny, because Bruder Krause helped us out while we were in Leipzig! So...Leipzig. President Fingele is amazing! He has 5 kids! 3 of them were with him as well as his wife! During this conference, we focused a lot on the family! Our new mission theme is "Faithfully we Baptize, Focused on the Blessings of the Temple." We talked about setting 2 baptismal dates for our investigators. One for themselves, and then one for a passed away family member in the temple. I LOVE this focus and I'm so excited to see it used in our mission! It is a little hard to do so because both of the temples in Germany are closed right now until 2016...but! We will make it work! 

Freitag: We met with Sandy! Also made an appointment with a contact for next week. Also a little bit of weekly planning! 

Sammstag: We finished our weekly planning, did some finding, an appointment fell out, we had a joint teach with Sch. Dörlitz and Michael! Then we went and ate with Lucy!! We love her to death and she's a very good cook! She even made me fries!! :) 

Sontag: Church, it wasn't so hot so we had all 3 hours. Michael came today which was really good because it was all about temples!! YES! We ate by Sch. Kretchmar! Rouladen! 

That was basically all for my week! I will send some pictures really quick! Love you!! Hope you have a GREAT week!! 

Alles Liebe, Sister St. John 

A garden in Gera! Reminds me a little of temple square, just without the temple! 

We went on a "hike" to a castle here in Gera today!  

And a jumping pic because why not?

Monday July 6, 2015 Gera, Germany

Well, I think one thing in common with us this week is that it was HOT! I honestly think I have been sweating for a week straight. Also, for some great reason, Germany thinks it doesn't need AC. It does. Also, it’s a great feeling to get out of the shower and never be really dry...ugh! Not going to lie, I like the dry heat better! The humidity is only good if you are by an ocean. Anyway, you sounded like you had a great week full of summer fun. Having cousins over is always fun. Enjoy every moment! 

As for my week....

Montag: The Meckels fell out and so we had an extra hour of P-day, and a few hours free to work. So...Lucy called us and she was in the town! We went, got some dinner, and then went to a park to have our own little Family Home Evening. Sister Medley and Lucy stuck me in this spinney thing and spun me till I was way dizzy. They decided to film me trying to get out of the spinney thing and the video is pretty funny! I wish I could send it to you. After that we had a really spiritual lesson. We love Lucy! She is like our best friend!

Dienstag: We went by on a member in an old folk’s home, and he was busy, so we couldn't visit him. Then we went by on a contact. He wasn't home. We then taught Michael about obedience. We found a video, its president Uchtdorf giving his testimony. Of course in English, However, HE translated it into German! So, we heard Pres. Uchtdorf speak German. Very cool! We then Taught Frau Dhillon from the Bible, and she fed us food with raw tomatoes. I managed to eat them without throwing up. We then had an appointment with a new investigator Claudia. She is 19 and very open to learn. She also accepted that when she knows it's true, she will be baptized. 

Mittwoch: Diskrikt meeting! The Elders made us root beer floats because it's the fourth of July week! They had some root beer extract or something, and it actually tasted pretty good! After Distrikt meeting we went by a member in Werdau and she wasn't home. It was SO hot this day. Honestly like upper 90's and so humid. I was wet. Everyone was just wet. Gross. We got home, and ate lunch. What? We actually had time to eat lunch? That’s weird! We did some studies, which is actually one of my favorite parts of the day, and then did some finding! Not very many people were out though because it was so hot. Extreme weather conditions...not prime for missionary work. 

Donnerstag: We taught Michael about trying his faith. We felt strongly that we needed to invite him to be baptized on the 25th. Before we invited him, we read a few scriptures and we got on the topic of how Sister Medley and I don't have a perfect knowledge of the Book of Mormon, or the Gospel, but that we have a testimony of it and that’s what’s important. We then invited him. He said yes! And He said before he thought that he needed to know everything in the Book of Mormon, but that now he knows he just needs a testimony. He doesn't quite have a testimony yet, but I know he will get one before the 25th. We will be working a lot with him these next few weeks. We also taught Sandy, he is also a new investigator. Then had German and English class. That’s fun! We have like 4 or 5 young guys come from the Middle East. Syria, and Iran, and Iraq. It's interesting to hear how things were for them there. They are cool! I will send a pic of them. They think my blonde hair is cool. Then...we taught Raymond. Our African. Also, Tony, a newly returned sister missionary came with us! She served in Ukraine! It was a pretty horrible lesson because he doesn't let us talk and isn't willing to do anything...we decided to drop him after the lesson. However, Tony is awesome and misses her mission! We went out to dinner with her and ate at this American style little diner! 

Freitag: We made some Tauf (baptism) calendars for the Meckel kids. Put scriptures on every day, and things they should be doing every week. We also had weekly planning... which, oh my goodness it was SO hot in our apartment. We live on the top floor, and there is NO AC! Honestly....Germans and their energy saving. We had an appointment with Herr Strauss. We showed up at the park. He gave us the Book of Mormon back. Told us he didn't need it, gave us some presents, and said he wasn't interested. That it wasn't for him, but thanks anyway. I cried. We visited a less active, Sch. Wolf. She was kind of baptized without a testimony. We will have to work with her like an investigator. Sad. Then, Sch. Riemann had a lot of people over at her house, so we didn't get a good lesson in. Also sad, and a little frustrating. Sister Medley also tried to talk to a lady on the Bahn and the lady got up and moved like in the middle of the conversation. haha! It was a had to be there moment. We were done with this day. 

Samstag: AMERICA DAY!!! We wore red white and blue with the rest of America! There is a cool scripture about our country in Ether 2:12. It talks about how our country is the Promised Land, but only if we serve God. A German told me the other day that 50% of Americans go to a church every Sunday. I like to think that 45% of them are LDS. We talked to a man this day who talked to us about how he thinks America is going to start world war three. He was very concerned about it. I think he will be dead by the time that happens, so he shouldn't be worrying about it. (He was very very old) We got to visit the Zaumsagel family! They have a house in East Germany. Very cool! We taught Michael the Word of Wisdom, with Sch. Kretchmar as a joint teach. Michael and Sch. Kretchmar wore red white and blue for us. Very funny! Then we went and had a lesson with Lucy! We got to go to her apartment! It was really fun to finally see where she lives. There really is the Spirit in her room! It’s amazing the feeling from outside just walking around, and being inside a house with the Spirit there. 

Sontag: If this tells you how hot it really was, we only had 1 hour of church because of the heat. We ate with the Brykaski's. They just came from a trip from southern France on some island. The pictures looked amazing! I want to go sometime. He is also a good cook, so we enjoyed ourselves. Then we went with Lucy to a garden party from Frau Dhillon. She had lots of friends there and it was good to get to know people in a casual way. Lucy brought her guitar and Frau Dhillon wanted us to sing and play something. We sang Love at Home. It sounded bad, but…people were curious what it was and we got to talk about why we were in Germany and all of that fun stuff! We then went finding and had 5 good conversations. Which is when someone will actually talk to us, we teach a gospel principle, and invite them to do something, like meet with us, or look on our website. This is more success then we have seen in a while! We got home, filled the bathtub up with cold water, put our feet in, and then did studies. 

This week I realized how thankful I should have been at home in Utah for a lot of things. One being AC. Actually that was the main thing. Also our freedom. We live in a good country. Or at least you do for now. I’m thankful that I am on a mission. Not going to lie, sometimes it's hard to keep my desire to be out here up. Of course I would never just up and come home because it was too hot one day, but sometimes it’s hard to just be out. I’m sure you can imagine that, but I think unless you have been on a mission, you won't really understand it. I am also thankful that the Savior is always with me. I just have to call on him. He is always there. He helps me be motivated, He comforts me when I miss my family, He helps me when I don't know what to say, He loves me when I feel alone. Never take the Gospel for granted. No matter your situation. At home, on a mission, just remember how blessed you are to have this wonderful Gospel in your life. I love you all! Have a great week! Don't die because of the heat, and I will try not to either! Enjoy your AC! Ich Liebe Euch für immer und Ewigkeit (I love you forever and ever). 

Liebe, Sister St. John

 Us with tony! We got milk shakes and burgers!

 She didn't say, but we're assuming this is the group of Middle Eastern people that come to English class.

Monday June 29, 2015 Gera, Germany

*Note from Mom: Cassidy’s last email title was, “Who would have thought THAT would be a problem.” We didn’t really know what she meant by that…*

Well, to start things off, I didn't really explain my last email title. The problem is that we have TOO many people to teach, and not enough time to find! Don't even ask how that happened! Especially in this mission. We have been so so blessed. It's not even us who has found all these people, they have just been given to us. Work hard, and be obedient. It is just easier.

Montag: We taught the Meckel family. The two oldest girls are now on baptismal date. Not until October. We are working on moving it up. We will see. We also just got a text that they canceled our appointment for today:(

Dienstag: We taught Frau Dhillion from the Bible because she doesn't like/accept the Book of Mormon...yet! She also always feeds us peppermint tea with fresh peppermint from her garden. It’s really good! We made our way with the car to Dr. Hoofalon straße (road). We went by on a less active and also the crazy lady that we meet out in the pouring rain a couple weeks ago. She's now safe in her house:) We went by on a contact and he is like the nicest German man we have ever met! He bought us mugs and then filled them with candy! It’s really cool and has some cool Gera stuff on it. We also met with Michael this day. He actually READ!! Yes!! This has been what he have been waiting for!! Progress...he's making progress! 

Mittwoch: Distrikt meeting. Then we went by some Werdau members that Bishop asked us to go by on. Elder Young was mad because the less actives all let us in, but before they wouldn't let the Elders come over. Sometimes...people just need sisters. We also found a guy here from Brazil. He’s a ballerina for the theater here. He’s cool and we get to give him a Book of Mormon sometime soon. A new kid also came to English class. He is from Syria and we are starting a German class for him! He is going to bring his friends...which means like the whole ausländer heim (foreigner’s home)! 

Donnerstag: I have written down that I need to do a better personal study because I fell asleep during my personal study. Woops...I'll work on that! We taught Michael. He's still doing well! Had some concerns about the Golden plates. But we focused on having a testimony instead of worrying about the little details. Then Frank. He is all hung up because he thinks the Book of Mormon has bad grammar in German. We will clear that up next time. It's hard to have a controlled lesson with him. Then Schwester Riemann, she is SO sweet! We talked about the Book of Mormon. She has a hard life, but we think that she is starting to gain some hope because of the things she has started doing again! Prayer, scripture study…good things! We then had an appointment with Lutz, another less active! He’s SO funny! But he was also serious for our lesson and we all felt the Spirit really strong. Claudia, his friend was there. She started crying in our lesson, and then when Lutz said the closing prayer. We are bringing her a Book of Mormon tomorrow. See what I mean by people are just dropped into our hands?

Freitag: We helped Sch. Dörlitz in her garden. Sister Medley mowed grass for the first time! Sch. Dörlitz made us wear these huge guy sweatpants so we didn't get our crappy exercise/work cloths dirty. People are funny! Herr Strauss bailed on us again because he had to work. Then we did weekly planning.

Samstag: It rained…and rained. Herr Strauss fell out again! But we got to teach Micheal! We talked about the Sacrament! It was a good lesson! Then we got to teach lucy! We had the feeling that we should talk to her about missions. We also had the feeling that we should ask her if she has ever thought about going on a mission. She said yes! She had an experience the other day with a friend and she told her friend kind of randomly that she wanted to go on a mission! God has a plan for everyone. He knows what He's doing! 

Sonntag: Michael came to church! That was really fun! Then we ate at another Kosak family’s house! With President Kosak’s dad, and brother, and his brother’s wife! We ate Rouladen! First time ever in Germany! It was good to say the least! I had some pretty funny, embarrassing moments in German this day. If you thought I was blonde before, you should see me trying to communicate in a different language! I’m still the same person...just a little more spiritual! 

Well, not a lot of time, and I didn't really take any more pics this week! Sorry! I will send some next week! Oh! And maybe from my Ipad I can send a couple! 

This week I’ve just realized how blessed I am! I don't know, my heart is just filled with gratitude. I’m SO blessed! I have a great family, great friends. I have the Gospel. I’m on a mission! I feel have the Spirit with me every day! I have joy! REAL joy! Not just worldly joy. Really, there isn't much more in life to ask for. Remember to be grateful for what you have in life at the moment. Remember especially to thank Heavenly Father for it. I love you! 

Liebe, Sister St. John

 

Our district! Ignore my hair...it needs work. It has almost no layers. Maybe ask Brooke what I could do about that? I'm terrified of going to a hair cutting place here! They don't know how to cut hair! I'm really actually worried that they would shave half of my head or
something! That's really in style here right now! Along with mc hammer pants. No joke. I think of Brittney every time I see them for some reason! Ok...but our district. So fun! Four Sisters and two Elders. Elder Young, by Sister Medley goes home in 5 weeks. Elder Thompson served in Gera right before we did. They serve in our area with us.

Monday June 22, 2015 Gera, Germany

Hallo! How are you? Everyone sounds like they have all had a super fun week! Really, thank you everyone for the emails, and pictures! It means a lot to me! Chelise sent me a video of Mykell hula hooping, and I was amazed that she actually remembered me! I feel like I’ve been gone for a REALLY long time, so I guess I’m just always surprised when the littler kids remember me! Also, I thought I would let you know that seeing pictures of all the Aunts and my sisters is making me feel really ugly! Geez. Everyone is so beautiful! I’m like the ugly duckling of the bunch! Ok, I’m kidding...kind of. Maybe because I have the Spirit with me so strong it helps me look a little better than I actually do! Ok, but in all seriousness, everyone looks very good! And I believe I saw a picture of dad wearing a shirt I have never seen before. I’m impressed Dad! Branching out a little bit;) 

For a quick update about Germany. It’s cold here. Probably in the upper 50's lower 60's every day. Plus it rains almost every day. I now know why Germany is so green! But, I have to say, I’m not very jealous of the 100 degree weather. I would rather have it in the 60's! That’s about all I know about Germany right now. Oh! I also know a LOT about the DDR now! Do you know what that is? It's East Germany, behind the wall. I get told stories every day on the street! I should write some of them down! They are very cool! 

So, for my week....

Montag: We were supposed to go on Tausch. However, the sister from Chemnitz missed their train, and there wasn't one for a long time. So they got here late, and just decided to sleep over! This was actually really fun! Especially because It’s a new sisters program and we got to tell them all about it! We all 4 went and gave Schwester Dörlitz a flower because she likes flowers and does a lot for us. 

Dienstag: The sisters were still here! We did studies, bought a Bratwurst! Oh! It was sooo funny! Sister Hahn wasn’t planning on staying over, so she didn't have any missionary clothes, (they came straight from playing b-ball) so they were in their work out clothes. She borrowed a skirt and shirt, but she didn't have any shoes, none of our shoes fit, so she was just walking around Markt with just socks on! It was pretty funny! We then went on splits! I went with Sister Moffet! We found a couple of new contacts, and it’s always fun to learn some new things. Sister Moffet is very good at giving advice. I had kind of felt like I fell into a rut of missionary work, and that I wasn't really progressing personally. She gave me some really good tips. One of them was "change your prayers, and it will change everything". This week, I have witnessed this to be true. Prayers are answered. By saying sincere prayers, we see miracles. If you are feeling in a rut in life change your prayers to be more meaningful! I promise it will help! We also had Geminde Abend this night! Lutz, a less active gave the thema. It was very cool to see him share his testimony that he hasn't shared in a long time. I think it was good for him to realize that he still has his testimony! 

Mittwoch: We missed our bahn, so, this made our WHOLE day late. We got late to Sch. Kretchmar, and she took us to this member who now lives in an old folks home! He's 80 something and learned English in school and likes to talk to us in English! It’s pretty amazing that he can still speak it! Sch. Kretchmar then invited us over to eat. Even though we didn't have an appointment with her, she had everything prepared like she was going to feed us. People are funny! I ate a new vegetable. It’s called korabie (have no idea how to spell it) and it was good! We don’t have it in America! We then went to an appointment with Frank. I love him. He makes puppets and worked illegally for the U.S. army somehow. But, he also frustrates me. He talks a lot, and doesn't let us teach very much! We somehow got the restoration in! We then went to Schwester Rieman, another less active. Her husband who is a non-member was there. He asked a lot of questions that were actually good questions, just hard to answer. Bruder Krause is good friends with this family! He is now our new Ward Mission Leader and we are very excited! We then went to English, played scatigories. People here can already speak perfect English! Sometimes they even teach us some new fancy words! 

Donnerstag: distrikt meeting. We almost got on the wrong train, but luckily the zone leaders saw us, called us and told us to run over to the other part of the train. Trains.... anyways. Good distrikt meeting about planning, and preparing. The war chapters are good for this topic! We were then planning on going home and doing some stuff...but, there was a Chinese guy who got kicked off the train at our layover stop because he bought the wrong ticket. Luckily he spoke a little English so we were able to help him buy the right ticket. In doing that we missed our layover train. So...we were stuck in this little town for 2 hours with this Chinese guy. He was very nice, showed us pictures of China. Cool. We also found the best bakeri I’ve ever been too! I hope we have another train fall out there again! But we finally got home, quickly went to Frau Dhillons house for a lesson. We taught about Jesus and the atonement. She doesn't like when we use the Book of Mormon, so we just used the Bible. It was actually a little hard! 

Freitag: Our lesson with the Meckel Family fell out! But, we got to talk to Schwester Meckel and got some things settled. We go over every Monday at 17! Good! We did some finding, then went with Lucy and walked a dog from the shelter here in Gera. He was cute. I miss animals sometimes! We had a short lesson, and talked more about goals. Lucy has really good goals, better than the ones I think of! She helps us out a lot! We then had Herr Strauss. During our lesson we thought he was going to drop us. We just bore testimony, and then he asked when we could meet again. That was a miracle. Then, my favorite part of the week...weekly planning! 

Samstag: We had a ward "Get to know you" party! It was fun! We got to play sports with the little kids! It reminds me of playing with my cousins! We then met really quickly with Raymond. Very African but very cool! We still aren’t sure how much interest he has in our message, because he keeps telling us he doesn't want to change! We will see what we can do, or, what the Spirit can do for him! 

Sonntag: Church! We were there for a long time today because Bishop wanted to talk to us. Then we went to a member’s house and I ate fish with scales on it for the first time. I was joking with sister Medley in the morning because we knew we were eating fish, and she doesn't like fish...I said that it would be funny if it still had the scales and stuff on it. I need to be more careful with what I say. It was actually good! And you don’t eat the scales, if you were wondering. We went finding for a while. We haven't found anyone new in a long time. It’s a little frustrating. But, life keeps going, we just need to keep doing our best! 

Well, I don't know if I have a very good spiritual thought this week. Sometimes a feel a little spiritually drained. And emotionally drained. And physically drained. But, I’m still doing well! Remember to always do your best in all that you do. I've learned that that is sometimes all we can do. Trust in heavenly father, He really does know what’s best! Sometimes I wish I could explain things in person, but I guess that will come! Oh! And on Saturday we got transfer calls! I’m going to…just kidding. I’m staying, and Sister Medley is staying! She will be the longest I’ve had a companion. The Lord knows what he is doing! I feel so blessed to have one of my best friends as my companion also! I need to remember to be more grateful! Love you!! 

Liebe, Sister St. John

 Some scenery!

Monday June 15, 2015 Gera, Germany

Hallo!! Sorry if this email is a little short...I forgot my planner. Does that sound like me? Probably. So, I don’t know if I remember all that I have done this week! 

Montag: We met with the Meckel Family! The mom is a less active, she has 3 kids, and then a boyfriend. Her boyfriend is our investigator, and now two of the kids are too. I love that family! We had a pretty good first lesson and talked about reading and praying together as a family. We also had another appointment with a guy who makes those wooden puppet things on strings! He's cool! But talked a lot, so we didn’t get a lot in! 

Dienstag: We had a lesson with Michael. He’s cool. Still doesn't have his answer, but it will come! I promised him it would...so it better! :) We met with a less active and showed some videos about the atonement. She almost cried! Which means I almost cried too! I don’t think she’s had visits from the missionaries in a long time. I would like to think we really brought the Spirit back into her home. People have hard lives...I’m glad I get to help just a little bit. We also gave out 2 Books of Mormon this day! Sister Medley just accidently grabbed a Russian one and guess what?! A lady on the street only spoke Russian! So we gave her a card and a book! Things work out! 

Mittwoch: We had Distrikt meeting! I like Distrikt meeting! Our Elders are really good missionaries and I learn a lot. We got to drive the car back! That’s always fun! I like the Auto Bahn. We can’t go very fast, but I like watching all the other nice cars go by! We then met with Herr Strauss. He's a golden investigator! Has tons of questions about if God is there and how he can find him. He doesn’t really do anything in life, so we can meet with him a lot. We did our best how-to-begin-teaching we have ever done and really set up what we do as missionaries and how it can help him really well! 

Donnerstag: It rained a ton this day! Which made it hard to do anything, because we do everything outside! Even German and English class! Because we don’t have a church building! But, it worked out today because we met with a lady who wanted to come to English. She invited us over and she made us tea (the ok kind) and she is now a new investigator! 

Freitag: We went to Werdau to visit a member! She was sooo sweet and fed us TONS of food! They Elders didn't eat a lot, so that means we had to eat a lot! Good thing it was good! Sauerkraut, Bratwurst, and potatoes. We then did weekly planning. It still takes forever! 

Sammstag: This day was crazy! Had a lesson with Lucy, and in the middle of our lesson outside it started to downpour! The hardest rainstorm I’ve ever been in! We went to McDonalds and finished our lesson! Then, later that day as we were finding, this very old lady asked us for directions and so we tried to help her. But then realized that she was not really all there in her mind. We walked with her for about 45 minutes and she led us right back to where we started. It then started to rain for the second time that day. And this time it was harder than the first! We called Sch. Dörlitz and she saved us! This lady lived like 4 miles away and was trying to walk all the way back! I’m glad we got to help her though! 

Sontag: Very normal. Church! Always good! I’m going to run out of internet time! Love you! Thanks for your emails! Have a great week! I'll try to send some pics!

Whoa...just kidding! I still have 20 minutes! Good! Because I wanted to tell you about Sunday! We did ALL that we could to get the Meckel family to church. Set up rides…a couple members were helping us…we were in touch with them often. They told us 3 times they were for sure coming! Then...at 10 pm on Saturday they called. They said they decided to go over to a friend’s house and sleep over so they weren't going to make it! To say the least...we were heartbroken. Totally heartbroken. It’s hard when we do all that we can, and then people choose to not do something. I honestly don’t think I’ve felt so sad on my mission! Oh if they just knew the blessings that come from church! It’s ok though! We will try all we can this week too! 

I think the hardest part of serving a mission is loving people with all my heart! It’s not hard to love the people, it’s really easy! Loving them just makes it hard! Every time someone doesn’t keep a commitment, or can’t meet with us, it breaks my heart! Every. Time. Oh it’s harder than I ever thought it would be! I imagine it being a little like how parents feel when kids make the wrong decision! Or how our Heavenly Father feels when we don’t keep our promises to him. That makes me want to be really good! Because the feeling of sorrow that I have when the people don’t keep their commitments is awful! Do good! Don’t let your Father in Heaven feel broken hearted! 

I love you all so much! Thanks for all of your great emails, prayers and support! I feel them! 

Alles Liebe, Sister St. John

Car ride from Berlin with the Elders! that doesn't happen every day! 

 Thüringer Bratwurst. The best in Germany. Which is the best in the World. Just look at it! Oh! so good!

Typical life in Germany.

 Including the Porsche