So I totally failed at writing emails to ya'll two weeks in a row. but really if every photo is a thousand words. I wrote you a novel. But for those that want more here is Sis. Princes email that I am stealing. So yep life Its wonderful. also the thought at the end was a combine effort so I will give you my second witness of how great the gospel is. I have been having a hard time with the mission and knowing how i can contribute. and simply how to do anything. I was getting really home sick but what got me through was knowing that "and it came to pass" would happen again.
I can feel your prayers, and your thoughts. I can not explain it because it is a very non-physical experience. It is a very spiritual feeling that words cannot touch. I can also feel Gods hand in my life. He never lets us go to far feeling alone before he shows us that he is always there. Very strongly Have I felt that this past week. There has been such blessings in my life from the gospel. When we were watching Cale learn about the gospel and see his face light up over the clarity he was hearing, He treated it like gold! Why don't we? We have the key to happiness. lasting true happiness why do we not be consistent to the gospel the way it is consistent to us? It has been an interesting thought to hold on to and to mull over. I think more than anything else this mission is converting me unto Christ more fully than anything I could possibly accomplish on the mission through my own efforts.
I love you all. ( my emails are not a reflection of my love)
Sis. Wadsworth
Dear Family and Friends,
"We are an island in the sun!!! Oi! Oi!"- A Muppet's Christmas Carol
This week was pretty cold, after all, I am back to tights and boots. But, we had a Luau with the Ward regardless! All the young women were in the Hawaiian skirts and it was all rainy and overcast. They cooked a pig on a spit in a giant hole at the bishop's house. It was really fun and there were a lot of non-members there. I was meeting people constant left and right and probably only met a sixth of the ward.
This week we have been putting an emphasis on service. I love it when people let you serve them. We were at church last Sunday and were talking to Sister Bains and found out that she had just switched from military temporary housing to a real house and so I just said, "could we come over and help you set up and setting in more?" And her honestly shone through and she said, "Actually, that would be great." We got there and set up her trampoline. It was way fun too.
And now for the adventure stories:
Last Monday, we went exploring and found an ancient (1200) castle in ruins. We explored and had fake sword fights. There was this beautiful well with a tree growing up and around it. All the stone archways and collapsing walls were beautiful. It was raining and the enchanting forest called my name. I have always imagined running through a forest like a fairy and this was my opportunity. I got one of the other sisters to run with me through the forest like a fairy and it was way fun until she told me to check myself for ticks later... ha ha ha
This week we had a bunch of missionary meetings. First was Golden/Trainer Conference for all new missionaries and their trainers. Then we stayed the night in Frankfurt am Main and the next day we had MLC (Mission Leadership Council) and so my companion went on a split with another sister from Frankfurt. It was really enlightening and we discussed a lot of things going on in the mission. The adventure was coming home.
You see, this was our only chance for the entire transfer that we could get missionary supplies from the mission, so we brought to suitcases to hall all this stuff back from white boards, to 100 copies of the Book of Mormon. And they weighed a ton! They booked our train ride back for 8 pm which meant we would arrive at 930pm at Kaiserslautern. We had the zone leaders with us because we were all on the same ticket. It had been a long day as we arrived at the main train station in Frankfurt. As we were waiting for our train, a lady who was Mormon came up to us and started speaking to us, which is crazy how small our world really can be. Then they came over the announcements and said our train was running twenty minutes late. We would for sure miss our next connection. We got on the ICE train and sped away to Mannheim. We got off only to realize that because it was getting later and later in the night, the trains didn't run as frequently. We had to wait an hour at the train station leaving us stuck until 945 pm. Luckily, the italien ice cream shop was open which never happens. We got to the next platform only to hear that our train was also delayed... we started getting concerned how we were going to get these 2 x70 lbs suitcases home way late at night. It was on this train that Elder Lyman struck up conversation with a man who gave us a card to get a taxi once we arrived in K-town. He totally opened up and talked about how he had been searching his whole life for more information about spirituality. It was so cool! I laughed to myself thinking how many times when the trains get super messed up that it is always because there is someone that we are supposed to find. We made it home that night at 1130pm and thankfully the elders we serve with picked us up and hauled our suitcases for us. God sure works in mysterious ways!
Then, we (zone leaders Elder Lyman and Ruff and I) had to plan Zone Training Meeting for all the missionaries in our zone in one day's time. It was super stressful and I had the spiritual talk that was supposed to be 30 minutes long about the Grace of God and how we can change. We got home late that night from an appointment leaving me no time to prepare until the morning of. I was super nervous as I tried to pull my thoughts together in a smooth line of thought. The zone leaders were running around left and right prepping everything up and using our keys to get into the different rooms etc. I gave my companion a quick run through and outline of my talk. She just looked at me and said in my moment of stress, "You know. You are about to live your talk." I just looked at her puzzled. "You didn't have full time to prepare and now you are going to have to trust God and rely on His grace to get you through this conference. So, don't worry it will all be okay. God will back you up with the spirit. Now be confident and teach what you preach." I thought that was very profound that I was truly lacking and God was going to have to not only make up the difference but be ALL the difference. The conference went great and all was well. We were leaving the church and everyone was already gone and had caught trains or driven away. We stepped outside of the church and literally when the door shut, I turned to my companion Sister Wadsworth and asked, "you have the keys right?" The answer to that question seems to always be no when you need it to be yes the most. We were locked out of the church and our apartment as well. We called the zone leaders and they swore to us that they never used them. Luckily, our elders (Elder Jackson and Allen) came to the rescue and let us in. We searched and couldn't find them anywhere. I, in my exhaustion and defeat, turned to Sister Wadsworth and said, "We should pray." We prayed and then looked up at each other and the thought came to my mind to call Elder Lyman and see if they were in his pocket. I called the zone leaders again, and Elder Lyman reassured me again that he didn't have them. Knowing that we were all suffering from sleep deprivation, I said, "did you happen to put them in your pocket?" Silence was on the other side of the phone while he probably reached down into his pocket. I could hear jingling on the phone and he said bashfully, "Yeah, I have them." Ha ha ha I laughed at the entire fiasco of the last few days. We got our keys later that night and that was the close of the week.
I think the two most profound things that happened this week was with Harriet and the Burns Family. We went over to Harriet's house and her non-member cadet (well now graduated) friend (Cale) was there and we played a board game and then had a discussion. It was based around the idea of sacrifice that I wrote about last week. It was so crazy to me to watch him get so passionate and captivated. It was like this conversation meant the world to him and completely opened his world up to the world of spirituality. And then on the other hand, we went over to a less active family and taught the first lesson. They had such strong testimonies, but it was like the church was a hobby to them. It wasn't priority. The difference in these two experiences made me realize how precious the gospel is. That it should be life changing to us in every moment that we are here. And how much richer life can be when we realize how important it is to us. God takes care of us in every moment. And if we but seek to build the Kingdom of God first in our lives, everything else falls into place.
I love this video and invite you to watch this
It expresses it better than I can.
I love you and pray about you everyday,
Sister Prince
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