The Power of the Spirit

Date: Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Hallo Familie!

Well it sounds like the reunion was amazing. I am so glad. Mom, I just want you to know I have a testimony of reunions too. They really bring families together. The spirit of unity is so powerful! I am now in Frankfurt and I was pretty nervous to come, but it soon left because we had our first District Meeting last week and our district is so unified. I was almost blown away, the spirit was so strong. It just felt like home. That is what this transfer feels like actually. Everything feels so natural and wonderful. Our first District Meeting was really good for me, everyone was so nice and friendly wanting to help in whatever way they could. Oh, it was so cool. I know there is strength in unity, for I sure felt it. Also Frankfurt just feels like home. It´s huge though. It is the biggest city in our mission. Düsseldorf is the 2nd biggest, but it is a German city so it doesn´t feel as big. German cities are flat for the most part, no sky scrapers or anything, a lot of trees. The people were really nice and slower paced. A lot of Frankfurt was bombed out during the war so they have had to rebuild a lot and it is more modern. It reminds me of a city in America, tons of people, tons of tall buildings, everything is fast paced (I don´t know if I said that right). The escolaters are way fast here. When we go contact on the Zeil (a huge pedestrian/mall place) you really go from person to person and there is no time for a break. It is so much fun. You just talk and talk and talk. I really like it. And my companion is awesome! Sister Bodtcher from American Fork. She is so sweet, so nice, so charitable, so bold and such a good teacher. She actually reminds me a lot of Kim. She has been out for three months, so we are both kinda young on the mission. But that doesn´t stop us. We have been working so hard. Yesterday as we went to say our nightly companionship prayer we were talking about the day and the experiences we had had and it felt like it had been three days in one. I feel like I have been here for a month already, and it is only my first week.
So some funny experiences I wanted to share with you. . . . After I met Sister Bodtcher at the church we went to leave for our apartment to take my luggage there. Well the side walks here are all cobblestone and as we were going down the street the wheels on my luggage broke! We had to carry my 100+ pounds of luggage all over Frankfurt til we got back to our apartment. I felt so bad for Sister Bodtcher, but she was super nice about it, and we both just carried it back. I was so sore for like 3 days afterwards. It was so funny.
Another funny story was, I went to my first week at church here on Sunday. And I should also say it felt just like home. That was such a blessing. But as I went into sacrament meeting I heard someone say from behind, "Sister Fitzgerald?" in a familiar voice, I turned around and there was my MTC teacher! It was so funny. We were both so surprised. He was just touring the mission again and happened to be in Frankfurt my first Sunday there. What is funny is later on that night we had an appointment and when we were on the way there we saw him again, and he was going to the same place. So I ended up teaching a lesson in Germany to my MTC teacher. I never thought that would happen. At the end he was joking and said he tests all of his students to see what kind of missionaries they really are. It was so funny.
Frankfurt is the place to be. It is the center of everything. The Europe Area office is right by the church, and so that is really neat. Also you meet so many people here. Yesterday as we were contacting a man came up to us and in broken English said, "I am Member too from Venezuela." It was so cool. He showed us his temple recommend then wanted a picture with us. It was cool. Wow, A lot of things happened yesterday.
But one really neat thing that happened was we taught an investigator a 1st. (she´s been taught the first 3 already, but struggles with Joseph Smith so we taught a 1st again). We got to the part of Joseph Smith and she said she could not believe he was a prophet and wouldn´t pray about it because of the things she had read about him in some anti literature. So a lot of the discussion was how you can´t trust things online and this and that, but then my awesome companion just said, "Can I just say something?" Both of the ladies that were talking stopped and she proceeded to bare her simple, heartfelt, very powerful testimony. Then I gave mine. Once we bore our testimonies the Spirit was so strong and we committed her to pray about Joseph Smith that night and she said she would. The power of testimony is real. This gospel is true. And truth never dies.

Ritchie good luck with your talk! I am so excited for you. That is so neat you got to talk with James. I bet that was a really neat experience. I can´t wait till I get to talk with him. And everyone else! Ritchie you will be such a great missionary! What is your address in the Argentina MTC? I told the man from Venezuela that my younger brother was going to Uruguay on his mission next week, and he was very excited for you too. :)

I have to go, but I love you family! I am so glad you had a good week! I will pray for you mom for your lesson!

My address here is:
Karl-Kotzenberg Str. 9
60431 Frankfurt am Main
Deutschland

But really we see people from the office all the time and they give us our mail. So either way.

Love you!

Sister Fitzgerald