Date: Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Family!
Well I will start off by saying Hallo! Guten Tag! Thanks again for all of your emails. I appreciate it, as always.
Elder Ritchie Fitzgerald: My goodness next week you will be in the field! That is so exciting. Oh, I am so happy for you. You will just do amazing things out there. I am sorry to hear that Guerillo didn´t want to learn more. That is really sad. We had that happen to us this week too. One of our progressing investigators that we have been meeting with for about 3 or 4 months said she didn´t want to meet with us anymore. It was very sad, but we know that she did feel the spirit and some day when she misses that feeling she will read in the Book of Mormon and realize she does want what God has to offer her in his kingdom on earth. I will be excited to hear about your MTC experience one of these days. It already sounds like you are in the field. :)
Chris: When you asked me what was new or exciting in Germany I had to smile realizing that I don´t really share other details about Germany besides the people. Meeting and teaching people and watching their progress in coming to know their eternal father in heaven is the most exciting thing that is happening in Germany right now. But as for other things . . . :) I think I could say Germany is gorgeous in the Fall. Wow, all of the leaves are orange, red, pink, yellow. There are trees everywhere and it is a gorgeous sight. So that is a little bit new. Also it has gotten colder. I am a little nervous for Winter, but it´ll be good. Ask me more questions and I will give you more answers. That is awesome that you are applying for that scholarship at Utah State. Go Chris! I will be praying for you. Thanks for sharing what is happening in your life. I loved hearing about it.
Jason: Congratulations on getting your picture hung up in Big Juds. That is pretty cool. And football is going good. How is school going? How is seminary? Do your teachers use any cool ideas to teach you certain things in the gospel? I think I could use some original ideas to teach certain things in the missionary lessons. Let me know what your seminary teachers are teaching you.
Crozier: Mom told me about your knees. I hope everything is OK. How are you feeling? That is cool that you are in the school play and the high school play. What is your favorite thing that you are doing right now?
Candace and Evan: Thanks for your quick note. :) I hope things are going well for you!
Tara: Thanks for your email. I will be looking forward to your email next week. :) How are things going for you?
Sean and Kim: I heard that you are both feeling a little bit sick. I hope that you get feeling better soon. Sean when do you graduate? Is it in April?
Mom and Dad: Thanks for all the details mom and for all the quotes you send us from church news. My hobby right now is going through Ensigns, I think when I get home I will have to start going through all the church news´s too. :) I am sorry I threw away the announcements. You could be a spy with how well you disguise things. :) Thanks for all the emails and updates you send me every week. I love it. Dad, how was visiting Utah? How is work going?
Well as for this week, we found out we didn´t have to move from our apartment. That is why I entitled this email home sweet home because we were very happy about that. Transfers are this week though, so I will let you know where I end up going.
The best thing that happened this week was finding an awesome contact on the street, teaching him the first two lessons, then him coming to church, enjoying it and wanting to learn more. He is knew in Mainz and said he was looking for a church to go to, and so we were very happy to show him where he could go. :) Oh, and the members were amazing! When he came they came up and introduced themselves and asked him his name and things. Welcomed him. Then they continued to talk with him throughout the meetings explaining things he might not understand. Then at the end someone came up to him and invited him to the ward party that weekend, gave him their phone number saying that if he wanted to go or had questions he could give him a call. Oh, it was awesome. We are meeting with him again tonight and I am so excited. Our other investigators are doing well besides the one I talked about earlier in Ritchie´s blurb. We have also been getting a lot of contacts from younger people, which is really neat. We have been praying for that and the Lord has just poured down blessings upon us. It is truly a wonder.
Well family, I love you all. I pray for you and hope that all is well in your life. I know that because we have the gospel of Jesus Christ when things aren´t going well we know where to go. God is there to help us make things right and well in our lives. I know all things are possible through Jesus Christ and his Atonement. All, is all inclusive. God is there to help us make something of ourselves, to learn what we came to this earth to learn. We came here to become like God, to know all things, to endure all things, to be holy, strong, and righteous, to love everyone, and to overcome all things. And the place we learn to be like God the best, is in the family. The family is the center. Everything goes out from there. Families are ordained of God, for the eternal welfare of all of us. God loved us so he sent His Son, and placed us in families to learn how we can become like Him.
I truly love you family, you are important to me, and I know this church is true.
Love,
Sister Melinda Fitzgerald
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
The Spirit of God like a fire is burning
Date: Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Family!
I just want to thank you for all the emails you sent me this week. I truly felt fed with the details of your life and your testimonies, both of which meant a lot to me. So thank you.
Ritchie, thanks for your encouragement. I think we go through a lot of the same things. I am so glad to hear that you´re lesson went well. I also hope your investigator reads and feels something as he reads in the Book of Mormon.
Candace and Evan those pictures of Clara and Analee are SO cute! Thank you so much for sending those. That truly was a treasure for me. I cannot believe how fast Clara is growing up, and Analee too. Wow. Also thank you for your testimony and encouraging words. It is always good to hear from you.
Sean and Kim, thank you so much for your emails. I was so grateful to hear from you. Thanks for doing my request. I am happy that I am related to you both. :)
Tara I am grateful for the letter you sent to me. I finally got it! And it was so good to hear what is happening in your life and to hear your testimony. Oh, we also contacted some people from Ireland the other day and it was so fun. I just thought of you the whole time. They were so friendly and I just thought how much you must´ve enjoyed talking with such delightful people. I´m sure they were not always so delightful. But it was fun. It was funny when they saw my name they asked me if I came from Ireland. I said no, but my sister lived there for a while. They told me where the majority of the Fitzgeralds live in Ireland and how I should go visit them. And they pretty much convinced me. :)
Little Boys (Chris Jason Crozier): :) I think you are all a little grown out of that, but how are you all? Did Chris go to the dance yet? Jason and Crozier how is life going?
Mom, I never recieved Davids or Steve´s wedding announcements, but if I ever do I will send them to Ritchie. I am glad you got my package. I was surprised to hear you say the chocolate wasn´t as sweet. I guess I have just been out of America too long. :) The chocolate here is good, but the bakeries, mmmm mmmmm they are even better. The pastries aren´t really sweet, but amazingly so delicious. Anyway, thank you for the details of the trip. I am so glad everything turned out so well. It sounds like you were able to see a lot of the family. That is awesome.
Dad, how was your trip to Utah? and how was your return back home? How is work? And thanks for looking up the Priesthood line of authority for me.
But as for me and my week, I have felt the Spirit. :) We had Zone Conference this last week and it was such a spiritual high. I cannot even describe. Sister Ninow talked about "But as for me and my house we will sere the Lord." Saying how this is the time of our lives where we can give everything to the Lord. Everything we have and are we can give it to him. She went over the blessings in D&C reserved for faithful missionaries and how important it is to give what we can. It was so wonderful. It was interesting because just yesterday I was reading in Luke 7 or 8 and Christ says to lift up your cross daily and follow him. And I just thought how each day, we choose to follow the Savior, with each decision we make. Also as our Mission President, President Ninow talked with us about how to become better missionaries I just felt the spirit so strongly the whole time and I couldn´t write everything I was learning and feelings fast enough. Over and over I just felt the spirit bearing witness to me of the truth of which President Ninow was sharing with us. It was so incredible. The spirit is so refreshing. So strengthening, so comforting, so faith building. The spirit is incredible. President Ninow talked about how all of us should be in a three some. The spirit should always be our third companion, because he bears the most convincing testimony. It was great. We pretty much stayed in Preach My Gospel the whole time. That is a manual not only for missionary work but for life. It is a powerful manual that can bless every person on this earth when they decide to learn from it. Which I want to be better at because there are so many things in there. Like Chapter 5 about the Book of Mormon. Chapter 4 about the Spirit. Chapter 6 how to become more like Christ. Absolutely incredible manual. I am converted. :)
After that wonderful experience we had a pretty awesome street contact. Well, we started off asking him what role Christ played in his life. He said Christ had changed his life and then said he had met with Mormons before had read the Book of Mormon and didn´t want to learn more. But he didn´t walk away, which is a little unusual here. So we kept talking and as we kept talking he kept asking more questions. While we were talking with him his face just started changing and the spirit was so strong. By the end of our 30 minute conversation the spirit was so strong, it was just thick. We asked him again if he wanted to meet with us he said no (he has read a lot of anti literature), but he accepted our card and thanked us for the conversation. I just knew he had been touched, that he had felt something deep, the Spirit. There was no doubt in my mind. So, I hope he ends up becoming more interested someday. But for now I know he knows he felt the spirit when he talked with the Lords missionaries of His church. He will come around some day.
I love missionary work. It has changed my life. I hope and pray it continues to change my life. I love you all.
Love,
Sister Fitzgerald
Family!
I just want to thank you for all the emails you sent me this week. I truly felt fed with the details of your life and your testimonies, both of which meant a lot to me. So thank you.
Ritchie, thanks for your encouragement. I think we go through a lot of the same things. I am so glad to hear that you´re lesson went well. I also hope your investigator reads and feels something as he reads in the Book of Mormon.
Candace and Evan those pictures of Clara and Analee are SO cute! Thank you so much for sending those. That truly was a treasure for me. I cannot believe how fast Clara is growing up, and Analee too. Wow. Also thank you for your testimony and encouraging words. It is always good to hear from you.
Sean and Kim, thank you so much for your emails. I was so grateful to hear from you. Thanks for doing my request. I am happy that I am related to you both. :)
Tara I am grateful for the letter you sent to me. I finally got it! And it was so good to hear what is happening in your life and to hear your testimony. Oh, we also contacted some people from Ireland the other day and it was so fun. I just thought of you the whole time. They were so friendly and I just thought how much you must´ve enjoyed talking with such delightful people. I´m sure they were not always so delightful. But it was fun. It was funny when they saw my name they asked me if I came from Ireland. I said no, but my sister lived there for a while. They told me where the majority of the Fitzgeralds live in Ireland and how I should go visit them. And they pretty much convinced me. :)
Little Boys (Chris Jason Crozier): :) I think you are all a little grown out of that, but how are you all? Did Chris go to the dance yet? Jason and Crozier how is life going?
Mom, I never recieved Davids or Steve´s wedding announcements, but if I ever do I will send them to Ritchie. I am glad you got my package. I was surprised to hear you say the chocolate wasn´t as sweet. I guess I have just been out of America too long. :) The chocolate here is good, but the bakeries, mmmm mmmmm they are even better. The pastries aren´t really sweet, but amazingly so delicious. Anyway, thank you for the details of the trip. I am so glad everything turned out so well. It sounds like you were able to see a lot of the family. That is awesome.
Dad, how was your trip to Utah? and how was your return back home? How is work? And thanks for looking up the Priesthood line of authority for me.
But as for me and my week, I have felt the Spirit. :) We had Zone Conference this last week and it was such a spiritual high. I cannot even describe. Sister Ninow talked about "But as for me and my house we will sere the Lord." Saying how this is the time of our lives where we can give everything to the Lord. Everything we have and are we can give it to him. She went over the blessings in D&C reserved for faithful missionaries and how important it is to give what we can. It was so wonderful. It was interesting because just yesterday I was reading in Luke 7 or 8 and Christ says to lift up your cross daily and follow him. And I just thought how each day, we choose to follow the Savior, with each decision we make. Also as our Mission President, President Ninow talked with us about how to become better missionaries I just felt the spirit so strongly the whole time and I couldn´t write everything I was learning and feelings fast enough. Over and over I just felt the spirit bearing witness to me of the truth of which President Ninow was sharing with us. It was so incredible. The spirit is so refreshing. So strengthening, so comforting, so faith building. The spirit is incredible. President Ninow talked about how all of us should be in a three some. The spirit should always be our third companion, because he bears the most convincing testimony. It was great. We pretty much stayed in Preach My Gospel the whole time. That is a manual not only for missionary work but for life. It is a powerful manual that can bless every person on this earth when they decide to learn from it. Which I want to be better at because there are so many things in there. Like Chapter 5 about the Book of Mormon. Chapter 4 about the Spirit. Chapter 6 how to become more like Christ. Absolutely incredible manual. I am converted. :)
After that wonderful experience we had a pretty awesome street contact. Well, we started off asking him what role Christ played in his life. He said Christ had changed his life and then said he had met with Mormons before had read the Book of Mormon and didn´t want to learn more. But he didn´t walk away, which is a little unusual here. So we kept talking and as we kept talking he kept asking more questions. While we were talking with him his face just started changing and the spirit was so strong. By the end of our 30 minute conversation the spirit was so strong, it was just thick. We asked him again if he wanted to meet with us he said no (he has read a lot of anti literature), but he accepted our card and thanked us for the conversation. I just knew he had been touched, that he had felt something deep, the Spirit. There was no doubt in my mind. So, I hope he ends up becoming more interested someday. But for now I know he knows he felt the spirit when he talked with the Lords missionaries of His church. He will come around some day.
I love missionary work. It has changed my life. I hope and pray it continues to change my life. I love you all.
Love,
Sister Fitzgerald
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Bringing souls to Christ, what life is all about
Date: Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2009
Family!!!
Well I certainly love you all. And it is great to hear, once again, all of your news and updates. Mom thanks for getting that thing to me. I have received some things on my doorstep. So thank you for being so concerned, and no worries. I appreciate that you sent that thing though. As for Christmas, I am not sure exactly what I want yet. I will think about it and tell you next week. I can say I would really like to get a letter from everyone in the family sharing their testimony of Jesus Christ, how he plays an active role in their life, and their favorite scriptures about Christ and why. I hope that doesn´t sound like an assignment. But I would love to get that for Christmas. Anyway, it sounds like everyone is doing well. I am praying for you all. It was good to hear from Elder Fitzgerald. I am so amazed at Elder Fitzgerald´s enthusiasm for the work. It is so wonderful. It is so good to here how the work is rolling forward in all the world. I am so proud of you Elder Fitzgerald. Your story about sharing the 1st vision with that man really touched me. Oh, I would love to see you in action. Keep up the wonderful work!
The work here is also rolling forward. Here is what has been happening:
We had a really neat appointment with our progressing investigator Michael. We reviewed a first and at the end we asked him if felt anything as he read in the Book of Mormon and he said yes! He said that he felt something different, something special and deep. He didn´t know how to really describe it though. It was really neat. The spirit was strong.
Also another one of our investigators came to church with us on the hour long bus \ bahn ride. And she really enjoyed it and told everyone she talked to that she would come again next week. We were so happy for that. She got to see a lot. The last session of General Conference was shown for the first two hours, then we had Sacrament meeting, which was fast and testimony meeting. There was also a baby blessing, and they mentioned the ward temple trip. She had a lot of questions, but thought it was all really neat. We told her that this wasn´t a normal Sunday, but it was special. Coming to church really takes dedication. An hour there, and an hour back with a lot of trains and buses in between because there is no direct route. I am amazed at the dedication of new investigators they really want to to know it´s true.
We also had a really good time at FHE last night. We had the lesson and we decided to do it on Missionary work. We sang I´ll go where you want me to go. Then read Alma 17:11, talking about being instruments in the hand of God and good examples to bring others to Christ. Then we did little work shops on what to be, what to say, and how to know where to go and who to talk to. After that we read another scripture in D&C 123 that talked about doing all we can then watching the arm of God be revealed. After that we asked who wanted to go on the streets with us for 20 minutes to find a JAE to bring to the Outreach for games and dinner that evening. They were all really excited and we all went. Even our investigator that was there wanted to go out on the streets with us. It was a really great experience for us and for them. Afterwards they were telling us how hard that must be to do it everyday. And they said it would be a lot easier for them just to invite their friends. We agreed. They really enjoyed it though and said they would like to do it again. We were really happy with the way it turned out, it got the JAE´s excited about missionary work and helped them to see the importance of inviting their own friends. They understood how much more effective that would be.
All in all it was a great week. In one of our appointments, we had a member with us and we were talking about the importance of the family and how the gospel brings us strength and perspective. And he said, "The gospel does help bring perspective. With eight boys, a mother can wonder sometimes why the family is so important, but with the gospel we see why." Anyway, I thought it was funny. It made me think of my family, how the gospel helps give us perspective. I also thought of my parents and how dedicated you are in teaching us the principles of righteousness which are SOOOOOO IMPORTANT!!!! Being on a mission has helped me understand that so much more. Missionary work is the best pair of glasses I´ve ever had.
Thank you for all you do family! I love you!
Love,
Sister Fitzgerald
Family!!!
Well I certainly love you all. And it is great to hear, once again, all of your news and updates. Mom thanks for getting that thing to me. I have received some things on my doorstep. So thank you for being so concerned, and no worries. I appreciate that you sent that thing though. As for Christmas, I am not sure exactly what I want yet. I will think about it and tell you next week. I can say I would really like to get a letter from everyone in the family sharing their testimony of Jesus Christ, how he plays an active role in their life, and their favorite scriptures about Christ and why. I hope that doesn´t sound like an assignment. But I would love to get that for Christmas. Anyway, it sounds like everyone is doing well. I am praying for you all. It was good to hear from Elder Fitzgerald. I am so amazed at Elder Fitzgerald´s enthusiasm for the work. It is so wonderful. It is so good to here how the work is rolling forward in all the world. I am so proud of you Elder Fitzgerald. Your story about sharing the 1st vision with that man really touched me. Oh, I would love to see you in action. Keep up the wonderful work!
The work here is also rolling forward. Here is what has been happening:
We had a really neat appointment with our progressing investigator Michael. We reviewed a first and at the end we asked him if felt anything as he read in the Book of Mormon and he said yes! He said that he felt something different, something special and deep. He didn´t know how to really describe it though. It was really neat. The spirit was strong.
Also another one of our investigators came to church with us on the hour long bus \ bahn ride. And she really enjoyed it and told everyone she talked to that she would come again next week. We were so happy for that. She got to see a lot. The last session of General Conference was shown for the first two hours, then we had Sacrament meeting, which was fast and testimony meeting. There was also a baby blessing, and they mentioned the ward temple trip. She had a lot of questions, but thought it was all really neat. We told her that this wasn´t a normal Sunday, but it was special. Coming to church really takes dedication. An hour there, and an hour back with a lot of trains and buses in between because there is no direct route. I am amazed at the dedication of new investigators they really want to to know it´s true.
We also had a really good time at FHE last night. We had the lesson and we decided to do it on Missionary work. We sang I´ll go where you want me to go. Then read Alma 17:11, talking about being instruments in the hand of God and good examples to bring others to Christ. Then we did little work shops on what to be, what to say, and how to know where to go and who to talk to. After that we read another scripture in D&C 123 that talked about doing all we can then watching the arm of God be revealed. After that we asked who wanted to go on the streets with us for 20 minutes to find a JAE to bring to the Outreach for games and dinner that evening. They were all really excited and we all went. Even our investigator that was there wanted to go out on the streets with us. It was a really great experience for us and for them. Afterwards they were telling us how hard that must be to do it everyday. And they said it would be a lot easier for them just to invite their friends. We agreed. They really enjoyed it though and said they would like to do it again. We were really happy with the way it turned out, it got the JAE´s excited about missionary work and helped them to see the importance of inviting their own friends. They understood how much more effective that would be.
All in all it was a great week. In one of our appointments, we had a member with us and we were talking about the importance of the family and how the gospel brings us strength and perspective. And he said, "The gospel does help bring perspective. With eight boys, a mother can wonder sometimes why the family is so important, but with the gospel we see why." Anyway, I thought it was funny. It made me think of my family, how the gospel helps give us perspective. I also thought of my parents and how dedicated you are in teaching us the principles of righteousness which are SOOOOOO IMPORTANT!!!! Being on a mission has helped me understand that so much more. Missionary work is the best pair of glasses I´ve ever had.
Thank you for all you do family! I love you!
Love,
Sister Fitzgerald
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Conference, blessings, great contacts, and more!
Date: Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2009
Family!!!
Hello! So this week was sad but also good. I will explain. :) So we had a lot of appointments scheduled but a lot of them feel out. We of course were sad, but because of that we were able to find some amazing contacts. This is what I emailed to my mission president:
After one of our appointments falling out we just started doing streets in the area and we contacted a man. At first he was´t interested said he knew God was there, but then as we bore testimony about the truth and happiness we receive from God he softened a little. We were able to tell him more about the message of the restoration and as we did he said, "I can see your faith in your eyes. Your faith shows in your faces." When he said that we told him that as we live this gospel it makes us happy and we know that it comes from God. Then he looked at Sister Ley and I in the eye and asked us if we were really happy doing what we were doing. We both looked at him straight in the eye and said yes. He then told us he would like to learn more about our church. It was so neat. I know the spirit bore witness to him as we told him of the restoration. I could see a change in him.
Another neat experience was contacting an old referral that Sister Osterloh had given to us. When we met with Fariba we found that she was completely golden. She told us of her miraculous conversion to Christianity from Muslim 10 or so years ago and that all of her siblings had converted to Christianity. In fact she even had a sister that was Mormon that lived in Frankfurt. During our appointment the friend that had referred her called and told us that she was very ready for the gospel. We had already noticed that as we taught her. Then at the end of the lesson she told us that she had seen something on TV about Joseph Smith and the Mormons and felt from the Spirit that it was a good thing. We were so shocked and overjoyed and told her that it was true and that she can find out if it is true to through the Holy Ghost. We made out another appointment for this week and we are really excited to meet with her again.
These two experiences were very neat. We also contacted this other guy as were we doing streets that was awesome. We started talking to him about God then he asked about our name tags and so we stalked about the Book of Mormon. He brought up the Revelations scripture and my companion explained it very well and then we took him to the promise in Moroni and he read it. After doing so he said, "That doesn´t contradict the Bible at all. That´s true." We said Yes, it is, and you can know if the Book of Mormon comes from God. He said he really wanted to meet with us and learn more. He was so excited. We were so happy! and shocked. It was so great. We are very excited to have our appointment with him.
Also General Conference was great! The good thing was that 3 of our investigators came, the other thing :) is that we watched it in German. So, I am looking forward to reading it in the Liahona in English. :) But not understanding every word didn´t keep me from feeling the spirit. It was so good. I loved so many of the talks. I really enjoyed Elder Hales and Elder Oaks´s talks. They were both very powerful. And Elder Packer´s talk. With his talk I felt like all of us were his grandchildren all sitting around his knee and he was just teaching us the truth. I really enjoyed President Uchtdorf´s talk about loving God and keeping his commandments. It made a lot of sense and was good for all of our investigators to hear I think.
Oh, life is grand. We live in the fullness of times. The standard of truth has been erected and no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing. Hurray!
Before I close I would like to say Happy Birthday to Mom and Kim this week!! I hope you both have great days. Your letters are coming.
Also, Dad I was wondering if you could mail me a copy of your priesthood line of authority. I think that would help the missionary work progress here in Mainz Germany. :)
I also loved Elder Bednar´s talk and I want you all to know that I love you!!!! and I know this church is true!!!
Sincerely,
Sister Fitzgerald
Family!!!
Hello! So this week was sad but also good. I will explain. :) So we had a lot of appointments scheduled but a lot of them feel out. We of course were sad, but because of that we were able to find some amazing contacts. This is what I emailed to my mission president:
After one of our appointments falling out we just started doing streets in the area and we contacted a man. At first he was´t interested said he knew God was there, but then as we bore testimony about the truth and happiness we receive from God he softened a little. We were able to tell him more about the message of the restoration and as we did he said, "I can see your faith in your eyes. Your faith shows in your faces." When he said that we told him that as we live this gospel it makes us happy and we know that it comes from God. Then he looked at Sister Ley and I in the eye and asked us if we were really happy doing what we were doing. We both looked at him straight in the eye and said yes. He then told us he would like to learn more about our church. It was so neat. I know the spirit bore witness to him as we told him of the restoration. I could see a change in him.
Another neat experience was contacting an old referral that Sister Osterloh had given to us. When we met with Fariba we found that she was completely golden. She told us of her miraculous conversion to Christianity from Muslim 10 or so years ago and that all of her siblings had converted to Christianity. In fact she even had a sister that was Mormon that lived in Frankfurt. During our appointment the friend that had referred her called and told us that she was very ready for the gospel. We had already noticed that as we taught her. Then at the end of the lesson she told us that she had seen something on TV about Joseph Smith and the Mormons and felt from the Spirit that it was a good thing. We were so shocked and overjoyed and told her that it was true and that she can find out if it is true to through the Holy Ghost. We made out another appointment for this week and we are really excited to meet with her again.
These two experiences were very neat. We also contacted this other guy as were we doing streets that was awesome. We started talking to him about God then he asked about our name tags and so we stalked about the Book of Mormon. He brought up the Revelations scripture and my companion explained it very well and then we took him to the promise in Moroni and he read it. After doing so he said, "That doesn´t contradict the Bible at all. That´s true." We said Yes, it is, and you can know if the Book of Mormon comes from God. He said he really wanted to meet with us and learn more. He was so excited. We were so happy! and shocked. It was so great. We are very excited to have our appointment with him.
Also General Conference was great! The good thing was that 3 of our investigators came, the other thing :) is that we watched it in German. So, I am looking forward to reading it in the Liahona in English. :) But not understanding every word didn´t keep me from feeling the spirit. It was so good. I loved so many of the talks. I really enjoyed Elder Hales and Elder Oaks´s talks. They were both very powerful. And Elder Packer´s talk. With his talk I felt like all of us were his grandchildren all sitting around his knee and he was just teaching us the truth. I really enjoyed President Uchtdorf´s talk about loving God and keeping his commandments. It made a lot of sense and was good for all of our investigators to hear I think.
Oh, life is grand. We live in the fullness of times. The standard of truth has been erected and no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing. Hurray!
Before I close I would like to say Happy Birthday to Mom and Kim this week!! I hope you both have great days. Your letters are coming.
Also, Dad I was wondering if you could mail me a copy of your priesthood line of authority. I think that would help the missionary work progress here in Mainz Germany. :)
I also loved Elder Bednar´s talk and I want you all to know that I love you!!!! and I know this church is true!!!
Sincerely,
Sister Fitzgerald
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Mainz Germany!
Date: Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Family!
I love you so much. I loved all the emails I recieved this week. You are all so wonderful.
Jason: thank you for wishing me luck in becoming a willow tree. :) I appreciate your support. :) I am glad to hear you are loving highschool. I wish you luck in football.
Chris: Wow, thank you for your detailed email. I really appreciated it. Reading it was so much fun. It sounds like you are really enjoying yourself, that is good.
Elder Fitzgerald: That is so cool that you have gotten so many fest contacts. I wish I could see you in action. I am sure you are just amazing out there. Keep up the good work. Forward, press forward.
Candace and Evan: Thank you for your email. It meant a lot to me and was just what I needed to hear. I wish you well in your callings. And I am glad that your family is doing well. Last Sunday I was sitting by the Bishops wife and their little girl was walking around in front of us and she looks EXACTLY like Clara. Except she has blonde hair. Everything she was doing (little conversations and just smiling at everyone) reminded me exactly of Clara and it made me so happy. So I just wanted to tell you that.
Crozier: How is the play coming? Are you liking being in it? I will have to see it when I get home.
Sean and Kim: I hope my emails have been getting to you, I noticed that mom was forwarding everything to a different email address for you than I had. So how are you both doing? How is ltitle Miriam?
Tara: I am working on your birthday letter today. And I am sorry your letter you have tried to send me has gotten sent back so many times. Have you mailed it to the office or to my apartment? The office is probably a bit more stable. :) But it was so fun to read abotu your birthday. We got invited to a little "spiritual" birthday party from one of the part member families in our ward and while there I just thought how you would have a spiritual party too. I think that is so cool you went hiking and sang hymns. I am so glad you are my sister! Happy Late Birthday! Your letter is coming!
Mom and Dad: Mom, I loved your opening line. Go, missionaries go! or Hang on missionaries, hang on. It was funny. Also, I like the dual email thing between Elder Fitzgerald and I. Dad that is exciting Winco is sendign you to Utah to open up a new store there for a few days. Would you ever move back to Utah if they gave you the opportunity?
Well, before my time runs out maybe I should tell you a little about Mainz! Mom, thats cool you have that book feel free to tell me things you learn in there. And Yes, Mainz is on the Rhein River and it is BEAUTIFUL! Düsseldorf was too, but Mainz is just extra beautiful for some reason. And yes the first press was made here in Mainz. We might go see that museum today. I LOVE Mainz. It is so beautiful. The people here are so friendly and open. We have so many conversations on the street I just don´t know what to think. The conversations don´t always lead to contacts, but we are working on that. I am not as smooth as Elder Fitzgerald yet. ;) I also really enjoy my companion Sister Ley! She is from Alabama and has really good German. She is helping me a lot with that. We work as a really good team and it is wonderful. I have been amazed at how the Spirit has been working with us. There have been so many little miracles that I can´t write them all. But we stopped a man the other day and we just started talking :) and for some reason we brought up truth :) and he said "That is so interesting that you mention truth, because I don´t believe in God, but I do want to know what the truth is, what ever it is." It was awesome to be able to bear testimony and let him know that there is truth, adn that it comes from God, and that when we know truth it helps us in our lives. Another day we were waiting for a train and we had a few minutes so we went out contacting and we were about to turn back when we saw this lady pushing a stroller. We contacted her about the Plan of God and she started crying and said how her husband had just died to weeks ago and she wanted to know where he was. We read Alma 41:11-12. And said he is in a good place and would you like to know how you could be togeher forever? She accepted a card and we are hoping we will get to meet with her again. Oh, there are so many things. "Doing good is a pleasure, a joy beyond measure." Missionary work is really so wonderful. Also I was reading in Alma 48 today and it talks about what a great man Moroni is and then 2 versus later it says how Heleman and his bretheren were no less serviceable because they were preaching the word of God and bringing others to repentance. And it just hit me again that we all have our work that Heavenly Father has given us. Missionary work, parenthood work, sibling work, protecting our freedoms, families, everything. I just thought how you all are doign your work with faithfulness and bringing others closer to Christ with the work God has given to each of you. It is such a great work to do the work that God has given us.
Well I have to go. But I want to close with, "There is a right way to live and be happy. It is choosing the right every day." That is truth.
Love,
Sister Fitzgerald
Family!
I love you so much. I loved all the emails I recieved this week. You are all so wonderful.
Jason: thank you for wishing me luck in becoming a willow tree. :) I appreciate your support. :) I am glad to hear you are loving highschool. I wish you luck in football.
Chris: Wow, thank you for your detailed email. I really appreciated it. Reading it was so much fun. It sounds like you are really enjoying yourself, that is good.
Elder Fitzgerald: That is so cool that you have gotten so many fest contacts. I wish I could see you in action. I am sure you are just amazing out there. Keep up the good work. Forward, press forward.
Candace and Evan: Thank you for your email. It meant a lot to me and was just what I needed to hear. I wish you well in your callings. And I am glad that your family is doing well. Last Sunday I was sitting by the Bishops wife and their little girl was walking around in front of us and she looks EXACTLY like Clara. Except she has blonde hair. Everything she was doing (little conversations and just smiling at everyone) reminded me exactly of Clara and it made me so happy. So I just wanted to tell you that.
Crozier: How is the play coming? Are you liking being in it? I will have to see it when I get home.
Sean and Kim: I hope my emails have been getting to you, I noticed that mom was forwarding everything to a different email address for you than I had. So how are you both doing? How is ltitle Miriam?
Tara: I am working on your birthday letter today. And I am sorry your letter you have tried to send me has gotten sent back so many times. Have you mailed it to the office or to my apartment? The office is probably a bit more stable. :) But it was so fun to read abotu your birthday. We got invited to a little "spiritual" birthday party from one of the part member families in our ward and while there I just thought how you would have a spiritual party too. I think that is so cool you went hiking and sang hymns. I am so glad you are my sister! Happy Late Birthday! Your letter is coming!
Mom and Dad: Mom, I loved your opening line. Go, missionaries go! or Hang on missionaries, hang on. It was funny. Also, I like the dual email thing between Elder Fitzgerald and I. Dad that is exciting Winco is sendign you to Utah to open up a new store there for a few days. Would you ever move back to Utah if they gave you the opportunity?
Well, before my time runs out maybe I should tell you a little about Mainz! Mom, thats cool you have that book feel free to tell me things you learn in there. And Yes, Mainz is on the Rhein River and it is BEAUTIFUL! Düsseldorf was too, but Mainz is just extra beautiful for some reason. And yes the first press was made here in Mainz. We might go see that museum today. I LOVE Mainz. It is so beautiful. The people here are so friendly and open. We have so many conversations on the street I just don´t know what to think. The conversations don´t always lead to contacts, but we are working on that. I am not as smooth as Elder Fitzgerald yet. ;) I also really enjoy my companion Sister Ley! She is from Alabama and has really good German. She is helping me a lot with that. We work as a really good team and it is wonderful. I have been amazed at how the Spirit has been working with us. There have been so many little miracles that I can´t write them all. But we stopped a man the other day and we just started talking :) and for some reason we brought up truth :) and he said "That is so interesting that you mention truth, because I don´t believe in God, but I do want to know what the truth is, what ever it is." It was awesome to be able to bear testimony and let him know that there is truth, adn that it comes from God, and that when we know truth it helps us in our lives. Another day we were waiting for a train and we had a few minutes so we went out contacting and we were about to turn back when we saw this lady pushing a stroller. We contacted her about the Plan of God and she started crying and said how her husband had just died to weeks ago and she wanted to know where he was. We read Alma 41:11-12. And said he is in a good place and would you like to know how you could be togeher forever? She accepted a card and we are hoping we will get to meet with her again. Oh, there are so many things. "Doing good is a pleasure, a joy beyond measure." Missionary work is really so wonderful. Also I was reading in Alma 48 today and it talks about what a great man Moroni is and then 2 versus later it says how Heleman and his bretheren were no less serviceable because they were preaching the word of God and bringing others to repentance. And it just hit me again that we all have our work that Heavenly Father has given us. Missionary work, parenthood work, sibling work, protecting our freedoms, families, everything. I just thought how you all are doign your work with faithfulness and bringing others closer to Christ with the work God has given to each of you. It is such a great work to do the work that God has given us.
Well I have to go. But I want to close with, "There is a right way to live and be happy. It is choosing the right every day." That is truth.
Love,
Sister Fitzgerald
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
