Miracles Are Upon Us! (September 5, 2016)

September 05, 2016

Miracles Are Upon Us! (September 5, 2016)

She told me to be dramatic... ;)

That moment when your twelve year old investigator shakes the hand of
President Uchtdorf! (Sorry just had to get that out there first...
Story will be explained later on!)

What an incredible week this was! Hohenstein is finally growing right
before our eyes! I couldn't be more grateful to the Lord for His
patience with me and for allowing me to be a part of building His
kingdom in Hohenstein. There have been many miracles... So if this is
a long email please forgive me. But I think it will be worth the read!

The week started out difficult... But through my weakness the Lord
stood by me each step of the way and showed me (with His help) what I
can do.

Jacob 4:7 "Nevertheless, the Lord God showeth us our weakness that we
may know that it is by his grace, and his great condescensions unto
the children of men, that we have power to do these things."

Thursday was when it all began. At 10:00 Thursday morning, my
companion and I walked out the door to do a little finding.

I had stopped a lady with this huge dog and I started to pet it and
ask her about it. And then I asked, "What brings you joy in life?" She
responded her dog. And I said, "Your Heavenly Father loves you. And He
wants you to be happy in this life. Because you are His daughter. He
has given you this dog and many other blessings so that you can have
joy." She looked like she was about to cry... So I said, "I am 19
years old. I left my family and moved to a foreign land so that I can
bring this message to Gods children. So I can bring this message to
you. Will you allow us to share that with you?" At first she said
yes... And then a little hesitantly changed her mind. But as we parted
ways she gave me the biggest hug and said, "Thank you so much for the
things you said. You are such a sweet young girl." I was heartbroken
she declined the invitation to learn more... But at the same time
filled with such passion and desire to continue on.

No joke. The very next person we stopped was a success. We stopped her
and asked the very same question, "what brings you joy?" She responded
her two little kids. I then asked if she wanted to be with her kids
forever... For eternity. She said, "Natürlich!" And then we set up an
appointment with her for this Thursday! Words can not describe the joy
I felt. So we found one more person to teach! That I thought was the
biggest miracle... Well it seems the Lord wasn't done yet.

After this we went and worked in a very large Garden at the Bauers
home. (The cute old people we met two weeks ago! The ones who like to
pose for pictures!) ;) We worked A TON on there garden preparing
things for the winter! It was so wonderful spending time with them and
working in their garden. They are always so kind and appreciative.

Later that night we had what we like to call our "Döner Appointment"
it is a goal of ours to baptize the neighborhood Döner guy. (The man
is literally a Turkish Korby Siggard... It's fantastic!) So we went
and he was very excited to see us! He had told us he went to the
temple open house and loved it! Suddenly a German man walks in and
orders a Döner. Our wonderful friendly neighborhood Döner dude knows
everyone and introduced us to this man, Alex. And so the four of us
got in a very interesting conversation about Americas history (Louis
and Clark, etc.) When the German man left our wonderful Döner friend
(who's name I am sorry to say I am unsure how to spell...) had said
that, "You need to make him (the German man, Alex) Mormon!" So our
Döner dude literally set up an appointment for us. He texted Alex and
told him to be at the Döner place, "Morgen um 19:00 Uhr!" So funny!

Friday came around and we went finding again. We were walking down the
street and I see a woman on the other side of the street walking the
opposite direction as us. She looked happy so I waited until she
looked over and I waved! She waved back and sort of laughed
uncomfortably as she wondered if she knew us. (Germans don't really
say hi to people on they street whom they don't know.) We continued
walking. Suddenly I hear behind us... "Entschuldigung!
Entschuldigung!" I swing around only to find this woman trying to get
our attention. And as soon as she does she runs across the street and
asks, "are you Mormons?" I enthusiastically responded, "Yes! We are!"
She had continued to tell us that her granddaughter lived in Utah for
a while. We told her we were from Utah and she got really excited! I
asked her if she had met with any missionaries before and she
responded by saying no. And that she does not believe in God... So I
asked her why that was. She said, "My Mother died when I was young and
left my Father with 10 children. And since then I knew there was no
God... Why would anyone leave a Father alone with 10 kids?" I started
to bear testimony of The Plan of Salvation and I told her that she
would see her mother again and that death was a part of Gods plan. She
said she didn't believe it. So I asked if we could say a prayer with
her on the street. She looked a little confused but after a few
moments of protest she finally allowed me to say a prayer. I asked
Heavenly Father to help this sweet women come to know that He was
there, He loved her, and that her Mother was safe in Heaven. When I
finished the prayer she looked touched and said, "If I come to find
this truth... I will think of you." I may never know the outcome of
this woman's story... Whether she finds the truth in this life I may
never know. But I'm grateful I was able to introduce Gods plan to her.

Later that evening we had Döner Appointment Part 2! But when we had
gotten there Döner Dude said Alex wasn't coming because it was his
sisters birthday. So we ordered Döners anyway. After we had finished
eating and were waiting to pay... A lady who is friends with our Döner
Dude was behind the counter talking to Döner Dudes parents who are
visiting right now from Turkey! They only speak Turkish... But they
are the sweetest people ever! Anyway, this lady is trying to learn
Turkish so that she can go to Turkey and visit Döner Dudes parents!
She turned around and showed us her plans for learning this very
difficult language... I told her to sit with us and teach us some
words. She was so funny and so kind! And we became friends! Her name
is Simone! She started to show us pictures of her family, of her dog,
her vacation to Morocco, etc. It was great! We told her who we were
and what we were doing here. But... After all this she said, "You
know... You guys don't live too far away from me! You live on the
corner right!?" I responded saying she was correct and then she
continued, "You should come over sometime! Here is my number and
address!" Little does she know... Is that the woman just referred
herself... ;) haha!

We could not be more blessed. And I couldn't be more grateful! As we
did our weekly planning this week I was having a very difficult time
fitting everything in! In my time here in Hohenstein... I have not
ever been this busy. I'm so grateful to the Lord for shaping me in
this time. When I got here we had two eternal investigators... And
nothing else. But thanks to my trainee and the miracles she brought
with her... The Lord has opened the windows of heaven upon
Hohenstein... And has sent us people prepared to hear the Gospel. The
STLT's called this past weekend and they told me that Hohenstein has
now become a happy place.

Saturday night was the Freiberg Temple Celebration! I would like to
congratulate Sister Knabe for the success that it was. (Basically
cried the whole time!) She put a lot of time and effort into this
celebration and it paid off! Thanks for all your hard work Sister
Knabe! Love and miss you!

The celebration was beautiful! And President Uchtdorf and Elder Bednar
were in attendance. The finale of the celebration was fantastic. The
youth participating formed the Freiberg temple and held up their
temple recommends! When the final song finished President Uchtdorf
went to shake the hands of the children (or as many hands as he
could!) the moment was touching as hundreds of kids gathered around
trying to shake the hand of an apostle of the Lord. Then suddenly
something happened that I will never forget. I see our twelve year old
investigator, Clarissa, in the front row of the temple the kids have
formed. President Uchtdorf walks right up to her... And shakes her
hand. That moment was incredible! My investigator who wants to badly
to be baptized... Just shook the hand of an apostle. I was so happy!!

Freiberg temple is now dedicated!!!!!!!!!! I'm dying!!! There is once
again a Temple open for the members here in Germany!!! I couldn't be
more happy. I was able to visit a dedicatory session yesterday. My
companion and I went to the first session of the day. It was
wonderful. It was also a little shocking to hear President Bednar get
up and speak to the congregation in German! (Proof that German really
is the celestial language!) ;) I was so grateful to have been a part
of it all. To have been able to work on Tempel Platz, and now to see
this beautiful house be dedicated once again to the Lord. My heart is
full.

Family and friends. I testify this work is true. The Lords kingdom is
upon the earth and it is our duty as members of this great church to
spread it throughout the world. To open our mouths and testify of
Jesus Christ and His loving sacrifice. I know Heavenly Father loves
you. I have felt His love for each one of you as I have been away.
Please never forget that He is there to listen to you at any time. Im
thankful for the prayers I have received and the support I have from
home. The mission has been such a blessing so far. And I know the Lord
will continue to shape me into the person He needs to build His
kingdom in the future. I love the Lord. I love the Gospel. I love my
Mission.

Until next week my friends and family! :)
Liebe Grüße,
Sister Darton