Week 54 BJF Nov 23

 

 

 Guten Morgen, tag, Mittag, Mahlzeit, Nachmittag, Abend, Nacht, etc.

Weihnachten is now in full swing and all the Germans are getting Christmassy.

These last weeks we’ve been super busy yet we feel like we haven’t been doing much.  We’ve started working with the #LightTheWorld program the church has set up this year and we’ve been seeing a cool effect with it. Last Christmas I couldn’t understand what people were saying to me but this year I can really see the Christmas spirit lighten people’s moods.

We recently met with a guy out of Afghanistan. He had grown up in Muslim culture his whole life and had been working with the American military as a translator. While he grew up in a very poor part of the country he witnessed many Americans, Brits, French, and other Christian nations reaching out and helping people. No matter what religion, skin color, background, etc. He was so impressed by seeing these people selflessly help others he wants to truly study and discover what makes these people do what they do and emanate the same in his own life.

Teaching people about these things is what we do daily so we set up an appointment for tomorrow and we expect it’ll be pretty fantastic. He’s the most excited fellow I’ve ever met. After pouring out his desire to learn about selfless service we told him about the #LightTheWorld program. His eyes lit up and he had the happiest look on his face as it went so well with our discussion.

The program itself is very simple. But helping our brothers and sisters doesn’t need to be complicated. You might of already heard about it but go check out Mormon.org and try it out for yourself.

In other aspects of the work we’re having a pretty good time. My new companion is kind of insane which fits my style, we’re still working with our Spaniard friend who’s making lots of progress, it is now officially cold, and we’re getting excited for Christmas.

We found some Christmas lights in our basement and have decorated for the season. We’ve been listening to non–stop Christmas music. And today we went down to Düsseldorf to explore the Weihnachtsmarkt where my companion was trained 1 1/2 years ago.

I’ll keep it short this week and probably have more stories next week.

Liebe G

rüße –Elder Füller

Week 48 DTF Nov 20

Daniel learned how to climb a coconut tree in Tonga where he went for Humanitarian EFY.  HEFY taught him much about charity toward people in need.  He has always had a kind heart and a friend to all. He is well suited to his mission in Africa.

I wish this was a video because I am pretty sure he climbs it like a monkey but the getting down looks a bit harder indeed.  But knowing Dan he probably jumped down from here.  Angels are on constant double duty with this Elder.

Week 48 RLF Nov 20

Rachel was transferred to Longrono today so no word other than she is fine and will send a letter next week.  However being away from this sweet Hermana will be sad.  She looks a lot like another Rachel we know.  Rachel loves them both!!

Transfers are always good but seem to happen so fast.  6wks is not fast when you spend every waking hour with the same person.  Fortunately she has had great companions that she loves no matter what their personality is like.  They both have the same goals in common and have a love of the Lord and his gospel they are sharing together with everyone they meet.

Longrono is on the Ebro River far away from Vic and an area she has never even been close to.  She has been near the Mediterranean Sea this whole time but now travels northeast of Madrid closer to the Atlantic Ocean, which is the opposite side of the mish.

Week 53 BJF Nov 16

Yumm...warm German waffles.  I am sure they are not the same as our Waffle House, ha.

Schönen guten Morgen,

This last week has been somewhat exciting. 

We started with a visit from Elder Gary Sabine from the Europe area presidency (people in charge of churchy European stuffs). This was the third conference we’ve had this transfer which doesn’t happen too often. He was dropping doctrinal fire the whole time and really getting the missionaries pumped. 

The rest of our week was spent getting stuff put together for Brights Baptism. We were a bit worried about how it would turn out but the event went surprisingly well. Bright showed up early and even helped us set stuff up. He just kept smiling and talking about the peace he felt. He kept hugging everyone too. He’s fantastic and I’m glad to have helped him get this far.

Later that evening after everything was said and done we got our transfer calls. E. Yorgason got shipped to the exact opposite end of the mission and I got a new comp from a city about half an hour way. We drive through his old area several times a week. His name is Elder Bahr and he’s 2 meters tall. Er ist ein große Mensch.

Despite how short he makes me feel I think this next transfer is going to be a “huge“ success. The members here are probably going to make a “big“ deal about it. Hahaha

But in all seriousness I’m excited to work with him.

So far we’re still getting the hang of the new transfer but E. Bahr has been around the mission a bit longer that me so it’s going smoothly. He’s also my first companion from somewhere outside of Utah. From the great state of North Dakota. He’s basically a Canadian without a pet moose.

life in Germany is starting to feel normal. Which is strange. 

We’re still seeing miracles, I’m still learning some Spanish, still talking with crazy people, and it’s still getting cold.

You’re all beautiful, talk to you next week.

Liebe –Elder Fuller

Pictures,

1–2:cleaning baptismal font in a suit cuz reasons.

3:Bright‘s baptism. (he was confused as to why we were taking pictures)

4–8:District shenanigans. We spent the day hanging out in Duisburg. Went to this weird sculpture called the „tiger turtle“

9:The german version of WaffleHouse

Elder Bahr is his new companion this transfer. Also from North Dakota, like me.  He makes Ben look like a shrimp!  They also got a huge shipment of Sister Missionaries this time around.  One is Sis. Fuller from Australia.

The Tiger Turtle looks rather like a climbable roller coaster.  

But it is fenced off in case anyone tries to defy gravity and fall on their head.

I love the view here. It looks like a brisk fall day.

All Elders are handsome no matter what they look like. It is the light of Christ that shines through their eyes and they all look so pleasant.

Week 47 DTF Nov 13

It's fun to think about this crazy kid fulfilling a dream of traveling to exotic and unknown places.  He is loving this opportunity to be in new culture, learn a foreign language and meet interesting people.  All with a deep love in his heart and a faithful commitment to our Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ.  He is testifying of the truthfulness of the gospel to many every day.  What a blessing and an honor for him to dedicate these two precious years!

Please enjoy a story from Daniel by clicking on the link below:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1UgDU-JnThRmZ-F4wrTVe-hJ0eJODALK8

Hello everyone,

So we had transfers this past week and guess what? I got transferred to Nairobi, Yes i have finally entered that black hole that once a missionary enters, he never leaves. (in fact our current AP is going home soon and has never served outside of Nairobi.)
But good news is i would like to stay! This place is great, we just got done playing football with both Nairobi zones! I am now serving in an area called mountain view and it is gorgeous! The flat is amazing and doesn't have rats or any weird stains on the ceiling that leak black goo. It's nice not to have any black goo dripping on your white shirts haha. 

My new companion is from DRC the congo, and he is still learning English but he knows some Swahili so we get by just fine. His name is Elder Mbaya, which in Congolese means "first born" but here in Kenya it means "bad person." he has had a lot of heat for it haha. 

Also I got to go to the rift valley to do an interview for some other elders and it was such a view! I felt like i could see all of kenya from the view point, it was soo sick! (I will try to get pictures next time we go there.)

Also here's a funny story for you, we were waiting for a matatu to take us into town and this shoeless dirty man came up to us and started talking to us, I was genuinely interested in what shoeless guy had to say. He started off so nicely and said that I looked like Jesus, (which is an awesome compliment for a missionary because we are trying to represent the Lord.)

And i thought "hey maybe this is just a kind modern gentlemen who just thinks modern footwear is complete dross and vomit (like myself.)." 

But the conversation went for a wrong turn and then to a plummeting death with his next sentence. He then said "yes and because you look like Jesus I would like to crucify you, with ten inch nails." 

TE....TE...TEN INCH NAILS?!?!?! I mean beside the fact this guy wants me to die for his sins why ten inch nails? I mean wouldn't 7 or 8 be sufficient?!

My companion and i promptly started laughing and leaped onto the first car

that came by. Yes, shoeless guy turned out to be a complete loon, But i still stand by what i said about shoes being just about the worst thing since monkeys discovered they could fling poo. 

but Nairobi is sweet.

Much love, Jesus is the way, Keep working hard friends. 

-

Cheers - Elder Fuller

For candy and death threats,

Kenya Nairobi Mission
P.O. Box 46162-00100
Nairobi
00100
Kenya

Week 47 RLF Nov 13

Our beautiful Hermanas!

Out for a day of sunshine to share their contagious grins,

and sharing a lovely lunch too, of course.

Week 52 BJF Nov 9

 

 

Howdy,

Due to a mission conference being held tomorrow our Pday has been swapped to today. Next week it will be on Thursday like normal.

Transfer calls are approaching and we’re suspecting my companion will be moved and I’ll get a new guy for Christmas (wait what? Christmas is next transfer? Whoa) I’m getting excited for the change right before the prime “talking to people about Jesus time of the year“ but we’ll need to wait til Saturday to find out.

The missionary work seems to be going quite nicely. Our Spaniard buddy is back from his vacation and still going strong, we’ve got a baptismal interview scheduled tonight for another one of our dudes, and due to a few miracles we’ve started teaching some other people as well.

Due to Elder Ballard dropping straight fire when he came to Germany, all of the members have suddenly jumped into the missionary work. We’ve been invited to almost every home in the branch and we’ve been able to have members join us at teaching appointments (which never happened before) Apostles like Elder Ballard have a special spirit about them which can really get people pumped up.

All in all, the work is moving forward. It’s just much faster when the members help out. 

Today is the last Pday for one of our sister missionaries so she decided she wanted to go out to Cologne. I’ll send an email with pictures later today cuz let’s be honest, that’s everyone’s favorite part of a Missionary email.

Love y’all, miss y’all, go enjoy life, Facebook is weird, etc

Bis später –Elder Füller

Picture pending....

 

Well, turns out we didn’t do much in Köln. Just walked around. Schade.

Nevertheless, here are the few pictures. And one from last week cuz I think it’s funny. #montypythonreference

 

 

 

 

Week 46 DTF Nov 6

 Things are getting started again after sheltering in place for the second time this year because of elections.  It is not about skin color there, but about tribal racism.  Billboards talk of uniting as a country, that of Kenya.  Interesting to see the different issues countries struggle with.

He was able to attend church where the computer is and let us know he is fine since he is in the bush.  Not a lot of industry, traffic or violence fortunately.

I will post a video of him telling a story of getting a haircut by a guy who was high and didn't know how to cut "white boy" hair.  Watch for it here.


Dang, Thanks mom, You are the best Mom ever.

We are out in the bush so the political situation doesn't really affect us that much other then the occasional lockdown.

Nah I havent been able to watch it yet, but i will get the liahona and read them soon. 

I love you so much. 

 

 

Letter regarding political unrest in Nairobi

This letter is from the Mission President in Nairobi:

Dear Missionary Families,
Things are pretty busy as we're winding down things in preparation for the new couple to come late tonight.  So I didn't get this out to you last night.  It's President Msane's last update about the aftermath of Kenya elections.
Love to you all,
Sister Torrie

“The situation across the country continued to calm down. As of yesterday, the missionaries did start working in the areas they were in as per the last update. Today all the missionaries have been authorised to travel back to their areas, and work there as normal except for a few identified locations where we still have some reservations given their volatility. 

With the mission largely back at normality, this will be the last update for now. Given the continuing political discussions on the way forward for the country, we continue to closely monitor the situation and pray for a peaceful transition, inviting you to continue as well with the same in our behalf.” 

Regards

President S. Ephraim Msane

Kenya Nairobi Mission

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Opposite African Wildlife Foundation

Ngong Road

Update on Political Unrest in Barcelona

This is a letter from the Mission President:

Greeting from Spain. We imagine that some of you have been concerned by the political unrest in northeast Spain (Catalunya). The Catalunya independence movement in the Barcelona area is a politically charged but largely peaceful movement. There have been several very large, but mostly peaceful demonstrations, which are called “manifestations” in Catalan. Some of the demonstrations are focused on unity, keeping Catalunya part of Spain; some of the protests are for independence. The Spanish central government has removed the president of Catalunya, President Puigdemont, from power. He and some of his cabinet have moved to Belgium, and still encourage a peaceful movement. New elections are scheduled for December 21, when a new president and cabinet will be elected for the Catalan region.

We have encouraged our missionaries to avoid large crowds, but these political movements have had very little impact on the everyday life here in Barcelona. Tourism continues unabated. Shopping and school continue unabated, and again, we have not seen any changes in life here in the Barcelona area.
The only violence we have been aware of was on October 1st when the vote was held for the referendum on independence. It was a Sunday and the missionaries were in their church meetings. There were some very disturbing images of police handling voting crowds with violence that day. Fortunately, we have seen nothing like that since.
We continue to encourage our missionaries to be vigilant, to be aware of their environment, and to avoid large crowds. We are in regular contact with the Church’s Security Department, which continues to watch this situation very closely, as well as the U.S. Embassy in Madrid. Please understand that the safety of your sons and daughters are our greatest concern, and we will do whatever is necessary to ensure they stay safe.

Week 46 RLF Nov 6

(Last week I had written her about an analogy of drinking glasses and the Atonement of Jesus Christ.)

Okay changing topics now. Something I learned is that it is not about how full the glass is - whether it is half empty or half full. It is the idea that we are holding the glass and having to hold it. Continuing to hold it does not have to be a burden. Jesus Christ will aid us in putting down the glass and help us to determine how long to hold it up.  How many glasses do we decide to carry?  Are we juggling full glasses? Empty glasses? Will we ask Him to help us lift it/them or set it down without falling and shattering?  Do we trust in Him? Truth is, we need to let them all go, for He is our God and will surely give us aid.

I love that analogy.  Can you expand and share with me how you see it too?  I know you are a deep thinker and very spiritually adept. I would love to hear your thoughts.

J esus

O thers

Y ou

Love, ma

(She responded with a picture at the bottom and her idea of grace.  She is an old soul and a wise one.  I pray every day for her to be able to teach what she knows as clearly as possible in the Spanish language.  It is so amazing to see so much progress in such a short amount of time.  Seeing all of our missionaries throughout the world succeed is a wonderful blessing in all of our lives.)

(Describing her new comp)
Hahaha she is quiet at first, but she so incredible mom I can't even tell you.  She's so good and so patient and we get along really well.  She teaches me so much, but by example.  She's the kind of person I want to be.  

Hahaha we are trying super hard to focus on the most basic parts of the gospel, I never realized how much I didn't understand about the basics until I tried teaching them.  It's been really hard to teach simply for Me, even in Spanish.  But if we can't explain the gospel in its most basic sense, we don't understand it and really can't start eating meat until we do.  

I love that analogy too.  There's a little picture of how grace works  and it's kind of like the one I attached.  But as I've found on my mission that's not true at all.  Christ is walking next to us and and we try our best to walk like he does even though sometimes we mess up and he has to pull us back onto the bath.  We cannot do anything without recognizing the strength of the savior and our father in heaven.  This life is our time to prepare to meet him, and although we're clumsy and less even than the dust of the earth, Christ has still chosen to bring us one by one, and by design along our path walking next to Christ, we learn a little and gain strength day by day until one day as we finally arrive in the presence of God, Christ can say, this is my friend, they are strong we have been walking together for years and Father I believe they're ready to be like you and me :) 

I love learning that fact that Christ is in every step and that without him we would have no success in anything we do, temporal or spiritual.

I love you momma and I'm so grateful for you and your incredible example to us!

Talk to you next week

 

Week 51 BJF Nov 2

Happy late Halloween,

We spent our German Halloween painting the new apartment of one of our members, teaching some peeps, and hiding from a few trick or treaters we didn’t expect, while wearing fake mustaches.

From what I can remember of these last two weeks, we’ve gotten our official Facebook stuff at Zone conference so we’re now actively using it (it’s weird especially since I haven’t touched it in about 3 years), we went to Stake conference in Düsseldorf and I saw a lot of the members from my last ward in Bonn (was strange). 

We also celebrated the 20th year since our church in Wesel was built. 

I don’t remember if it was today or yesterday but it marks 500 years since the reformation started by Martin Luthor. Kinda cool. It’s become a big thing here.

Otherwise our time has mostly been dedicated to our friend Bright. 

We did other stuff it’s just sort of turned into a blur. So I’ll tell you a bit about him. 

We found the guy as we were attempting to reach another investigator. The other fellow had used Bright‘s phone to call us so when we called back we told us the other guy wasn’t there. So my companion then asked if he had interest to learn about Jesus and to his surprise he said yes! 

After teaching him once we didn’t see him much. One day we get a call from someone we didn’t recognise who said he was coming to church and wanted the address. To our surprise it was Bright. He’s come to church every Sunday since and he’s the first person I’ve been able to teach from start to finish. To be able to see such progression in someone is really cool.

I’ll keep his email short as we’re running out of time but hey at least I’ve got a bunch of pictures.

Today our district went to the coolest museum I’ve ever seen. The Ruhr museum in Essen. It’s a gigantic old factory redone into a fancy museum with all the history from this section of Germany. Everything from the dinosaurs to the current animals to the WWII stuff to the current life style of people here. Really a cool place, I was frankly surprised how much I enjoyed it.

So yeah. Pictures.

Liebe –Elder Fuller.

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