Singen und Tanzen

Guten Tag from Singen, Germany!

Man, all I have to say is that I feel like I am in a completely different world. Munich and Singen are sooo different. I don't even know where to begin.

First off, The Lord answers our prayers. I have gained a HUGE testimony of that this week. Before I was transfered here, I had been praying to Lord for help with a lot of things. I was praying for:

1- Strength to be able to street contact. I hate street contacting and it really scares me. So I was praying that I would be able to overcome my fear. (We never had to street contact in Munich, we ubahn/sbahn contacted. So much easier! haha)

2-I prayed that my German would get better. My German is not up to par, so I was praying for Heavenly help that I could improve immensley.

3- I prayed that I could lose the 8 pounds that I have gained. Yes I know, not that much, but those 8 extra pounds have been killing my self esteem!

Well, the Lord answered all of those prayers by sending me to Singen. It was definitely not the way I expected, but every single one has been answered. How you might ask?

1- We are opening up the Singen area. We have NO investigators, NO area book, we have NOTHING. So we street contact. We are constantly contacting, because our main focus is to find investigators now. So now, I have no other excuses, I have to street contact!

2- I was blessed with a German golden!! So obviously, my german is going to get better because I am working with a native. I was so happy. Her name is Sister Freimann and she is from Hannover. She is so stinking cool. We get a long really well. She is 21- and her english is great and she is all for helping with german. She is blunt and told me my german needs a lot of work. hahaha but it is great, because she has already helped me so much. It was truely an answer to my prayers because it is really rare that Germans stay in Germany when they get sent on their mission here. They usually go straight to Switzerland because Americans can't serve there. I was the only missionary this transfer who gets to train a german, so I am so lucky!!

3- We walk everywhere in Singen. I feel like I am a pioneer on the trek. We walk and we walk and we walk somemore. It has some buses, but since it is small, there are not a lot. Our church is about a 45 minute walk a way too. So basically, I will be a lot more active which is awesome. Which hopefully means I will lose the 8 pounds I have gained:)

How cool is that???? The Lord really answers our prayers. It was definitely not in the way I expected, but so far he has answered all of my prayers. Prayer really works!!

I am not going to lie, it feels so weird being here in Singen. Just everything about it is so weird. I am in a completely different world. Singen is completely different from Munich-the landscape, the architecture, the people, everything!  Munich was a city of about 3 million I think, and Singen is a city of about 40,000 with little villages surrounding it. Singen is a really weird city to me. The architecture does not match the landscape at all. When I see most of the architecture, I think of th 70s/ghettoness. But then you look at the scenery surrounding it and there are trees everywhere and it is so green! It looks like you are in fairytale land! It is so weird! haha

I am excited to be here. It is so cool because I am with completely different missionaries, in a complete different state of germany, and just everything is so different. It is a new adventure and I am excited to experience it.

So these past few days have been great. We got here Thursday night at around 7:00. (We left munich at 12:35-had a 3 hour train ride to Stuttgart, then 1 hour layover, then 2 hour train ride to Singen). The Branch President, Relief Society president, one of the counselors in the branch presidency, and The Ehepaar  (Senior Couple-Elder and Sister Gurney) greeted us. They then took us to our new apartment which is SO nice. We have a huge bedroom, kitchen, dining room, and family room. It is huge and we have so much space. The whole branch had been working so hard to get it ready for us. Everyone in the branch contributed so much because they were so excited to get another set of missionaries. Awesome huh? well that night we had dinner with the Branch Presidency and the Gurney's at our apartment. They all had done so much for us, which was so nice.

Then Friday, Saturday, Sunday- was spent planning, contacting, meeting people in the branch, and having no idea what to do. haha I guess that is typical when you are starting from scratch with an area. The branch is really wonderful. There are 140 members and they just need 10 more people to be a ward. We have a brand new church house here that just opened in September which is awesome as well. The whole branch is super excited about missionary work, especially because they want to become a ward!

O sorry this is the longest email ever.

Saturday we had an appointment with a crazy less active- and i mean, literally she is crazy. It was the funniest appointment I think I have ever had. We walked into her house, and it was super dark. We sat down and she got us water. I saw that she had a ton of cds, so I asked her who her favorite singer was. She then looked at me and said "I'll show you!" Then all the sudden she put on this weird like Romanian folk music and started dancing for us. hahah We all danced in a circle for about 10 minutes, then all the sudden she was done, sat down on the couch, and said "Alma 50" then began reading. We read Alma 50 with her, then as soon as it ended she said "Okay, sis sonntag!" and gave me three huge kisses. Freaked me out a little bit. I wish you could just meet her though because if you saw her you would think this story is hilarious. haha I will bring pictures later.

Well I love you guys!! Thanks for all the prayers. Sister Freimann and I are working hard and are determined we are going to see a baptism before this transfer is over. It is going to happen. Ijust know it. heheh LOVE YALL!!!

Sister Allman

O here is my new address!

Kirche Jesu Christi

Sister Elysse Allman

Bruderhofstrasse 50

78224 Singen

Deutschland

ICH MAG DI

Guten Morgen Familie!!!

Wir hatten eine Wunderbares Woche gehabt!! So viele Wunder!!! Es ist wirklich fabelhaft!

Mom! How did you know I was going bike riding today? Did Michael email you about it? hahah He is the zone leaders investigator, but because they serve in our ward, we see Michael a lot as well. He is hilarious, you would get a kick out of him. He came up to me after sacrament meeting and said, "Your mom says she loves you!" I was so confused and then he showed me the picture he took of me bearing my testimony and said he sent it to you. hahahah O goodness. Michael is hilarious. 

So last week I told you a little bit about Pasquale right?? Well Monday night we had an appointment with him and it was amazing. He told us, "I wanted to meet with you tonight because I wanted to tell you how I have been feeling. Ever since I started reading this book and meeting with you two, I have been feeling something weird. I have never felt this feeling before, and I don't know what it means. I have always been able to control my feelings, but now I have no idea what is going on. It is freaking me out!" Lets just say Sister Smith and I were both really happy. He had been feeling the spirit. We met with him 2 other times this week and both lessons went great. The amazing thing about it is that every time we meet with him, he looks better. He doesn't look as dark. He looks more clean cut. It is so cool to watch this confirmation. On Friday we had an appointment with him at the Arnolds with another YSA Carla. Brother Arnold and Carla were both amazing joint teaches!! We talked about the Plan of Salvation with the Word of Wisdom. Brother Arnold is a convert, and has COMPLETELY changed his life around, and Carla went inactive for 3 years, and COMPLETELY changed her life around as well. They were able to testify to Pasquale about the blessings the gospel and the word of wisdom brings. The spirit was seriously so strong! Then Last night we had an appointment with him and then we went with him to YSA Abendessen(dinner) and ate all together with the YSA. He had a good time and ended up staying and hanging out with the YSA after we left. We were so happy. Seriously, when members get involved with missionary works, that is when miracles really happen! So you should help the missionaries just like the broadcast talked about, because members helping with missionary work is the best! THIS GOSPEL IS TRUE!!

Angela is great. Her confirmation was wonderful. Yesterday she was just so happy and came up to me and said in her Chinease accent, "Viele Leute kennen mich jetzt! Ich bin so berühmt!" ( Many people know me now! I am famous!) It was seriously the cutest. Everytime she comes in the room, everyone is so happy. She gave us and the elders all these little asian trinkets to thank us. We were all laughing so hard. Goodness, I love asians so much! haha

I love Munich. I am so incredibly grateful that I have had 6 months to serve here. Man. The investigators, the ward, the people, the missionaries, everyone is so AMAZING!! I feel so blessed. Everyday I wake up and just think about how blessed I am to be on a mission. I feel so lucky for this incredible opportunity. I can't even begin to describe how full my joy is. In two weeks we get transfer calls, and sadly I think I will be getting transfered. I mean I could be surpirsed, but I have been here 6 months-longer than most sisters have been in any of their areas. If I could get one more transfer here, I would be the happiest ever!! But if the Lord needs me somewhere else, I will be able to go as well. But O how I will be forever grateful to the Lord for sending me here to Munich, because I have met so many people that have changed my life for the better.

So this week I have studied alot about Ether 12:27. As crazy as this sounds, I love that we have so many weaknesses. It is such a blessing to have weaknesses, because when we truely rely on the Savior and work our hardest, those weaknesses can become our strengths. How amazing is that??? I realized that this mission is the perfect time for me to be able to really become the person I want to be. So for the past week I have really reflected on the person I am. I have written down all the things that I do, good and bad, and I circled all the things about me that I want to change. Now I am working to change all those things, and become better!! I want the mission to change me! I want to come home a different-better person than I was before I left. I made a little goal calendar and I have been working on some of the things. I am really motivated and it has been such a blessing. The Lord is helping mold me into my potential! Thanks for everything and all the prayers!!!!!! Ich habe dich so viel liebe!!!! Sister Allman

 

That was coool!!! July 1, 2013

Hello Family!!

Another wonderful week in Munich!! The weather was cold and I have to wear a scarf and jacket, but it was just as wonderful as ever. The Lord is blessing us.

Last Monday for P-day, Michael (the zone leaders investigator) took us and the elders to Neu Schwantstein. It was so much fun. He actually took us to another King Ludwig Castle as well, and took us to these beautiful little towns in the Bavarian hills. It was like a fairytale. I felt so grateful that I have the opportunity to serve in one of the most beautiful missions in the world. I am so lucky!!!

Well back to missionary work:

The baptism was so wonderful yesterday. Angela is just the cutest ever and giggled through the entire thing. The spirit was so strong and everyone really enjoyed it. After she was baptized and came out of the water, this 3 year old girl named Camille yelled, "THAT WAS COOL!!!" And everyone laughed. The whole baptism was full of innocent laughter and you could really just feel the love Heavenly Father has for Angela. It was such an awesome experience. I just felt so grateful to be apart of her decision in taking the next step in having eternal life. That is what she is most excited about, to be able to have eternal life. After her baptism she said she just felt so full of joy and couldn't wait to have eternal life with all of her new "brothers and sisters." She is seriously such a ray of sunshine and I am so grateful for her!! She keeps talking about how Sister Smith and I need to go visit her one day in Taiwan and we can go to the Temple together. She always always tells us we have to be eternal friends, and of course I agree because she is just the best. 

Marja came to the baptism and really enjoyed it as well. Saturday night we went to President and Sister Miles house and had dinner with them, then taught Marja a lesson. We talked about faith so she could have the courage to tell her parents about her decision. The spirit was so strong,  Marja told President and Sister Miles about setting the baptismal date for August 15. They were so excited. Marja has been learning about the church for a year now and President and Sister Miles have been helping every step of the way. Marja seriously glows when she talks about the gospel. Her testimony has gotten so strong and she has made so much progress. I am just so excited for her. She also made me a gluten free cake out of chickpeas this week. It was delicious. Mom, she could seriously have a gluten free restaurant with all the amazing food she cooks me!! and thanks to her I don't eat gluten at all. I have been feeling great!! This thursday a Finish Elder in our mission is coming up to munich with his companion for Zone Council, and before the council starts we are going to have a joint teach with them and Marja. Marja is wanting to know all she about the YSA in Finnland, and the church up there. I am excited.

Britta is doing well. She came to church yesterday and her wards talent show!! She is getting to know a lot of people which is great. It has been really hard to meet with her thoough because her work schedule is crazy. Keep praying for her:) I know she will get baptized one day, it just might take her a while.

So we have a new investigator and his name is Pasquala. He is 27 and german, but his parents are both Italian. We weren't really sure if he just liked to discuss religion or if he really had a desire to learn. At the last lesson we had with him he looked into my eyes deeply (It freaked me out way bad at first haha) and said "I can just tell you are really faithful, and you mean everything you say. How did you become this way? How were you able to make our faith so strong?" It was so cool!! I was really able to testify to him about the Book of Mormon and prayer. I think it really hit him and he said he would read more in the Book of Mormon and pray every night. It seemed like he finally had a desire to learn more. He actually just called us this morning and asked us if we could meet tonight, so now we are! I hope he had some cool experiences with prayer and the book of mormon!

So this email is random, but I just have so much to say today and luckily we are able to use our full time today to email!! hahah

There is the family in our ward who seriously are my inspiration. There names are Robert and Lenay Arnold. The are both converts and from America. Brother Arnold is actually our ward mission leader. Well they are amazing. They are always finding ways to talk to people about the gospel, and always jumping to help us with any of the investigators that we have. They are the perfect example of a family that works with the missionaries ( Like the Broadcast talked about). Friday night they invited us over with Marja and the Elders. Sister Arnold talked to Marja the whole time about her conversion story. ( She actually used to be a missionary for the baptist church, but she started working for a mormon as his secretary, and would edit his talks for church and that is how she got introduced to the church!) It helped Marja so much. Marja had to leave early, and then The Arnolds had one of there friends come over who was going to babysit while they went out on a date after our eating appointment. They told us they only were having a date night so they could introduce their friend to the missionaries. How cool is that???? Then on Sunday after Angela's baptism, they said "what is Angela doing tonight? If she and you two dont have plans, we want yall to come over for dinner. " So we went over to dinner because they wanted to completely welcome Angela to the ward and make her feel loved. The best part is, they dont speak any Germany, so we had to translate for Angela, but Angela left so happy and said "They were the example of eternal love!!" okay, sorry this is so long, but it was awesome. They are both so incredible and have such strong faith. I hope my husband and I can be like them with helping the missionaries and making sure everyone feels loved and welcome into the ward.

Speaking of my future husband. This is random, but I was thinking the other day about the person I want to end up with, and this is what I realized. I just want to marry someone who is solid in the gospel, treats me right, and is someone that I have so much fun with. I just want to have fun with him and laugh all the time! All the other things I thought were so important, arent!! I just want someone who loves the Lord and the gospel, treats me right, and someone that I can continually and eternally have fun with!! Okay random, I know. hahah but I was just thinking about it. haha

well this gospel is amazing. We are so lucky. Really, that is why we should share it with the world!! We have something that can changes everyones life for the better. We have a message of happiness, and we should do all we can to share that with everyone, even if we are not on missions!!!

WELL I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!

Sister Allman

Here is a picture of me at Neuschwanstein, and then sister Smith, Angela, and I at the baptism.

More pictures to come with other emails:)