Mein Hut, Mein Hut der hat drei ecke

September 23, 2013

Today Schwester Voigt, a lady from our branch took us on a bike ride to Raldofzell a beautiful lake town and then took us out to lunch. It was so much fun and it made me think of our times in Hilton Head. But it also made me fall in love with Germany even more. Seriously I feel so lucky that I get to serve here. Southern Germany, Austria, and Switzerland are seriously magical!! Sometimes you just feel like you are in a fairytale. I love it so much! Schwester Voigt is this cute 72 year old lady who is super fit. She told us that she doesn't want us calling her Schwester Voigt, only Oma. hahaha So cute.

This week was such a fun one. We had lots of oppurtunites to work with the members and it was great! I really love the branch here. Everyone is so strong!! On saturday we headed to Zurich, Switzerland for a sisters conference for the relief society and that was so fun to be able to see the other sister missionaries in our mission and spend time with the wonderful ladies in our ward! After the conference Schwester Stemmer (who was driving us) stopped at Rhein Falls because she wanted to show us it. We had such a great time!

We had a wonderful lesson with a potential investigator last week. Her name is Frau Moridian and she is from Iran, but she has always been Christian. She was met by Sister Freimann and Sister Lohmann while I was in Switzerland for an austauch. She was saying that there has been so many times where people have tried to stop her on the street and she always tells them she has no time. Well this time when Sister Lohmann stopped and talked to her, she said that her heart was pulling her and telling her to stay. Sister Lohmann told her all about the book of mormon and she said she felt this strong feeling in her heart and she knew she needed this book. Then she told us that after her conversation with Sister Lohmann she went home and cried. She knew she needed to meet with us and learn more. HOW COOL IS THAT???? So we gave her a book of mormon and she wanted another one so she cool share it with her friend. Miracles I tell ya, miracles! Hopefully we will meet with her this week.

We haven't been able to meet with Simplice this week sadly, he was sick and has been super busy with work, but hopefully this week.

Fall is finally here and I love it so much!!! O my goodness. The next 4 months are going to be amazing because it is fall, thanksgiving, then Christmas!! I am so excited. Sister and Freimann are sooo excited for Christmas. Every dinner break or lunch break we watch the lds "Joy to the World" video in German just so we can hear christmas music. hahahha Fall and Christmas are so magical here and I am so excited to be here for it!!!!!!!

I can't believe yall are all moved out of the house, but I am happy yall are staying in Georgia and that dad got a full time job as a professor!! That is so awesome. I am also happy I get to go back to my home ward.

Well Sister Freimann and I are working our little tails off but making sure to have fun too. After contacting all day we make sure to play on a playground for a few minutes, or grab icecream or something. We are really do our best at finding joy in the journey.

LOVE YOU GUYS!! I put some more pictures on drop box and here are some more!

You guys speak to people about Jesus, don't you?

September 9, 2013

Mom, o my goodness. I got the package today and it was the best ever!! Thank you sooo much!! I  loved it soo much!!!!! 

This week was probably the best we have had in Singen. I am not going to lie, I was really struggling. I was feeling like the worst missionary ever because our numbers were so low. I kept asking myself, why am I needed here in Singen??? Well finally I had a reality check-and it was so awesome!! I finally realized that maybe I am not neccesarily needed in Singen, but in all reality, I am the one that needs Singen. Seriously, being here in Singen, opening and training has been the hardest thing I have done on my mission. I have really had to get out of my comfort zone and push myself beyond my limits. But, because of it, I have been becoming the missionary that I want to be. I have learned how to contact, work with the ward, and I am still learning things. I decided I needed to stop worrying about how low are numbers are, and focus on living up to my potential as a missionary and focus on being the very best I can, and that is when the rest will fall into place. So that is what I have been focusing on, just trying to be the most obedient and best missionary I can be. 

One thing I have seen on the mission is that their are some missionaries that have this natural ability to be amazing missionaries right from the start. From the get go they have no fear and it doesn't scare them to be bold or to talk to people on the street. They just really know what they are doing. Then you have those other missionaries, who want so badly to be great, but they have a few more obstacles to overcome, or it takes them a little while to figure out their place as a missionary. I am one of those second missionaries. It has really taken me a while to become the missionary I have wanted to be. I have really, really, had to go out of my comfort zone and do things I have never thought I had too. And now after 9 months, I am finally getting there. I still have so much to learn, but I am grateful for Singen and how it has help mold me into the missionary I am today.

So we found this awesome potential investigator named Simplice. He is one of our bus drivers here in Singen and one Wednesday night when I was getting on the bus I dropped a ton of the pass along cards. He saw one with Jesus' face on it and looked at me and asked: "You girls talk to people about Jesus, don't you?" I said yes and we talked a little bit then I went to sit down because there were people behind me waiting to get on. He called me back up and I started telling him about the book of mormon as he was driving. He was so excited to meet with us and gave us his information. Then that night we got a text from him that said: "Hello Sisters in Christ, the time of good is the best...i'm happy to meet you sisters in Jesus name...Jesus is my savior, my redeemmer, my life...and my Lord... I love him, I adore him, I please you tonight to pray, may the holy ghost open my heart and my soul to his word...Amen in Jesus name." hahah Isn't that so great??? We had a lesson with him last night and it was so great!! He is so prepared. We weren't able to set up another appointment with him because he didn"t know his work schedule, but he is so excited to read more in the book of mormon. We feel so lucky that we were able to meet him!! We have high hopes for him as an investigator:)

So my branch here is so great. We need about 5 more people to be baptized in order for it to become a branch so everyone is really gung ho about missionary work. It is so great. The hole branch is just so loving and I have loved getting close with the members. Yesterday we had an eating appointment with Familie Zimmerman it was so great. Brother Zimmerman said something to me and it made me so happy. He said: "Sister Allman, you are so cool. Ya, you really just are so cool and everyone here in the branch just really loves you." That made me happy. It was really great to hear-especially when it has been soo hard.

but really. This week has been so much better. This transfer is going to be so much better as well. I am excited for the miracles sitting ahead of us. 

I love y'all so much!!

Sister Allman

You guys speak to people about Jesus, don't you?

September 2, 2013

O man. It sounds like both of you are having some much fun with your adventures in the British Isles. I am jealous! But like mckay said, after the mission, you can take both of us:) 

This week was good/really hard! We are having no sucess finding people to teach. We are talking with everyone, but we just can't seem to find those people being prepared to accept the gospel. I am not going to lie, it is SUPER frustrating. But it is okay, because like Ether 12:6 says, "you recieve not witness until AFTER the trial of your faith." O man, are we having trials of our faith right now, but it is okay. Seriously, the mission is the pure refiners fire. but o boy- I am learning so much. I am really struggling with the language as well. I just cant seem to get it down. Sister Freimann and the members are really trying to help me-and I am working way hard to do all I can. I am really nervous that my German is not going to be very good when I get home, but hopefully with diligence, hard work, and prayer/fasting, I will get it down. German is so stinking hard. 

One thing that has been really great about singen is that we have really been able to get to know the branch. President told us that he doesnt want us filling out time in our planner to contact or find, but that we should contact and find on the way to visit members, potentials, and less actives. So we have been going by so many people in the ward every week. Everyone has the coolest stories, and it is amazing to hear what they have been through and how they found the church. The members here are soo strong and just the greatest examples ever.

Tonight Eva, one of the ward missionaries is having a birthday party in the church for all the less actives. She is super close with a lot of the less actives, and is doing this just so the missionaries can come in contact with them. She as called all the less actives and have made sure they are coming, so today we are working with the gurney's to get prepared for that. How awesome is eva? She is constantly trying to figure out how to reach out to the less actives because she was once a less active herself. When members help the missionaries, it is the best!!

Well have so much fun in england, or ireland! Wherever you two are. Find One Direction for me and tell Harry Styles to wait for me:) heheheh

LOVE YOU GUYS

You guys speak to people about Jesus, don't you?

August 26, 2013

Hallo meine Familie! O ich vermisse sie!

Last week and this week, Sister Freiman and I have really been studying about faith. We have really struggled being here in Singen and not having anyone to teach. It has really taken a toll on us. We are both really terrified with street contacting and it has been a trial for us to find people. So we figured our faith wasn't strong enough, or something wasn't really clicking because everything we were doing kept failing. Well we finally realized that our faith was strong, but we weren't doing enough. For instance-2 Nephi 25:23-For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace  that we are saved, after all we can do. We both realized that Ya our faith was strong, but if we were really putting our faith to use we woud stop thinking about how scary it is to talk to everyone, and forget about ourselves- and do the Lord's work. Yes, we have been working hard these past few weeks, but we haven't been doing enough, and we weren't talking to enough people. Had we really done all that we could? No. So this week we really worked hard to put our faith into action. We prayed to have all the strength we could to talk to everyone and then put our faith to work. At the beginning it was so hard. We were rejected, rejected a little bit more, and again rejected, but we kept going. Sometimes we faltered and we would chicken out to talk with someone, but we were trying out best. Well then Thursday when I got back from an austausch I was determined to talk to EVERYONE and not let one person pass me by. After lunch we went out and I forgot about myself. I talked with everyone. It was crazy. The fear was gone. It was truely a miracle. The Lord was helping me. Then Sister Freiman wasn't scared, and she started talking to people too! The greater miracle about it was that we started finding potentials! One person after another wanted to hear about the gospel. We were able to find 12 potentials within 3 hours. That was such a huge miracle! We found 12 potentials all in one day, and that is more that I have ever found in one week! It was such a miracle, and I know it was because we did out very best and talked to everyone. The Lord blessed us and he led us to people. All we did was work and do our best-and then the Lord made up for the rest of our weaknesses.

I have learned so much since I have been on a mission. It is probably the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. I am constantly being reminded of my weakness's and my shortcomings, but I have also experienced things that are going to help me into the eternities. A mission is really the refiner's fire, but I am becoming who the Lord wants and needs be to be and it is such a blessing.

Have yall read Elder Uchtdorf's priesthood talked "Four Titles?" Well Seriously, this talked has changed my whole mission. I read it a few times a week. There is a quote in it that has just affected me so much, and it has kind of been my motto lately.

"Perhaps it is true that we are weak. Perhaps we are not wise or mighty. But when God works through us, no one and nothing can stand against us."
Man, isn't that powerful?? I just try and remember that each day. I am soo incredibly weak. I can't do this mission alone. But seriously, I have learned and I have testimony, that when we let God work through us, we can be a powerful tool in his hand.

Guess What??? I got to be a missionary in Switzerland!!!! We did an austauch with the Sisters that serve in Winterthur, Switzerland and I got to go there and work with Sister Robben who is from the Netherlands for Wednesday and Thursday. I loved every second of it. They speak the craziest form of German down there so it was hard to understand, but I loved it. The people there were so open and nice and with their crazy Swizadeutsch accents they just all seemed so jolly to me. haha Not to mention, it was absolutely beautiful. It was such a great opportunity for me to work there. Sister Robben and I talked with everyone we saw, and the last person we contacted is going to be baptized. She is one of those people that you hear about that is prepared to hear the gospel. Her name is Bruda and she is probably 17 or 18. We stopped her and told her were were talking to people about Jesus. She stopped and said "O I have time for this!" We started telling her about the Book of Mormon and she was so excited. She told us that she had lived in Brazil for a while and always saw Elders and wanted to talk to them and get a Book of Mormon. She took the Book of Mormon and was so excited to read and meet with us again to learn more. It was seriously such a testimony to me that the Lord is truely preparing people to hear our message. 

Well thank you for all the prayers. They means so much.

LOVE YOU!!!

Sister Allman