5-5-14: The Breaking of the Dritt

We liked her Lord of the Rings reference in her title J

After a short but somehow long 5-week transfer, our dritt (trio) is being broken up and Sister H and I are staying in Bielefeld to once again ride a two-wheeled bicycle. Sister M is going to Marzahn in Berlin (aka my beloved home of seven months). So I shouldn't be too jealous since I got a long time there. She is a lucky one though J.

Speaking of Marzahn, remember blind Daniel who maybe isn't that blind who we were teaching in Marzahn? He got baptized yesterday! And I heard it was marvelous; Sister Rasmussen was exactly who he needed to teach him J.

This week we learned the following in Bielefeld:

· Adam was actually a golem (he was made of clay and was supposed to be obedient so what other conclusion can we make? note: this is a lie told to us by a less active member)

· Drinking away your misery actually only adds to it.

· Always bring an umbrella (for sudden prolonged outpourings of cold rain)

To expand more on the second point, we went by a less-active member’s house this week and left a note and she called us the next day and asked if we could come over asap. So we did and she told us she was too wasted the other day to answer the door and was still super drunk because she'd done nothing but drink and sleep the past few days because her third child had just been taken away from her for his own safety.

Basically her life is just a downward spiral right now and she knows the church is true, but hasn't been able to use the Gospel to lift herself out of that hole. So that was really heartbreaking to see, but it made me think of two quotes from talks I'd read earlier this week.

The first comes from our favorite German, President Uchtdorf.

"The church is designed to nourish the imperfect, the struggling, and the exhausted. It is filled with people who desire with all their heart to keep the commandments, even if they haven't mastered them yet."

And from Elder Holland:

"We are infinitely more than our limitations or our afflictions."

I know that's true. I know that we find strength to keep going and growth in the church and through the Savior. We are more than what we seem.

And now for some random snippets of information:

Top three lies missionaries hear:

--I'll call you

--I'm coming to church

--We can meet next week on this sketchy corner

German language clarification of the day (thank you German in Review)

"Many grammarians think that mit-phrases express agency. But they are really nothing more than simple adverbial phrases."

Okay, actually I just like that there are people who study grammar and get together to talk about what kinds of words express agency. Just thought I'd enlighten you all.

And continuing with my list from last week...

#9. It’s easier to give it all than trying to hold something back. I was terrified of giving everything up before my mission, but I've come to realize that I am so much happier when I just give everything. Plus the easiest time to give everything is right now, when that's all I have to do.

So give your all. Hold nothing back.

Have a swell week.

-- Sister Claire Michelle Woodward