Monday, March 30, 2015

Spring in Halle and Thinking in German--March 30, 2015

It's always great to hear from the missionary--to know that they are healthy, happy, and enjoying their work.

    The weather in Halle is cloudy and rainy this past week but I love it and it makes finding always interesting which makes it so fun. I think Halle is cold at times but it’s nothing that I can't handle. Spring is technically what it says on the calendar but it isn't like a California spring--the flowers are blooming now and the trees are starting to get buds on the ends of branches but it is not weather for the beach I think.
The missionaries in the Elder Fisher's first district--the sisters and
Elder Fisher and his companion serve the Halle ward.
I made potatoes one night for my companion but he does most of the cooking and I don't mind doing the dishes if I don't have to make the food.
The ward has activities like once a month--like a ward dinner--and the missionaries are in charge of family home evening for the singles in the ward.  We are over half the ward choir and usually missionaries have to give talks once a month at least because the ward is so small. It makes serving here such a blast though because it really makes the missionaries feel like they are part of the ward and it is great. The baptism didn't happen because the person needs to work on a few things first but he still wants to be baptized though so that is good.

Elder Fisher and Elder Gerlach in Halle
    This week has been good.  We found like 40 former investigator sheets last P-day after sending our emails and we have been going by the houses and updating the records. We have also been doing a lot of finding this week and that is fun and we get to meet a lot of people that way. We talked with someone this week and we were talking with him and telling him about how we came to Germany to do this work.  He asked where we were from and I said California and all he said back was "Sunny beaches!!!" it was really funny.  He asked my companion and he said Utah and he said "it's still in America." that made the experience pretty funny. Also we went by to visit a former investigator and he was home and then his friend came in and listened to us and then the friend gave us a referral!!! It was pretty cool getting a referral from a nonmember I would have to say. Those are the two big stories from this week.
    I gave the spiritually thought in District Meeting and it was on hope and all in German it was fun. I am starting to forget English words and thinking in German--I know it is really weird actually.
Mission selfie with missionaries serving in Halle.

    My scripture for the week is 1 Samuel 15: 22 and this is when King Saul didn't obey the Lord's command with exactness and Samuel tells him this
"And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams."
What that means to me is that it doesn't matter what we sacrificed to come on a mission or left behind, we are all here on the Lord's errand and we must be obedient and not focus on our sacrifices.
All is well in Halle while we are building Zion.
Love
Elder Fisher

P.S. That typing class I took in high school is useless now because I will be used to German keyboards in two years and not know how to type on an English keyboard.
P.P.S I will more than likely get everything that has been mailed to me this Wednesday because that is Zone Training Meeting and they get the mail from Berlin for all the missionaries in the zone.

**I am including the next section from dad's letter to Elder Fisher--I thought it would be helpful if anyone has every wondered why people from our faith do not wear crosses as a symbol of our faith in Christ or have crosses displayed in our chapels.

"We do not use the cross as a symbol on our chapels, temples, or on our scriptures or in jewelry. President Gordon B. Hinckley explained the reason in a talk delivered in general conference. He told about talking to a Protestant minister following a temple open house. The minister had asked why there were no crosses anywhere if we say we believe in Jesus Christ. President Hinckley answered, “‘I do not wish to give offense to any of my Christian brethren who use the cross on the steeples of their cathedrals and at the altars of their chapels, who wear it on their vestments, and imprint it on their books and other literature. But for us, the cross is the symbol of the dying Christ, while our message is a declaration of the living Christ.’
“He then asked, ‘If you do not use the cross, what is the symbol of your religion?’
“I replied that the lives of our people must become the only meaningful expression of our faith and, in fact, therefore, the symbol of our worship” (“The Symbol of Christ,” New Era, Apr. 1990, p. 4)."

(mom note: A few weeks ago, Elder Fisher included pictures from the center of town. We have learned it is called "Market Place with the Red Tower" and "Marktkirche Unser Lieben Frauen"--which translated means Church of Our Dear Lady.  Another view of the square can be seen at this link:  Market Square Tower and Church

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