Thursday, June 11, 2015

President and Sister Kosak Not Only Know And Live The Gospel, But They LOVE It.


June 8, 2015
Grüße aus Leipzig!! The more time I spend in this city, the more I absolutely loooove it. it is so cool and German.
Leipzig- View from Madison's Apartment building
 First the questions:
President Fingerle is working right now in Frankfurt. He becomes our President in July. My friend Jaz from BYU is working there right now, and she sent me an email saying that he is really cool!! I actually met his son a few weeks ago at a single young adult thing and he was awesome!!!! If his parents are anything like him then I am stoked. :)

So Lou is doing good, she is willing to keep all the commandments and wants to get baptized, we are just making sure that she has a solid testimony of the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. she feels good about these things, it's just helping her recognize that that is hard. Also she has yet to come to church recently, so we all decided to move her baptismal date to the end of the month, hopefully. She is really sweet! The language is a little bit hard for her, but she feels good when we meet. I just think it is so cool that she is having these experiences, having no past experiences with God or the Savior.

It is still weird being with Sister Murdock, but I love it. We work in unity, and are really clear in our goals. I love that!!! She is so sweet and really precious.

Yes working with Elder Clarke is coooool. I think it was last week, we were all going home on the straßenbahn, and Elder Clarke was talking with a kind of investigator they have, quizzing him on the things the guy knows about the gospel. This guy's friend was there sitting across from them, and so I went over and sat next to him and started talking to him about religion casually. Haha That was fun, Jacob and I just simultaneously preachin' the Gospel. pseudo companions on the straßenbahn. aw yeah!

The most challenging part of the week might have been me wanting to lead a normal life with such gorgeous weather!! But you know what? I can do that when I get home. Yes I am in a lovely city full of culture, but I am not here to take advantage of that. I am here to share the Gospel and help lead people to repentance! The worldly fun can come later when I get home :)

The best part of this week was our zone conference in Berlin on Tuesday!! Final testimonies of President and Sister Kosak. They are such role models for me. President and Sister Kosak not only know and live the Gospel, but they LOVE it.
Hearing them talk about their testimonies just makes me want to be better and increase my own love for the gospel. That is how I know that I admire them. They make me want to be better. President Kosak is absolutely hilarious. I love him!! He talked about the prophet Joseph Smith, and his experiences, and how we should all apply his spiritual journey. He also gave us all this little copy of a drawing he made of the prophet. It's legit!! Man, that was such a spiritual day and I was just filled with the love that I have for this mission and for the people here. WHAT A LIFE.

Well the latter part of the week was a bit rough! We had several fallen out appointments, and it was really warm the other day, which was a bit dreadful! After a few tired days I was just feeling wilted. Yesterday was Sunday. After one of our appointments fell out, we just hit the streets around Innenstadt for a few hours. We had some interesting conversations. I was super tired and just wanted to go home. After talking to someone who really didn't want anything to do with latter day prophets, we were walking down the street and I was just thinking. I thought about eternal truths, and my testimony. The fact that so many people reject the idea of Joseph Smith does not at all make it any less true than it is. They may reject it, and they may shake their head and laugh at us. BUT it is still true. As we were walking down the street in this moment, my heart was just flooded with the warmth of the spirit confirming to me that this is true. I know that Joseph Smith was called of God. I know that with all my heart. As a missionary, I am so proud and honored to defend his name and his testimony. It's hard, but I know that it is true.

I love being here, and I love going through the hard times. I have so many good times here, and there is nowhere else I would rather be. Thanks for the love and support. Have a solid week!

alles liebe
Sister Mittleman

The Accent Sounds Like Someone Speaking German With An Irish Accent.


June 1, 2015
I NEVER THOUGHT THIS DAY WOULD COME. Yes, the rumors are true, on the
28th this past week I reached my 9 month mark aka my halfway mark!!
That was a weird experience. 9 months from today, on March 1st I am
set to come home. What a life, what a life.

I think the coolest thing that I have learned in the past 9 months is
the worth of souls. I can't easily express exactly how I feel, but I
really feel how precious each soul here on earth is, especially here
in Germany. Every person I have ever talked to on the street is a
child of our Heavenly Father, and left His presence with the desire to
return. Sometimes, that is hard to recognize, especially when people are mean or lame. BUT it's true. I am realizing that more. I have realized how Christ feels as well. People persecuted him, mocked him, and ultimately killed him. But he completed his mission, because he knew how important it was. I am grateful that I am starting to realize that. I have come to know the Savior more on my mission.

Leipzig is AWESOME. It is an old city, but also really modern. Pretty much the place to be. There is this really awesome university that looks soooo coooool. And an Opera House.

 And this really cool Rathaus, well city hall. Google it! The new one is so cool. It's huge here, I love it! The accent sounds like someone speaking German with an Irish accent. I find it amusing. Still a bit hard to understand, but I love it.

I see Elder Clarke almost every day, it feels like. He is a solid missionary. I never would have thought that we could serve together! He is a stud. SO MANY TIMES I have almost called him by his first name. haha, that's a bit of an awkward and fun adjustment.

With the ipads, they told us that the church owns the ones here in our mission, so we don’t keep them at the end. But mal sehen, that may change in the next few months.


Our sweet Chinese investigator, 
Sis Murdock, Lou Song & Madison


Lou Song, wanted to move her baptismal date a week later, as she has a huge test the week before. We were talking about the Holy Ghost, and she said she wants it so she can feel positive in her life from his influence! SO SWEET. She wants to keep the commandments. Man, I love her!!

We met this cool guy a few days ago, Marcus. We talked about the Book of Mormon with him, and although he is not too religious, he wants to meet this week.
We met with this cute tiny Vietnamese less active in the ward. She is TINY. And when she puts on her glasses, her little eyes get all huge. It was a solid lesson about gaining a testimony of the Book of Mormon. She reads aloud from her BOM in Vietnamese, and we read in German. I love her already!!

Yes mom, if you send me a letter or email, I can read it, and then respond on Monday.

If you send me a video, I just have to get permission. But I’m down!!

The best thing that happend this week was  talking to people on the street, to be honest. So many times this week I have just had those "I am a missionary in German!" moments. I love that I can just walk up to people and talk with them. Although we get rejected pretty fast sometimes, it is a wild experience. And this country and the people are just beautiful. Man. it is so cool.

Challenging thing this week was getting up!! I have been pretty tired this week, not going to lie. But it's a good feeling. In the work of the Lord it's all worth it. Just like President Eyring said in some talk that I don't know, he lets out this rallying cry, "Remember Him!" We are standing side by side with Christ in His work. He makes me strong, He gives me the love and the desire to keep going, even when I want to rest. How grateful I am for His leadership in His vineyard.

I love you and pray for you!! The church is true, and we really do have a prophet of God on the earth. Schöne Woche :)

alles liebe
Sister Madison Mittleman


The City Will Reach It's 1000 Birthday This Weekend, And I Feel Pretty Honored To Be Here For That.


May 25, 2015
sooooo i was writing from my ipad, but then I decided that I didn't like it, it was too hard. I can handle everything else except lots of typing.

I MADE IT. I am here, in Leipzig. It is a huuuuuuuge city. Reminds me of Braunschweig, only a bit bigger. I LOVE IT. It is really pretty, and BACHS GRAVE IS HERE. Supposedly. The city will reach its 1000 birthday this weekend, and I feel pretty honored to be here for that.

Alright lets get down to business.

Yes, Sister Hilton and Elder Hilton serve here and partly in a nearby branch. She is really sweet, and he can speak German really well. They’re solid people.

Uh, technically there is nothing in the white handbook about hugging men, but there of course is just some taboo about it. I mean, we avoid it, but it has happened before.

Innenstadt here is really windy. Tall buildings. There is a huge marktplatz where there are little markets every few days. People DO talk differently here, I can generally understand it, but it is fun to heart the little accent difference. It's cool. People in general, I have not noticed a big difference. Time will tell. My companion SIS MURDOCK is doin well. Feels like home being back with her. I love it. We both are pretty much always on the same page, which I love especially because we like keeping a simple clean apartment without papers on the wall everywhere. Good stuff.
We found this guy from China this week, and at our appointment the next day his friend showed up. They’re really open and curious! That was cool. Way cool. Another appointment fell out with them, but hopefully we can get a hold of them again. This other girl we are teaching is from China too, she had a baptismal date, but it fell out and she went back to china for a bit. The sisters realized she still had some things to learn. She is back now, and it seems like she has a better understanding of the situation. She is back on date for the 13th of next month.  She wants to get baptized, because she knows it is something that will take her back to God. She’s really sweet :)
The best thing to happen this week was probably just enjoying the lovely city. It’s hard with everything being new, really hard. And missing Lübeck. BUT this place is a new adventure. I am stoked. The good times keep on rolling.
 Thanks for the excerpt of that talk! I had heard that before and I love it. I totally have a testimony of our callings, the mission, the areas in which we serve, and our companions. Everything that happens, "the Lord is in it." IT’S TRUE.

Change is hard, but it is necessary. I love serving in so many different places under so many different conditions. There is not just one way to serve the Lord. We all have different assignments in different points of our lives. He knows where we need to be.

LOVE YOU. Wish you a well week. liebe grüße aus Leipzig
Sister Madison Mittleman
Lubeck- Saying Goodbye to Sis Brim