For It Is Not Just A Great Book, It Is The Word Of God.

June 15, 2015

Another good week here in Leipzig!!!

Shout out to Hermana Megan. I love her and she just cracks me up!! Love seeing her pics and showing them to the missionaries here. Man I miss her!

This is now the last week of the transfer. I just got here, so no worries on that end, but sister Murdock POSSIBLY could leave. mal sehen!!! We just got back together and it would be a shame to leave one another so soon. But whatever happens, the Lord is in it. For this knowledge I have always been thankful.

A solid week!

Weather has been wacko. Some days are really warm, then some days rainy. That's Germany though! I love it.

Honestly mom, everything I eat here is amazing. The ice cream though was oh so good this week.

We were able to find a less active member, her address listed in the ward list was wrong, but we went to a street that sounded similar to it and what do you know, she was there! She has not been to church in a while and we don't know how much contact she has with the ward. Total wunder!

Last week we called a number from our phone, thinking it was a number of a former investigator in the area book, but turns out it was someone entirely different. She was way cool though, and was down to set an appointment out. So we did! We met with her on Wednesday, and talked about what it means to come closer to our Savior Jesus Christ. She smokes, and can't read too easily in the Book of Mormon, but she has a desire! She said that ultimately her desire is to get baptized LIKE FOR REAL WHERE DID SHE COME FROM. Turns out she comes to church a lot. Sister Murdock and Elder Clarke thought she was a member. Our commitment for her was to pray just to know if meeting with us was a good idea. The next day she called. She said that she had already thought about it a bit, but felt that it was a good thing to set out a new appointment. So we did! She couldn't make it to church, but we will meet on Wednesday. Total wunder.

We were able to meet with Lou a few times! One appointment we brought an American sister from the ward, who actually served here as a missionary. Then on Saturday we met again. We planned to talk about the rest of the plan of salvation, but first we were following up on her reading in the Book of Mormon. The thought came to mind, as we were talking about the book of Mormon being true, to ask her if she really knew what we meant by that. It being "true." So I asked her. She was taught by missionaries a while ago, so we thought she already understood that. Glad that prompting came to mind though, because she didn't know! She thought that Joseph Smith had written it. NOW she understands why it is so important to ask God if the book is true. For it is not just a great book, it is the word of God. ALSO she came to church!!! yaaaaaa!!!! Met the Bishop and even stayed for the second hour. PROGRESS. Still wants to get baptized. She said that had she not come to Germany from china, she would not have realized why faith can be so necessary. That was the best part of the week for sure, hearing her share these feelings. yesssssss tis a good life indeed.

Went on austausch with the sisters in Chemnitz. I stayed there with sister Moffet. 

Sis Moffet and Madison on exchanges in Bahnhof

SHE IS SO SWEET. Just had the best time with her!! Man I love her. She is just so responsible and uses her time wisely. A solid sister. SECOND best part of the week was that we spent Saturday afternoon weeding some cute German lady's garten with Elder Collins and Elder Carpenter! (in the rain!) This is Elder Carpenter's last transfer, so I was stoked to be able to get to see him before he goes home next week. But that was also the hardest part of the week. Saying goodbye. He is like an older brother! I have known him since the beginning of my mission, it will be weird when he is home. He is a STUD though. That was a really fun tausch, needless to stay.

Well, I love this place. I love being a missionary. I know that the Book of Mormon was written by prophets called of God, and translated for our day by the prophet Joseph Smith. God loves us, he will show us the way we should take. I love my Savior, Jesus Christ.

LOOOOOOOVE

Sister Madison Mittleman

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

I WILL BE BACK When She And Her Husband Are Sealed In The Temple....Mark My Words.

May 18, 2015

Ja, das habt ihr richtig verstanden. ICH WERDE VERSETZT!!!

German sounds so much more dramatic. I love it. But....

YES YOU READ THAT CORRECTLY I AM GETTING TRANSFERRED!!!

First dramatic reveal..... LEIPZIG

Second dramatic reveal.... Elder Clarke as my district leader!!!!!

Third and most dramatic reveal.... MY COMP IS SISTER MURDOCK WAHHHHHHHH

Haha when Elder Schaal said that when he called, I was CONVINCED it was a joke.  Only the fact that he is German and pretty straight forward helped me take it easy and accept it.  BUT I AM SO STOKED. We were together before Sister Brim came, and it feels like just yesterday I said goodbye to her. Haha, it is about to get CRAZY in Leipzig!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, let's keep it real. I leave tomorrow morning at 9 43, to Hamburg, then I take a fancy ICE to Leipzig. woohoo!!!!!!

Also HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZACHYYYYYYY LOOOOVE YOU PRECIOUS BROTHER. I bet you are on day..hmmmm 4 of partying??? ;))) Miss you and wish you alles gute mein bruder!!!!

Ok question time:

Germany.... The weather here is very sunny one day, then cloudy the next. Not too cold, I go ohne jacke now. German food is probably the best thing I have ever had. The bread, pudding, and joghurt are best, to give you a few examples. I think I will have to start a food diary or something!! MY HEART BELONGS TO ROTKOHL.

Yes, as you read above, I am getting transferred to Leipzig. mal schauen.

The church is still waiting for apple to deliver the ipads!! The church will own the ones we'll be using, so they won’t be officially ours, thus we don't have to pay.

Best thing? How much time do you have  (indirect reference to sleepless in Seattle anybody???) Every day this week was pretty solid!

Monday, took a schläfchen ;) Haha, one of the AP’s calling woke me up, that was really funny. (No of course it was not revealed that I was sleeping)

 Monday night to Tuesday we were on tausch, so I got to lead Sister Means around Lübeck. That was really fun, she's a solid sister and we had a good time. I love her :)

 Wednesday we went to Kiel for our ztm!! SISTER HARRIS FOR THE LAST TIME.  That was bittersweet, but she will go home and DO WORK. I love her :) She and Elder Peterson, one of the elders serving here in Lübeck, both gave their "finisher" testimonies. I cried. They are both solid missionaries!! They will be missed. Wednesday night we ate this bremen specialty food at the Devers. DELISH. haha some mixture of meat and potatoes, with pickles, red beets, and fried eggs on the side. waaaay bremen  and waaay goood.

Thurs we went with the elders to a family in the ward to help them take wallpaper off their walls, and then THEY GAVE US THE BEST MEAL I MAY HAVE EVER HAD. Let me tell you. Steak (its been toooo long) wurst, weißkraut, kartoffensalat, bread, nudelsalat, and this mousse thing for dessert. SO GERMAN AND SO GOOOD.

Freitag we went to a lady in our ward, who took us to her somewhat interested in the church friend, who has this cooool garden. Then she made us dinner back at her place and told us cool things about her conversion, and staying strong in the church. Solid.

Saturday we visited Schwester Devers. Words cannot explain how much I love her :)

Madison & Schwester Devers, new convert

Yesterday was my last Sunday here in Lübeck!!  This was also the hardest part I think, saying goodbye!!!! I love this ward and area so much!! I am sad to leave. Mensch the people are just too cool!!!! Right before this, we were at Schwester Devers. I shared D&C 127:2 with her, and 2 Corinthians 12:10. it is and will be hard, but she is doing it!!! I shed a few tears. But I WILL BE BACK when she and her husband are sealed in the Temple....Mark my words. It is only goodbye for now. LOVE HER.

Tonight we have fhe with the Becker family, a perfect way to end my transfer here. Hopefully I can squeeze a bit of time in right now to go visit city döner aka our go to dönerladen for the last time. Tis a sad day indeed....:)

With new beginnings approaching, I would like to share the scripture in 3 Nephi 13:34. (Please take a moment to find and read) As humans we naturally have MANY things about which we can worry. But I don’t want to spend too much time worrying about tomorrow, so that I cant even focus or enjoy today. I want to look forward to the future!! For me, my "worry" is this next transfer in a new city. But I know that Heavenly Father is looking out for me! Er sorgt sich um mich!! (I think it sounds better in German) I know that as long as I do my part and try my best and TRUST HIM, He will make everything ok. He will fill my heart with peace, and joy to love every moment that life brings :) Whenever you think of your next "worry" think of this scripture. He is mindful of us, He is always there. He will guide us.  I know it.

LETZTE LIEBE GRÜßE AUS LÜBECK

alles liebe

Sister Madison Mittleman

RS President & Madison in Lubeck

I Could Have Died Of Happiness :)))

May 11, 2015

OH HELLO.

First of all, seeing you all was SO COOL. Ok I was TOTALLY going to sing to you too mom, but as you saw I was all flushed and nervous so it didn't happen. naja. NEXT TIME.  I promise I'll have it a little more together :))))

Mother's Day Skype call with Schwester Mittleman 

Of course as I told you FRAU DEVERS NOW SCHWESTER DEVERS WAS BAPTIZED AND RECEIVED THE HOLY GHOST. What a weekend!!!! Let me tell the details about the baptism. So last Monday our GML and his wife came with us to teach her, and he gave her a blessing against smoking. The whole week she has been smoke free. The last time she smoked was last Sunday night at 10pm. MENSCH. Knowing her and her habits, it really is a miracle. She had her baptism interview with Elder Benfell on Thursday, and everything went well with that. Friday we went over and just talked about a few final things, and then we gave her a present. It was a picture of Christ with the little girl, the one where they are looking at the blue butterfly. it was actually from that missionary calendar you gave me, we just put it in a frame. We wrote a long note with it. SHE LOVED IT. Man, that was a good moment. There we were, sitting at her kitchen table, birds chirping outside, she was reading our note, and it was the eve before her baptism. I could have died of happiness :)))

Saturday morning and afternoon we were going crazy with excitement!!!! The evening finally came. Frau D showed up early with us to get ready. Turns out  the font had stopped, and there was just a bit of hot water in there, so one member was coming back and forth from the kitchen with buckets of cold water to fill it all the way. Her whole family came, which was AWESOME. and one of her friends!!! She was really excited, it was funny. We took some pictures and then it started. Ran smoothly. Sister Brim and I did a little musical entertainment. Sister brim played, and I sang näher mein Gott zu dir, or nearer, my God to thee. And as you know I HATE SINGING SOLOS. Flashbacks to that one baptism in Braunschweig where Elder Carpenter tricked me into singing (cough, cough and my comp abandoned me too for the piano ;) ya I mean you STACIE ) naja nur spaß....So I was thinking of that, but then I would just think of Frau Devers, and it is her favorite song so of course I wanted it to be all right. AND IT WAS. Well I was totally flushed the whole time, and baby devers and a kid of a member were running around, but it was totally fine!!! I mean I was nervous, but I was at peace :) MIRACLE WITHIN A MIRACLE. There were solid talks. And then the baptism!! So powerful! So wonderful!!! She went down and came up with no problems at all. It was a heavenly moment :)))

HERRLICH. I can't even say more to it. She and her husband were just beaming the whole time. It was awesome :)) and then yesterday they came to church all early, and one of their sons came this time and asked for a Book of Mormon!!! Her confirmation was wonderful, the Bruder giving the blessing talked about her being an example to her family and I was like YES ALL THE WAY. She has started it, geht's los!!! She is going to be solid, and her husband will come around, one can just see that. And then the children are thoughtful and can find the truth too. I am calling it right now, in ten years THEY WILL BE SOLID. How many lives can be blessed because of this woman, and her family??? The key to this coming true is all within maintaining daily conversion.

As it is with all of us. I look at myself, at my family, friends, other missionaries, other ward members, you get the point, and I see SO MUCH potential. Do we even know what we are capable of doing? The kind of influences we are capable of being? I think I really have learned to be more patient with myself, but I have also realized how easily discouraged I can get. Sometimes, LETS BE REAL, we just think, I could never do something like that, or, so and so is much better at that than me, why do I even try? The examples are endless!!! But they don't matter!  I am a daughter of God. I am capable of one day becoming just like Him, and that process begins here on Earth. He would not have sent me here if He didn't believe in me. We are worth every effort!! We are not defined by how many times we fall down, but by how many times we stand up. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ know that we are weak. We shouldn't try to hide that from them!  We just have to take it and do our best!! We will fail, but it doesn't end there. The Atonement enables us to rise, and to leave yesterday behind. Like president Monson said one time, courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says, I will try again tomorrow.  Maybe today was horrible. So what! Tomorrow I can make it better!!! I CAN. I have had to tell myself that many times. Immernoch muss ich das sagen. But hey, that's why life is here. We can't become perfect in a few months.  BUT SOMEDAY, it will come. I DONT KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT I AM CHOOSING TO BE HAPPY.

Ok, time to wrap it up meine liebe familie!! It was so lovely to see you yesterday and hear your voices!!! even the tears :))) I love you, and I miss you. But hey, it's all worth it. Life goes on.

Last week of the transfer, mal sehen if I tell you next week that I am leaving this gorgeous place. SCHÖNE WOCHE.

liebe grüße

Sister Mittleman

Save The Date

May 4, 2015

ITS GONNA BE MAY

Here we are!!!! May is here. Honestly time here goes by like a second it is ridiculous. BUT I am having the time of my life. So it's all goood.

Sooooo we were talking with Frau Devers late last week, and she said that she really wanted to keep the goal of getting baptized on the 9th of May!!!! We said that we would have to meet almost every day and she was down. HENCE I tell you to save the date. May 9th, 16 30 Germany time. She has changed soooo much in the past week, and she is just glowing!!!! She reads in the scriptures every day, often with her husband, and she prays. She came to church on Sunday and just loved it. She is so ready. In the past weeks she had been expressing concerns that she didn't know enough, that she wanted to wait and learn more and feel more sure of everything, but in the last week alone she has come so far. We taught her about baptism, and about the Holy Ghost. When we talked about the things we promise Heavenly Father at baptism, she just kept saying, ya, I do that already! And we were like HELLO YES THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE BEEN TRYING TO TELL YOU. maaannnnnnoooooo so it's happening! It's a miracle. She knows that baptism is just the beginning of this journey, her feelings are telling her it's right, and she is going for it. Her growth in faith is just solid. I love her so much!!! Yesterday at church she tried on her white dress, and she came out and said, it's so white! haha that was such a sweet moment. I am in heaven, really I am.

That means Sunday she will receive the gift of the Holy Ghost! What a perfect mother's day present. Her face was just glowing when we said that :)

Speaking of mother's day, we will be skyping from a family who has a daughter serving in Australia. They live out in a little dorf and kindly offered to house us. So we will skype between 6 or 7 my time!!  Yes mom, I looked at the questions and will be ready to answer. WAH SO STOKED. I am so excited to see your faces!!! I miss you!!

We have transfer calls in two weeks, and I am finding myself wanting to stay. I have had some tough times here in this city, pretty though it may be. But at church I was just in heaven. There are so many great people here in this ward, and I love them all so much! I am so grateful to be here. I am grateful to talk with people everyday, I love this country. I love being a missionary. Like Hermanita Mittleman said, I could stay here forever. hab euch lieb!!

SISTER MADISON MITTLEMAN

Holstentor Museum

Braunschweig Reunion