Another wunderbar week! The work keeps moving forward :) Elder Hoggan doesn't have any crazy WWII bomb stories this week, just good missionary ones :)
Frau Dias, an investigator, is open to meeting and learning more about the gospel! Karlheinz is an investigator the previous missionaries taught. He's pretty cool, as well.
Frau Schif went to church, fell asleep a couple of times in sacrament meeting, but that's ok. If you're going to sleep somewhere then it best be in church. Right? The only special thing going one was Elder Hoggan's talk on missionary work. He put the congregation in the MTC with Steve as their teacher. He was nervous, but shared tips for things we all can do to overcome fear :) It was fun. Frau Schif needs prayers as she tries to quit smoking in a week with a program the Elders will help her with. She understands the word of wisdom and can do it :)
The stake had a priesthood meeting Thursday about standing up for what we believe and having courage to do so. The video is awesome:)
https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2012-05-005-dare-to-stand-alone?lang=eng
Another discussion at the same priesthood meeting was about Jesus and the lady who was caught in adultery. When Jesus was asked what to do by the angry pharisees, He gave them the opportunity to cool down a little. This gave Him a chance to ponder and respond. We all can learn from this. Do we jump to conclusions too fast? Do we say something we don't really mean, because we are angry?
Appointments have been moved :( One due to an investigator who had to take her cat to the vet. The crazy thing is, Germans love their cats so much! It's really quite funny. Just not for Elder Hoggan since he discovered that he has a cat allergy :)
For Thanksgiving, Steve's district will have schnitzel, mashed potatoes, vegi's, and pie :) The Elders are keeping the spirit of Thanksgiving going over there! Count your many blessings!
Saturday, November 29, 2014
Monday, November 17, 2014
Things are picking up!
Elder Hoggan had a super solid week. He and Elder Jensen are working pretty good together. They are trying to do better and use the Atonement every day.
A zone activity was held and the mission is pushing for unity, to be powerful teachers, and to teach spiritually powerful with simplicity ;) The goal is to have 30 minute lessons at each appointment, give people bite-sized chunks of the gospel, and then meet 2 to 3 times a week. This is proving to be hard, but the missionaries will continue to work on it as they strive to do their best to be better :)
Frau Schif has a baptismal date for December 20th! She didn't read the scripture assigned, but started the Book of Mormon from the beginning and was able to explain perfectly the Tree of Life. She's incredible! Frau Schif is a funny old lady that really likes meeting with Elders Hoggan and Jensen. She wasn't able to make it to church, but is learning about the Word of Wisdom and needs to quit smoking :) Prayers are appreciated!!
Interviews with the mission president were held in Stuttgart on Friday. A member had a question and answer lesson with 5-8 people and invited Elders Hoggan and Jensen to be there. Unfortunately, the trains were having trouble that day due to a World War II bomb discovery that threw off transportation. The member did a good job answering the questions and a future opportunity may occur for the missionaries to meet with them.
These are just a few of the crazy stories and miracles of the week. Elder Hoggan got to talk with Victor from Ingolstadt and it was SO great to hear from him :) Victor is doing well!
A zone activity was held and the mission is pushing for unity, to be powerful teachers, and to teach spiritually powerful with simplicity ;) The goal is to have 30 minute lessons at each appointment, give people bite-sized chunks of the gospel, and then meet 2 to 3 times a week. This is proving to be hard, but the missionaries will continue to work on it as they strive to do their best to be better :)
Frau Schif has a baptismal date for December 20th! She didn't read the scripture assigned, but started the Book of Mormon from the beginning and was able to explain perfectly the Tree of Life. She's incredible! Frau Schif is a funny old lady that really likes meeting with Elders Hoggan and Jensen. She wasn't able to make it to church, but is learning about the Word of Wisdom and needs to quit smoking :) Prayers are appreciated!!
Interviews with the mission president were held in Stuttgart on Friday. A member had a question and answer lesson with 5-8 people and invited Elders Hoggan and Jensen to be there. Unfortunately, the trains were having trouble that day due to a World War II bomb discovery that threw off transportation. The member did a good job answering the questions and a future opportunity may occur for the missionaries to meet with them.
These are just a few of the crazy stories and miracles of the week. Elder Hoggan got to talk with Victor from Ingolstadt and it was SO great to hear from him :) Victor is doing well!
Monday, November 10, 2014
Good things to Come
Elder Hoggan had a pretty solid week with some good adventures. He got to go to Ellwangen on exchange. That's where he was originally going to serve before President called and had him go to Waiblingen instead. Steve's goal was to give out a Book of Mormon while there. He wrote his testimony inside and after a busy day of rushing around the entire time, left that Book of Mormon accidentally on the train. Who knows? Maybe someday someone will get a chance to read it. Let's follow up in the spirit world.
After returning to work with Elder Jensen, Steve's nose began to bleed uncontrollably one night. He thinks the temperature change and lack of drinking water had a lot to do with it. It was the worst bloody nose he's had on his mission.
The Elders met with Frau Schif and had a good lesson on the restoration. They read from Helaman 5:12 and she really liked it! She believes that the Book of Mormon is true and she made it to church on Sunday. She seemed to enjoy all three hours, as did the Familie Boden. Elders Hoggan and Jensen met Herr Boden for the first time. He is super nice :) The Boden's won't be able to meet again with the missionaries until just before Christmas. They are so busy, but there is a lot of potential there!
Dieudonne was given a blessing on Thursday due to not feeling well. The Elders followed up on Saturday with him and he was completely well!!! He was unable to go to church, because he felt sick again. Dieudonne knows the blessing helped him and it was awesome to hear him pray about feeling better.
On the way home, a punk group of kids approached the missionaries and were asking dumb questions as teenagers do. One girl began asking good questions. She was recently in the Dominican Republic with her aunt who is a Mormon :) Her aunt invited her to church, but Mila didn't get the chance to go, so her aunt encouraged her to find the church in Germany. And she did :) That was a cool experience. Mila is really cool and curious about the church!
After returning to work with Elder Jensen, Steve's nose began to bleed uncontrollably one night. He thinks the temperature change and lack of drinking water had a lot to do with it. It was the worst bloody nose he's had on his mission.
The Elders met with Frau Schif and had a good lesson on the restoration. They read from Helaman 5:12 and she really liked it! She believes that the Book of Mormon is true and she made it to church on Sunday. She seemed to enjoy all three hours, as did the Familie Boden. Elders Hoggan and Jensen met Herr Boden for the first time. He is super nice :) The Boden's won't be able to meet again with the missionaries until just before Christmas. They are so busy, but there is a lot of potential there!
Dieudonne was given a blessing on Thursday due to not feeling well. The Elders followed up on Saturday with him and he was completely well!!! He was unable to go to church, because he felt sick again. Dieudonne knows the blessing helped him and it was awesome to hear him pray about feeling better.
On the way home, a punk group of kids approached the missionaries and were asking dumb questions as teenagers do. One girl began asking good questions. She was recently in the Dominican Republic with her aunt who is a Mormon :) Her aunt invited her to church, but Mila didn't get the chance to go, so her aunt encouraged her to find the church in Germany. And she did :) That was a cool experience. Mila is really cool and curious about the church!
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Halloween Week
Halloween isn't super huge in Germany, but is getting bigger. There were a few trick-or-treaters. An upcoming holiday, Fasching, will be celebrated in a few weeks. It is similar to Halloween costumes and dressing up, but doesn't have much to do with candy. Elder Hoggan had a pretty awesome Halloween week!
Elder Mickelson is a new missionary in Steve's district. He is from Lewiston and went to Sky View with Elder Hoggan. It's fun having these two together. At a district lunch, they sang, "Where the mountain peaks meet the starry skies..." :)
Unfortunately, Elder Hoggan was sick last week. He got worn down and suffered from a head cold, sore throat, lack of sleep, and daylight savings.
Dieudonne had an awesome lesson on the Plan of Salvation and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He loved it, especially the part about baptism :) Dieudonne listens to a chapter in the Book of Mormon every morning and night. He feels the Spirit and is making great progress to his baptism later this month.
For Halloween, Elder Hoggan went on splits with a member home teaching four families that live an hour away from Waiblingen. Cookies, cake, and more cake were served. One member thought Elder Jensen would also be joining them, so two slices of cake were brought out. "Oh well, you can eat the second one for your companion, right?" And there is Steve's eating adventure for the week.
Elder Jensen was with the Bishop on splits and hit a deer. The police had to come and take care of it. In Germany, things are a bit different than in America :)
The Elders are looking forward to next week. It'll be sweet with new appointments made. A cool guy was met in the S-bahn and William, an investigator, had the number for his friend from Ghana who has been in Stuttgart for 26 years. He refers to himself as the king of Stuttgart and is listed as King Daniel in the missionaries phone. Should be exciting with such a funny guy :)
Elder Hoggan is very appreciative of all the prayers and love sent his way.
Elder Mickelson is a new missionary in Steve's district. He is from Lewiston and went to Sky View with Elder Hoggan. It's fun having these two together. At a district lunch, they sang, "Where the mountain peaks meet the starry skies..." :)
Unfortunately, Elder Hoggan was sick last week. He got worn down and suffered from a head cold, sore throat, lack of sleep, and daylight savings.
Dieudonne had an awesome lesson on the Plan of Salvation and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He loved it, especially the part about baptism :) Dieudonne listens to a chapter in the Book of Mormon every morning and night. He feels the Spirit and is making great progress to his baptism later this month.
For Halloween, Elder Hoggan went on splits with a member home teaching four families that live an hour away from Waiblingen. Cookies, cake, and more cake were served. One member thought Elder Jensen would also be joining them, so two slices of cake were brought out. "Oh well, you can eat the second one for your companion, right?" And there is Steve's eating adventure for the week.
Elder Jensen was with the Bishop on splits and hit a deer. The police had to come and take care of it. In Germany, things are a bit different than in America :)
The Elders are looking forward to next week. It'll be sweet with new appointments made. A cool guy was met in the S-bahn and William, an investigator, had the number for his friend from Ghana who has been in Stuttgart for 26 years. He refers to himself as the king of Stuttgart and is listed as King Daniel in the missionaries phone. Should be exciting with such a funny guy :)
Elder Hoggan is very appreciative of all the prayers and love sent his way.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)