Happy Birthday to Meeeeeeeeeee! I want to thank everyone for my birthday wishes! It definitely seems like my mommy has been doing a very good job broadcasting the fact that TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY!
I am also just happy because I got so many Pictures and even Videos! Thanks to . . .
Ciarah
Sister Lohmann
Chels
Sister Kervinen
Sister Siems
Elder and Sister Strong in Wien
Grandma and Grandpa
Andrea Nowak in Germany
Crawfords
Couper Clan in Scotland
Gants
Bieglers
James
Abby Nolan!
My Mommy
My Daddy
Lindsey
Joey
Hubys in France
Harknesses
Chase (James' roommate?)
Sue Sherwin
Kris Fredrickson
Marilyn Hulme
Jim Hulme
Uncle Randal and Aunt Janie
Johnsons
Ben Barton
Sister Judd...uh I mean Candace (Candace is home from her mission now and it's hard for Katie to switch from calling her Sister Judd to calling her by her first name)
Bishop Davis
Sister Clark (Jackie's mom)
OBVIOUSLY I'm in love with the video of my nieces and nephews singing me Happy Birthday. Sister Bolli and Sister Siems both had to watch it. And I'm sorry I'm bad about thanking everyone . . . I got such a sweet letter from Tara and the Kids a while ago which I loved.
And of course Sister Siems is being fun about my birthday. She's the greatest. She decorated our study room with birthday stuff last night around 3 in the morning or something. I just really like her.
We tausched with Sister McEwen and Sister Hoareau on Thursday-Friday. So I worked with my last companion in her area in St. Gallen and Sister Siems worked with her last companion in Schaffhausen. I got to see some mountains! We went to this gorgeous place called Geis to leave a personal touch for a member but they ended up catching us and inviting us to lunch. That was so nice.
Did I ever mention how beautiful Switzerland is in the Spring? There are flowers everywhere and it's so green and gorgeous.
Also Sister Siems finally realized she didn't know if her home ward is a branch or a ward. Until I helped her find out.
Me: "Do you call your Bishop 'President' or 'Bishop?'"
Her: "President."
Me: "You're a branch."
She never knew.
During planning last night:
SS my brain just turned off
SL laughing . . .
SS it's not funny this is a serious problem
SL laughing hysterically . . .
SS throws her planner across the room at me
SL laughing . . .
SS give me my planner back!
SL still laughing . . .
SS throws her pen at me
SL still laughing . . .
Then I threw her pen and planner back at her and we were able to finish planning. We laugh a lot.
Family I know I give you all These assignments (and Mommy I have been loving your "Thoughts on Faith") but this one is extra important (did anyone go on a Joint teach with the missionaries?). Well this one is to read THE POWER OF EVERYDAY MISSIONARIES. Just do it. It won't take you very Long. But don't just read it. Apply the principles inside. And send me your insights.
Also I didn't actually tell THAT many People that it is my birthday but I told an investigator in an attempt to get him to come to church yesterday (ha ha I'll get them to church just about any way I can). He didn't come but he PROMISED to come next week (I'll believe it when I see it). But he did text me "Happy Birthday God bless you" today and that made me happy.
This week we went to two Bajai Events. The Bajai prayer circle was much more intimate and seriously the spirit was there! Sister Siems and I prayed too. And then we invited some Bajai to our Musical Fireside. The other event was last night and we came way late because of another appointment but we were there. Maria (our investigator) isn't even Bajai but she loves us and she loves the Bajai and she invites us to everything. I danced with her last night to Bajai music and she was so happy. At the Event last night I met this woman who was sure she had met me before. I said no, but then I realized I had indeed met her before. She said she knew it because she "remembered my eyes." Hm. But I have knocked on her door before ha ha. Good Thing she was nice.
The next time you hear from me you'll be hearing about how great our Musical fireside went (pray for that!). Ah I'm nervous.
We gave our Spanish family a little German lesson yesterday. We love them and they love us.
We usually get to Hannah's and she has read whatever assignment we gave her from the Book of Mormon and then she brings out her lists of questions and concerns and we discuss what she can't even remember reading. This week we got there expecting the same Thing but she had NO QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS. There was nothing she felt like didn't match with the Bible. That was really different! She is for sure coming to our Musical fireside and getting a ride with Sister Gardedieu. We are excited about the musical fireside and also a little nervous!
Also, we have been trying to talk to President Miles but we haven't been able to reach him. This week we are planning on visiting a Klettergarten (outdoor climbing park in the trees) with some of the JTA (young adults) members in our branch and hopefully a JTA-age investigator! It's the safest Klettergarten ever (or so our member tells us) and we will be strengthening our relationships with members and with our investigator. I wrote him today and asked him to let us know if he thinks this is a terrible idea (because of liability).
Oh my goodness I almost forgot. I had the greatest P-Day of my life last week (one birthday P-day is clearly not enough, so we started last week). We biked from Schaffhausen to Stein am Rhein (about 34 miles one way!) and it was outrageously fun and sooo beautiful. Jacob and Alice (our landlords) told us a couple weeks ago that we could use their bikes and helmets whenever we wanted. MUSIC to our ears. So we went on a very Long bike ride that we somehow fit in by basically doing nothing else (we had planned ahead by Shopping for two weeks the week before). And we biked through Thayngen and Dachsen (I think?) on the way there and on the way back we took a shorter way through Büsingen (This town is on the Swiss side of the Rhine, and completely surrounded by Swiss land, but is part of Germany. That explains the pictures they take in front of the German signs!) . We were seriously in heaven. We didn't have so much time to spend in Stein am Rhein because of our time crunch but we ate the picnic food we brought with us right on the Rhein and just soaked in the perfectness of everything.
These girls were definitely jumping for joy to be out on bikes on such
a beautiful spring day!
Definitely a happy, happy day!
Mommy!! You went to Stein am Rhein?! You've been to my area?! aAnd yes I have been to the Munot! I went with Sister McEwen! That's where I live!!!! I love Stein am Rhein. I have only been in the alt stadt a few times briefly, but I'm in the area all the area all the time (Jasmin lives in Eschenz and Asefash lives in Kaltenbach). One time Sister Järmann had a choir concert in the old church in Stein am Rhein so Sister Siems and I went to Support her because she really wanted us to. And it was cool because we met her friends and made some friends of our own. You can see the fortress perfectly out of Asefash's window but I heard it's not actually that cool to visit.
A missionaries dream p-day for sure! They both look genuinely happy!
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