Straaaaange things are happ'nin' to me.........

Well, not really too strange. Normal missionary life. 

Dear Mom and Daddy,

Oh, man, this week was intense. But it looks like you had a fun getaway! I love the pictures of Nathan playing in the concert. He looks so happy.  And the marimba! That's awesome! It's coming along!

Q&A:

1. Sister Jencks is great. :) Nope, she doesn’t know Spanish---but we're going to learn and work on it. Yes, she was roommates with Jenny Steed the semester before they got married. CRAZY when I found it out. 

2. I gave a cookie cutter at the zone Christmas Conference. I bought it in Graz. Sister Clark got it.  (That's good.....).

3. This is what I learned from Sister Scoggin:  I learned how to work hard. I learned how to be open with your companion---to talk about problems instead of avoiding them (which was my technique before my mission, which doesn't solve the problem.). I learned the importance of being obedient---being strictly obedient. I gained a desire to learn more---learn from the scriptures more---and experience more. Read more books. Value education and get everything you can out of it. I learned some German things. I learned how to work through some of the weaknesses I was struggling with. Sister Scoggin is very, very wise. I learned how to be real with life. I learned about loving and serving and treasuring the people who are around you. I learned to keep going and work harder when things get hard. I learned even more to treasure the fact that I am a woman, a daughter of God, who someday will be a mother and wife. I learned to be real with life. I learned to not be satisfied---just content with where I'm at. (Especially in terms of my testimony.)  But instead, to keep learning and keep growing and working on doing better and becoming more. 

I am more grateful than words can really express well for her---that we were companions for five and a half months. She's another one of my best friends. Someone whom I know will not judge me, but who knows me and wants to help me become better.

Note of information---The missionaries in the Freiburg Zone (which belongs to the Zürich stake, and thus the Bern temple district) are now allowed to go to the temple in Switzerland if the members are going and if they invite the missionaries. (We're not allowed to ask to go.) But. Just so you're aware. (I hope at some point in my mission, I serve in the Freiburg Zone.............) :)

It has been really weird this week. With  Sister Scoggin leaving......it's been very surreal.  But, let's start at the very beginning. (A very good place to start.) When someone leaves.....you have a TON of appointments.  Monday, we had a lesson with M......that fell out. Monday was a bank holiday, so everything was closed. So, we couldn't get groceries. But that was okay---we were fed a lot this week, and we've been given a lot of food, too, so we didn't need to.  After the fallen-out lesson, we took a train and went to visit the Familie P. It was so great. We had dinner and Sister Scoggin shared her testimony.

Tuesday, we had Zone Training. Sister Scoggin bore her testimony. It was just powerful because you could see that she knows the gospel is true. She's learned a lot of things on her mission, and I'm just lucky that she was my trainer and companion for four transfers. I was extremely blessed.  Afterwards, we had dinner with M and R, which was fun.

Wednesday we went up to Baden and had an appointment with P.  We ended up talking about different things, then at the end, we shared a scripture with her (Moroni 10:32) and talked about coming unto Christ.  Later, we had lunch at Sr. H1's. Her sister is there from Prague, and we had a really fun time with the German-Czech translation. But it was incredible and I love them so much.

We went and talked to H2, then went up to Sr. H3.  So, by the time we got to our bikes, it was almost four thirty. Then riding in the dark on the busy street was pretty sketchy.We met with M and P at 5, then EH at 5:30, and Sister H2 said for us to call her when we got out of our appointment with the H3s.  Then, Elisabeth came up to the H2s, and so that was really good. It was just wonderful---we sat and talked for a while.  After that, we went to the As, where I taught P

piano, and we had dinner. 

Thursday was interesting. So, we went to Wien---took a train at 7 a.m.---and got to Westbahnhof. The missionaries all gathered and we talked and took pictures until about 8:25. I kept thinking, "It's okay, I'm not going to cry, it will be fine. I can do this. It'll be good." But then, when they all got on the train, it was SO HARD. I just cried and couldn't stop crying. I'm sure the elders thought I was weird, but I don't care. A bunch of us ran with the train as it was pulling out, and I was just running and crying and crying and crying. It was so hard to let Sister Scoggin go.

At about 4:45, we went back to Westbahnhof to pick up everyone. Sister Jencks came! (Obviously.)  She's really wonderful. We went back to Wien Meidling and barely caught our train. When we came back into WN, Schwester Hornek picked us up and took Sister Jencks' stuff to the apartment, then drove us over to PFK. 

It's just really interesting. I've seen a lot in the last few days. It's really good for me that I'm taking over the area, because I've seen how I treasure people more that are around me, and how I am holding myself to a standard of obedience and expectations that Sister Scoggin showed me to set. I'm so excited for this transfer.

I love you so much. I hope you have a great week!!

Love, love, love,

Sister Beth Winters