......................Her GerMANY Adventures: The Baptism was Absolutely Beautiful -- July 24

Mommy!!!!!

The biggest miracle I have witnessed on my mission thus far happened this past week. I got to serve with Sis. Thorpe again!! Haha just kidding, that is true but it is not the miracle. On Friday, we did a "super tausch" or a big 24 hour exchange with the Sister Training Leader of our zone and her new trainee - Sis. Thorpe! The plan was for us to get to their area around 1:30 on Friday, and I'd spend the rest of the day with Sis. Thorpe and then the morning until we left with our STL. So the day before, we were planning out what we were going to do, and the STL expressed that they actually had a lesson that Friday night with an investigator that had taken the lessons for quite some time, and would not commit to moving forward with baptism. For some reason, her and Sis. Alton thought it would be GREAT for the little trainees to teach her! We thought they were kidding and laughed, but then realized they were serious and took the offer. We were nervous because our German is um.... nicht so gut..... but the AP's were actually going to be there too if we needed help and to figure out how they could help this woman.

Sis. Thorpe and I took this VERY seriously. I was studying on Thursday night and actually got the prompting to fast. I called up Sis. Thorpe to suggest that we both fast, and she said that she was already on it! That testified to me that God was really directing us in this one. Well, that was only the beginning of the guidance! I got up the next morning to start personal study. I opened my Book of Mormon to where I'd left off and began to pray. Instantly when I said "amen", I knew I needed to study Preach My Gospel instead, and for a full hour. I opened to the first lesson and studied until my eyes stopped on the Gift of the Holy Ghost. I immediately flipped to the 3rd lesson, and read about it. My very soul burned and I knew this was what I needed to teach this lady that I'd never met in my life. It was an amazing study and I learned so much!

Fast forward and Sis. Alton and I took the train to Köthen the next morning. Man, trains are so nice and fast here! The one in Provo is a joke compared to this one. Once we got there, Sis. Thorpe and I immediately started planning 2 hours before our lesson. What I had studied and what she had studied were different but fit PERFECTLY together. We were so excited to teach together again, because we really worked well together in the MTC!

We biked to Sylvia's house (man it was nice to bike again!) and planned to meet the APs there. Well, long story short they got super lost and were an entire HOUR late! So just imagine two little trainees hanging out with a woman they had never met and could not speak her language well at all! I mean it was totally fine but I'm pretty sure I used every vocab word I knew. Oh my gosh, it was absolutely hilarious. Retrospectively, this was all in God's plan. We got to know her pretty well in that hour, and we built trust with her because we tried our absolute hardest to understand her and get to know her. Once the elders showed up, we started our lesson by reading in the scriptures. I apparently asked an inspired question, because I found out she really didnt have an understanding of the Holy Ghost. The elders, not knowing our lesson plan, took that as a way to talk to her more about baptism. In our minds we were like "nooooooo! Shes really touchy on this subject stop it stop it stop it!" and we were right. She said she thinks we just want her to get baptized and join our church. After that, I, for some reason, could not understand the next part she said. The only word I understood was taufe (baptism). Taufe taufe taufe taufe taufe. I didnt want this to drive away the spirit that I was feeling so strongly. So I cut into the conversation, and said in very broken German, "look. I'm going to be honest, I barely understood what you just said. But I did hear that you said taufe a lot. I want you to understand that we don't talk about baptism to make you join our church. The reason it is so important is to open the gateway to receive more blessings that the Father has for us. Baptism is inseparable with the Gift of the Holy Ghost, which will guide you, teach you and keep you safe from danger." I saw in her eyes that her heart had softened. It was quiet for a second, then one of the Elders said. "May I ask you (Sylvia) a question?" I was like oh no please please PLEASE don't offend her. Then he said, " Will you be baptized tonight?" TONIGHT?! WHAT IN THE WORLD WAS HE THINKING! AHHHFIOSDFGJKEHO!!! She was, for obvious reasons, startled, but jumped up, looked at her calendar and said YES! I'm writing this email 3 days later and I am still in shock!

So everything after that was somewhat of a blur. The APs made phone calls. She got her interview. She came out of there with the biggest smile on her face saying "Alles gut!". The APs left to get clothing from the church because she wanted to get baptized in a lake! So again, Sis Thorpe and I were with her for an hour. Haha but it was all good because we had gotten really good at charades by this point! We walked her dog and had a good time, she was seriously so happy! Finally everyone met at her house, and our trainers were completely in disbelief. We all drove to the place that Sylvia has apparently had picked out since she had started meeting with the missionaries.

Sister Thorpe and I walked Sylvia's dog with her while the elders were getting her clothes! She was so happy!

The beautiful place she got baptized

Slight sidenote to prove that all of this was in God's plan. While we were having the lesson, our companions were going around visiting others. Their one appt. fell through, and everyone they tried to visit wasn't home. Sis. Alton told me that at one point, her mouth started getting really dry and she really needed water. She kept trying to ignore it but it kept getting worse and worse until she could barely speak. Finally they went over to a members house that wasn't too close to get some water. As soon as they rang their doorbell, we called to tell them that Sylvia was getting baptized that night and to come!

The baptism was absolutely beautiful. Once she changed and we started walking toward the water, I felt so much peace and joy. Everyone was pretty silent. She was baptized by one of the ward members, and she came out of the water with the biggest grin on her face. I ran over and gave her the biggest hug. p.s. I may not know how to talk to these people but I sure do love them to pieces! I rode home in the car with her afterward to get our bikes from her house. She just kept sighing and smiling and saying that she feels so good and like a brand new person. She said that she woke up today feeling that it was somehow special.

Walking down there

It was so peaceful

This instant change of heart that I witnessed testified to me of the truth and power of the Spirit. Missionaries and even members often focus too much on baptism, but that is just the gateway, it is just the beginning, into so much more. I can't even tell you enough how grateful I am to be able to bring this knowledge to God's children. I want to work hard every day because I really don't get much time at all! Part of me secretly hopes they'll change the amount of time that sisters can be out so I can stay longer haha! Kidding, but not really.

All the missionaries, Sylvia and her son

Okay so everything else I did this week was obviously not as cool as that MIRACLE, but it was still really great! Our area is unique in the way that we have lots of contacts and inactive members that we want to visit, so we actually haven't even spent time finding at all. We made a lot of visits to inactive members to share a message with them and just kind of let them talk.

Something you need to understand about Germans is that they absolutely love their gardens. It's like grandpas and garages. But their gardens are absolutely beautiful! We visited a lady last week and when we got there, she was working in her garden. Literally it was like the Garden of Eden. The best thing about it- the big cherry tree right in the middle! There were hundreds of ripe cherries hanging off of it, I just kept thinking how jealous you would be of me! I ate like 20 of those cherries, they were absolutely amazing. I'm just saying, the produce and garden fruits and veggies here are just amazing.

Now to answer your questions:

Haha the long bike ride was an activity, I wore work out clothes silly! But when we are proselyting, or like when I was with Sis Thorpe going to a lesson, we wear skirts.

Um yes.... I'm still having problems with sending pictures. I promise I have a lot, but for some reason sending them from email takes forever and sometimes doesn't work. So once I start using Facebook in a week or two, I'll actually just upload them to a private album between me and you, and that should work a lot better. That's what Sis. Alton does, and she doesn't have problems with that. I'll still try to send a few of them.

Okay best food: the spring rolls in this Chinese place! They are 2.90 euro and delicious!!! I've gotten them both pdays that we have and its still the best thing here. We actually had dinner at a members house on Sunday and we had meat and potatoes and surkraut! It actually reminded me of stew that grandma would make. They were the cutest couple, married for 60 years this year! But they shared the craziest conversion stories and how hard they worked growing up to do what was right. We had something called qvark for dessert, and that is probably my favorite dessert here. Its like a mix of cream cheese and yogurt, but more sour. You put whipped cream and tons of fresh berries on it and its pretty good! Tea is also a really big thing for German culture (don't worry, its herbal!) So I really like that before bed when I write in my journal to unwind for the day. Don't blame me, it was the relief society sisters that got me really into it.

There's so much I could tell you, but I got to save some things for dad and my group email!! I loved hearing about your week. Family is the best and I'm so glad that you got to spend time with the boys, I'm sure the miles of road tripping were worth it!

I love you a million spring rolls!! Hope you have a fun and productive week!

Sister Macey Ingalls