Journal Entry: Donnerstag 15 Oktober 2015

October 19th, 2015

 

 

Each week I log on to do my emails and I stare at this blank screen not really knowing where to start and how to describe my experiences. Plus we are running way late on our email time because we just got back from Gelsenkirchen with the District - we played the best game of capture the flag in my life! And Man, this week was simply one of those weeks where we were SO busy and we saw so many miracles that I don't know how to begin...so instead I am going to copy and paste an entry from my journal this week. I think Thursday was one of the best days so here we go:

BEST DAY EVER. But it didn't start out that way. This morning we had our usual studies + lunch (attempted to make a homemade pizza and it turned into a casserole... Note to self: don't put hot homemade pizza sauce on raw dough before you put it in the oven). After lunch we traveled to the Bochum Rathaus and scheduled two Street Displays for the next two weeks in a row. Man, it was intense finding that place - Sister Carroll had never before organized a Street Display so it was mostly on me to figure it out. Anyway, super excited to have those coming up...

Afterwards, we went by a member who wasn't home and we did about a half an hour of doors but no one was interested. So ist das Leben manchmal. From there we went to our volunteering at Lebens Hilfe - but for some reason it was closed! So, as we were walking back to the U-Bahn (underground station) I decided to call Jaina. She is a 12 year old girl who speaks good English and German but her family only speaks Arabic. We had met with them several times before but had lost contact for a few weeks. Jaina is our source of communication as she translates the lessons for us. 

Anyway, as I called her she sounded very sad. She started speaking in Arabic to her Mom and then switched back to Danglisch while talking with me. (danglisch is my favorite language). She explained that her parents do not want us coming over anymore, as the father is a pastor in his Church. Immediately Jaina began to apologize and she told me how much she loved it when we came over and the good feelings she felt. She said that she has been reading in the Book of Mormon and wishes so badly that her parents would let us continue meeting because she wants to learn more. It broke my heart to hear her say that. She may only be twelve, but she has lived through a lot coming from Iraq. She is so beyond her years. On the phone all I could do was encourage her and bear her my testimony of the truthfulness of the Gospel. I gave her contact information at Mormon.org to learn more and contact Missionaries when she is older. I also gave her my email address and asked her to stay in touch. I hope and pray that Jaina doesn't forget the Spirit that she felt as we met with them. 

So, at this point both Sister Carroll and I were both pretty sad. We decided to go to the apartment and make some dinner before our appointment with Adela. Our "making dinner" consisted of me listening to a Church Podcast while drinking water and falling asleep on our couch. Don't worry though, only a half hour nap. 

Then we headed out to meet Adela and her sister Xena. They finally got keys to their new apartment and we were able to travel with them to it. When we got there, Adela explained that she was planning on spending the rest of the night cleaning it on her own before they moved the furniture in the next day. Heck no - we didn't let her do that alone! Sister Carroll and I rolled up our sleeves and got to work. About an hour and a half later we were finished. At this point it was 19:45. We still had an hour and 15 minutes before 21:00 when we were supposed to be home. For some reason though, Sister Carroll and I both felt stress free about it. We both just knew that the Lord would give us something to do - and He sure did! 

We ended up deciding to contact a Turkish potential who wanted a Book of Mormon in Turkish. We walked over to his Döner Laden and had a very unexpected twist to our evening. (Side tangent: Döners are the best thing ever created. Turkish dish but very popular in Germany. Cooked fresh bread, seasoned blazed chicken, fresh veggies and sauces. I have probably had a Döner once a week since being in Germany. Addicted.) 

Anyway, zurück to topic. As we walked into the Laden, a family of three were sitting down waiting for their order to be finished. The husband started obviously starring at our name tags so we asked him if he had ever heard of the Church before. He shook his head no and asked what kind of Church we belonged to. After explaining that we are a Christian Church, we shared with him the Book of Mormon. He then began flipping through the pages and asking question after question. His wife knew a little English, so she asked us questions in English and asked a lot about America.

After playing this question game back and forth for a little while, Sister Carroll and I had to divide and conquer. She started talking to the Döner Laden guy, while I talked to the family of three. Before I could suggest making out an appointment to answer more of their questions, they invited us to get some drinks at the Italian place directly across from us. So we finished talking with the Döner Laden guy (and made a return appointment for this week!) and walked over.

We had a great appointment with them - and Sister Carroll and I were bold! We had to be - this family is so energetic and so full of questions. It was a little chaotic. But before we knew it we had to get going and they invited us over to their home to continue discussing. We asked if we could say the closing prayer together and at this point, we were all bowing our heads about to pray when the Italian restaurant owner yelled out, "Hallo! Was macht ihr?" We explained that we were praying and then he ran over to join us! Before we could pray he gave us a ten minute speech about how much he loves God and finally let us pray. He also wants us to come by and meet with him to explain what we do.

Sister Carroll gave the sweetest and shortest prayer I have ever heard. And then we booked it to the bus!! And alas, we missed it by a solid two minutes. But it was sooo worth it. 

---- 

I think this gives you a good insight into the ups and downs of this experience. The hardest thing for me has been to see people so close to the Gospel and then reject it or choosing to not give something up to live it. And then the greatest joys have come in seeing the light that fills their eyes when they recognize truth. 

I am not going to lie, this last transfer has been one of the hardest emotional and mental transfers for me. I have questions and concerns that I am trying to work through, and at times I feel incredibly inadequate. But I know that Heavenly Father has a plan for me and I know that I am supposed to be here. Prayer has taken so much more of a role in my life and what keeps me going is the unexplainable feeling of comfort...almost like someone lifting me up, every time I need it and every time I think I can't do this. I know that He is there for us and I know that He loves us. 

I love all of you and I pray for you daily.

Sister Kristyn Helmick

Today after our capture the flag game.

Last P-Day: Hiking.

My companion knows me well.

We decided Christmas needed to start early. #ChristmasLights

Midlife Crisis

October 12th, 2015

Lieber Family and Friends,

Wow. Simply wow. This week may have been the most up and down week I
have ever had. There were tears, there were awkward moments and funny
stories, there was excitement and happiness - and there was simply
joy. Folks, it's official. I am at my halfway point in my Mission.
Kind of facing a midlife crisis right now. But I am loving every
second of being here, even the ones that face challenges.

I don't really know where to start...I think maybe with the hard
things. I have learned that it is so, so so very important to build
strong relationships with your Companions. Sister Carroll and I had a
talk that we both really needed. It was a huge building moment in our
relationship - and it has impacted our work for the better. Before
that talk, I was feeling incredible alone in my thoughts and feelings.
It brought me to my knees in tears. The very next day my prayer was
answered and my faith was strengthened.

Can I just take a moment and say how weird a Mission is? You send out
your papers requesting to "enlist" (My father's word for my Mormon
Bootcamp) in the service of the Lord - and you go out to a random
country (or your own) not having chosen where. Speaking a language you
may never have anticipated learning (cough*cough* Deutsch), and on top
of all of that you are paired with a RANDOM STRANGER that you have
most likely never before met and are expected to work and live
together 24/7. Those are just a few of the crazy building blocks of a
Mission.

As crazy as it sounds, it works. Because the Lord is in charge. I
testify that if this work was not true, it would not work. In the
Bible, the Lords people are sometimes referred to as a "Peculiar
people" and that we are! Haha.

A few highlights of the week:
We found a new family to teach! They are from Syria but all of the
children were born in Germany, therefore their German is perfect. We
are teaching a divorced father with his four daughters - ages 13, two
15 year olds, and a 19 year old. Oh, and their little dog Casie. Who
barks at the most inconvenient times during our lessons, haha.

We also had a really great lesson with one of our investigators,
Adela. We taught her the Plan of Salvation (which is a game changer
for people) and the Spirit filled the Chapel. I love teaching lessons
at the Church. Adela is such a wonderful woman. I feel such a close
connection to her and I want the best for her.

Also, speaking German is so strange. There are moments where you feel
like you are just coasting and not making any noticeable progress in
the language. It is so hard to measure. I remember hitting a big
moment where everything clicked. It was like a switch in my brain was
turned on and I could suddenly understand and communicate at a higher
comprehension. Well, this last week I felt like it went up a notch. I
can't really explain it. I love German! I still have a lot of work to
do in my language abilities. But the progression is so wonderful to
see and notice. My Mission President complimented me specifically on
the growth that I have made in the language during my interview with
him on Thursday. It felt really good. :)

Family and friends, focus on the good things. There is so much good to
be seen, noticed and appreciated. If you go looking for the bad I can
promise you that you will find it. But this life is not meant to be
miserable. It is meant to be refining. I know that Heavenly Father's
goal is that we "might have joy" and one day return to live with him
again. Trust in God, for -"Behold, all things have been done in the
wisdom of him who knoweth all things." (2 Nephi 2:24). I am grateful
that our Father - the God of the entire universe, is a lot wiser than
any of us. Aren't you?

Love,
Sister Kristyn Helmick

Sister Carroll and I. :)

She likes to take pictures without me knowing. Exhibit A (sleeping on a streetcar after our third appointment that day- Plus Church. Ya I was tired._

That was a hard day, simply said.

Two Experiences

October 5th, 2015

Lieber everyone,

Here are two experiences from this week:

Journal, Mittwoch 30 Sept:
"We were traveling to visit Alena this evening when I ended up
misreading the directions on our DeutscheBahn traveling app. We ended
up getting off at five stops too late and had to retrace our steps
backward in order to find the bus stop that went the other direction.
It took us half an hour of walking to find the next bus stop. As we
looked at the times, it showed that the Bus was to arrive every hour
at the :36. It was the :42 at this point. Sister Carroll and I figured
that we missed it, so we decided to walk to the next bus stop and move
forward. So we walked down the big hill, tired and dehydrated. And
GUESS WHAT. The bus turns the corner and starts to make its way back
to yesterday stop! It was late! I turned and looked at Sister Carroll,
picked up my purse to my chest, and sprinted up that hill.

You know those sprints that leave your chest aching and your throat
ridiculously sore? I have NEVER ran that fast. And up a hill too! I
made it right up to the corner, literally two seconds away from the
bus and I frantically yelled "WARTE! Bitte, WARTE!" Only to see my
efforts wasted as the bus took off right in front of my face. As you
can image, I was pretty frustrated. At that point, we had to cancel
our appointment with Alena and make our way back to Herne.
I had a pretty negative attitude with that experience. But I am
grateful for my companion, Sister Carroll. She is so fun, positive and
happy. She is such a great example of those traits. They are all
traits I need to work on. We choose to be happy and be grateful in
whatever circumstances we may be in. Even after we run up a steep hill
at the end of a long day and miss the Bus. What a silly little
experience, why waste the energy to frown and be upset, when I could
laugh and enjoy the moment? I can promise you, I ended up laughing
with Sister Carroll tonight!"

Experience #2:
I got home from my split in Duisburg on Tuesday night, to hear some
exciting news from Sister Carroll. Apparently she made out a few
appointments with some potentials. One of which, was a man we had
never met before who randomly called us up and requested that we meet
him at the church for an appointment.

On Friday, we walked up to the church to see a middle-aged man in his
car. Once he saw us, he came out and we shook his hand and introduced
ourselves. His names is Jurgens and he grew up in this area. We
welcomed him into the Church and gave him a Church tour. There were
already some members at the Church for our German class and they were
all very friendly and nice to him.

As we were getting to know him, he told us that he had observed us on
the bus and the street and had seen our name-tags. He ended up
researching the Church and had started reading the Book of Mormon
online from Lds.org! Wow! That does not happen everyday. He grew up
very religious and active in His Church, but has noticed things that
he does not approve of in his Church. He has been searching to see if
a Church exists that is modeled like Christ's Church in the Bible.
Wow! He is searching!

We met with him and taught him about the message of the Restoration of
the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the Chapel. I have never had a more
powerful lesson than what We had with Jurgens. I felt the Spirit
working through us as we testified of the reality of God. How he is
the same yesterday, today and forever. How he continues to speak to us
just as in times of old through his chosen prophets and how Christ's
Church has been restored again.

As we came to a close of our lesson, I asked Jurgens if he came to
know if all of this was true, if he would be baptized. He paused for a
long moment and then looked me in the eyes and said, "I can't answer
that question just yet. But what I can say is that I am incredibly
impressed with you both, this Church and all that I have seen and read
of it. This is a deep faith." We committed Jurgens to watch General
Conference and to pray to know the truth. We will be meeting with him
weekly!

What I love about the German people is just how loyal, dedicated and
sincere they are. When they make a huge decision like joining a Church
- they are serious about it. If Jurgens one day joins the Church - and
I feel so strongly that he will, he will never leave it. Once a German
has become your friend, they never forget you and they never stop
loving you.

I am grateful to be serving in this wonderful country with some of the
strongest people I have ever met.

Love,
Sister Kristyn Helmick

Late Night Pajamas and Rejecting Marriage Proposals

September 28th, 2015

Too many good things happened this week, so I am just going to jump into it. :)

On Monday evening last week, we ended up taking it a little easy
because the Mission Nurse wanted me to rest until Tuesday. But, as we
were getting into our pjs and settling down, the Elders called us.
They ended up running into a woman from Africa who just moved to
Germany and had lost contact with the Church for a few months. The
Elders wanted to give her a Church tour and to introduce her to us.
Sooo, Sister Carroll and I went on a little Abend Sport adventure -
still in our pjs. We met with Tafadzwa at the Church and I instantly
loved her! She is so sweet and fun. We met with her for Stake
Conference this weekend and I ended up translating all of the meetings
for her.

On Tuesday we met with a less-active member. We had a really, really,
REALLY good appointment with her. She has been inactive for quite some
time and had met with Missionaries on and off over the years. We
finally got to the root of her concerns and were able to address them
and make goals together. We are arranging a ride for her to come to
Church in a couple weeks - which will be the first time she has
attended in...I don't know how long. I really have a love for
less-active member work. I know that God cares for all of his Children
and he wants those who have lost their way to find it again.

Later in the week we met with one of investigators, Loridane. She is
12 years old and her parents and one of her sisters are currently in
Romania. They are coming back this next week and the mother and Father
are working on getting married so that they can be baptized and sealed
in the Temple together one day. One of the daughters has heard all
about the Church but has not ever met with Missionaries. So once they
come back, we will start meeting with them again and teaching them all
of the lessons so that they can prepare for Baptism. So exciting!

Awkward story moment of the week: (I should start putting these in my
general emails) Sister Carroll and I are becoming master finders! I
love that she is actively involved in finding. We have been splitting
up on buses, trains and streetcars so that we can talk to twice as
many people. On Friday night, Sister Carroll and I decided to spend a
half an hour on the füß... Sorry, don't know that word in
English...like the mall streets I guess? Anyway, We separated enough
so that we could talk to more people but still see each other. Sort of
like at Street Displays. I like to contact in a variety of ways to
keep things from getting too repetitive, so I chose to do a Survey
that night. I was asking people on the street what sort of faith they
have, how it has influenced them in their lives, and if they believed
in a life after death.

I approached a group of three men, they were all probably a little
older then me. After they agreed to take the Survey, another man
joined their group. And then another man.and another three. And
another one. Before I knew it, I found myself surrounded by nine men.
Sister Carroll was talking to a woman right next to us. For a split
second, I saw her see me in my situation. Later she told me, "yeah I
saw you. But I figured you could handle it!" Haha.

Sooo, I awkwardly went through the Survey went them and long story
short, left with a few marriage proposals and probably some
inappropriate German jokes that I didn't understand. (They don't teach
me that kind of German in my study books!) thank goodness.

But, that night did end successfully. Sister Carroll and I ended up
finding a few new potential investigators and we ended up laughing
about our crazy experiences together.

I can't imagine not having decided to serve a Mission. The people that
I have met and the friendships that I have made are priceless to me.
It really is the best decision anyone can make. I know that I give a
lot as a Missionary, but I feel like Heavenly Father needed ME to meet
these people. Maybe that is a selfish mentality... It is hard to
express my feelings about this. All I can say is that being here has
taught me more and more about what kind of woman I want to be more
than anything else. I am loving and cherishing each day.

Ich habe euch Lieb!!
Sister Helmick

P.S. I promise to send some pictures next week! My computer is having some problems right now.

My Week Inside the Apartment

September 21st, 2015

Dear family and friends,

It has been quite the week...inside my apartment. Oh my goodness,
remember my email last week where I mentioned that I was sick for a
day or so? Well, turns out I never got better. I only got worse. On
Monday evening I had some of the worst sinus and head pain that I have
ever had. Sister Taylor stayed up with me until about midnight as I
stood over a pot of boiling water and drank hot fruit tea. The
pressure in my head was horrible.

After talking to the nurse, she had me meet with a doctor who informed
me that I have yet another severe sinus infection. She put me on some
strong antibiotics and I stayed inside and rested during the entire
week.

On top of that, Sister Taylor went home! I don't think she expected to
spend her last few days on her mission inside the apartment... But she
was a champ and took great care of me. And now, I am with Sister
Carroll. Who also probably didn't anticipate starting this transfer
out in the apartment with a sleeping and drowsy companion. Haha.

But alas! I have received permission to leave the apartment from the
mission nurse! I am still on my Medicine and am not yet back to my
100%, but I feel significantly better. It has been the longest week of
my mission.

I have learned that time really flies on a Mission because you are
really busy! Haha. It has felt like eternity since I had a Pday,
because I did not do much other than resting this week. But on
Saturday I finally left the apartment and we met with several
investigators which was good.

Sister Carroll and I are doing okay. We already knew each other from
the MTC. She started her mission in Bonn and absolutely loved it
there! In fact, she told me that the Germany Frankfurt Mission was the
mission that she wanted to serve in before she sent her papers
in...and Bonn was the one area she also wanted to serve in - and she
ended up having it as her first area! What a lucky duck! She also
loved her last companion.

I am a little worried that I won't be able to compete with that I
guess. I just hope that I can be a good companion to her and that she
will like Herne.

I hope this entry doesn't sound too depressing. Missions are a
rollercoaster of experiences. I am really learning to trust completely
in God with my needs and concerns. I have felt his love for me as a
Missionary and it keeps me going. I love my Heavenly Father and my
Savior. I know that I can do everything that they have called me to
do, and that gives me a lot of peace.

Have a wonderful week my friends! Hoping to have more exciting news to
write about next week.
Love,
Sister Helmick

Short Update

 

September 14th, 2015

 

Dear family and friends,

Transfer Calls finally came around! I will be seeing Sister Taylor off in two days. We will be having a Sister sleepover party in Dortmund on Wednesday night with two other companionships. Then, early on Thursday morning, Sister Taylor will hop on a bus and make her way out to Frankfurt, and then eventually back to Oregon.

Goodbyes are a part of the mission experience, but I am really grateful for each of my companions that I have had thus far. I have been paired with Sister Carrol! We are from the same MTC group, so we already know each other. She is a very down-to-earth person and is very kind. I remember her leaving notes of encouragement to all of the sisters in the MTC while she was a Sister Training Leader.

My guess is that we will be working together for along time since I have only been in Herne for 1 transfer. So I am excited. :)

I don't have too much to report this week. Sister Taylor was really sick on Tuesday and Wednesday, and then I caught what she had. On Friday we spent the entire day inside. Sister Taylor worked on packing her bags and I was on sleep-duty, according to our Mission Nurse.

I slept for about 24 hours. It was fantastic! Haha. But I am ready to get back to Missionary Work. Still a little under the weather, but manageable.

Leben ist gut. I hit my 8 month mark today - according to Elder Jensen (from my MTC group and in my District) and my lovely Grandmother who counts the days that I have left and emails me each week. :) I am trying to enjoy the time that I still have out here in Germany. Time is a scarce resource, and I am grateful for every day.

Love,

Sister Helmick

 

 

Elder Heiner, Bruder Gollnick and Sister Taylor were teaching me to play the piano this week! My goal is to be able to play a simple hymn as a musical number before I leave Germany!

The Only Thing We Have To Give Him Is Our Hearts

September 7th, 2015

Family and friends,

I love each of you! I feel such an outpour of love and support from you as I log in to email on P-day. Thank you. :)

We had several Street Displays over the last few weeks. At one Street display, I noticed an older man in a wheelchair. He was parked right in front of Netto (a grocery store) which happened to be right next to our little display. He had been sitting there for a few minutes, so I decided to walk over and ask how he was doing.

He looked at me with a grin on his face and said, "I know who you are. You're from Utah!" Haha, I love it when people say that. I smiled and told him that I was from Oregon. His grin went away after he realized he guessed wrong and then he looked sad all of a sudden.

I asked him simply how his day was going. He told me that he was waiting for his wife inside of Netto - she was doing their weeks grocery shopping. As we chatted casually, all of a sudden he took me hand and told me, "You know, I was a Nazi in the War." He then went to tell me how he has experienced and witnessed things that he cannot undo or unsee. This old man was deeply troubled.

As I was listening to him, I had the impression to ask about his joys in life. He immediately looked up at me with his smiling eyes and said, "my wife and music." He told me about how he had quite the singing voice back in the day, but in his old age he lost his talent. I then offered to sing for him. (In the past I never would have offered, but just two weeks earlier, the Elders and Sister Taylor and I gave a musical number at church. My first time singing a solo. I was very nervous at first but I came to learn that singing is another way to bear your witness - to share your testimony through your voice.)

So I quickly called Elder Vogl and Sister Taylor over (they both have voices of angels, I swear) and we sang, "Näher, mein Gott, zu dir." That was such a powerful moment. As we sang to him,  his eyes welling up with emotion and he sobbed through all four verses of that hymn. It is amazing to see how God works through us to reach out to His Children.

---

A Mission is full of personal progression and growth. But more than anything, my mission has taught me more and more about who Jesus Christ is, what my relationship to him is, and how I can craft MY personal character into that of my Savior's.

During my personal study this week, I came across a quote from C.S. Lewis, who paraphrases what the Lord says to us: "Give me all. I don't want so much of your time, so much of your talents and money, and so much of your work: I want you. All of you. I have not come to torment
or frustrate the natural man. But to kill it. No half-measures will do. I don't want to prune a branch here and another there; rather I want the whole tree out. Hand it all over to me, the whole outfit, all of your desires, all of your wants and wishes and dreams. Turn them all over to me, give yourself to me and I will make of you a new self in my image. Give me yourself and in exchange I will give you Myself. My will, shall become your will. My heart shall become your heart."
(Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis)

As a Missionary, we have the unique oppurtunity to give everything up to God. To give up television, music, our cell-phones, limiting our communication with our family and friends, giving up our time and post-poning our education and dating. Putting a pause on all of these things for 18 months to 2 years. But it is more than that. God gave me all of those things.

The ONLY thing that I have to give to Him - that WE have to give to him, is our hearts. Our intents for making the choices we make. As our hearts become more in line with Christ and His heart, we are transformed. There is happiness unlike any other that comes as we give Christ our hearts.

Out of everything that we give, Heavenly Father and Christ give us more than we can imagine. I have learned that what I once thought of as a sacrifice (i.e. going on a Mission) turned out only to be a priviledge. Because He has blessed me more than I can ever give him.

Ich habe euch Lieb!

Sister Helmick

 

 

Elder Heiner posed as me! Forgot his namebadge.

Tempel!

District dessert after our rainy street display.

Our sad little street display! Umbrellas protecting our few Book of Mormons.

Post-Service BBQ.

Boxing with Tante Inge!

Teaching old women how to box. :)