Little Box of Sunshine

This week I got a package from the young women in my ward back home and it brightened my whole week. It was a little box of sunshine- and it sure brought some sunshine into my day.

There were a lot of things hat happened this week. The biggest news is that transfers happened.... Aaaaaaanndd I'll be getting a new companion this week!!!

Sister wahlquist will be heading over to Kaiserslautern. So we will still be able to see each other often and go on splits together which is good. I am sure going to miss her though. She has taught me a lot about how to be a dedicated missionary- and to do my best and how to turn to Christ :)

So, the other exciting news is that sister Helmick... Got transferd to my old area.. Dear sweet Herne!! I can't even describe how happy I am about that. I was on the phone with sister Helmick last night and I was telling her all the people she had to visit. And I told her that there was a family that had traveled all the way back to Romania to get married so that they can get baptized. And I started crying- I did not realize how much I love those people. But sister Helmick is going to do amazing things there- she is an amazing missionary (I am going to miss not being able to go on splits with her) and she is going to touch the hearts of those people in Herne. :)

But I think what made me the absolute happiest this week was that we were able to set a baptismal date with Schwester Giselle.

We met with her this week and she told me a story that penetrated my heart. She explained a little bit of her childhood to me, I won't go into unnecessary details, but it was full of loneliness, emotional, physical and sexual abuse and neglect. She told me how one day she ran away from home and snuck into the backdoor of a church and sat in the back pew. The pastor saw her come in and walked back to see her. He asked her where her mother and father were. She didn't say a word. She just stared up at the paintings of Christ on the church wall. The pastor took the opportunity to take her hand and say, "do you know that you have a papa and mama in heaven?" She stared up at him wide eyed and shook her head. She then asked him, "do they love me?"  The pastor nodded and said yes, then little Giselle said, "my mama und papa don't love me"

As I spoke with Schwester Giselle she told me that although she was very young she will never forget how after she said those words the pastor wept. And from that moment on she knew that she had a papa in heaven who loved her.

Seeing this womans desire to change and come unto Christ has amazed me. This week we talked to her about baptism. And invited her to be baptized on the 18th of October. She was so happy she had to jump up and dance!! I had to think of a verse in the Book of Mormon, in the 18th chapter of mosiah, verse 11, "and now when the people had heard these words, they clapped their hands for joy, and exclaimed: this is the desire of our hearts"

I have to admit that I jumped up and danced as well :) Liebe Grüße Sister shurts

Ps the pictures are from the historical bergbahn of Heidelberg. We rode it all the way to königstuhl. The "mountain" overlooking Heidelberg