Hallo :)

 Pais Family from Portugal

 

 Hedgehogs are everywhere!

 

Beautiful sunset

 

Hey, congrats Nathan on making JV! Just don´t injur yourself on your trip. Wow, the e button on this keyboard is really annoying. And now Kate has a decent camera! Jealous. I find photography very fun and interesting! I can´t wait to see pictures from the trip! Hey, we'll be on the same side of the Atlantic! Look at Tyson all alone over there. Sorry bro. Anyway, let´s get going, shall we? Ich hab wenig Zeit.

 

Okay, someone needs to send this picture to Uncle Steve :) This is Bruno, and his nephew Diogo, who both came to church this week because their mother/grandma was there :) I showed the grandma a picture of Steve and asked if she recognized him. She said she thinks that Steve was in their city at one time on his mission. (Portugal). That would be cool, eh? :)

 

The next picture is a hedgehog :) I have seen them all over the last couple weeks. They are so cool! And there is a Schwäbish sunset as I was on my way back to Stuttgart from München. SOOO PRETTY!

 

I want to tell a story. We went to R_____ on Tuesday, but we hadn't found a joint teach. We were going to cancel it, but decided we would still go, be obedient, and stand outside the door so we could just move things to the keller. So, we were obedient, and we ended up pulling down boxes from the attic. Then R_____ klingeled her neighbor, who came out and helped. He is a younger guy from China and helped us the whole time! He seems to know R______ pretty well. Well, we asked if he would like to come join us for a talk with Renate, because we needed a third man. And he agreed :) He asked tons of good questions, too, and we talked about baptism. So we got his number and we are trying to meet with him again, because he was interested in learning more about Christianity! :) WUNDER!!! Obedience brings blessings. I promise. And God promises, too :) Don´t take it from me.... haha

 

As we looked back last night on our week, it was basically totally different than what we had expected. But it was such a good week! Made me happy, and I am excited for this week. Today should be a great day. Transfer calls are Friday, I am pretty anxious to know where in the world I am going. Um, I never had the chance to go to the base to get luggage, it was just too crazy for a man from the military to take us on a Monday afternoon. But I have looked around, and I remember, just cheap stuff! Don´t worry. Yeah, it may well be my last week in Stuttgart. Crazy how time flies.

 

So R_____ will be baptized on Saturday! We are very excited. All the craziness about her move to Esslingen Ward can be taken care of after, for now, we are just fasting and praying that everything this week will be okay.

 

This week I want to work on being humble, so that I can be led better by the Spirit. Elder Bednar says in "Becoming a Preach My Gospel Missionary" that anything we do as servants of the Lord that attracts attention to ourselves is essentially a form of priestcraft! I have read the Book of Mormon enough to know that that is not good :) He also said that because this is the Lord´s work, not ours, is has NOTHING to do with you or with me. I want to strive for more as a missionary and reach it because I am just doing the Lord´s will. That is what I really admire in the great missionaries around me. When I look at Elder Orchard, for example, he doesn´t do anything that glorifies himself. Same wth Elder Riser, and many others. And they are missionaries who are tearing things up! I want to be more like them.

 

We can learn so much from the people who are around us. I have learned so much about hard work from Elder Horlacher, about setting goals and staying focused on them. Er macht es wirklich gut. From the other missionaries I know, I always see something that I would like to develop more in my character. And of course, I try and develop the characteristics which our Savior possesses. That helps us to keep moving forward in life, to never stand still. And that is my direction right now! I encourage you all to pay more attention to the strengths of those around you, and spend less time dwelling on their weaknesses. We are here to build, not to break down. Don´t underestimate the influence for good you can have for others. We get more and develop more quickly when we spend our time in the service of others. 

 

I have to go now, but ich wünsche euch das Allerbeste! Have a great time on your trip, be safe, as for everyone else, be happy :) Don´t worry too much. Laughter is the best medicine.

 

Love you all!

 

Elder Jalen Gibbons