So many miracles are happening in Stuttgart right now.

March 18, 2013

Servus Zusammen!
I think I am just going to copy an excerpt out of my letter to President Miles to give you an idea of what happened this week.

------Dear President,   

                I hope you are having a great week!   This week we had two awesome miracles happen. The first started almost two weeks ago at Zone Conference. During lunch Elder Davies and I received a call from a 19 year old named Sebastian Neugebauer who straight up told us that he wanted to meet with us and wanted to be baptized. We met this last Tuesday with him and right from the beginning we could tell he was one of the most prepared people we have  ever met.  He had lived with a family in Utah for five months on a student exchange program. He went to church every week except for one when he was sick. He was also very close to one of the kids in the family who they sent on a mission to California while he was there. He didn't think at the time that the church would be a big part of his life when he got home, but since he has been home for almost two years he has been thinking a lot about it. He started praying daily and going to church now again with his girlfriend (who is a member) and realized that it was all true and that baptism was exactly what he needed to do. Everything we have taught him in our last three appointments he understands perfectly and says he believes and that he will even pray about it just for sure confirmation. We set a goal for him for baptism on the 13th of April and he started coming to institute and reading everyday in the Book of Mormon. He is one of the coolest people I have ever met.                

                The second miracle happened on Friday on an austausch with Elder Harris. The night before we had received a call from a lady named Frau Weichelt who has been coming to church in Stuttgart for the last year and a half or so. She has two daughters who are both members and she has met on and off with the Pforzheim Sisters and Stuttgart Elders since she has lived here. She asked if we could meet the next day (Friday) at her house. We brought Elder Fiedler along as a third man since Elder Armstrong was working on the apartment for the Sisters in Stuttgart with some members. The three of us went to her house and we could tell that she wanted to say something,  but wasn't sure how to approach it. Right after we said the opening prayer she opened up and said, 'I actually have another reason why I wanted you to come over today. My daughters'  and mother's influences have helped me a lot, I've felt the spirit so much when I go to church or read the scriptures, and I have been thinking and praying about it a lot and I want to get baptized.' We were so excited and what added to that was on Sunday when she went around the ward telling people about her decision and how happy she looked and how excited the ward was for her. Her date is scheduled for April 27th, before she goes to visit her mother in the Ukraine who is a member as well. We didn't do anything to contribute to these miracles, but it was so great to see how much the Lord had prepared these people. It was a testimony builder for me and I have felt so blessed to be able to watch these miracles take place. The Lord truly looks after his children and helps them feel the spirit and come closer to him.-------

                It was really one of the most incredible weeks on my mission. Like I said we didn't really do anything, but it was all the Lord's work in preparing these people and helping them feel the spirit as they sought to come closer unto him. Sebastian was introduced to the church about two years ago and Frau Weichelt had been meeting with missionaries on and off since 2006 and all throughout this time the spirit had been working on them to help them prepare for the great blessings that would come. This last month or so I have just been so happy with being a missionary and this week really just put that over the top. It has been so great to be a part of the Lord's work. Whether there is a lot of success or not, or whether there are a lot of trials, I have really come to understand what kind of joy the gospel brings.

That means at this point we are working with three people who are preparing to be baptized: Luis Alcaraz from Colombia (May 25th), Sebastian Neugebauer from Germany (April 13th), and Lena Weichelt from the Ukraine (April 27th). So many miracles are happening in Stuttgart right now it is unbelievable.

Sebastian has been particularly fun to work with. He is around mine and Elder Davies' age and we have so much in common with him. He is someone I honestly feel was prepared for us to meet because we just click so well with him. By the end of our first lesson we were already talking about staying in contact after our missions. He is going to study piano in the University and so we had him play something for us and he might be the best piano player who is around my age that I have ever met, which is saying a lot because I have met some absolutely amazing piano players.

In addition to all the cool things that have been happening with the missionary work we have been doing a lot straight up manual work. We are working with the International Elders and a couple members from our ward to really finish remodeling our old apartment for the Sisters coming in. We got transfer calls last week (Elder Davies and I are staying together like we thought) and President told us that the sisters will be here in Stuttgart this Thursday so we have get in overdrive and get it all done. Dad you would be so proud of me, I have been in charge of doing all of the painting for the apartment. Elder Fiedler from the International ward is getting transferred so we will get a new roommate named Elder Tauche who is also a German. Half our zone is changing this transfer and Elder Root is leaving but Elder Chapman is coming from St. Pölten so I'm losing one mission son, but replacing him with another.

Kristy and Tristan I think that's awesome that you are going to be coming to Austria in September! It is definitely a great place to visit. You'll definitely enjoy western Austria in Salzburg and Innsbruck areas if you go there because they are absolutely gorgeous. If you make it to Vienna let me know, because I can suggest some great places to go there since I spent about a third of my P-Days there when I was in Austria. It also wouldn't hurt to take a quick visit to St. Pölten if you are close by.

Today for P-Day we went to the Rittersport chocolate factory with the International Elders. It's one of my two favorite types of chocolates from Germany/Switzerland area (which produce some of the best chocolate ever). I bought some cheap chocolate there that I will be sending home in a couple of weeks. The owner of the franchise, Herr Ritter, looked like the German version of Willy Wonka, crazy hair suit and all. After that we went on to the American base which was nearby to go shopping and go on a Taco Bell eating spree. Germans don't really like Mexican food and so you don't find it here at all, so we had to go get our taco fix.   Well I hope all is going well for you all. I sure love you a lot. The time has been going scary fast since I passed my year mark!

    

 Elder Bodily
Gott sei mit euch bis aufs Wiedersehen

P.S.  Is it possible that you could get me Jacob Covey's email address since there is another Jacob Covey serving in Australia who got my email to him and also Elder McGinn and his trainer since I know a lot of missionaries in that mission.