You Look Like Heidi!

Hey there!

This week was really great! It started off with zone training which

was so inspiring and cool. Then we had the zone activity! The mission

reached its baptismal goal for the first time in a very long time so

every zone had an activity! Haha pretty much I just got to mooch off the

missionaries' hard work before me. But it was fun! We all met in Bern

for the zone training in the morning and then the afternoon we went up

to a mountain called Gurten. We ate lunch, went up on a tower up there

and then played soccer the whole afternoon! It was so fun. I mean, I

was the only sister left playing after a while but it was all good fun

anyway.

We had a lot of different appointments this week with members, less

active members and investigators. I can't write about everyone but I

can tell you about one of our investigators! His name is Herr Jäggi.

(So Mr. Jäggi) he is very old and you have to have a lot of patience

teaching him. Sister Tauche said it perfectly: he's really great

practice in teaching things simply. But we're getting progress because
he actually remembered what we taught him last time! He loves the

sister missionaries haha. He'll shake your hand for a long time and

often times, after I bear testimony of something he just smiles at me

and says, your hair looks very nice! You look like Heidi!  Hahaha

The highlight of this week though was yesterday! Sister Tauche and I

spent most of the week finding, in the street and door to door in the

rain without much success, but then yesterday, a nice couple invited

us in and we talk for a super long time and we're going back tomorrow!

I'm so excited! It really was a miracle. It was so funny. Sister

Tauche and I walked out of there kind of in a daze. It was good.

That's all for this week! There's so much work for us to do here I

love it. Sister Tauche and I are improving everyday which feels good.

There's still so much to learn but I'm loving it. Have a great week!

Imma Be One Good Missionary

Hi there!

Wow it feels like forever since I've last emailed! I don't even know where to start...

The last week in the MTC was good! I have some pictures but forgot my camera cord so that'll have to wait till next week.

We had to wake up Tuesday morning at 2:45 to make it to the airport in Manchester. All the Alpine missionaries had to wait 5 hours for our flight haha. I started talking to a guy there. It was pretty cool but also made me feel so small and young haha. It kind of ended with him telling us that he had to go but he'd love to talk to us AFTER our missions (when we have actually seen the world and know what we're talking about). He left us his card. Turns out he was a professor and had a PhD haha oh man glad I didn't know that before we talked to him.

We landed in Munich and saw the AP's and the Kholers there. I love President and Sister Kholer. They are amazing!! 

We did some finding (for the first time in German!) and that was alright haha... Like this first person I got the courage to talk to, I complimented her on her phone case and when she turned it around it was a vodka bottle phone case and suddenly we had to get off the train hahaha wow imma be one good missionary...

We got to eat dinner at the Kholer's house and stay the night there since the group of missionaries coming in was so small (just 4 of us). That's when I found out my first area and companion! The next day was spent on the train and now here I am!  Solothurn is beautiful. (I think president told you I was in Aurau but that is false I don't know why he said that) I dare say prettier than Geneva. Imagine rolling Swiss country and little towns and cities every so often. (It's in the Bern zone)

The ward members here are super great and a lot of them speak French and English which is nice!  These last couple days have been spent doing a lot of training, meeting investigators, and finding.  My companion is Sister Tauche. She's German! I love her so much, she is so patient with me and we have fun. She's been on her mission since December so not too long either!

That's pretty much it! I'm really so happy here. It's new and uncomfortable in a lot of ways of course, but it just feels so wonderful to work hard on a cause that I know is so important. There is truly no more important work I could be doing right now than this. I'm so happy to be here! (Plus it's raining and it's so pretty :) ) it's incredible. You know how the scriptures say that we are temples? I've never understood that until now. But I really do feel like a walking temple. The spirit is just always there with me. What a blessing.

Have a wonderful week! Thank you for all the wonderful emails. So grateful for all of you.

Tschuss!

 First day meeting Sister Tauche in the Zurich train station.

Epic missionary pics (this is the center of Solothurn).

Finding in the rain yesterday... making phone calls on the way home.

Transitioning to the Field

No word from Aïsha herself this week however, we received word, as her parents, from the MTC that she would be leaving for the field.  We received that email last weekend:

Dear Family,

Your daughter will be departing the England Missionary Training Centre on Tuesday morning, 12^th April.  We want you to know how much we have enjoyed having her with us. 

Sister Lehmann is a fine young woman and we are grateful for the opportunity we have had to work with her on a daily basis.  She is well-prepared for her mission and she continues each day to grow spiritually.  She is developing good teaching skills and is excited about the work.  She is ready for full time service in the Alpine German-Speaking Mission.

We love this young woman and are grateful to you for all you have done to prepare her for this wonderful time in her life.  Your love and continued support are important to her success.   Letters are always greatly anticipated and appreciated.  Please address all future mail to:

Alpine German-Speaking Mission

Lommelstrasse 7

81479 München

Germany

May you and your family be blessed as she continues to serve our Heavenly Father.

Sincerely,

President & Sister Preston

England Missionary Training Centre

P.S. Please see the attached photograph

PLEASE NOTE - Your daughter will probably not have another opportunity to e-mail home whilst still in the MTC. You may not hear from her again until her next preparation day in the mission, which in most cases is Monday.

Then her mission president had this note sent to us.  As indicated in the above email, she left the MTC in Preston Tuesday morning, April 12, and arrived that day in Germany:

Dear Family of Sister Lehmann-

We are delighted to tell you that Sister Lehmann arrived safely in Munich this morning!  She has been fed and trained, and is now in bed after a long day of orientation. 

We thought you might enjoy this picture from our meeting this evening. Her new companion will be Sister Tauche, and they will serve together in Aarau Switzerland. 

We are thrilled that she is here and we are grateful for her preparation and enthusiasm.  She will be a wonderful missionary.  We love her already, and will do all we can to help her have a successful mission.  

Your daughter’s preparation day is on Mondays, and that is when she will be e-mailing you each week.  We also have a mission blog if you would like to see occasional pictures of what is occurring in the mission.  The address is:  www.alpinegermanspeakingmission.blogspot.de

If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact us.  We know that the Lord will bless you and your family during the next year and a half as you support your missionary in her service. 

Sincerely,

President and Sister Kohler

Alpine German-Speaking Mission

German Official Celestial Language

Hey!

Almost done with the MTC!

The highlight of this week was most definitely General Conference. Wasn't it great?! It was fun to think about how I was watching it at the same time as all my friends and family everywhere in the world. Picturing Mom in the kitchen finishing cooking some bread pudding, Andreas sneaking his phone behind a pillow and Grandma nodding off, hahaha.

I loved conference here though. I don't think I've ever been awake for all 5 sessions before! Sister Pugh was so funny, with every single song they announced she started bouncing up and down in her seat saying, Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh!! How did they know!? THIS IS MY FAVORITE HYMN. OH MY GOODNESS.  Hahaha she's so funny. She's most definitely going to be in the Mormon Tabernacle choir someday.

I was also very pleased to hear the announcement that German is the official celestial language. Haha actually the sad part is, most of us in my district didn't even understand what President Uchtdorf said in German.

Other than that there were a lot of new missionaries that came in this week! There are 4 German speakers so we have fun attempting to converse with them in German even though they all speak perfect English.

Hope everyone is doing well! I'm so happy to be here, and still am learning so much. I've made some wonderful friends here that I hope I will stay in contact with. I've been so blessed. We all are so blessed, it's really amazing to me. No matter how much we try to sacrifice or give to the Lord, it's always returned back to us, far more than we gave or deserve.

Have a wonderful week!

Sister Gines kissing the lucky (cadburry) egg

Notes from the ESL district hahaha