Sister Lehmann: Alpine German-Speaking Mission: Should be the last week of transfers but it's not

Hey!

This week was really great!

It started off with another fun Pday walking in the mountains with the Solothurn Elders and the Smith family. The Smith family is so cool! They have eight kids, all grown up now. Sister Smith is Swiss and Brother Smith is from Provo. They raised their family in America but suddenly, spontaneously moved to Switzerland recently and started their lives back up again, all their stuff and family business still in Arizona! Haha they're so cool though, and they know some cool trails.

After that, on Tuesday we had another Zone training which was ssoooo good. Two missionaries are going home next week so they bore their testimonies and it was incredible. I also had the opportunity to listen to a homecoming talk yesterday in church too! It's so inspiring and wonderful to see what the Lord can make out of someone in such a short amount of time. They all glowed as they spoke. I pray that I will have transformed so much by the end of my mission, too.

Sister Tauche and I were talking to President Gappmeir (President Kohler's counselor) in church yesterday (we were in the Bugdorf ward since we're having to take care of that area a bit too since they lost their missionaries in the middle of the transfer). He said something I really liked. He said, Now there's someone who went on a mission, and really went on a mission! It's so true! Not everyone who goes on a mission takes advantage of it to its fullest. Again, I pray that I will!

After Zone conference we had Taush or exchanges, which I was ssoooo nervous for haha. It went great though! Sister Stelter came back to Solothurn with me and we had a great time! We went finding for a while and that was really great. We had a couple really great conversations. One lady we met was so prepared it was incredible. I ended up telling her about Joseph Smith's story and she was really touched it was so cool to see. Even the first question we asked her (What is the meaning of life) left her quite astounded. She believed in God and had been searching most of her life from church to church but had never thought about that question before!

Anyway, you're probably smiling, thinking, oh cute, Sister Lehmann is getting overexcited about a simple street contacting experience, but don't laugh! We don't get too many people here who care, so be happy for me, ok? And be happy for this awesome lady who is finally finding what she has been looking for her whole life!

Another thing that I realized from this story, is how the Holy Ghost works through me. I think sometimes I hear these stories of people hearing a distinct voice, or getting a distinct command to go there, or do that, and I've never really had that before. And for a bit I was thinking, well, what am I doing wrong that I'm not getting that!? But in the street with this lady, I said a lot of things that I'd never really thought of before. I taught stuff that I already knew and everything but did so in such a clear and powerful way that I really had never planned or prepared. It was incredible to see. And its not even that huge of a thing in the moment, you just go with it, but afterwards, as Sister Stelter was telling me that she liked how I said this or that, I laughed and said, oh thanks but that was very much not me! So yeah. Figure out how the Holy Ghost speaks to you and works through you and don't compare yourself to others. If you know you're keeping the commandments and trying your best, then the Spirit will work through you. He will. And how he does so is unique to you! That's something I realized this week.

Oh darn, I'm sorry, this is an awfully long email so I'll condense the rest into bullets:

-We have a new investigator!! Her name is Karyna and she's a tatoo artist and she's awesome haha.

-We went to a fireside in Zollikofen and I saw Toby and Ronja and Moritz hahaha. (Apparently I was suppose to report to the church when I got my call that I have family in my mission. Ooops. I may or may not be in the correct mission. Oh well.)

-We met an awesome girl on the train coming home and it was like meeting myself. She's swiss, christian, lived in Geneva last year for a few months to improve her French, worked at a shoe store there for a very brief time and is studying illustration. Haha she's awesome though. Too bad she lives in Basel!

Ok, that's all, sorry if that was boring and long. Forgive me, but it was a good week for Sister Tauche and me!

Have a wonderful week!

-Sister Lehmann