An Amazing Week!!!

This week was literally amazing.  We had some amazing things happen.  I just wanted to run you through them all and let you know how much God loves his children.

So we had a great day on Monday.  We went finding in this building that we found a few weeks ago.  It is full of students.  And we have been wanting to go there, but it has been holiday here so we have been waiting for school to be back in again so that they are home.  We went there for about 2 hours and we found 4 people who were interested in learning more about the gospel.  We set up appointments with two of them for later in the week.  They are all younger men who are really interested.  They come mostly from China so that was fun.  We felt like we went to Asia this week.  haha.  But that was just awesome.  

Tuesday we had a great eating appointment with a family in our ward.  We go over there about every week.  They have such a cute family.  They also have a super cute down syndrome little boy.  We have a blast every time we are there.  This family takes such good care of us.  We love them.  

Wednesday we went out to search for a less active in a town that is about 30 minutes away.  Unfortunately she wasn't home, but we found some other people who we had some good conversations with.  We laughed a lot.  They were mostly old men who were trying to tell us stories from the Bible, which is all good but the way it was happening was just funny.  I love dooring people.  You meet so many wonderful and funny people and it is never the same.  We have actually been let in so many times here.  Actually more than my whole mission.  We have been let in about 5 times in our time here in Ludwigsburg which is more than the rest of my mission put together.  Super awesome.  And the people are really great and we have good conversations with them.  

We then had an amazing lesson with our investigator on Thursday. She is already in 2 Nephi 18 in about 2 weeks.  She is doing amazing.  She is a little stubborn, and says she just wants to meet to learn but not be baptized, but we are wearing her down every time.  She was supposed to come to church yesterday.  We had everything planned out so that we could go early to her house by bus and pick her up.  Then we were going to go together to church.  She was all for it, but she called us on Saturday and said never mind.  Her grand kids were coming into town so that was a little sad. But we will get her there next week.  We really hope she will come to General Conference as well.  We are making a lot of invitations to get people to come watch the broadcast of General Conference at the church.  It is in Stuttgart, but it is really close so it shouldn't be a huge problem.  We are going to give out invitations to people on the street as well.  We really want to get as many people there as possible.  Conference has such a huge impact on people. But Frau B. is doing amazing.  Just reading the book of Mormon. She is a little confused because she is in Isaiah right now. She is reading her Bible along with it and trying to understand.  We just told her to keep reading and it will start making sense again soon.  We told her we sometimes have to learn line upon line with Isaiah and with the Scriptures in General.  It was really great.  

Then we had a great eating appointment with the Elders and a family in our ward.  They are also so wonderful.  We have such a great ward here.  We are so blessed.  And we had transfers this day so there was a new Elder there as well. They had two rabbits and so I got to see some wildlife as well.  Their little girl was so excited to show us her rabbits.  We had such a good time. They live in a place that used to be a base for military so all the streets around them are named after American states.  Like Texas Street and Florida ring and others.  It is pretty funny.  :)

On Friday we had a great lesson with our new member.  She has a cute little girl who is only 5 months but can sit up and stand.  She is from Africa and lives here now. She was Baptized in June before we got here, but we are working on teaching her the lessons again after baptism now.  She is really cool.  She has a great story.  

We then had a great lesson with a couple new people that we have met.  We are meeting with one again this week.  She has a cute little boy.  She is from Romania so it is hard to communicate with her.  She doesn't understand everything but we are going back when her husband is there next week.

Then on Saturday we met with another girl.  She is German and was a Nanny in Colorado.  She was so excited to meet with us and speak English. And we had such a great time together.  And she is interested in coming to church and learning more.  She is AMAZING!!!  We are so glad that we met her the other day.  She does something called walting.... spelling?  It is where you do gymnastics on the back of horses.  Sounds like loads of fun.  She wanted us to come riding with her cuz we told her that we both ride horses and then we had to tell her we can't do that.... But we are meeting her again next week!!!!  It is going to be awesome!!!!!  And she is YSA age. She is wonderful!!

We also met with one of our other potentials yesterday.  He is from China and we had the best first lesson with him ever!!!  He asked all the right questions and is just so prepared.  He took a Book of Mormon and wants to learn more!!!  We were talking to him and said we want to meet with you and teach you and tell you more.  And he said "Ya teach is the right word, I need to learn and I don't really know anything."  So prepared.  He is so excited to meet again and to learn. We took a picture with him and he held up the Book of Mormon so proudly and is just so excited.  He also said the most amazing prayer at the end of the lesson.  He was just so honest and it was beautiful.  The Spirit was so strong.  Just made Sunday the best day ever.

So I think that is everyone.  But really we looked back at this week and realized just how blessed we are to be led to these people who are so prepared to learn about the Gospel.  We have so many amazing opportunities to help people change their lives.  We are so excited to help these people and to make a difference.  You can do the same thing at home as well.  

I was studying this week and realized just how much happiness the gospel brings us.  And we need to be sharing it with everyone so they can be just as happy as we are.  I have never been happier as I see others coming to the knowledge of the gospel.  We are so blessed.  

I love you all!!!  Be a great member missionary back home and help everyone to have a better day after they talk to you!!  I love you all and wish you the best week!!!

Sister Poll

 Been a good week...

Things are going really great here.  We got transfer calls this week and we are both staying.  I am really excited that I don't have to leave so soon again.  And I will be with Sister C which I am so excited about.  We get along so well and it is such a riot.  We are the new Sister Training Leaders so we get to go to Munich as well which will be nice.  

Things are really good here. Our investigator read 18 chapters in the book of Mormon in the course of 5 days.  She is doing really good.  Said she doesn't ever want to change religions, but loves reading.  haha.  But she is such a sweet person.  We also found a really cool family this week.  They speak Persian and very little German, so communication is really fun.  But they have two really sweet kids.  We are trying to get somethings set up with them so that we can Skype with someone who speaks Persian.  Hopefully it all works out. 

As far as other things this week.  We had a really good zone training on Tuesday.  We were in Stuttgart and at the end it turned into a bit of a testimony meeting.  We were talking about why we came on missions and why we stay even through all the hard times.  It was just such a powerful meeting.  I loved it.  

We also had stake conference this weekend.  President Kohler came and spoke with Sister Kohler and it was so good.  We got to sit by their daughter through the meeting.  Erika is just awesome.  I love her. The meeting was so spiritual and talked about how we can support the members of the Ward council and also how we can help one another better understand the gospel and become stronger.  I loved it.  And President talked about the Atonement and taking the Sacrament.  How important it is and how we should miss it when we aren't able to take it at Stake Conference and General Conference.  Which is true.  I miss it.  But the meeting was really good. 

Not too much else to tell you about. This week has been really full of meeting with new people.  We have some really good things set up for this coming week as well.  We are hoping that we have some new investigators this week.  We are loving the area and working hard to make it the best that it can be.  

Miss you all and hope all is well.  

Love,

Sister Poll

 An Amazing Week

This week has been so amazing. We found this really amazing woman who we are now teaching. We watched the Restoration video together and the whole time she kept asking questions that the video would answer in about 2 minutes if she just waited. But it was so cool because she just said, I have that same question. He was right to ask God. I think he really saw what he said he saw. Why are all the other
preachers telling him to not talk about it. If God came to me I would talk about it. I want to know what is right too. There are so many churches, I want to know the right one." Then we talked about how
reading the Book of Mormon will help and then we taught about prayer. She then prayed right there and after said "I will keep reading and waiting on God for an answer. I know He will give me one if I keep
searching." She wasn't able to come to church on Sunday, but we are going back to her this week. We are so excited. Something really interesting is the day before when we met her she wanted to give the
Book Of Mormon back because she couldn't understand it. But we asked her to read a specific chapter and we came back the next day. And she had completely changed. And as we read he first chapter together and
explained it, the Spirit was just there. God prepares His children and we want her to make it to baptism. Even though she told us she will never change on our first visit. Haha. People always say that, but who
can't follow the Spirit? 😀 She is wonderful. I will keep you posted on her.
We also had a wonderful time with this great family this week. We are helping them come together as a family and trying to help the husband see that the church will bless their lives. We got to
hear a lot of Italian language while we were there because their mother was there. She speaks no German. It was interesting to hear a language and totally expect to understand and you have no idea. Took
me back to when I was first learning German. Now its weird when I don't understand German. The Lord qualifies his children. I know it without a doubt.
We also met with a cool family we met on the street his week. She had a lot of questions about the Plan of Salvation and we really had to teach simply because her English was limited. It went well and we are
going back this week.We have also had so many miracles here with finding. The Lord has his
hand in all of our lives. I have never had so much success with dooring and finding my whole mission. But your attitude really makes a difference as well. We just expect to find people and we do every day.
Even if we just lift their spirits and help them have a better day that is a blessing. We have had such good conversations with people on the streets and at their doors. We started using a survey and people
are really responsive to it. I am just on this spiritual high. I love being a missionary. Some days O just never want to come home. The change you see in people as you talk about God is worth all the
rejection, worth all the pain, and all the long days. The joy of seeing someone smile back at you and seeing that you have helped them to have a better day is priceless. I just feel like I have finally
figured out what true happiness is. I never want to loose it. It is amazing. The Gospel is amazing. I finally am figuring things out and I have so much more to learn. Makes me wish I knew these things before.
We are meeting with the man we met last week hopefully next week. He is a bit busy.
But that was my week. Things are wonderful here.
Love you all
Sister Poll

 August 24

Ludwigsburg is a dream.  I love this place.  It isn't the prettiest, but I love the ward here and the people are amazing.  They are usually pretty open and stop to talk to us on the street.  We met some amazing girls this past week and met with them on Tuesday.  I wasn't there but the lesson went really well.  We are going to meet again this week.  Unfortunately they are only studying here and are leaving for Russia this Friday, but they will hopefully look up the missionaries in Russia.  We are going to try and get some information to send missionaries by them.  :)  That is always better.  They are amazing though.  I am so glad that we stopped them on the street.  They are younger and have a lot of interest in talking about God.  They grew up not talking too much about Him in the home.  They have a lot of questions and are really excited to have someone to talk to.  It will be great.  

We also had an amazing experience this week with dooring.  We got let in!!!  That happens so seldom that I can count all the times it has happened on one hand.  But we went by on a less active and she wasn't home.  We decided to do some doors around where she lives since we were there and we have this promise in the Mission where we knock 6 doors around every appointment we have.  So we went to do that and we met this super cute old lady.  She let us in and we talked for the next hour about the Book of Mormon.  And she invited us back next week!!!  She even gave us really tasty Orange Juice.  She was super sweet!!  We are so excited. It was really funny after cuz I got thinking about how growing up you are always taught to not talk to strangers and not take candy/food from them.  Then as a missionary you just throw that all out the window.  You talk to every person and when they invite you in you love to eat and chat and it is the best thing.  We laughed pretty hard.  But Frau T was wonderful.  We are excited to go back and meet her again this next week.  

This week has been fantastic.  I also got to go back to my first area.  I was in Tübingen!!!  It was a dream.  I got to go back and see Frau A who was baptized when I was there with her son.  They are doing so good.    She saw me and was like Sister Poll!!!  And her son just turned 12 so he is going to get the Priesthood soon.  It was so great to walk back down memory lane and see some familiar faces. 

I also got to go visit one of my favorite member families.  They are so wonderful. We ate some great food and we had a great talk.  I got to see their two little girls and her oldest is talking so much now.  She wasn't doing that just yet in German when I was there.  But it was a dream to be back.  I can't wait to go back again one day and visit again.  It was amazing.

This week has been wonderful.  So full of miracles and wonderful things. If you take the time to see God in your life, you can't help but be happy.  I don't think I have ever been happier my whole life.  I love being a missionary.  Life is amazing.  I love you all!!  Have a great week!! Stop to see what God has done for you that day!!!

Liebe Grüße

Sister Poll

 

August 31

This past week here has been so busy.  I really have no idea where all the time goes.  It just flies by.  We had interviews with President Kohler this last week.  We were in Stuttgart and it was really good to talk with him.  It was really awesome to receive some training from President and to hear him talk about his family.  He is amazing and gives us so much and also the love he has for his family is evident every time he talks about them.  It was really great to hear from him this week and talk with him. 

After Interviews we had an eating appointment with a family and it was wonderful.  I got to eat deer.....  It wasn't that bad actually.  But I never thought I would be eating deer in Germany. haha.  We had spetzla and deer and great cheesecake for dessert.  I was in heaven.  It was wonderful.  I was so excited to eat deer, but unfortunately I forgot to take a picture.  I realized that I haven't been taking very many pictures lately.  I am trying to change my ways because I want to have as many memories as possible.  But we just get laughing too hard and we forget to pull the camera out until later in the day.  We have way too much fun. haha.  

We also met with some really great people this week. We met this man on the street that we are going to meet with in the next couple of weeks.  He was very interested in talking with us and wanted to know more, but was on the way to meet a friend. We got his contact information and we are going to call him today.  We are really excited. 

We also have this great family that we visit.  They were cleaning their house and getting it ready for people to visit.  So we went to help on Friday.  It was so great.  We got to help the daughter paint her room.  Even though it was only white, she was really excited.  And we were excited as well to be painting.  We had a lot of fun together. .  

This past Sunday was a beautiful baby blessing in the ward.  We played a musical number together for it.  Sister C played the Viola and I played the piano.  We played an arrangement of Come Thou Fount.  It was really pretty. Sister Cook is amazing.  The ward loved it and it was really nice for the baby blessing as well.  We had a lot of visitors who were not members and I think it really helped them feel the spirit.  

We also tried something new this week with Sister C and her Viola.  We like to call it "Viola finding"  We went to a park and she was playing hymns and I was talking to people about them.  We had a few people stop and were able to talk about the church with them.  It was really fun and I think we are going to do it again sometime. 

This week has been amazing. We are seeing so many miracles here.  Even though we don't have too many investigators to work with at the moment, we get to talk with so many people and help them stop to think about God for a minute in their lives.  It is amazing.  I love this work and I love being a missionary.  I can't imagine being anywhere else right now.  Hope you all have a wonderful week.  I love you and think of you often.. Love you!!!

Sister Poll

Miracle Week

This week has been really awesome. We are working hard to find somepeople to teach and to get some new investigators. We have a few appointments set up for this week which I am excited about, but I will
mostly be in Tübingen this week. But it will be awesome. We still are trying to get more people to teach
and working hard. We have some great conversations with people on the street, but no one wants to go any further than that. That is he hard part. But we are already seeing some success. We are really excited
for this week. And we are working hard to find some new people. But I love it here. Sister C and I are always laughing and having a lot of fun. We get along really well.  She plays the viola and it is really pretty. We are going to play a musical number in church together in a couple of weeks.

This last week we saw some miracles. We missed our stop, but we met this lady on the train who has known Mormons before. She had an exchange student in her house who was Mormon and they went to church
with her one time. She was really excited and loved the church but isn't too interested to learn more. But she loved talking to us. And we met her all cuz we missed our stop. We also met with this girl on the street that we stopped. She took a Book of Mormon and gave us her number. We are going to meet sometime this week. She seemed really interested to learn more.

We also stopped this attractive man on the street, which we don't do too often. They are too intimidating. :) and he was very interested in learning about what happens after this life and we talked about the plan of salvation. He also took a Book of Mormon and our card. He seemed really interested.So many miracles like that have happened all week. We handed out 5 books and tons of cards. We had to fill up our bags with cards again every day. And people talk with us and are open to listen. We are just working on the, being open to meet with us again. Keep them in your prayers that they will call us or answer us and we can meet again. So many miracles and God is preparing his children. It is amazing to be a missionary and working in this great day. The world is a beautiful place and we can see God's hand in our life every day if we just look
for it.

This week has been full of miracles. I can't wait to see what this next week brings. I am so excited to go back and see some of the members from Tübingen. And I will get to see more of them in a few weeks at Stake conference. God loves us and helps us to feel his love through all the little things every day. I challenge you to take the challenge from Elder Eyering of writing in a journal and looking back daily to see where God's hand was in your life. As you do that, you will no doubt see the blessings that you may have over
looked. Small things brought together can change a day. Love you all!!! Have a great week!!!,

Sister Poll

A Great Adventure!!!

Well this week has been an adventure.  But it has defiantly been one of the best adventures I have had.  I am now in Ludwigsburg Germany.  And I love it here.  It is so wonderful.  It is back in the same zone as I started out.  And I will get to go on exchanges back to Tübingen!!!!  My first area!!!  I get to see my friend  and her sons again!!!  I am stoked.  Plus all the other members and people that I know there.  I am soooooo excited.

So I should start from the beginning of this week.  We had to finish getting everything ready for the new Sisters in Vienna and get all packed up and everything.  It was a whirlwind cuz we were also meeting with lots of people to say goodbye and try to set up appointments for the new Sisters.  It was crazy.  But we managed to say goodbye to everyone, gain about 10 pounds from all the food, and get the area book and records all set for them.  We also left tons of notes on how to get places as well as where to shop and etc, etc.  It was some work, but we got it done. And we had so many eating appointments that I thought I was going to die.  But now I am better.

So on Thursday we got up and had to have the Elders help us with our bags since we were both leaving.  We left at about 7:30 and headed out on our train at 8.  We then traveled to Munich. Since we were coming into a new area we came to Stuttgart and met with a Senior couple here who checks our apartments.  They had our keys and phone and everything for us.  Also we have Elders in our area so they were helping us out as well.  They have showed us how to get around a little bit and it has been really great.  It was a crazy Thursday.

Since then we have been trying to find our way around, but It isn't too bad since it is small town.  We are both doing pretty well. And we are just trying to find people to teach.  But people here are a lot nicer than in Vienna.  So I am stoked.  They actually stop when you talk to them.  I was so surprised the first time I didn't know what to say. Sister C is amazing and took over.  She is one transfer older than me which I am super glad to be working with her. We get along really well.  She is wonderful.  She is 20 and goes home in December. 

This area is amazing if I haven't said so already.  I love being here.  I will get to go back to Tübingen for a day and see some people and maybe we will go on p-day as well.  I am so excited.  And the ward here is amazing.  We have already met with Bishop and our ward mission leader.  We have a lot of things to do.  We are so excited.  I absolutely love it here.  

Love you all and thanks for all that you are doing at home to further the work.  As well as your love and prayers.

Sister Poll

 Back to Germany!!

Hey everyone. Not sure how long this one will be today since we are
having a super crazy p-day. Last week was really busy. We found 4 new
people and had a lot of lessons. We were so excited and we hope this
momentum keeps up. We have met some really cool people and hope they
continue to meet with the sisters. Which brings me to the big
announcement... I am getting transferred. Again!!!! Whoot whoot! And
so is Sister Kramer! She is headed to Freiburg to be a dritt there.
And I am headed somewhere back in Germany. A letter is heading your
way with where. And there are two new sisters coming to Vienna.We got a call direct
from President on Saturday. It scared us a bit. But it is going to be
amazing. The new sisters are going to bring a new fire to Vienna and
just work it hard! We have been super busy since getting things ready
for the new sisters and writing notes about all of our people as well
as how to get places. My last companion is
going to open up a brand new area in Austria! We are getting bigger in
numbers! And I will spill the beans a bit from my letter. I will also
be opening up a brand new area. White washing! It will be crazy!
So this next week is so busy because we have to finish getting
everything ready before Thursday when we both leave. And we have lots
of appointments to say goodbye to people. It is crazy. I can't believe
that I get to open up a new area!!! I am so excited.
But this past week was so awesome. I love Vienna because there is so
much to do and so many people to talk to. We really had a killer week
this week. And we are so excited for the next Sisters. They have so
much more to work with now because of our hard work. It makes us both
feel really great. We are both sad that we are leaving though. I
honestly thought I would be here for one more transfer and then leave.
But apparently President needs me elsewhere. I can't believe that I have
hit the year mark. It really is crazy how fast it has gone by and all
that I have seen and done. I can't even begin to describe it. It has
been truly amazing. And I get to go and do 6 more months. I am so
excited!
I was thinking today about what I have learned over the past year of
being a missionary. There are so many things and I am still learning.
But I really looked back and realized how much my Savior loves me and
how blessed I am to be a missionary. It has had its hard moments and
there have been some that were not the greatest, but those are the
times that I have learned the most. And I have learned to love my
Savior and make sure that my priorities are where they should be. I am
so grateful to be a missionary and I am so glad that I still have 6
months left to give. And after the mission I hope I never forget the
feeling of loving Gods children and bringing them back to him. Every
member a missionary. I love my brother Jesus Christ and I love the
change you see in someone when they come to the knowledge of he
gospel. I love this Gospel and the teachings in the church. I know
with all my heart that the Church of Jesus Christ is true. The Book of
Mormon is a true book and brings us closer to God than any other book.
I have read it and have a huge testimony of it. I believe in the gift
of tongues and I know the Holy Ghost is always with us when we are
doing what we should. I love you all and thank God every day to have
you in my life. We all have a purpose and we are all his children. I
know it! Hope you all have an amazing week! Pray for opportunities to
share the gospel and then look for them. Thanks for all your prayers
for the people here. We see the difference. Have a great week! Love
you!

Sister Poll