"This Work is Tough Stuff but It Bring So Much Joy"

Dearest Family and Friends,

This week was very.....spannend (exciting). It started off last Pday getting hit with some sort of ridiculous torrential downpour after a very hot and humid week. We were with our Tübingen Elders, Elders Byers and Nelson, and went to visit a less active man in our ward together. On the way home from his appointment is when the rain and thunderstorm really hit, and with no other source of transportation home, the 4 of us braved the 20 minute walk back to the train station. We were already pretty wet when a car driving up to the 4 of us sped up and went right through a puddle. The four of us were then COMPLETELY soaked!!! We all got a great laugh out of it, and at least it was the end of our day. We thought of perhaps what the driver was thinking "Yes! 4-in-1 Mormon missionaries!"

This week I was able to do splits again with my wonderful friend Sister Winters!! After a really great Zone Training meeting on humility and prayer, we headed south to Tübingen. Upon our arrival we needed to burn a CD for a project we are doing for a less active (remember Valeria's story of writing the Royal Family? We finally finished the letter.) and overheard a man speaking American english. It was almost automatic how fast Sister Winters and I turned to him and said "So, where ya from?" Sean is from New York, works for the army, lives near Stuttgart, and has MISSIONARY FRIENDS serving in Poland and (previously in) Ukraine!!! We talked to him for about 30 minutes, right there in the internet shop, and afterward Sean asked for the church address in Stuttgart so he could come and get an idea for "exactly what his friends believe". It was so neat!! (A taste of what it would be like to serve in the USA!)

We met again with Marion this week. We went with our cute Young Women's leader Schwester Häring, and taught Marion the beginning parts of the Restoration. We talked a lot about prayer and how we get answers- through the gift of the Holy Ghost. Marion was so touched and kept saying she had a wonderful feeling in her heart. We're taking her for a tour of our church building this Thursday and again with Schwester Häring will finish teaching the Restoration. Sadly Christina was not able to be present, but we are meeting with her tonight.

We also met with the Elders' investigator Pia, a sassy and clever Yorkshire Brit whose mother was a member of the Church. Pia's relationship with her mother was incredibly strong, and when Pia's mom died last February, she wanted to know a little more about what her mother believed. So she turned, just as Elder Nelson said in General Conference, to the missionaries. We had an English breakfast together, complete with beautiful blue and white china and Caro. We talked a lot about answers to prayers, the Restoration, and how we get answers to prayers. At the end of the appointment we all prayed together on our knees, Pia offered the prayer. Afterward she grabbed her heart and said "I guess Mum was right!" We're going again with the Elders Wednesday (upon Pia's request) to see if she prayed about the Book of Mormon, and hopefully to set a baptismal date!!

This week I've been studying a lot about answers to prayers, particularly after our mission's focus on prayer and after Pia's appointment. In my personal study of the Book of Mormon, having just finished the chapters in 1 Nephi and getting on into the stories such as Enos, I began to reflect on how I receive personal revelation.The Lord knows us perfectly, and already knows what is there, but let's all remember how important and what a treasured time it is to spend one-on-one time with Him in prayer. Day and night. Let it become your LIFELINE.

I love what President Kimball says,

The blessing of revelation is one that all should seek for. Righteous men  and women find that they have the spirit of revelation to direct their families and to aid them in their other responsibilities. But … we must seek to qualify for such revelation by setting our lives in order and by becoming acquainted with the Lord through frequent and regular conversations with him...Remember: If there be eyes to see, there will be visions to inspire. If there be ears to hear, there will be revelations to experience. If there be hearts which can understand, know this: that the exalting truths of Christ’s gospel will no longer be hidden and mysterious, and all earnest seekers may know God and his program.

It is my testimony that God hears us! He hears us and answers us because He loves us. There can be no other explanation!!

I love being a missionary. This work is tough stuff. But it has brought me so much inexplicable joy, that I cannot imagine my life without such a gift as my mission. I haven't been perfect, but I've given it all I've got. I am so grateful for this Gospel and for the testimony that HE LIVES!!

I love you all!! Have a magnificent week!!

Your Little "Alpine Miss"

Sister Natalie Motto