BIg changes….and back to Germany!

Liebe Familie und Freunde,

So many changes!! 

First and foremost I have been transferred! Ja after almost 6 months of being in this wonderful city, I will be leaving my Vienna, and am headed back to Stuttgart Zone to serve in Tübingen ward (Tübingen is about 20 miles southwest of Stuttgart and just on the edge of the Black Forest.  It is in the state of Baden-Württemburg.  It is a beautiful, small-ish university town where 1 out of 10 residents are students.) ! I am SO excited for the opportunity to serve with Sister Wunderli from Hungary, and I will also be serving as Sister Training Leader. That means I help organize exchanges among the sisters in the zone, as well as going to Munich monthly to meet with President and Sister Miles in a Leadership Council. It'll be neat with lots of new adventures! (And also cheap post (mail). One wonderful perk about Germany that I have missed….)

The beauty of Vienna in Spring

Wonderful members in Vienna who I will miss deeply

A new convert in the Vienna 1st ward and her fiance

Sunday we were able to have a special musical evening with one of the investigators in Wien 2 ward. His name is Maxim, he's from Russia, and is a professionally trained opera singer. I attached a couple videos of his performance, given just for the missionaries serving in Vienna.

We had some wonderful member appointments this week where we were able to give one of the missionary lessons, as well as practice our German. Our Vienna 1st ward members are so patient, and it's neat to hear their testimonies and perspectives as we teach. They give great feedback, are excellent German tutors, and also make delicious food.

This week we met with Nicole one last time before I get leave. Sister Green was sick on Friday, and so I went on a split with cute and awesome Sister Friedrichs. It was really funny as we met our joint teach, Isabell Junkarri. She started talking to Sister Friedrichs in English, and then when Sister Friedrichs replied in German Isabell says "Oh! Eine Deutscher!" Es war ganz lustig (Sister Friedrichs is from Germany):) We talked about the Priesthood with Nicole. The room was very still and peaceful as we explained what the Priesthood is, the role of Jesus Christ and the Priesthood when He was on the Earth, and the Resoration of the Priesthood through Joseph Smith. I have never seen Nicole more contemplative when we explained priesthood blessings, and each shared testimony of what it means to us personally. The Spirit was so soft and gentle, and the feeling in the room was the sweetest. I can only compare it to the feeling in the temple when one first walks in. Nicole says she will think about recieving a blessing. Life is very stressful with her 4 children, a part time job, and an almost never present husband to help out. I only shared testimony of what peace and comfort blessings can bring. The tears didn't come during the appointment, but later as I realized I would probably not see Nicole again, they came. She is such a special woman, and I am so humbled and grateful for the chance I had to teach and get to know her. This woman is one of the strongest and most incredible I have ever met, and I KNOW God has big plans for her.

Yesterday, Sunday, was an emotional rollercoaster. I cried throughout my goodbye testimony and on into the Sacrament meeting. Saying goodbye was pretty emotionally draining. This ward has been just like a family to me, and serving here in Vienna during a time in my development as a missionary has left a prominent mark in my heart. I have made many close and wonderful friendships while here. In addition to that, I have learned a lot as I have served here: it was here that I improved so much in all areas of missionary work. How grateful I am for the opportunity I had to serve in such a spectacular ward! As a complete surprise, Nicole came for Sacrament Meeting, even though she had plans to be with her aging grandmother that day, just to give me a hug and say goodbye. That alone made my day yesterday so much sweeter and worth it.

I'm now considered an "older missionary".....yikes. Ten months on the mission is quite a bit of time to figure things out and learn, although each new transfer makes me feel like a golden all over again. One of my favorite songs says "I will step into the fire so your love can purify me, and I will stay until You say I am through. Wash away all the flaws and every imperfection, until my will turns to You..." This mission has most definitely been one of those fires!! Highs, lows, and everywhere in-between, I have definitely begun to understand the meaning of humility, prayer, and the most important of all, Faith. We're made new through experiences that we perhaps did not expect or want to encounter. How grateful I am that I can enjoy the sweetness and joy of the Atonement each day as I kneel in prayer, and report to Heavenly Father how I did that day. I have pledged to give my best, and I've taken upon myself the priviledge of His name. I will always give my best. How grateful I am for my Savior Jesus Christ, and that because of Him I can continue forward and be made new.

Have a great week my dearest loved ones!! ENJOY GENERAL CONFERENCE -- I sure will! I am so excited to hear what you all learned!!

Ganz liebe Grüße,

Sister Natalie Hannah Motto

"What. A. Week. Blessings come after a trial of your faith."

Dearest Family and Friends,

What. A. Week. By far one of the busiest and most interesting of my entire mission, but also a testimony that when we work hard, we are blessed, even though we may not be able to reap the fruits right after planting the seeds.

On Tuesday we had a really funny experience with our investigator Clara. After our district meeting, we took one hour as a district to go through our area books and do a little "clean out." One of our Zone Leaders, Elder Botcherby, was there, and he gave Sister Green and I a record that belongs in our area. Turns out to be the record for our investigator Clara, with whom we set a baptismal date for April 20. After reading through her record, we found out that Clara has had EIGHTEEN baptismal dates with various missionaries in different wards over the past 10 years, and even filled out a baptismal record. There have been 3 too many times where the font was filled and people in attendance at the baptism, but Clara never showed up. WELL, being the 19th and the LAST baptismal date to be set, after much prayer and talking, Sister Green and I decided to drop Clara, and focus our energy elsewhere. When she truly is ready for baptism, we explained to her that she is more than welcome to meet with Bischof Soucek and talk things out with him.

Wednesday we met with Natasha, a woman we called up two weeks ago and gave her a Book of Mormon. During our lesson (which went really well, by the way!), Natasha recieved a text message. After reading it, she paused, and then excitedly looked at us and said "I can tell you now! My nephew has just been elected as the President of Serbia!" Well, we were most definitely surprised at that news, and because she was so excited, we ended our appointment a little bit early. We ate Croatian oranges and listened to Bosnian folk music, and then commited her to read in Alma 32. Natasha is a really sweet lady, but has a lot of energy and not a very large attention span because she loves to talk, talk, talk! We invited her to dinner with a member, Angela, who is from Croatia, and we are hoping they make a good bond, having so many similarities.

Thursday we went once again all the way to Laa an der Thaya to help Familie Kaindel in a service project. The Kaindels own 3 homes and are preparing two of them to sell, but the yards were Austrian jungles. The Elders and Sister Green and I labored diligently for 5 long hours in the welcome, warm sunshine, and got a lot done! My weak missionary arms were sore for the next couple days, but as I told Sister Green, the first day of spring isn't complete without yard work! (I felt right at home -- reminds me of those many spring days working with Dad, Mom and even Papa in our yard) ! It felt really good to get down in the dirt and get my fingernails dirty! The Kaindels were so grateful, and they came to church yesterday for the first time in six months just to say thank you! I talked with Brother Kaindel after, and he said each time he looks at the work we did for him, he begins to cry. He also felt so good to be back at church, and he said he and his wife will make the two hour drive sacrifice to come back again next week, and the week after, and the week after. Now doesn't that just bring a warm fuzzy into your heart?

Friday we met with two potentials, Bashir and Alena. Consequently, the both of them wanted to meet at Stephan's Platz, and their appointments were within just an hour of each other. Our meeting with Bashir was excellent, and outside of giving him a Spanish Book of Mormon instead of a French one, we had a great meeting and look forward to our next appointment Tuesday.

As we waited to Alena in front of Stephansdom, enjoying the beautiful springtime weather, I heard "SISTERS!!" (You always know that mormons are in the neighborhood when you hear that) and turn to see 4 people rush toward Sister Green and I. Two of them, Elder and Sister Nye, were a missionary couple serving in the Czech-Slovak mission, and were visiting Vienna with their daughter and her husband for a day. We had a great discussion with the Nye's, and as we talked we felt so encouraged and supported. It was comforting to me to realize that no matter where we go in the world, we are known by members and nonmembers a like, and to have that support as a full-time missionary is priceless. 

Our appointment with Alena was somewhat of a flop.....she is from Slovakia, and it was neat to talk to her about my ancestors from there. She even recognized the name Matta as a Slovakian name! However, Alena said she wanted to meet with us in person to tell us she did not have interest, than doing it on the phone, because she felt like it was more polite. At least it was a face-to-face break up -- a little rare nowadays but nonetheless effective and she was really sweet about it.

Friday evening we were able to attend the Relief Soceity party for the anniversary of the Relief Society! Sister Green and I made brownies and gave a short presentation on the RS in the USA, what kind of activities we do, etc. It was so neat, and the sisters LOVED the pictures of and the letter from the Lindon 21st ward sisters!

Saturday we experienced small but mighty miracles as we participated in a new Vienna Zone activity called "Power Hour". From 3-4 pm each Saturday, all the missionaries in our Zone (close to 30 missionaries) will dedicate that hour strictly to finding. We called members before and asked them to pray for us as we were out during this power hour. Sister Green and I saw miracles! Each person we talked to in this hour, which was close to 15, we had a really good discussion about the Gospel with. We found a new potential investigator named Sunny, and will be meeting next week! Although we may have not set 5 baptismal dates and found 20 new investigators, Sister Green and I went home feeling SO GOOD in knowing that we worked really hard and it payed off.

This week I felt so incredibly blessed, and really felt the support of prayers and thoughts as I went about each day. My testimony of faith has also grown a lot this week. Sometimes we hit personal "ruts", or low points where we get discouraged and occasionally very beat down by the winds of the adversary. But as we continually hold fast to our ultimate source of strength, prayer and our Savior Jesus Christ, even when at first the burden doesn't seem to be lightened, the light and relief will surely come. Awareness of our weaknesses and shortcomings is not something that bring us down, in fact it should build us up, in knowing that we are not perfect and that we can indeed improve! How even more grateful I am for my loving Savior Jesus Christ, and for His Atonement, that I can repent and be made better.

I love you, pray for you, and wish you all the best this next week!

Liebe Grüße,
Sister Natalie Motto

Let Virtue Garnish Thy Thoughts….and OOPS…we did it AGAIN!!!!

Hallo Familie und Freunde!!

Greetings from a bright, sunny and really WARM and springlike Vienna, Austria! (It was a bad idea to wear boots and tights today, that's how warm it is!)  Experiencing Vienna in Spring brings on a whole new meaning to the world heavenly.  Today we're headed off to explore the catacombs at Stephan's dome....how awesome is that?!

This week was really fantastic. We had Zone Training on Tuesday and Sister Allman (one of my mom's close friends daughter!) and I had Austausch directly after. Sister Allman has been on her mission for over a year, and before her mission did study abroad with BYU here in Vienna. (We actually met before the mission at the Study Abroad Orientation back in October 2012, and we talked for the whole 2 hours! Little did I know we would end up being in the same mission and would have the chance to work together!  Sister Allman's aunt is also a close friend of my moms..Kathleen Covey!!) Sister Allman is a fiesty, energetic missionary who is compassionate, loving, and very down to earth. We worked SO well together!! We took a special dinner break, got some seafood from Nordsee, and enjoyed shrimp and potatoes in front of the Opera House. (Perks of being with Sister Allman, who during study abroad found some great secret places here in Vienna!) We talked and talked and talked and TALKED. We met some super cool people, made appointments for this week, and then talked and talked some more. I think we talked the entire Austausch. :) It is always fun to work with other sisters, to get their ideas and learn different skills in day to day missionary work.

SINGING Toilets in Vienna!!!! Everything is so musical here…..

I LOVED working with Sister Allman!!!

Friday we met with Nicole again. We taught a lesson on Captain Moroni, and even made a Banner der Freiheit (Title of Liberty). For a change Nicole was late to her own appointment, and was a little flustered from just picking up Davin from school. A young newlywed couple in our ward, Anna and Emmanuel, came as our joint teaches. It was really neat to see how, after Emmanuel gave the opening prayer, the Spirit came into the room, the kids settled down, and we were able to read the story in Alma 48. From my hairline down to my toes, a warm sensation buzzed in my body as we read Alma 48:17, where we read what kind of man Moroni was. Davin took off his shirt and waved around our handmade Title of Liberty and would shout "Ich bin Maroni! Ich bin Maroni!" (Maroni is a type of food found here in Vienna, a nut-sort of warm treat.) We got a great laugh out of it, and Nicole loved the story. She shared an experience where, after we sent her her daily text message with a scripture, she kept reading, and read the entire chapter we assigned her!! Nicole seemed to burst when she said she felt so good when she did that, and she want us to assign her chapters to read now instead of verses. We didn't want to push her or overwhelm her with reading, and although we wanted it to be consisent, we are so proud of her and the progress she is making. I have a firm belief that she will be baptized in the near future. Her marital situation is still not the best, but I know God will provide a way for Nicole to make that covenant, especially as she continues to fast and pray for it.

UH OH.."it" happened:   Sister Green and I got separated AGAIN on the bahn (train) this week!!  AARGH! We were on the Strassenbahn coming home from the Young Adult Center, and I got off one Strassenbahn to get on to another strassenbahn line which would take us right home. It took me awhile to realize that Sister Green did NOT get off the bahn with me and kept riding it for 3 whole stops!! It was super crowded and I thought she was behind me. I went to the nearest call shop, called our phone, where a paniked Sister Green says "I'M SO SORRY BUT I GAVE SOMEBODY A BOOK OF MORMON PLEASE DON'T BE MAD AT ME!" Such a testimony that the Lord watches out for us: I was blessed with comfort and patience as we were separated all the while my wonderful comp Sister Green gave somebody a Book of Mormon.

Tuesday we had Zone Training, and our main topic of discussion was that of VIRTUE. Virtue means that we are clean and worthy, in thought and in deed, but also Virtue means that we are not prideful. Virtue means that we are repentant and meek, that we always seek after "that which is praiseworthy and of good report." (Article of Faith 13). Before my mission, virtue was something that I learned about in Young Women's, and had to do a 10 hour project for. But being a full-time missionary, I have coem to learn that we cannot go a day without virtue. When we are not having clean, righteous, UPLIFTING thoughts, our work is behindert. Who would have ever thought that virtue also means being Positive?....GOOD TO KNOW, huh???

I am so grateful for the support and love I get from each and every one of you. Almost 10 months out in the field, and not a day has gone by or has gone by that I forget to kneel in prayer of gratitude for the marvelous support team I have. I have been so blessed with stalwart and righteous friends, a loyal and loving and eternal family, and incredible, supportive ward members. I love you all so dearly, and from the very bottom of my heart I thank you for all that each of you have done to make my mission experience a little easier and more rewarding. I love you!!

Have a FANTASTIC week!

Liebe Grüße,
Sister Natalie Hannah Motto

"I have no idea what they are saying…."

"Sister Green, where is the my dictionary? No idea here."