This week was incredibly PACKED. We were full the entire
week. But it was good :-). Monday was P-day followed by dinner with the
Johnsons, Tuesday we Had a meeting with speakers from the European Area
presidency, and Elder Nelson, which was absolutely INCREDIBLE that lasted from
10 till 1. Then after that we had a Zone Training meeting, and then a District
Leader Meeting. When that was over it was 6 pm, which is when the office Elder
came and picked us up to go to the Wilsons for dinner.
Wednesday we were with
back to back appointments all the way through the day, and then Thursday was
Transfer day. Friday we cleaned the church, had weekly planning and were
supposed to have another appointment, but no one was there. :-( So it is I
guess.
Then Saturday we spend the whole day in Deggendorf, just outside of
Passau. It was crazy, I knew it flooded, but I had no idea. One of the
newspaper headlines that I saw referred to it as "Sintflut" which is
the name given in the bible for the flood at Noah's time. I thought it was a bit
exaggerated, but NO. The place where I spent most of my time, nearly ( if not
more) than a kilometer away from the river, had water 13 feet deep, which was
high enough to have a good 1 foot or so standing water ON THE SECOND FLOOR.
They also had an oil leakage and everything was destroyed. We went to assist
unloading a house of all the furniture and everything throwing it into a
garbage pile so when all the water is gone, it can be picked up and disposed
of. WE were up to our knees ( and actually slightly higher) when we started (
haha they gave giant rubber shoe covers to keep my shoes dry, a lot of good
that did... they didn't do anything except fill with water and make me feel
like I was walking around with sopping wet lead clown shoes... ;-)
I LOVE my Deuter though (my backpack). I was able to pack
my scriptures (yes I had them with me) 25 Helping Hands Jerseys, 3 pairs of
gloves, 5 1 liter water bottles as well as keep all watches, wallets and phones
in my backpack. We had to walk one and a half kilometers to where we ended up
helping, and then I tied my backpack to a fence ( I wish I would have taken a
picture of that). But despite all the weight, I was able to quite comfortably
walk around. It is a well built back pack. :-) I highly recommend it to any
missionary preparing to serve. :-) Because I was the only one with the backpack
I was the only one who had my camera, so I ended up taking a lot of pictures.
So I actually have pictures to post! But I am not in many because I ended up
being the camera man... Sorry Mom. ;-)
We had fun while serving and got to know the people well. I
was amazed at how much water there was and how quickly it destroyed everything.
It caused me to be deeply grateful for that which I have, and that in Utah, we
(personally) haven't had any problems with huge natural disasters. Even with
the fires we weren't worried.
It was a really good day, despite it taking up all day, and
then there was me, which had the backpack with everything inside... except
Sunblock. That was horrible, When standing next to Elder Curtis and Elder
Thomas we were talking to Sister Allman when she made the observation that
Elder Thomas looked like Neapolitan ice cream (white face with a bit of pink
and then brown hair, then Elder Curtis who looked like Strawberry Ice cream (some what pink/red) then turned to me and said "and you're a tomato!"
Thanks Sister Allman thanks a lot...;-)I spent most of my time outside the
house dragging large furniture to the pile while others spent more time (or
the entire time) in the house...
Anyway, yesterday was really good We were completely busy,
so busy that we finally were able to eat at 10 pm last night. But it was good.
We had a lesson with Mr. Dodoo and his wife, which went over spectacularly. I
was worried because when I called to confirm the appointment it came to a point
where I had to ask him to grab his bible right then and I used it to teach him
some of the principles so that he would allow us to come. I asked him if he was
willing to meet with us with an open heart, and prepared to hear our message
and ask God if it was true. He said he was and wanted to meet with us, but I
was worried that he would try to bible bash with us in the appointment.
One
Gift God has given me is the ability to memorize scripture very rapidly, to
have a very sharp recall where exactly things are in the scriptures so that I
can use them when the time is right. I am absolutely against bible bashing. I
will NOT do it. Because of this, God has blessed me with this gift of
knowledge, memorization and understanding of the scriptures. And because I am
aware that the reason I have this gift is because I won't bash anyone, I have
an even stronger conviction not to. I am not here to tear anyone down, but
rather to built up, that is something that I have become even more aware of. It
has changed the way that I teach and go about things, there is a way to teach
and to use the scriptures in a building up way, but if they are just looking to
argue, then it is a waste of our time. I would have just gotten up and thanked
him for his time and left, there are better things to do.
Anyway so I was
concerned that he would to bible bash with me. We went there opened with a
prayer and got know him. He was searching for the truth and a place to worship,
but was scared of being deceived or led down the wrong path. We had a great
discussion using a number of scriptures, and it was incredible. He now knows
and understands that as we teach, he is expected to hear what we say, think
about it, and then ask God if it is true. It went VERY well. :-) It was very
uplifting and the spirit was strong. We walked out of the appointment feeling
great. It was an answer to a prayer.
One thing I have been doing recently in my personal study,
is studying Isaiah. And I have been so amazed of how much is in that book. How
many wonderful teachings are to be found in there, which have really changed my
life. There is so much poetic beauty in the words. I have become aware of some
patterns in the book of Isaiah, which have been a strength to me, and are of
great worth to people who I am teaching. I am only in the 43rd or so chapter,
but I am loving it! I started studying Isaiah because of the Saviors remarks
about how great the words of Isaiah are and that we should study them, and the
more that I try to have the spirit and be receptive, the easier it is. Granted,
I am reading it in German, which unlike the English Language has not changed
nearly as much over the past 500 years or so, which makes it so much easier to
understand. But the spirit has also been a great source of knowlege to
me.
Anyway, I am out of time now. I will send some pictures of
the service project, but one thing I do want to end with, is my testimony of
this gospel. I know that this church is true, I know that it is led by God
through a living prophet today. I know that God loves each and everyone of us,
and he wants the very best for us. I am grateful for that love. And for the
time I have to give, to spread it.
I wish you all a great Week!
love,
Elder Ryan K. Christensen
More pictures of the floods:
This about sums it up!
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