Week Number 6! So Many Miracles!

Sorry I'm so late posting Nik's P-day letter to Friends and Family this week.  Our Wi-Fi went out and it took a while to get the problem fixed.  

Well this week has really just been absolutley wonderful. I have definatley seen miracles that can be traced back to everyones prayers and fasting on behalf of people of the Nürnberg and Me and Elder Mcginn.

First miracle, it is P-day, we have 5 appointments today. We usually don't even have 2 appointments on a normal day. So grateful for our ward they are really pulling through for us now. This first transfer I was feeling a little down on occasion because there wasn't really much that would be going on because we were focusing so intently on the ward and the members. That has payed off now. They love us and trust us and they are way more unified. And they are just setting up tons off appointments with us and inviting less active or non member friends. It is a great area and Erlangen is getting ready to explode with growth, I feel it. 

Next miracle, our Bishop is taking us to just fill up our pantry with food. That is really nice of him and we are so thankful for it because we have been eating cereal for a week because we had to blow nearly 200 Euros on Bahn tickets for the upcoming month, hopefully we are reimbursed. Haha but getting some food will be nice ! Haha 

Next big miracle, I have a trademark contacting technique . I made it and it is mine. And no one had faith in it. At night when we have to be back in the apartment I lean out of our kitchen window that look out at the entrance of our building. And I just sit there and just yell out "wie gehts " or whats up to people and try to start a conversation. I have done this with no luck for 6 weeks. 5 days ago a girl stopped and actually had a conversation with me. I gave her our number and she actually texted us and she came to our big church summer party 2 days latter. Her name is Lucky Lisa. 

So life out here is really good, haha. Things are starting to really pick up and I am in love with this area, I know I say it a ton but I hope that I stay here in Bayern the majority of my mish! 

Cool side note, Elder Ogden was called to be a Zone Leader in the Dortmund zone, which is famous for being the most successful zone for a long time and just having crazy good numbers. NOT FOR LONG, HAHAHA. 

Thank you guys for fasting on my behalf I love you all oh so very much!!  The scripture of the week is a good one. 2 nephi 2:25. 25  Adam fiel, damit Menschen sein können, und Menschensind, damit sie Freude haben können.  Adam fell that men might be, men are that they might have joy ! Be happy, it is key in everything. If you have a good outlook on life then you will have a good life. As a man thinketh, so is he. Remember that. Thank you guys for instilling that positive outlook on life inside of me. It really does make a huge difference for me. It has blessed me so much out here. Sometimes stink things happen out here, but really, other than the lady having her face shredded nothing has phased me.

I love you guys so much !! I gotta go get ready for some appointments and shopping! 

Ich liebe Ihr

!

Servus, 

Elder Anderson

A Few Pics Found In The Drop Box

Wish I knew where he took this one.

A goat and a missionary.  Maybe the goat will listen to his message?

Doing a little yard work service project.

Love this kid!  

Hahaha!  Two hungry Missionaries after all that yard work!

Ooops!

Woche nummre fünf.. Ja wohl Schatz!‏

The title means "Week number 5, heck yeah baby!" 

The last week of my first cycle. This has been an amazing first cycle. My comp has been amazing and life has been great! I am happy and that is all that matters. So just a little bit of mission lingo, every cycle is 5 years, where you first serve  is your birthplace. I am so happy I am serving my first cycles out here in Erlangen. Seriously I hope I spend my entire mission in the Bayern area, I love the people and everything out here. So amazing. 

Funny story: So out here in the Bayern area people say Servus as a greeting. It's like hello, but they don't use that anywhere else, cause directly translated it means "slave'. So people are just walking down the street saying "Slave"!! Haha it makes me laugh.

So this week we have had quite a few miracles, one of the really cool ones was meeting with this guy named Mina from Egypt ! We didnt have anything really planned so we were just walking around dropping in on some less actives and some refferals. Mina was a referal and we were lost for years trying to find him. We stopped at a park to sit down to try and find his adress, we finally find the right place and we show up totally unnannounced . He answers the door and we explain thet we were just in the neighorhood and wanted to drop by. He tells us that he literally just got home 1 minute before us and it was a miracle that we got him because he is so busy! He said he was out at a park before and he said his "insides" were telling him to go home. So he went home and we show up 1 minute later. If we hadn't gotten lost and if he had not felt the way he did to go home we never would have met him! So he is our buddy now, he is a refugee\ student and he said he was so gratful for us stopping in cause he feels like he has no friends and he is lonley. So we are working with Mina right now, he is an awesome guy. Shoot up a couple of prayers for this guy, he is awesome and has so much potential! 

Our ward situation is going great, the more and more we meet with them the better things seem to go! We were having a hard time at first but after that world leadership braodcast things are going much smoother and we are actually getting refferals and offers to teach in member homes (we just need to find people that are willing to be taught), haha, but seriously life is grand!

Here is my scripture of the week, I like this one because every Book of Mormon we hand out has this scripture pre marked!! It is Moroni 10: 4-5! 

"And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things."

It is so true, all anyone needs to do is go down in prayer and ask if the things are true and they will get and receive an answer from the Holy Ghost if they are ready! 

I love you guys! You are so awesome! Sorry this week is a little short, I gotta run and get some stuff done!! 

LOVE ELDER ANDERSON!! 

Another Pic

Kyrstin shared with us the pic Nik sent to her on P-Day.  Thanks Kyrstin!

Meine erste Monat hier im Deutschland !! "My first month here in Germany!"‏

The one pic Nik had time to send today.  

Wow oh wow, can you believe that it has been 1 month this week that I have been here in Germany! Time seriously is flying by. Thank you guys, so much, for the praying and fasting that you have done for me thus far. It really does help me out soooo much!! 

So some cool things that have happened this week. WE GOT A PHONE!!!!! Aghh finally, haha. It was so rough meeting people and trying to set up appointments with no phone. We literally prayed daily and called the office daily trying to get a phone. The world has changed now, just like they said in the world leadership broadcast. We are in a digital age and we need to be able to keep up with it. So the phone, wonderful!! Haha, it has been so nice!! 

My companion and I seriously get along so well mit ein andere "with one another" it is such a blessing that I was put with the studly, one and only, Elder McGinn. He is a great kid and a fantastic trainer, the best missionary you will ever meet, but more importantly, he really is such a great friend to me. And I have really needed that out here. I am in a new land "country" (literally that is what they say for country) and I cant speak German all that well yet and missionary life is way harder than I imagined and I get homesick occasionally. But Heavenly Father really loves me and knew that Elder Mcginn would be a homie and  the right guy to train me and get me all adjusted and keep me happy! We are pretty good cooks and we have been living pretty good. He loves ice cream. Dad... a man after your own heart ! Haha , except he is a giant, his arms are the size of my legs. He played football at BYU. He is a smart kid too! So he really has been an amazing companion. Love him! 

Haha, Remember Elder Hawker from the MTC? That kid is still doin well, he is the only one I have stayed in contact with. He was  my best friend from the MTC. Hey says Hi to you guys and Kyrstin and especially Kowhai hahahahaha. He is up in Köln.

Also when did you guys all fast and pray for us exactly? Because I kid you not. People by the dozens have been coming up and talking to us, that doesnt happen!!! And I am sure that there is a definite correlation with the prayers and fasting! Another thing that might be helping is my scripture study, haha. So I've been doing scripture study, but it wasn't as diligent as it could have been, I would space out go get some ice cream and stuff and then keep going about my day not really reading the scriptures with a prayer in my heart to find answers ya know? So I wake up one morning and I'm like, mehhh ill try and really study my scriptures today. So I study my scriptures pray for the people of Germany and then go and just really study. Low and behold, we go out on the street, and this lady runs up to me and asks if I speak Portuguese cause she said I look like I do ...(side note, I have been asked so many times if I am Italian, French, Spanish or Portuguese, haha, the Elders here just decided to call me Alejandro.) ...But back to the story, this lady just runs up to us and asks if I speak Portuguese then in super broken German she asks us where our church is and when because she said she needs God! Then we are on the bus and this drunk guy comes on and starts talking to us and asking questions and then we are at the Hautbahnhof "main train station" and this sketchy skinhead guy comes up to us and says he has messed up his life and he needs God! He asked us for ein bibel "bible" but we didn't have any more Book of Mormons or Bibles on us! Stink! But we are gonna find this guy and give him one! And then later the next day we hop on a bus and these 3 German teenage girls tell us to go sit by them and they beckon us back to sit by them. And at first McGinn and I were like. "no thanks" ( we thought it would be like the other times stuff like this has happened and people in larger groups tell us to come talk to them and they just make fun of us and call us idiots and tell us we are murderers and all this crazy stuff) but finally we go back and they were actually friendly and they listened and we threw down some of that good ole Wahrheit "truth". So with all this good stuff happening I'm like, hmmmmm I should probably study my scriptures this diligently jader tag "every day"!! Also thank you so much for your prayers and fasting I know that we would not be running into people like we do with out your spiritual support back at home!! Tell all the family and loved ones thank you too!! I really do feel so humbled this week by these crazy things happening. I promise you that we could not have done all this stuff by ourselves! Just like our buddy (this is a real guy we met out in Herzo) homeless Steve's hat says, "god is good all the time". I testify that to you. He loves us all and if we strive to come close to him and gain inspiration he will open up your minds, all we gotta do is pray daily and read the scriptures , CTR daily and try to become more like him every day and use the atonement when we slip! I know those sound like the usual primary answers, but it is true. All of it. Just keep it simple and good!! 

So, out here after a geistige gedankt "spiritual thought" we leave everyone with a Verpflichtung "commitment or challenge" so my verpflichtung for you is this. Read your scriptures everyday this week diligently and study them mit gebet "with prayer", then pray for wundern "miracles" or answers to prayers. Anyone who reads this letter, I verpflichtung du "you" to try this out and then let me know the wundern that you  noticed. And just so you know, waking up every morning , being alive and being happy is a wundern. So ja "ya"!! Let me know how this goes! I'm excited to hear back about your experiences and the miracles that you noticed!! 

I love you guys so stinking much! I hope all is well, thank you for the weekly letters and everything, its keeping me sane !! Keep letting me know about everything in your lives and if their is anything in particular I can do for you guys! I hope me throwing in German words didn't throw things off for you guys!! Haha, but its a good way for you guys to learn right !?!  

Well, I gotta go catch a train to downtown Nürnberg so I gotta go, I'll be back later to send some pics and what not!! I love you guys!! 

Also, this weeks standout scripture is Helaman 5:12. remember to build upon Christ. He is our rock, our Lord our Savior and Redeemer! I am really learning to do this while I am out here. Every plan we make and everything we do we are trying to involve unser "our" erlöser "Savior" and the heilige geist "holy ghost" in everything. With them in our companionship, we can not loose! 

Gott bei mit euch bis auf wiedersehen 

" god be with you till we meet again " 

I love you all, thank you for the support! 

Tschüss !  

Love Elder Anderson 

Dritte Woche, Alles Güt!‏

Dear Loved Ones :)

Oh man, this week has been a good one. There have been so many growing experiences this last little while. Things are not all that easy, in fact, sometimes I feel like this is the hardest thing I have done in my life thus far. (some of you reading this will now be able to say "told ya so" haha) But life is not supposed to be easy. Its like, one of my favorite quotes goes, "THE HARDEST STEEL IS MADE IN THE HOTTEST FLAME!" I am out here to serve the people of Deutschland, spread some of that good ole´ Wahrheit, to love everyone and to grow into a better person.  I love it out here and I love the trials I have encountered thus far, they are definitely helping me to change into a far better person. While there are some trials, I don't want you guys to worry at all! Life seriously is so amazing and I am having a fantastic time! 

So, amazing things that have happened this week. Hmmm, well I will start with one thing that for some weird reason really changed my mindset. We were on our way back from our investigator named Monica's house. We were on the bus just chatting when our bus pulls up to a stop. We looked out the window and there was a lady in a wheelchair that had fallen of the curb and fell on her face, she had beer bottles and from where we were it looked like she had thrown up a ton. There were a couple of people helping her so we thought nothing of it, until our bus driver completely stopped and ran off the bus. We got a better look and realized that the puddle of what we thought was throw up was actually blood. So we ran off the bus to see if we could help. When she fell off the curb, she smashed a beer bottle and it just destroyed her face. I now know that I couldn't be an ER doctor because I was trying not to throw up. She had glass in her eye and she literally skinned half of her face. Her head was soaked in blood. We asked if we could help and an ambulance pulled up and took her away. No idea who she is and what happened to her. But I hope that she is OK. Sorry for the gore filled story, but I just thought I would share it because that one moment really changed something inside of me. After that I just felt sick and sad. We didn't really talk at all the rest of the bus ride home. Right after that i just prayed, I can honestly say that I have never prayed for someone as hard in my entire life, as I prayed for that lady right there. I felt so humbled that I couldn't really do anything for her other than pray. In simple terms, it just broke my heart and really humbled me in the weirdest way. It made me think about how fragile life is and how important it is to just love people. When all is said and done, one of the only things we will have left is love. Love everyone. Its Important. After that, and after that prayer I just felt this sort of fire burning inside of me, just wanting to let everyone know how much I love them. God works in mysterious ways. It was not a pretty thing to see,  but it truly changed my heart. I am not out here for me, I'm not out here to get the most Potential Investigators in the mission. I am out here to get closer to my heavenly father and savior Jesus Christ. I'm not really sure how I connected all that stuff in my head just from that one incident. But those are the thoughts and such that I had following that incident. Strangely humbling. 

Another funny story this week happened at the bus stop. So we sat down and had about a 10 min wait. We had some cookies and so I was offering cookies to everyone. No body wanted cookies from the random American kid. It was pretty funny. So everyone eventually got on their buses except for us and this girl. I offer her cookies. No response. Then this older guy comes up, same thing no response. I just start blurting out random things in German trying to start a conversation. I'm just like " hi, my name is Nikora, I come from America" still nothing. Then, since it was hot, I decided to talk about the weather. I say "Ich bin heiß." Boom, that got their attention. they look at me all disgusted, and I am just confused and my comp is just laughing his head off! So they get on their bus and my comp tells me that saying I am hot in German or ich bin heiß is basically saying I am super aroused. Haha so that was pretty funny. When out here I guess you have to say "Es ist bei mir hieß" which means it is hot to me. Tip 1. don't say that you are hot. hahaha

So yeah, this week has really been so great. I am so lucky to have the companion that  have. Elder McGinn is such an awesome trainer and companion. The work is moving forward. The ward situation is going great right now. We got to watch the world leadership meeting. That really really helped out our cause. The ward really kicked in after that. It was awesome and super powerful. I love our ward and that, I think, has been the biggest help for me. They have grown up in a different culture we look at things differently, we can either bump heads or we can love each other and go about doing the lords work to the best of our ability! While I have been out here I have gained a new respect for missionaries and the ward mission leader. I hope you guys really reach out to the missionaries and the WML. In fact I challenge you to reach out to them. You have no idea how much they would love and appreciate that. Also, don't ever be scared to share the gospel. One thing I learned from that Leadership thing was that if you share the good word out of love it can and never will hurt you! 

On the note of member missionary work, we got these numbers from the Mission HQ. These numbers are for our mission:

-if you contact 1000 people on the street 1 will get baptized

-a referral from a member than number goes up to 300 out of 1000

-a friend of a member and the member is present during lessons the number goes up to 600 out of 1000

-and if this friend is taught in the home of a member the number rises to 800 baptisms out of 1000 people.

So just from those numbers you see how important it is to make sure you are just super tight with the ward. That is our biggest focus right now. We are just setting up tons of member appointments to get to know them and gain their trust and hopefully get them to help us out and hop on this giant wave of mission work!

Did I mention our phone situation? Broke our phone, sent it into Frankfurt. Still no phone! Not gonna lie, I am feeling a little handicapped with no phone. We start talking to someone and get their number and then its like, "oh let me text you and set up an appointment with the phone I don't have". Pray that we will get our phone in the mail soon! Haha, Really everything is great out here though. I am happy. Erlangen is suuuuppper cool and the people are amazing.

I love you guys the church is true.

LOVE ELDER NIKORA PHILIP ANDERSON

Gott bei mit euch bis auf wiedersehen !