Week 12- September 28, 2017 Last Week Being Trained!!

Haalloooo:)

Man, it was a fun week this week! AND MY LAST WEEK BEING TRAINED! I can't believe the transfer is already over. September went by so fast. 

Last Saturday, we were able to do some finding. I met this way cool guy named Patrick from South Sudan in Africa and he is the coolest guy I've probably ever met. He has a crazy life story and his two young boys and wife are still in Africa but he was able to get out of there. He said he was trained how to kill since he's been 7 so he shared some crazy stories with me. His faith in Jesus Christ and God's plan is awesome. He fasts twice a week for his family and prays all the time for them! I've never met such a nice and humble guy in my life. We are going to meet with him this next week and talk more about the Book of Mormon. I could write forever about him but I won't. I hope we have a solid lesson with him this week. 

On Sunday, we went to our member's apartment for dinner! They are so awesome and they both served missions. Georg served in Hungry and his wife served in St. George as a visitor's center Sister that could speak German and Armenian! She served in Kanab for a while too and knows everyone down there. She said she knew my grandparents too so that was cool. We are the first missionaries that they had over in their little family's life so it was an amazing experience. We had a fun little spiritual thought then talked a lot about missions. They're awesome! They got married Sept. 1st I believe!

This week, we had a bunch of fun lessons and good success finding! One thing that was so cool was when we were walking home one night and there was a middle-aged man stumbling on the ground (he had a few too many drinks, it's Oktoberfest here so the parties are starting) and Elder Golden just ran and helped him up and dusted him off. It was the coolest thing because I didn't see him so I just saw Elder Golden go over after him. Just before that, we were talking about charity while we were walking and then boom! It was a real testimony builder for me. Even the smallest acts of love and charity are some of the most profound. 

On Tuesday, I was on a split with Elder Guymon and we taught 3 lessons. We were popping all around and teaching people. It was so much fun! One of the guys is 22 and progressing really well! At the end of the lesson, I asked if he would close for us with a prayer and at first he was so scared but then he said such an amazing prayer and asked Heavenly Father to help him know if this church is the true church. Coolest experience ever!! It's always fun to work in new areas and serve around other missionaries and learn from them. 

Yesterday was a weird one... We had district meeting and then came back and did some studies. We were on our way to an appointment and it fell out so we did some dooring and that wasn't working so we came back to our fussganger for some contacting and I ran into my dude, Patrick, and a few other people that I was able to get some appointments set up for this next week!

Then on the way home, we got offered some weed:) fun stuff

Love you all thanks for the emails during the week! 

Some cool scripts this week:

Ether 12-26-28

"And when I had said this, the Lord spake unto me, saying: Fools mock , but they shall mourn; and my grace is sufficient for the meek, that they shall take no advantage of your weakness; 

And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness . I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto... 

Behold, I will show unto the Gentiles their weakness, and I will show unto them that faith, hope, and charity bringeth unto me—the fountain of all righteousness."

Moroni 7:13

"But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good , and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God."

Moroni 8:13

"Wherefore, if little children could not be saved without baptism, these must have gone to an endless hell."

" pic of me emptying a leftover beer keg left on a cigarette dispenser (welcome to Germany)"

"Elder Golden and I with our homie, Noah, from the ward"

"Us and the Portuguese family in our ward"

"Our investigator, Jaoquim"

"Tried brightening up our comp study"

Week 11- September 21, 2017

Hey everyone! 

These weeks sure go by fast!! I only have one week of being trained left!

This week was great we had 4 member appointments and taught some way fun lessons and, as always, a lot of contacting:)

On Sunday after church, the Franks had us over for dinner. I wish I took a picture with them! Brother Frank is such a cool guy. He really wants to bring his family to Utah when I get back from my mission. He was like "Elder Rothwell, we are coming to Utah when you're home and you're going to show me how to shoot guns and all that fun stuff." We had a great spiritual thought about noticing blessings and how we can show gratitude for what God does for us on a daily basis. 

On Monday, we had Zone Conference in Offenbach and it was really good. We talked a lot about the First Vision and the Book of Mormon and how we can better help our investigators have a strong testimony of them. After that, we went to the Reimer family's house for dinner. This family is so awesome! The oldest son doesn't like coming to church so much and the dad works most Sunday's but they are a way good family. The younger son, Jason, is a homie! He loves/plays American football and he wants to serve a mission and then be a police here, in Germany. Hahahaha the mom was like, "Your companion is Elder Golden Retriever and you're Elder Rottweiler." It was pretty funny!

On Tuesday, we had a lesson with a guy who loveeesss his Koran(Islam holy book). It was a hard lesson for me because usually the Muslims just try and teach us the whole time and that's exactly what he did but he was a way nice guy. I just wish he would at least give the BOM a shot! Later, we had a lesson with Brother Behzad, the less active, and it was really good! We read Mosiah 2-3 with him and he said, "I will be at church this week, guys. I really need it." So hopefully he comes!

Also a funny story on Tuesday... We were at the train station waiting for our train and we talked to this guy and he only spoke French. We were trying to help him figure out where he was going. We finally gave him our phone so he could call someone who spoke German or English so his son over the phone translated for us and we got him on his way. The guy was sooo happy because we helped him so he was like here is some money and we said we are sorry but we can't accept money and so he just digs in his bag and pulls out a big, white wine bottle and I just look at my comp and he's like oh man, Elder Rothwell, I feel so bad we better take it. He's just trying to be nice and show his gratitude. So low and behold... now I have a bottle of white wine on my desk.... hahaha nicest man ever honestly. 

Yesterday, we had a good lesson with Bruder Klein and he said he will be at church as well this week. We also had a good lesson with Jaoquim! He has kind of been halting his progress so pray for Jaoquim!!!

This week was awesome. There were experiences and people we talked to and taught and all the members that had us over and fed us. This week re-confirmed so much to me about  coming back on a mission. I freaking love the work of the Lord. It's so much fun. At times, it is really hard but it's a great feeling at the end of the day, knowing that you did your best trying to bring others to Christ by sharing his message. I have felt super blessed this past week :)

Haha of also last night, Elder Golden asked me to cut his hair. I've never done it before but we have a buzzer thing here and it actually looks pretty darn good if I say so myself:)

Love you all. Thanks a ton for the letters and messages through out the week! Have yourselves an amazing week. 

We heading to Frankfurt again today to try and shop and catch the car show. Hopefully it is cheaper this week! Tschüss

John 3:16

"For God so loved the world , that he gave his only begotten Son , that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

2 Nephi 31:20

"Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope , and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life. "

Alma 7:16

"And whosoever doeth this, and keepeth the commandments of God from thenceforth, the same will remember that I say unto him, yea, he will remember that I have said unto him, he shall have eternal life, according to the testimony of the Holy Spirit, which testifieth in me."

 Elder Rothwell and Elder Golden with the Reimer family

"Elder Golden and I trying to be dope"

"Our French friend with some dränk"

Before our lesson with the marked up Koran

Week 10 - September 13, 2017

Sup! It was a dope week here in the Father Land of Germany. 

Just to clear some stuff up from last week, I didn't leave my companion exactly, I could see him but I was contacting alone. Also, the Yankees video was a video my mom took. I ain't out here watching sports videos..... 

Aside from that, this week was sick! I set some mission goals for myself this week and I'll tell you what! Setting goals is something I've never done but since setting a few mission goals, weekly goals and then daily goals, I've seen much improvement in my missionary work. I really encourage goal setting! It helps keep you accountable to yourself and the Lord. 

We have been finding a ton of people this week and met some really cool people and some solid potential investigators! Hopefully this next week, we can get them all some Book of Mormons and teach more lessons! While I was talking to a guy before we hopped on a bus, Sister Shelley snagged a photo of me talking to him. He works for the US army as a translator and lives here in Germany. He seemed super interested in the Gospel and I hope it pans out all good. 

On Tuesday, we had a split and I was able to bring Elder Neighbor here in Hanau. He is a brand new missionary only been out a few weeks but we had a blast! He is from Parawon, Utah and his dad and brothers have all been cops and highway patrolman in southern Utah so I'm sure my mom and her family know them. He was a wrestler in high school and did like 2 plays and after that, schools all over have offered him and he has been asked to be on Broadway! Such an interesting kid but we worked hard together and hit some high goals we set! He is super bold in talking to people even though his German is not so great but I was way impressed. I loved it. 

We were dooring a big building that I found and right after we hit our goal of potential investigators, he was stoked! About two doors after we got the goal, I was talking with a guy and I couldn't even finish my sentence before he just slammed the door. It was Elder Neighbor's first door slammed in his face so he was shocked but I was so mad. I just stood there and the guy kept opening his door and looking through his peep hole so I just kinda stated saying some probing questions to him and then he called the police on us. I was so mad! Luckily, we finished the next couple floors and left. I don't know if the police showed up or not but it was a fun experience to say the least! Hopefully I can get a picture from Elder Neighbor that we took on top of this building. 

I also learned a ton this week about having humility and charity. The next day, Elder Neighbor was like, "Elder Rothwell, I know you were so mad about that guy yesterday but let's pray for him because maybe he's who needs it most" and I was like "shoot you're right man." He taught me a way cool lesson on loving people even when it is hard to.

Today, we are heading to Frankfurt again and I freaking love it there. They have the biggest car show in the world going on right now! We are going to go check it out!

Love you all! Set some goals for yourself this week and of course don't forget the Book of Mormon!

Some stuff I loved this week:

Ether 12:27

"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness . I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto... "

Alma 38:14

"Do not say: O God, I thank thee that we are better than our brethren; but rather say: O Lord, forgive my unworthiness , and remember my brethren in mercy—yea, acknowledge your unworthiness before God at all times. "

Enos 1:12

"And it came to pass that after I had prayed and labored with all diligence, the Lord said unto me: I will grant unto thee according to thy desires , because of thy faith. "

*Car show was too expensive this week. Maybe next week. Here are some pics from Frankfurt today**

Week 9 - September 7, 2017

Friends and family, how are y'all doin!? Thanks for the letters and notes this week. Always fun to read during the week. Also thanks, mom, for the packages hahaha!!

It was a good week! 

On Saturday, we had a ward service project. It cracks me up because Germans are like, "Yeah, it's nothing... it's just some gardening." Hahaha noooo!!! We were at the Schalk's house for 5 hours! I think we cut down a total of 6 full grown 15+ft trees and hedging her hedges and pulling I don't know how many thorn bushes out. It was a blast though. I walked away with a few bloody scrapes and some tired arms but it was fun! This ward is hilarious  I'll send some pics and videos. The man hacking wood is Bishop Wagner. 

On Sunday, we hit it hard with our investigator about his smoking problem. It is the only thing keeping him from being baptized! Pray for Jaoquim!!! He really wants to stop and knows he needs to it's just hard for him especially because he lives alone. We are hoping he is ready to be baptized by the end of this month! My man, Roland, asked us to come over after church and help him move some stuff because he broke a rib this week then he asked me to give him a blessing. I was like, "oh crap how do I do this in German!?" but the blessing was awesome I felt the spirit so strong and my German was just able to flow. The gift of tongues is so real. Just like anything else, when we ask God for a blessing and do all we can on our end to receive that blessing, that is when we see him really work his magic for us. 

Yesterday was a hard day for me. We met with the Kleins and had a good lesson and then had to do some finding for a while and long story short I just went contacting on my own for about 2 hours while my comp was doing his thing on a bench or something. But I just prayed and I know I always have the Holy Ghost by my side so I was able to talk to a lot of people and get some contacts.  

 I'm truly starting to love these people. They're just stuck in the "traditions of their fathers" just like the Lamanites in the Book of Mormon. So we as a mission have been focusing on the younger generations trying to change that. 

Something I loved this week was reading President Monson's talk "Have I done any good in the world today?" Sometimes I get selfish out here or tired but that talk this week has really motivated me because, at the end of the day, it's about leaving something or someone or anything better than how you found them.  Whether that be serving someone or just saying hi or reaching out to someone. 

Love you all! Have a good week!

Oh! I also cooked a cheesecake for the ward competition and then got that snazzy small bag for myself for a whole 6euro :)

Go Yankees as well️ my boy Aaron Judge launching homers!

Did an escape room for p day today in gießen haha it was alright