Specific: Frankfurt Week 5

January 11, 2016

Hello family,

Thank you!

That's so exciting at Austin is getting into rugby. Get him on the pull up bar and doing good conditioning tooo. He'll be taller than me by the time I'm home. I’m praying for you all! (Emily! Hard classes)

Teaching pool. We have done a lot of searching and not much finding lately but this week we're going to have some new investigators. Mr P from Columbia and a few others.

We're making progress, growing as a companionship and getting to know our area well. I feel so good and so healthy with elder Taylor. We eat a lot of brown rice, chicken and other things in tasty ways.

Fun exchanges. I had an awesome exchange with Elder Hoertig last week [DN: From Rancho Santa Margarita]. He is so great, I love Elder Hoertig. He has such great desires and direction and really loves the lord and the people he serves, he's an amazing listener too. Exchange to Darmstadt with him. I took a picture next to the piano in the Darmstadt chapel where everyone lifted where they stood (Uchtdorf).

Overall this week was great. I really learned the importance of doing things in detail, in depth, specifically (however you want to express that thought). Planning very specifically for individuals and the activities that you do. praying specifically for people, for specific blessings and gratitude for specific things. It was good. Planning is so important. Planning your days well is an expression of love and care for the lord and for the people whom we serve.

Sorry I'm not very specific in my emails, I'll work on that!

Love you all,

Hayden

Time Passes Strangely: Frankfurt Week 4

January 4, 2016

Hello!

[DadNote: Hayden is restating some questions before answering]

You are almost at your year mark now!! Is it going by fast or slow! How are you doing with the responsibilities as zone leader? How is the area? I am assuming whenever there new missionaries that arrive that you'll be involved?

What is the weather like right now?  

Time definitely goes really fast, so strange to think that I´m halfway done with my mission... Time passes strangely, it´s nice to look back in the journal sometimes since it gives you a better idea of how much time is passing as well as how you have grown. Often I set so many goals that and it can be hard to realize that I´m progressing, but looking back at journals or old things that I´ve written during language study can be helpful for that.

To be totally honest I feel like as a zone leader I have less responsibility and less direct work/influence as I did as a district leader. I have less splits and most of them are in the same building, I plan a meeting once a month instead of once a week.. It´s different and I like it, change is always fun and invites growth and learning in different ways. Frankfurt is different. It´s so big and so fast and it seems like with big city life people are sometimes faster to say no when you approach them on the street. The apartment is smaller (which is actually a good thing, we had more space than we used in Wetzlar and it was just extra stuff to clean). Elder Taylor and I are both really excited to eat healthy and be fit. The Ward is big and excited about missionary work, excited to teach with us as well. Yep, pretty much whenever new missionaries arrive we´ll probably be involved. We´re on our 5th week here now. Time flies. We´ll have new ones coming in in about a week and a half. The weather is getting cold again. For a couple weeks it was really cold, but in the last 2 or so weeks it´s been warm.

New Years was crazy. Pretty much anyone can buy fireworks. All through the city fireworks go off, like the type that the city will set off, but right next to the balcony, it´s great :)

On Sunday a man from the international Ward accidently came to the German Ward in our building so he stayed and I translated for him. It´s really fun, but at the same time tiring, especially on fast Sunday. In priesthood we talked a lot about goals. I love goals. It´s not about what you do, but who you become as a result of what you do or achieve. Matthew 5:48.  Follow the example of Jesus Christ, become as he is, acquire his attributes and his love.

Love you all!

Hayden

Information added by Dad: Mission Life, Zone/District, Ward

Mission Life: a link to a neat page I found about providing information about mission life

https://www.lds.org/youth/article/mission-life?lang=eng

Some other items I found that help explain the Mission Structure: Mission/Zone/District.  

Organization of missionaries

Missions are organized in two parallel structures. The first is the organization of the missionaries. There are two or more missionaries who serve as assistants to the president (not to be confused with the counselors in the mission presidency). The assistants carry out the direction of the mission president in the organization of the mission, the assigning of companionships and proselyting areas, and oversee the welfare and training of the missionaries. The missionaries are divided into zones, each led by one or more missionaries assigned as zone leaders.^[5] The zones may be geographically large or small depending on the mission. The number of missionaries in a zone also varies widely. The zones are divided into districts, each being led by a missionary assigned as a district leader. A district usually has two to four missionary companionships. The zone leaders and district leaders train the missionaries, see after their welfare, conduct interviews, proselyte together, and share successes. In general, only single male missionaries serve as assistants, zone leaders, and district leaders, except in non-proselyting missions which only contain single female missionaries or missionary couples.
Each missionary companionship has a geographical area which may include part of a ward or branch, one ward or branch, or several wards or branches. The missionaries are responsible for preaching to the people in their own area. In a mission, the ecclesiastical line of authority is from the mission president down to the missionaries. The missionaries answer to the mission president directly, as opposed to the local branch president, bishop, or stake president.

Ward (LDS Church)

In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), a ward is the larger of two types of local congregations, the smaller being a branch. A ward is presided over by a bishop, the equivalent of a pastor in many other Christian denominations. As with all church leadership, the bishop is considered lay clergy and as such is not paid. Two counselors serve with the bishop to help with administrative and spiritual duties of the ward and to preside in the absence of the bishop. Together, these three men constitute the bishopric. A branch is presided over by a branch president who may or may not have one or two counselors, depending on the size of the branch

Thirsting and Conversion: Frankfurt Week 3

December 28, 2015

Mom and Dad,

I´m glad that you enjoyed skyping so much :) Fun to talk with you all and have a little taste of home over here in Germany.

Those lucky missionaries getting spoiled with your cinnamon rolls and morning fun. Funny pictures with Toby there. Thanks again for the gifts, I´m almost done with those trader Joes peanuts already [Honey Roasted].

Star wars, yep, everyone over here is watching it, it´s already in German but lots of Germans will watch in English as well (or only in English, we have a few ward members who work for the translation department of the church, very good English)

The rest of my weekend was good :) The whole week we spent a lot of time with member families which was so much fun! On Saturday night we visited Sistern EH. She is amazing, so sweet and so grateful to have us over. She is 86 and has grown up here in Germany, she had lots of fun stories and told us to call her Oma E. She fed us as well and since Elder Taylor has never had schnitzel E wants to feed him schnitzel and to take us to some sort of exhibit somewhere.

In church this week we talked a little bit about how Jesus Christ offers us living water (from the story with the woman at the well in Samaria). I realized that I haven´t really understood what that means, the type of water that Christ offers. I haven´t understood that because of the part about never thirsting. We read the scriptures, pray, serve others and show love- effectively we do our best to live Christ´s teachings- but it isn´t over after doing it once, not at all. I love the German translation of the Bible where Jesus is talking to Peter and tells him " when though art converted, strengthen thy brethren". In German it is, Wenn du dich wiederbekehrt hast, when you have converted yourself again! Strengthen thy brethren. Conversion isn´t an event, (although events of course can play a significant roll or significantly contribute to conversion, events alone are not conversion) conversion is a process and the changed, converted heart leads us to be different and do different things. Back to living water, the water that Christ gives us is his love, his gospel and the change of conversion. Joy. This may be an event, but the change in us leads to continued action that makes the change last and allows us to continually grow. Praying and reading the scriptures once is not the water that Christ speaks of. We continue to thirst and desire to feast not because we hunger and thirst in the same way, but rather because we want to stay full, to let our conversion last, to continue to abundantly experience the love of God.

I hope that makes sense. I´m grateful for those living waters that Jesus Christ offers us, for the tools of happiness, joy, love and salvation that he offers us.

Have a great week,

Love,

Hayden

Picture taken while Skyping Hayden on Christmas day.