Week 39: Week 9 in Zollikofen: Met the Kohlers-iPads, the 4th, and Busy, Good and HAPPY!

Where to even start. Such a good and happy week :)

First of all. Switzerland has BY FAR the BEST thunderstorms and rainstorms!!!! It has gewittert every night this week. And right now.. the church is shaking. It's marvelous. 

They came to Zürich and we had 2-zone meeting.
It was really good.

I guess I'll just start with the coolest part of this week, and that is the arrival of the 4 coolest, and most loving people ever: THE KOHLERS! That's right! They're here!! President Kohler is WONDERFUL. Seriously. So young, so cool, and SO perfect for this calling. It's really cool cause you know that they are all scared out of their whits to be here. They're so real with it all. President made it very clear that his family took priority and things are going to have to change a little from how President Miles did it. Totally fine! Totally cool! He said there could be times when he takes off his tag and goes swimming with his kids. Cool. And he has such good ideas and thoughts for things here. And the best? He's not changing much from President Miles. Which is good, cause he was wonderful. But he is going to put a spin on things... a Kohler touch.

Now. The rest of the family.

Sister Kohler. She is so LIEB!!!!! (Loving, or something in English). She's so terrified of being here. But she's really prepared herself. Her whole life, not just the last 10 months. She even took German at BYU to prepare :) She bore us her testimony and is was pretty much flawless. Simple, but really good. And she is so talented! I think it is a rule that Mission Presidents have to be musically talented. 

Now, their oldest daughter, who's name I have forgotten, is serving a mission in Tokyo Japan and will be getting home, which is now Münich, the same month as me! She's cool. And they have iPads in her mission (more on that later :D)

Tanner: 16. And cool. He's a bad guy, but the coolest band guy ever. He plays the trumpet and is really good. They did a musical number for us. He's the most excited to be here. He thinks it's the coolest ever. And he's going to leave on his mission from here. So that's also a really cool thing. Always getting to be with missionaries.

Erica: 13. Seriously, so cute. I think she's the most grown up 13 year old that I know. And she loves her brother soooo much. It's wonderful to see. I just had to hug her! She reminds me of Bree. Super thin, gorgeous, and so cute. Just... yes. Wonderful.

So. This is going to be a good ride for us all. A really good way to just... start over. Every  missionary (if they need one), has a fresh start with a totally new person. And he's really great. I really look forward to working under him for the next 9 months of my mission.

And another REALLY cool part of this conference, was that we just got news that all of Western Europe will have iPad's by the end of 2014! That means us! And we just have to buy them:) and then we keep them after our missions! Way better than a bike... way better. Can't wait to get my hands on that. Life as a missionary will be way, way easier... well. As easy as a mission can get ;)

All in all, I'm really excited to work with them and see how things will go for the next 9 months.. only 9 :(

Now something not so great about the week. 

Well no. It was really good, but also really not so good.

We were in a lesson with Anton, and new investigator as of.. 2 weeks ago? He's really receptive to the things we tell him and he told us he knew the Book of Mormon was true after us just telling him about it. Okay. Cool. We took the Elders with us cause we needed a joint teach and it's easiest when we just bring them. Good thing we did, too. We got to his apartment and I asked him how he was doing. He told us that it wasn't going so well for him right now cause he's in a lot of pain.

Turns out, he's got something really similar to what dad had last year (BG: Microdisectomy sugery for herniated L4L5 disks-Tiger Woods had the same thing-he's still a better golfer than me) . The last three spinal bones have grown together, but after the stuff in between has been pushed out. Yeah, I'm trying not to throw up just typing about it. But anyway, I kept thinking back to dad last year, and it was horrible. Just remembering the pain and the tears, and the crying, and the screaming of those 6 weeks. It was really hard for me to even hear about it. I don't know how he was just.. sitting there. He's had that for 4 years, too.

The good part of this lesson: the elders gave him a Priesthood blessing and he was crying and said he could really feel God's love for him. I bore powerful testimony of the Priesthood and started to teach. I have been praying to have more powerful lessons and to be more bold about what I'm sharing, and I really felt it the first time in this lesson. I just.. bore testimony, and stared him straight in the eye.

As Sister Wüst was speaking, he seized up in a LOT of pain. I was having flashbacks. No need to detail... you all know what I'm talking about. I was like... trying not to cry on the couch. We had no idea what to do. Luckily he pressed his emergency button and the nurses came, but... man. It was really bad. And he won't get surgery cause there's a 95% chance he'll be in a wheelchair. My gosh. Just DO IT. 

Another cool story about bearing powerful testimony:

We went by on a... what's it called... a past investigator. I don't remember how to speak right now. Any who. We've been by on her a few times and she just pretends she's not home. I had had ENOUGH of this, so we prayed, then rang the bell. I put my finger over the peephole so she couldn't pretend she wasn't there. They were speaking Portuguese on the other side of the door, so she was clearly at home. I took my finger off the hole and plastered the biggest "I'm so happy to be here" smile i had on my face. She opened the door. 

Went right into telling us that she was just about to go out to by her daughter new shoes cause she had NONE without holes. Mind you, it was 6.30 and all the shops are already closed at that time, as I'm looking at her perfectly good shoes on her feet. Okay. 

She told us she wasn't interested. This is where I was just... no. I just told her that was too bad cause there are things we have to do in this life to return to the Fathers presence. She just was like... yeah, you have your beliefs and I have mine. 

Just to make this long story short, I pretty much just told her how it was. Really powerfully and blankly. I told her the Book of Mormon IS true. No questions asked. 

She told me that she had read it and God told her it wasn't. Mmmhmmm. 

She told us that her main problem with what we believe is that we think that what Eve did by eating the fruit was good. Which is was, because without that choice we wouldn't be here. She just figured that out before Adam. Ugh. I told her that, too, and she just replied that it was TERRIBLE that she was here on this earth and had a body. Then Sister Wüst asked her if it was bad that she had a daughter, and she said yes!! What on earth?! Right in front of her daughter!

I was like.. Right then. I'm sorry that you don't want to know more and wished her a good night. And walked down the stairs. Sister Wüst is an angel and was really nice, putting the band aid on the wound I just made. She's great. 

I'm just so sick of Satan getting to these people! They know it's true! And then they take a week off of meeting us, which turns into a month, and then 2, and then 3. And in those 3 months you see a total change of character. Sister Wüst kept saying that.. I had never met with her, so I didn't know her before. 

Satan. Tsk, tsk. 

We picks Mehrdroobelies on Thursday (Johannes berries). Soooooo good. Perfect for the next day... which was:

FOURTH OF JULY!! 

We were just two American babes that day. Pancakes for breakfast, normal salad for lunch, and then a homemade grill for dinner, all dressed in red, white, and blue. What fun :) We are making the best memories together :)

Chloe loves to cook now.

Sis Wust, they are Happy, Happy, Happy!

Her American flag decorated pancake

Girl on the right is the girlfriend of an Elder in the Zurich zone.  She got home a month ago.

So. A packed week. As you can see.

Sunday. We had a great lesson about how life is meant to be filled with laughter and smiling. It's the Plan of HAPPINESS, after all :) It was really so, so good. I thought lots about it. 

As tired as I am (due to the really rapid changes in the weather everyday), I love my life here. I love what I am doing! I love seeing that none of this in my hands. If God wanted this place to be booming, it would be. We can only do our best :) 

He answers prayers. He hears them. He knows the desires of our hearts. 100%. That I know.

Have a good week :)

Sister Gilmour

xx

Enjoy the thunderstorm videos I sent. And enjoy the German ;)