Faith enough to not be healed

Contrary to your heat and the Fahrenheit... It's been 16-20 degrees Celsius. haha  I don't know, you can convert that with one of your fancy "smart phones" ;)  It's cold and rainy as it always is, it's been overcast really since I've got here haha but it's nice, I'm not sweating through all my clothes. Oh clothes, speaking of them... Our washer locked with all my P-Day Clothes in it... And looks like it will be for eternity... After a week of praying and rewashing my clothes to try to reset the washer, I lost patience and tried to pry the door off... That didn't work either :/  I'm very sad about it. Also we came to the end of this month and I used the last of my allowance on a scanty grocery list. It will be a small trial and then next week we will get more allowance and we won't be eating rice and cereal haha :) 

I'm very sorry to hear that you are enduring trials at home. Before I left, Ducky said that families either see many miracles at home or endure trials to make them stronger. I know that you can do it and I feel the strength and support of your diligence. This week has been blessed with many miracles. We spoke to TWO women who were ready just to come straight to CHURCH!!! Joyce was an African Lady whom I contacted on the bench waiting for another potential to show up. She heard my introduction "Hallo, Ich heiße Elder Fisher und ich bin Missionar für die Kirche Jesu Christi Der Heiligen der Letzten Tage" and then she took a phone call... I assumed that it was a bust. (We are denied by droves of people) but after a 5 minute call she turned back to me and asked when we would meet again!!!  I nearly fell of the bench haha!! I invited her to church and gave her a Book of Mormon!!! These things have never happened!! Haha Joyce was her name, she is a bubbly Lady from Ghana (ask Cole Warner why all his investigators are coming here to get taught by Germans ;)  She then surprised me by COMING TO CHURCH!!!  MIRACLE!!! Haha  The second was a woman watching her children play at the park. She was a little nervous when we approached her (the people of Mulheim always think we're cops) but when she realized we were sharing a message about the gospel she called her daughters (3) over and made them listen. We invited her to church and she didn't show up but we will meet with her this week!! :D

Also we had a white day (nothing planned) so we tried a new finding technique.

We pulled up the map and prayed for inspiration. Then we picked a stadt-teil (suburb - like... Gilbert is to Phoenix) named Porz, and we prayed and then chose a street. We picked a place out in the boonies and contacted 30 addresses 4-5 apartments per I think. We went the whole way and didn't find the "elect" we were searching for.  But on our way out we talked to a girl with piercings and tattoos (always accepting and nice people) and she gave us her number. And we will meet with Mandy this week also!!!! Haha another Miracle!

The work is slow so those 3 experiences were big! :D  Also!!! We found SUPER cheap tortillas at a Turk shop in Porz!!! Haha  We've had tortillas with every meal since then, so that counts as a miracle too! 

Mom I'm so happy here. I love everyone and every day and even though it's tough I know that I'm making a difference and that it's making a difference in me. Please read this talk I found, it's called "That we might not shrink" by my favorite Apostle Elder Bednar. He talks about how it is more important to not shrink than to survive. I've been searching to know more about faith because it is the power by which all things are wrought. And this talk answered so many questions!!! Ultimately we have no say in how things work out but!!! we do have power in whether they do. 

The Lord has a plan. If the plan is to produce a miracle, then he needs our faith to do so. But if it's not, than we need the faith to know that that was the plan. We cannot pass all the bitter cups, but we can find peace, through faith, that it will strengthen us and make us better because God loves us. 

That is the Key. "Faith enough to not be healed." Read the talk :) 

I love you very much! I miss you very much! But I know that 

1. I asked to be here haha I prayed earnestly to serve in Germany. It wasn't chance. And 

2. Germany needs me.

Also I had a blast at the tank field in Aachen haha 3 tanks from WeltKrieg Zwei!!! It was way cool!!! I crawled inside two and we made a couple of funny videos I'll send home! :) I love my life and my mission and my family! Haha I love you :) 

Love elder Jacob Fisher

Überträgt aus der NRW

He will NEVER forget you

Hello hello hello!!! :D 

So this week has been quite fun :)

Monday!!! So I hope that I've talked about Morino a tad, he is an old Italian whom we meet with. His progression is slow, but we love him all the same. He's taught us a little Italian which came as a huge help this week. So we took the S-Bahn out to Mülheim and walked our usual route. Elder Robinett contacted a woman and her son but they rejected us. Not wanting to follow them down the street (the direction we were going to Morino's) we took a detour. On the way, I contacted this older lady who talked with us a little but didn't care enough to take the lessons. So we continued the back way around to Morino's. Often we surprise him because he doesn't have a phone. We just go by hoping he's home, so when we got to the door and no one answered our klingel, it was a bummer but we decided to wait a sec. Then we hear the friendly voice "Jung Amerikaner!"  "Alte Italianer!" Elder Robinett exclaimed in response! Morino had just returned from a walk! :D  We had a great lesson in which we addressed his convictions and decided to keep teaching him. 

Can you spot the blessing within the trial? I didn't until my trainer pointed it out.

Had we not been rejected twice we would have missed Morino, but the Lord knew we were early and slowed us just enough to meet with our boy :)

Then leaving Mülheim, Elder Robinett decided to walk through the park, these veteran missionaries get pretty trunky and we weren't in a hurry, so I just followed. We saw a man sitting on a bench drinking cheap wine and smoking a Cig.  So of course we approached him haha. This man didn't speak a lick of German but you know, he saw Jesu Christi and got the meaning (my tag has saved my tail sometimes)  He got really excited and started talking and you know what... It was Italian!!! Haha because of Morino we know just enough to introduce ourselves and set up an appointment!! So then we give this man (later to be named as TeeTee) a Restoration pamphlet we had in Italian! We have plans to take Morino to translate on the 25th! Haha miracles. German isn't my only mission language, I'm learning a tad of Arabic from Rami also, so watch out, I'm coming home with more than you thought!

Anyways Tuesday was a standard day and Wednesday we went to Solingen for a Split. We were waiting on the Solingen Elders (late) and a Japanese man came up the stairs from the platform and looked really hard at my name tag. (In Germany it is completely normal to approach someone, peer down and read their name tag and scoff and walk away) I didn't think too much of it, but then he yelled "Elders!!!" Haha "Yes!" We replied, he explains that he was from Tokyo and met in the south Tokyo Ward haha  We talked about his visit for work and he offered to take us out to dinner!!! (This is the first time that a member has wanted to take us out) so we hastily agreed :)  He said to meet him back at the BahnHof (main station) at 7:45 so we split and I went with Elder Hörtig and then we met with the man at 8. He took us to a nice restaurant and talked with us about the mission and his family. This man, brother Sakuma, is one of the kindest people I have ever met. After dinner, he thanked us for eating with him, he said "Eating alone is so sad."  He then said that he had a bag a chocolate for us but he left it at his apartment. He wanted to drop it off haha so we said tomorrow morning. We parted ways and realized that it was 9:50! And we needed to be home before 10:30 or we would have to call President! So we ran home in the rain!!! A good Km and a half got me SOAKED and ready to collapse into bed haha. 

Brother Sakuma and Elder Hörtig

Rain-soaked, but home on time.

Saturday we had Chalking planned (we draw the Plan of Salvation and then stop people to talk about it) but it started raining... So Elder Robinett and I did a sun dance ;)  Thus the pictures if me with a yellow cape haha

It kept raining so instead we went finding, we found 6 potentials!! So this week was quite awesome!! Haha 

Today for P-Day, we are headed to Aachen to see some derelict Panzers (tanks) and an old Bunker and also a castle!!! So there will be plenty of Photos this week.  I love you all so much!!! Thank you for your mail and support!! <3 I pray for you to receive Blessings, but know that trials are only Blessings in disguise. You give the most responsibility to the person you trust the most, the Lord is not punishing you, he's showing he Trusts you.

1 Nephi 21:16 "Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands"

He will NEVER forget you. He has taken your name and made it the trophy of his perfected glorified body. In modern English we don't have an informal 'you' anymore, but in German it matters a HUGE amount whether or not you use Sie (formal) or Du (informal). In this scripture the Lord says Thee which is the equivalent to Du... The words a brother would use to his kid sibling... This scripture is my favorite, my absolute end all. He loves thee. Remember him because he has engraved thee upon the palms of his hands.

Love Elder Fisher 

Überträgt aus der NRW