This week was pretty crazy.

Hey family! This is Elder Fisher

This week was pretty crazy. We have this investigator from London. He has a drug problem and it makes working with him super hard. The biggest struggle is that he really has interest in the Gospel and was asking us if he could serve a mission but because he is constantly looking for another fix, to fight Heroin sickness, he is really unreliable for lessons or church. We have had the first two lessons and they have gone really well. After hearing the plan of salvation he said "wow, that gives me a lot of motivation to do better." Which I think is the BEST response to the plan of salvation. But here's where the problem is, and when my heart broke for him. We called a couple times Saturday and finally around 6 he answered. It went so

Hey man how are you doing?

Huh?

How are you?

Who is this?

Elder Fisher.

Who?

Elder Fisher man, haha you know who I am.

No... 

Where are you man? (I'm getting worried about him now)

No no man... oh!! Now i remember! Yo man I am so sorry for missing our last appointment! 

Don't worry about it

No really man! I spent the night in the hospital...

What?!

Yeah, I over dosed man. 

What?!

I took more than I usually do. It was really stupid. I was craving way hard and got desperate... I'm not going to be able to get to church man. 

Boom. Heart broken. My boy overdosed... gosh. It was too much. We know a couple guys struggling with this and every time we think about trying to help them our hearts ache. They are willing to take he gospel but they are enslaved to this drug. Or in some situations to multiple. I want to help these people but we don't really have the power to fight that. They've got to overcome that themselves before we can help them progress to baptism.

Other than that this week was not too eventful. Missionary work and finding. We set the goal to have 2 baptisms this transfer. And we're at the end of week 2. The fire is on. 

Um. Yeah. I also taught two Syrians the word cool. Haha that was great. 

But really this week I realized how much I love the ward here. They are probably my favorite German ward by far! A few days ago we were in need of a bike pump so we followed Bishop home to use his. We talked about his mission in South Africa and the mission here in Duisburg. What's going well and whats going not well. We are having a slow time here in Duisburg and we talked about what we could do to try to speed it up. We just had a little bro out moment while we were fixing the bikes. I love him so much. These people here have just completely stolen my heart from me and I am trying harder than ever to be the missionary they deserve. I had a renewed surge of energy and committed myself to becoming a more obedient missionary. As a sign of my dedication to the Lord I deleted all of my music. It had always been a small problem. The one worldly thing that I continued to hold on to. But like the Anti-Nephi-Lehites I buried all that I had as a sign to the Lord. With no intention of ever digging it back up or laying my hand on another. At least until the end of my mission.

Well, I have a few new pictures :) 

 

My MTC group

Elder Blackner

Then him and his Trainee

Sister Möller, Elder Richter

B. Lieven haha believe'n

His Greatest Work and Glory, is YOU

Hey family!!! This week was super cool! We met with Alex from London again. He is super cool, he has some drug problems but he wants so badly to change. We have a lot to do here, we actually just found another potential who wants help with recovery. We are trying to start a 12 steps to recovery program here. Hopefully we can help some people. 

Working with Elder Monroe has been really cool. It's caused me to look back at my own training, and also given me a chance to evaluate my own missionary work. The results have been interesting. I have certainly served a blessed mission. I have been part of 4 baptisms and countless other stories of self development and discovery that God does really love us. I have helped so many people and I am blessed to have had that experience. 

This last week I was having some problems. There's a culture among the missionaries that talking to people is everything. If you talk to people 24/7, if you talk to people on the street, in the train, on the bus, if you are always focused on talking to people, then You are a good missionary. It's been like that as long as I can render. And truth is, I don't talk with everyone. Don't get me wrong, my eyes are always open and I'm constantly asking God if I should speak with that person. But I don't just talk to everyone. And I was really feeling down about myself. That I didn't speak to everyone. That day the Lord reminded me of Two very important things. He knows me, very personally, and he loves me. Twice that day, he sent people to me. He sent Alex to us so we could make a new appointment. Alex doesn't have a phone and missed his last lesson so we had no way to contact him. And with that we were able to set up a better lesson plan. And then later that day, as I went to the Book box, a shared library. (We always put copies of the Book of Mormon in there) he sent Sergei, a Russian who was really excited to meet with us haha. And I learned, AGAIN, a lesson that has been taught to me on my mission time and time again...

The Lord knows you. He knows you by name! He knows your strengths and your weaknesses and he has called you to serve in this area. Because of your strengths, and because of your weaknesses. He knows who will meet you, he knows what you will do, and that is the reason you were called HERE. And that thought gives me so much comfort. And peace. It does not excuse me from progression, no not one bit. In fact, it testifies to the reality that i do have weaknesses that i must give to the Lord, so he can make them strengths. But, it does remind me that it is GODS WORK and that I need only worry about it, not stress about it. He will get it done. He doesn't need me, but he has blessed me to be a part of it. He has given me the opportunity to be along for the ride. And as long as I am here, it is my responsibility to do everything I can not to miss out! 

And this is your responsibility! Worry about your lives, but do not stress about it. Worry for your future but don't stress! The Lord works through you and blesses you according to your desires. Keep at it, determine this day, that you will NOT miss one of the Lords GREATEST MIRACLES, your life. And eternally your salvation. Stay along for the ride. It will be hard at times, but in many travels, we must endure the up hill first, to enjoy the View. Keep that vision in mind. When the going gets tough, grit your teeth, brush the sand from your eyes and get tougher. The Lord is using this time to shape you. The beautiful statue David was not finished save were it by stone shattering blows, and a beautiful Mind. 

peace be unto thy soul; 

thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;

And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high.

His Greatest Work and Glory, is YOU

Let him shape you into all that you were meant to become. 

The reason I came on a mission, was to see what the Lord could make of Me.

Elder Fisher.

Aus Duisburg

1. A bunch of photos of the Landschaftspark in Duisburg

2. Okay, a couple of videos from this week 

3. One of a member, Pete, from our ward at the beach haha. The guy that runs up says he's from "green peace" and that he's saving whales, (Pete) and Pete just gets upset haha and then an update of go bys here in Duisburg. It took us an hour to get out there haha but it looked like home. 8 months left haha ha... yeah

I know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God

This week was your normal missionary work. Finding. Streets, Doors. We have a member shadowing us as a dritt "third" and that has been fun.

He does finding with us and comes to lessons. He's super awesome and really good at it. Most of the time my trainee Elder Monroe and he break off and go off alone and then I'm lost haha but everything has been going well. Nothing super crazy to report. Sadly this weeks Email will be pretty short. But!

We are going back to Xantan. The Roman museum. Today they have a special knight event in the colosseum so that will be super cool! Knights in Germany inside the Colosseum. An old Tradition for Siegfried, a guy who slayed a dragon!  Sigfrieds festival has a medieval band playing. Drum set, bagpipes, alles. It's super cool. A renaissance festival all in German. I will have some cool photos. .

The work is going here in Germany. The work continues with the Syrians and the Iranians, the Ghanaians and the Nigerians, the Germans and we are seeing it accelerate. Last year we saw 200 baptisms in our mission and this year we are doing just as well. It is a blessing to be here and to work alongside such amazing missionaries.

If there is one thing I have learned as a missionary is that we really are nothing without charity. 1 Corinthians 13.

I know that this church is the church of Jesus Christ. I know that God is the same yesterday today and forever, and that he continues to lead us through prophets. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet. I know that the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ. I know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I know that only through him can we be saved. I know that if you will read the Book of Mormon and ask God if it is scripture and if he has restored his church then he will answer you.

Elder Fisher