August 13

This week, we had Zone Conference which is always a great treat. I cannot tell you how much I love my mission President. We also are having another "Sister's Conference" in September and Elder Nelson is coming to visit his daughter. Thus, we will also be seeing Elder Nelson next month. Get this week of Sept 10.... Monday- Pday, Tues- Normal day, Wed- Elder Nelson is coming, Thurs- Head to Munich for sister's Conference, Fri- Sister's Conf, Sat- Come back to Schaffhausen, Sun- Church. We are hoping to commit an investigator to baptism who just returned home from her vacation in Croatia. The only thing that could make that week any better would be for her to get baptized on that Saturday we come back. Oh, boy, have a told you lately how much I love my mission. I am realizing now just how many of the apostles served their missions here in Europe or have lived here.... There are a few and I really connect with them. They know what it is like here and how the gospel is "received." :) There is much work to be done here and not enough missionaries to do it. We need more missionaries.

SORRY!!!!

I am really sorry it has been so long since I have written to everyone! I promise I have NOT forgotten you!

This week has been pretty.... interesting... but I wont bore you with the details. I am still living the good life with two of the best companions I could ever ask for. I am not ready to send Sister Nelson home and it is quietly approaching faster than it ever should... Did you know that I only have three transfers left!!???? That is so NOT okay. Three transfers ago I was in Richterswil in March... That was just yesterday.. I Promise. It comes up a lot since sister Nelson is leaving in a week and a half. Oh man... CRAZY!!!

We have some great news though! Jafari (investigator) came to church yesterday! He only got three hours of sleep but he woke up anyways to come to church and he looked really good too! He wore a suit! An Italian one and boy it was fancy! Even the members commented on how good it looked ;) We had a total of 3 investigators in Sacrament meeting! It was awesome. They are all such wonderful children of God. Please please please, if you see someone you dont know, GO TALK TO THEM AND FIND OUT WHO THEY ARE! Just go say hello and welcome! If they are members visiting great! If they just walked into the church, even better! If they are an investigator, you will make an impression on them that they will never forget!

This week I have learned a few things. It is important to work hard. It is important to be nice to your companions. I learned so much about being sensitive to your companion and learning how to hold your tongue and recognizing that each companion is different. I think it will be good to be with just one companion again so I dont have to CHOOSE who I am going to talk to... Dividing my attention has not been the most pleasant thing this transfer but I learned somewhat how to do it better. I learned to not take people's reactions to what I say because most of the time, it wasnt anything to do with what I said, just it was the last drop that caused the bucket to tip. Ya know what I mean? Iẗ́s been really cool to see one principle change my life forever.

In recent months I have spoken with a man named Elder Newsom who has changed my life forever! He taught me about the principle of agency and how to really truly apply it in my life. My mind exploded as the Lord enlightened my perspective and allowed me to see what really mattered in my life. I love this principle. If you are ever struggling with something, I would recommend studing this topic. It applies to almost everyone in every situation. And I cannot tell you how much I 've learned about it. But maybe someday, I can show you just how much it changed me. The truth really does set one free!

All in all, the Lord loves us and blesses us with the things we need.... ALWAYS. The Lord knows who we are. The desires of our hearts and what we need to get us to become all that he wants us to become. If something is hard, dont worry, keep going! He's been there too! He knows every care and sorrow you carry. Go to him and he will make your burdens light. I love you and wish you all the best in the upcoming week!

Mit alle meine Liebe,
Sister Fokken

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April 16

This week has been really long because we didn't see too much success. Paulo came to an 8 year old's baptism but it was after our little 8 year old was baptized. He was there to witness the confirmation though. But the Taufgottesdienst war auf Schweize Deutsch... But luckily there was a man that could translate the talk on the Holy Ghost for him but still the confirmation he couldn't understand. But neither could I but the Spirit was there and Paulo had questions after. It was a great experience for him and the ward really likes him and talks to him a lot. He said that he thinks they talk to him just because he's like the "new toy" but I tried to reassure him that these people are just that way? And that they were happy and excited that he was there. He wasn't buying it though. He had another appointment to go to after the baptism so we said goodbye and he committed to come to church the next day. Sunday came, we called Paulo, no answer. Church started, no Paulo. We still have yet to hear from him. These are the times that I really do not like Satan... but Paulo just has to make a choice. We will be meeting with him again sometime this week I know. So hopefully everything is still okay.

Well I better get going. We are playing soccer as a whole ZONE today. It will be great. I am excited. I love soccer so much, and I mean we are in the LAND of soccer so its even better. :D

I hope you have a wonderful week.

Sister Fokken

What a Week

Well Hello there,

I have had a lot of things happen this last week. We had three joint teaches actually. It was pretty good. We taught P* again and he was really excited to come to conference but then at the last minute he called and said that something came up... we also had a really good lesson with R* and S*, they were taking notes as we explained the Plan of Salvation. They promised to pray about and read the Book of Mormon and are eager to come to church. Brother K, our joint teach offered to pick them up and give them a ride to church next Sunday. If she doesnt work, I have no doubt that they will come. They are honest seekers of truth, and believe that the Plan of Salvation is the truth. It is so amazing how just talking to someone about how cute their child is leads to them coming unto Christ. What a blessing it is to be able to communicate with these wonderful people and just to help them understand where they came from, why they are here and where they will go after this life. It is truly a miracle to have the knowledge we have. The thrid joint teach was with A**. He basically told us that God is an awful person and is evil. We taught about the Plan of Salvation but he said that he is satisfied with going to the Terrestrial Kingdom. He just is not ready to change quite yet...

This last week, has been rather hard for me. It hit me really hard that Sister Phillips was no longer my companion and that was really hard to overcome. I get really attached to people really easily and Sister Phillips is just like my sister and so having to say good bye is really hard. Then we had an appointment with a member family who totally just shut us down when we invited them to find an opportunity to serve someone and share their testimony with them. That was really hard and I felt that they felt that I was judging them and everytime I opened my mouth I seemed to offend them with something I asked or invited them to do or just something I said. It was just a weird appointment. I wasnt myself all week. I dont like when I get into these moods and so I prayed hard to know what I needed to do to get over it. I studied hard but the answer came in conference. During Elder Holland's talk when he said to listen to what the spirit was telling me in that exact moment. When he said that, The Lord testified to me that He lives. That he loves me and is very pleased with what I am doing here. He wants me to be happy and to grow. And he is NEVER far from me. Peace fell upon me and my love for my Savior and Father in Heaven grew stronger. Joy filled my heart and I could breath again and relax and know that even though not everyone would accept the invitations we would give, the point is that we gave them. That is all the Lord asks of me. To invite. They are the ones that use their agency to accept the invitation to change and grow and expand their limits. Conference was the best medication for the last weeks worries. President Uchtdorf was right when he said that the Word of God is the most powerful thing in the universe. I love just how inspired they are.

The Lord lives. He loves EACH of His children. May we continue to find those that he desires to put in our path that we may accompany them along this journey, called life, which is a time to prepare to meet God. Keep on Keeping on.

Bis nächste mal
Sister Fokken

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Week of Miracles

Oh meine sehr gute I dont even know where to start. This week has been quite the rollercoaster. You would all be so proud of me. I havent cried once since Sister Phillips left. It was hard to let her go but I am more worried about her in her new area and speaking german than I am that I actually miss her. I know that she needs to be in St Gallen and I am most definately still needed here in Richterswil. We have had some really amazing experiences this last week. I honestly am continuously baffled at how much the Lord consecrates the efforts of his full time missionaries. So lets start with Paul. Paul is the husband to Mary (our investigator who only speaks Portuguese and we teach over google translate but loves the church and loves the truth but she is not completely convinced that the priesthood was restored through Joseph Smith). This last week we have gone by their house to see if we could meet with Mary before she goes to Brazil on Wednesday (28 April). She was never there when we went by but Paul was always there. Paul was the original investigator but he hasnt really showed interest in religion because he believes more about science. But each time we went by we went in to talk to him as we wrote a note to Mary. Honestly that was just an excuse to go talk to him. We would go in and I would pretty much bear the strongest testimony I could muster and then we would talk about his life and I would bear testimony again and then sometimes we would pray with him. We asked him if we could set an actual appointment and have a lesson with him he agreed to it and the lesson was awesome. We watched Finding Faith in Christ and he had a lot of questions. After the movie he said that the miracles he performed could be performed through the science we have today but with the technology that they had back then it was impossible to perfrom such things but he believes that Jesus Christ DID perform the miracles and that he performed the Atonement. The only thing that really bothered him is that the laws that Christ made were made 2,000 years ago and the world has changed a lot since then. Thanks to handy dandy conference weekend this next weekend and we spoke to him about a modern day prophet. He was astounded that we have a modern day prophet and his whole countanence changed. He is soooo excited to watch conference and hear from our loving prophet. He wanted us to write down his name and he wanted to research lds.org to find out as much as he could about the prophet before next weekend. It was amazing the change in him. He was asking so many questions about prophets and is really enthusiastic about learning more about the gospel. It's so cool.

Miracle number two: After the appointment with R* and his wife S* was also there. She was sleeping when we got there but came out and joined the convesation. We taught about the restoration and they are really seeking to find the truth and asked a lot of really good questions. Sister Uhlig and I felt like we were intruding because throughout the whole time they were talking about how they are really busy and dont have time to meet with us until mid April. We finished the lesson and S* said the prayer (in Persian) at the end. We said our goodbyes and told them to call if they needed help with anything (by the way they are getting ready to move to another apartment in the same town...) and they said that they would. Well, we left without scheduling another appointment and set out to find another potential along the way home. About 15 min later I hear the phone buzzing in my backpack. It was S*, she asked if we could come back next Saturday at 8pm. We said absolutely. After I got off the phone I realized that we had actuall missed her first call. She called us twice. THAT NEVER HAPPENS TO MISSIONARIES. When people say they will call or they dont have time you just take it kind of as "Im not really that interested." I was in shock for the rest of the night after that experience.

This miracle day continued as we set out to find a man named Pjeter that we met on a bus and pointed in the general direction of where he lived once and said that we could bring him a book of Mormon in Albanish (I dont know what that is in English?). We looked at several buildings and because Sister Uhlig doesnt have an Ausweis (something that says that we can legally proselyte) we couldnt go door to door. So we looked at all the mailboxes. As goes several missionary stories, it was the last mailbox that we looked at that was his. We knocked on the door and his son D* answered. He said that he himself was Catholic and didnt want to change. We said thats fine but can you still give this card to your dad and tell him we will be back next week to give him a book of mormon? He politely agreed and we had a little small talk and then headed to the bus stop. We stood there basking in the blessings of the Lord when suddenly, D* was driving by and saw us waiting for the bus, asked us if we needed a ride, and we said sure. (Remember we have three sisters still... its all legal.) So we got in the car and found out more about him and his family. He has lived here since he was 14 years old from Kosovo just working and he has a wife and three children (15, 12, and 9) He was super sweet and I am sure that we will see him again.

The last major miracle that I would like to share with you this week has to do with a man named A*. He is the husband of a semi-less active in our ward. They have been married for almost a year and she comes from a very active family in the Phillipeens. She is wonderful and really is trying to be happy. We have dinner with them once a week and share a spiritual thought. The first time we were there she begged him to stay for the spiritual thought and he was just uptight and awkward about it. The second time he stayed willingly and actually participated. This last week, we talked about the fireside he attended put on by our ward about Israel and ended up teaching the whole restoration focusing on the Book of Mormon and it was just awesome. We created a spritual environment and then helped him recogize the Holy Ghost and what the role of the Holy Ghost is (to testify of truth) He committed to read Alma 34 and was excited to discover our purpose in life. He is making a lot of progress though. It is slow, but the fact that he was open and talking about religion in general was a huge step for him.

I want to thank you for all of your prayers in my behalf. They are working. The work is going forth at a massive speed and it is only going to get faster. Thank you for all of your examples. I love you all and wish you a wonderful week.

Love Always,
Sister Fokken

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So this week, we got a dreaded transfer call.... Sister Phillips is
leaving me to go to an Area called St. Gallen. I am really sad about
it but I know that she needs to leave so that she can experience a new
area and grow personally. She has been in this area since we got to
the field. She loves this ward and now I love this ward. I would
honestly be totally fine if I served here the rest of my mission. But
I am not sure that will happen. So this last week has been really
hard. It is hard to live with a brand new missionary who is German.
Germans are just different. And I am not used to someone complaining
so much. I know I was the same my first transfer... Poor sister
Downs... But I realize now just how nice it has been to be with Sister
Phillips who never complains about anything and just is always there
for me and really open and my very best friend. You know how I am when
I have to say goodbye to a friend. I am still not good at it. I know
that through the Lord, I can find the comfort and strength that I need
to make it through.

My new companion is Sister McBride. I also was in the MTC with her and
have gone on a few exchanges with her and she is the one that taught
me a few songs on the Guitar. We kind of knew that she would be coming
here. There are so many people here that need her. It will be really
good to have her here. This next transfer is only 5 weeks long, so it
will go by really fast for sure. Sister Uhlig leaves in three weeks so
that will be interesting. It has been really nice to have her here
because has allowed us to teach men.

I am in an extremely humble state in my mission. The Lord is shaping me and
it is rather painful, but I know that the result is worth it. Mother,
I am a different daughter than who you sent away to this service. I
have learned a lot. And I pray that I will only progress from here.

I am so excited for you to go to General Conference. That will be such
a neat experience. To be in the same building as the Prophet is just
amazing. He may look the size of a pea (depending on where you are
sitting) but his spirit and the spirit of his counselors and apostles
fills every square inch of the building. I love conference. I am so
excited to hear from our beloved leaders again. They love us so much.
It will be a grand experience for sure.
:)

This last week has been incredible. We had a fireside about Israel
since half our ward went there for 9 days about two weeks ago. We
brought our investigator Maria, who only speaks Portuguese so we had to
use Google translate. And I can't type in German very fast so I would
have to listen in German, then type in English so it would translate in
Portuguese. :) I am so grateful for modern technology. She loved it,
and we were supposed to meet with her last Saturday to talk about it
but her boss called and she had to work.... I HATE SATAN. He ruins
everything. But we will keep pressing forward as usual and help
prepare her to accept the gospel. She is going to Brazil on the 28th
of March to do a service project for her church, and will be there for
a month, and we are hoping to send the missionaries there to talk to
her and teach her in her native tongue. I don't really care how she
accepts the gospel. I want her to be there right with me in the
Celestial Kingdom when that time comes.

We also taught a man named Reza from Iran and he is amazing. He has
one of the strongest testimonies of Jesus Christ I have ever seen. He
loves Jesus Christ and has gone through a LOT just to not be Muslim. I
can't imagine having to go through all that he has. He is one of my
heroes. We were teaching him about Jesus Christ and how he was baptized
and he said, "yeah before I thought it was enough to just have faith
in Jesus Christ but now I know I need to be baptized too." My heart
sank and I felt like Aaron and Ammon as they heard the kings say that
they would believe everything they would say and that they would do
anything to know God and come unto him. There is nothing that can
compare to the pure joy that I felt at that appointment.

Just before that appointment, we taught a member's friend in the
member's home. It was amazing. I have never felt the spirit so strong
in a lesson my entire mission. The doctrine we taught was pure. The
testimonies we bore were sincere and the Spirit testified of the
things we taught. The member bore testimony and shared personal
experiences. And Jasmin (the investigator) said she had a desire to
know if Jesus Christ truly is the Son of God. What an amazing
experience.

I love my mission and wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the world.
I will defend my God and bear witness of His son for the rest of my time here.
Thank you for all of your love and support. I love you. Talk to you
soon.

Love,
Sister Fokken

p.s. The weather has been great here between 15-21 degrees (Celsius)
but today is rainy and only 6 degrees.... but all is well. There is a
need for an opposition in all things. :) Take care.

Liebe Familie,

This week has been incredible. I have learned so much about myself and my Savior this last week. I also learned that I want more than anything to go to Israel sometime in my life. Over half our ward went there and they came back this last week and every single one of them was different. Their countenances changed entirely. What a privilege it is to be a missionary here and to have the "super hero ability" to see the countenance of those around you. I am sure this talent belongs to those that aren't missionaries as well, but those who have served missions know exactly what I mean. It is heightened in the field because we are called to discern the thoughts and needs of those we teach.

I wish I could tell you all that I have experienced this last week, but the truth of the matter is there are no words that can fully grasp how I have changed. This week I hit my half way mark. What a crazy thought. But you know what? I'll be a missionary forever. Elder Bednar said that, "a release from a full-time mission is a call to a LIFE long mission."

Thank you for your e-mails. I love hearing about Tanner and all his crazy little things he does. I love that he is so happy. I cant wait to be his best friend. He'll probably be the only boy that is single that I LIKE to spend time with ;) I got a letter from my trainer who went home in November and she said she's been on one date and she is quite comfortable hiding under her rock. :) She is so great.

Well, I hope that you all have a wonderful week. We think about you a lot. And pray for you everyday as well. Keep your heads up. Remember when we Look up and Step up, we will Cheer up. I love you all and cant wait to hear from you next week.

Liebe,
Sister Fokken