i need thee every hour~

November 1, 2010
'I need thee every hour' is my theme song by David Tolk. Thank you Sam for putting it on my ipod, and everyone should bother Kasandra about learning to play it because it is so beautiful and I think the hymn itself is one of the most true hymns. We really do need HIM every hour, in JOY and PAIN. and we ask him to bless us as we come to him. Its definitley a necessity to have the savior with us EVERY hour, every minute here in Germany as a missionary.

It really does take following the spirit to find the prepared people, but WE ARE! For example..... several weeks ago we ansprached this lady in the middle of the little city of Freiberg and she told us she had been to the church in Freiberg once to watch a general conference session a few years ago, and we invited her to come this year but she couldnt make it. We called her last week and asked her how she was and she said we could come visit her. We showed up and she had tea and cheesecake set out (ps over here in Germany they have FRUIT TEA and it is so amazing I wish we had more of it in the US) we got talking and got to know her and she pulled out a Book of Mormon that she had received 13 years ago! We got reading in 2 Nephi 31 and got to baptism and repentance...she kept asking questions about repenting, and giving examples like 'well if someone has murdered, could they still repent of that!' and she was just being extreme to get the point across and really try to understand, so we read some scriptures on repentance and the story of alma the younger.....but to say the least I got my little scare for halloween wondering if this lady was really contemplating repenting of murder....anyway she wasnt and that was my halloweeny experience on the mission :) As we kept talking about baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost she said something like ' I knew you were going to ask me about baptism' she started to cry and she was curious about our Bishops name to talk about it, she said she would pray about itand we felt so blessed to know her. Its so incredible to have experiences like this and my testimony is so much stronger of the Lord really having prepared people waiting for us! We just have to find them!!

We also had a really great experience going to our weekly eating appointment at the Schönherrs, they live right behind the temple, and we LOVE them. Bruder Schönherr is the temple recorder so when we went over on Wednesday, he was there with another man who works in the temple department in Salt Lake (sadly his name escapes me now) but he was visiting the Freiberg temple after helping with the groundbreaking for the temple in Rome, Italy. So we got to eat lunch with them and it was so gret talking to someone (in English) from SLC and then make the amazing connection that he works with my uncle Randy in the temple department!! He said 'oh Randy is my best friend!' I felt so loved and so close to home and almost to tears just being in the presence of someone who was so recently close to my family member.....it just made me again realize how small the world is, and how often the lord blesses us with tender mercies like this one.

Another incredible tender mercy we were blessed with this week.....we got a random phone call wednesday night from a schwester from Eisenhoutenstadt who we have seen on the temple grounds the few times she has come to the temple.
 She is really sweet (but we dont know her THAT well) well anyway she called us and said 'hello sisters! Tomorrow I am getting sealed to my husband and I would just love it if you both could be there!' haha, uh....we were so flattered and also really taken off guard, such a special occasion! Of couse we said we would be there, and when we showed up the next day she hugged us like we were her own daughters. She is the greatest lady and I feel like I hvae known her my whole life. SO we got to go to our first LIVE sealing! It was SO gorgeous and so beautiful and also really special to hear in German. Präsident Apel was the sealer and there was such a prominete glorious spirit there. We each talked to them after the sealing and she hugged me and just cried, and then he rubbed my cheek with a big grin, they were so happy and so in love and it was such an honor to watch people covenant to be together for TIME AND ALL ETERNITY. They were so happy! and of course so were we! Afterwards in the lobby we were talking to Präsident Apel and his wife (who always seem to glow) and he said something like 'I could help but look at you too and think of how you were probably thinking of your own weddings, from my whole heart I wish you the same experience, you find good right men.' Then Sister Apel added, 'but you have a little time, after your missions' :) It was such a blessing to be there and also really neat to see all the temple missionaries light up when they saw us, I sure love all these wonderful temple missionary couples and sure hope I can be one too someday!

We also had an incredible lesson with Herr Himmel this week. Sven Apel came with us to joint teach and we taught the first half of the plan of salvation. This man is so prepared for the gospel its almost funny. He is such a family man too, his 8 year old daughter called during the lesson, and he said 'sorry I have to take this' and as we were smiling at the cute sound of his daughters voice, he put it on speakerphone for us to hear, she was calling to ask where he was and to say goodnight. It was really cool to then teach him about where we believe we came from and how our families are a blessing from our heavenly father to have joy and so we dont have to go through this test of life alone. I feel so blessed to be the missionary that got to teach him the meaning of why we are here! He is also really great in helping me learn German, I started talking and then looked to sister singer to help me, and he said, no you can do it, nd there was such a feeling of love and support from everyone in the room. He saw how we marked our scriptures and said he will have to start doing that, he loves the Book of Mormon...He talks a lot and everything he says goes along with the gospel, he even said something like 'well and we read in the bible that you should drink less alcohol when you have a family....' WHAT? he was telling US this?? Yep, he is golden, and that was only our second appointment with him! and then he came to church on Sunday. It was the primary program and you could see he really enjoyed it and I assumed he was thinking of his small children throughout, we have another appt with him this Thursday, I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!

These experiences are only a few of the incredible miracles we have seen this week....its so great being able to bear testimony all day and study the scriptures. Ive started really diving into the Deutsch Book of Mormon during my personal study and Sister Singer and I have both noticed an improvement in my German, it really is a blessing. I have also set a goal to dedicate meine GANZEM HERZEN, ALLE MACHT, GANZEM SINN UND ALLE KRAFT. (whole heart, all might, whole mind and all strength) to being a missionary and I know we will be blessed for it, trying to be exactly obedient is an eternal goal for all of us, but if we ask for help, we will get it. So good luck in whatever you are working hard on and know if you pray for help, it will be easier.

We taught that lesson to a new investigator 'Xaing' this week. It was our third appointment with him and he said this past week he had thought about praying but he forgot what to say at the beginning (he has absolutely no religious backround) and he was so great in asking well how to you remember when to pray? We told him about maybe right when he wakes up and right before he goes to sleep and he said he would try it. We taught him about prophets and the restoration and he asked really great questions. He said he tried to read from the Book of Mormon but got confused at the beginning and we said, well maybe we can give you a chapter to read and we can talk about it next time? and he was so excited for that idea! Ahhhhh it was the greatest lesson, and just one of the many miracles we saw this week, thats what a mission is, miracle after miracle.....thank you for all your love and support, hope the email isnt too long, ist just so exciting and there are so many great experiences to talk about!

They dont celebrate Halloween here....I saw 2 jack-o-lanterns though! haha, yeah the kinds definitely dont do anything, so I thought of you all back home. WE did however have a funny halloween moment at our eating appointment yesterday (on halloween) at the Hartigs house...we had a lovely dinner and the two daughters stella and tessa running around were the cutest, but then as we went into the living room to wait for bruder hartig to bring out the dessert, we heard him and the older daughter laughing and they brought in and big platter with a vanilla pudding hand (which they had sculpted with this gummy stuff) and then strawberry jelly yogurt stuff at the bottom with a big cutting knife, haha and then a little red jello hand...it was funny cutting it up and the dad and daughter waving these red jello fingers around.....HAPPY HALLOWEEN haha. Kara looked so cute in her costume and I hope the rest of you had a lovely Halloween holiday! Have a great first week of November, and people said it already snowed in utah? we havent had our first snow yet, but it is close! Yay winter! Well, have a great week, work hard and I will too.

Liebe, Sister Rasmussen