tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46729106866565370572024-03-13T19:37:24.254-07:00Chris Luening's Berlin MissionChristopher Lueninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747209506300997303noreply@blogger.comBlogger108125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4672910686656537057.post-40956727590056848362014-02-24T11:21:00.002-08:002014-02-24T11:35:14.119-08:00Feb 17,2014, Hamburg<div class="MsoNormal">
Hey! <o:p></o:p></div>
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Well I'm all packed up and finished saying goodbye to
investigators and members. I love you and I'll see you soon I guess! I have
mixed emotions but I'm excited non-the-less, so don't worry, lol. I'm just
worried about getting a cold from you guys now, lol. Anyways, safe travels and
see you soon!!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Charlene have an awesome mission and enjoy it...it goes
so quick! I'll email you don't worry! <o:p></o:p></div>
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Love you all,<o:p></o:p></div>
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Elder Lüning<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>Auf Wiedersehen meine Freunde!</i></b><br />
<b><i>Alles Gute!</i></b><br />
<b><i>Tchuss!</i></b></div>
Christopher Lueninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747209506300997303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4672910686656537057.post-46299649172550930512014-02-10T07:00:00.005-08:002014-02-10T07:02:50.132-08:00February 10, 2014, Hamburg<div class="MsoNormal">
Dear Family,<o:p></o:p></div>
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So...down to my last week. Unfortunately the
baptisms won't be happening this week. But...we are planning on having 5
investigators on baptismal date by the end of this week! B. will be
baptized in 2 weeks, and T. really took time to think about baptism a lot.
He didn't meet with us at all this week, but came to church on Sunday to tell
us that he came to the decision that he wants to be baptized! So we set a new
date for March to ensure that he's ready.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The others are a German married couple. They
are about 50 years old and have heard a lot about the church. They're a referral
from a member in a different ward and they are so prepared. They asked what
they need to do to be able to be baptized. It's exciting. And the last one is a
man from Iran who we taught last week. He's a student who just got a job from
Deutsche Bahn. He came to church and I introduced him to a bunch of people and
he loved it. We're meeting again on Tuesday. So this last week will be an
exciting one.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I love you all.
Sorry I don't have time to write much. I'm going to take the time to enjoy
these last 2 P-days before I see you all again. Thanks for the emails Mom, Dad,
Kass, Scott, Jeremy, Charlene!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Love you and “bis bald”!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Elder Lüning<o:p></o:p></div>
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Christopher Lueninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747209506300997303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4672910686656537057.post-43633191103500754882014-02-03T10:19:00.002-08:002014-02-03T10:19:23.952-08:00February 3, 2014, Hamburg<div class="MsoNormal">
Dear Family,<o:p></o:p></div>
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We have 2 baptisms planned for
the 15th and 16th! We're hoping and praying that they will go through! We're
going to do everything we can!<o:p></o:p></div>
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This
weekend was crazy; let me tell you a little about it. Our train left from
the train station at 6:28am on Friday to Berlin. We set our clock for 5:15am and it didn't go off!! We woke up at 6:00am,
and threw our clothes on and ran to catch the bus leaving at 6:10! We barely
made the bus and it's a 20min ride to the Bahnhof, …and the bus driver was
taking his sweet time! We're like, “Come on!” We were praying like crazy that
we'd catch that train. Well he made it in 15mins to the Bahnhof and we barely
made it with 2 minutes to spare, ha-ha. That was so stressful! We then bought
shaving stuff in the Bahnhof and shaved at the church in the bathroom, lol. <o:p></o:p></div>
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On the way home all the trains
were canceled and were replaced with a bus. So we bought our ticket and ran to
where the bus was leaving from (a completely different train station) and just
made it in time. The bus driver looked at our ticket and said...ja, Deutche Bahn does this a lot! You can't ride with me with that ticket. We
just looked at him in disbelief. He told us to go talk to DB information. So we
went all the way back to the main train station and the man luckily gave us our
money back for the ticket...but now it was like, 7:30pm - no trains back to Hamburg. So, we had to stay
the night in that AP's apartment lol. Ja...Abendteuer (adventure) :<span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span>
Oh and we were running around the whole time carrying the sisters boxes of Books
of Mormon, lol.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Thanks for your emails, and I'll do everything
I can these last 2 weeks to finish strong! Mom, I haven't spent money yet, but
probably will today. Kass, thanks for the email, and I hope things go well with
the P-90X ha-ha! Charlene keep being you, you're awesome! <o:p></o:p></div>
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I love you all,<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p>Elder Luening</o:p></div>
Christopher Lueninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747209506300997303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4672910686656537057.post-36561134265104513572014-02-01T07:57:00.001-08:002014-02-01T07:57:07.943-08:00Jan 27, 2014, Hamburg<div class="MsoNormal">
Mom, Dad, <o:p></o:p></div>
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I love you. You really are amazing parents. I read your
emails and think about how selfless and how loving you both are. Dad, you said
you changed as a person on your mission, and I don't know how anyone could go
on a mission and not change...but I guess, sadly, some manage to do it. My
mission President is an amazing man. He's so loving and so direct and helpful
with everything. <o:p></o:p></div>
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My week was an exciting one. F., our french speaking
investigator came to church yesterday with sad news that he will most likely be
getting deported back to Italy on the 6th of Feb. He is appealing the case, but
it's not looking very hopeful. He spoke with a member for an hour and they
discussed it together. He's obviously off of baptismal date for now, but will
be coming to church next week. We hope that we can find out where in Italy
he'll be so he can at least continue to get spiritual strength from members and
missionaries there.<o:p></o:p></div>
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B., is now on baptismal date for the
9th of Feb. 2 weeks! <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span> And he brought a friend to church yesterday who also
wants to start meeting with us. Then an investigator from December came to
church and he will be baptized on the 15th of Feb. We sat and discussed where
his testimony was at and asked him if he would like to set it as a goal to be
baptized in 3 weeks. He's been to a baptism before and said, “Ja. das hört sich
prima an! (Yeah, that sounds prima!) We explained how he would be interviewed then and
read through the baptismal interview questions with him to see where he was at.
Then we started from the beginning and taught him the Restoration. It was
awesome! He felt the spirit and he wants us to make a reading calendar for him
to prep him for his baptism. We're excited for him!<o:p></o:p></div>
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I'm personally
doing really well. Sometimes I get lost in thoughts of what's gonna happen when
I'm back?! What's it like to be a normal person again...what do normal people
do?? Ha-ha. But yeah, glad that that's still a little while away. I love it out
here. I've learned so much, and I'm still learning tons.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I love you all and have a great week,<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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Elder Lüning<o:p></o:p></div>
Christopher Lueninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747209506300997303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4672910686656537057.post-74653164718939339112014-01-21T22:14:00.001-08:002014-01-21T22:14:14.637-08:00January 20, 2014, Hamburg<br />
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Jan 20</div>
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Yup, another week come and gone lol. What a blessing we have
to be alive! Thanks for your emails Mom and Dad! <o:p></o:p></div>
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We had an investigator call us, ( B., who hadn't met with us for 2
weeks because of work) telling us that he would be coming to church and that he
needs to be baptized. He said,” I already know the church is true and that
baptism is essential for my salvation.” He then said, “I've been blessed every day
to be alive but anything could happen and I must live with the knowledge that I
have be baptized and made a covenant with the Lord.” He's such an awesome man.
He's 30yrs old and from Ghana, and has met with missionaries about a year ago
in Russia. We need to go through the baptismal questions with him to see where he's
at with his testimony and what he needs. We told him because of his crazy work
schedule that if we met even for 15 minutes during the week, we could help him
get ready. He participated in the class at church and asked how he could do
better missionary work with his friends. He's got such a strong love for the
Gospel it is amazing.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> </o:p> Our other Baptismal candidate is Frank and he's
doing great too. He's been to Church 3 times now and we've met with him 5
times. Because he speaks French we have a member there at every appointment and
he's loving the Gospel. He told us that he started meeting with us because he
was impressed that we were young, white, and had a strong love for Christ. It
made him curious and respect us a lot. His testimony is growing too and he's
very honest! We might have to move his baptismal date to the 15th of February
from the 1st, but we'll see how it continues to go. He keeps all his
commitments <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> </o:p> We were also blessed with a new investigator from the
Back Seniors. They invited a Chinese girl who's been here for about 10yrs now,
over for lunch after church and we taught her the restoration right afterwards.
She had met with missionaries for 4 years and stopped meeting with them about 5
years ago. The Lord has blessed her with another chance and she wants to meet
with us again and learn more. She definitely felt the spirit during the lesson
and asked good questions about prayer and answers to prayer. It was great! Go
member missionary work!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> </o:p>Charlene, great stories and miracles that happened to
you! Thanks for sharing them! I was so excited about hearing all those things.
It's like President Hinckley said, “if the members would do their missionary
work the number of convert baptisms would double”! <o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> </o:p> I'm loving the
mission, I'm not “trunky” yet, ha-ha. Elder Cannon and I are working hard and
we've made a game that helps us talk to people in the Bahns and buses which has
been working really well! We're stretching ourselves and talking with more people
than ever before! (I took some more modeling pictures but forgot my camera so
you'll see them next week <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span> )<o:p></o:p></div>
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Love you all and have a great week!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
Christopher Lueninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747209506300997303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4672910686656537057.post-21282743530631797742014-01-21T22:04:00.004-08:002014-01-21T22:04:39.073-08:00January 13, 2014, Hamburg<br />
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<o:p>Dear Family,</o:p><br />
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Another week come and gone! I'm glad the Lord is protecting
you throughout the bad winter weather. We have no snow at all, and last week Monday
we ran around without a jacket on because we were too hot! It's cooled down
since then but still doesn't get under 5°C. It's also a bit rainy now but hopefully
that starts to clear up again soon. We dropped some people with whom we couldn't
contact again, and found some new ones. We found a cool family. The wife is
German, and the husband was born in India but has been here in Germany already
for about 10 years. I gave them a call yesterday to see if they had time to
meet and they did, so we'll be meeting on Tuesday. I went on exchanges with a District
Leader in Pinneberg. He just got transferred there from Dresden. We worked hard
together and did something cool. So, Elder C., (my companion) and I made a plan
to talk more with people in the trains and buses by making a game out of it. We
have to talk to at least 2 people every day, no matter what, and if we talk to
4 people we get a bonus point. If we talk to 5 we get 2 bonus points. These
points can only carry over one day. If you have 2 bonus points you can buy
yourself something from the bakery at the end of the day for Abend Brot. If not
then “pech”(too bad)! Lol. So I told this Elder from Pinneberg about it and
decided to do some Bahn-tacting (train contacting). It was a lot of fun. Since
we're not allowed to proselyte in the trains and buses it gets you outside of
your comfort zone. I used to do it a lot but got out of the habit about 4
transfers ago. I forgot how fun it is to talk to people about random things and
how it always comes freely back to the gospel because you have a big black name
tag on that says Church of Jesus Christ, lol.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
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We also have an investigator on baptismal date
for the 2nd of February but will probably have to move it one week back to make
sure he understands everything. He's from Ivory Coasts in Africa and speaks French,
and basically no German. But we have 4 members who also have their mother
language as French so it works really well. We've taught him the three lessons
from Preach My Gospel already, and made sure he understood everything during
the last meeting. We went through the interview questions with a member to see
where he was at and to show him what kind of questions would come up during the
interview. He said he needs to find out if Joseph Smith is a prophet and is
working on reading and receiving an answer from the Book of Mormon. He's a
really solid guy and really sincere. He's been to church twice now and likes it
a lot. So we're praying and hoping that he'll receive an answer and continue to
build his faith in the restored gospel of Christ!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
I love this work, and love the Gospel. I also
have awesome missionaries in our apartment. Elder S. has made huge changes in
his life and missionary work and is an awesome hard working Elder. Elder S. is
now new in the apartment and a lot of fun. He's from Brazil and I was his Zone
Leader in Kiel as he served in Rendsburg. He just got here from Cottbus so he
told me lots of stories about Forst and caught me up on the members there, lol.
Elder Cannon and I are killing it here and having a great time. I love you all
and hope you have a great week! Stay safe! Enjoy the SNOW! :)<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
Love Elder Lüning<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Christopher Lueninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747209506300997303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4672910686656537057.post-15773449850788791932014-01-21T21:51:00.001-08:002014-01-21T21:51:27.242-08:00January 6, 2014, Hamburg
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p>Dear Family,</o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Hey, well I'm down to my last
transfer. We had transfer calls on Saturday and I received the good news that I
will be staying in Hamburg! So it's my last transfer to give it all I have. I
appreciate what you said mom about Trail and about the things that I've learned
on my mission needing to change me as a person. They have and I agree with you
about Trail. I don't want to stay there any longer than 8 months. That's like
the max amount of time that I could stay, lol. Germany's so awesome! I also
noticed this week how much I have changed this last year on my mission. I think
that came with the blessing of being called a Zone Leader so young on my
mission and staying one until the end. So nothing has really hit me yet about
the idea of coming home so soon, probably because 6 weeks is still a long time.
But the one thing that has hit me is how I've been stepping up my game a little
bit more each day. I seem to be imperceptibly more intense about doing
everything I can before my time is up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> Elder Cannon and
I are working hard. We had a lot of appointments fall through this week, but
have had good back up plans which have been helping our program. There's
nothing we could do about those ones that fell through; we had confirmed them
and everything. We also have a big teaching pool, and have our focus on 3
specific people now who we feel can be baptized before the end of the transfer.
I hope things work out and that we keep finding new people. The ward here is so
cool. We're really trying to involve the members more and more, but it's tough
when we're not sure if appointments will go through or not. We decided that we
would tell the member beforehand that we have a back-up plan and if they want
to do it with us if the appointment does end up falling through. That seems to
work a lot better and seems fairer for the member.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> Something
funny...we got into the bus which was really full and sat down at the back. We
watched others get into the bus too and it was getting pretty full. We started driving
and Elder Cannon looked at a lady who was sitting beside us and suddenly she
YELLED at us 'DON'T LOOK AT ME!!' Elder Cannon jumped - ha-ha and I did too
because I wasn't paying attention and it surprised me. This lady cursed at us
for the next 3 stops just because we were LDS missionaries. We bit our tongues
and didn't say anything at all to her, which I'm thankful for. Some people are
just crazy...even in the west, ha-ha! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">On New Years Eve it got dark
at about 4pm so there were fireworks going off everywhere. We tried to go by on
a member and got pretty close to his house. It sounded like a war outside, or a
battlefield so Elder Cannon and I were having fun and made it seem like we were
trying to get to a check point in a battlefield. I told Elder Cannon that I
felt weird and that we have the rule to be home by 6pm because of this exact
reason. I said to him we probably shouldn't be out here. Well, we came around a
corner of a cul-de-sac, and there walking into the middle of the street was a
big man, who had tattoos all over him (looked like a drug dealer) with his car
door open. He lifted his arm up into the air and all of a sudden we heard five
gun shots and saw the ignition from his hand gun in his hand from each fire. We
just froze, turned around and walked from where we came from, and decided it
was time to go home! We couldn't believe it, but we are thankful that we're
always protected. We spent the rest of the evening with the Senior missionary
couples and it was a blast!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Thanks for the love and
support. I love you all so much. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
Christopher Lueninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747209506300997303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4672910686656537057.post-36102801732773770422014-01-21T21:19:00.002-08:002014-01-21T21:20:35.611-08:00December 30, 2013 Hamburg<br />
Hey!<o:p></o:p><br />
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was great being
able to Skype and see you...or talk to you! <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span> I hope you enjoyed
your Christmas and that it was a good one! I don't really have too much to talk
about, lol. <o:p></o:p><br />
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
There were a lot of people that we managed to come in
contact with last week after not giving up and continuing to call them every
day. A lot of the new people we found made appointments with us and we have the
opportunity this week to teach them. There are 2 people that we came in contact
last week who are really very cool. One of them is a member and the other one
is his friend. They're both from Ghana but met each other in Russia as they
were studying there. The non-member was taught by missionaries for quite a
while, and yesterday as he was in church he said, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I hope and expect to be baptized soon.” He's
so prepared, and we basically have to go through the lessons with him and then
he's ready! They're having a hard time finding a place to live right now. The
landlord kicked them out of the place they were staying because the apartment
had 5 extra people sleeping there and they got caught. So they slept on the
streets and then came to church in the morning. I couldn't believe it! But they
just kept saying to us, 'it's no problem, we just pray and the Lord takes care
of us. We are meant to 'sweat for our bread'. We all have our trials but
we have the hope within us that the better days will come. We don't need to
worry because we trust in God and he will help us through our trials.'
They're so humble, but made sure they had a place to stay that night ha-ha, and
the bishopric is helping them out too. It's such a blessing being part of this
church, Christ's church!<o:p></o:p><br />
<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
I hope you all have a great week and enjoy the New Years!! <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
Elder Lüning<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
Christopher Lueninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747209506300997303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4672910686656537057.post-74572308104769094892013-12-24T08:11:00.003-08:002013-12-24T08:11:16.756-08:00December 23, 2013, Hamburg<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
Dear Family,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wow, don't you all just love last minute changes and
unexpected events that pop up? If you said no, you could've fooled me because
it seems to ALWAYS happen to you, ha-ha. Naja, I guess that's just life. What's
awesome is that no matter what happens, we have the promise of spiritual peace
which is 'not of this world'. What a blessing we have to be able to remember
Christ in this Christmas Holiday! <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I'm super pumped and excited to Skype, ha-ha.
My last Skype session on the mission...wow. It's been a while since I've seen
all of you and I'm really looking forward to it. We were have a tough time
figuring out when and how we were going to Skype, and then suddenly Dane
(Anika's husband) came up to us and asked us if we wanted to Skype at their
place. They have 2 laptops so Elder Cannon and I could do it at the same time.
It's great! So we'll be at their house Skyping at around 6pm our time. Maybe a
little after but just be ready at, I guess, around 9am your time. Dane or Anika
will probably call you to ask for your Skype account and set everything up and
have it ready for us when we come. They are so awesome! I have no idea what I'm
going to talk to you about, so if you have any questions just write them down
so you don't forget. 1 hour goes really fast!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Unlike Charlene, I have no idea what's happened
this week. I honestly look back and don't remember anything! We are so busy
running around, meeting people, teaching people, taking care of our District
Leaders and Zones, and yeah, I just lose track of time! But something I do
remember is that I. is going to be baptized on the 25th of January. He works so
much so it's hard to meet more often as once a week. But he's been keeping all
of his commitments and his story is amazing. He went from not believing in God,
and wanting to take his life, to a complete turn-around. He now loves God more
than anything and has seen BIG miracles in his life in this short amount of
time (3 weeks) that has completely changed is perspective and belief. We've
taught him things that he never knew before, about Christ, and the Plan of
Salvation, and he loves it. Elder McKean and I found him in August, and then
lost contact in September. But he contacted us about 4 weeks ago and said he
needs our help. Well, we helped him, and he's allowed us and Christ to change
his life.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now around this Christmas time it's been a bit
harder keeping in contact with some of our investigators but we keep finding
new people who want to meet with us. It's kind of a weird time of the year.
Lots of people are open, but then lots are closed, so there's no real way to
say if people are nicer during the Christmas season, lol. It's definitely more
stressful for people than any other time of the year. We went Christmas caroling
as a district last week by the Rathaus in Hamburg. It was a lot of fun. We
handed out DVD's and Christmas pass along cards to people. At the end of the
hour of singing our voices were shot! That's how good we sang <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span>!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I really hope that Jocelynn recovers well! That
sounds so painful and I'm so sorry that that accident happened. I hope you all
have a wonderful Christmas. If you can get in on the Skyping Kass that'd be
really cool!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Aunty Kirsten, Uncle Doug, Laurel, Jocelynn and
Craig, I hope you have a great Christmas; too bad it didn't work out like
planned, but have a wonderful one anyways! Thanks for the updates and I can't
wait to see you again. I was really looking forward to it in Skype, but I guess
I'll see you soon enough anyways. I really appreciate you guys and I love you!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thanks Mom and Dad for all you do for us, unlike
Charlene I haven't opened my presents yet ha-ha. I will wait until Christmas <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span>!
So I'll probably tell you thank you on Christmas day when we Skype!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jeremy, you are such a stud, haha. I love you and
hope that you keep having fun this winter. I miss the snow. It's not going to
be a white Christmas in Hamburg...it's still like plus 8° outside. I haven't
even seen snow yet! But I'll be back in February, so we'll be able to hit up
the mountain together.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Charlene, have an awesome Christmas! I loved Christmas
last year with the members. It's so different, but it's still a lot of fun.
Keep tearing it up with the missionary work. I'm proud of you! I had lunch with
Florian Löhrmann yesterday, who babysat us as were little and he said he thinks
it's awesome that you decided to go on a mission. It's true, and you're perfect
for it. You've got a bubbly personality for it,ha-ha. Keep it up.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
Kass and Scott, I
hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year. Hopefully we'll be
able to do a 3-way Skype. If not, then enjoy the holidays and the SNOW! lol.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thanks for everything and love you all! Please let the
family know I love them and miss them!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Elder Lüning<o:p></o:p></div>
Christopher Lueninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747209506300997303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4672910686656537057.post-11283054343705154382013-12-16T15:02:00.002-08:002013-12-16T15:03:16.274-08:00December 16, 2013, Hamburg<div class="MsoNormal">
Dear Family,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So this week has really run away on me. Anna is so cool. She
met with us again last week and we taught her the Plan of Salvation. We had given
her a Plan of Salvation pamphlet to take home and study before our meeting and
she had done it. She said the part in 2 Nephi which talks about the need for an
opposition in all things (misery to enjoy happiness) was a huge answer to one of
her biggest questions about Adam and Eve. It was so cool how excited she was to
tell us about it, ha-ha. She's a lot like you Kassandra. Her parents live in
Kiel, so she's home until January now, but will continue to meet with us when
she's back. We asked her if she's been praying too, and she said that her
prayers have changed. She expresses more gratitude and thankfulness than she did
before now that she does it daily. She said before she only prayed when she
needed help, but never really expressed her thankfulness. She said it's a lot
more personal now and that she really likes it. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Other than that our other investigators are also still doing
well. Henry didn't make it to church because of a funeral but called me later
in the day and said he missed us and made an appointment out with us. He's such
a loving man. The ward impressed me yesterday with an investigator that we
invited to church. We met him on the street, last week and then he came to
church. He speaks a little German and English but mainly French. We have 3
members who speak French and they translated the meetings for him and explained
a lot of things to him about the church the whole time. We barely had to do
anything. He felt so welcomed and wants to come again. We also made an
appointment with him for this week.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I thought I mentioned how things went with R and A. It was
really cool and man I was pretty nervous, lol. I “klingled” the doorbell and Andrea
opened up. She didn't recognize me at first until I stepped in and said hi, I'm
Christopher, ha-ha, as I gave her a hug. It was super wierd because I only
remember her a tiny bit, and yeah, she looks different, lol. Her mom had cooked
dinner for us and so we chatted for a bit and then ate together. R is really,
really strong Evangelisch. I asked if we could say a prayer before we ate, and
she said “ja” and asked me to say it. I said it and then she said her own
prayer afterwards, ha-ha. She didn't know I was planning on coming with my
companion, and didn't know we always had to stay together. She really didn't know
anything about the church except for that we don't drink alcohol. I tried a
couple of times to teach a lesson but it didn't work too well until A asked me
what the difference was between our church and the other ones. My companion was
busy talking to the dad about American Healthcare and I took the opportunity to
teach her the first lesson. She was really interested, R listened in a little
bit, but more of the interest came from A. She doesn't live at home either. She
lives in Barmbek which is 15minutes away from where we live. I see more
potential in her than anyone else. They are really settled in their beliefs. We
had a great time together though. We talked about kindergarten and the things
we remembered lol, and about why I'm on a mission, and what things we do as missionaries.
A left at the same time as us to go home, which gave me the opportunity to bear
my testimony to her. I'll try to see her
again and see if she'd be open for the lessons or to come to church sometime.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
Thanks so much for
the package mom, and I love the advent stuff you sent me. You are so awesome! I
don't know where you find the time for that, (individually wrapping every one...thanks
so much) and thanks so much for the Christmas CD's!! Everything else is still wrapped
till Christmas. I'll let you know next week about skype times. We don't know
everything yet, but I'll keep you posted. Thanks guys for your emails, I love
you and have a great week. You're in my prayers, Merry Christmas!<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Elder Lüning<o:p></o:p></div>
Christopher Lueninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747209506300997303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4672910686656537057.post-42604569396864596402013-12-10T18:59:00.000-08:002013-12-10T18:59:06.991-08:00December 4, 2013, Hamburg<br /><div class="MsoNormal">
Dear Family,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wow, -24 at night and -18 during the
day?! O, CANADA! It's been warm here in Hamburg compared to that. It only gets
down to about 5°C during the day time. I'm kinda glad it doesn't get that
cold, but something I do miss is the snow. We don't have snow on the ground
yet! We had a wind storm on Wednesday and then it snowed a little bit, but it
was more like hail. So we're hoping for a white Christmas, maybe it'll snow
soon <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well let me tell you how things have been going
here in Hamburg lately. Let’s start with our new converts. H. is amazing. He
cooked us African food again, and is now working on reading the sacrament
prayer in German so that he can do it one day on Sunday. He's also getting to
know the ward more and more and making family connections which are awesome.
He's so solid, comes to church every Sunday and loves studying with us and his home
teachers every week. We had the ward Christmas party on Saturday and he
came, stayed afterwards to clean up, and then ended up cleaning the whole church
building with Bishop Back because no one had done it yet. He's seriously
the best African, ha-ha. He's so funny. Brother Stephens is also doing really, really well. We taught him this week about
Patriarchal blessings and after the lesson asked him if he would like something
like that. He said 'Elder Lüning, I'm over-ready!’ Ha-ha, he told me to talk to
the bishop and get him set up with one. It still amazes me every time I
see him that he's 73years old. He doesn't seem that old or act like it at all ha-ha.
He's super active and the members love him a lot. He bears his testimony to us every
time of how grateful he is to have found the Church of Jesus Christ. He's also
preparing to go to the temple to do baptisms. Oh, and he's now a home teacher
and whenever we visit him he stuffs us with pancakes, lol. We also met
with C. this week and he's starting to change his life around again. He went to
church on Sunday in Delingsdorf which was a big step since he hasn't been to
church since two weeks after his baptism. He's still living with his girlfriend
but also at his mom’s place and said by the end of the month he'll know if
they'll break up or not. He said she's keeping him away from the church and
that something has to change. He's going to meet more regularly with us again
since the hand off to the Delingsdorf Elder's didn't work at all. They didn't
visit him regularly when we handed him off to them which was too bad. But his
heart is back in it and we'll help him!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The members in this ward are so awesome! I love
them so much, and now that Christmas is around the corner I feel even closer to
them than ever. We really have a lot of support from our ward and we're seeing
miracles every day. Last week we talked to a student on the street who had
interest and then about 4 or 5 days later I made out an appointment with her.
She came to the church and we gave her a church tour, told her a little bit
about our standards and how the church is organized and how it runs. We then
taught her the Restoration and she loved it! She asked questions about the word
of wisdom and chastity and eternal marriage, and soaked everything up. We
didn't go into too much detail of course but she loved everything we said.
She's German, and married to a Muslim from Iran, and really open to learn more
about our church and religion so we'll be meeting again this week. She also
loved our sense of humour and how we had personal testimonies of what we
taught. It was a blessing finding her just from talking with everyone we saw
for 20mins of finding time that we had. We also got in contact with an old
investigator who wants to change his life around and is very serious now. His
names I. We're looking forward to helping him. Then there are a couple more
people we're teaching and helping get closer to baptism.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I'm stuck on Sunday being my absolute favourite
day of the week. I feel it’s the most spiritual and happiest day that I have in
the week. It's a time to reflect on the week and see how it went and remember
where the Lord has helped me and others through me. I feel a lot of weight on
myself in leading the area, and the zone,
ha-ha, and helping Elder Cannon learn everything that he needs to do, but I'm
still happy all the time, no matter what!
Ha-ha. I always think of Christ calming the storm and think of it
as him calming my storms. Whenever I have a ton of stuff going on and it is
chaotic, I can call upon Him and there's peace. One of the assistants asked me
why I'm so chill or relaxed and happy all the time, and I said it's because I'm
Canadian ha-ha. But I think it's really just a gift that I've been blessed with
that comes from the Gospel and doing what's right.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mom, thanks for the email. Sounds like
your busy like always ha-ha. But it's impressive to see how you're rejuvenated
with strength through just little spiritual moments of rest. It's a blessing.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dad, thanks for your example and for the way
you raised me. I was at the Panitsch's for lunch yesterday and they showed me a
video of the day that you and Mom drove down to Salt Lake to spend one day with
them. They are still so impressed by that act of kindness and have a lot of
respect and love for you and Mom.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Charlene, I'm excited that she was baptized!
Keep working hard! I know member work can be a bit slow at the start, but once
they love you and trust you it changes everything. Then you can start role
playing with them and help them do their own missionary work by going after
less actives and friends. <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jeremy, I hope you had a great week and I hope
you're enjoying the snow! I'm not sure how much it snows in Italy, ha-ha, so
enjoy the last year of it! <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kass, I hope things are going well with the
job, you didn't tell me your mailing address so I guess you won't get the
tinsel in time for Christmas since it takes like 3 weeks to get to you. Too bad...but
there's always another year I guess. <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Have a great week everyone and stay healthy and
strong!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Love, Elder Lüning<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
p.s. Oliver Back and his wife but St. Nikolaus in front of our
door! They're so awesome! <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Christopher Lueninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747209506300997303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4672910686656537057.post-23606909717105091242013-12-10T18:29:00.000-08:002013-12-10T18:29:02.473-08:00November 25, 2013, Hamburg<br /><div class="MsoNormal">
Dear Family,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hey Family, so no worries about the small email! Thanks for
the uplifting spiritual thoughts and for sharing your experiences.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We had President interviews last week Thursday which
was really awesome. President Kosak is such a good man and his heart is big. We
had a really good talk and I'm so grateful have been able to be in this
leadership position for so long and be able to get to know him so well from all
of our meetings and talks. He's a great man. He seemed pretty troubled about
transfers this week though. He said to me, “I don't know if Elder Lüning will
be staying in Hamburg. Something’s not right yet. I still need time to figure
out what the Lord wants.” Transfer calls for the Zone Leaders were the next day
in the evening, so he had about 24 hours to clear everything up. We all prayed
for him together as a Zone which I feel helped him a lot. Our zone didn't
change much. There were about 4 companionships that changed, including mine.
Elder McKean will be going to Berlin, Neuköhln, and I'll be staying in Hamburg
for my last 2 transfers training a new Zone Leader! I was really surprised! I'm
excited and looking forward to my new companion. I know him already from when I
was in Kiel. He was in Flensburg and I was able to go on exchanges with him a
couple times! His name is Elder Cannon, and he's from Utah. I'll be picking him
up tomorrow!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We moved all of our stuff out of our apartment on
Saturday to get it ready for the renovations, and no members showed up to help
because there was another service project where they needed to paint, however,
only 5 members showed up to that one. It took us 6 hours to clear the whole apartment
and when Bishof found out about it he was pretty upset. He addressed it in the
priesthood meeting and pulled out the handbook where it said that the quorum’s
first purpose is to serve. Bishof Back rocks. He's a really good leader, and
I'm learning quite a bit from him by just watching him and observing what he
does and how he addresses things. He reminds me a lot of you, Dad.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We will be living in Altona until Thursday.
Friday we head out to Berlin for a conference, and then Friday night we'll be
back in our new renovated apartment! I'm really excited. Elder B. was also transferred
who is another missionary in our apartment. The missionary that is replacing
him I haven't met yet. So it'll be a bit different but it'll be good still.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Oh yeah, also Sister H is in this zone in
Bergedorf as a Sister Training Leader which is way cool because she was with me
in Kiel at the beginning of this year. Elder G and I picked her up from the train
station and welcomed her fresh into her first area on her mission. She was in
Kiel for 3 transfers and then went to Lübeck. She was then in Berlin, and now
she's back in Hamburg zone, ha-ha. It's cool because we get to catch up on our
drives to Berlin for our Leadership Councils and talk about times in Kiel. I
haven't told you much about her at all but she wanted me to say Hi to the
family for me.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Elder McK. and I were together for 3 transfers
so it's too bad we couldn't stay one more together for Christmas. But the
decisions come from the Lord and they are for our own good. We're going to
check out the Christmas market and look around at things for his last day here
in Hamburg. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mom, thanks for sending the package! Let me
know if there's anything you or the family wants. I love you and you are a good
example to me of service.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dad, thanks for the spiritual thought. It reminds me
of the baptismal covenant in Mosiah 18: to be a witness of Christ in all
things, at all times, and in all places! There is so much power that we can receive
from the atonement, and just from keeping it in remembrance! I read about the stripling
warriors in Alma 58 and was impressed by verse 40. Sometimes we receive wounds through
this battle of righteousness but it’s important that we stand firm in the
freedom that we have received from giving our lives to Christ. He said
whosoever loses his life for my sake will find it. And we'll stay in this peace
and happiness and freedom as long as we keep the commandments and keep the Lord
in remembrance. Their example was one of Faith and Trust, and throughout these
chapters the lord fulfills his promise at the very moments when it seems
impossible. I love it. The Lord will ALWAYS fulfill his promises to His
faithful servants.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
Charlene, congrats
on being able to go back and see the baptism! Thanks so much for the pictures,
they're awesome! I love you and keep up the good work in your new area! I'll
try to send some Caro soon! <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span>
Just don't drink it without sugar and cream...ha-ha, it's really bad like that!
<span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
Have a good week family! Lots
of love,<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Elder Lüning<o:p></o:p></div>
Christopher Lueninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747209506300997303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4672910686656537057.post-56327653137580747212013-12-09T08:34:00.002-08:002013-12-09T08:34:28.431-08:00November 18,2013 Hamburg<br /><div class="MsoNormal">
Dear Family,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It's so great to hear from you all again! P-day
is almost over, but it was a lot of fun. Sister Uhtermöhlen, bless her heart,
gave us money to go to the Hagenbeck Tropen Aquarium! It was about €56 for the
4 of us. We didn't want to take the money from her but she insisted that we go
visit it, have a good time, and then report to her with pictures about all the
fun we had ha-ha. So that's what we did and man, that was a lot of fun. Saw
some crocodiles, sharks, sting rays, weird bugs, and a lot of cool look'n fish!
Ha-ha. And at the entrance there were lemurs that jump on you and eat carrots
and stuff. It only took about 1.5 hours so it as a perfect p-day activity! I'm
definitely going to write her a nice thank you note for that.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was nice to hear from all of you and to hear about your experiences that you had this last week. When you told me that my
release information was emailed to you that made me feel weird. Times going so
fast. For Christmas...I thought about it a bit, but you know I'm going to be
home like 2 months later so there's no real point in getting me anything.
Something that I do want is copies of the Christmas music that you would always
play during advent <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span>
I'm totally getting into the Christmas spirit with all the German Christmas
treats already out in the grocery stores! I've got Lebküchen un Spekulatius,
and those Herzlebküchen, and Marzipan and oranges and Caro and fruit tea! I
also have some German Christmas music, but I like the CD we have at home the
most, lol. There are some songs I haven't found yet like the children one that
sings 'eine Maa, eine Moo, eine teteretete'. If I got a copy of the CD I would “freu”
myself! <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span>
That's about all I can think of. You don't need to send money either. I still
have about €200 cash personal money, and I'm sure there's still something on my
account. I don't spend money too often lol. BUT let me know if there's anything
that you would like me to send home to you for Christmas! I can help stock you
up on German stuff again. Just give me a shopping list and I can do it. That
goes for all of you. If there's something special that you would like for Christmas
let me know. I'll be sending home books and stuff soon to help get rid of some
weight for my luggage. I've got a way cool 3 book combination of the Max und
Moritz stories.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, I wanted to report on the FHE at the member’s
house on Monday last week. It was a really nice experience. The wife’s sister
showed up with her boyfriend and after dinner we taught them the message of the
Restoration. It was really positive. They really liked it and took a Book of Mormon
from us to read. After they left we talked about how it went with the husband
and wife and they couldn't believe how powerful the message and the lesson was.
The husband looked at us both and said 'Es war mir nie wirklich so bewußt, wie
sie als missionare tatsäglich vertreter Christi sind. Heute abend habt ihr
wirklich Jesus Christus repräsentiert.' (It was never really clear to me how
you really are representatives of Christ. Tonight you really represented Jesus
Christ.) <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span>
They loved it and thanked us for sharing that message. They didn't really
expect that one since they told us anything on prayer and Christ ha-ha. We
heard that and automatically thought hmm...RESTORATION! Lol. The sister and
boyfriend left for holidays and said when they're back they want to have a FHE
again and learn more.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We ate African food with Henry, our convert. He
made us some fufu and chicken and fish soup. We looked in the pot and there's a
fish head in there and some cut up chicken legs, wings and back ha-ha. He made
some fufu to go with it which is close to mashed potatoes but really sticky.
You eat it with your hands by taking some fufu, dipping it in the soup and
grabbing some meat with it and then shoving it in your mouth. It's so African
and way good! Henry's like, eat the back Elder McK., it's very sweet! It was
a lot of fun and he's such a great member. We've been visiting him every week
since his baptism in August and he's doing so great. He passes the sacrament
every Sunday and is now going to be practicing the prayer in German.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I love the ward here and the city. It's awesome
and the members are so nice to everyone. We're doing a missionary fireside on Saturday.
We're introducing Mormonism by teaching the first lesson from Preach My Gospel.
We've put fliers everywhere at the student housings and hope to see a lot of
people come. It should be good and we're hoping to see new investigators from
it. Also on Saturday our apartment is being renovated so we'll be in Altona for
a week and have to move everything out on the same day...Saturday. It's going
to be a busy but fast week. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Opa bore strong testimony about how much he's
loving the Book of Mormon, because he's learning a ton from it. He's read it
before, but he's finding things that weren't in there the last time. He told us
he's learned a lot so far. He's now in Alma! I love Oma and Opa a lot and their
food reminds me of mom’s cooking! It's way good! They’re now on vacation for a
month. I'm learning a ton from the scriptures too; it reminded me of how
there's no end to learning, until we choose to stop!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dad, Thanks for sharing the spiritual thought!
Did you find out more about your passport?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mom, thanks for the email last week. I printed
it off because it was so long and read it throughout the week and liked how
much you learned from your scriptures study and how it helped you throughout
the day. Thanks for your testimony! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Charlene, full proselyting! Sounds exciting and I'm
sure you'll love it. We'll find out about transfers on Friday during interviews
because next week Tuesday is transfer day. So I'll find out what's happening
here in Hamburg! I'm pretty positive that I'll be staying my last 2 transfers
here. I'm just curious to see if Elder McK. will stay one more transfer here,
making it his 5 transfer in this city, or if he'll leave and I get a new
companion. We've been 3 transfers together so far so we'll see. It'll be
surprising!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kass and Scott, Ich freue mich total dass
es schon Schnee bei euch gibt! Ich hoffe dass er bleiben wird bis ich
wenegstens zu Hause bin, dammit ich mich auch im Schnee vergnügen kann! Ich
vermisse die Winteraktivitäten. Wie Snowshoeing, and snowboarding, and sledding
haha. But I'm sure it will, it's Canada after all, lol. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
Jeremy, mom keeps
telling us good things about you. Like you helped with moving, I'll be doing
that this week too lol. Actually there's like 2 member families who are moving
in the next couple weeks so we'll be helping a bit with that too. Good to hear
you are ready to serve!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I love you all, and hope you have a good week. I thought I'd
send a big email this time, since I couldn't for a while now, but could today!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Love Elder Lüning<o:p></o:p></div>
Christopher Lueninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747209506300997303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4672910686656537057.post-64133978539439484322013-11-11T06:25:00.000-08:002013-11-11T06:25:05.552-08:00November 11, 2013, Hamburg<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Dear Family,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">
Hey, Mom I agree with Charlene. You do a lot and I'm grateful for your example
and for how diligently you strive to serve the Lord. I had a little time today
to think about progression as we were walking to the grocery store. It's
important to look back sometimes and see how far you've made it and how much
closer you are drawing to the Saviour. Some might say, don't look at what's
been done, look at what still needs to be done, but it's important. Otherwise
you forget the ways that the Lord has helped you already. We've received so
many blessings from Him, and when we look at how he's blessed us and changed
us, it can fill us with immense joy and thankfulness and motivate us to
continue. I think the closer we draw to our Saviour, the more light shines on
our imperfections and the more we see that there's still lots to work on. But
it's important to never lose sight of how far we've come. Step by step is how
He works, and it is how we work too! Thanks for your example and for everything
you do for us kids. I really appreciate it!! </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">
Things here in Hamburg are good. I like serving here and I really like the Ward.
I had the opportunity to see a few members from Kiel yesterday because of their
Stake Conference being in the Hamburg Stake Center. It was nice being able to
catch up with them and it reminded me of how much I do miss them. Also one of
people we gave to the Sisters to teach, moved back into our area. I'm grateful
for the opportunity to start meeting with him again and teach him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> We met on Saturday with Uncle Jan. He
agreed to meet with us regularly and start working on his testimony again. He's
very excited about it and has the desire. What a blessing being able to help
family out here. I'm so grateful for this opportunity! It was always a wish of
mine to serve in Hamburg, but I never thought it would happen. Well it's
happened, and there's always a bigger picture behind everything!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">
There is a young married couple with whom we're working. The wife invited her inactive
sister and her sister's boyfriend to dinner with us. They accepted and want to
learn about prayer and Christ. The sister doesn't come to church and the
boyfriend isn't a member but they are looking forward to meeting us and having
dinner with us at the member’s house tonight!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Charlene it sounds like you’re
doing great! Keep up the good work. Thanks for always sharing your testimony.
You're great!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><br />
Jeremy, that a boy. Ha-ha. Way to be a winner </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">! Thanks for
always being a good example to the youth. I know they look up to you and that
you're a big help for them! You're always in my prayers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Dad,
it's good to hear about the youth and to know they're doing well. Also Oma told
me you were having troubles with your passport. I hope everything gets sorted
out in time for Christmas. Thanks for your example and testimony. I've learned
a lot of things from you growing up and have also noticed ways that the gospel
has changed you as disciple of Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Kass,
thanks for the big update on how you're doing and thanks for the personal
email. I'm glad things are going well! I'll be visiting lots when I'm home!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">I hope you all have a great
week!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><br />
Elder Luening<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Christopher Lueninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747209506300997303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4672910686656537057.post-59620231430464890172013-11-11T06:18:00.002-08:002013-11-11T06:18:22.327-08:00November 4, 2013, Hamburg<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Dear Family,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Thanks for the emails! It was
great to hear from all of you. I just had a really good week last week. We were
busy with meetings. But they really built and uplifted me and I felt edified by
the messages shared. Elder Kearon and Elder Fingerle from the Quorum of the
Seventies were at our Zone Conference on Wednesday. They were doing a mission
tour. We had 120 missionaries in the Stake Center! 5 out of 11 Zones were
there! It was really awesome and a great opportunity to hear the voices of the
Lord’s called servants.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> On Friday we had
our Leadership Training Meeting in Berlin (for Zone Leaders and Sister Training
Leaders) and Elder Kearon and Elder Fingerle were also there for half of the
meeting. I can't really explain in an email the feelings I felt during one of
the discussions we had. I felt the spirit so strong, and the love that they had
for us as they taught us the importance of faith and overcoming discouragement.
It just really hit me like a wall and knew that was something that I needed to
hear personally, and also a lot of other missionaries in the Zone, that we can
pass it on to.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> This last week
was a little disappointing with lessons, because a lot of our appointments fell
through, and we couldn't contact the people we had found. But there were also a
lot of positive things that happened. Things are still moving forward. We have
a couple candidates that we're trying to commit to a baptismal date. Sister
Uhtermöhlen loves us and cooks for us every week. Oma and Opa too! They stuffed
us with the best Grünkohl (kale) that I've had in Germany so far. I ate so much,
it was great! Ha-ha. They are really doing well and I love them a lot! Opa's
still working his way through the Book of Mormon and is almost finished with Mosiah.
He's a big help for the Sunday School classes too ,because he gives good answers
and participates freely </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> There was a man that
we talked to on the street that Sister Uhtermöhlen lives on. He was about 45yrs
old and we talked to him about God outside. He said he lost his faith in God
but didn't tell us why because it was really personal to him. We bore
testimony, shared some experiences with him, and encouraged him that he could find
that faith again and that life with Him is better than without. Well he completely
opened up and said with tears that he lost a lot of family members at a very
young age and that that was the cause of him losing his faith. We thanked him
for sharing that with us and then bore testimony to him about love and about
how the Gospel brings hope and peace! We asked if we could share our message
with him and he said no, and walked away. We walked on, but it hurt, because I
knew that what we had could bless him and help him in his life a lot, but he
rejected it, even after opening up for us. My heart reaches out to people like
that and wishes that I could help them, but I can't unless they want it. We're
finding the ones who are prepared, and like Ammon worked with the servants to
gather the flocks together and contend with the Lamanites, The Lord is helping
us gather his flocks while he contends with the ones who try to weaken us!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> I love you, and
hope you have a great week! I know I will! The Lord is with us! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Elder Lüning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Christopher Lueninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747209506300997303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4672910686656537057.post-82039975033523545112013-11-11T06:07:00.003-08:002013-11-11T06:09:12.180-08:00October 28, 2013, Hamburg<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Dear Family,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> Thanks so much
for the emails. I honestly love being a missionary and the things that I've
learned so far in the field. We bought our pumpkins today for carving and it
was just another reminder of how quickly the time is moving by. Mom, dad, you
two are amazing. You're so diligent in planning and sacrificing time for the
church. You two, with your solid testimonies and missionary experiences are a
huge help in Cranbrook Stake! I get letters from members telling me how much
they appreciate you and all that you do out of your personal lives to help
build up the Kingdom of God on earth. You're “Großartige” examples for me. (“<i>great”</i> sounds better in German to me, ha-ha).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> So this week was
a week where Elder McK and I learned a lot. Our District Leader asked us to
study Ch. 9 from Preach My Gospel this week, and so we did. On Tuesday we
started at the beginning and made it to the end of the second page before we
ran out of time because it was like instant revelation. We reflected on how we
talk to people and approach them on the street, how we plan to use our time as
we find people to teach, and how we listen to the spirit. There's a quote which
says 'Finding by the spirit is just as important as it is to teach by the
spirit.' Also it says that the people we find who are prepared for us will want
to listen to our message and meet with us again. We really tried to apply what
we learned into the rest of our weekly work and we saw the effectiveness of it.
When someone would want to talk with us more, but didn't want to meet or learn
from us, instead of continuing in discussion with him we ended the conversation
in testimony, gave him a card and moved on as quickly as we could. It helped us
tune more into the spirit and discern if this man is ready or not. It's amazing
how it works. In doing this we've been able to find people who want to meet
with us. We found 20 people with who we have contact information with. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Once we have our planned time
of finding, we would stop and talk to each other if this is what we should do
or if we should be somewhere else. Sometimes we get sudden promptings that tell
us to get out of the bus suddenly, or to walk in a different direction, and
sometimes the plan stays the same. But through this tuning in and double checking
if this is where we should be, we've been able to find these new people who
want to meet again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> One girl we found
last night is called J. She's a German girl probably about 28yrs old and from
Hannover originally. Before we went finding we said okay, which way are we
going, I looked at the map again while we were in the train, and picked out the
way. As we just got out of the train stop Elder McK. said to me, 'This is
perfect, I just got revelation, we should walk to “Haupt Bahnhof”', I laughed because
that was exactly the way I picked out, but I guess I forgot to tell him, so I
said, “I feel the same way”. Well after talking to a few people we found J. who
was completely open and said that since she left Hannover, she doesn't really
have a ward to go to, so she wants to come see ours and meet with us this week
sometime. We got her number and gave her a Book of Moormon and pamphlet and
testimony to go with it. It was great!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> Another story is
about a man named R. He was walking in front of us and as we were passing him,
I talked to him about Christ, and he said, “Yeah I believe but I don't have
anything to do with a church. We talked a bit more and then suddenly he said he
was from Canada. Bwahh! My first CANADIAN! Right then we started talking in English
and I told him where I was from. His whole countenance changed. He told us he'd
met missionaries before but didn't understand too much about the Book of Mormon.
So we set up an appointment with him and he wants to learn more. Before walking
in that direction we were on exchanges, so I asked Elder G. how he felt about
the plan and the direction we were going, He paused and said really good. These
small pauses to tune in to the spirit, and double check to see if we are doing
the right thing is what I learned this week. And it works the same way at home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> A missionary
told me once a long time ago, the things you learn in Preach My Gospel and the
White Handbook, are really for MEMBERS with a few extra rules and tips for
specifically set-apart missionaries.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">
One more thing, Opa gave a great talk the week before. I forgot to tell you
that last Monday. It was about the importance of General Conference, and really,
really well done! He gave solid testimony and it was really touching. Ha-ha, he
said he was really nervous because it was the first time in 20 years that he
gave a talk but he didn't show it at all! He's a natural! Oma and Opa are doing
great! I love them so much.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> Thanks for everything you guys are doing and
for the emails you write me. Charlene, your emails are so long I print them off
and read them when I have time ha-ha. And Jeremy thanks for the small email and
your testimony about prayer! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Love, Elder Luening<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Christopher Lueninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747209506300997303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4672910686656537057.post-84176566238530804602013-11-11T05:54:00.002-08:002013-11-11T05:54:18.157-08:00October 21, 2013, Hamburg<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Dear Family, </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> Thank you so much for
all the wonderful e-mails. I really do appreciate all the time you take out of
your busy, crazy, stressful lives to write me words of encouragement and to let
me know what's been happening in your own personal lives. It helps me feel a
part of your life, even when I'm on the other side of the world! So thanks! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> I wish I had time to write you all back
individually. It takes me close to an hour to read all your letters, and then I
need about 20 minutess to write Pres. and report on how the Zone is doing with
its respective Districts. So I usually have only about 40 minutess to write
friends and family. I try to reply and wish I could write more than a few lines
but it just doesn't work lol. I love you so much and yes...I'm starting to get
a bit excited about see you all again, skyping on Christmas! Kass and Scott, I
won't be able to see you but I guess it's only like 2 months after Christmas
when I'm home again so no big deal lol. I've been a Zone Leader in this mission
since January 1st. The Assistent to the President just told me on Monday that
I'm the longest serving Zone Leader in the mission. I'm wondering if I'm going
to finish my mission here in Hamburg or not. I really hope so, but at the same
time I would love to train again before coming home. We'll see what happens.
Our Mission President is awesome, and receives revelation from the Lord for
each of us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> I'm really
excited that Elder McK. and I are staying 3 transfers together. We get along
really well and love working together. We're both hard workers and our Zone is
so awesome. We really focus a lot on obedience and striving for exact obedience
with everything. Success of a missionary is not based on how many baptisms he
gets, but how obedient and faithful he was as a servant of the Lord. It's so
important to always have the spirit with you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> This last week
was great. It was the worst week we had number wise because we didn't find a
single new investigator and we couln’t meet with the 2 investigators we have.
We had a lot of member visits to involve them in the work of salvation, and
also a lot of finding time. We're really focusing on using all our time to talk
with people wherever we are like Elder Ballard said in General.Conference - that
means wherever we are and whatever we're doing. We're risking the awkward and
talking with people in the trains and buses! Sometimes they completely reject
you and act like they didn't hear what you said to them and then it's really
awkward for the next 5-10minutes, ha-ha, but other times you can get some
pretty good conversations. Our name tag is a magnet too. We talk to someone
about the weather and all of a sudden they're asking us why we're here and why
we're wearing a name tag... “Well, let me tell you...” BAM, restoration! We
don't see many new inv. from it but the point is to always be engaged in
talking. Of course you gotta have a balance. Sometimes you need those train
rides or short bus rides to get a chance to cool down and like Kass said,
'Meditate'. But when we're fit we use the time, we as the Zone Leaders, are
doing it so that our zone does it too. Lead by example. We also had a man stop
us because he saw “Jesu Christi” on our nametag and wanted to know who we were.
Don't see that happen too often in Hamburg.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> I have to agree
with you Dad, the fall is beautiful. Hamburg is so pretty in the fall, too,
because of how many trees there are. Everything green is turning colours. I'll
have to take more pictures and send some. M., Brother Stephens son will be able
to meet next week. He's finally gets a break from his 200 kids that he teaches
French to. We're excited to be meeting him! He's got a desire to learn and be
baptized. I think even when we work super hard and don't see the success we
want, it’s comforting to know that we're working with the Lord, and that he's
always with us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">
Something I've started doing for about 2 weeks now is just taking the last
15minutres of the day (10:15pm) to lie in my bed and read. It really helps me
get that quiet time I need so that I never feel I don't have time for me. I can
feel the effects from it and I don't burn out so fast.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> Thanks again to all of you for writing me.
I'm doing great and so is my companion. I hope you all have a great week, and
know that you're always in my prayers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Elder Luening<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Christopher Lueninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747209506300997303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4672910686656537057.post-5595201104969456022013-11-11T05:43:00.001-08:002013-11-11T06:08:09.930-08:00October 14, 2013, Hamburg<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Dear Family,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">So, this week has flown by
again. All I remember is that I was extremely tired and exhausted this week. We
had a lot of meetings, lol. We had our Zone Training Meeting which was amazing!
We taught a lesson about repentance and how we can apply that into our areas
and missionary life. It was great, and I love the spirit one can feel at these
types of meetings. We also had a Leadership Training Meeting the following day
which was also good. One of the lessons given from Sister Kosak (Pres. Kosaks
wife), was on stress and stress relief. Well, we all thought a lot about that
lesson afterwards and got stressed out just thinking about it! It was a good
time though. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">We met twice this week with
R., the lady who talked to us after General Conference, and invited her to
baptism. She said she wants to learn more before she commits to something big
like that. But she's aware of why we visit and that baptism is her goal! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> Our Chinese investigator, S., is leaving
tomorrow for China. She came to Stake Conference and loved it. She's all set to
go home with her Book of Mormon (which she loves), her Bible, and Gospel
Principles book. She's really built her faith so much and knows that she has a
Heavenly Father looking out for her. She's excited to keep learning and
studying the scriptures and doctrines when she returns to China. The closest
church to her home is about 10 hours away, so she'll need to keep studying and
figure out what she's going to do in the future. She loves the things we've
taught her and expressed her gratitude to us after church before she went home.
She said she'll never forget meeting us and the things we've taught her. We
made her really happy! It was really touching to hear and made us feel really
grateful for the work here in Hamburg. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> We also met a young man about 20 years old
on the street and asked him what Christ meant to him. He stopped and pondered
for a while and really dug within himself for an answer. He then said, 'I'm
actually one of the few who has read the Bible all the way through, and I'm not
really sure what Christ means to me. I guess you could say I'm one of those
people who are on the search.' We bore our testimonies to him and introduced
the Book of Mormon to him. We gave it to him and he was really touched that we
would just give him this book for free. He expressed his appreciation to us and
took the book and promised he'd read it. It was touching to see how this all
impacted him and excited him to continue studying for truth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">
We had transfer calls and Elder McK. and I are staying another transfer
together in Hamburg! We've just set some goals and made some plans of what we
want to accomplish this transfer and how we'll do it. The Lord is working WITH
us in His “Weingarten” <i>(vineyard)</i>.
(Jacob 5).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Love, Elder Lüning!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Christopher Lueninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747209506300997303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4672910686656537057.post-23653736536472962942013-11-11T05:32:00.000-08:002013-11-11T05:32:00.497-08:00October 7, 2013 Hamburg<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Hey
family!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> Jeremy
I'm proud of you for making the step you did. Guess you'll be home when I get
back eh? I'm excited to see you again. Mom, Dad, please let Grandma know I wish
her a “Gute Besserung” (<i>Get Well</i>)!
That whole accident just sounded really painful. I'm glad she's doing okay.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> This week sped by on by
again. On Monday/Tuesday I was able to go on exchange with a District Leader.
We stayed in Hamburg and had a really busy day. He was so excited to see how Elder
McK. and I talk to people and how we find people, so I made sure we had some
time to do just that. It didn't take him to long to realize that he had been
doing exactly what we were doing the whole time. Ha-ha! The only difference was our attitude and how
we dealt with those who didn't want to listen. Those that don't want to listen
to us, we don't beg them to stay and hear us out. We wish them a good day and
moved on to find those elite that God has prepared for us. Elder McK. and I
know that they're out there and that Heavenly Father will put them in our
paths. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> We've been focusing on the
atonement in our mission and it's really helped us with our missionary work. We
also had a lesson given to us in Berlin on Friday about Missionary Repentance.
We internalized it and brought it into our apartment and introduced it to the
other 2 Elders who lived with us. We got a red piece of paper and wrote “HAMBURG
UMKEHR” at the top. <i>(Hamburg Repentance)</i>
and made a list of things we noticed that we want to change and do better on in
the apartment. We have 16 things written down and things have improved a lot
already! I've also notice how it's helped us each personally apply the
atonement more in our lives because we prayed afterwards for the support to be
able to change. It's also unified us more with each other. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /> Two miracles happened this week. S. told us that the Book of Mormon leads her to believe in God. We taught
her how to read it and she read from 1 Ne. 3 to 1 Ne. 19 in 3 days. She loves
it and said she needs to read it through at least twice. One for the story, and
one for her personally where she can apply what she learns into her life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> Second miracle, is that after
the wonderful </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">General Conference on
Saturday night (the first Saturday session), on our way home a lady asked us if
our church is in English. We told her about General Conference and she said, “Oh
I was in Utah and saw the temple!” We invited her to come the next day for
General Conference and she came! She saw the Saturday afternoon session and
loved it! We will now be meeting with her twice a week and she's coming to
church on Sunday again!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /> I'm grateful for the atonement in my life and for the power I receive from it
daily. These days out here aren't easy. But they're good. From my study of
Isaiah this time through the Book of Mormon, I tied what he says together with
Nephi. In Lehi's dream he sees people walk away from the tree after partaking
of the fruit because they were ashamed of those mocking him. Isaiah talks a lot
about the atonement of Jesus Christ and about how we should be proud of being
his followers. He says that though we might feel as though we're roads for
people to walk on, or that we are persecuted beyond what we can handle, Jesus
Christ will lift us up and carry us on His shoulders. He will take our burden
from us and those that persecute us, He will separate from us. The message that
I got from it this time through is be proud of having a Savior who is more
powerful than ALL things. Nephi had hard times, but he never lost sight of his
Savior, and knew the rewards of obedience and faith. This is one of the
reasons why he loved Isaiah so much.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">I hope you all have a great
week! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Elder Luening<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Christopher Lueninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747209506300997303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4672910686656537057.post-57951031498533372512013-11-11T05:18:00.004-08:002013-11-11T05:18:49.023-08:00September 30, 2013, Hamburg<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> Dear Family,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> So I'm
trying to think about how the week went and again, I have no idea. It's now
October which I can't even believe and the time just keeps moving forward. I just
bought a new winter jacket for this last winter here in Germany. I found a TK
Max where I can use my Master Card and it's a really big store. Success! I am
now completely prepped for winter. I'll probably be sending stuff that I don't
need any more home soon, so I'm not all stressed about it at the end of my
mission.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> The appointments
with the five new people that we found last week all fell through. We thought
they were part of the “Elite”, but apparently not. So we are back on the road
looking for and searching for the ones who are prepared. We're having a
lot of fun with finding, though. The people that we've managed to find and have
conversations with are great. When you talk with everyone you see, you get some
crazy people, some people who don't even regard you, some people who stop and
hear your first line and then leave without saying anything, but no matter
what, there are always the ones that listen. You just might have to go through
a bunch to get the ones who are ready. I love it! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> Our new members are doing great still.
They're super active and haven't missed a single Sunday. S, our Chinese
investigator asked about how she can understand the Book of Mormon better when
she reads, so we prepped a lesson for her about that. It was awesome. She had
read the chapter we left with her and then the first 3 chapters of 1 Nephi. So
we read Nephi 4 with her and helped her apply the things she read to her life.
She said, “Now I understand how I can learn from this book!” She's like, I was
reading it like a novel and didn't even think about paying attention to what I
would do if I was in that situation! She's making so much progress and she said
after she read Alma 36 she learned why it’s important to keep the commandments!
Oh and their Chinese food is so good! The H. Family love us and as we teach S,
it's helping Sister H’s testimony so much too!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">
That’s all I have to say this week! It's getting colder now. 13° during the
day!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> Love you and hope you all have a good week!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Christopher Lueninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747209506300997303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4672910686656537057.post-12115689855454448782013-09-28T08:23:00.001-07:002013-09-28T08:23:26.609-07:00September 23, 2013, Hamburg<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 18px;">Dear Family,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> I feel like I start all emails the same by
saying every time, “This week has gone fast”. Well, this week did go pretty
fast. We had our Zone Conference on Wednesday and it was a nice spiritual
boost! Our mission also has an awesome goal to baptize 150 children of God
before the end of the year so Elder Mc. and I will definitely be doing our part
to help out! We've been seeing the fruits of talking to everyone lately and have
found 5 new investigators this week.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> I've
been exhausted the last couple days! I think part of it is because of the cold
weather and that it is getting darker now earlier and staying dark longer.
Another part might be because I've been out here for so long already. And
another part might be that Elder Mc. and I are working hard and keeping busy
with taking care of our zone, new converts, less actives, investigators and
making sure we follow up with all the member lessons we have!! We've already
seen success from the member visits. There are so many awesome members in this ward
and I'm getting closer to them every week. I really hope I get to stay here
till the end of my mission.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
Our Chinese investigator, S, is doing great. We invited her to baptism again
but she said she wasn't sure yet, but she read the chapters that we asked her
to read …..twice! We taught the 10 commandments and focused on church
attendance, and bore testimony. I'm really grateful that we have Church….. a
place where we can always go to feel spiritually uplifted and to renew our
covenants. We can show our gratitude to God for our blessings and also be a
blessing to others while we're there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> I also went on an exchange with a
missionary who's been out for about 5 transfers. I'm in my 13th transfer! It
made me feel really old, ha-ha. We had fun and were able to learn from each
other. I noticed how much the Lord has blessed me throughout the time on my
mission in becoming a better teacher. He really has kept His promise to me in helping
me teach doctrines and principles in a simple, clear and understandable way.
I'm so grateful for that!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Also we visited Oma and Opa for my birthday
last week, and as I told Opa about the missionary reading plan (we're reading
through the Book of Mormon before Christmas), he said,'Okay, I'll do that! I
want to do that!'. He's got a lot of excitement in him and he's keeping the
fire burning!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
Anyway, in short I'm doing
great! Way tired, ha-ha! It probably sounds like I just rambled off but nah,
I'm doing great. We had a District BBQ today to celebrate some more missionary
birthdays and oh,….. the Elders sang the German birthday song and lifted me in the
chair ha-ha-ha! IT WAS AWESOME! I love you and hope you have a great week!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">PS
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Jeremy, congrats on the investigator. He
sounds like a great man and keep enjoying the work! Record the miracles you see
in your journal! It's a way that you can personally show the Lord that your
grateful for them!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
Charlene, thanks for your testimony, and wow, that young man seems so prepared.
I'm excited to see how it will continue with him. Keep up the excitement, it
only gets better! </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Christopher Lueninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747209506300997303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4672910686656537057.post-34338813550896423472013-09-28T08:06:00.003-07:002013-09-28T08:06:36.086-07:00September16, 2013, Hamburg<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Dear family,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Thanks
for the Birthday wishes it meant a lot to me! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> This
was another really fast week. It honestly went by like a blur and I have to
look at my planner to remember what we did. Our Chinese investigator, S, is
making so much progress. She told us that as she was reading in the Book of
Mormon and thinking about the things we taught her, she felt love, peace and
warmth in her heart! She's so excited about everything and just wants to learn
more and more. She also said her first prayer! It moves me seeing people
having their own experiences like this and finding out truths for themselves
and being excited about it. I invited her to baptism of course,
but found out that she'll be leaving back to China on Oct 15th, and the
last sacrament meeting when she could be comfirmed would be Sept
29th...because of Stake and General Conference...yeah...so we're trying to
figure that one out!! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We
did a lot of member work this week with a new DVD program that our mission came
out with. It's called the Work of Salvation/</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">“</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Das Erlösungswerk”. It is the missionary broadcast from a couple
months ago cut up in segments that we can use at member homes. We've used it
with 4 families already and invited them to do their own missionary work by
starting with names that they pray about. It's so effective because in the
clips living day prophets promise blessings of member missionary work and their
efforts. It invites the spirit which moves the members to do something. We made
sure to have return appointments and so far it is working really well. We also
don't take their names. On our next appointment we plan with them and help them
set goals with a time frame about what they want to do with the names they
prayed about. It's not totally different than what we've done before, but so much
more effective with the DVD and a little bit more planning on our part to know
exactly what we will do with which members. I love it here in Hamburg. The work
is moving forward. I'm not thinking about the time too much, I'm too busy, and
Elder Mc. helps me stay busy, lol.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Love
you all,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Elder
Lüning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">PS <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hey,
thanks for the advice Dad, and for the support Mom. I love you both, and I'll
see what I can do with the Elders for my birthday lol. So far we had our
studies, cleaned the apartment, went grocery shopping, ate lunch, looked for a
new vacuum for the apartment, and for some new missionary appropriate CD's (no
luck) and emailed. After emails we'll be heading out to Oma and Opa’s. We'll be
BBQ next week because a Sister missionary in our district has her birthday this week and
we'll celebrate together. Love you and have a great week! I hear good
things about you two every week. The ward and members really appreciate
everything you do! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Christopher Lueninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747209506300997303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4672910686656537057.post-26099743671324199252013-09-12T17:00:00.001-07:002013-09-12T17:00:20.359-07:00September 9, 2013, Hamburg<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="color: #558ed5; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;"> </span>Dear Family,</div>
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Hey, wow - what
a crazy week. These weeks are just blowing by. We were in Berlin on Friday
again and had our Leadership Council. There were some exciting things
introduced to the mission regarding the Missionary “Uebertragung” (broadcast)
from a couple months ago. Our mission made a DVD called “The Work of Salvation”
and it is used for member visits. It has the whole session on it, and then
extras specifically used for working with members. It's awesome and we've used
it already and it works! It gets the members really excited and feeling the
spirit that they want to do something. So it's our job to keep the fire
burning.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Ward is so excited about missionary work. Br. Stephens who was baptized 4 weeks
ago has brought a lot of excitement into the Ward. He received the Priesthood
yesterday and has already been doing missionary work. His son is now meeting
with us, and an African lady friend of his from a different church came to Church
yesterday, too. We will now be meeting with her and her German boyfriend on
Sunday after church! <o:p></o:p></div>
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One night
last week we had 20 minutes before we needed to be inside and so we did some
finding in our area. I had a prompting to go down a street and just stared it
down as we walked past it. Elder Mc.
looked at me funny, lol, but we kept walking. Then, I'm like – “nope”, and we
turned around and walked the way I felt prompted to. We talked to everyone we
saw (like 3 people) but no one was interested. One of them talked to us and
said some things that got us pretty upset. Elder McKean was ticked. Then the
last person we saw before we had to go inside was just at an intersection. He
was a young man from Silvania who had met with missionaries before. He said, “I
want to come to institute and FHE! When is it?!” We got his information and gave him ours. If
it would have been any other timing he would have been on the other street already
and we would of missed him. The Lord has blessing us and others. Our Chinese
investigators are doing great! One of them left yesterday to England but the
other one wants to meet at least twice a week with us at the member’s house! So,
we are getting fed well! <span style="font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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There's a lot of excitement in Opa for
missionary work now. It's amazing how much he's been affected from everything!
He passed the sacrament yesterday and participated in ordaining Br. Stephens to
the office of a Priest. The Church leaders in this Ward are amazing and are
very, very, supportive! Bischof Back is awesome! Chris also was confirmed
yesterday and received the Gift of the Holy Ghost. His ex-girlfriend and 3 year
old daughter were there to see it in Delingsdorf!<o:p></o:p></div>
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The
work is moving forwards! I love you all and thanks for the humorous letters <span style="font-family: Wingdings;">J</span>! I
would write more but we have a short P-day today with booked lessons during our
P-day time, lol. But hey, it’s a P-day not a free-day! <o:p></o:p></div>
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Love Elder Luening<o:p></o:p></div>
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Christopher Lueninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747209506300997303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4672910686656537057.post-78608509124718806182013-09-12T16:35:00.001-07:002013-09-12T16:37:06.503-07:00September 2, 2013, Hamburg<div class="MsoNormal">
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Dear Family,</div>
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Chris was baptized yesterday! There was a
lot of stress this week trying to get his baptism ready, but it was successful!
What made it tough was that he belonged to the Delingsdorf Ward because he
lived on their side of the boundary, and they had no idea who he was. It was
announced in their Ward Council and at the YSA meeting during the week. Then on
Friday we made last minute phone calls to inform everyone about the baptism.
Yesterday the whole room was full of people and most of them were from the
Delingsdorf Ward! It was so awesome to see the amount of support since the
baptism also took place at 6:00 PM on Sunday! Chris was so excited for his
baptism and it was a great experience. A YSA member, who came on joint teaches
with us, baptized him. It was a great meeting. Elder Mc and I are amazed
that we reached our goal of 3 baptisms this transfer! The Lord has blessed us
and our investigators so much.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Also we received a text from a less active Chinese member who said her 2 work colleagues
would like to learn more about the gospel. So they attended the baptism, and we
were able to teach them afterwards. We started from the basics because they
didn't know anything about God at all. Good thing I already have some experience
with this! <span style="font-family: Wingdings;">J</span>! We introduced the plan of
salvation very simply and clearly, and one of them spoke a prayer for the first
time in her life! We could see throughout the lesson how the spirit was working
with them. It was powerful. We'll be teaching them again this week!<o:p></o:p></div>
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We had our transfer calls and everyone in the apartment is staying together.
I'm happy cause we all love working together. I'm excited for this next
transfer and to see how well we will accomplish our goals. It’s weird having
only 4 transfers left now, considering I came with 16 into the field...But what
I've learned and understand, and experienced, I wouldn't trade for anything!
They've changed me, and changed me for the better. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Pat Sims once said 'I love my mission so much because it's there
that I learned to know Jesus Christ.' I've never forgotten that, and now
understand what he meant.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I
hope you all have a great week! Keep up the good work!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Charlene, keep
working hard and enjoying the mission. I love your enthusiasm and I always knew
you'd be, like dad said, a natural, ha-ha. The good things you learn from your
new companion keep them, and apply them also when you have your next companion!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Jeremy, I'm
stoked that you're finally going to Italy. It's been a long rough road but you’re
finally there. Your testimony about obedience will only grow more throughout
your mission. Never forget it. Tip: always use the Lord in everything that you
do. Especially finding! John 15! He's our main source and we can't do the work
without him. He will tell us where to go through the Spirit.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Mom, Dad, thanks for your emails. Things
are going great in Hamburg. I love it here, and Oma and Opa are changing
quickly. I think Br. Stephen’s baptism really touched them. They are excited to
share the gospel with their neighbours. Also, the members here are so loving.
They really are excited to have me here in the ward. You've made good
impressions on everyone in the Ward, ha-ha!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Love Elder Luening<o:p></o:p></div>
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Christopher Lueninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747209506300997303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4672910686656537057.post-5353681061738761862013-08-26T18:16:00.002-07:002013-08-26T18:16:52.285-07:00August 26, 2013, Hamburg<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
Dear Family<o:p></o:p></div>
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So yesterday Henry and Stephens
were confirmed members of the Church and received the Gift of the Holy Ghost!
It was wonderful!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Also, I need to tell you of the miracle we
experienced this week. So, on Wednesday we met with C before institute and
invited him to be baptized on the 1st of September instead of the 15th. He agreed and said that
he was ready! He said that his friends and parents have noticed a big positive
change in him. He asked us if we see that too, and how we would describe it.
He's so awesome. He's come a long way and has made a lot of changes to be able
to be baptized. The next day he told us that his mom would like to come to the
baptism, and because she's going on vacation, he would need to postpone it until
the 23rd. We asked him how he felt about it and he said he wasn't sure. Both
dates looked good to him. We asked him to pray and read in the scriptures and
tell us when his mind was made up. On Friday he called us and said 23rd is the
day for his baptism. We said, “Are you sure?”, and he hesitated and then said yes. Elder M
and I were a bit disappointed but thought it might be a good anyways. We still
had a feeling that he might change his mind again and were praying for him to
be able to follow the spirit. On Sunday we met him at 8:00 AM, right before
church, and he said that he has the feeling that next week is actually when he
should get baptized, and that his mother wanting him to post pone it was a test
from the other side. But he was still unsure. So we read 2 Ne. 31 with him and
asked him what he thinks he should do. He said, “I need to get baptized next
week! I will get baptized on the 1st instead!” It is so amazing to see how our investigators
are being converted into the gospel of Jesus Christ! This good news to all the earth: that Christ
has made it possible for us to come in by the way, and taste of and dwell in
His and the Fathers love for eternities. It is touching to see their faith and
commitment.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The time is going fast, but I'm keeping daily logs in my journal
because I don't ever want to forget it. Thanks for all the support from all of
you and I hope you have a blessed week!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Love you, <br />
Elder Lüning<o:p></o:p></div>
Christopher Lueninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747209506300997303noreply@blogger.com0