January 21, 2013, Kiel

Hey, Family!

 I hope everyone gets better from their colds really soon! As of last week Tuesday I've felt back to 100% well again.

 Before I forget to answer your question Mom, every missionary gets €170 per month to spend on food and stuff. Train tickets, or money I spend on traveling I can get reimbursed. So, it’s quite a bit of money. No, we don't go hungry, ha-ha - and if we do, there's no excuse for it.:)

That's good that you're done with some of the shopping for Jeremy’s mission now, ha-ha. I hope it wasn't as hectic as when it was for me! Chris P sent me an email. Thanks for giving him the email address! :)

I have some Thank-you cards that I want to send home. I seriously have like no time for anything as a Zone Leader. I'm lucky if I get to bed on time. I printed off some Thank-you pictures. There are about 15 of them for the Ward. I don't remember how many families there are. Let me know next week how many I should send home for everyone. I wish I could personalize it more but if I do that, they'll never get sent home, lol. Oh, by the way you should email the B family back! I saw them again last week!

   This week has been really busy but really good. On Tuesday I went to the dentist in Hamburg to get my molar checked out. Apparently there's no cavity or anything wrong with the tooth, but my gum between my teeth was really sore and irritated so he told me that I have to make sure I start flossing again. The pain is pretty much gone now! He flossed that tooth before I left and made it hurt and bleed so badly, ha-ha. I was like, “Okay, come on; you know that hurts like crazy”. But "ja", I'm not getting headaches from it anymore, so that's great! 

V is our alcoholic investigator. He's stopped drinking since the beginning of last week! J We're so proud of him. He's just randomly had a change of heart and has stuck with it. He's also cleaned his place up and looks so much better! We're excited for him because he's going to start making progress really fast! He's got a bright light in his eyes and he's got a plan with what he wants to do with his life. 

 I went on another "Tausch" on Wednesday! This time I went with Elder A, my previous companion, in Glückstadt. It was nice catching up and hearing about how he and his new companion are doing. They get along fine! Also I got to see a couple members that miss me. We also sang “Happy Birthday” over the phone to a member that we spent Christmas with. They loved it and thanked us for doing that.

   We now have a new Ward Mission Leader, who helps us with missionary work, here in Kiel. He's really excited to work with us and get this missionary work moving forward with the Ward. He's about 35years old and really down to earth. He's a lot of fun and cracks jokes with us all the time, ha-ha, but is really serious about missionary work, which is great! He was the first councillor to the bishop before he was changed into his position now. He had us over for 3 hours on Thursday to discuss our goals and plans with working together and with the Ward. It was really awesome! His wife is R, and she is R's (from Hannover) older sister! They were the ones that came on joint-teaches and referred Bettina to us! It’s a small world in the church, ha-ha. E, our Chinese investigator is also doing great. We have one more appointment with him and then he goes back to China for 2 months. He's going to ask for permission to be baptized and make a plan for what he wants to do when he comes back to Germany. We're really excited for him and we're going to try to fire him up one last time before he leaves. We also have his email so we can stay in contact with him while he's gone.

 On Saturday we found a cool man doing doors. We had an appointment for a meal but were about 15 minutes early, so we did tracting in the area. He was renovating his apartment, but let us in and we had a really good talk with him. He's about 30 year old and doesn't believe in God, but wants to find out more about what we believe. So he invited us to come back next week! He said he's tried to find out before if God existed or not, but he's willing to try again! J Other than that I've been keeping busy with normal missionary work.

   It's also quite cold here but not as cold as at home. Here it has been staying around -2 C. I was cold one night and dreamed that I was on a winter camp and had to “pinkle”, but didn't want to get up because it was too cold, ha-ha! Then I actually woke up from that dream and realized that those were real feelings! I was cold and didn't want to get up! It was so funny.

Life is going well!

The Bishop gave a really good presentation yesterday - 5 scriptures that can help us through almost everything:

1.       1 Ne 11: 17 (I know that God loves his children),

17   “And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.”

2.       Moses 7:26-33 (God allows the wicked things in the world to happen),

29   And Enoch said unto the Lord: How is it thou canst weep, seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity?

32   The Lord said unto Enoch: Behold these thy brethren; they are the workmanship of my hands, I gave unto them their knowledge in the day that I created them; and in the Garden of Eden gave I unto man his agency;

33   And unto thy brethren have I said, and also given commandment, that they should love one another, and that they should choose me, their father; but behold, they are without affection and hate their own blood.

37   But behold, their sins shall be upon the heads of their fathers; Satan shall be their father, and misery shall be their doom; and the whole heavens shall weep over them, even all the workmanship of my hands; wherefore should not the heavens weep, seeing these suffer?

3.       Alma 14:9-13 (our work is not yet finished),

13   And Alma said: Be it according to the will of the Lord. But behold, our work is not finished, therefore they burn us not.

4.       Alma 7:11-12 (the atonement)

10   And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem, which is the land of our forefathers, she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel, who shall be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost, and bring forth a son, even the Son of God.

11   And he shall go forth suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which sayeth he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

12   And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people,; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know how to succor his people, according to their infirmities.

5.       D+C 101:32-36 (All things will one day be revealed to us).

32   Yea, verily I say unto you, in that day when the Lord shall come, he shall reveal all things-

33   things which have passed, and hidden things which no man knew, things of the earth, by which it was made, and the purpose and the end thereof-

34   Things most precious, things that are above, things that are beneath, things that are in the earth, and upon the earth and in heaven.

35   And all they who suffer persecution in my name, and endure in faith, though they are called to lay down their lives for my sake yet shall they partake of all this glory.

36   Wherefore fear not even unto death; for in this world your joy is not full, but in me your joy is full.

 It was a really good presentation.

I love you guys and hope that you have a good week!

Love Elder Lüning!

Note from the edittor (mom): 

To those who are following Elder Luening, his sister, Charlene has had her interviews and has completed her mission application, so the papers should be in the missionary department by Thursday. We are all excited and will be anxiously waiting for her call in mid-February!. I agree with Elder Luening, "Life is going well!"