We'll Do Lunch

Rachel's friend Daren is serving a mission in Japan.

This is the picture Rachel sent this week

and here is what she says:

daren's birthday is on monday and so i had my comp take this picture of me... i'm going to mail it to him and say:

meet me here, monday at 1:00. we'll do lunch...

however you're going to have to pay because i don't have any money. hahaha

I Want To Be Happy!

well i think i know what Heavenly Father wants me to do because everyone has been giving me the exact same advice (including my mission president) - lose myself in the work, serve others and don't think so much about myself - well i think it's easier said than done and a little scary...BUT i'm going to do it because i want to be happy!

we had zone conference last week and it was exactly what i needed. president has made lots of changes! i like most of them...however...there's one that could possibly be the death of me....no more soccer on saturday mornings.....AHHHHH luckily i was praying before that i would be okay with whatever changes that president was going to make ( i knew he was going to make lots) so when he told us about soccer... i was shocked but then he gave his reasonings... i wont go into detail about... but he's fasted and prayed about it and he feels VERY strongly that we shouldn't have sport anymore. but he promised blessings and so i'm taking Heavenly Father at His word and i'm going to be good and not do sport. although now i have to find another outlet....

anyway at my interview with president he asked me if i was happy. i told him 'it depends on the day' he asked me if i think a lot about myself... well duh, yes. but then he made a point that when we think too much about ourselves then we aren't very happy. so now i'm trying to focus on others and how i can help other people be happy. so far it's going good... but it's only been like 2 days. haha i know it'll help. i'm already feeling a lot better and there's more purpose to my days now.

oh yeah our investigator with a baptismal date... not going to happen. she needed to come to church on sunday but she didn't. we're going to have to push back the date.

i didn't get to see the womens broadcast - however they're going to show it on sunday at the church while the guys watch the priesthood session. i can't wait for conference this weekend!!!!!!

THANKS for all you do for me! i've realized that Heavenly Father shows His love for me through all of you! and i thank Him every day for that!

thanks to EVERYONE for the emails i got!: grandma doty, gramma and grampa, bergholms, jameson, meg, jess, marci

New Hair Cut

I GOT MY HAIR CUT!!! look how short too! my old highlights had come back and my hair was 2 different colors so i finally just chopped it! this time the lady (it was all in german too) cut good layers and she did a good job. so far i really like it but it's only been like an hour since i got it cut. so we'll see how i feel later. haha

Blunt and Honest

thanks to Nancy Jenkins and Grandma Doty for emails! - and Meg too ;)

well today i have been on my mission for 8 months! can you believe it? it's gone by really fast. and on thursday i'll have been in germany for 6 months. this time next month i'll be half way done with my mission. i still feel like i just started

we have an investigator with a baptismal date for october 12th. i don't think she's going to do it (sad huh...but i'm being honest!) at least not on that day. we'll see what happens.

the 12 (now 13) year old girl in the american ward that we've been teaching is almost done with the lessons. her bishop suggested that she get baptized soon so she can go do temple baptisms on the 18th of october. she really wants to do temple baptisms, that's why she started taking the lessons in the first place. so she's praying this week about it and on saturday we'll find out what she says. hopefully she'll say yes and she'll be baptized in like 2 weeks!

my companion and i were talking about how we feel we've changed since we've been on our missions and stuff. and i was thinking...how have i changed? well since coming on my mission... i'm more impatient, i'm more stubburn, and blunt, i'm more grumpy and people just drive me nuts. i have less compassion and i'm kind of snotty - ok a lot snotty. but that's really how i feel! if anything i've developed more bad characteristics than good and the even sadder part is...i don't have the patience or desire to fix them! i'm trying to be upbeat and positive. but sometimes i just want to be mad for a while.

Ok friends and family... Rachel could use more e-mails.

tanzenrach22@googlemail.com

I think she probably also needs a really long nap. ♥

Doormats

Rachel sent these photos of doormats.

I guess as a missionary you come across a lot of front doors and doormats...

and these are pretty fun.

I love the front door

and the cute girl peeking around it!

Crazy Story

Last tuesday sister davis found out the IRS was giving her a final notice for her 2006 taxes. she had to contact them by that friday or they were going to press charges. well what's she going to do?? she's in germany.

so she called President Ninow and asked if she could call the IRS and get things figured out. he said yes but only if it took less than 30 minutes because it costs big bucks to call from our cell phones. so we had to wait till like 4pm here to call the IRS in the states.

so she called and talked to a guy and then waited and waited and waited for 30 minutes. so she told him she would have to call back on a different phone. we called President and he told us to get on the next train to Frankfurt so sister davis could call from his office phone because it was cheaper.

so now its like 6pm (we're suppose to be out doing missionary work because p-day ends at 6) so we changed into missionary clothes, went to the train station and bought a ticket to frankfurt. and then of course we weren't paying attention and missed our train. so we had to wait another 30 minutes for the next train.

so we're on the train on our way to frankfurt and then the train slams on its breaks and we stop in the middle of nowhere. the train driver gets on the intercom and says that we've hit a person and this person is dead - and we have to stay there and wait for the police and stuff to get there. i don't know the details of what happened, but our train killed someone. the poor driver was like in shock. so we call the assistants and they said that we should continue to frankfurt and then we'll figure out everything from there.

so by the time we got to frankfurt it was like 9pm. but sister davis still needs to make her call before friday and there was no other day that we could do it because we're busy. so the APs come pick us up from the frankfurt train station and sister davis gets to make her call. turns out she's a victim of identity theft! the IRS is giving her 30 days to get things all figured out and worked out - problem is... she's in germany! so she's working on getting the power of attorney to her dad so that he can get everything figured out for her.

so by the time she's done with the phone call its almost 10:30pm. we can't spend the night at the mission home because president has sons at home. and so the APs drove us back to mainz but elder quist has never driven to mainz before and his comp elder carrol hasn't ever driven there at night and i've never been driven to mainz before because we always take a train. so we had a fun time trying to figure out how to get home. so by the time sister davis and i walked back into our apartment it was like 11:45pm. and the poor APs had to figure out how to get back to frankfurt.

that's my story. pretty crazy huh! poor sister davis. everything will work out though. needless to say i have a feeling this is going to be a crazy cycle. ♥

California Street

Rachel's parents went to California over the weekend and sent her pictures.

She sent us this picture of "her" California. Cute!

Help Thou My Unbelief

well guess what! i'm staying in mainz for another 6 weeks. sister davis is too. i think this cycle will be long. but i'll get through. i found my new scripture. Alma 34: 41 "But that ye have patience, and bear with those afflictions, with a firm hope that ye shall one day rest from all your afflictions." i like to subsitute at the end "that ye shall one day be transferred from this area - or - that ye shall one day have new investigators"...etc. haha

we're meeting with bruder M tonight and re-committing him to live the Word of Wisdom. if he says no... then we're saying goodbye (or tschüß in german). he's had all the lessons and there isnt really anything more we can do for him. he'll still come to church and everything i'm sure. i'm convinced that he doesn't get baptized that he'll still come to church for the rest of his life anyway. haha coming to church is not one of his struggles.

other then that there's not much that's going on. we went to the temple last saturday. i did the whole session in german and made it through the veil auf deutsch too.

so i was again thinking of what we should pray for this cycle. 2 baptisms came to me. i was thinking... you gotta be kidding me. He told me last cycle to prayer and work towards one baptism and we didn't get one. now we're suppose to be praying and working for 2 baptisms! well, Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding. so we're working for 2 baptisms with the hope and faith that it'll happen and that Heavenly Father will help us.

i love the part in the movie The Testaments when they are doing a flash to where Jesus is and this man comes to him with his son. the man asks Jesus to heal his son. Jesus asks him, believest thou that i can do this? and the man says Lord I believe! and Jesus looks at him... and the man says, help thou my unbelief. i've been feeling like that a lot lately - not understanding why Heavenly Father wants me to be here or why He asks me to do things like pray for 2 baptisms. i think i just have a lack of faith. maybe i should pray that Heavenly Father helps my unbelief.

sorry this email is really short. i don't really know what else to say, other than i miss the family a lot. and my friends. and normal life. so let's just say i'm a little trunky today. and i want to go dancing and wear highheels. ♥

* Rachel could probably use some friendly e-mails *

tanzenrach22@googlemail.com

The Church of Christ

This building is a landmark in Mainz.

A Tough Week

well it's been a tough week and again i want to hit someone.

bruder M is not getting baptized on the 7th. i don't know when he's getting baptized. i called him last tuesday to ask him if he was ready and stuff for his baptismal interview and asked him if he had drunk any coffee over the weekend. guess what, he had. so we decided to meet with him anyway just not for an interview. turns out he's been drinking coffee at least once a week and drinks alcohol with his friends. PATIENCE. i'm grateful for a compasionate companion, because i just want to smack him. she's really upbeat and encouraging, where as me i feel like the world is coming to an end. Heavenly Father told me that we needed to fast for a baptism THIS cycle. and we did and we worked hard and now we aren't having one. the 12 year old girl that we work with, at our last appointment said that she doesn't want to get baptized anymore. but bishop shumway was there with us and he said that she changes her mind all the time and that we shouldn't worry but keep teaching the lessons and helping her learn and progress. hopefully she'll change her mind again. so i'm feeling kind of down and i'm losing motivation.

transfer calls are on saturday! i have NO idea what's going to happen. sister ranzenberger emailed me and says that she has no idea what's going to happen to her. it's fun we make transfer predictions... haha so today sister davis and i are going to go out and have ice cream and make predictions for the sisters.

Cindy: thanks for the email! Say HI to your family for me too!!!