First of all, Robert, Alles Gute zum Geburtstag Gestern! [Best wishes on your birthday yesterday!] Julie Ebenso zu dir! [Julie, to you also.] Alles Gute zum Geburtstag. [All the best on your birthday.] You all are getting so old... it's wonderful. I hope you have a special day. This week was super miraculous and I am just so tired, but so happy. Let me see if I can adaquately explain the tender mercies of the Lord in an email from this week. I learned that if we really have the Spirit powerfully involved in our work, it is just about infinity times more powerful, and there is so much joy involved! I'm nothing without the Spirit, without the Strength of God. I've felt His love, and His help this week. I have also just loved it in Heidelberg here working with Elder Sommerville! He is just such a great companion full of love, and enthusiasm. I learn so much, and we really talk with Everyone! It's so great to serve with such an awesome, hard working missionary!
Well, it all starts out Tuesday with an amazing district meeting from Elder Siebert (He's a Deutscher! [German]). We learned about how to use the Book of Mormon more in our work. I started feeling the Spirit a lot more the next few days from using it more. We had an exchange that day and I went to Darmstadt. I have a picture of me next to the Piano from President Uchtdorf's talk, "Lift where you stand". (That picture was from a week or 2 ago actually). [The editor hopes we get a copy of this photo sometime soon.] I was with a new missionary, and I loved just working hard, and learning so much from Elder Parks. He is ready to train after this transfer! It was an awesome experience. We had to focus on the basics of Preach My Gospel and to really apply them. The exchange wasn't as smooth as I wanted because of travel issues, but it was really spiritual and I was able to refocus on the basics. Wednesday evening we had an exchange and I was with Elder Lewis, who was my 2nd companion in the mission field. I really love and respect him, and I loved the exchange! (We felt inspired to do a lot of exchanges this transfer to help excite the Zone and it's doing wonders!) Wednesday night, Präsident Schwartz called us and we talked with him about the Zone. He said, that we are not preparing enough people for baptism that we teach, and we aren't setting baptismal dates. He is right. That night as I prayed really hard, I started getting new thoughts and feelings about our exchange the full day with Elder Lewis. I realized we should invite all people we teach to a baptismal date in the first couple meetings. I had the impression that we needed to set a baptismal date with someone. We only had one appointment with someone we were going to hand off to the Sisters, but it was her 2nd lesson with Missionaries, and it was definitely the right thing to do. We spiritually prepared and made such a good plan to teach towards baptism. We did it, and it was one of the most amazing lessons I ever had, and we set a date with [J___]. The story is sooo awesome, I just can't write it all here. It was a miracle because of the help of the Spirit.
Later that day, we went out for some hard core street contacting. We were getting tired, and rejected a lot, so we were going to do our next planned activity. Just as we were walking away, we talked with one more person who was absolutely golden! [A___], from Spain, she is looking for the right church, and she is a Young Single Adult, who was intrigued by the Book of Mormon. She was so ready for the gospel. We handed her off to the Sisters though because it's better if they meet her. Sister Clancy and Garlick are just awesome though! As we talked with this girl from Spain, two Americans were watching us. Afterwards, we talked with them. Just turns out it was the Family Glendy from Salt Lake City. They told us they used to be mission presidents over some mission in Kentucky, and they could tell we were awesome missionaries. I was so pleased to hear such a compliment and get caught in the act of going the extra mile. It was a great exchange.
Next Exchange! I got to go to Darmstadt again with Elder Nathan Hamilton (From the Northridge Stake! Yeah!!) It was the best exchange of all time on my mission. I never had a better one, and it was so good because of the Spirit and how strong He helped us (there's a common theme here in success and it's the Spirit). It started off with Satan just trying to get us not to do it. We were stuck in Heidelberg for the night, but we got to go up to Darmstadt the next morning. I love Elder Hamilton. He is so awesome, and I loved learning from him, and he is so new in the mission too. He lives close to the Stake Center, just so you know. I was just deciding to make it a focus of the exchanges this week were baptism. We had a lesson with a guy named [M___] planned. We got to Darmstadt and finished planning and Studying. It was the most spiritual companionship study of my life. It was so powerful and we learned so much from each other, how to become better and make a great influence on people! We shared testimony, and we planned the best lessons I've ever planned. We were meeting with [M___] for the first time, and we wanted to invite Him to baptism. The Lord confirmed our plan, and we went for it. After the highlight companion study, this lesson just was so powerful. We were teaching really focusing on Baptism, and how [M___] could become happy through that. He told us he feels so lonely, and just wants to feel God in his life. I asked him, "Do you feel that God loves you." Tears came out of his eyes, and the Spirit was so strong testifying that God loved Him. After [M___] recovered from feeling the Spirit so strongly, I look over at Elder Hamilton, and we explain how he can receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost after Baptism. Elder Hamilton just invited him to be baptized then, out of nowhere, and [M___] wanted to be baptized so bad. He realizes he just needs to learn more and quit smoking. He is working toward the 25 of August for Baptism. So powerful! It was awesome. We had an awesome day after that as well.
Well, yesterday we fasted for this Friday that we will find the prepared people. Friday for us is an only finding day as a mission. We will have lots of success! The Spirit was strong, and awesome this week. There is so much more, I can't even write and I just know the Lord loves me and all of His children. When we bring the Spirit in, we can receive so much more help, power and revelation than we think we can. I know that my Savior lives, and loves me. I feel my Savior's love. I'm so grateful. I feel power and energy come into my soul as I'm 100% exactly obedient to His commandments and Spirit. I love God. I apologize for this email being so long, but it doesn't really explain how grateful I am for the Lord, and that I can serve Him as His missionary. I feel His words speak through me, and I love that. I just love the Atonement and want to be one with the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, who are one eternal God. I love them so much. I love you all. I know this church is true, and the Book of Mormon changes lives, especially my own. I love you all!
Liebe Grüße, [Best wishes,]
Elder Matthew J Liddle
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