Graz, Austria

Liebe Bekannten,

This week was really fun. The elders are super funny and easy to work
with, the members are fabulous and there are loads of them, and we had
a lot of cool experiences!

Last Monday I got to go up these steps to a big castle! Typical for
Europe, but still awesome. Then, on Tuesday we started doing service!
We helped a great member move into her new home and she is so cute.
She used to serve a mission here and later moved back. It was really
fun getting to know her as she helped us improve our German and told
us about her mission.

We also got to teach the young women about dance and song! Sister
Gardner is super talented with that so it was fun learning along with
the girls. One of the women in the ward who was baptised in Munich 3,
my first ward, came along with her two daughters. They were so fun and
we got along super well as none of us had super talents at dancing or
singing! Lol especially me. It was fun!

On Wednesday we taught an English class and went by a family. The
family was not there, so we decided to knock on some doors in the
area. We went up a flight of stars to the top floor only to find a
door with two video cameras on it and loads of Russian scary
propaganda stuff on it. Feeling a warning from the spirit, we stayed
until we both looked at each other and shared the feeling them got
downstairs. We were about to head out the door when a man came in and
asked what we were doing. A little frightened, sister Gardner stumbles
to say that. We are missionaries sharing a message and a book. I pull
out the book and start talking about it and he said he’d love to read
it! He gave us his number and we will see him later this week. Always
expect the unexpected, right?

This same experience happened again later in the week when we went
with the elders to the city center park to talk to people about the
gospel. We heard tons of nos and rude answers so we decided to offer
our free English course instead. People were nicer but still no
interest. We diced to ask about Jesus just once more before our time
was up and the man said he wasn’t so sure, but I asked him how he came
to that and he ended up offering us a seat by him and we were able to
teach him a lot about the Book of Mormon and what we believe. He asked
if he could learn more and how he might join this church. Lol it was
super cool!

We also visited a lot of struggling people, who don’t come to church
often. It was great to see the, rekindle their relationship with God
and to feel the peace that comes from the gospel. We were able to
offer a blessing and just be there for someone with depression and
offer some comfort for a woman in the hospital.

Missionary work is the best because we just get to offer so much light
and help for those in need. Our message helps everyone regardless of
circumstance and we can feel Gods love literally flowing through us to
these people. I love it! As we serve our brethren (or sisterin) 😁we
can be lifted, helped and blessed.

Have a great week and keep your eyes open for those who need your light!

Best
Sister Smith

Sent from my iPad