This one is coming from Gentz as Jeri suggested that I should give you my perspective for a change. I recently wrote my old MTC companion from 40 years ago on my first mission on our progress on our mission up to this point. He is interested in serving a mission at some juncture in the near future himself and so I have been giving him my perspective at 3, 6 and 12 months. It has truly been interesting how our lives on a mission have unfolded. We started last year at this time somewhat afraid, inhibited and unsure of what our purpose was here in Rostock.
It was clear from the standpoint of being a branch president which was nice since it did give us that much direction anyway, but we had to learn what it means to be a senior missionary. My only perspective was from having served as a young elder with other young elders 40 years ago. This of course is not the baseline for a senior mission. But it is all I had.
So, we've done some learning that has brought us to a very positive place at this point in our mission. We feel more confident in what we are doing, more purposeful, more at ease and I think I can say happier. Being homesick has been a particular challenge for us. We have missed our home, our bed, our family, our friends, our lives as we knew them in Jacksonville. I remember this was particularly hard for me on my first mission. We have been at the point of tears over this issue at times and have had to importune the Lord for strength to continue. Not that we ever thought about coming home in any serious way, but home is where we wanted to be.
And please understand, Rostock is a WONDERFUL place! I am not sure we could have asked for a more perfect place for us. The members here love us, treat us with respect, kindness and make it very enjoyable to work among them. The town of Rostock is really quite beautiful in many ways..even the weather is very moderate here. Now, I don't like living in a city and I would not choose to do so. But, this is the reality of a mission...you don't normally live in small towns. And so, being forced to live in a city (200,000 people) this is the best city we could live in.
German has not come as easily as it did the first time around for me. Yes, I am more fluent than I was a year ago; my vocabulary has increased and I still very much enjoy speaking German but pulling words out of my head is more laborious than before. But I can always make my needs known, carry on a conversation and have a good laugh with these dear people. So, this is not a bad experience relearning German, just a challenging one requiring a little bit of work and effort on my part. I am including a bit of the email that I sent to my old companion who I spoke of earlier:We see the Lord’s awareness and His hand regarding our needs and feelings.Germany is still Germany though and East Germany had a devastating effect on spirituality and religious affiliation in general so engendering interest requires patience and endurance. There have been so many wonderful promises given to the German members over the years that hope is always there.I have seen my dear wife receive so much inspiration. She was good before but she is even better now on the mission. It simply amazes me what comes out of her mouth and the keyboard. Our children are doing well. Our finances have been amazingly healthy despite the occasional retail therapy. We have made many friends in and outside the church . These relationships are deep and precious to us. We have also done a fair amount of touristing when we have P (preparation) days or when friends and or family have come to visit. There is so much to see just within our area.We have been able to go to the temple in Freiberg about six times which is great since we didn’t think we were going to be able to go at all.
We go to Berlin every six weeks for a big zone conference so we have been liberally exposed to that place.How we have enjoyed meeting all the other missionaries, young and senior who serve here as well as learn from our wonderful Mission president President Fingerle and his wife.
We have also been to Hamburg and Lübeck among a few other places nearby. By the way, the other blonde is my sister in law Julie who visited in October.
The Baltic coast is about ten kilometers away so anytime we want to get away for a couple of hours we have at our disposal some of the most popular coastline in Germany.
The mission takes good care of us. The bottom line is that we are very happy we came. Life is not always easy on a mission but we knew that.We didn’t know exactly what the challenges would be but the Lord raised us to them,qualified us or got us through them. A foreign mission has its own set of extra issues that we would not have encountered in the states. But then there is a richness to be found here that we could in no way have experienced if we had not come to Germany. I wouldn’t say a foreign mission is for everyone nor would I say a mission is for every couple, but I think I could safely say it is for most couples who are active and able, love the Lord and people and want to serve.
It has been an interesting experience for Jeri and me spending so much time together. We do have the opportunity to have alone time when we need it; I take a daily walk of at least an hour and we don't necessarily have to do everything together. In fact, Jeri went on the mass transit tonight with the elders and another member to visit a sister since I needed to be at English class!
The majority of our days though are spent together and we have come to a deeper appreciation of one another. I truly think without exaggeration that our relationship has reached another level which I really didn't anticipate, but I will tell you truly, I love Jeri more now than ever.
Above all of these wonderful challenges and blessings however, one thing is certain. Our testimony of Jesus Christ is ever firmer. When I gave my farewell talk at home before coming here, I was hopeful that I would come back just a little stronger in my testimony and more apt to share that testimony. I think that I am realizing that and for that I am ever so grateful. I definitely recognize a deeper appreciation for and my dependence upon my Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ and upon my dear Jeri. It's been hard but wonderful and isn't that how life truly is?
`
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for visiting my blog! I always enjoy reading your comments.