FAITH

I hope everyone is doing great! Sounded like Thanksgiving was delicious and that everyone had a good time. This week was great here in Munich too. I have spent a lot of time thinking lately. It is still weird sometimes that I am a missionary...even a year later. haha We have had some great lessons and conversations with people here lately which have sparked my thinking. The miracle of Angela goes on! She is so great. We had our second appointment this last Wednesday and we watched the Restoration video which she loved. As we talked about  the Spirit and how it testifies of truth, I just had this feeling that Angela knew that the church was true. So i asked her. Angela said that she did indeed know that this is what God wanted her to do. She explained that she lost her connection to God for a while. Her husband was also not religious and so it was normal for her not to be religious. As Angela went on to LDS.org, she said that was first time she had felt the Spirit so strong. She couldn't stop reading and learning more. She said she spent a lot of time pondering and walking outside. She explained that she would feel God's love and His spirit as she pondered. What a beautiful miracle. Her sweet children came again to church with her. Angela's husband is still skeptical. He is afraid that Angela will leave him since he does not believe in God. As a result he has shown her every anti-mormon material possible. Don't worry though, Angela knows what she felt and knows this is what God wants her. Angela said that she lost the concept of God as she was younger. She said that through the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints she has been able to feel what she has always wanted and know what she has always asked for. God is no longer a higher power, but her loving, Father in Heaven. We talked about her desire to follow Jesus Christ and Angela said that her first Sunday in the church, she knew she wanted to be baptized! She is praying about this next step in her life. 

As I have thought about Angela and her miracle and then thought of other people I have taught or spoke with, I am amazed. I have truly seen the use of agency in completely different ways. Often here in Munich I will talk to some big business men or interested college students, as we talk about religion or faith, they say it is hard to believe since there is nothing we can see or prove. It is so beautiful to begin to bear my testimony. I am able to tell these people how I am also logical. I like to see the numbers add up, or how things work too. I also bear testimony of how I have realized when there is a power beyond my own. One huge lesson I have learned recently is summed up with: "Faith is not only a feeling; it is a decision." I have seen people have the same feelings, feel the same Spirit, and then decided to do two completely different things! In the case of Angela she has chosen to act on these promptings for the good. We know that anyone who wants to believe in God can do just that. I have come to love the principle of Faith even more since being a missionary. I think its because it is how it all starts. We feel God's love through His Spirit and then we act. 

I am so grateful for the gift of agency. I am so grateful that God has not only given us feelings, but the ability to choose to do something because of those promptings from Him. I know for myself, this small but crucial principle, when applied, can change lives. It has already changed the lives of Angela and her children. It has changed my life. Let us choose to believe. Choose Faith!!! I testify of the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. God is a God of miracles. He is always there to help us and to love us. I love our Savior Jesus Christ and the season we are starting to celebrate His birth and life! Let us choose to share this love and knowledge with others! 

XOXOXOXO

Ich habe euch Lieb!!!!

Schwester Jaynes

p.s. Funny story. Sister Packer and I were waiting at the bus stop. The bus had just pulled away so we sat down to wait for the next one. This young guy who was pretty upset the bus had just left...saw our nametags and asked if we could pray that the bus would come faster! hahahahh That was a new one. We asked if he would pray with us jokingly. We then talked about God's plan. We will hopefully meet with him sometimes this week. I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY: :)