I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! Easter here in Germany is really pretty! Spring is already here in Freiburg and pretty painted eggs hang from trees. As for the people...they made their semi-annual trip to the church for 30 minutes...and did not think much of it. Don't worry, we are doing our best to change that! We had a ward Easter activity that was really great. Us missionaries gave different spiritual thoughts about the life of the Savior which was followed by a fireside by a really great member here in Freiburg. He spoke about the purpose of life and how our goal in life is ALWAYS the same...to return to live with God and to become more like Him. It is a straight and simple goal. We sometimes complicate things and make a zig-zag shape path trying to get there. Making mistakes along the way. The most important part of it all is who we BECOME becomes of our journey here in mortality. Are we better people? Do we love more freely? Is our heart changed? Life is not full of checklists. If at the end we are not better than before, what was the point? This simple and true principle changes a lot of things in life. When we recognize how we can develop our talents and become the best version of ourselves, knowing that is what our Father in Heaven wants from us, we receive a peace and confidence from the Lord. We are truly filled with joy knowing that God is happy with our lives and will continue to help us in the future.
Yesterday, on that beautiful, sunny, Easter Sunday, We were able to meet with Devorah. Devorah is the woman who we met in the park last Sunday. We were able to meet and hear the story. Devorah is from Italy, but has lived here in Germany for the past eight years. Devorah met the missionaries in another city about five years ago. She met a few times with them and attended church often. Eventually, she lost contact with the missionaries and stopped going to church for various reasons. As the years passed, life had complications. Trials came and Devorah stopped praying and believing. She felt empty and alone. She thought often about returning and strengthening her faith, but was not sure how. Devorah described her circumstance as something was missing - her relationship with God was non existent.
On that Easter afternoon, we helped Devorah understand what would fill that whole in her life. Blessings of peace, fulfillment, and joy that come from the Gospel are just waiting for Devorah. That missing piece she was able to find was the most important piece, and I am grateful I was able to help her find it. Life can be hard. All the puzzle pieces we are trying to put together sometimes seem intimidating or impossible. The truth is they usually are when we try and do it alone. But the good news is, we are not alone. Our older Brother, Jesus Christ knows how the pieces go. He will not put the pieces together for us, He knows better. He knows we learn best by experiencing things ourselves. Piece by piece, we can do it. I am grateful for the help of our Savior. I am grateful that we can become better people by putting together the puzzle of life. I love this Gospel. I know true happiness comes from following our Savior and trying to be a little bit better each and everyday.
Our bishop here in Freiburg always says, in english, "Don't worry, Be Happy" - with a big smile on his face! I love that. We should be the happiest people we know - we are so blessed!
Ich habe euch GANZ DOLL LIEB!!!
XOXOOXOXOXO
Schwester Jaynes
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