Week #33 - Lovely Lüneburg

Hallo from Hamburg!

I am so so SO happy!!  I love Lüneburg!  I love my mission!  I love being a missionary!!  I love this work and I know that God is with us every single day!  I am so grateful to be here!

So Lüneburg!!  IT IS BEAUTIFUL HERE!!!!

Lüneburg is one of the only cities in this country not bombed in the war, so all of the buildings are ancient and SO beautiful!  I am surrounded by so much history!  It is a little city, right by the Elbe River.  The people walk slowly and talk to you on the street, which is different.  And!  They are all religious!  Woah!! They have five churchs right here in the city, and everyone loves Jesus which is so different and so wonderful!!  I am so happy!  

We don't actually have a ward here in Lüneburg (not yet at least) so we travel by train for an hour to Lauenburg to go to the ward there.  This week we had stake conference in Hamburg, so I haven't met very many people from my ward yet, but everyone I have met has been SO friendly and sweet and I am so excited and grateful to be here!!

And Stake Conference was AMAZING!!  The Hamburg stake is a little small (which means it is very much like a family) and there was a broadcast from Salt Lake to all the stakes in Germany and other German speaking areas.  It was so wonderful and the Spirit was so strong and I learned so much.  And!!  Ahhh!  Best thing ever!!!!  Elder Bednar spoke to us IN GERMAN!  It was so neat!  Everything else was translated, but when he got up to speak, he just said that he was so grateful for the opportunity to speak to the people he loved so dearly, and that he could use his mission language again after 41 years, and he gave his whole talk in German!!  It was so cool, and you could just see and hear his love for his mission and for the people here.  That is how I want to be 40 years from now!  And he did a great job!  I could actually understand everything that was said because he talked a little slower and had a bit of an american accent.  It was great and I was SOO impressed by him and the way he could do that 40 years later.  Such an amazing experience!  I am so so grateful for my mission!  I love my mission!  I love Germany and I love the people here! 

My new companion, Sister Knecht

And I love this new city!  The work has been dead here in Lüneburg for a while, but this week we decided to throw away the past and work towards the future.  We decided to have faith, not fear, to put our trust in God and His work, and go forward, and you know what?  We saw SO many miracles this week!  We found so many people and truly felt the Lord with us.  This is HIS work.  I know it!  And I know that when we put our trust in Him, that He helps us to see miracles.  I know that through faith, everything is possible!  I am so grateful to be  a missionary, and to be learning that for myself.  I am so grateful to be here helping others develop faith, and to be strengthening my own.  I love this church, I love my God, I love my mission!!

And I love you all!!  Thank you for all of the support and the prayers.  I am praying for you too! Shoutouts:

CONGRATULATIONS ON THE MARRIAGE SHELBEY #bestfriendmarried #awkwardsinglesister #sohappyforthenewcouple

My dear Lappara family, you an inspiration for all of us!  We are praying and fasting for you here in Germany.  I love you all so dearly, and will keep sending prayers your way!

Saying good-bye to family

I love you all.  Keep trusting in God and shining your light!!

Love, Sister Stringham