Christmas in Germany: Christmas Markets, No Snow, Just Bitter Cold and Fog, and Long Lost Great Friends

I'm turning into a regular Martha Stewart here in Germany. First pies, now making invitations from scratch!

Happy #20 To Me! I got spoiled rotten by my dear, sweet Egyptian friends

The German Capitol Building and the BEST Hot Chocolate in Europe

Crazy Week

Monday started out pretty normal, We cleaned the apartment and went

shopping and I was just about to take a nap when the phone rang... And

it was our mission president. And that is when the craziness began! He

informed us that he would be attending our ward council meeting and he

wanted to come work with us in Frankfurt Oder for a day!

So Tuesday came and so did President Fingerle. President also brought

his son Jonathan along, and we went on splits.

One thing led to another and president and I found ourselves knocking

on a less active members door...

The doors opened and she let us in, We thought it would be a normal

appointment but we very quickly realized that she could speak and

understand little to no German.... Except for very simple things like

"hello" and "come in".

Seeing no other solution,  President and I pulled out the little

Russian that we knew, to try and  communicate.... Sadly I didn't even

see many opportunities to use the two words I know.... бабушка

(Grandma) and картофель (potato)

Luckily for both us, and the Russian lady. President Fingerle knows

how to say a very simple prayer in Russian and we had the Russian

Bible and Book of Mormon downloaded on to our iPads. We taught her

about faith and we read Ether 12:4 together.

But yeah Tuesday night made for some good laughs!

We also had our "Christmas" zone conference on Wednesday. We went

caroling and we handed out almost 500 cards in the middle of Berlin!

On Thursday I discovered that I have a knack for pie making hahaha! 

(pie tins are impossible to find , that is why they are oval shaped haha)

Pumpkin

Apple

On Saturday all of the missionaries in our zone where asked to be the
choir for a church musical, which turned out super good! It's weird to
think that now when I go to sing a hymn I usually end up singing it in
German and not in English.

Then on Sunday we had a awesome Egyptian thanksgiving dinner! I was
asked to make a pie hahaha

Yeah but this week was really good! I'm sorry for the random nature of
my email, it's kind of all over the place but I don't have much time
for emails today.
I hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving! Tell me all about your
celebrations!
Thank you for writing me and for keeping me in your prayers!
Love Elder Schmalz

Berlin Zone Conference

Where's Gavin?

Thanksgiving

The time of Thanksgiving is finally here! It's the season to play football, build snow turkeys, going shooting, and of course eating a ton of awesome food! 

Sadly, most of these things are impossible for a missionary here in Germany and especially in Frankfurt an Der Oder to do. So naturally, I'm feeling a little homesick. But in the last few days I have started to ask myself a very cliché question..... "What is the reason for the season?" I know that this question is usually asked as we sit around a Christmas tree, but I think it applies very well in any holiday situation.

Although football, guns, and food are all fantastic and super fun things, they sometimes steal our attention away from the more important part of this time of year. That being to Give Thanks!           (wow I never would have guessed with a name like Thanksgiving)

But in all seriousness, I'm really glad that it is called Thanksgiving  

The word giving in Thanksgiving implies that our gratitude and thankfulness is something that can and should be passed on or given. The word giving, encourages us to turn ourselves to the source of our blessings, that source being our Father in Heaven! He gave us these things because he loves us and wants us to remember Him. And as we remember him and give Him our thanks, things start to change. Thanksgiving very quickly becomes a holiday of humility and praise rather than one of pride and gluttony.

So pretty much to wrap it up, it doesn't matter if you are in America or in Germany, if you are eating turkey this Thursday or if you are going to be eating vegan food at a members house. Thanksgiving is something that you give not something that you get. And it can be celebrated at anytime and in anyplace!

Thank your for reading my two cents about thanksgiving. I want you to know that I'm thankful for you! Thank you for writing me and for praying for me!

I hope that you all have a great Thanksgiving! Make sure to eat an extra slice of pie for me.

Love, Elder Schmalz 

P.S.

Here are three really good Thanksgiving scriptures as well

D&C 78: 17-19

Alma 34:38

D&C 59:15

This week brought a variety of new surprises, including a mysterious new suit. (a really sweet old lady who loves me in my ward felt my suit and freaked out about how thin it was and was worried that I was going to freeze to death! I told her I wouldn't, but then she went ahead and bought me a suit...... for 300 Euro! She wont let me take it back or pay her back)

I worked for 2 days in the biggest most awesome city in Germany (Berlin, of course) as a missionary and not as a tourist and that was super awesome too! I got to go on exchange with the zone leaders because my companion had meetings. 

So this is me in my new suit with Ahmed my ward mission leader. He wanted a picture with the 300 euro suit! Hahaha

Überraschung!

Well this week started out pretty normal with our days being filled
with studies, talking to people on the streets, and the occasional
lesson thrown in there..... But on Friday morning everything changed!
On This particular Friday that I am speaking of we received a phone
call from the mission office informing us that Sunday night we would
be attending a surprise mission conference with.... Elder M. Russel
Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles!
So yeah, after that call Saturday and Sunday seemed to drag on and on
until we finally arrived at the church where the conference would take
place.
When Elder Ballard came in he took the time to shake all of our hands
(252 of us) and to talk to all of us personally for just a few
seconds, He then went to the podium and continued to speak to us
about a variety of topics, the main one being our purpose as
missionaries and the challenge to be more than great missionaries but
also to be great teachers and eventually church leaders and parents.
He also came to give us some instructions about the recent terrorist
attacks in Paris, and what those mean for us as missionaries.
He taught us that that although being a missionary is hard, it is our
chance to stand as a witness of Jesus Christ and His everlasting
atonement, and that we should not be ashamed of that no matter what
happens.
He mainly came to just share his love with us and to cheer us up
and give us advice.
He also shared this scripture with us which will be the one that I'm going to
"ponderize" this week:
D&C 1: 19-20
19.The weak things of the world will come forth and break down the
mighty and the strong ones, that man should not counsel his fellow
man, neither trust in the arm of flesh
20.but that every man might speak in the name of God the lord, even
the Savior of the world

And that is something I have learned on my mission! Because my mission
has been a very humbling experience up until this point. I know that
without my Savior I am weak, but with him and through him I can become
better, and I can help others to be better as well!

Thank you for everything
Love Elder Schmalz

A little tour of Berlin

This is Brandenburg Gate

This is the a Holocaust Memorial, for the people who died 

This is the Capital Building

And the coat I am wearing I got for 4 bucks in Poland! I am super thrifty now!

Week Seven in Frankfurt Order

Well life here in Frankfurt Oder has been pretty dang busy, but we did manage to find some time to send Elder Allen off to his new area, and for me to pick up my new companion, Elder Tingey!
Elder Tingey and I go way back..... Actually, all the way back to the MTC!
We actually sat a seat away from each other on our flight here. Elder Tingey is from Oklahoma and he studied for a year at BYU before the mission!

We are working pretty hard here in Frankfurt and hope to see some cool thing happening in the coming weeks:)

My scripture that I'm thinking a lot about this week is Deuteronomy 32:4

"He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgement: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right he is."

I know that to be true! Our savior's ways are perfect. They may not always be easy, but they are perfect! It is only by doing things His way, that we may become perfect as well.

 

I've had a pretty good week and I hope to have another one!

Thank you for writing and for the prayers!

 

Love, Elder Schmalz

Wow!

So I am super sorry that I haven't written a good email in the last few weeks, but we have just been so busy!

We just had our  transfer calls and Elder Allen is getting transferred! I will be staying here in Frankfurt and I will be searching with Elder Tingey, more info on that next week!

But other than that, it has been a great week!

Winter!

Yeah winter is definitely coming! It's supposedly going to be a super cold winter, and it is crazy that it is my last winter here!

Still waiting to get to watch conference! The biggest hold up...lack of time and the internet. I still need to watch 1 1/2 sessions before I'm done and I can not wait. I really enjoyed Elder Christoffersons and Elder Ballards and of course some German pride with President Uchtdorfs!

 

The world really is such a beautiful place! This is half of one of the scriptures I have been ponderizing this week.

Alma 30:44 "yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator."

And I know with all of my heart that this statement is true! 

 

Well, I've been asked what has been going on lately.... and my days pretty much consist of meeting with less actives, searching for new investigators, and teaching the two cool investigators that we have:)

I'm loving my time here but I have definitely felt more effective as a missionary before.

This last Sunday we only had 4 members attend church...... So yeah it's a little hard.

 

I have been taking time to try to really master German. I have kind of plateaued when I became more fluent.... But I want to really be able to teach someone how to speak. So that requires a lot of work. Prayers would be really helpful in that area:)

 

I have also been asked what my birthday wishes and Christmas wishes are, and honestly... for birthday and Christmas......a jar of peanut butter would be nice, and I would love the opportunity to buy the fam some gifts. Also, at the moment, my clothes are dwindling, So maybe just a little cash in the pocket and some love and prayers, but if that's not possible I would love some notes from family and friends (hint hint:)

 

October Zone Training

 

Berlin Zone

Tag Der Deutschen Einheit

October 3rd 1990 is a day that is a very special day for the German
people, it is the day that should never be forgotten, and it is the day
hallowed by the words "Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit" (Unity and
Justice and Freedom) because on this day the Berlin Wall fell and
Germany was once again a united people.
So as you can imagine this last Saturday was a very special day as
well, for it was the day marking 25 years of Unity, Justice, and
Freedom as a German people.
But we as missionaries had the opportunity to participate in another
historical moment!
That being the 185th general conference of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter Day Saints!
We as Latter Day Saints were able to come together from all around the
world and participate in the sustaining of a living prophet who is
called from God, and the Twelve Apostles.
We were able to come together and be spiritually nourished and
strengthened, we were able to receive heavenly council about our very
temporal and earthly problems, as well as hear strong testimonies
about our Savior, Jesus Christ and the restoration of His church and
gospel.

How cool is that!  And during the conference I know that for at least
two sessions, I am doing the same thing as the people I love and
care about!
So yeah, I had a really good week.
I would love to hear what you learned from conference!
Next weeks email will have what I learned. I haven't actually seen all
of them because we have to wait for translation:)
Have a great week!
 
Elder Schmalz

 

This is our tiny Egyptian member with his two lederhosened missionary bodyguards! We had the awesome opportunity to watch conference at his comfy house and it was so nice. Their only request in exchange for this comfy spot to watch conference... We had to wear our lederhosen! Done!

The Berlin Wall

Today I was able to see the Berlin Wall while we went into the big city for our district meeting. This strip is called the east side gallery, and it's pretty cool.

Week 2 in Franfurt Order

So, a lot happened this week!

Including.......

Another sick companion.

Burning my hand on the stove.

A 30 mile bike ride.

and......

LEDERHOSEN!

Yep, to celebrate the start of Oktoberfest I have purchased myself a nice pair of lederhosen....

Bask in the Deutschness of Elder Schmalz!

Sunset in Germany

Frankfurt Order

So my first week in Frankfurt Oder has come to an end, and it has been pretty good!

My new companions name is Elder Allen. He hails from Houston Texas and has been on his mission for 5 months and.... he is a total Stud! I'm really looking forward to this transfer with him!

So Frankfurt Oder is right on the border of Germany and Poland and about an hour train ride away from Berlin. Due to our close proximity to Berlin, we have the awesome opportunity to travel into Berlin once a week for district meeting, so I finally get to see the big city! We also have another cool opportunity here in Frankfurt... that being that we teach someone who lives in Poland, so we also make a weekly trip to Poland!You might even call me a world traveler now;)

Well my spiritual thought for this week finds itself in Ether 12:4 which says
 

“Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of man, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God”
 

This scripture tells us that our hope and our faith should be like an anchor for us, and this symbolism of an anchor really got me thinking this week. If you think about the purpose of an anchor... its purpose is to sink down and hold a ship steady in storms and in waves, but an anchor that stays above the surface when the storm hits is absolutely useless. But an anchor that has sunk in deep before the storm comes can and will be a support during the storm. Sometimes I feel as if my faith didn't completely sink in all the way. Sometimes I would just go to church or read my scriptures and pray just because it was the right thing to do, but now I know that my faith has sunk in deep. I understand the why behind the commandments. I now understand that our faith should lead us to act and to change. It should really "sink" in to the depths of who we are. When we let our faith sink in deep, we will have that anchor in a sure place when the storms of life come, which they undoubtedly will. We will find ourselves supported. We will be safe.

That is my challenge for you this week.

Find a way to let in your faith sink in.

Whether that be taking notes in sacrament meeting, or re-immersing yourself in the scriptures, I promise that it will help when the storms of life come.

Thank you for your emails and your prayers!

 

Hello, Poland!

This picture captures Germany pretty well. The Mercedes building, the bombed out church, the BMW driving, the flags, oh, and the two buildings that say bikini on them...

Elder Allen and I

 

Last picture as companions! Elder Fitch is awesome!

Last district meeting

Schwarma, the best food ever!

Goodbye Hildesheim

So this week we received our transfer calls, and I'm heading back to the east.

My new city is called Frankfurt Oder. It's right on the border of Germany and Poland on the Oder River.

 

My new address is:

Heilbornring 11

15230

Frankfurt Oder

Other than that we had a good week! 

We met with Alfaiz (my investigator that should be getting baptized in the next two weeks) and I took a picture with him and Brother Axel Renekke at church.

We also had the awesome opportunity to give Amaljia and Marianna (the family from Mexico City) a priesthood blessing.  They asked for one because they are facing a very big decision of whether to stay in Germany or not. so that was really cool :)

1. 

 

District Celle

Guess What Day It Is? (on the 10th)

HUMP DAY!!!!

And so I'm writing this letter from the summit of mount mission (a wonderful two years worth of experiences and learning) and I want to make a list of the twelve things that I have learned so far... Naturally, I have learned more than twelve things throughout these twelve months of serving the lord, but I thought I would keep the list shorter for readers (and the writer) convenience. 

So here we go!

#1. Attitude IS Everything.

You may have noticed that this has been a big thing for me on my mission. I seem to write home about it once every month or so... But I have really learned during my time as a missionary that your attitude will either make you or break you.

When we choose to have a good attitude it makes us a better person, and it makes you the kind of person that people want to be around. But when we have a bad attitude it breaks us down. Even the easiest of tasks become challenging, and no one honestly enjoys being around someone with a bad attitude. So yeah I have learned that attitude is everything!

#2 How to say "we are missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints" in a variety of languages.

Serving in a international land like Germany we run into many people from many different lands and cultures... And thanks to the language barriers, a lot of these encounters turn out very confusing for both parties.

But if I did learn one thing from all my years of  Boy Scouts (that I failed! #LifeScoutForLife)  Is that we should be prepared!

So I took it upon myself to learn a word or two in a couple of the world languages of our day. Whether it be French, Spanish, Chinese, Twi, Russian, Arabic, Sächsisch, or intoxicated aka drunk man talk, I'm the guy to call! ( I can only say few phrases so don't be expecting anything fancy;) 

#3 Heavenly Father loves all of his children.

I have seen a lot in this this last year. I have seen very happy things but I have also seen some very sad and heartbreaking things. I have heard stories of wars and stories of peace, but what I have seen and heard the most is of God's love for us! 

Not a day goes by without seeing something small that reminds me of that love for me and for all of us.

#4 You really can have too much of a good thing! 

You try eating bratwurst almost every meal for an entire year and tell me how you feel about it!;)

Trust me, bratwurst are a great thing, but I'm glad that I only have a year left of eating them ALL THE TIME!

#5 Where to go when I need answers.

I have really learned to appreciate the power of prayer and scripture study, and I know ever more now, that it is through these things that we can communicate with our Father in Heaven. 

#6 The best thing to be is yourself!

We were all born with different personalities and as we grew we developed many different unique qualities,talents, and features, and these things really are such a huge blessing! 

We were made different for a reason! At times it may seem like we should try to just fit in or try to follow the crowd, but we should also remember who we are and try our best to work with what we've got, and when we work with what we've got and we try to "magnify our calling" of being our self we will see that our self IS good enough!

#7 Learning another language has its perks and other things that aren't so good.

I can proudly say that I am fluent in another language! With being fluent in another language comes some great perks like: being able to communicate with people from another nation, being able to talk behind people's backs with Grandpa Schmalz, I can watch world war 2 movies and understand everything, and I might be able to train German Shepherds;) 

But even with all those perks there are some downsides like: forgetting a ton of my English vocabulary, losing any of the English writing skills I had, being unable to pray in English out loud, knowing a bunch of cool words, phrases, and jokes that my family might never understand, but I am super grateful that I have the opportunity to learn German! Even with the downsides.

#8 When in Germany......bring an umbrella.

Seriously, the weather here is about as bipolar as Utah!

#9 The value of the Book of Mormon for all of us!

In the words of Joseph Smith 

" the Book of Mormon is the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book."

I would like to add my testimony to that! On my mission so far I have seen time and time again how the Book of Mormon is true and how it really can help us! We as missionaries try to share this book with other people, we bear testimony about it because we have read it and we know that it is true, but people should not just take our word for it! One of the greatest things about the Book of Mormon is that everyone can have a personal experience with it! Everyone not only can, but should read it and pray about it, and then act upon that answer! And when they do that they will see it, they will know it for themselves.

#10 How much I truly love and appreciate my friends and family.

It's always a great thing to get emails on p-day. It's always just a nice remember that people haven't forgotten me at home and that I have some support back on the home front. Also, really nice to know that I will still have some friends when I get back!

You never truly understand how much you love someone until you have to leave them for two years. But know I do:)

#11 How to be completely independent.... Physically and spiritually.

This has been a lesson that I have thoroughly enjoyed. A mission is the period of time where everything pretty much rides on you. If you want to have a clean house or if you want to eat good food... Etc. It's all up to you. And it goes the same with the spiritual things...

If I want to take something from life it's up to me to make something of life. 

Also, I have found out that I have a knack for cooking, but I still need to work on cleaning! 

#12 That I am where I need to be.  

This is the thing that I recognize most often, and that is the fact that I'm doing what my Heavenly Father wants me to do.  Although things can be hard and sometimes I feel like I might not be enough, I'm always reminded that I am where I need to be, I am learning what I need to learn, doing what I need to do, and I'm becoming who I'm supposed to become!

Well there is a list of twelve things I have learned, I know they weren't all that serious, but yeah, that's what I've got!

Thank you for the years worth of emails, letters, and most importantly prayers! 

If you ever need anything I'm just an email away!

Love Elder Gavin Schmalz


This was taken at the mission conference a couple weeks ago :)
Where's Elder Schmalz?

I wonder if Sister Brim will ever find out that I have stolen her photos on numerous occasions...

 

Mission Problems

Yep, those are my suit pants!

Another Great Week!

This week we had the opportunity to travel to Hamburg and participate in a mission tour. We were visited by Elder Johnson of the first quorum of the seventy, he taught us about teaching with the Spirit and making sure we are focusing on the spiritual growth of our investigators and not just going through the motions. The mission tour was also great because i got to see Elder Bretzing (my trainer) and a couple of other past companions.

Hildesheim is going great and so am I!

Here is a cool scripture I found in my studies this week.

Romans 8:16-17The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are children of God:
And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified together.

I actually was reminded of this scripture by an old man that I talked to on the streets a few months back, and it has been running through my head ever since.
I just want to share my short testimony that we are all children of God and that He loves us so much. So much that He sent His Son, even Jesus Christ to the earth for us, and it is through Him that we can return to our Father in Heaven. Right now it is my privilege as a missionary to get to share this message with everyone I see, and I know that it is true! All people can know that it is true, and all people can be reminded of it's truthfulness if we do our part.

Love Elder Schmalz

Doing our missionary thing...

Some of the sights out and about...

The Hildesheim Branch is Fantastic!

Well Hildesheim is doing great, and Elder Fitch is slowly getting better, so

we are starting to get some real work done here and it feels good.

 

Our Mexican Family!

This last week we were able to teach our friends from Mexico City and that is going great! It is cool to see that the Spirit can still work with us with our small amount of Spanish capability and that we are still able to teach and testify with power:)

 

The Hildesheim Branch is fantastic! They love to do misisonary work, and we love to do it with them! This Sunday was fun. Do to half of the branch being on vacation, we had the awesome oppurtunity to teach the youth Sunday school class. Sweet!

 

District Selfies

I don't know why, but writing has been super hard for me the last two months as you can probably tell. I don't have any drive to write anything...

But something that has really struck me again in the last few months is how important attitude is!

We cannot choose our circumstances, but we can always choose our attitude towards our circumstances.

I am having a great time, and everything is going great! 

Thank you for the emails and the prayers, as always,

Elder Schmalz

Fabulous Hair, P-Day Picture

 

Today we climbed to the top of the Bismarck Tower with the sister missionaries and two of their investigators from Italy and Denmark. As you can tell, my hair did not disappoint... I know, I know, I need a haircut!

 

The Bismarck Tower