Two Missionaries, One Work: I speak German. That still blows my mind. (SP)

Hey Family!

Orders of business.

Dad, I got my debit card in the mail. Thank you SO much! I logged onto UCCU and miraculously remembered my passwords. I can see it all and keep track! AND Happy Father's Day!! What did ya'll do to celebrate?

This week has been so amazing. I speak German. That still blows my mind. I'm fluent in another tongue. And the sounds have meaning. It makes me want to learn other languages. Starting with Spanish. I learned how to say ''I'm 21 years old.'' And I also learned the name of a chicken recipe that the coasts in Peru are famous for. Pollo e la Braza....or something like that. I want to go there someday and try it :).

Harald is making progress. We had 2 lessons with him this week. When we walked into his room (he lives in an old folks' home if I haven't mentioned that) and he had a glass of alcohol on his desk. He tried to drink it fast and hide the bottle before we came in. I was sad to see it, but I've been working on showing the right kind of disappointment. They need to know that we're sad because the behavior makes them sad by doing it, not that we're disappointed in them. We're still in a threesome and the two Sisters from Freiburg don't know the investigators in Lahr so I take the lead. I asked him a little about the drinking, how much he'd had etc. He said he didn't drink a lot, which is good. We went on with the lesson which was a continuation of the Plan of Salvation. It went well. Reeeaaallly slow, but good. He's slooooowly gettin' it. At the end I committed him to stop drinking. And to throw out the bottle he had. He'd already had a little alcohol in him, and he got upset and yelled at us. I've never been yelled at by him. Means Satan's screamin'! Ha YA! We patiently waited for him to get all his anger out. After some time, we just sat there with him. He cried. We sat with him. He finally told us angrily to take the bottle. He was still mad, but told us we could take it. My heart soared. And became somber at the same time. I've never witnessed how real the fight between Satan and his followers and us is. His grip is so tight if we let him in. After waiting some more, just sitting with him, I told him I was going to pray. I knew he wouldn't necessarily want to, but some good tough love is always in order. I prayed and peaked at him as I prayed. He folded his arms and bowed his head with us. What a champ. I love him SO much. He's made so much progress. He wants to go to the Spirit Paradise not the Spirit Prison as we taught in the lesson. He wants to follow God. We went home and I dumped the alcohol down the toilet. It's the little victories, yet not little, that we need to focus on.

Miracles! On Friday, we had a finding day in Offenburg, which is norht of Lahr. It was us three sisters, Elder Durrant and Elder Jensen from Offenburg, Elder Anyawu and Elder Christiansen from Freiburg and two members Sister Runge and Sister Schiffeholz. I split off with Sister Bognár and Sister Schiffeholz. Holy cow, I LOVE FINDING. The Lord inspired me with a question that I used that day. It was, ''What do you do when a trial comes in your life?'' They'll say things like go for a walk, talk with best friend...etc. Then you apply it to the gospel. I told them that I'd sometimes eat chocolate, take a nap etc. And then talked about Jesus Christ and how he is and can become our Best Friend. He died for us so that we could have that. And then I'd whip out the Book of Mormon. SO many people stayed and listened. It was SO cool. Between the 9 of us that finding day, we placed 7 Books of Mormon and found 16 potential investigators. Crazy!! Miracles!!! I've never felt so alive in my life! The Lord truly blesses and gives opportunities to find those that are ready.

I learned a lot from these two Sisters who work in Freiburg as I wrote last week. Sister Bognár herself gave away 4 Books of Mormon that Friday. FOUR. She's a boss when it comes to being bold. She just doesn't care what anyone thinks. She just knows that the Book is true and that it can change people's lives. The first picture is of her and a man that took a Book of Mormon on a train.

Another miracle happened this week. We were on our way home and we came to a light that we cross often. Suddenly someone says ''Hey!'' to me. I turn and it's Guiseppe! In the EXACT same spot where we first met him!! We set up an appointment to meet for the next day. ....Sadly he didn't come. But I know the Lord has all power to help us meet up with the people that we need to stay in contact with. SO COOL. Thank you all for your prayers!

Being in a threesome between two areas has been interesting and hard. I feel like my area's getting hammered, but the Lord reminded me that it doesn't matter what the situation is, I can get all the numbers and goals accomplished I want. I know it's all possible. I'm getting better at not believing the excuses. Excuses are false. I'd rather be excited about the goals I set and the things I want to do. I've discovered the game of fighting the excuses. And I've discovered how fun it is :). Making Satan mad is a fun game. He hates it, but it's just too much fun to tease him. If it wasn't a challenge, it wouldn't be so enjoyable. I've loved the challenge of grasping my agency in it's fullest and not caring what ANYone says and setting those goals I want to reach with the Lord. Life's so much easier that way.

I read a talk by Sheri Dew called ''You Were Born to Lead, You Were Born for Glory.'' I want to share a quote from it.

''The simple fact is that our Father did not recommend Eve or Moses or Nephi or countless other magnificent exemplars for this dispensation—He recommended you and me. Do you think God would have left the last days to chance by sending men and women He couldn’t count on? A common theme of patriarchal blessings given to men and women your age is that you were sent now because our Father’s most trustworthy children would be needed in the final, decisive battle for righteousness. That is who you are, and it is who you have always been.

''Because the Holy Ghost will show us everything we should do, it only makes sense to learn how He communicates—or to learn the language of revelation. Our challenge is not getting the Lord to speak to us; our challenge is understanding what He has to say (see D&C 6:14).''

Sheri Dew is MY FAVORITE PERSON. Language of Revelation. Have you ever asked Father how He communicates with you? If you have not, DO IT. Do it tonight. You will have the most incredible week. As a representative of Jesus Christ, I promise, and I know it is a promise from the Lord, that if you ask Him how He communicates with you, and sincerely watch and pray, you will see the very windows of heaven open up to you. All of those answers you wanted. ALL of those moments of comfort you thought God wasn't there, will be enlighted to you. God is always there. If we didn't see Him, we had our eyes and hearts closed. We're among the creatures of pride and excuses. How soon we blame EVERYthing else around us for the trouble and heartache instead of taking the blame, or giving understanding, looking in our hearts, and humbling ourselves enough to ask the Lord for help. I know that the Lord is there. I know that He was there in your hard times. I know He'll always be there for you. If you didn't know it, pray that prayer and ask Him how He talks with you.

That's why I love the scripture I chose for my plaque. Didn't know that until coming out here. 2 Nephi 31:3 ''For my soul delighteth in plainness; for after this manner doth the Lord God work among the children of men. For the Lord God giveth light unto the understanding; for he speaketh unto men according to their language, unto their understanding.''

Life is about talking with our Father in Heaven and getting to know Him and His Son. When we can communicate with them, we'll beable to become like them and thats when the joy starts. I know that ''...men are that they might have joy.'' 2 Nephi 2:25

1 Nephi 11:21-23 ''And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw? And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things. And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most joyous to the soul'' (emphasis added).

I know God loves us. I know that we can feel that love now. We don't have to wait. We can feel it now. Ask for it. Ask to know how He speaks with you and He'll tell you. Even if you think you know it. There's always something we don't know. Haha He'll tell you. He'll tell you in flying colors :). He's a Dad. I know this gospel is true. I know it blesses are lives. It IS the way that life was meant to be lived. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

True to the Faith,

Sister Nicole Packer