The beginning of something really fantastic!

Liebe Familie und Freunde:

Spring is really here! We are in short sleeve shirts today- it is awesome! A perfect beginning to Conference week! I am so looking forward to this weekend!!

So this week was so great! We ended up being in Frankfurt 4 days this week! And I got to be with Elder Kuttler on Wednesday! We went to the street preach in Frankfurt with the new missionaries and went a little bit early to drop some papers off at the office so we wouldn't have to mail them in. The new missionaries were there so Elder Kuttler and I were able to talk for a while. President Schwartz knew that we are good friends, and didn't believe me when I said I came to the office to bring some important papers... and we laughed :-) It was great to see him and I am excited to hear about all the mission calls coming out of College Station!

At one of the meetings we were talking about what is needed for a "Revolution" or the furthering of a good cause. My mind went to Les Miserables, and we talked about a flag, a song, and a motto. So President asked who could write a song that would inspire the hearats and stir the souls of the missionaries to unify us in this cause... I was sitting at the far end of a large table... and one by one all the heads turned down in my direction... :-) So I am working on writing the mission song/anthem. It is so neat how the Lord prepares us for our current callings and positions by previous callings and positions. And He allows us to use our talents to bless others. I am real excited for this opportunity!

This week is going to be so great- I can just feel it! We had some great meetings last week in Frankfurt of how to help the missionaries and to develop and focus on the mission vision. Elder Sheppard and Elder Hogan are the Zone Leaders in Frankfurt now! It is neat to have two of my great companions as our leaders- I learned so much from them when I was serving with them, and am now blessed to continue to learn from them. One of the big topics that we discussed was creative finding- how to find people to teach without going door to door or walking on the streets. We had some great brainstorming. One of the neat things we have done recenlty is surveys. We have a list of questions about faith and a scale of 1-5, one being "not at all" and 5 being "absolutely". Germans love helping and love surveys! It is such a great way to open up the conversation about the gospel and faith without being intrusive or annoying. We like surveys :-) This Thursday we are doing a big Balloon street display to invite people to come to General Conference. We got a couple hundred balloons that say "Ich bin ein Kind Gottes" on one side at "kirche-jesu-christi.org" on the other. We will have a "Come, Listen to a Prophet's Voice" message and the information to come to the church and watch the sessions of General Conference. I have always loved General Conference, but I am getting really excited for this weekend, especially- I guess I have a lot of questions and help that I need, that I know will be answered this weekend.

We were on a train going to Mainz.. we do that often :-)... and was sitting by a middle aged woman. She had papers in englisch that she was putting into page protectors, which said "Church of the Pentacostals" on the tops and a schedule for a program of sorts. I asked her what she believed as a member of the Pentacostal faith, and it was neat to talk about the similarities. She recognized us as LDS Missionaries, and said "I know you have Joe Smith, or something. I don't know anything about him. Could you tell me something about him?" Music to a missionary's ears! Awesome! I was able to talk to her about how he grew up in a time of religious excitement, but also a time of religious confusion. He wasn't sure where to go to find the truth or how to really distinguish it. I shared with her how he turned to the book of James in the New Testament and read: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God". She nodded in agreement. I asked her if she knew what happened next- she didn't. With her complete attention, I was able to share with her, in his own words, how Joseph went into a grove of trees and prayed and asked God. I shared with her the answer he received, of seeing God the Father and Jesus Christ, and how they called Joseph to be a prophet to restore the Chruch of Jesus Christ to the earth. And she closed her eyes and nodded. And smiled. So did I. She felt good and liked what we were saying. We asked if we could come over and share a message for her family about the joy and peace we can have in this life in our families because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But we pulled into the station, and she had to run, but we gave her a card with our number on it. All the way down the train and on the platform, she turned and smiled and waved and said goodbye. And we smiled and waved back.

I love it!

This Friday is Luisa's baptism. She has been taught by the sister missionaries and we have met her at church and at other activities. She asked me to baptize her. I look forward to Friday, and am excited that Luisa is ready to be baptized and make these sacred covenants with Heavenly Father.

This is just the beginning of something really fantastic!

Ich bin so dankbar dafür, dass ich hier in Deutschland bin. Ich freue mich jeden Tag ein Missionar des Herrn sein zu dürfen. Diese Arbeit ist das Werk des Herrn. Ich weiß, dass es wahr ist. Präsident Monson ist der Prophet Gottes, und ich bin so begeistert seine Rat zu folen und ihm diese Wochenende zu foglen. Wir sind so gesegnet! Leben ist so schön, und das Beste kommt bald!

Bis nächste Woche! Alles Güte,

Elder Nathan D. Garlick
German Frankfurt Mission
"Shall we not go on in so great a cause?" D&C 128:22