God Will Deliver

Aye! Wie Geht's!? 

This week has been absolutely crazy. It's hard for me to wrap my head around hearing that Russia has started invading Ukraine. I never imagined that a first-world country would do that in the 21st century. I have been keeping the people there in my prayers, hoping that it will peacefully end soon, & I ask that you do too. 

The highlights of my week: 

• We hosted our first Sprachcafè Tuesday evening over zoom. If you don't know what a Sprachcafé is, it's where a bunch of people that are learning a language get together and practice by discussing various topics. We had 5 people show up which may not seem like a lot, but it's a humble beginning. We all introduced ourselves and at the end, I was able to give a spiritual thought on how exercising faith in God can help us be happy regardless of the circumstances we are in (I also posted it on my Facebook if you wanna check it out) 

• It was Sister Lymans birthday on Thursday so the sisters and I came together and celebrated

• Funny story: On Friday morning we went out into Altstadt to find the elect. We asked this one lady what brings her joy in life and she said "playing pokemon go, there's a big festival going on right now". We then look around and almost everyone is on their phones haha. I didn't expect that the game would still be so big since it came out almost six years ago, but it is. 

• On Saturday we had our first appointment with this man from Ghana whose contact we got a couple of weeks ago and it was so great! He said that he had a super-strong relationship with God before he came here to Germany but then as he became overwhelmed with his studies and adjusting to life here, he fell away, but regrets giving up hope and wanting to find his way back. This spirit was so strong as he was telling us this and it confirmed to me that we were led to him, that it wasn't a coincidence that we spoke to him that day. We were able to give him a tour of our meetinghouse and introduce him to the Book of Mormon. 

• Getting the contacts of people who are interested in learning about the restored gospel!! 

• Fasting as a mission for the people in Ukraine 

• Going to this way good ramen shop today and checking out a couple palaces along the Elbe 

Spiritual thought:  

Yesterday I was deeply touched by Alma's teachings in the fifth chapter of his book. Shortly before he started this sermon, he resigned as chief judge over the people, so that he could dedicate his time to preaching the word of God and calling the people to repentance. He then asked the people to remember their forefathers and he says 

"And moreover, have ye sufficiently retained in remembrance that he has delivered their souls from hell?

7 Behold, he changed their hearts; yea, he awakened them out of a deep sleep, and they awoke unto God. Behold, they were in the midst of darkness; nevertheless, their souls were illuminated by the light of the everlasting word; yea, they were encircled about by the bands of death, and the chains of hell, and an everlasting destruction did await them.

8 And now I ask of you, my brethren, were they destroyed? Behold, I say unto you, Nay, they were not. "

Just like these people were delivered from hell by exercising faith in God, you can too. Whatever your hell is whether it be depression, financial struggles, or abusive relationships God can deliver you from it if you exercise faith in him. 

This reminded me of the story of Louis Zamperini. He was an Olympic runner at the 1936 Olympics and prepared for the next Olympic Games when WWII broke out. He then signed up for the air force so that he would have a say in where he would serve in the military before the government would start drafting people and assigning them randomly. While out on a mission his aircraft got shot down and he had to survive 40 days living on a raft, with barely any food or water, until he drifted onto a Japanese island. There he was imprisoned and tortured until the end of the war. When he came back he suffered from PTSD and fell into drinking as a method to cope. This quickly led him to become addicted, wasting his days and money behind a bar, & neglecting/abusing his family. He thought that all hope in his life was gone until he ran into a Christian preacher one day. Through his help, he discovered God and was able to overcome his addiction and PTSD. He even went back to Japan and forgave the guards that abused him. 

I know that these things are true as I have received help from God through my struggles. Thankfully they weren't as bad as these examples and they don't need to be. If you are struggling with something, turn to God, and he will deliver you from it. 

Have a great week y'all! 

- Love Elder Rothärmel