i have been transferred... to America

Monday, October 14

real life transfer call this week:

AP: OK sister are you ready!? Sister Tolman you will be staying in Kassel
with your new companion Sister ****** ( privacy purposes)

annnnnnnnnd Sister Diederich.. Your being transferred.. to AMERICA..
And we are leaving it up to you to find your new companion

-_-

well that's as helpful as


this week was bizarre

I was sitting in awe during times of silence just taking it all in.. How much
i will miss Germany, how much i love being a missionary, how much i have
left to do, how much of an awkward RM i will be..

and then an elder snapped me out of my daze and said
'' Sister Diederich... are you sick!?''

without thought i responded

'' IM ILL..... NOT SICK''

welp-. that sure warmed my heart to say.. kinda gave me hope that I'm not a 
complete lost cause..


As my German goodbyes piled up so did my calorie intake..
As a goodbye present we had an eating appointment
every.single.day

all members made TYPICAL GERMAN GOOD

rotkohl, klöße. würst, kartoffelen, gulasche, gemüse

the whole 9 yards..

the whole 9 yards in description to the food... or the size i grew??

safe bet to say both.

Well... this was the BUSIEST week of my entire mission.. so imma
summarize it briefly.. 

1. got a very very... creepy package.. full of 60 dollars worth
of meats and breads from Germany.. money and a 26 page
love note... old person from an old city.. naja
President took care of that for me and sent it back to him..

I never did get to read the note.. or keep the money hahah but ya
that was definitely one for the books

Next..

I went on exchange to Hannover this week!! It felt like a dream!!
Speaking of.. Sister Fugal was a total gem and planned a surprise
appointment with DIRK!!!!!!!!!!!! She also surprised him.. haha i turned
the corner and both of our faces totally lit up we were so excited!!

What happened next is truly a tender mercy..
The closer I've been getting to coming home.. the more I've felt
Satan working hard on me.. and i find myself wondering..
'' did i really make that BIG of a difference on my mission for others!?''

Well i received one of my answers that day.. Dirk is doing 
a.m.a.z.i.n.g.... he is active, loving his calling ( he comes
an hour early to set up chairs.. they say he even curves them all nice ... swag)

killin it..

not only is he staying strong but he is joint teaching with the Elders and Sisters,
preparing to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood this week AND his patriarchal
blessing.... MOST PREPARED MAN IN EUROPE

After our lesson we closed with a prayer.. Dirk offered the most beautiful
PURE prayer. It was a testimony builder to see how far he has come. He
has TRULY figured out prayer, something that takes most people a lifetime
to figure out. It was a two way communication between him and his father in 
heaven.. sooooo powerful and SOOO beautiful..

Before closing he thanked God for sending me to him and putting me in his path.
He asked that all will be well with me as i travel home this week and to protect me until
i come back to visit him in April.


After that killer appointment we went to........ the most memorable
eating appointment. EVER

It was at a less active members home from GHANA AFRICA..
She sits us down and then begins to bring out the food... i couldn't
tell you what it was to be honest.. no idea..

but through her broken German i was able to understand.. fish.. spicy plantains
and other weird african things in a brown paper sack.

She left to go to the kitchen to clean up for a quick minute and well

keeping the sister d tradition ALIVE... i panicked..
pulled out my handy dandy shopping baggie from the pday prior..
and did away with it... I did try it though... and i cried.

NEXT.

I had to get 800 dollars from the church to buy my shots to take home..
YOLO


LAST:

our concert..
what can I say? solo went well...nobody walked out!

hectic.

But we pulled it together and it was an amazing night! Lots of members and
investigators came.. felt the spirit.. ate a brownie.. SUCCESS!!

The day before our concert i held a street display downtown.. 
God had other plans that day..... HE MADE IT RAIN ( non fat joe reference.. or was it)
Well it was pourrrinnnggggg.. the elders and sisters all sung huddled under an umbrella and 
yours truly was the sacrifice and stood out alone passing out fliers..

A man walked up to me and i offered him a flyer.. 

he declined..

So... i offered him a cooooool blue book..

he declined..

I noticed he was absolutely drenched, he looked exhausted and as if
he might of had even a worse day than me..
So without hesitation.

I offered him my umbrella..

He stopped with a confused look.. stared.. and then humbled himself and
said '' ja... bitte''

he accepted.

He took my umbrella ( still completely shocked ) and walked off..

about 10 minutes later i felt a tap on my shoulder and it was him again!
He asked '' who... are you?''

i explained i was a missionary for the church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints..
and we talked for about 10 minutes... 

His heart was completely changed.. he then took a flyer.. and eventually a book..
He couldn't make it to the fireside but the sisters have a new investigator..

BY SMALL AND SIMPLE THINGS ARE GREAT THINGS BROUGHT TO PASS

I cannot believe this has to end.. I want to thank you all for the BEST 
18 months of my life!!!!.. Missions change lives.. and I've never been so happy.
I don't want it to end.. but that just goes to show me that I've served my best,
I love the Lord and will bis ans ende ausharren.. 


Ich möchte mein Zeugnis geben, dass ich von ganzem Herzen weiß, dass Gott lebt und dass er ein unveränderlicher Gott der Wunder ist. Ich weiß, dass Jesus der Christus ist und dass er für jeden einzelnen von uns gestorben ist, damit wir Hoffnung auf ein besseres Leben haben können, das frei von Schuld und Leid ist.
Ich bezeuge, dass Joseph Smith wirklich Gott und seinen Sohn gesehen hat, der durch ihn viele Wunder auf der Erde vollbracht hat. Er hat das Buch Mormon hervorgebracht und die wahre Kirche Jesu Christi auf der Erde wiederhergestellt. Ich weiß von ihrer Göttlichkeit. Ich habe es selbst gelesen und lade euch ein, dies auch zu tun, falls ihr es noch nicht getan habt. Und alle die es schon getan haben, lade ich ein, es noch einmal zu tun.


GOTT SEI MIT EUCH BIS........... MITTWOCH

Liebe Grüße

sister isabelle diederich
a.k.a. bella in berlin
I'm coming home...

Anybody want a blue book?


Dinner... Ghana Style


Dirk!




preachin in the rain


ohh.. Zac Efron plays German soccer?


Elders observing


Mad no one told me about this


release papers



See you all soon!

11 comments:

  1. I'm sad your mission is ending. (I'm pretty sure I read your last 2 posts and cried. Literal TEARS!!!!) Missions are one of the greatest blessings, aren't they? I will miss your inspiring stories, your hilarity, and mostly just hearing about a mission through your eyes. I've been home from my mission for 5 years and not a day goes by that I don't think of it.

    Bless you for serving. I pray that you will be okay returning home.

    I'm glad you'll keep posting once you are home. I'd love to see your take on a homecoming talks, mission reunions, adjusting, etc.

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  2. I hope that come November 20th, my MTC report date, I can become the kind of missionary you spent your 18 months being. You are so inspiring to me and I am sad i won't be able to take your blog with me for encouragement and some laughs. Thank you for serving!!

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  3. Sister Diederich, I found your blog thanks to Pinterest, and I have looked forward to reading every week for the past year. And each week, I cry tears of joy when I read your stories. You obviously touched lives in your mission, but you have also inspired countless young women to become full-time missionaries and those of us somewhere in the middle between 19 and senior-coupledom to be better member missionaries. Best wishes and prayers for a safe trip home and a good transition into "civilian" life. You will rock it!!

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  4. Girl, don't forget we have a DDC date soon!

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  5. What an amazing mission you've had! As a mother of an Elder in the Berlin Mission, I've LOVED reading your experiences. You've brought your great joy and giggles to our family. Thank You!!

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  6. Love your blog and look forward to it every week:)

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  7. Sister Diederich, I am one of the thousands of sisters that has loved reading your blog every week and had so many of my questions answered. Your 2 "what I wish I would have known" posts were maybe the best thing that has ever happened to me. IDEA. You should put together a list of everything that you packed and took with you into the mission field. I loved all your mission outfits and thought they were adorable! I am going to a mission with a colder climate so advice on what you wore to keep warm would be great. And what you did for shoes. Also maybe just tell what a couple of you favorite clothing items were that you brought and which ones were most useful and which ones you wish you would have left home. I am sure that the THOUSANDS of other sisters would just eat this right up like I would. Thanks for blessing us all with your testimony!

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  8. I want updates!!! how is life as an RM!

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  9. Hey! I have been called to the Berlin mission! I report in march. I'm trying to get everything ready to go! If you would email me with tips and any advice specific to the mission that would be incredible! Your blog is so cute! emilylaurenmiller@icloud.com

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  10. Sister Tolman is from my hometown! Lil' Weez! She's so stinkin' sweet! It's sure a small world!

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