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!

for your information

I've received lots of emails ( which I love so never apologize when you send them. Your the best),  with a few of the same questions sooo...

Just real quick I'm going to comment on a few little things I've been asked alot lately..

IMPORTANT: 

YES-

E.V.E.R.Y.O.N.E is herzlich willkommen to my homecoming!! ( that means your invited ). 

Whether we have met or not I'd LOVE to meet all you wonderful people. Party in the USA!! Minus Miley Cyrus I've heard she's lost it. 

No-

 I don't think it's creepy to hear from you haha I love meeting new people, hearing your AMAZING stories and knowing that I've been able to touch your life in one way or another. 

even if it be a rap song reference intermingled with the gospel. I do what I can do. 

Its truly been an amazing experience for me to hear from readers everywhere from Japan to Mongolia and everywhere in between. I LOVE hearing from you and helping in every possible way I can. It's made my mission COMPLETE and I'm SO thankful to every single one of you. 

I don't consider myself to be any person with wise words.. but I do love your questions and believe I've been able to keep up and respond to every letter or email! lemme know if not. 

With that....

Some readers have asked if I'd be interested in speaking to youth groups/firesides. I love teaching, meeting new people and sharing insight on the gospel and my conviction to the gospel story... 

Anytime I can share my testimony I will bear it!!!!

I've had lots of requests for a post about " WHAT I WISH I WOULD'VE KNOWN BEFORE I GOT IN THE FIELD" entry

Don't you FRET

I've been jotting down in my journal for 6 MO. a nice BIIIIIG list of advice, tips and tricks for everything from companion advice, tips for transfers, training, sister zone leaders, study ideas, missionary easy recipes, lessons plans..

The whole SCHABANG. 

I will be posting that in a few weeks..once my mission ends so I can also attach on the " HOW TO SURVIVE a zombie apocalypse.... or worse...coming home"

So stay tuned for that. 

And LAST considering "the blog"... Ive had many readers ask what will happen with my blog after I go home. 

I don't consider myself a person with any wise words or coolness ( is that a word?) ........ see. 

And to be honest I've never even seen my own blog or even know how this works but my amazing sister Olivia has been the administrator ( like does it make us FB friends? if not we should be..)

BUT your letters touch me and motivate me more than you know... I've given it some thought and..

I decided to keep writing! 

Every. Single. Week. A new post!!

 I'll still write about my life as a missionary, life as a now member missionary, advice, thoughts, life as a awkward single RM and fill your week with all the other wonderful brain litter & things I manage to think up..

We got a good thing going.. 

" my heart will go oooooonnn and oooonnnn"

yes I just quoted celine dion. Is she still performing in Vegas?

wir hören uns 

Sister Diederich 

aside from the blog you can catch Bella on

twitter: @bellediederich

Facebook: Isabelle Diederch

Pinterest: Isabelle Diederich

email: belladiederich@gmail.com

if not in Zion, we'll meet in heaven

Oh my gosh. 

General Conference... 

Its like the SUPERBOWL for missionaries.. 

You got your favorite players.. (My personal is President Uchtdorf) 

#celebritycrush

Deutschland we go hard. 

You got your BIG plays ( when the apostles makes Satan tremble.. Goosebumps every time )

The halftime show ( the beloved Motab choir )

The kiss cam ( Oh come on don't tell me I'm the only one who notices evvvverytime they do the audience scan outside that they happen to just show all the mushy newlyweds ) 

Makes myself feel super neat.. solo dolo.. 22.. wearing pioneer clothing.. 

servin the lord...proud of it

oh man.. conference as a missionary is just.. different. No words. 

It's just aaaaaamazing. <3

Before Conference began, the missionaries I was with posed the question:

" sister diederich... you go home in a week.. what would you do if they announced Sisters could serve a 2 year mission..?"

I told them..

" I've thought long and hard about that one. Waiting for the Prophet to pull out the big guns.. And i can promise you that if it were to be true.. Mark my words.. I would be on the phone with President canceling my flight home.. There is not a doubt in my heart that i would do it.. Not a doubt in my mind. "

Not because I do not feel ready to come home or because i feel that I haven't accomplished what I wished to in these 18 months.. but because this work has brought me more happiness than I ever thought possible. Because I know this is the work of God..and we are truly his hands and his feet.. And if I be so lucky to have an opportunity to do it even for just a day longer.. i would stay. 

We actually got one of our investigators to watch conference at the church with us.. Uchtdorf was an amazing joint teach 

He asked her not once but about 13 times to join us.. and she said she would! But it'll be a process but she is willing to do it 

Vorwärts 

Fall is here and I am on cloud 9.

Boots, scarfs, burning your tongue with hot german chocolate, jumping from crunchy leaf to crunchy leaf on the sidewalk to take out your frustration after a bad appointment. So wonderful and convenient.

Now only that but the castle behind our apartment looks 100x prettier with the fall leaves on it

( now how many times will i ever be able to say that again? ). 

the castle behind our apartment looks 100x prettier with the fall leaves on it

I had to just do it one more time for kicks. 

I can't believe it's October. Time for harvesting! 

People that is..

haha could you see me as a farmer? hahahahahahahaha joke of the day. 

The Lord is TRULY hastening his work. Every. Single. Day we find someone new and ready for the gospel, somebody will talk to us.. This is the hastening!!

This week was beautiful. how could it not be when your a representative of Jesus Christ. I mean... 

Thought of the week

Germany is such a different world. The food, the culture, the history and the chocolate.. I feel right at home..

Yet, It's been hard to find a balance of being myself an forming to the German way of life. 

For example: riding the street trains. In America ( for those awesome citizens who still ride trax and such forms of transportation ) everyone is chatting, laughing, making new BFF's 

You sit on a train in Germany. 

crickets. 

No no... no wait even crickets feel too awkward to chitchat or chirp or whatever crickets do

Everyone.. is ghost faced. wide eyes.. deathly silent.. contemplating what appears to be how to solve world hunger or solving math equations in their heads 

Then you got yours truly contemplating my deepest non gospel related question of the week:

" how much self control do you think it takes to work in a bubble wrap factory?"

food for thought. 

I find myself as " that American" always smiling, chatting about the weather, complimenting them, talking about prophets.. makin friends.. the usual. 

However.. I've come to learn. 

Smiling at strangers or for no reason all is taken one of four ways in Germany..

To them when you smile.. You either:

1. you know one another. ( if I smile at someone they'll always ask if we know each other..)

2. your crazy and are socially.... special. 

3. your hitting on them

4. you are intoxicated and/or stoned

Every. Single. Time I've smiled at someone it gets taken wrong. I get shot glares... get called a JDUBB or worse than that if it's a guy they'll walk up and start trying to hit on you..

THESE ARE THE TIMES I AM SO GRATEFUL FOR THE DUMB AMERICAN CARD. 

the dumb American card: 

making the universal baseball strike hand signal, and shaking your head, while saying realllllly slowly " Me..... NO..... German ". 

#lifesaver 

Sister Tolman and I have planned a musical fireside for Saturday the 12th. It's been soooo amazing to plan for the ward.. 

We decided to do an entire First Lesson but with music numbers and small talks in between clips of the Joseph Smith prophet of the Restoration film. 

It'll be a beautiful low key concert that teaches the lesson EVERY member wants to teach, but doesn't because they either don't know how, or don't want a sit down " lesson ". 

It's going to be fool proof...except for the fact I'm singing a duet. Uhhh if anyone knows me they know I don't sing in public. 

I'm way to shy. 

I can dance in front of a packed stadium of 15,000+ people. #goutes... 

But the minute I need to speak none the less sing. too scared 

well ill let you know how that one goes. If all else fails.. eh I'm coming home next week right?

Ah its difficult trying to sum up my week. Due to complications were not allowed to discuss in detail names of people etc for privacy purposes. 

But our PEEPS are doing great. Slow and steady but making progress. We've truly seen lives change this transfer. I may not be able to be here for the baptisms we had planned due to conference ( investigators must attend sacrament a few times)

But that is not important.. I do NOT matter.. for it is not MY baptism. I am just so thankful for the opportunity I've been given to assist in the work in Kassel. 

I am going to share my favorite little thought from conference..

I haven't seen the Sunday afternoon session... thanks time zone change..

but i truly did LOVE President Monsons talk in the Sunday Morning Session..

Perhaps it could be because my mission is coming to a close or because i will

soon be moving forward to a new chapter where ill be needing now more than 

ever to ENDURING TO THE END..

should i falter or finish?

That question truly does apply to us in E.V.E.R.Y situation in our lives.. 

His message gave me so much hope for tomorrow and the reassurance i needed

to KNOW that this gospel can be if we let it.. the anchor of our souls

9 days till I'm home?! 

Well that's seems about as realistic to me as BUMP IT hair extenders 

who you tryna fool?

Ask me how I'm feeling next week.. ttyl

Line of the Week:

( this one happened last transfer but I saw in my journal I never emailed it)

Man: now where are you from?

Me: I'm from America

Man: where?

Me: I am from Utah..

Man: I've seen a tag like that before

Me: yes sir.. do yo know much about us LDS missionaries 

Man: two young fellows wearing that same tag were around when I was a young boy after the War.. they brought many of my neighbors with them home including my favorite play mate. I have a theory they were kidnapped by those Americans. 

Me: Well i can assuredly tell you they were not kidnapped.. but perhaps willingly moved to Utah. 

Man: no no... not Utah.. Zion. They said they were going to Zion. But I have looked for that... all that I've found is a National Park. 

Me: well sir.. Zion means "top of the mountains".. and that is Utah.. where I am from. The missionaries didn't kidnap your friend.. they brought them to gather with their fellow saints and find peace and rest and freedom to worship. 

the mans eyes were filled with tears. 

He said " I will not join your church or let you take me too.. I may never see my friend again.. but I know he must be happy, if there are good people like you there.. I will never forget the last thing my playmate said... " if not in Zion.. wir sehen uns in himmel" 

if not in Zion.. we will meet in heaven. 

HAGS

SISTER DIEDERICH

the old sister missionary dinosaurs are about to be extinct.