What a week! Absolutely flew. Time is so funny what the heck it's almost March? How??

The mission is awesome. We had "harvest day" where you fast all day, then the next day go out and find all.day.long. It was pouring rain and so so windy the whole 6 hours we were talking to people and walking around. But we found four new contacts and it was awesome. (I actually talked to people can you believe it? And they understood me?? Whattttt? The language is getting there, and more and more people are telling me it is getting better so it’s nice.) We had one kid who's my age who looked at us like we were nuts. By the end he took a Book of Mormon and invited us over and wants to come to the church activity! It was like a light switch just flipped on when we asked "Glauben Sie dass das Leben eine Sinn hat?" Which is "do you think life has a purpose?" And he was like well yeah I think there’s life after death but I don't know what life's purpose is. Elder Mika kinda smiled and I knew what he was thinking..."well have we got a book for you my friend.” It was funny. Then we had awesome bread at a local bakery, then we had English class for locals until 8:00! They are so funny. We also gave a Book of Mormon to the Mongolian kid and he wants to meet with us. We met with the Mongolian family again, and the nephew wants to take the lessons, and we have a Mongolian New Year party tonight that they invited us to so we are so stoked for that. We have six new investigators which is awesome. Everyone makes fun of Elder Mika and me for being in Frankfurt Oder because it's a hard area, but we are trying our hardest and are successful here so far! Elder Mika’s such a stud, and the people here are amazing. So awesome. They just love everyone and the branch members are so strong. We had two investigators at church on Sunday, and we should have more next week.

The weather is starting to warm up, which is super nice…but the weather is nuts. Literally on Friday it was pouring, then at 4 pm was 60 degrees and sunny, then we walked out of a great lesson at 9 and it was snowing? We were like wait, what? Elder Mika and I have a lot of fun. We study a lot, and I've started studying more German and read General Conference talks and it's made all the difference. Hard work pays off, and that's something that is so so quickly learned on a mission. So quickly. We have a Mission tour this week with a member of the Quorum of the Seventy, so I am going up to Berlin for that on Thursday! Then on Monday I get a tour of the US Embassy, so it will be way cool.

If you haven't, watch the Mormon Message "Refugees from the Storm.” I watch it almost every day and love it. I love the statement from that video: "How we respond will help define us.” We can relate this not only to refugee work, even though I do because we are with a lot of refugees. You can also say that for when you are going through hard times, when something goes the opposite way you planned, or really anything. How you respond to the challenge will define you. How you respond to the blessings, happiness, sadness, illness, setbacks will help define you. More than we realize. I love that so much. Is it super duper fun walking in 20 degree winds and rain for 6 hours only to get four new investigators after talking to a lot of people and knocking doors? Honestly, not really. But it helps you realize and be grateful for the little daily victories. Helps you work hard and grow up. It helps define oneself and who we are--how we respond is everything. Hard work so quickly pays off here in the Mission and this was very obvious the first week, and you respond to hard work by continuing to work hard and the blessings you see are amazing. Not blessings for yourself, but for others.

Love you all and thanks so much again for all the support. Means a lot. Have a great week, and look for the little victories and blessings daily. It helps you be more happy. I know that for a fact. Bis Nächste Woche!

Mit Liebe,
Elder Rhondeau

Hey hey hey! 

This week was good! I got to go to Berlin for another two days for an exchange with Elder Ringger and it was fun. Literally everywhere you turn there is something historical or from the Wall. So so cool. AND THE MCDONALDS HERE ARE SO NICE WHAT?? The weather is warming up and it's starting to get sunny and sometimes rainy and I love the new weather. It's sweater weather:) News of the week: I have to get glasses to read ... we went to get eye tests and the doctor was like yeah your farsightedness and reading up close needs some help. So I got some Ray Bans and the best part is I don't pay for them:)) but now I have to wear glasses sometimes, sooooo idk if that's fun or not yet. PDAY was fun today. We went to all the historical sites in Berlin with another companionship. Then I'm in Berlin/Glienicke for another 2 days helping another companionship. Glienicke is the rich schoolgirl/schoolboy part of Berlin and is sooooo nice. I will send pictures next week.

Funny story: Elder Mika and I were both SO TIRED earlier this week and were studying and he said "I can't do this, man" and then I said, "Never give up, never surrender" in the Galaxy Quest voice and he goes “Wait”... and we both look up from studying super slow and he goes "YOU'VE SEEN THAT?!" Studying quickly turned into quoting the whole entire movie. "Have you even seen the show?" It was great.

The people here are so nice and some are very ready to hear the gospel, but most just want someone to talk to or teach them which is ok. The language is tough but I have a new language study plan that should be good! I'm starting to get up at 6:00 to study more language and because I want to help so badly but I can't say a lot. So I just sit there like Truly [our dog] would sit there in a lesson: "I want to help help help you but I can't so I'll just love love love you from a distance and listen to your wants and hopes.”

I taught my first lesson and we committed him to read and get baptized. He said yes! His name is Tobias and he is 30ish I think and is a cool guy. The coolest part about teaching and the mission so far is the people you meet. Everyone is so different and the love you feel for them when they tell you about their struggles and life is way cool. We also taught German to this family from Syria and also two brothers from Syria. They had to leave their families 4 years ago because of the crisis, and it is truly amazing to hear and to see how humble they are. Haven’t talked to their family since then. We aren't allowed to teach them about the church unless they ask, because it is so dangerous for us and also for them if friends of their faith find out. But they give us cake and juice and it's basically all they have, and they insist we eat it; such nice people. Also we saw Isaac, and he invited us over with his family and it was a good experience. I gave him a Book of Mormon but he leaves for Uganda so I don't know what's going on with that. He said "I'm an open-minded guy, I'll give it a shot.” Sooooo who knows.
Meeting with the brothers from Syria reminds me of the scripture in DC 61:37: "And inasmuch as you have humbled yourselves before me, the blessings of the kingdom are yours". All He asks is for us to be humble. I've had to really work on humility here and try to be stronger. Everyone has to work on that. It's human nature usually to not be humble, but to see these people so humble and seeing what I need to work on from them has been such a blessing. Look for the little things you need to work on, and it helps you.

I was also reading Alma 19:6 and it is such an underrated verse. It tells you exactly what will happen in detail when you know for yourself and come to the Lord. Very, very good--probably one of my favorites in the whole Book of Mormon.


So fun to hear about where everyone is going to school next year and everyone's plans! Oh and the study abroads are coming up. Crazy how this is my 4th week in Germany. Hope everything back home is great. Still praying for all of you, and thank you for the emails, letters and support throughout the week. Danke! Bis Nächste Woche!

Elder Rhondeau


PS: A new church video came out about the refugee camps from Elder Kearon’s talk in General Conference Remember that? It's great...I cried…

Hello hello,

This week was a rough one. Mika and I have so many blisters and I burned my hand super super bad so dats gonna leave a nice big scar. Then one night we were going to miss a train and so I ran in my bare feet for almost a mile and a half on a rough rocky cobble stone road to catch the train and my feet were bleeding and man looking back it was just so bad. And my bed still squeaks so I don't get any sleep so I finally moved my bed on the ground and that helped. I'm just super overwhelmed but it is my first transfer so nothing that I didn't expect. I got to go to Berlin a lot for meetings, and I love it in Berlin. So much is going on it’s so cool!

Elder Mika and I joined the University rec basketball team to try and be chill with some college kids and find new things to do. Turned out to be a great time and we met this 37 year old from Uganda who is married and lives here and he loves us. We are going to try and get his contact because we literally see him EVERYWHERE. We were just on the Straßeban (which is a city train) and he was on it with his family and we chilled with them. He has the most beautiful children oh my goodness.

The language is coming along okay, but now I'm being thrown into the Arabic program after my training is done. Ola, the Arabic teacher, found out I can read Arabic while I was at her house as I was reading the candy label she has and she heard me muttering the words so after 12 weeks of German I'm in the Arabic program apparently… Just a lot of stress but I know God doesn't give you trials you can't overcome, but sometimes you don't see how you can overcome them but somehow, whether it's what you expected or not, you make it out.

This week I learned a lot about why it's important to surround yourself with good friends, good people, and most importantly surround yourself with Godly things, not worldly things. This woman named Schwester Gewetz had a daughter pass away, and now her sister is in coma so she is struggling. She said she's lost her relationship with God and has fallen back into who she was and who her friends and the world wants her to be or expects her to be because faith and the plan God has had for her is a hard path. Elder Mika bore his testimony about how we need God on our side, and become who He wants us to become and it can be hard but it’s worth it. She said we can come back, so I hope that she decides she wants to start coming back. Just remember that who you surround yourself with, and who other people want you to become isn't who you should become. What matters is the reason God put you here, which is to try and learn and become like Him. There are so many types of people I've seen here. But the light and happiness you see from the members and those whose lives are based around Godly things and surround themselves with good people are always happier and really know who they are and they have purpose.

We had twenty people at sacrament yesterday including four investigators which is really good--the ward was like what? I basically became the choir director because I can sight read (thanks mom and dad) so I was directing it. This week is a busy one, so hopefully it's better.
Thank you to everyone who sends me emails throughout the week and letters. It means more to me than you could ever know. Love you all, and thanks again for the awesome support.


Elder Rhondeau

Hey can you speak? Oh and play the piano? Oh also pray? Wait no and pass the sacrament too okay thanks!!!

Family and Friends,

Yes, yes the rumors are true. Elder Mika and I are in fact on the German border with Poland for my first area. We are in a city called Frankfurt Oder and it is legit on the river between Poland and Germany. So, the signs are in German and Polish and the language is half and half. I love it though!! Elder Mika is so awesome. We are fast friends and he is like my older brother and I love him. He is Eric Mika's little brother and he is like 6'5''... and he is so fun. The language and everything is coming along okay and every day it is getting stronger, but yes it is still hard. Our apartment is nice, and we have a bunk bed and it is soooooo squeaky, so neither of us sleep a lot. It is not fun. The food here is so good... and yet I have lost weight. When we do eat it isn’t a lot, then we proceed to walk 10 miles (yes that happened last night). I love it here though, and the people are not what everyone told me. Oh yeah and also people that think we don’t baptize in Germany or have lessons? Well, Germany is one of the top three baptizing missions in Europe now and last night we got a new investigator who is from MONGOLIA??? So heck yeah. He seemed way interested too.

Frankfurt Oder has about 60,000 people and most are students. It is a University town, and everyone is young and we signed up for a basketball league so we are playing in that and teaching an English class at the University most likely. So far the ward is great and the people are super nice. It is just hard to gauge what it is really like in the first 5 days but so far we are way excited. A lot of potential here for sure. I think Germany is such a melting pot that it is easy to find people to talk to because everyone is super open here. So that has been nice and I look forward to the next 12 weeks or so here.
Our ward is in a little town called Eisenhüttenstadt which is about a twenty minute train ride away. The ward has fifteen members and over fifty less-active members. The missionaries have had an Arabic program here and haven’t focused on the less-active members, so that is our focus for a while!! There is this one member named Manfred who is about 70, was born in communist territory and converted about seven years ago. He is the cutest old man with a lisp oh my goodness. The best part about Manfred? He has a weekly Bible study he calls "Manfred and Friends." We went and he gave us food and drinks and told us what to expect in the area and is so great. He laughs at everything; oh my goodness we want to adopt him.

We visited a Mongolian family who had a friend visiting from Mongolia for a few months. As we left he asked, "Can you come back and teach me about your church?" We were like wait what yeah ahahaha see you Friday. We currently have a lot of investigators, and should have three or four on the baptism schedule soon due to their progress and past missionary notes. So we are super excited to work with the college students and also the members.

Germany is awesome and I am excited to be here. Time is already going by fast though. It is already 2 months in! Mika said in a year it will feel like I have been here a week, so he said live it up while you can. I love you all and thank you for the emails throughout the week and letters. They make me so happy to get and read them. Sending my love from Germany/Poland!!!

Elder Rhondeau