That's right folks! I'm learning Spanish!! Ok not really... But there is a little Spanish congregation here in Heidelberg that we get to work with. And let me tell ya what, they just steal your heart!! Meet them once and it's all the motivation you need to learn a little Spanish. If there is one thing I have learned in my time here, (Ok, I've learned like a zillion and a half things, but one of them...) it is that kindness and love know no language barrier.
Speaking of love, Happy Valentines day everyone!! I hope you all found a fun way to celebrate. Naturally, we went to a bakery and found something pink and heart shaped. And in honor of the season how about a wonderful definition of love from the Book of Mormon: And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. (Moroni 7:45) And last news for the week, the sunshine in my soul is finally being reflected in the world outside!! The sun was shining brightly almost every day this week :)! Spring is on it's way. Have a marvelous week! Sister Wahlquist Morning hikes, I guess so could say it's our thing. I don't even want to know how many steps we climbed... We just kept going up and up and up and look, we found winter! I thought this week I would share a few thoughts on gratitude. Why? Because I feel SO incredibly blessed and grateful. I live in an amazing city with such rich history. I get to talk to and meet the most amazing people every single day. There is a bakery around every corner. And life is just plain good.
So most of these thoughts come from a talk from Thomas S. Monson, the Prophet and President of our church. You can read the whole thing here: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/the-divine-gift-of-gratitude?lang=eng He quotes a few verses from the Bible A little background- a large group of people came to Christ to be healed and taught. They have been with him for 3 days and haven't had anything to eat. (Matthew 15:32-38) 32 Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way. 33 And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude? 34 And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes. 35 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. 36 And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. 37 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full. 38 And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children. Instead of seeing what he didn't have, Christ was grateful for that which he did have. He says a prayer of gratitude and a miracle follows. How often do we wait to see the miracle before being grateful? And then a quote from a Greek philosopher: “He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.” A grateful person is a happy person. I invite you all to give it a try. Instead of seeing what is lacking, have an Attitude of Gratitude. Have a great week! Love, Sister Wahlquist We didn't know what to do for our P-day today, but we knew we wanted to have fun. So we decided to run to an old Nazi amphitheater to watch the sunrise. We woke up to snow. We decided to go anyway. We went for a great hike/run through the snow. We didn't find the amphitheater, or the sun.. But we did find fun :) And this tower that we climbed which gave a great view of snow covered Heidelberg! Ya know what I love? Getting to meet tons of awesome people and hear their stories. Everyone has such a cool story to tell and great experiences to share. I love it! I find it so sad when I hop on a train or a bus and everyone is sitting there in silence, or with headphones in, or playing around on their smart phone. As people get on the specifically seek out a spot where no one else is nearby. I have met so many awesome people by breaking through this silence and saying hello. A woman from England that loves music, a retired man that hasn't decided where to get off yet because he is just gonna go hike somewhere....
Take advantage of these opportunities people! Get to know those around you. I guarantee you will learn something. Not much time this week, sorry y'all. But here are some pictures of an old castle to make you feel better :) |