Home!

Today is the day!  Everyone was home for the holiday so we had all day to get ready.  The boys brought in the ladder and hung up Jason's snowflakes all over our family room ceiling.  The girls made yellow posters.  Roger borrowed a banner and we printed Elder Jerman's name to put on it.

 We also borrowed a Christmas light sign and changed it to say,  "Elder Jerman".

 We bought yellow balloons and yellow ribbons and a few yellow t-shirts so we could all be in yellow.
So many hours!  Finally, we loaded the car at 5:00 to head to the airport.

 The Crew is all here

 Ready and

 waiting and

waiting until . . . we finally see him!

 Yippee! but it is a long wait just to get him down the escalator!

Hugs 

 and loves.

 Oh, he looks so great!!!  He is home!

 Brothers again

 and all the sisters.

 Mom and Dad so glad to have their boy home.

All together again.  What a Happy Reunion!

 Granny and Granddad treated us all to dinner at The Black Bear Diner.

 Then we traveled home.  Welcome Home Elder Jerman!

 and again in German.

 Finally home!

 Yup, there are your snowflakes

 and Amy made you cupcakes to look like the German flag.

He was so excited to show us his German hat!

and he wondered if we could tell from the bottom of his shoes, which side he carried his shoulder bag on.

So tired after 18 hours of traveling today and it would now be his 6:30 in the morning back in Germany, so he has been awake for 24 hours.  He wasn't sick a day on his mission but lost his lunch at the Atlanta airport.  Time to let our missionary go to bed.  He is still an Elder and made it to bed by 10:30 p.m.  Even his 13 year old "companion" brother went with him while the other kids stayed up to play games and bang pans outside to bring in the new year.  Oh, Happy New Year!!!!!

Farewell

Elder Jerman experienced one more miracle before leaving his mission.  During the week of Christmas, he and he two companions tried to visit all the lonely and less actives that the Relief Society president had listed for them to go by on.  They still had one name they had not been able to see.  As they left their apartment early to head to the train station, they actually found her out walking her dog!  They visited with her and she invited the other 2 elders to come back to visit her again.  Wow - everything on his list was now completed and he could come home a faithful and satisfied missionary.

Elder Adam and Elder Hancey met us at the Train Station in Vienna to say Good Bye.

Ich bin ein Jünger Jesu Christi

Last Sunday in the Field

Liebe Familie,

Well, this is it. I dont know what to say, a mission is all I have known the last two years and this next week it will all be over and I will be coming home. I cant quite figure out what I am feeling or if I am even feeling any different because today I am still a missionary doing missionary things, what I have been used to and what I have loved. Life moves on and its an exciting time and I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to serve a mission, to serve others and the Lord. Whats neat is that the service will not end, when I come on there will still be many opportunities to serve my brothers and sisters no matter who they are or where they are from. Its a part of life, its what Christ did and its his invitation to follow him not only for 2 years or 1 1\2 but for all entire lives and I am grateful for learning that the past 2 years. 

It was a great last week and one I will never forget, especially being Christmas and not for me but for others. Being with 2 others, being in Vienna and having it finally snow the past two days, its been great and I love the Lords work. I have really come to found out that its about others. Everything we do is about caring and loving others. That is everything Christ did, he did it for us, all of us. Its been neat to get lost in the work and think of others and how we can serve and help them understand and believe its Gods great plan for us. I have learned that through the small experience of having a conversation and making someone days as we leave, or sharing this message of hope and giving them a wrapped up Book of Mormon and seeing a smile on their face. It truly is through small and simple works that this great work comes to be. Every soul is precious to God and the work gets done one by one. Its been such a special Christmas, at the beginning of the week we got a list from the Relief Society President of members who would be along this Christmas or would enjoy visit. As we went throughout our week we planned in our days to go by these people and help them have a memorable Christmas. On Christmas Eve we had a neat miracle of going by a member (an older single lady in the ward) We had just came from an appointment and traveled to her place. She lives quite far away and up in the hills on the outer part of Vienna and there is only one bus that goes up there. We got to the bus stop and found out it only comes once an hour and it came 2 minutes later. We went up and visited her and then knew when the bus was coming back and caught it just in time. We sang with her and just visited and she was very appreciative of it. I know that God help time that perfectly, it couldnt have been better. Those that need it, if the desire is there and we ask for his help in our service, miracles will happen. Over all just visiting these people that needed it was so special and having things work out perfectly for them to enjoy Christmas and mostly enjoy Christ..

I would like to end with a Christmas miracle as we were going about in our service. It was on Christmas day and we were at the Vienna main train station. We were looking for a grocery store that would be open because the member we were visiting for lunch needed a few items. We couldnt find anything open, being Christmas day, but we decided to ask around a little bit. We asked this guy and found out quickly he wasnt from Vienna rather from America. We connected right off and fun to talk with him, we find out that he had bought a one way ticket to Europe as he was wanting to find out some questions in life. He recognized us because just a few days earlier he was in Slovakia and two missionaries showed him the "He is the Gift" film. And now he had his 2nd chance meeting us in Vienna, I think God was answering his pray by sending missionaries to him in two different countries. Especially being Europe and not having many opportunities. We exchanged info and set out to meet again on Saturday. Well he came and we sat down, gave him a Book of Mormon and talked about his questions and concerns. He wants to belong to somewhere, be a part of something and feel loved. I know this is the place for him, this is the place for everyone. I know the true gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored on the earth today. Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and President Monson leads us today. I know Christ lives and I know he is my Redeemer. Because of him so much is possible and he is inviting us to come to him. My time as a full time missionary is just about over but I know that my time as a servant and disciple of Jesus Christ has just begone and will continue into the eternity. I have loved my mission and grateful for it, I love you and I love my brothers and sisters, all of them and am humbled to serve on as life goes on. 

Liebe Grüße.
Elder Jason Jerman

Elder Monson, Elder Jerman and Elder Worthen -a "Drit"

Good-bye Austria, Germany, the people, members, companions and missionaries. 

Frohe Weihnachten! (Merry Christmas)

Liebe Familie!!
Great to hear this Christmas season is going well for everyone. We are
enjoying it very much so in Vienna, and I am personally grateful to be
serving at this special season and helping others have a special time
where they grow closer to their Savior and Redeemer. We have some
unexpected news that are going to make things exciting this next week.
We got a call on Saturday night from the Mission President and you
know when he calls, something fishy is up. We find out that Elder
Anderson will be leaving on a emergy transfer to go fill in for
someone that left. Well we just came from the train station as we sent
him off this morning! So this next week it will be 3 of us spreading
the wonderful message at this Christmas time. It will be great,
different for sure, but we will love every moment of it!
We had a great week, and the Christmas Spirit is in the air, there
might be lots of stress and such in the air as well but we are doing
our best in helping others remember the true meaning of Christmas and
we have had some neat experience with those we meet but also with
members. We were with a new convert of about a year on Monday night
and we had a good talk about standing up for what we believe as she
was at a Christmas party with alcohol for work and had her friend
making fun of her. Its hard and it takes courage and strength and help
from the Lord but we can withstand it as we let his power be apart of
our lives. He wants us to take part of it and we need to accept and
use it. We helped another member with some service this last week, he
is building an appartment and at the end he got us together and said,
"We are brothers of our loving Heavenly Father but I can also call
your friends" as he then explained to us his work and problems he has.
Neat to be there for him and lift him as he is weak, and that is what
Christ is for, to lift our burdens. We can try to carry them alone but
it will be a hard and long journey throughout life, let him help.
Another was on Saturday when we helped some members clean the church
and afterwards I had the idea to show them the short "He is the Gift"
video as I had read from another missionary sharing a message with
them after cleaning the church so we sat down and watch it and at the
end it had them in tears and we had a great discussion. There are so
many lives we can touch and brighten, most things we can do our small
and simple but I know each effort is worth it in making someone else
have a special Christmas time and that is accomplished as we discover,
embrace and share the gift of Christ.
I love this work and so grateful at this time of year to share it, I
have come to appreciate the opportunity we have as missionaries to
teach those we meet on the street, trains, buses and so on. It might
just be one time but I have had many neat experience throughout my
time on a mission of giving testimony of Christ no matter if in a
lesson or on a cold windy street in a small town in Barveria that it
counts as we are all children of God and everyone needs the gospel. We
might not see much success with those we meet once but I know they are
in Gods hands and at their right time will accept it. I am grateful
for the capibility to work diligently in all we do. To do many good
things out of our own free will. As we work we are happy and then we
can make others happy which just makes it all the more better. Thats
one thing I have learned that I dont want to forget about in life,
diligent work brings great joy and happiness and as we are grateful
for it we will see the blessings both us and others receive having us
then desire to serve the Lord with more willingness.
I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas week and that you make it
special for someone else whether family, friend or stranger. We are
all one big family that need each other. I love you and wish the best
for you!
Liebe Grüße,
Elder Jerman

The Gift

At one of the main train stations in Vienna, so neat that they have the nativity up! 

Hey Family!! 

Great to hear from you and know that all is well, especially at this wonderful time of year. There is not a better time to be a missionary and I am so grateful to be here serving the Lord every day. I will be a missionary up to the day I get released and I have learned of the importance of diligence work no matter how long or how much experience you have as a missionary. I have the same calling now than I did at the beginning and I have the same goal today as yesterday. Its been to be able to fulfill that goal daily as we diligently work in His vineyard. We had a couple neat experience that showed me the importance of that this week. The first was Thursday when we were in Salzburg for our Zone Christmas Conference, we had finished and arrived back at the train station to head back to Vienna and we had just missed our train going back and the next one wasnt coming for about an hour. So there we were, a bunch of missionaries at the train station and I wanted to do something, we didnt have our hymn books on us to carol, so we went out on the streets of Salzburg to contact. There was lots of missionaries and I worked with Elder Seamons who is in my zone right now. Its was neat to work with him again and talk with those about this special time just coming from a spiritual high, the neat thing was that we found someone who lives in our area back in Vienna! The Lord is preparing many and they are everywhere, its neat to find those and have the Lord put them in our paths or theirs in ours as we work diligently. Another experience was after our Ward Christmas Party, we still had a half an hour that night before coming home, it was cold and dark but we decided to go contacting and on the way we found a great young man who seemed very interested and accepted the Book of Mormon. As we work, we are filled with the Spirit and as we follow the Spirit we are happy as many wonderful miracles happen with the power of God. 

As you can see, we had many activities this week and they were all so good. The day before the conference we had an exchange with the other elders and neat to work with a younger missionary and let him lead in his area for the first time. We are all on the right path, some further than others but neat to be there for one another and help each other further along the path. The Thursday morning we woke up and traveled off to Salzburg and had our conference and then that night traveled back, so it was a full day but the conference was so great. Such an uplifting, spiritual time, being overwhelmed with the Spirit. We had a special surprise as President Kohler talk with us and then said we are going to watch "Meet the Mormons"! So we got to watch that and great to see how the gospel has helped all those individuals and families in their lives. The gospel was the center of what they did, and as they followed the gospel, (mainly following Christ) they were filled with joy as they served others. Something we can all do, our little part counts just like theirs does. Our ward party was also a success as we had many members there as well as a few less actives and investigators that came and got to know the ward better. 

Met with Frau Sulzenbacher and its neat to see her progression increase as she gets more serious into keeping her commitments we give her. She is reading and praying daily and you can tell a difference as she does so, now we just need to keep going and make that next step to church, but step by step we all can grow faith that will lead up to us doing the will of the Lord. 

I want to share something with you at this special time of year, we learned at the conference that the church is making an extra effort to help us all make this Christmas season special in remembering the true meaning of Christmas, namely Jesus Christ. He is the first gift that God gave us all and we are to discover, embrace and share the gift. A goal that I made for this time to help me learn of my Savior and strengthen my relationship with him is that everyday I pick a scripture about Christ and then write my thoughts down about it and then throughout the day I share it with someone we meet or in a lesson and share my testimony of my Savior. Its been a really neat experience, especially to see the Lords help in having me achieve it daily, as I am prompted by the Spirit to share it at times I wouldn't think but then having it work out. I would like to share my scripture for today with you. "And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end. Amen." 2 Nehpi 31:21 I know Christ is the way, I know it is through him that we all can return to God, what a marvelous gift that God has given us. Let us all share it with others at this wonderful time of year. I love you and hope you have a wonderful week! 

Liebe Grüße,

Elder Jason Jerman

Fun group, all that served in Stuttgart and now in Austria. At our Christmas conference.

Wonderful time of year

Hey Family!! 

Great to hear all is well at the beginning of this Christmas season. It has started off well here as well. Its a great time of year and I am so grateful to serve and give the gift of Christ everyday. I love learning more about Him and then giving testimony. I have been reading in 3 Nehphi this past week and to read of his ministry and how he treated those people. I love my Savior and so happy to be here with these people helping them found out what a great gift he is! We had a neat opportunity to do so, it was truly a miracle and I know that God watches out for all his children. So we get a callWednesday night from a member seeing if we could help do some service Friday morning with someone they didnt know but had received a call from a missionary couple in Bulgaria. We went over Friday to help not knowing what to expect, and right before getting there the thought came to mind, we should have brought a book in Bulgarian. The service went great, we helped them move out, and we found out that the dad, his friends cousin is a Mormon and knows him pretty well. So there was already a good connection, at the end we asked him if he wanted to learn more, of course he asked for a Book of Mormon! Luckily they were staying until that night before going back to Bulgaria so we had the opportunity to go back later that day and give him the book and explain it a little with his broken German. It was so neat that we could serve in more than one way and help him and his family further along their path, no matter where they are from, we are all children of God who need the gospel.

We had some neat appointments this week with some new friends of the church. I love being in an area for a good amount of time, its so neat to see how it takes time and the steps of finally meeting up with someone. First they are found and information is exchanged then you try and call and set something up, it doesnt always work out, weeks might past but you dont let them slip through any cracks, and then to finally meet up is something special and I am grateful for the opportunity to learn patience and know that everything has its time and God has his will. We met with a man who has a family! He is from Romania and is German is coming along. At the time we met him about 2 months ago he had just found a religion and he explained to us how it change his life for him and his family. He wasnt religious at all before and we know this is a preparation for him as God is preparing him, he is open to read in the Book of Mormon and it might take some time but it was neat to be with him and his family. Also on the note of being here in Vienna for some time now, we were contacting and got out of a bus and a less active member did as well, I havent seen him for a good 4 months or so but so cool to recognize each other and at the end hug good bye. We invited him to the Christmas party and hopefully he can make it! Also just today, bumped into an old investigator that we lost contact with. I am grateful to be in Vienna and help some have a 2nd chance! 

Our appointment with Frau Sulzenbacher this week was really good! I feel she is really making progress now, before it was very slim and kind of hard to till but as we have been bold and helped her see the importance of reading and praying daily and then having her actually do it, it has made a big difference and I know she is blessed for it. She still has a way to go but step by step she is getting there! I cant emphasize enough the importance of the basic in this true church. God doesnt want it to be confusing or hard to do the things he has asked. As we focus on whats most important and do it daily we will truly be blessed in many ways, one coming closer to Him and his Son Jesus Christ, growing faith to following those things expected from us. I love the simplicity of the gospel and know that is is true! 

I love my family, each and everyone of you. I hope you have a great week! 

Liebe Grüße,
Elder Jerman

Daily Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving meal on Monday in Vienna

December 1, 2014

Daily Thanksgiving

Hey Family!! 

Sounds like you all had a great Thanksgiving, spending time with the family and giving much thanks. As well as eating lots of good American Thanksgiving food, oh I miss that but last Monday we pulled off a pretty darn good Thanksgiving feast with the other missionaries. On Thanksgiving day we didnt have a real Thanksgiving meal, but we did have a spiritual feast as it turned into a really neat day where we could give much thanks. So let me explain, last week we met a man from Spain who didnt have the best of German but we communicated with him enough to know that he was interested and wanted us to come back and give him a Book of Mormon in Spanish. We had no set appointment with him but decided to go on Thursday and bring along a couple in our ward who speaks Spanish. Remember no appointment was set out but we went with him to his house and he said Hola through the speaking box and I said Hola back and then something else in Spanish and the couple said he was coming down to get us. We went in and had the couple explain the Book of Mormon and give their testimonies as they are both converts of about two years. I am grateful that they had the chance to share their testimonies with him, and there was a special spirit in the room even though we didnt catch everything going on. Then later that night met with Frau Sulzenbacher who is doing well and making good progress. 

This was a great week and many things to be grateful for. I went on an exchange with an Elder in the district and we were in his area. At the beginning we had the goal to recognize the miracles that happened throughout the exchange and it was so neat to see the small miracles one after another happen. Even that of talking with a man on the street on a bike that didnt believe in God but we gave him a pamphlet and he put it in his bike and rode off and thinking nothing of it and then later during the day we were in another part of the area and he rides by on his bike with the pamphlet in his bike bucket!! I think God was trying to give some hints that he is real and he loves him and he wants him to know that! We also went by a less active that let us in and we met with him, shared a message and the other Elders will go back and help with some service in his apartment. As we recognize the small miracles that happen everyday, because they do happen, we will be filled with the joy and love that God has for us and his children. 

We had a really fun weekend as we got to help out at the Annual International Bazaar here in Vienna. Its a fundraiser they do every year and the missionaries have helped before and we did again this year. Friday we helped set things up and then Saturday it happened. It was so neat! There was representatives from all over the world and they all had their stands with unique things they were selling. Also many sorts of food as well, it was fun to be there for lunch and go around seeing all the different options for lunch, we finally decided with Pakistanian food. The best was helping out and serving, we were stationed at the charity shop, it was similar to a flee shop and we sold things and fun to bargain with people and just serve. Also to see and talk with people around the whole world! It brought up some good conversations about the church and even one about family history. Great to wear Christs name where ever we go or what ever we are doing to represent him and his gospel. Then right after we went to a baptism in our district, we were running a little late but it worked out perfect because one of their investigators was also late and was sitting outside sad that she was late and didnt want to go in anymore. We talked with her and then went together to the baptism. As we serve the Lord makes up for the rest and make things come together. I am grateful that I can serve Him and His children, especially at this time of year. What a great gift to give, the gift of service! 
I love my family and I am so thankful for you and wish you a very safe and happy week!! 

Liebe Grüße,
Elder Jerman

Elder Anderson and I at the Schönbrunn Christmas Markt.

 Today at the Schönbrunn Christmas Markt.