Germany Week 4

Our week was good. The Ballard goal certainly kept us on our toes some days. Monday was the hardest as it was our Vorbereitungstag, but as I said our plan was in the last email, aside from emails and Dinner at a members house, we were just street contacting the whole day. We were out working on it fairly late... I don't remember exactly, but it was probably almost 9:30 we found someone...
I must say, our Wednesday Ballard was my favourite. We were just in this little restaurant eating Döners, when one of the guys at the table next to us just talked to us - he'd actually been meeting with the missionaries about a year ago, but lost contact with them when something happened to his phone and he had to get a new number. He seems like a really cool guy.
The appointment with him was last night - well, actually, it was originally for saturday night, but he called us and rescheduled - which is really rare, usually people just don't show up... - but we were doing splits with another companionship in our district last night, so I didn't get to teach him, but Elder Weitzel and I, who were going around OYMing, ran into him while he was on his way. He's super friendly and Elder Baake and Elder Popp said that he's genuinely interested and asks deep questions and stuff.. He comes from an Islamic background, but doesn't really practice it. Anyway, I'm excited to get to know him, and to teach him more. Then yesterday, While Elder Popp and Elder Baake were teaching him, Elder Weitzel and I were trying to get our Ballard - it was the last day of the goal week, and it was already the time of night when everything's closed and there are very few sober people on the streets... so we had no luck. When we met up with the others they told us they'd already gotten one for us before the appointment. It was a good thing though, because we definitely wouldn't've been working as hard if we'd known we'd already reached the goal.

Let's see... what else has been exciting this week....?
Umm... I love going to the members houses here - we've got an eating appointment almost every day, and sometimes when we don't, we drop by someone and they feed us anyway. The branch here is amazing, and not only because they feed us so much - they're super friendly, and they're always glad to assist in missionary work. I think it's unfortunate that we're so distant from the missionaries in Salt Lake - I mean, I understand why each companionship has a couple stakes, but it's so nice to actually know the people in the ward, be able to get comfortable with them and work with them. At home there wasn't a single time that we had the missionaries over that wasn't super awkward... Anyway, it's nice here in Elmshorn.

Today we're planning on really going to Hamburg... that should be a party.

Anyhoodles, I'd best hurry up.
I know this church is true. I know that I received my mission call from God through his prophet and that I am here to bless the lives of his children. I know that I have already grown, and I will continue to grow, so long as I concentrate on the work and on the people I'm serving. I know that Thomas S. Monson is God's Prophet on the earth today, and I love his example of service and focusing on people. I know that the supreme example of that selfless service is Jesus Christ, who gave his life for us, that we could have a chance to have joy, and the opportunity to become more like him.

- Elder Jacob Cloward