Germany week 40

This week has been perty krasy. Tuesday was primarily occupied with Taking a train to Nienburg. Oh daddy. But we did get back in time to go and do some Doors.

 Wednesday afternoon I went to Hannover with Elder Pollard, Elder Thorley's 2nd transfer Golden. He was really cool. I had a great time finding with him. I was also present for the first time he made out an appointment on his own (He did most of the talking and set up the appointment himself) It was super cool - and he was so excited about it. Then we got little pizzas from the place right by their apartment. There was also a big picture of Charlie Chaplin. And there is never anyone inside. I'm pretty sure missionaries are the only ones who've ever bought anything there. Those two factors make this place my most favoritest place ever in the history of places. It was also kind of funny that at that point I had been in Hannover longer than Nienburg. At least Almost. It was also weird to be the Senior Comp on a Tausch - well, this was more of a half Tausch, not a full Tausch - so it's like the step above the leadership training stuff I did earlier. People keep telling me I'm going to train next transfer, which I feel sooooo not ready for. I doubt that that would happen, but I'm trying to get myself deeply enough rooted that I would be able to do it... blah de blah de blah, anyway, Wednesday was good - And the reason we had this Tausch überhaupt was so Elder Thorley, our beloved District Leader and Emeritus AP, could give the Baptismal interview to the most awesomest Family ever.

 Thursday, we had District Meeting, and then I went back to Nienburg. I love Nienburg. It's a gorgeous little place. It's probably mostly in my head, but I feel like everyone who walks past us has this expression of, "I'm being really friendly to you, but I would like nothing better than to run down to the Angry Mob Surplus Supply, grab a pitchfork and a trusty old torch and run you out of town." Ok, Ok, so that was an exaggeration of ridiculous proportions, but sometimes there's a trace of that. It feels like it's too small to really just go street contacting, because you see the same people everyday - of course, we all know that deep down that excuse is just as dumb as all the excuses I come up with when I'm scared of talking to people.

 You know, I'm just in one of those moods where I talk like a crazy person in my emails. Hopefully, you don't mind. Actually, let's take a poll: If you like the emails that are like this better, raise your right hand. If you like the less crazy emails better, raise your left hand. Then, seeing as I'm incapable of seeing you as you do this, go write me a letter about what's going on in your life, and if you feel like it, include which hand you raised. I wouldn't want to write in a style contrary to the wishes of my loyal readership. That's customer service. As for replying to letters, we're in a bit of a backlog at the moment, and will get back to you as soon as possible. ;P

 My address in Nienburg is as follows:
 Elder Cloward Georgstraße 24
 31582 Nienburg (Weser)

 As I seem to have skirted pretty far off topic, I find that it is a perfect time to wish you a very Merry Cinco de Uno! If you don't know about the vast traditions of Cinco de Uno, go hunt down Curtis Sudbury and ask him. He tells it much better than I do anyway. And while you're at it, tell him hi from me.

 Later on Thursday, we worked a lot on the Program for the L's baptism - And for a handmade Baptismal Program, I must say it is super fancy. We also met with a cool guy, L2, who's half German, half English. I really enjoyed meeting with him.

 Friday we had weekly planning and then ran off to Neustadt, a bigger city in the Area - there we did doors for a while. Then I finally got to meet the L family. They are so cool. The parents are C and A, they're from Tanzania, and they were so well prepared for baptism. They understand it so well, and are very committed. One thing that A said was that the change of heart that her Husband had had, and that strength from the Gospel is exactly what the people back in Tanzania need. That hit me with such a strong spirit. And it's true! The Gospel is exactly what the people of Tanzania need! It's exactly what the people of Nienburg need! It's exactly what I need, and it's exaclty what you need! Jesus Christ performed the atonement, and his gospel - Faith, Repentance, Baptism, the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end, is how we can gain access to it. The Gospel transforms bad people into good ones and good people into better people. And it makes them all happier! It made me so happy to meet this family who understood that so well, and who were so excited to do something about it. Another thing she said was that the idea of being with her family for eternity in heaven fills her with this joy and a desire to go forward. They have really got the vision.

 Saturday was then the day of the baptism, so pretty much everything was geared toward that. We baked a cake and grabbed some ice cream in the morning (very important things) and were picked up by a super awesome member, Sister H - who's totally American and grew up in Utah. Then we drove to Hannover, where they've got a font. Apparently, fonts don't really like to work. The font filled partway up, and then just stopped filling - so we filled it with buckets for a little bit, then declared it good. It was still pretty shallow, just below Elder Welker's knees - And not deep enough to baptize C. It finally worked out after three tries. He ended up having to sit down to be immersed. He kept just saying - It's ok - don't worry about it- we can try it again. Sister H talked to him after he came out, saying that every birth is hard - and that's exactly what baptism is - a new birth (Which she had also talked about just before in a talk) After C was baptized, the font started working again, so we waited about ten more minutes and A was able to get baptized without any problems. They were so happy. It was marvelous.

 Yesterday was a really good day at church. The Gemeinde here in Nienburg is so Awesome. It's about the same size as Bad Bentheim, but with fewer priesthood holders, and no Missionary Ehepaar (married couples). And all of the people are so friendly. They were also so excited to have the L family, and are very supportive. The L's also got the Gift of the Holy Ghost yesterday, which was wonderful to be a part of. A also gave the closing prayer in Sacrament meeting. It was one of the greatest prayers I have ever heard. She was so full of gratitude and you could really feel that she was speaking to her Father. Elder Welker translated for them through the meeting, and that went pretty well - They only speak English and Swahili - It looks like it should work out though - Several of the members speak English, and they're also working on learning German.

 One other exciting possibility - The Branch Presidency asked if we could come with the branch to do Baptisms in the Frankfurt temple, since they don't have enough Melchizedek Priesthood Holders to do it otherwise - so I called President Pimentel to see if it would be possible. He said he'll have to make a few phone calls himself to find out if that would be ok. So, I have no idea if it would be possible, but that would be sooo awesome if we could.

 Well, anyhoodles, I'm pretty much out of time, so have a beautiful week, y'all!