Germany Week 75

Well, as far as the Transfer is concerned, Elder Linderman and I will be having another six weeks together in Bergedorf. Elder Baker is getting a real live companion in Lauenburg.

In other news, Elder Pack is now district leader, and will be training - and he's still in Nienburg. Awesome, no? I'm gonna be a grandpa on Thursday.

 We've had a great Christmas here. It was actually really cool to have both gemeindes, because it meant that we had a lot more invitations - So we got invited by more members, and we were able to have a couple investigator lessons too, even though it's a week in which so few people have time and a lot of the appointments we did have fell out. We were certainly kept busy running back and forth between Lauenburg and Bergedorf. Monday night, Heiligabend, we were with M and his family. It was really great. It felt almost like home. We had a nice dinner with them, and then had the Bescherung, or gift exchange. A lot of different ward members bought us little things, and chocolate, so we were able to take part in it. It was great.

 On Christmas morning, we woke up, and Elder Baker led us in a little Christmas devotional thingy, which was nice. Then we opened our presents from our families - Thanks for the Tie ;) That day we stayed in Lauenburg and were with the W family - we had a really good time, that's where we called from, and for Joseypookins sake, yes, apparently they are related to Sis. W, even though I have no idea who she is. On thursday, Aka, Christmas number two, we went to the Rs, then R, then a family in Lauenburg. It was a really great time. It was really cool to take part in all of those different families' Christmas Traditions.

 Thursday we had district meeting with the Hamburg district again, which was pretty cool. In the afternoon we visited another member in Lauenburg and then wandered around looking for people to teach.

 Friday was really cool - we had a really nice lunch appointment with some members in Lauenburg. We asked them if they knew anyone that might be open for the gospel message - it was cool to see how as we started the discussion, they were really hesitant, but as we talked, they started thinking of people and of different ways they could maybe share a little bit. Then in the evening, we had this really cool appointment with another guy there, and he accepted a baptismal date. It was really cool to be there for that.

 Yesterday was really cool too - we did splits so that We could be in Lauenburg and Bergedorf in church at the same time - So the others dropped me off at R's and I had breakfast with him, then we went together and picked up an Elderly sister and brought her to church too, And it was a nice meeting. I was grateful to be able to be there. Afterward, the other two got back to me, and we were able to have a really nice eating appointment with a family here - which was especially nice of them because I had cancelled earlier because I thought we wouldn't be there, but they invited us over again and made something spontaneously for us. That was a really good day too.




 Today we've just been hanging out in Hamburg, but now we've gotta take off so we can be in the Apartment by Six. Love you! Happy New Year!

Germany Week 74

I'mma try to get all the important stuff out of the way today so we can just talk about Spargel Worship or something totally random tomorrow. ;P That is if I can actually remember anything that's happened to me in the last little bit... Seriously though, if there are any specific questions or anything, you may want to write them down, cuz I remember last time I was super happy to talk to you but had no idea what to say. Not that I want it to be a formal interview or anything - I'm not cut out for that kind of pressure.

 I've gotten mostly over my sickness. My nose still runs a bit, but that's probably just because of the cold (temperature). Things are going pretty well in the Dritt, I really like both of these guys. Sometimes it's a lot harder to make decisions and it can be even more awkward than it usually is to talk to people on the street or to do doors, but overall it's been good. We're also running back and forth between Lauenburg and Bergedorf, which quite honestly has been more of a blessing than anything because it's split up the time more, and we've been able to have more appointments through it, despite the fact that so few people have time.

 I'm trying to think of some specific stories from the week.... not too much is coming to me. ummm.... Monday - Monday we had our Pday... we did something... ah, we had Zone sport in Hamburg, then afterward made our way over to Lauenburg - Tuesday we met with two recent converts in Lauenburg - two very different, but both cool people. Wednesday we had a party in the morning, when we had Breakfast with R... Biscuits and gravy... nom nom nom... and we threw his cat across the apartment a couple times... Then we visited the Rs for lunch, and M in the Evening. Thursday we had our distrikt meeting in Wartenau, with the Hamburg/Altona district, since... Our district is just the three of us at the moment. Then we visited a member in Lauenburg and did a bunch of finding. Friday was pretty intense, seeing as it was the last day of the world... We went by on a bunch of kontakts and visited a really cool member, and we intended to have our weekly Spielabend, but no one showed up (aka R didn't come...) so instead we totally ignored everything they ever taught us in elementary school about stranger danger and talked to randoms on the street. (Kinda like we do every day. I'm still not convinced it's a safe practice though....) Saturday we wandered around a lot. It was a party. We covered some new, exciting territory (like a more different path to Reinbeck, and the city of Aumühle), and were able to meet a couple cool people along the way. Yesterday we ended up going to Lauenburg for church, which was good because they ended up cancelling Church altogether in Bergedorf. Afterward we had a nice little Christmas lunch, had an appointment with a long time investigator and had our weeklyplanningparty. Yee haw. Hopefully that's not too boring for ya.

 Well, I love you! Merry Christmas! I'm excited to talk to you!

Germany Week 73

So the big news of the day, which I'm pretty sure I've already told you about, is that joining Elder Linderman and I for the next two weeks will be one Elder Spencer Baker - Yes, the very same as is from Uncle Mark and Aunt Barbara's ward, and the same with whom I spent 9 weeks in the MTC, and the very same who has been my district leader for the last four weeks. Yep. That one. But we all ready knew that. Part of me's really excited, but part of me's not - It'll just be quite the adjustment, especially hopping back and forth between Lauenburg and Bergedorf. Of course, hopefully it will be a great adjustment, because we haven't been seeing the most success here of late, and maybe this will somehow help things get going. One thing's for sure. We're gonna party like it's 1699. If not later. So we'll be meeting up with him in Hamburg later today.

 Some highlights of the past week: We went around and talked to people, we went around with a member and talked to people, we got talked to by a person, named President Richards of the Seventy/Area Presidency. That was good. He talked to us a lot about how we can work more effectively and live more effectively. It just reminded me that I'm terribly ineffective.... But really it was good. It was also another half-the-mission deal - so we got to see everyone from any of the zones I've ever been in. I also got some post for the first time in several months (not that I deserve any, I've been wretched at writing people myself....) among which was a wonderful little package full of nummy dried cinnamon apples which I was secretly delighted that the missionaries around me didn't want to take part in. Lunch was provided for the approximately 100 missionaries there by the relief societies of our branch with a couple of others. It was pretty intense - I was in relief society translating while they were planning out who all was going to cook the meat, then which checkpoints they would bring it to, and who would pick them all up to bring to Wartenau, and who would sacrifice their firstborn in order to feed the missionaries. It was a good meal, and I was a fair deal more thankful for it than I usually think to be. Overall, I really enjoyed the conference even though my nose seemed to be confusing itself with a firehose.

 I've been pretty sick for the remainder of the week, and we've taken it a little bit slower, but mostly we've just gone about things the same as usual - of course, our schedule wasn't really usual, because we spent quite a bit of Friday and Saturday helping M take apart, move, and reassemble a... Schrank... piece of furniture which one uses to store clothes and stuff... So yeah, that was a party. Then yesterday we had church. And then we filled up a taufbecken. I mean baptismal font. and then we watched a baptism from Lauenburg. And then we locked up And shipped Elder Patterson off to the mortuary. Or the Premortuary? Or maybe it's more like an Old Folk's Home.... No idea. And then we went and had lunch at about 8:30. It was a good day. I love ya Mom! Thank you for everything! Have a marvelous week! Don't worry, dear loyal reader, I love you too. Especially if you still exist.

Germany Week 72

Yepperdy doo da.

 So, yeah.

Well, the week started off pretty excitingly when last Monday after Zone Sport in Hamburg I was able to meet up real quick with the damalige Elder Baake, who was up in Hamburg for work for the week. It was marvelous to see him and to get to talk to him, even if it was just a few minutes of walking with him to Hauptbahnhof.

Then Tuesday we had that thing at the school. It went quite well. We didn't get to see the presentation the girls gave, we came in at the end of it to answer questions, but from the questions asked and from what we did hear the girls say, it sounds like they did a very good job. It was also awesome to be able to answer all of the questions that the students had. It was almost like teaching a real lesson again. It was really nice.

 I also got to Tausch with Elder Baker, my MTC companion. It was really cool to be with him and to see how far he's gone. And chances are that in a little over a week I'll be in a dritt with him anyway. So yeah, that'll be quite the party.

We also got our first snow this week. Wednesday night it snowed a bit - it was a pretty dry snow, and it never melted really. Then Saturday night we got dumped on pretty well. Several inches of a lot wetter, good slushy packing snow. With the snow, things warmed up a bit, but now we're wetter... and Church attendance took a real toll on Sunday. There were around half as many as usual... It's kind of funny - the snow's in some ways made me feel at home, it was pretty nice for me. Elder Linderman, on the other hand has spent most of his life in California and spent a year and a half at BYU Hawaii, so he's kinda freaking out still.

 Well, I hope everything goes well for all y'alls.
Love you!
Have a great week!
Merry Christmas!

Germany Week 71

Those girls have their presentation tomorrow. I'm pretty excited for it. But also nervous. What if those 14 year olds tear me to shreds?

 I feel like my week was pretty boring. We just did a lot of walking and a lot of talking to people. Well, we also had Zone conference, but that just seems like part of some misty distant past... It was also a ginormous Zone conference, with all of the Western zones. So I saw tons of missionaries that I haven't seen in a while. Of course, there keeps being stuff like that - we were all together for President Monson, and we're going to all be together for another zone conference this next week - I really like it.

 We had a joint teach set up for Wednesday, but when we got there, nobody answered the door. or the phone. So we left. It turned out they just have a tricksy klingel, and the number I had was old. But Bruder I taught them on his own. But then they came to church on Sunday, which was awesome. They're the boys who's mom is a member, assuming I've mentioned them before. Yeppers.

 Well, kids. Love ya. I wish you a Merry Christmas and a glorious resurrection.

 - Elder Cloward