Received October 17, 2011
I'm sure that's what everyone else was saying on Saturday evening when we had to decide when to get up on Sunday to get to Wels on time for Stake Conference. I'll tell you why. But first a little about the week. It was Elder Schulzke's birthday on Wednesday. So naturally we burned the apartment down...na just kidding, but we did have a little celebration. Elder Chandler bought him a Magic the Gathering deck so that he could learn how to play. It's a big game here in the German-speaking nations and it was interesting seeing the cards written in German. That night we had a big dinner and all played Magic together. It's been a long time since I played, but Elder Chandler's deck was really good and I held out pretty long, until the vampire cards started coming out...it was all over then. On Friday we had a lesson with a lady named Regina in the morning and she became a new investigator. Only problem is, she only has time then on Friday morning at 10 when she can meet with us. We'll see how that works out, but she is from Camaroon and a very nice lady who liked the idea of the Book of Mormon (I mean, who wouldn't? But na ja). On Saturday we began all the Stake Conference insanity. The Innsbruck Elders said that they were going to come and do some work with us that day. The Salzburg Elders were coming to spend the night. We got a series of phone calls that ended up with those four Elders, three senior couples, Sis. Miles, and us four Elders from Linz all going out to eat at a place behind the church where we partook in delicious Wienerschnitzl and engaged in much conversation. It was a little party for sure. We then went to Conference, which was held in Linz instead of Salzburg and I sang in the choir for two songs. President Miles was the final speaker. Sis. Miles actually gave a talk in German which was actually written perfectly. I admire her for her courage to give a talk in German after having been here only 5 months or so. We had a great time and it was nice seeing everybody in the stake, especially some people that I knew from Wien who actually live in this Stake when they aren't studying. That evening we went home to our apartment and, as planned, the Salzburg Elders stayed the night. I don't think that anyone can really fathom the kind of craziness that ensued both on the funny and the logistical side of things when six Elders are all in the same little Austrian apartment. There were plenty of stories to go around and everyone loves Elder Patchett and Elder Graff. It was amazing and we baked pizza for dinner. The logistical problems really began the next morning when, as already stated, we had to wake up at 4:30 in order to get everyone ready, walk to the train station, catch a train to Wels, and then walk to the Stadt Messe to get there before choir practice at 8:30. We had a good time with it all and we even got there on time. During the practice, they decided to have The Spirit of God be sung with four soloists, which was a really cool idea and it turned out really well. I still had the last verse which I believe is a little different than the English version and it was a really good fit for a missionary to sing:
O könnten wir's sagen wie tief wir's empfinden
Vom Heiligen Geiste erfüllet zu sein
Ach, allen, ja allen wir wollten's verkünden
Und laden sie alle zum Mitgenuß ein
Now before y'all throw that into Googletranslator, I'll just translate it for you:
Oh that we could express how much we enjoy being filled with the Holy Spirit. We want to preach to all people and invite them enjoy this Spirit with us.
More or less, but the message is perfect for a missionary. Besides that though, I was sick that morning. I guess Heavenly Father thought it necessary to spare the real onset of the stuffy nose and achy throat for after the conference and I was spared from utter embarassment. I recieved a really nice complement from a man who said, "I'm sure you get told this enough, but your voice is really something. It's really easy to listen to." That's the kind of compliment that I like to hear. The rest of the conference was a little hard to pay attention to. It was all in a very quick Oberösterreichisches (had to put on the correct adjective ending) dialect. It was also really stuffy in that building and I had a view of every single distraction that there was to see, so not much was learned.
This was a lovely week though and I'm still loving every minute of being back in the Fatherland and preaching the message of the everlasting gospel and how it was restored through Joseph Smith. It's pretty cool. I hope everyone has a lovely day, week, whatever and that everything is going well. Tschüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüß!
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Monday, October 10, 2011
Herzlichen Grüß von Linz....
Received October 10, 2011
So for the first time ever, I am actually coming to you from a library! No more smoky internet cafes...for now anyway. So guess what. I am working with Elder Chandler, that's not changed. However, I am in an apartment with two other Elders also. So it's me, Elder Chandler, Elder Schulzke, and Elder Gruse. We're all packed into the Linz apartment and getting to work. Linz is a big area and I guess it required two more Elders, that and there are way too many missionaries in the mission right now. Every area is open and full. We have had an interesting time this week getting to know each other and living very closely together. We have gotten rid of everything that was cluttering up the apartment because we barely fit in there when it's clean. Elder Chandler and Elder Schulzke are from Utah and Elder Gruse is from the area outside Berlin. So, a real German. They're all cool in their own ways. We listen to a lot of Lord of the Rings soundtracks. Why? Don't ask me, I think movie soundtracks are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay boring, but whatever. Linz is a cool city and I hope I get to stay here at least for a little while to get to know it better. The ward here is HUGE! It's probably as big as all of my other areas combined. There are lots of children and younger people. On Sunday we all bore testimonies and introduced ourselves in the Sacrament meeting. You could see the people in the ward become physically more active after I said that I sing opera...I should have taken that as my first clue. Afterward came all the people talking to me about me singing in the ward and in the choir and stuff, so it will be fun. The choir director invited me to sing in the stake choir for Stake Conference next week. I went to the one practice at night and we went over the songs. It won't be that hard (except that I have to sing tenor....) and the songs are pretty good. We will be singing The Spirit of God (auf Deutsch) and we are singing it out of the hymn book. We got to the last verse and the director wanted it to be quieter. We sang it and it went well...then, Sis. Till got up and started talking to the director (first mistake), then they both turned and looked at me (second mistake), then they said, "Elder Neumayer, why don't you sing the last verse as a solo?" and I said (hesitantly), "Sure" (last mistake). So now I will be sharing my lovely voice with the whole Salzburg Stake next Sunday at 10 in the morning. Oh boy! So yeah, that's what I get. That's Being a Baritone on a Mission (for those of you who read my blog).
The new address is:
Kirche Jesu Christi
Hasner Str. 36/6/21
4020 Linz
Austria
So for the first time ever, I am actually coming to you from a library! No more smoky internet cafes...for now anyway. So guess what. I am working with Elder Chandler, that's not changed. However, I am in an apartment with two other Elders also. So it's me, Elder Chandler, Elder Schulzke, and Elder Gruse. We're all packed into the Linz apartment and getting to work. Linz is a big area and I guess it required two more Elders, that and there are way too many missionaries in the mission right now. Every area is open and full. We have had an interesting time this week getting to know each other and living very closely together. We have gotten rid of everything that was cluttering up the apartment because we barely fit in there when it's clean. Elder Chandler and Elder Schulzke are from Utah and Elder Gruse is from the area outside Berlin. So, a real German. They're all cool in their own ways. We listen to a lot of Lord of the Rings soundtracks. Why? Don't ask me, I think movie soundtracks are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay boring, but whatever. Linz is a cool city and I hope I get to stay here at least for a little while to get to know it better. The ward here is HUGE! It's probably as big as all of my other areas combined. There are lots of children and younger people. On Sunday we all bore testimonies and introduced ourselves in the Sacrament meeting. You could see the people in the ward become physically more active after I said that I sing opera...I should have taken that as my first clue. Afterward came all the people talking to me about me singing in the ward and in the choir and stuff, so it will be fun. The choir director invited me to sing in the stake choir for Stake Conference next week. I went to the one practice at night and we went over the songs. It won't be that hard (except that I have to sing tenor....) and the songs are pretty good. We will be singing The Spirit of God (auf Deutsch) and we are singing it out of the hymn book. We got to the last verse and the director wanted it to be quieter. We sang it and it went well...then, Sis. Till got up and started talking to the director (first mistake), then they both turned and looked at me (second mistake), then they said, "Elder Neumayer, why don't you sing the last verse as a solo?" and I said (hesitantly), "Sure" (last mistake). So now I will be sharing my lovely voice with the whole Salzburg Stake next Sunday at 10 in the morning. Oh boy! So yeah, that's what I get. That's Being a Baritone on a Mission (for those of you who read my blog).
The new address is:
Kirche Jesu Christi
Hasner Str. 36/6/21
4020 Linz
Austria
Sunday, October 9, 2011
More to Come....Next Week...
Received October 3, 2011
So I don't have a ton of time this week seeing as how we took that really long ride today. The trip was awesome, but I will tell you more later. I'm also not at a place where I can upload pictures, so you'll have to wait. Sorry. Thanks for all the birthday presents. The wave of Japaneseyness was overwhelming. I shared the rice candy with some of the other Elders in my district and they really liked it. Oh, but surprise! I'm NOT staying in Ingolstadt. Seven weeks are already up and, like a bomb, President Miles called us on Friday to tell me that I'm going back.....to......the....VATERLAND! Yes, I'm going back to Austria, namely Linz, Österreich to work with Elder Chandler. That means that I have to once again pack everything up and take a nice long train ride to another area. I'm excited and I have heard good things about the area. So, don't send me anything until you get the new address, unless you send it to the mission home, which never changes address....wink wink...nudge nudge. So yeah, I don't have a ton of time today to write, but I hope that everything is going well and I will write a much longer letter next week.
I will be writing David Hinkley in the nearish future. I wrote him last when I was in the MTC and then when I was in the field, I realized that I never gave him a forwarding address to send me a reply. So I will be doing that in the future. I just hope that the letters that I send will get to their destinations. Austria is a bit notorious for not getting their mail out very efficiently. I will still be attempting to send a package home in the near future so that you can see some of the little things that I have collected on my mission and some presents for people. Please write a message for the people that wrote Happy Birthday to me that I'm grateful for their wishes and that I did have a great day.
Anyway, I have to go and write some other things to the President. I hope you have a wonderful week and that the missionary work in Tustin is going great. Roses, unicorns, etc.
Tchüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüß
So I don't have a ton of time this week seeing as how we took that really long ride today. The trip was awesome, but I will tell you more later. I'm also not at a place where I can upload pictures, so you'll have to wait. Sorry. Thanks for all the birthday presents. The wave of Japaneseyness was overwhelming. I shared the rice candy with some of the other Elders in my district and they really liked it. Oh, but surprise! I'm NOT staying in Ingolstadt. Seven weeks are already up and, like a bomb, President Miles called us on Friday to tell me that I'm going back.....to......the....VATERLAND! Yes, I'm going back to Austria, namely Linz, Österreich to work with Elder Chandler. That means that I have to once again pack everything up and take a nice long train ride to another area. I'm excited and I have heard good things about the area. So, don't send me anything until you get the new address, unless you send it to the mission home, which never changes address....wink wink...nudge nudge. So yeah, I don't have a ton of time today to write, but I hope that everything is going well and I will write a much longer letter next week.
I will be writing David Hinkley in the nearish future. I wrote him last when I was in the MTC and then when I was in the field, I realized that I never gave him a forwarding address to send me a reply. So I will be doing that in the future. I just hope that the letters that I send will get to their destinations. Austria is a bit notorious for not getting their mail out very efficiently. I will still be attempting to send a package home in the near future so that you can see some of the little things that I have collected on my mission and some presents for people. Please write a message for the people that wrote Happy Birthday to me that I'm grateful for their wishes and that I did have a great day.
Anyway, I have to go and write some other things to the President. I hope you have a wonderful week and that the missionary work in Tustin is going great. Roses, unicorns, etc.
Tchüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüß
Volkfest breaks out in Ingolstadt!!
Received September 29, 2011
Oh Volksfest...oh how you hinder missionary work. In case anyone was wondering, it's not very effective to go around contacting people that either are drunk or are going to Volksfest with the intent to do so. It looks like a really fun festival otherwise, with it's rides and fireworks and such.
So can I just express the difficulty of finding joint teaches for lessons with investigators? We cannot teach Rosa without another man there...I repeat, we CANNOT teach her. So what do we do? We call people all day long (the 5 or so people that are even possible) and hope that someone has time. Most of them want a few days notice, well she doesn't really know too far ahead of time if she can meet with us in the first place. And on top of that, the week after she sets her date for baptism, she goes out and accidentally walks to the point that she can't walk anymore and has been recovering from that and can't get to church because she needs to ride her bike there. Sometimes there are just no words to describe the frustration (well there are, but no Christian should say such things). Oh well, we just keep pushing forward and try to find people that want the gospel. For example, a lady who lives in a city right on the border of our mission who lives in a city so small that the houses just have numbers and there are no streets. Yeah...that's the region between Nieder- and Oberbayern for you.
We gave 4 people Books of Mormon this week and none of them became new investigators. We will be calling them in a few weeks to ask them how it's going, but until then we just have to wait and hope and pray.
I purchase Lederhose(no -n on the end because that would make it plural) today and next week there will be a surprise picture with me wearing them. You'll have to guess where. Let's just say that it will take at least 3 hours in the train, but it is still in our district, so we are allowed to go. Unfortunately, I will have to move my email day to another day, probably Tuesday in order to do that, so don't expect an email on Monday. I'm way excited. We also will be getting transfer calls soon and we'll see what happens. I could leave, I could stay, I could train, nobody knows. We'll see what happens.
I got the package and all the presents are sitting in my apartment waiting for me to open them on Sunday morning. I'm excited. I looked at the pictures. They are great. I like the one of Kiku putting her nose in the camera with the caption on the back, "Where's my boy?" I can see her doing that. By the way, WTFreak with Brother Bauer? What happened to the man?
So yeah, that was the week here in Ingolstadt. I hope everyone has a lovely week wherever they may be and that alles Einhörnchen, Rosen, und Regenbogen ist. Ich wunsch euch was! Gäh?!
Oh Volksfest...oh how you hinder missionary work. In case anyone was wondering, it's not very effective to go around contacting people that either are drunk or are going to Volksfest with the intent to do so. It looks like a really fun festival otherwise, with it's rides and fireworks and such.
So can I just express the difficulty of finding joint teaches for lessons with investigators? We cannot teach Rosa without another man there...I repeat, we CANNOT teach her. So what do we do? We call people all day long (the 5 or so people that are even possible) and hope that someone has time. Most of them want a few days notice, well she doesn't really know too far ahead of time if she can meet with us in the first place. And on top of that, the week after she sets her date for baptism, she goes out and accidentally walks to the point that she can't walk anymore and has been recovering from that and can't get to church because she needs to ride her bike there. Sometimes there are just no words to describe the frustration (well there are, but no Christian should say such things). Oh well, we just keep pushing forward and try to find people that want the gospel. For example, a lady who lives in a city right on the border of our mission who lives in a city so small that the houses just have numbers and there are no streets. Yeah...that's the region between Nieder- and Oberbayern for you.
We gave 4 people Books of Mormon this week and none of them became new investigators. We will be calling them in a few weeks to ask them how it's going, but until then we just have to wait and hope and pray.
I purchase Lederhose(no -n on the end because that would make it plural) today and next week there will be a surprise picture with me wearing them. You'll have to guess where. Let's just say that it will take at least 3 hours in the train, but it is still in our district, so we are allowed to go. Unfortunately, I will have to move my email day to another day, probably Tuesday in order to do that, so don't expect an email on Monday. I'm way excited. We also will be getting transfer calls soon and we'll see what happens. I could leave, I could stay, I could train, nobody knows. We'll see what happens.
I got the package and all the presents are sitting in my apartment waiting for me to open them on Sunday morning. I'm excited. I looked at the pictures. They are great. I like the one of Kiku putting her nose in the camera with the caption on the back, "Where's my boy?" I can see her doing that. By the way, WTFreak with Brother Bauer? What happened to the man?
So yeah, that was the week here in Ingolstadt. I hope everyone has a lovely week wherever they may be and that alles Einhörnchen, Rosen, und Regenbogen ist. Ich wunsch euch was! Gäh?!
Do I Ever to Work in My Own Area?
Received September 19, 2011
Such a question has floated through my mind in recent weeks. This transfer (7 weeks) has been full of just going all over the place for all kinds of different things. Zone Conference, Elder Bednar meetings, 3 exchanges, a baptismal interview (since Elder Daybell in the district leader), District Meetings, and special training meetings. All of that put together adds up to us (or mostly me) not being in our area very often. I feel like we're always going somewhere. One day we were in a train for 5 hours just in our own district. Sometimes things are just plain crazy. We've been finding a lot of old German people. They don't mind talking to us, they don't want to change, but they do enjoy the company.
Our investigator Rosa has a baptismal date for October 23 and we are now preparing her even more to be ready to be baptized on that date. She needs to start coming to church though....she's only been once. It's so amazing to actually see people progressing toward baptism and not just staying in the same place that they have been forever (spiritually speaking). We are here to help them to make real progress in their lives and find something that will really make them happier in the long run.
Let's consider two circumstances (seeing as how the beer flows out of the taps around this time of year in Germany):
1. I went to Oktoberfest on Sunday. In a matter of about 3 hours or so I was so destroyed that I couldn't even straight and my friend got punched in the face for aggravating a homeless man in Munich. We returned home just to end up going to one of the local Biergartens and hanging with some girls that we know and to show off Sven's black eye. We went home with those girls and the rest is history. I woke up on Monday wondering why I did what I did and trying to remember what even happened in the past 24 hours.
2. I went to church on Sunday. I saw a bunch of really good friends there. We learned about what happens after we die and how we can be with our families forever. Then we learned about setting goals that are good and well focused and that are accomplishable through reliance on our Heavenly Father and His help. We are all really excited for the General Conference of the Church where the prophet and the apostles of the Lord will speak to us and tell us the will of God in these days. I was able to partake of the Sacrament and renew my covenant with God made at baptism that I will always remember Christ and where God promises me to always send His Spirit to me. I then went to the home of a lovely family and spent time with them playing fun games and enjoying their company. Today I woke up rested and ready for the next week.
Which of these sounds like a more pleasant experience? Without doubt, the second. We are here as missionaries to tell those who will hear, that there is a much better way to live and it can make one happier in life. It's their choice whether they want to accept that or not.
I'm convinced that if people even give the Gospel a chance in their lives, they will see that the blessings just come rolling in.
Anyway, I hope everyone has a wonderful puppy-dog-full week. Tshüüüüüüüüüüüüüßli
Such a question has floated through my mind in recent weeks. This transfer (7 weeks) has been full of just going all over the place for all kinds of different things. Zone Conference, Elder Bednar meetings, 3 exchanges, a baptismal interview (since Elder Daybell in the district leader), District Meetings, and special training meetings. All of that put together adds up to us (or mostly me) not being in our area very often. I feel like we're always going somewhere. One day we were in a train for 5 hours just in our own district. Sometimes things are just plain crazy. We've been finding a lot of old German people. They don't mind talking to us, they don't want to change, but they do enjoy the company.
Our investigator Rosa has a baptismal date for October 23 and we are now preparing her even more to be ready to be baptized on that date. She needs to start coming to church though....she's only been once. It's so amazing to actually see people progressing toward baptism and not just staying in the same place that they have been forever (spiritually speaking). We are here to help them to make real progress in their lives and find something that will really make them happier in the long run.
Let's consider two circumstances (seeing as how the beer flows out of the taps around this time of year in Germany):
1. I went to Oktoberfest on Sunday. In a matter of about 3 hours or so I was so destroyed that I couldn't even straight and my friend got punched in the face for aggravating a homeless man in Munich. We returned home just to end up going to one of the local Biergartens and hanging with some girls that we know and to show off Sven's black eye. We went home with those girls and the rest is history. I woke up on Monday wondering why I did what I did and trying to remember what even happened in the past 24 hours.
2. I went to church on Sunday. I saw a bunch of really good friends there. We learned about what happens after we die and how we can be with our families forever. Then we learned about setting goals that are good and well focused and that are accomplishable through reliance on our Heavenly Father and His help. We are all really excited for the General Conference of the Church where the prophet and the apostles of the Lord will speak to us and tell us the will of God in these days. I was able to partake of the Sacrament and renew my covenant with God made at baptism that I will always remember Christ and where God promises me to always send His Spirit to me. I then went to the home of a lovely family and spent time with them playing fun games and enjoying their company. Today I woke up rested and ready for the next week.
Which of these sounds like a more pleasant experience? Without doubt, the second. We are here as missionaries to tell those who will hear, that there is a much better way to live and it can make one happier in life. It's their choice whether they want to accept that or not.
I'm convinced that if people even give the Gospel a chance in their lives, they will see that the blessings just come rolling in.
Anyway, I hope everyone has a wonderful puppy-dog-full week. Tshüüüüüüüüüüüüüßli
How come I have never heard of this book before?
Received September 12, 2011
I can't tell you how many times I've heard that sentence. The Book of Mormon is an amazing book and it really is amazing that so many people have never heard of it. Mostly because a lot of them never open their doors when we come to speak with them. It is further holy scripture and contains the fullness of the gospel. Why wouldn't you read it? This week was kinda crazy. It seems like every day goes by so fast and at the end of the week we look back and think, "What did we do? It's already Sunday again?"
We took the opportunity this week of having quite a few hours of time open for contacting to go and do an area that we have for sure never done before. In our last zone conference we talked a little about the demographic of the people that are getting baptized. Pretty much, they're all "ausländers" (people that are not from German-speaking countries). Nothing racist, everyone is a child of God. However, these people are the ones really looking for the truth and will find us anyway. We need to go out and find the Germans, Austrians, and Swiss. They are out there and usually they don't know that they are looking for something. So, we went out to a really rather rich area of Ingolstadt and started pounding the pavement and ringing doorbells. I will admit that there were a lot of decidedly atheist people, but on a much more amazing note, there were also a few people that were believing enough to say, "Sure, I'll take the pamphlet and read it." We also got phone numbers from people. Sometimes you just need to do a whole neighborhood before someone comes out of the woodwork.
I got to go on an exchange down in Kaufbeuren. This area is very large and they have a car. We saw huge, amazing alps and I was happy to go there if only for that one reason. I got to work with Elder Rosenvall who was in the MTC group that was 6 weeks younger than me. It was really fun and we got to do some good work.
This work always goes forward and no one can stop it. We have a great time in this land. I don't know if people even realize the kind of work that we do here, certainly not the Germans. I hope that I am able to leave my own little footprint in the work here.
Yes, Elder Bednar does speak a little German still. He actually wrote a little intro to his address in German before he came here. He sent it to President Uchtdorf for a little spell check and he wrote back, "Sehr gut, Dieter" He does admit that his "Wortschatz ist klein geworden" and that his "Aussprache ist nicht so gut wie vor siebenunddreisig Jahren." It was wonderful.
As it applies to things that I "need", there aren't really a lot. I pretty much have everything that I need. I could use a new short sleeve shirt because one of them has a weird stain on it right underneath the pocket that I can't get out for some reason, it might be ink. I hope you send me some good pictures in my birthday present.
I hope everybody has a wonderful time wherever they are in the world and that everything is just peachy. Tschüüüüüüüüüüüüüüß!
I can't tell you how many times I've heard that sentence. The Book of Mormon is an amazing book and it really is amazing that so many people have never heard of it. Mostly because a lot of them never open their doors when we come to speak with them. It is further holy scripture and contains the fullness of the gospel. Why wouldn't you read it? This week was kinda crazy. It seems like every day goes by so fast and at the end of the week we look back and think, "What did we do? It's already Sunday again?"
We took the opportunity this week of having quite a few hours of time open for contacting to go and do an area that we have for sure never done before. In our last zone conference we talked a little about the demographic of the people that are getting baptized. Pretty much, they're all "ausländers" (people that are not from German-speaking countries). Nothing racist, everyone is a child of God. However, these people are the ones really looking for the truth and will find us anyway. We need to go out and find the Germans, Austrians, and Swiss. They are out there and usually they don't know that they are looking for something. So, we went out to a really rather rich area of Ingolstadt and started pounding the pavement and ringing doorbells. I will admit that there were a lot of decidedly atheist people, but on a much more amazing note, there were also a few people that were believing enough to say, "Sure, I'll take the pamphlet and read it." We also got phone numbers from people. Sometimes you just need to do a whole neighborhood before someone comes out of the woodwork.
I got to go on an exchange down in Kaufbeuren. This area is very large and they have a car. We saw huge, amazing alps and I was happy to go there if only for that one reason. I got to work with Elder Rosenvall who was in the MTC group that was 6 weeks younger than me. It was really fun and we got to do some good work.
This work always goes forward and no one can stop it. We have a great time in this land. I don't know if people even realize the kind of work that we do here, certainly not the Germans. I hope that I am able to leave my own little footprint in the work here.
Yes, Elder Bednar does speak a little German still. He actually wrote a little intro to his address in German before he came here. He sent it to President Uchtdorf for a little spell check and he wrote back, "Sehr gut, Dieter" He does admit that his "Wortschatz ist klein geworden" and that his "Aussprache ist nicht so gut wie vor siebenunddreisig Jahren." It was wonderful.
As it applies to things that I "need", there aren't really a lot. I pretty much have everything that I need. I could use a new short sleeve shirt because one of them has a weird stain on it right underneath the pocket that I can't get out for some reason, it might be ink. I hope you send me some good pictures in my birthday present.
I hope everybody has a wonderful time wherever they are in the world and that everything is just peachy. Tschüüüüüüüüüüüüüüß!
Zone Conferences, Exchanges in Munchen and Apostles of the Lord...
Received September 6, 2011
Yeah, so this past week has been about the craziest thing ever. We had a regular P-day on Monday, but from Wednesday on we had a whole slew of not so regular days. There was a lovely opportunity to go up to the great city of Munich for Zone Conference. Most of the instruction there focused on working with people who are less active in the church. As part of the Europe Area Plan for the church between 2000 and 2020 they want to double the active members of the church in Europe. We intend on doing this by placing a prominence on work with less active members and bringing them back to church and then asking them to refer us to their friends to teach them. If we did this in our branch (for example) and even half of the less active members (most of whom are men) came back to the church and referred their friends, we would become a ward and almost double the attendance at church. It's no wonder that they are putting such an emphasis on this facet of the work. It was wonderful to spend some time there at the conference with all of the wonderful Elders and Sisters that I have met in my time in the Mission Field. At the end we had a testimony meeting in the chapel and Sis. Anderson out of nowhere asked me to sing Be Still My Soul with her. With about 10 min to prepare and a bannana in my mouth (of course) I said yes and we came up with something simple and it turned out lovely.
After the meeting I was hustled into singing with the Munich District in their special musical number that they were preparing. We sang a lovely arrangement of I Need Thee Every Hour by none other that the woman, the legend, (the free) Sally De Ford. It was a fun little thing with Sis. Miles on the flute. I finished that day and the next with an awesome exchange that found me working in Munich with Elder Phelan, one of the Zone Leaders. Munich is preparing for the one and only Oktoberfest and it was interesting to see all the work that goes into putting up that huge festival in the Theresienwiese. The next morning we woke up and after studies walked all the way to the main train station because the monthly cards had expired and could only be bought from one of the ticket machines there. We had a great time working together and I came back to Ingolstadt at about 3 or 4 in the afternoon. We went straight to teaching our investigator family the Wilczoks. It was a great lesson but they really can't find a way to pay tithing. We are going to have to try to get a member to tell them about the blessings of paying tithing.
Yesterday we had the opportunity to have a special meeting with Elder Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. It was one of the coolest experiences to just sit there with him less than ten feet away conversing with us. He spoke very fankly with us and he really doesn't beat around the bush on anything. He was just really blunt and told us how we can help people to act as agents and not as objects. Shortly explained, agents act and objects are acted upon. Which one are you when it comes to the gospel? Do you pray and then wait for the blessings expecting that God will give them to you, or do you explain that to God and then go out and work for it? We all had a wonderful time there learning. In the evening we had the opportunity to stay for a special fireside for the members in which he asked them to pose questions which he would then answer. Some were more awkward than others like, "Since John the Beloved is still on the earth and working among us, does he have contact with the church?" Some, however, were amazing like, "What does it mean to be a special witness of Christ?" (posed by an 11 year old boy) and "What can I do to prepare myself for baptism?" (by a 7 year old boy) It was a great evening and, despite how hot it was in that building, we all learned a lot. We ended up getting back home and in bed by about midnight last night (with permission of our mission president) and fell right asleep. It has been an awesome week.
Happy news, Lederhosen will probably be a little cheaper and more in the range of 200€-250€ for the whole deal: lederhosen, shirt, socks, and shoes. I will keep looking for deals.....he he he. Anyway, it won't be quite as bad as it may have seemed. I bought a Franzl Lang CD the other day and we have listened to a good amount of yodeling. It's fun.
I hope you have a great week and that you have fun in your new job and everything. Tschüüüüüüüüüüß!
Yeah, so this past week has been about the craziest thing ever. We had a regular P-day on Monday, but from Wednesday on we had a whole slew of not so regular days. There was a lovely opportunity to go up to the great city of Munich for Zone Conference. Most of the instruction there focused on working with people who are less active in the church. As part of the Europe Area Plan for the church between 2000 and 2020 they want to double the active members of the church in Europe. We intend on doing this by placing a prominence on work with less active members and bringing them back to church and then asking them to refer us to their friends to teach them. If we did this in our branch (for example) and even half of the less active members (most of whom are men) came back to the church and referred their friends, we would become a ward and almost double the attendance at church. It's no wonder that they are putting such an emphasis on this facet of the work. It was wonderful to spend some time there at the conference with all of the wonderful Elders and Sisters that I have met in my time in the Mission Field. At the end we had a testimony meeting in the chapel and Sis. Anderson out of nowhere asked me to sing Be Still My Soul with her. With about 10 min to prepare and a bannana in my mouth (of course) I said yes and we came up with something simple and it turned out lovely.
After the meeting I was hustled into singing with the Munich District in their special musical number that they were preparing. We sang a lovely arrangement of I Need Thee Every Hour by none other that the woman, the legend, (the free) Sally De Ford. It was a fun little thing with Sis. Miles on the flute. I finished that day and the next with an awesome exchange that found me working in Munich with Elder Phelan, one of the Zone Leaders. Munich is preparing for the one and only Oktoberfest and it was interesting to see all the work that goes into putting up that huge festival in the Theresienwiese. The next morning we woke up and after studies walked all the way to the main train station because the monthly cards had expired and could only be bought from one of the ticket machines there. We had a great time working together and I came back to Ingolstadt at about 3 or 4 in the afternoon. We went straight to teaching our investigator family the Wilczoks. It was a great lesson but they really can't find a way to pay tithing. We are going to have to try to get a member to tell them about the blessings of paying tithing.
Yesterday we had the opportunity to have a special meeting with Elder Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. It was one of the coolest experiences to just sit there with him less than ten feet away conversing with us. He spoke very fankly with us and he really doesn't beat around the bush on anything. He was just really blunt and told us how we can help people to act as agents and not as objects. Shortly explained, agents act and objects are acted upon. Which one are you when it comes to the gospel? Do you pray and then wait for the blessings expecting that God will give them to you, or do you explain that to God and then go out and work for it? We all had a wonderful time there learning. In the evening we had the opportunity to stay for a special fireside for the members in which he asked them to pose questions which he would then answer. Some were more awkward than others like, "Since John the Beloved is still on the earth and working among us, does he have contact with the church?" Some, however, were amazing like, "What does it mean to be a special witness of Christ?" (posed by an 11 year old boy) and "What can I do to prepare myself for baptism?" (by a 7 year old boy) It was a great evening and, despite how hot it was in that building, we all learned a lot. We ended up getting back home and in bed by about midnight last night (with permission of our mission president) and fell right asleep. It has been an awesome week.
Happy news, Lederhosen will probably be a little cheaper and more in the range of 200€-250€ for the whole deal: lederhosen, shirt, socks, and shoes. I will keep looking for deals.....he he he. Anyway, it won't be quite as bad as it may have seemed. I bought a Franzl Lang CD the other day and we have listened to a good amount of yodeling. It's fun.
I hope you have a great week and that you have fun in your new job and everything. Tschüüüüüüüüüüß!
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