August 27, 2012

Peoples of the world,

Ok ok so this was the last week of the transfer!! And with that ALWAYS comes craziness and surprises. So I will list them for you in order of importance to me.

1. So last Wednesday Sister Uhlig and I were running late to catch a train to Eisenhüttenstadt for this activity thing and we showed up at the train station with only 5 minutes to buy our ticket and jump on board. So our stupid machine took like FOREVER to finally give us the right screen so we could buy the ticket. So now we have like 2 minutes, and I pay the stupid thing 30€ and we wait for it to give me my 1€ change. After like 30 seconds it spit out a 5 cent piece, and Sister Uhlig and I just look at each other and yell "NOOOOOOOO!!!!!" because then it proceeded to give me the rest of my change in 5 cent increments, one at a time. Sister Uhlig and I and all the people around us were laughing hysterically as we're trying to collect all this ridiculous change and run up to our train, which we miraculously were able to catch. And that is the stupid story of the week.

2. Speaking of going to Eisenhüttenstadt, they actually made us come so I could sing at this musical fireside they put on. It was horrible. Out of protest I sang half the song in French, which I guess was great because all the people thought I was from France! YES.

3. Did you know that McDonald's milchshakes here in Germany are like waaaaaaaaay delicious?!

4. Cool story. So a couple of weeks ago my comp and I were walking down a street on our way to drop by on a less active member. As we were walking by one apartment building, I all of the sudden felt that I need to stick our cards in their mailboxes. So I did that and we went on our merry way. WELL. About 3 weeks later this guy calls us and said that a couple of weeks ago he found our card in his mailbox and he felt like he should call us! So he came to the church and we had a lovely lesson. He actually works as kind of a middle man for churches and schools and important things so he would like to organize for people from our church to give presentations in schools and conventions about what we believe! So cool. He just kept saying over and over, "I had your card for several weeks but I just kept having this feeling that I really needed to call you..." That's the Spirit, dude. THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH.

5. Weirdy story. So Sister Uhlig and I stopped this girl on the street and started to ask her about her faith. She explained that she is religious, but she only answered our questions with like a one word answer. But she just kept standing there so we started to talk about prayer and how it helps us and things. So then Sister Uhlig asked, "What does prayer mean to you?," to which she replied, "Alcohol." We just stopped for a second and stared at her and then Sister Uhlig asked the question again, and she gave the same answer. We were like sooooo confused and I started to laugh a little bit and then the girl made out an appointment with us. Weird? Yes. I a little bit love Berlin.

6. Right before the above story took place, I talked to a Jehovah's Witness who insisted that I take her pamphlets. I said ok, but only if she would take ours. So we exchanged pamphlets and I took them home, where Sister Uhlig and I read them. And in all seriousness, we thought they were great. There was an article about the destruction of Jerusalem and it pinned it about 600 years before Christ...confirming the story of the Book of Mormon perhaps?!?!?!?!?! They also proved, using the Bible, why we shouldn't baptize babies. And they had an article about the true nature of God, saying that he is a very loving and kind father. I've learned a lot about their faith!! Sister Uhlig and I only felt a little bit guilty when our district leader called and asked what we were doing...hahahahaha.

7. Remember our awesome Korean investigator?! Well Yangmin is doing great, and is currently preparing himself for baptism on September 30!!!!!!!!!! We are SO excited, and he is just doing absolutely great things. We also went online and looked up where the church is in Korea, and there happens to be one right in his tiny hometown!! He asked us, "So I could go there and still use the priesthood in Korea?" and we explained there is a temple there (about an hour from his home) and he could be sealed to his family. Wow, that really hit him and he got super excited. WE ARE SO HAPPY.

8. Ok ok so now for the big news. Are you ready?

First of all, my lovely companion is going home to Frankfurt. I'm going to miss her a lot! She's super duper awesome, even if she is German ;)

Also. Transfer calls are in.

And.

I'm going to be...

A TRAINER.

Like, I'm going to be alone with a brand spankin' new missionary straight from America.

Should I mention that I'm one of the youngest trainers? Like, actually the youngest that I've heard of?! Most people start training in their 9th or 10th, and I'm in my 7th. And I'm scared out of my mind. But I'm also kind of excited. What should I do?!?!?!?!?!

So just so y'all know, I would like many prayers. I already received a priesthood blessing, which has helped, but I'm going to need some extra special prayers this week, please and thank you.

I love you all.

Sister Young