Ok ok ok.
So this last week was a blur. On Tuesday I went to Eisenhüttenstadt for a couple days (the Sister serving there was also going to be training and since we don't receive our new companions until Thursday, I went there to be her companion until then) and that was just a heap and a half. Sister Müller is probably one of my best friends here in the mission, and we just had a blast together. On Wednesday night we slept over in Berlin, which means I GOT TO SEE SISTER LARSEN!!!!!!!!!! And I was just so happy. She's doing well and from all the stories I hear, so are my old investigators!!!
On Thursday I picked up my new companion, Sister Fugal. She's from Utah (of course) and she is really really really cool and chill and we get along fabulously. She is just super driven to work really hard and we're excited for the new couple of transfers. Win win win.
Miracles abound here in Bielefeld. Let me list all the ways God loves his children:
#1. On Friday we went to the office of transportation to buy our monthly pass for buses and stuff. The lady was really nice and after she handed us our cards, we left. So we went down to where the Straßenbahns are and because we took so long to take care of other things, we missed our bahn. So while we were waiting for the next one, this lady from the office comes running up to us and told us that she forgot to stamp our pass, which means that they're not valid. It was a miracle that a) we missed our bahn and b) she found us in a busy station!! We were so happy and the poor lady felt so so bad. But ALLES GUTE.
#2. That same day we had an appointment and invited a member to come with us. When we showed up, our investigator wasn't there and we felt really bad for our joint teach. But no worries, we decided to drop by on a new convert that hadn't been to church in a while and nobody could get a hold of him. Well he not only turned out to be home, but he also had a friend over that wasn't a member and we taught a short lesson! It was so great and we were so happy. The next day the new convert came to church for the first time in a couple months and told us his friend wants to meet with us again. YAY!!!!
#3. We found out that one of our investigators is super creepy, which is great because we didn't know if we should drop him or not! Yay for clear answers!
#4. This wonderful, perfect, adorable old woman in the ward invited us over for a spontaneous dinner and she's the best cook in the world. Yay yay yay for her!
#5. This Elder said something incredibly horrible and sexist on the phone last night and I was able to hold back my anger and scold him in a quiet manner! But I'm not sure how long this will still be a miracle because I have to see his face today and I may or may not have spent the whole night dreaming about how I can take my revenge...
Well people, the church is true. It's a great time to be a missionary in Bielefeld, and I can feel the miracles coming. Prepare yourself for something great.
I love you all.
Sister Young
ps. I'm not going to have a lot of time to respond to emails today, sorry!!!
1.09.2013
December 31, 2012
Guten Rutsch people!
That is the German way of saying "happy new year" and it translates to "good sliding!" as if they were condemning you to slipping on the ice and breaking your neck. Oh, those Germans...
Well. Christmas was a dream and a half. Also extremely uneventful on the missionary side of things, but interesting nonetheless.
Breakdown of German Christmas traditions as follows:
Christmas Eve/ Der Heilige Abend
Perhaps the one day in the year that most of Germany shows up at church for an "Andacht," or devotional. The Andacht is different depending on which church you attend, and ours was just a breakdown of the Christmas story and a couple of talks from people in our congregation.
Then everyone scurries home and gets ready for the Weihnachtsmann (Santa) to come and bring presents. As a last ditch effort to teach children the real meaning of Christmas, religious families might do a little nativity thing and sing "Silent Night," which is the German pride and joy (it was originally written in German and you are ONLY allowed to sing it on Christmas Eve). Then all the adults usher the children into another room and have them try to look for the Weihnachtsmann out the window while they bring out the presents and put them under the tree. Then to the children's surprise, the Weihnachtsmann snuck into their house unnoticed! But they don't care, they have presents and that's all that matters.
After opening all the presents, the family gets together and eats a giant feast and calls it a night.
Christmas Day 1
This day usually consists of lounging around, playing with the new presents, and eating left overs from the night before, and drinking beer.
Christmas Day 2
Oh yes, there are 3 days of Christmas here. More chances to get drunk! And also more excuses to spend time with family and relax.
And that is all.
We made out some new baptismal dates with Gabriel and Michael, some of our investigators. That's always exciting, I guess. I really have a lot of faith in Michael though, I am pretty sure he'll make it. Our lessons with him are so good! And he's starting to recognize the Holy Ghost, which is new for him and super exciting for us. He just needs to come to church more regularly and he'll be set!
Aaaaaaand we had transfer calls. These get less and less exciting as time goes on haha.
BUT guess who's going to be a trainer for a record of THREE TIMES?
Me. I am. Trainer Sister Young. And halleluja to that because I need someone really young for my last 2 transfers to help me stay focused. Also I really love training.
Well, I love your guts. I hope your Christmas was magical and you got everything you hoped for and gave even more!
Love,
Sister Young
That is the German way of saying "happy new year" and it translates to "good sliding!" as if they were condemning you to slipping on the ice and breaking your neck. Oh, those Germans...
Well. Christmas was a dream and a half. Also extremely uneventful on the missionary side of things, but interesting nonetheless.
Breakdown of German Christmas traditions as follows:
Christmas Eve/ Der Heilige Abend
Perhaps the one day in the year that most of Germany shows up at church for an "Andacht," or devotional. The Andacht is different depending on which church you attend, and ours was just a breakdown of the Christmas story and a couple of talks from people in our congregation.
Then everyone scurries home and gets ready for the Weihnachtsmann (Santa) to come and bring presents. As a last ditch effort to teach children the real meaning of Christmas, religious families might do a little nativity thing and sing "Silent Night," which is the German pride and joy (it was originally written in German and you are ONLY allowed to sing it on Christmas Eve). Then all the adults usher the children into another room and have them try to look for the Weihnachtsmann out the window while they bring out the presents and put them under the tree. Then to the children's surprise, the Weihnachtsmann snuck into their house unnoticed! But they don't care, they have presents and that's all that matters.
After opening all the presents, the family gets together and eats a giant feast and calls it a night.
Christmas Day 1
This day usually consists of lounging around, playing with the new presents, and eating left overs from the night before, and drinking beer.
Christmas Day 2
Oh yes, there are 3 days of Christmas here. More chances to get drunk! And also more excuses to spend time with family and relax.
And that is all.
We made out some new baptismal dates with Gabriel and Michael, some of our investigators. That's always exciting, I guess. I really have a lot of faith in Michael though, I am pretty sure he'll make it. Our lessons with him are so good! And he's starting to recognize the Holy Ghost, which is new for him and super exciting for us. He just needs to come to church more regularly and he'll be set!
Aaaaaaand we had transfer calls. These get less and less exciting as time goes on haha.
BUT guess who's going to be a trainer for a record of THREE TIMES?
Me. I am. Trainer Sister Young. And halleluja to that because I need someone really young for my last 2 transfers to help me stay focused. Also I really love training.
Well, I love your guts. I hope your Christmas was magical and you got everything you hoped for and gave even more!
Love,
Sister Young
12.29.2012
December 24, 2012
1. We got stuck out in the middle of nowhere after an appointment and our joint teach (he's like a 24 year old RM) had to hang out with us for like an hour as we walked back to civilization hahaha. But he loved it so KEINE SORGEN
2. Awkward pictures with Olaf (our joint teach). But look how pretty Bielefeld is!!
3. Vladimir's baptism!
This is my horrible attempt at capturing the magic of Weihnachtmarkts in Hamburg und Osnabrück.
Enjoy.
2. Awkward pictures with Olaf (our joint teach). But look how pretty Bielefeld is!!
3. Vladimir's baptism!
This is my horrible attempt at capturing the magic of Weihnachtmarkts in Hamburg und Osnabrück.
Enjoy.
December 24, 2012
Hello people of the universe.
Well, it is Christmas time and I sure am grateful that the owner of this internet place is Muslim because that means I can write you right now.
And so. This week was crazy. But not really, I mean it was crazy boring. Man oh man, the transfers just seem to be creeping by, especially when I am so looking forward to something like CHRISTMAS. But luckily it is here.
Last p-day we went to a cute place called Osnabrück, where I bought traditional German things. But I spent more money than I wanted to spend - I just really really REALLY hate spending money - but I'm getting over it because now I have cool German Christmas things!
All of the other days were a mess. We had a lot of crappy lessons and our investigators are falling off the planet. Stupid holiday season. I have a lot of ideas for the new year and I am really excited about it, but right now I'm a junior companion (so weird, by the way, in my 9TH TRANSFER) and I'm scared to share a lot of ideas because they would involve us doing very different things. But we're working on it.
Yesterday was a day of wonder, however. I gave a talk in church (gag me) and I think it went ok. Several less actives came to church and although we didn't have a ton of investigators it was nice to see the ward members reaching out to the less actives. Also a thousand old women cornered us and loaded us up with chocolate and cookies, so that was pretty great. And then Vladimir was baptized!! His son, Michael, was baptized a year ago and then introduced the church to his mom (who was baptized earlier this year) and now his dad. Pretty cool, eh? Then we went to their house and ate the most delicious Russian food ever. Magical day.
That's about it. I'll keep you updated on the lovely Christmas traditions of the Germans and report back next week.
Love your guts.
Sister Young
Well, it is Christmas time and I sure am grateful that the owner of this internet place is Muslim because that means I can write you right now.
And so. This week was crazy. But not really, I mean it was crazy boring. Man oh man, the transfers just seem to be creeping by, especially when I am so looking forward to something like CHRISTMAS. But luckily it is here.
Last p-day we went to a cute place called Osnabrück, where I bought traditional German things. But I spent more money than I wanted to spend - I just really really REALLY hate spending money - but I'm getting over it because now I have cool German Christmas things!
All of the other days were a mess. We had a lot of crappy lessons and our investigators are falling off the planet. Stupid holiday season. I have a lot of ideas for the new year and I am really excited about it, but right now I'm a junior companion (so weird, by the way, in my 9TH TRANSFER) and I'm scared to share a lot of ideas because they would involve us doing very different things. But we're working on it.
Yesterday was a day of wonder, however. I gave a talk in church (gag me) and I think it went ok. Several less actives came to church and although we didn't have a ton of investigators it was nice to see the ward members reaching out to the less actives. Also a thousand old women cornered us and loaded us up with chocolate and cookies, so that was pretty great. And then Vladimir was baptized!! His son, Michael, was baptized a year ago and then introduced the church to his mom (who was baptized earlier this year) and now his dad. Pretty cool, eh? Then we went to their house and ate the most delicious Russian food ever. Magical day.
That's about it. I'll keep you updated on the lovely Christmas traditions of the Germans and report back next week.
Love your guts.
Sister Young
December 17, 2012
I have been trying so so so hard to not gain weight this Christmas season, but to no avail. Then I will have 12 weeks to burn all my new-found kilos. NOT FUN.
So let me tell you something cool about serving in Germany. It's called: last p-day my comp and I decided to go exploring in a small town about 30 minutes away and we found a MEDIEVAL CASTLE!!!!!!!!!!!! How freaking cool is that?????????? This town (called Rhede) is like so cute and super old and just plain magical. They had the cutest little Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market) by this ancient church and I about died of happiness. Then later this week we were talking to a member about our p-day and I was like, "Oh my gosh, did you know that there is a giant castle in Rhede??" and he responded, "Ja...and? There are prettier ones." NO YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND. IT IS NOT NORMAL TO STROLL AROUND A TOWN AND FIND A CASTLE. Silly Europeans.
Wednesday we went back to Hamburg for a conference with Elder Richards from the Area Presidency. It was alright, I learned a lot of good things. Like how now they want us to work mostly with MEMBER REFERRALS. Wooooooooooow it was crazy. He told us to stop dooring and talking to people on the street and to focus on working with members, because our new purpose is, and I quote, "to serve members in fufilling their responsibility to do missionary work." We were all blown away. Of course we know this works and is obviously the best way to do missionary work, but come on. Sometimes we can't wait for the members to talk to all of their friends, you know? We want to teach people now! Then we found out later that he served a mission in South America and then it hit us - OF COURSE THAT'S THE WAY TO GO IN SOUTH AMERICA - LAND OF FREAKING DREAMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ok I am not bitter and I really am trying to have faith in it. We will be talking to our ward about it this week so we'll see what we can do.
Also I will tell you that on our way to Hamburg these 2 nuns sat right in front of us on the train!! Sisters in faith! I wanted to start a conversation with them but they looked a little grumpy...
Oh ya. We have a baptism this week! A new convert's dad has decided to follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone holding the priesthood authority of God. PURPOSE FUFILLED.
Well people. Today we're going to a supposedly cool Christmas market to buy cool German things. I will get back to you with pictures and lovely things.
I love you!
Love,
Sister Young
So let me tell you something cool about serving in Germany. It's called: last p-day my comp and I decided to go exploring in a small town about 30 minutes away and we found a MEDIEVAL CASTLE!!!!!!!!!!!! How freaking cool is that?????????? This town (called Rhede) is like so cute and super old and just plain magical. They had the cutest little Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market) by this ancient church and I about died of happiness. Then later this week we were talking to a member about our p-day and I was like, "Oh my gosh, did you know that there is a giant castle in Rhede??" and he responded, "Ja...and? There are prettier ones." NO YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND. IT IS NOT NORMAL TO STROLL AROUND A TOWN AND FIND A CASTLE. Silly Europeans.
Wednesday we went back to Hamburg for a conference with Elder Richards from the Area Presidency. It was alright, I learned a lot of good things. Like how now they want us to work mostly with MEMBER REFERRALS. Wooooooooooow it was crazy. He told us to stop dooring and talking to people on the street and to focus on working with members, because our new purpose is, and I quote, "to serve members in fufilling their responsibility to do missionary work." We were all blown away. Of course we know this works and is obviously the best way to do missionary work, but come on. Sometimes we can't wait for the members to talk to all of their friends, you know? We want to teach people now! Then we found out later that he served a mission in South America and then it hit us - OF COURSE THAT'S THE WAY TO GO IN SOUTH AMERICA - LAND OF FREAKING DREAMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ok I am not bitter and I really am trying to have faith in it. We will be talking to our ward about it this week so we'll see what we can do.
Also I will tell you that on our way to Hamburg these 2 nuns sat right in front of us on the train!! Sisters in faith! I wanted to start a conversation with them but they looked a little grumpy...
Oh ya. We have a baptism this week! A new convert's dad has decided to follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone holding the priesthood authority of God. PURPOSE FUFILLED.
Well people. Today we're going to a supposedly cool Christmas market to buy cool German things. I will get back to you with pictures and lovely things.
I love you!
Love,
Sister Young
December 10, 2012
Weeeeeeell let's get a good start on the week by letting you know that I finally found out that I am serving in the Motherland, Germany.
Yes, yes. It is true. We have just found out that WE ARE TEACHING A NAZI.
But not anymore, because we closed that bag up reeeaaally quick. I guess I am just surprised that it took me so long on my mission to find one!
That's a lie, I've seen lots of them from a far away distance. But to actually shake one's hand...only the privilege was granted in the lovely setting of Bielefeld. Oh, what a glorious week.
On the plus side, we were invited to eat with a lovely old woman yesterday after church and she said she would make whatever we wanted!!!! So, naturally, I requested rouladen, the most delicious German dish in the universe. She she was kind enough to whip that up with some rotkohl and klöße, accompaigned by some homemade sauces. I LOVE MY MISSION. Also she said she could teach me her ways, maybe I will try to make it someday when I'm back home. Maybe.
You know what really sucks about a mission? 2 things.
1. Everyone thinking you are a Jehovah's Witness.
I'm sure they are great people, but they have a reputation for being scary and pushy, which is a shame because when people see us they immediately run away in fear. SCHADE (pronounced sha-duh, not sure if there's a good English translation but it's like saying "too bad" or, in my words, "poo"). Anyway, so one day this week we stopped by a member's home to get to know them a little better because they had recently moved in. As we climbed the staircase to their apartment, all the neighbors came out of their doors and stared us down with angry looks...not particularly unsual for us but WHAT THE HECK MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!! While we were sitting with the couple and sharing a spiritual thought, there was a knock at the door. Turns out it was the neighbor lady asking if they had JWs in their home and if they need any assistance in removing them. WHY ARE PEOPLE SO RUDE??! Oh, silly Germans.
2. Arranging joint teaches.
It's one thing to be having a hard time trying to figure out how to bring joint teaches to your lessons, but what about when you have plenty of people volunteering for joint teaches and none of your investigators show??? One word: SATAN. I would chop off his meddling hand if I could.
Ok I am really tired. Have a lovely week and eat lots of Butterfingers for me because I just barely realized that I miss those a lot.
Lurve.
Sister Young
Yes, yes. It is true. We have just found out that WE ARE TEACHING A NAZI.
But not anymore, because we closed that bag up reeeaaally quick. I guess I am just surprised that it took me so long on my mission to find one!
That's a lie, I've seen lots of them from a far away distance. But to actually shake one's hand...only the privilege was granted in the lovely setting of Bielefeld. Oh, what a glorious week.
On the plus side, we were invited to eat with a lovely old woman yesterday after church and she said she would make whatever we wanted!!!! So, naturally, I requested rouladen, the most delicious German dish in the universe. She she was kind enough to whip that up with some rotkohl and klöße, accompaigned by some homemade sauces. I LOVE MY MISSION. Also she said she could teach me her ways, maybe I will try to make it someday when I'm back home. Maybe.
You know what really sucks about a mission? 2 things.
1. Everyone thinking you are a Jehovah's Witness.
I'm sure they are great people, but they have a reputation for being scary and pushy, which is a shame because when people see us they immediately run away in fear. SCHADE (pronounced sha-duh, not sure if there's a good English translation but it's like saying "too bad" or, in my words, "poo"). Anyway, so one day this week we stopped by a member's home to get to know them a little better because they had recently moved in. As we climbed the staircase to their apartment, all the neighbors came out of their doors and stared us down with angry looks...not particularly unsual for us but WHAT THE HECK MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!! While we were sitting with the couple and sharing a spiritual thought, there was a knock at the door. Turns out it was the neighbor lady asking if they had JWs in their home and if they need any assistance in removing them. WHY ARE PEOPLE SO RUDE??! Oh, silly Germans.
2. Arranging joint teaches.
It's one thing to be having a hard time trying to figure out how to bring joint teaches to your lessons, but what about when you have plenty of people volunteering for joint teaches and none of your investigators show??? One word: SATAN. I would chop off his meddling hand if I could.
Ok I am really tired. Have a lovely week and eat lots of Butterfingers for me because I just barely realized that I miss those a lot.
Lurve.
Sister Young
12.04.2012
December 3, 2012
And so.
This past week has been kuhrayzeeeee. Where shall I begin?
I shall begin with informing you that I had the wonderful opportunity of meeting with Sofia again in Hamburg :) :) :) She is doing well and we had a lovely visit!!! Hopefully I will remember to upload some pictures next week.
Zone Conference was super great, I got to catch up with a lot of old friends including SISTER DEAN, my MTC companion!!! She's still as crazy as ever, and it was just peachy to catch up. We have another conference next week in Hamburg with Elder Richards from the Area Seventy, super stoked about that. Minus the fact that my mission president's wife asked me and my comp to do a musical number. Gag me.
Then we came back to Bielefeld.
...
Don't get me wrong, it's great here and all. We just had another rough week of fallen out appointments and disappearing investigators. Tis the mission life.
We did end up having a walk-in appointment with an American student who asked us a lot of questions about the Church structure and other philosophical matters - he wasn't interested in the doctrine itself, seeing as he is an "unbeliever." He asked a lot of questions about women in the church, so imagine how my face lit up as I exclaimed with all energy of heart, "I'm a feminist!" He ate that right up. So then we talked about Mormon Feminism, and you know me. LOVED THAT LESSON. And that's how I brightened the world this week.
ALSO. So last week we invited a member in our ward to be a joint teach for one of our lessons with an investigator from Cameroon. We were so excited about the appointment, but as it always goes for joint teaches, our investigator cancelled last minute. We were natürlich very sad, but we asked this member if we could leave a spiritual thought with her. She agreed and as we sat down I started to panic because I didn't really know what I should share. As I was frantically flipping through the scriptures, I found 3 Nephi 9:13-14 in the Book of Mormon and decided just to talk about that. I shared some personal experiences with her and as I finished I noticed that she was crying. Well, talk about being the WORST MISSIONARY EVER, I felt so horrible that I had said something stupid. But then I found out that what I shared was an answer to her prayers and concerns.
So I guess it wasn't that bad of a week afterall.
I looooooooooove you all.
Happy first Advent.
Sister Young
This past week has been kuhrayzeeeee. Where shall I begin?
I shall begin with informing you that I had the wonderful opportunity of meeting with Sofia again in Hamburg :) :) :) She is doing well and we had a lovely visit!!! Hopefully I will remember to upload some pictures next week.
Zone Conference was super great, I got to catch up with a lot of old friends including SISTER DEAN, my MTC companion!!! She's still as crazy as ever, and it was just peachy to catch up. We have another conference next week in Hamburg with Elder Richards from the Area Seventy, super stoked about that. Minus the fact that my mission president's wife asked me and my comp to do a musical number. Gag me.
Then we came back to Bielefeld.
...
Don't get me wrong, it's great here and all. We just had another rough week of fallen out appointments and disappearing investigators. Tis the mission life.
We did end up having a walk-in appointment with an American student who asked us a lot of questions about the Church structure and other philosophical matters - he wasn't interested in the doctrine itself, seeing as he is an "unbeliever." He asked a lot of questions about women in the church, so imagine how my face lit up as I exclaimed with all energy of heart, "I'm a feminist!" He ate that right up. So then we talked about Mormon Feminism, and you know me. LOVED THAT LESSON. And that's how I brightened the world this week.
ALSO. So last week we invited a member in our ward to be a joint teach for one of our lessons with an investigator from Cameroon. We were so excited about the appointment, but as it always goes for joint teaches, our investigator cancelled last minute. We were natürlich very sad, but we asked this member if we could leave a spiritual thought with her. She agreed and as we sat down I started to panic because I didn't really know what I should share. As I was frantically flipping through the scriptures, I found 3 Nephi 9:13-14 in the Book of Mormon and decided just to talk about that. I shared some personal experiences with her and as I finished I noticed that she was crying. Well, talk about being the WORST MISSIONARY EVER, I felt so horrible that I had said something stupid. But then I found out that what I shared was an answer to her prayers and concerns.
So I guess it wasn't that bad of a week afterall.
I looooooooooove you all.
Happy first Advent.
Sister Young
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