Work, work

Holy meine gute, a pretty crazy week, but crazy weeks are WAY better than boring dull weeks! Try and catch up!

We reached a lot of our goals this week, namely finding 7 new people (one a day) that are willing to meet with us--just random people on the dark, cobblestone streets of Cottbus! We also taught 20 lessons this week, a pretty jam-packed schedule for sure, seeing how usually 15 a week is considered a good week! We have even run into people who already have a copy of a Book of Mormon which is always a pleasant surprise. Unfortunately most of those people visit Cottbus and wouldn't be able to stay and be taught but we still gave them a card and explained they could find missionaries wherever they are in the world.

We taught Anna again this week (yaaay!) and I loved our visit because she shared with us how much she loves the Family Proclamation to the World that we gave her last time and wants to find it in Hungarian and frame it on the wall, since we told her that is how we have it at home! She read it with her husband and said that was exactly how they wanted their family to be. It's an huge blessing to see them reading these things together and desiring the kind of family that I've already been blessed to have. She's on a trip right now visiting family in Hungary, but she said that she wanted to really read in the Book of Mormon and was going to read it during the car trip! Like Jordo likes to say, "squeeeee!" Spaendende!

During the middle of Tuesday we picked up my new companion, Sis. AndersOn, NOT spelled right but that's only a joke. She's from San Antonio, Texas, and so our members love that. One of our older members we visited had this big grin on his face and said in the funniest accent ever "Waahker Texaaas Rangah!" Another investigator, Bezhan, the Arabisch Drummer thought it was cool, because he GUESSED she was from Texas and when he heard he was right, he pretended to pull out two pistols and swing them around like a outlaw. People here don't know what Kansas is. At all. Haha! She is also and English major like me and likes writing poetry! She has a couple of soundtracks I like in German so it's been really fun listening to them!

So for transfers, it usually ends up that we pick up someone and stay in a dritt until the other leaves, and so for half of a day we were in a dritt, which was probably the most awkward thing ever, because I was with my beloved trainer for the last few moments before she went home, and then my NEW trainer (or in missionary lingo, my "step mom") all at once, it's just hard to explain, because you want to spend the last few moments right but you want to get to know the new companion, you know? Things are obviously good, although it's apparant that they work differently and have different views about missionary work, which none of them are bad, just different. She's not as talkative or open as Sis. Allen so I'm getting used to a new companion and showing her around Cottbus.

One thing I've noticed though is that when under pressure like this, I really DO know my way around. I still don't know when certain bahns leave and go because we use different lines all the time and from different haltestelles and what-not, but I know how to figure all that out, and I can tell where I am in the city and know how to get us there. It's weird; it's all by landmarks, NOT by the street names. We haven't been lost since I've became the "expert" of Cottbus, which has been a blessing. And the ward and investigators know me better, so I almost have to be the senior companion at times to schedule things or even report in Gemeinderat, which is pretty scary for me! So yeah, I'm the one with the map.

One thing that Sis. Anderson is serious about is Taufdatums. As a way to understand where our investigators are, she's been asking every single one if they want to be baptized. Most of them have questions they still want answered and want solid testimonies, BUT we have a "soft" Taufdatum with our Eternal Investigator, Frau Baruck for January 16th. To be honest, I don't know if that will come to pass, because she has had a Taufdatum each year for 6 years and wants her husband to be more accepting of the gospel before really getting baptized, so I really hope that it pulls through!

Let's see, ickiest thing I had to eat this week: Liverwurst spread on bread. NICHT MEIN DING. Bruder Gröscke is just notorious for making us eat the weirdest things, but I finished every last bite and had the worst after taste in my mouth. Blech!

It IS becoming much colder, so I'm wearing an average of 3 layers to keep me warm to keep up the work! Still no snow but frost in the mornings and heavy, eerie fog in the evenings (or 5pm darkness MEINE gute). It's been 1°C this whole week, just not quite cold enough to snow!

BUT, Cottbus will have it's own Weinachtmarkt that'll open this week! I'm SOOO excited! They've been setting things up for it for the past two weeks and they've already set up a huge ferris wheel and are now setting up an ice skating rink! Squeeee! Sis. Anderson and I are having our first Christmases here in Deutschland so we're suuuper excited. She had to spend her Christmas in the MTC, how rough is THAT?

Anyway, we've had some interesting lessons with investigators. We met with an older couple this past week--I've only met with them one other time, but they seem to have a lot of interest in the gospel, just haven't gotten them to actually come to church yet. However, we were in a way sabotaged with their granddaughter there visiting. Sussi, she was such a brat. She's 15 and probably the biggest brat ever, because the couple were very interested in what we had to say and she basically torched the Spirit by arguing with them. She's atheist and yet she told us, "they are Evangelisch and they will stay that way!" Meine gute, if looks could kill, Sis. Anderson and I would've died 5 times over. I can understand the protectiveness of family members, but she's this punk 15 yr. old that wouldn't even listen to what we had to say, just flipped off the handle. So yeah, that visit did not last long; we hope to visit soon WITHOUT sweet little Sussi. *cringe*

A cool miracle that happened yesterday: We wanted to visit Herr Starick our Golden investigator that talked with us over his balcony, but I never wrote down his address, Sis. Allen did, and he lives in a cluster of Wohnungs in an area I'm not too familiar with. We still wanted to visit and give him a Book of Mormon, so we decided to go with my guesses to see if we could find him and if not, we'd just email Sis. Allen and ask for the address. We went at 6pm (which of course is totally dark like it's 11pm) and without any sort of directions just went with what I was trying to remember. The cluster of Wohnungs for me is like one of those rat mazes where they all look the same. But we prayed before leaving that we would find our way--and we DID. Not because of me at all; there were times where I was literally like, "first instinct says left" and we went left, and we made it directly to his apartment. It was...pretty cool. And he was home, too! Searching for his Wohnung in the dark was totally worth it. We gave him the Book of Mormon though he's too busy to really meet with us right now (you can never really tell if they really mean "keine Zeit" or "kein Interesse") but he just kept staring at the Book of Mormon as we explained what it means to us.

Another miracle? Christine, our Knitting Investigator not only let us meet and talk to her about the gospel for 45minutes without being distracted, BUT she came to church! It was the best kind, because yesterday was the PV (primary) Programm. And it was a sweet experience, even though they only have 5 kids in the primary. We actually got to help sing 2 songs with them, so even the missionaries were involved! We're still technically on the young side of the ward; they only have 1 teenage boy that I think is a Deacon or Teacher, 2 YSAs and that's about it! Schwester Wunder's granddaughter also got to sing--she's visiting from the States (German mom and American dad) and sang "I love to see the Temple" in English which was probably the most adorable thing AUF DER ERDE. Christine's little girl, Laura actually loved the program and walked right up to the front to stand by the other kids! I think Christine was horrified but everyone thought it was really adorable.

I've also heard of crazy things wards here in Germany try to do to amp up PV prorgrams, almost like plays and being all extravigant--like in this program, they showed a song with a video and the kids sang along--auf English, which is why we got to help. I also heard from our Ward Missionary Leader that the Bischof asked him if churches in the States string Christmas lights throughout the building and he said no (he's from the States as well, served a mission in München!) and the members were mad at him that they couldn't do it! I think they think it happens stateside but nope, it doesn't, haha.

Last miracle for the week: I actually got to meet another missionary from another church. She sat by us on the train home because she heard us speaking English and she is also from Texas. It's weird to see how missionary work is done differently in other churches, but she is a really cool girl, a little older than us and plans on being here in Germany for two years. I honestly can't remember which denomination she serves for, but hey, it was incredibly awesome talking with her and seeing that she has the same desires to serve others as I do, and she wants to keep in touch! She was just a super awesome person, that of course was a random miracle. We neever come across other Americans here in Cottbus and to meet one on our train? Wunder!

So yeah, a real meaty kind of week and everything was just completely awesome. I give points to Sis. Anderson, she really trusts my sense of direction! So far so good, but she's never phased when I warn her that I'm not sure I know where I'm going! She's teaching me a lot about boldness and helping investigators actually make baptism a goal to work for rather then some distant destination. Cottbus has been waiting 4 years for a Taufe and around Christmastime couldn't be any more magical.

It's good to hear that the Olsen family is domiNATING in tae-qon-do and to hear all the miracles you have had this week, too. I love you all and miss you! I'm grateful for being in this family with the heritage that I have; I've always been grateful but to see investigators like the Hungarian Mutti who craves the kind of family that I have, it makes me all the more grateful!

Love ya!
Sis. Whit