Elder Daniel Squires, Frankfurt Germany: A Super Awesome Week

Hey Mom!

I am really liking serving here in Solingen. I am getting used to the surroundings and am starting to get familiar with the bus schedules and where people live. Our apartment is kind of small, but it is fine for two missionaries. There is not much of a view from the windows like there was in Idar-Oberstein since we are pretty much right next to the Füsgängerzone, but it is still ok. Elder Fowler and I get along really, really well. It took a while for us to get accustomed to each others´ personalities, but now we are really comfortable with each other. He is super funny, and I really enjoy working with him. Being a district leader is also going really well, and I enjoy the responsibility and the opportunity to stay in close contact with a handful of missionaries.

Well, this last week was super awesome. On Monday, a bunch of companionships from the zone got together and went to the Dom in Köln, which was fun. Elder Hutchings was there, so we spent a lot of time talking and chilling, which was really great. The Dom is huge and we walked up a ton of stairs. I don´t remember how many there were, but it had to be at least 300 in this tiny, stone spiral staircase. After that, we hit up the Christmas markets in Köln and I got a cool nativity to send to you, and today/next Monday hopefully I can get all the things I need to to send home for Christmas. When we got back to Solingen, we met with a guy from Macedonia, and then had a lesson with a guy on the street about the Restoration. We gave him a Book of Mormon and got his address, and hopefully we can meet with him again this week.

On Tuesday, we met with Bruder Olbert, a really old member in a senior home, and then afterwards had lesson with a person we met on the street. On Wednesday we had our District Meeting in Düsseldorf, and later had a really cool lesson on the Füß with a guy we found.

Thursday was an incredible day. We met with this guy from Pogo, Africa called Charles. He was super interested in the Book of Mormon, and asked a ton of questions. Every time we answered a question, he was like, "das wollte ich hören" (that is what I wanted to hear)! We then asked him if he would be baptized if he found out the Book of Mormon was true, and he said yes! Later on, we met with a 19 year old kid that found the church through YouTube, which eventually led him to the church´s website, where he watched the Restoration movie and read the first chapter of 1 Nephi, and he said he already believes the story of Joseph Smith. We asked him if he wanted to be baptized, and he said yes as well! The best part is that he also has a friend in the ward, Thaddäus Hoppe, and he was there at the lesson and bore awesome testimony of the Book of Mormon, and it was just the best. That was a really good day.

On Friday, we travelled out to Monheim to contact a referral, but the street was false. Then we visited a fallen-out baptismal candidate from earlier this year. Later on that night, we met with Bruder Köster again and had a really good lesson. On Saturday, we met with a guy who is a member of the ward. We talked with him about the importance of the Restoration, which was cool. Yesterday, two of our investigators didn´t come to church, which was a bummer, but one of them got a ride with some members and came. After church, we went to Bishop Pauly´s house and had dinner and taught a lesson. That pretty much was the end of the week for us.

Well, that is all to report for now. I hope you have a good week and that everyone is excited for the holidays!! Love you!

Liebe, Daniel

Elder Squires and Elder Hutchings (Elder Hutchings is one of Daniel's best friends from high school and was also his roommate at BYU). Great reunion in Germany!