Such is the Life of a Missionary Sometimes

Hey Mom!

I am happy to hear that everything is ready for Mat and Libby´s wedding and that it is only in a few days! I did get your Christmas package this last week.  They made me pay 52 Euro to pick it up, which is like 80 or so dollars! But it was worth it since there are so many goodies in there. I sent a Christmas package home to you guys last week, and I hope it gets home before Christmas Day.

Well, this week was really a downer in terms of missionary work. We didn´t have any lessons with anyone besides members, and even those were few and far between. It was a slow week, and we also got a GPS and a new white board for the apartment, so we have spent some time getting all of that set up and figured out. We had our zone training on Friday and I was asked to prepare a 30 minute Thema for it about obedience, which went really well. In the beginning I had an object lesson and had Elder Fowler get blindfolded while Elder Hathaway (who was holding a sign that said the First Presidency and the Apostles) guided him, telling him to reach out and grab what was in front of him (a bottle of Fanta) and pour it into a cup and then drink it. It was really funny and everyone was laughing, and it also showed them how without the guidelines and commandments given by the prophets and apostles, they wouldn´t receive the blessings that come from obeying their counsel (in other words, taking the drink of Fanta). I also got to talk a lot with Elder Hutchings there, and he and Elder Hathaway are coming from Duisburg to Solingen today for Pday, which will be a lot of fun.

I also went on a split with the Elders in Wuppertal this week, and in Wuppertal they have what is called the Schwebebahn, which is basically their public transport system. Instead of streetcars on the ground, they are suspended in the air and go over the river in Wuppertal and it sways as you ride it. It is a really cool city. 

We met a 17 year old girl on the street about a week ago who said she would come to our Weinachtsfeier.  I wasn´t 100% sure what was going to happen there. It turned out to be the ward putting on a Christmas play, which was all fine and dandy, but not the kind of thing that a 17 year old German girl would be interested in. The youth in our ward all said hi to her and introduced themselves, but most of the time we were just kind of standing there with her and it was definitely awkward for her. The worst part was at the end the guy who was playing the role of Santa called me and Elder Fowler up to the front and made us say a few words and sing a Christmas song. Apparently it is a tradition, and they were supposed to warn us before hand, but no one ever did and it was super embarrassing. Oh well, such is the life of a missionary sometimes. 

We have a lot of people we want to meet with and we are going to try really hard to get back into contact with our what-we-thought-were-golden investigators. All of them pretty much fell off the face of the earth and won´t answer calls or texts, so there´s that. I think they still have a lot of potential, as soon as we find out what is going on with them. Well, that is it for the week! Have a good week, and enjoy the wedding! Love you!

Liebe, Daniel