Samstag, Januar 21, 2012

Well, today has been a good P-Day. We went and saw a little bit of Munich. We climbed up this tower in this church, where you can see a lot of Munich and the Bavarian Alps. It was snowing today so you couldn't really see that far, but it was way awesome and pretty still. It snowed a lot last night. It has been snowing a lot since I've been here, but it finally really stuck last night and today - because it had been too warm for it to stick before. So it was cool to see Munich covered in snow.

Munich is a gigantor city, as well. Today we also saw this little show just outside of the courthouse here in Munich that they only do every 7 years. It was cool. They started doing this dance just after the war to try and cheer people up and to simply leave their houses. Because a lot of people were just not happy after the war - because 1.) they lost; and then 2.) they didn't feel really proud to feel German anymore. The only thing to get people to leave their house, really, was to buy beer. So the people that sold the beer started to dance and play music as they sold the beer in the streets to try to get people to come outside and to cheer them up. It was pretty funny to watch, too. Germany is pretty metal.

This past week was good. We got up around 6am last Sunday to pick up one of our investigators and take him to church. He was suppose to be baptized back in December, but stopped coming to church because he got offended by the bishop. It was just a misunderstanding, but he still hasn't really gotten over it. He is from Africa, like all of the other people we teach.

It’s hard to really find new people to teach, as well, since we're only supposed to teach people in English - and everyone speaks German. The teaching is going ok, though. I hope that some of our current investigators will progress so they can be baptized or simply come to church.

(In response to a question from home:) The photo I sent you last week was taken with the Elder I am replacing. He isn't going home, though. He is just going back to being a ‘normal’ missionary. He will leave in, like, a week. I was holding €1800 (Euro), though.

My responsibilities, though, as a financial secretary are basically to pay all the bills and to give missionaries money when they need it. It's mainly taking care of bills though, and everything that has to deal with money. It’s pretty crazy. The office has really slowed me down a lot, too - because you’re not always doing something here. I usually get done around 3pm with the stuff I'm supposed to do. So I get to read and study a lot, which is nice. But it’s definitely not like being in the (mission) field.

(In response to a question from home:) Elder Szvoboda doesn't work in the office, though. He is an AP. We live in the same apartment, though. But the other AP, besides him, is German - and so that helps with keeping up with my German. My German has still gone down hill, because I'm not exactly surrounded by it anymore. 

(In response to a question from home:) Yes, my mission president’s wife is the daughter of Elder Nelson, and their last name is Miles.

Love ya, and chow!

[ Elder Caraway ]

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Munich covered in snow.

The hall of stairs we had to climb.

The German dudes dancing.

The one dude with the pole would run out and smear black stuff on your face.

He got one of my companions.