Montag, Juni 27, 2011

I'm doing good. I finally got a haircut today, for the first time, in the field - so that was nice. We just never had time before to get haircuts because our P-Days are full of appointments and stuff. Last week, I didn't even get to do laundry (lol), then we didn't get to go shopping for food - so food was a little slim this week, but everyone we visit feeds us something. They don't, like, feed us meals but they always bring us cake or cookies or something - so that’s sweet. And everyone here drinks orange juice. So I've been drinking a lot of orange juice since I've been here.

I still want to get a Martin Luther translation of the Bible. Because we actually don't use the Martin Luther translation of the bible. I don't know if I told you that or not, and some members of the church will get mad or upset if they see you using one (lol). It’s weird. Because our Stake President uses one, and when people saw that he was using one they were like, ‘what...?’ (lol). It’s a little strange. We use the Einheitübersetzung (Bible). It’s, like, the one everyone uses and some people won't believe what you say unless you quote it from the Einheitübersetzung. So, ya, it’s weird.

(In response to a question from home:) No, I never bought a bike because there were already bikes here for us to use in my area. So, I haven't had to buy a bike or anything yet.

I miss talking about the scriptures with dad, because he knows so much from them. I think I'm growing that same desire about the scriptures that dad has for them. I love reading scriptures and ‘personal study’ is my favorite time of the day, because it’s just me and my scriptures. And everything we teach is doctrine we have from the scriptures. It’s pretty awesome.

But, ya, anyways, this week you'll see more photos of the countryside and a vineyard! A man we teach, named Herr Lucas, took us to this vineyard where you can see a castle. It was in a village called Durbach. It was so pretty.

We had 5 investigators at church yesterday, and one of them was Matthew and his two friends, Bolaji and Stephane. Then Frau Schulze and Reimund. We had more investigators in Priesthood than active Priesthood holders in the branch (lol). It was pretty awesome. Matthew and them are awesome, though. We actually played soccer with those 3, last P-Day. They have all been reading out of the Book of Mormon and always have questions when we meet, so it’s awesome. Frau Schulze set her baptismal date on the 15th of December, and she believed that Elder Szvoboda and I will still be here for her baptism. December 15th is the birthday of her son who died a year ago. She got so excited the last time we met with her though, when we told her about how she could go to the Temple and stuff, after she is baptized. She loves coming to church, too. But, yes, I do know the term ‘eternal investigator’. Because we have some (lol). Then, Reimund is still doing good. That ‘healthy water’ place I sent you pictures of - we biked there with Reimund. He is so hilarious, though, and awesome. He calls Elder Szvoboda Kempf Meister which means ‘Fight Master’, because Elder Szvoboda put 2 holes in the tire of our bike last week (lol).

But, yes - the missionary work is going awesome here in Offenburg. I love it here. There may be just a few members, but they’re so awesome. The people here in Germany are one-of-a-kind - and it’s so awesome. I can see why the Lord sent me now. German is coming along good. Tomorrow the Zone Leaders are coming here and doing exchanges with us and the Freiburg Elders. One of them with us, and the other with them. I'm excited. Oh ya, this past week on Tuesday and Wednesday we did exchanges in our District, so I was in Freiburg on Tuesday and Wednesday. Freiburg is a really pretty city. It's very big, too. I liked it a lot there. They have a very nice church building, and decent sized ward, for Germany, there. The Stake President said he had a vision that Frieburg will be its own stake one day. That's big.

We are super busy, again, for the upcoming week. And we will hopefully have a baptism this Saturday, with a lady named Schwester (Sister) Kunz. I may have talked about her but I’m not sure. She is an excommunicated member who wants to be baptized again, and it’s supposed to be this Saturday. But there's just things going on with the Stake President and Branch President, and they want to make sure they’re doing the process right. But she is a really awesome lady, and does a lot for us. She does a lot of missionary work. And has given us a couple of referrals and stuff. But ya, I'll talk to you later, Mom! love you. Peace.

[ Elder Caraway ]

______

So these pictures are of, like, a natural healing place, kinda. Like, you see all this water and stuff, and the water is pumped from 60 yards underground and has all these minerals in it. You put your hands or legs in it and it helps with your blood circulation and stuff.  

[ Elder Caraway ]

Here, they run the water down pine tree branches and it makes this weird smell in the air and stuff, but it’s good for you to inhale and stuff. It was interesting.  

[ Elder Caraway ]

The Castle and Vineyard in Durbach

The Flag of Baden

Milche-Schnitte! This thing is so good! I love them!