July 20, 2009

So, right now as I am typing in this little internet cafe I am sneaking a little bit of german bäkerei. I know you'll be proud. And I introduced my trainer to magnum ice cream. We have one in the freezer right now. Does that make you a little jealous? I just tell everyone that you and Dad MADE me eat them last summer so I can't eat to many!

There are so many stories to tell! Where to start?
First, I learned something about myself this week from my ZL. I was asking about wanting to be doing more, and he said, "People always make excuses not to talk to people-'they are on the other side of the street,' 'they look busy,' 'they look mean,' 'my german isn't good enough." He then said something that changed my whole week. He said, "Make excuses to talk to people." So, I stopped worrying so much about slaughtering the language because no matter what, whether I worry or not, I will slaughter the language, but people still understand me! So, because of that, later on that day we went by the Elder's apt. to pick up tea for my trainer because she was sick. So, as we waited for them to get the tea I saw an old lady hanging out by her window (typical german thing to do), so I gave her a "Woher? Wohin?" pamphlet which means basically "where did I come from? Where am I going after I die?" And has a picture of a baby and an old babs on it. So, S. Shallenber say's, "Yes! Old people! Perfect!" Of course I didn't understand any of her replies and it didn't help that she had like one tooth so she had a lisp with a crazy german accent, but I got my first contact!
We also had a strassenausstelle-meaning a street display and I had to talk to people for 2 hours by myself. Talk about a big german headache later on! But, I am impressed that I didn't need my trainer, well at least I don't think!
Oh, and you know how I ride a bike? Well, it has kind of been failing me this past week. I mean it has no front brakes and the gears don't change so 3rd gear is really fun up a hill, but lately the chain has been falling off as I go down the road. So, I just start yelling to Sister Shallenberger that I can't stop and one of the times, she grabs my arm to slow me down, I lose balance because I am stopping, but the bike still has tons of momentum and I go crashing while it is of course pouring down rain so I was soaking wet, then covered in dirt, and I have tons of bruises and scratches.
Another little bike story--this one's a good one--is we were leaving an apartment which was pretty far away and it was European rainy--slightly misty, but it kind of feels like you're swimming. So, we try to unlock the bike lock and the key is not working. We struggled for 10 minutes or more, then called some people and no one could help or pick us up. So, we said a prayer and hoped for the best, but if we had to walk, could we have good attitudes on the way. Right after the prayer my trainer reaches down, fiddles with the key, and bam, it was open. What a beautiful tiny miracle. I just figured it was Heavenly Father's way of saying, "Stop complaining about your bike! At least you have one!"
So, one of the people we visited was a girl named Maria. Now, the first time we went to drop by she wasn't there because she periodically runs away. I found out why, and it just broke my heart. She has to take care of her 5 brothers and sisters and her mother and she is only 14. Her mom won't even look her in the eyes. But, she found out about the church through a friend and wants to get baptized but her mom won't let her and doesn't like missionaries. So, we went into her bedroom which was completely spotless and every wall was covered with posters of Twilight and there were tons of books stacked up. We asked if she had a Book of Mormon and she pulled it out of this drawer and said she didn't want anyone taking it or ruining it and proceeded to tell us she is at the end of Alma. At 14 years old! I am impressed. So, we taught her about prayer and fasting and asked her to do that for her mother and I guess we'll see.
Thanks for all of the advice about our investigators. As far as Sandy is concerned she hasn't come to church yet. Apparently she had no medicine while she was in Berlin for her cancer and now she has this crazy cold, is bedridden, and the friend she is staying with doesn't like mormons so we can't stop by. But, she says she is reading her Book of Mormon. I want to trust her, but I don't believe it and I don't really believe that she will meet with us.
And, we made progress with Frau Brauer-the one that is a member and we were wondering if she forgot? Well, this week she admitted that she was a member but stopped going because this one lady was making fun of the fact that she can't read because sometimes as she is reading she gets dizzy and she knows that the lady that was making fun of her because her ex-husband was bribing her to do it. And the reason she knows this is because the lady wore a skirt with a pattern that her ex-husband had on some fabric. Paranoia? Remember she is the one that knows her neighbors hate her because she can feel it through the walls...
Oh, and yes, the schitzo does go to all of the activities, we just have to warn our investigators before hand. He just starts laughing in the middle of everything, or his eyes go all crazy, some people think he wants attention, but I literally think he is crazy. And that it isn't his fault.
We also found an inactive named Manfred who apparently is inactive because he had a boat that he needed a place to store and he was keeping it on the Branch presidents lot, but I guess that had miscommunication about the time so the man had to sell his beloved boat and hasn't come back since. So, S. Shallenberger told him that that wouldn't go to heaven with him anyway, but the way you deal with trials and he said he would come back to church, but he doesn't know when. I think he is a little embarassed.
Well, it sounds like you are on the downhill slope of your vacation. I am so happy you had so much fun. I knew you would. And Grandma W. is awesome, her and her little texting habits remind me of the missionaries here. If you have time, you could send me a few pics via e-mail. Oh, and I was going to send you a postcard last week, but I lost my pictures. Sorry.
Oh, and I got my hair cut like a European, I'll have to send pictures. I don't know if I like it, I haven't gotten to do it yet...

P.S. one more random thing i forgot to tell you. the people we ate lunch with call me tina. think about it. yes. tina turner. they don't refer to me as sister turner ever. wow. we have such a cool last name.