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| Elder Foster & Company -Neubrandenburg/Prenzlau |
So we just had transfer calls last week and the news is....that
I am staying in Neubrandenburg/Prenzlau for a fourth transfer. Which makes it
the area that I have spent the most amount of time in. However according to the
comings and goings of this zone which is the Neubrandenburg zone is the fact
that nobody leaves after a short amount of time, unless it is a special case.
And usually that case is that you are dying which is our wonderful missionary
term that means a missionary is going home. Or something else of that crazy
natural, we will get to one of those points in just a moment for there is much
to explain about this particular week. But back to the main point. Mainly for
fun above all things mind you. So...anyone who is sent to Zion's Camp a.k.a.
the Neubrandenburg Zone must serve his time long and well in the Neubrandenburg
Zone. So any chances of getting out of this zone before 4 transfers is quite
slight. And of course the mission president doesn't want to put other
missionaries through the struggles that we have. So instead we are the select
few that sentenced to such tasks. Haha but in all reality it isn't that bad at
all. It is just the way that everyone else in the mission sees this area. And
this week we are getting a missionary that is not to happy about coming to this
area at all, and guess where she is coming from? Hannover, the place where I
started my mission. So essentially I am getting all my annoyance out with a lot
of exaggerated sarcasm about our area. But yeah I am staying and I figured I
would and I don't have a problem with it, it is not uncommon to stay in an area
for 4 transfers and as far as I know from President he has no plans on keeping
me here for 5 transfers.
Well let us begin with the other events of this week. The
first piece of news being that one of the missionaries in my district went home
early....I won't go into that in too much detail but let us just say a lot of
things made sense after I went on exchange with him not even a week earlier.
Actually this last Monday we were sitting at the train-station in Pasewalk so that
I could exchange with the other Elder. And so the four of us had to sit
together for an hour at the station until the next trains came to take us back
to our respective areas. And mind you as well that it already took about an
hour to get to Pasewalk in the first place. And I kid you not 5 minutes before
the train comes they get a call from the President, telling them that they both
need to be in the office in Berlin the very next day. Of course they couldn't
tell us exactly why. So we just kind of awkwardly got back onto the train and
went back without them. You can imagine my grief at this point because this is
the second week in a row that this has happened to me. Haha with two different
companionships. Anyways later that night I called them to make sure that they
got back alright and that is when this particular Elder told me that he would
be home on Wednesday. Which then meant that Elder Mayer his companion has been
with us the entire week and tomorrow we will send him back to Eberswalde to
meet his new companion. But oh man that was a hassle driving all the way to
Eberswalde to pick up some stuff and drive back and then shove him into our
small apartment. But all in all the three of us had a great time together this
past week. It is good that he is going back though because it would've been a
terrible distraction to have the three of us stay together. There shall be
peace in the apartment once again. I won't have to worry about people throwing
cold water on me several times while I am taking a shower. Haha
This week once again, and I am not sure how you are gonna
feel about this one but I had the opportunity once again to visit a funeral of
member's father. It was truly another sobering experience filled with the
simple but hope filled message of the gospel. This time there where a lot of
people there who were not members who were able to hear and feel a bit of the
power of the message that we bring so that was nice. The funeral was a bit
different this time than the last one in that they cremated the body so there
was just an urn. But what was nice about it is that after the service we all
went to actually very beautiful graveyard forest. Where the urn was put in a
small but deep whole and each person threw in a handful of flower petals into
the hole as a last goodbye versus last time where we threw in handfuls of sand
onto the coffin as a last goodbye. I find the German culture surrounding
funerals very interesting to say the least. They seem to put a certain
importance in these things but when you talk to one of them on the street they
don't seem to have a very great respect for life.
The most exciting thing about the week was the invitation to
baptism that we gave to 3 of the people we have been meeting with. And they all
said yes, they will be baptized on the 22nd of November if receive an answer
from the Lord that is is what they should do. And as of right now I do not have
any real doubts about that because they have been to church the past 5 weeks
straight. So that is definitely exciting news and I am simply glad to be put in
the place to teach these wonderful people and see them as they dedicate
themselves more and more to Christ. Recently I have truly been blessed with
meeting people. It truly is wonderful just to get to know new people and share
even if just a little bit of the message that we have. Actually just today as
we were eating at a Chinese buffet to end our Asian week and also because we
were invited by a member to eat there because we had helped her a couple weeks
back to move out. And getting to the point afterwards when we were about to
leave I decided to go over to one of the workers or owner I am not sure which
haha. But I began to ask him simple questions about his restaurant and what not
and eventually the waitress that we had came into the conversation and I talked
a little bit with her and found out that she speak a little bit of English and
simply through our conversation I asked her if she wanted any help learning
English or German because she is actually from Vietnam and she said yes and she
quickly gave me her number. So it really is that simple to open up a way to
others where you can share the message of the gospel with someone. So it
recently it has just been simple ways like that where I have been able to find
new people and make new friends I guess. Unfortunately I haven't heard from or
seen Zaid in a terribly long time but na ja I digress.
Okay one last random thing and then I am going to bring this
letter to a close. So yesterday at church as I was in the chapel just talking
to random members and visitors. One of the members came up to me and looked
down at my shoes and looked up back at me and asked me. Do you need new shoes?
And as I quickly look down at my tattered shoes and look back up with a little
laugh. I said back to him, yeah I need new shoes. And then he asked me if I had
the money to buy new shoes. And then I said not really. He then begins to take
out his wallet and all I am thinking is whoa is he actually going to give me
money?! And then he walks a little bit further to the back of the chapel and
bids me to come back with him and then he pulls out a 50, and then a 10, and
then a 20. So he literally gave me 80 euro to go buy new shoes and simply out
of surprise and idiocy I accepted it. So today I bought new shoes haha. But I
will promptly pay him back for the money that he gave me. I am still not sure
whether to be thankful or if to just think that this is one of those crazy
German things. Where they just can not stand to see worn out shoes, I am also ashamed
to admit that President Kosak in the past shined my shoes on two different
occasions. haha And in case you were wondering the Asian week went great.
Sometimes eating lots of rice and exotic spices with chopsticks is exactly what
you need to change up your week and make some great things happen. My companion
and I even got the district in on it. Anyways it was fun.
Well that is all for this week. I wish I could explain more
about this crazy week but alas that will have to do. I hope you all have had a
great week and I wish you another great one. I love you and pray for you.
Tschüss,
Elder Foster