Hallo ge!
So it seems that I have the mystical power to be able to predict whenever I will leave an area because at the beginning of this transfer which also happens to be a short 5-week transfer, I had the impression that I was going to be leaving. And low and behold by tomorrow I will be in my new area. A few other interesting facts that I might add is that there are only three districts in all of Germany, and in case you do not know what that means, it is simply the organization of the Church in certain areas. When there are not enough priesthood holders and members in a certain area in a country or in a state then it is mostly like a district, which basically means that it is still a bunch of small branches and not big enough to form the leadership and the programs that make up a stake. And back to the main point, so out of the only 3 districts in all of German, I will now have served within all of them. The Erfurt district was added to the Leipzig stake, if I have heard correctly the Oldenburg district is in the process of becoming a stake, and now finally I am in the Neubrandenburg district. I guess my duty is on the front-lines. Haha also in other news but my new area. Not to be discouraging or anything but this area that I am now entering is the most infamous area in our entire mission. Haha I remember when I used to joke around with people about getting sent to Prenzlau. And hey what do you know, here I am. I am not scared or disappointed or discouraged or anything of that sort. It is kind of exciting in a certain way, I will really have to give my all and rely on the Lord. It is unfortunate that I have to leave Erfurt so soon. I am going to miss a lot of different things about it.

It is kind of funny though because I just served in an area where I was responsible for two different areas and had to share a car with another companionship. And now I am going to an area with the exact same circumstances. Oh and I am also going to be the district leader there as well. And this time there will be a sister companionship in my district as well. When I think about it, it really was an interesting experience to be a district leader for abunch of missionaries that have been out on the mission longer than I have.

More news this next week is the last week that I will have President Kosak as a mission president. So there is a lot of change going on right now in the mission, not too mention that the giant wave of new missionaries is going to come in seeing as it is the summer now. AND this last week I hit my year mark when I first entered the MTC. Whoa!

It is fastest and the slowest year of my entire life. I am glad there is still a year left; I don't know how I am going to feel when I only have 6 months left. There is still time to get even better though, to increase in every sort of way and to help others all along the way. I am simply teeming with an odd energy and desire to make difference in my life and the life of other...sometimes a really odd feeling to say the least.

Once again I must say how awesome it is to meet so many cool missionaries and people on the mission. And fortunately a lot of them I will actually see at BYU when I get back. And probably even Amin,my Persian aka Iranian friend will be there. Haha last week he even called BYU, U of U, and Utah State. So, although he may not get baptized here in Germany, Elder Karpowitz and I will finish the job when he gets to BYU. Haha so cool and hilarious. Being out on a mission really does just make you a more social person I guess and you kind of have to seeing as you have to talk to people every single day.

Although on a random note in the last couple weeks I have been invited by girls to go to parties on at least 3 separate occasions. All I am thinking is: Who the heck invites a guy clearly dressed up as a missionary that you just met on the Bahn about ten minutes ago to go to a party? Anyway, I will be keeping in contact with a lot of people that I have met on my mission and I am very grateful for the opportunity that I have had to be here.

But that is about all I have time for today I hope you all had a nice week and that the coming week will be just as good. I love you, I miss you, and I pray for you.

Tschüss,
Elder Foster

 

Ein Interview mit dem Distrikt-Leiter und ein Ringkampf mit dem Präsident

Hallo liebe Schätze, 

Well it has been another week in the central heart of Germany. With the smell of Thüringen-Bratwurst in the air and the constant view of Germanland from the Autobahn. Well, this week could have been better but no fear it was not a waste by any means. So first things first, at the beginning of last week I got immediately on a train to Berlin with the Zone-Leaders to attend my very first Mission-Leadership-Training Conference. So I got to hang out with Elder Burri, my fine Swiss friend and also Elder Peterson who hails from the exotic land of Provo, Utah. We then spent the night with the elders in Tiergarten (the very heart of Berlin). So that was a good time.  On Tuesday, the meetings began, I can't really say anything really exciting about the conference for all the leaders on the east side of the mission other than it felt like some weird kind of club for a second and I got to hear stuff before other missionaries did. Or when we were sitting down to eat lunch I sat about a chair away from President Kosak where I then proceeded to look him in the eyes and said to him.....'The last supper.' Haha maybe a little bit harsh but it made him laugh. I, then later almost completely wrestled with him after the conference, haha not sure how that happened. After the conference the Zone-Leaders and I made our way back to Erfurt and unfortunately had to spend a little bit too much time in Berlin Hauptbahnhof for a couple hours before our train came. I am telling you, I know Berlin-Hauptbahnhof all too well now. On the way back to Erfurt I had an interesting experience though, compared to on the way there were I mostly just slept, or compared to the last time I came back from Berlin with Elder Burri were we had the great pleasure of listening to some drunkards singing inappropriate songs almost the complete ride back, this time about a half hour before we would arrive in Hauptbahnhof, we invited an American that was actually sitting behind us to come sit with us. I can't remember where he was from but he has lived in Germany for about the last 7 years and actually got his masters degree here. So that was cool but here is where the interesting experience comes in. So the plan was that after we arrived in Erfurt I would get picked up by the other elders and then the zone leaders would get on another train and head to Jena where they serve. But what ending up happening is that if they went all the way to Erfurt they would have missed their train because of delays. So instead they got off at Weimar and left me on the train to make the rest of the trip to Erfurt. So, of course, naturally after the other Elders were gone this guy that we were sitting with unloaded all his questions on me about the Church that he had built up inside of him over the past 3 years that he has been in Germany. Haha, no companion to back me up but it was a great conversation nonetheless and I think I handled it well. But eventually after even more delays so basically after talking with him for about a half hour and finally arriving in Erfurt, I get out of the train with this guy and guess what? There were no Elders there to pick me up and I didn't have a cell phone. Haha good thing the guy from the train allowed me to use his phone to call them. But even then it felt so weird to wait out on this corner at like 10 at night with no companion. That was pretty trippy and I thought, oh man, this would be the perfect time for Satan to lead some crazy people to me haha because missionaries always experience weird stuff in situations like that. But after sitting on the corner for about 15 minutes the Elders finally picked me up in the car.  

That was probably the biggest event during the week other than things like one of the families we are teaching tried to Tschüss us as we call it, or in other words try and break contact off with us. But lucky while I was on exchange with Elder Karpowitz we went by and saved the day and managed to get them back on the right track and apparently after it was all over it just ended up being some kind of weird misunderstanding, which still confuses me to this very moment. Have I also mentioned that my district has gotten quite a bit bigger? I know have 10 in all, with 4 of them being senior couples. It is very interesting to now be planning all the district meetings. But something else that has truly been a rewarding and a big learning experience is that as a district leader i am the one who is in charge of giving baptismal interviews in our district other than of course my own investigators. I say that because just today I had a baptismal interview with an approximately 60 year old man today who will be baptized this coming Saturday. First it is very impressive to see someone who is already a little bit aged making such a change in his life but also because none of his friends or his own kids understand why he is doing such a thing and are still under the impression that we are a cult. The wife wants to be baptized too but unfortunately is waiting until things cool down with their kids and they can actually see that we are not a cult in any sort of way. It is really awesome to see such faithfulness and willingness to follow Jesus Christ despite such opposition from his very own kids. But the second thing I wanted to talk about was.....really? I am now holding baptismal interviews for people? If you would have asked me that at the beginning of my mission or a year before my mission or really at all in my life. I would have told you that I couldn't see myself doing stuff like that or that I would have the capability of doing something like that. But yet here I am. It reminds me of what the visiting Area Seventies said to us last week during zone-conference. He explained a little about his life and that at one point he and his wife were going to go on a mission together but right before they were going to put their mission papers in. He was called to be a stake-president and that at first he didn't even want to be a stake president and he was kind of confused that why not a mission instead? Why did the Lord feel that he needed to be a stake president rather than going out on a mission with his wife. Later on he was eventually called as one of the Area-Seventies to be in Eastern Europe, one of the places he presides over is Romania. But it was very interesting to hear him talk about how he never would've thought that he would be called as a stake president and that even as a stake president he never thought he would have been called as a Seventy. And there was two things that I learned from this story one of them being that I am seeing the same thing in my own life. I am being called to positions and doing things that I never thought I would be doing. The Lord truly prepares you without your awareness, there is always the hope that when you follow the Lord he will make the best out of you, and it will be beyond your expectations once you truly realize it. And the second thing I learned from this story was that bishops, stake presidents, mission presidents, and seventies are called to do the work that they do. But a missionary, he or she chooses to take on the calling. When I really thought of it like that, it put more meaning into the decision that I have made and that I need to show even more through my actions that this was something that I chose, that I wanted to do. It just gave me a little more meaning I guess.  

Well that is about all I have time to write about today. Hopefully I can get you guys some pictures of my district and of some of the missionaries so you can all see who I am talking about. Well I miss ya all, I have forgotten what America is like, all of the Elders in my apartment are sleeping in the same room, and I love ya!

Tschüss,

Elder Foster

zum Angriff blasen

Hallo Hallo, 

Welcome welcome to the Erfurt saga of the Elder Foster mission adventures. Well this week was kind of a let down. I mean I love zone conferences and the other meetings that we have as missionaries but I am still not a fan of how much time they take and the amount of traveling that needs to be done in order to do them. What could have been a pretty effective week ends up turning into a half-effective week. But I must say that Zone Conference in Berlin was very good. And now I can say that I have driven in Berlin the most populated city in Germany as well as driven on the Autobahn.  

Living in a 4-man apartment has its ups and downs. Probably the most visible negative is the fact that if you are with people that are messy and unorganized then basically you have no hope of having a clean apartment for more than a day. Which is the current situation that I am living in. You can always tell were I sleep or study, let's go with that. But on the upside there is never a dull moment and whenever you have had enough of your companion, not exactly because you don't like them but rather because we are with are companions about as much as a mom is with her new-born baby. So it is nice to get a little variation in there and you get to know your companion far too well. Every little single habit and mannerism that they have. Haha it is great in that you begin to develop a strong tolerance for the little things. Or the complete opposite if you are learning or developing in the wrong ways.  

Sometimes I just come to a complete blank when I right these letters. As of right now I would say that time is going by really fast but not in a good way. Like in a whoa there is no time to do anything and or get the things done that I want to accomplish kind of way. Oh and that reminds me, I have to be in Berlin again tomorrow for mission leadership training. Which is awesome and sad at the same time. Because it is my first one but also the last time that I will ever get to see President Kosak as my mission president. It really is unfortunate to see him go. Maybe I will get to see the new mission president while I am there.  

Basically this week was a disappointment but I can't say that good things didn't happen. We and when I say that, I mean the Elders in Erfurt, it is kind of a joint effort thing, we did commit 3 brothers from Syria and there friend to baptism. And probably their mom and dad too later if things go right. It really is kind of sad sometimes to see all the people's bad opinions about Muslims and people from Muslim countries. Because honestly for the most part of my mission it has been these people from the middle east that have been willing to talk to us, willing to let us in, and humble enough to accept or try the doctrine. And when you are invited into their homes, you are certainly treated as an honored guest. Haha it has almost inspired me to try and learn Arabic or Persian. But don't worry I am still focused on the Germans, far more so than other missionaries. Because of course Germans are the ones who are going to stay in the ward and support the ward in the best way. That is every missionary's dream, to baptize a German family. I still have a year!  

Well that is about all I can think of for this week unfortunately, hopefully next week I will be a little bit more inspired and have some better insights or that I will remember more things that happened during the week. Well I hope you all have a great week and that you will be just as enthusiastic as I am to go out there and just get some work done! Love ya!

 Tschüss,

Elder Foster

 

Das war sehr geistreich von dir!

Hallo geehrte Damen und Herren! 

Well welcome back, I hope you had a nice week and now you can start off your week with another letter from the historian of legends! But unfortunately he couldn't make it so you will have to settle for a letter from me. haha 

Well this week certainly started out better than last week. Namely we actually had money for food. But also to that when we went finding at the end of our P-Day. We ended up finding about 5 new people in the space of an hour. Not to mention we ran into one of the brothers of the Syrians that the other Elders teach. And then he proceeded to invite us to his home and then met the whole family and actually was in their house before the other elders ever did and actually still have not. Haha, kind of funny if you ask me. But unfortunately the next day, which is when we set up all the appointments with the people that we found the day prior, fell out. Good thing I have already experienced that kind of thing in another area on my Mission or that would have really bummed me out. 

Something else that has also been really cool to notice this past week, was really the noticeable increase of my finding skills and by that I don't mean that I have now become a better sales person because believe me. You cannot sell the gospel if you even tried. Or at least the people ain't buying. Haha. Really in this past week, I have focused on the simply the confidence and sincerity of its delivery and also on the very invitation itself. A simple invitation can really be a powerful thing. It actually surprised me just the other day. Usually when you invite someone or talk to them and they say something like they will check it out or that they will come by. You usually never end up seeing them again. However, this Sunday, after inviting someone earlier in the week to come to church and talking a little about eternal families and a few other principles. He actually came! Despite not even getting his number. But he loved it at church, especially the gospel principles class. So even though we found a lot of people that just turned into fallen out appointments, we did end up finding him.And also by some other kind of miracle, I managed to get our Persian friend from Weimar to get to church. 

I don't have a lot of time to say much more but of course after sending home a big ol' package of books back home. I, of course, ended up just getting even more of them! I need to stop finding interesting German books that I cannot get back in America, particularly church books that have been translated into German. But what I wanted to say was that last week I actually managed to get my hands on an old combination of the Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. That is actually in prime condition and written in the Old German lettering. Haha I am pretty sure I am the only missionary in Germany that has something like that and I already know missionaries that would almost literally kill someone to get one. So you could say I got really lucky. 

Okay one more thing and then I have to end this letter.....German roads are messed up! I would never recommend driving in Germany. Okay, okay they have the Autobahn but even then German roads and traffic signs and just simply how they all run together is just absolutely terrible. And if you think people in America drive crazy you just need to get in the car of a German. They don't all drive bad but there sure are a lot of them. Even though honestly I can't say I was happy with the driving of my companion the other day which certainly does not convince me to let him drive him anymore than is absolutely necessary.

But don't worry we have a cap on how fast we can drive on the Autobahn so no worries.

Well I hope you all have a great week and this is Elder Foster signing out!

Love ya!

Tschüss,

Elder Foster