November 25, 2013

Servus!

Well we got transfer calls this week and I am going to be staying another transfer with Elder Fletcher. This will make Wien my longest area with 5 transfers. This is my last transfer - hard enough to believe. It's crazy that it has already gotten to this point. However, they are also going to bring in two more Elders into our ward. Elder Mohn and Elder Talbert are the two elders who will be working with us. They are moving into our apartment and they are making Elder Abbott and Elder Reading move into another apartment in Wien. I am going to miss the two for sure, especially Elder Abbott who has become one of my best friends out here. We will still be able to see each other at zone trainings and what not. In other news Elder Moon is going to Stuttgart as Zone Leader and I am really happy for him.

We had zone conference this last week and what they do at the end is they have all of the missionaries who this is their first and their last zone conference bare their testimonies. Elder Eaker from my district and I were the only two who would be gone before the next zone conference and so we were able to bare our testimonies. It was a very touching experience and very spiritually uplifting. It kind of puts a stamp on saying that I will be heading home soon; so make the most of what is left.

The work is going very well. Cxxx is making a lot of progress. She loves church and prays every day. I feel like she will get baptized before I go home (in any case I am glad to be able to work with her before I go home). In our Sunday School class the topic was about missionary work and we discussed the reasons why we do it and she raised her hand and made the comment that it helps people like her find peace in their lives when there is a lot of confusion and things in the world to stress about. She is too busy to meet this week, but I really feel she is so ready. She has a testimony more than she knows and when she recognizes this it will mean the world to her. I think she will then be baptized and confirmed. Fxxx, her cousin who is a member, has been really good about talking about the gospel with her casually throughout the week and answering a lot of questions.

We found a new investigator who we believe has a lot of potential to make a lot of progress. She is from Columbia and has only been here for a short time, but she wanted to meet and we got talking and realized that there was a language barrier, and especially with gospel terms and trying to explain them. However, the good news is we have a number of Spanish speaking families and so that won't be a problem and we were able to get a hold of Fxxxx during our meeting and he was able to talk to her on the phone a lot about the restoration. We have another appointment this week and I have a really good feeling about it all.

On Monday we had Family Home evening with the Nussbaumer family. They are a younger couple who remind me a lot of Brittney and Brandon with their behaviors and mannerisms and so they are way cool. They have already invited us to Christmas Eve with them (which is the bigger holiday here), so I will probably be skyping at their house for Christmas. The details on that will come later, but the crazy thing is that after I call home on Christmas I will see you all two weeks later.

I hope all is well and that you all have a wonderful week. Enjoy your thanksgiving!

Elder Bodily

Gott sei mit euch bis aufs Wiedersehen