Monday, April 16, 2012

Die Hügel im Fühling sind lebendig, mit dem Klang der Musik

Or as we hear it more often: The Hills are alive in spring with the sound of music

With that in mind, guess where I am right now.

Elder Field and I decided to go to Salzburg this P-day. We actually ran into Sister Holmstead from my MTC district and her companion as we came off the train and we will meet up with the Salzburg Elders later when we tour some of the city. Unfortunately, our time got cut short here because the trains were having a lot of construction issues (I thought those were only in Utah) so we had to switch between them and buses and we have to leave on an earlier train now. However, we will still be able to go see some of the inner city and where Mozart was born and raised. And we'll probably just end up coming back again anyways for a p-day so it's not too bad. And by the way, last week we went hiking in some of the Austrian Alps in a place called Kufstein/Kiefersfelden so between the two I think this week would be a good time to send home some pictures mom. I'll send the card later. Oh and by the way I've noticed that whenever you attach pictures to emails (like Tysons baptism) I can't view them. You might have to send them in a letter, but only in the next letter or package you want to send so that you don't have to spend so much money.

Probably what I should have started with is Happy Birthday Amber! You are definitely one of the two best sisters in the world and I hope you have a fantastic day. Ever since the time I thought your birthday was March 16 instead of April 16 I have never forgotten it. Hope all goes well today. 

Now the important stuff. This week was actually a little slow because we had about 9 appointments fall out which means a lot of dooring since no one was on the streets to contact due to the rain. If there is one thing that Elder Field hates, it's dooring. The good side to this is (as he says) he needs a lot of pick-me-ups to keep him motivated which is usually a lot of chocolate. I don't mind dooring that much when it means we can grab a Milka bar to eat for it. It was also sad because we found out that Elder Fackrell, one of the Elders who came with me in my group from the MTC, went home this week. That was a little depressing. Although it might have been a little slow and sad at times, it was nonetheless, actually a really great week. First of all, we got to ride around on our bikes in the rain which I think is very refreshing. Second, Familie Bobi and Familie Dos Santos are back from vacation so we can get back to teaching them this week. Third, I got to test a lot of chocolate. Fourth, we finally found a working scale and I found out I've lost 10 pounds since I got to Germany (235 when I entered the MTC, 219 at the end of the MTC, now 209). Fifth, we have interviews with President Miles this week and he always makes me happy when I can hear from him. Sixth, its about a fifty-fifty chance that Mohammed and Ali can stay in Germany which is a much better chance than it was before. Seventh, Elders Davies, Gubler, Chapman, and Niedens and Sis Holmstead who all came in my group are all still doing really well and enjoying the work. Eighth, Elder Field is a really good cook and makes awesome food everyday. Ninth, and most important, we have three new investigators that we can possibly see making a lot of progress. 

 Our first appointment with one of these investigators was really cool. His name is Stephan. He was an old investigator from previous Elders but they had never met with him more than twice because he was always so busy. We were making a few calls this week and decided to try inviting him to church. He ageed to come rather enthusiastically. He came to church and really enjoyed it. After the meeting we were to have a dinner appointment with Sister Buchholtz. Without us asking or mentioning anything she went ahead and invited Stephan to come along to dinner. He agreed. At the dinner we had Elder Field and I, Sis. Buchholtz who has been a member for 12 years, Thomas Lübke who was invited originally because we needed a third man to go to a single sisters house and Thomas has been a member for 1 year tomorrow, and then Stephan. We got around to teaching Stephan and what was so cool was Thomas and Sis Buchholtz contribution to the lesson. They really ended up teaching about half the lesson and their testimonies were so powerful that Stephan knew without doubt that he needed to read the Book of Mormon and receive the answer from God. With the German culture the people tend to be a little more reserved and not really open up, but Thomas and Sis Buchholtz didn't stick to that and it just made for such a wonderful lesson. As Elder Field put it, it was the best example of member missionary work that he had ever seen.

Well that's about all the time I have today but I hope all is going well. Thank you all so much for your support, and mom and dad thanks again as always for keeping me updated on whats going on and how every one is doing. I love you all and I know that our Savior has an infinite love for us that can bring us such great joy in our lives. Because of him I get excited to work everyday in order serve him and our Heavenly Father. 

Elder Bodily
Gott sei mit euch bis auf wiedersehen

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