Monday, September 17, 2012

Mongolian Lady Miracle Sept. 17, 2012


September 17, 2012 Mongolian Lady Miracle

Servus zusammen!

Well first of all, this week we did a lot of work with calling the Elders in the mission office who ended up calling one of the old missionaries who is now back in America (he went home last transfer) to figure out everything with this whole registration issue and we got it just about all figured out. I will actually not have to go back to Rosenheim now, which on one hand is too bad because it would have been great to see it once more, along with Elder Young; but on the other hand it will save a lot of stress, time, and money and we can just concentrate on the mission work in St. Poelten instead of having to worry about all of this transfer deal. I am just about legal in Austria now.

This last week was momentous because we got the apartment completely clean which according to our ward mission leader  is the first time it has been so in a long time. I was able to completely unpack and now I am starting to feel settled in. 

As far as the work goes this week we spent a lot of time tracting and we were able to find a new investigator named Arun Johnson. He is originally from India and speaks English, but not a lot of German. We were able to have a very good first lesson with him and he was really open to the church and excited about the Book of Mormon. The only unfortunate thing is that because of his work he has to travel around a lot and we won't be able to meet with him again for a few weeks. But he was a really nice guy and we are excited for what may come for him. 

This last week I had an austausch with Elder Moon. It was probably the funnest austausch I've had so far and it was really good to catch up on what had happened since junior high. By the way mom, I never knew until now that it was you who told him and Cade Wilkes to steal Mrs. Jensen's stapler so you could put it in green Jello. I guess you can always find out something new about your parents. From last we heard though, Mrs. Jensen still thinks it was just Elder Moon and Cade who were behind it.

Two Sundays ago this Mongolian lady came to our church who we had ran up to us the week before asking for a card to where our church was. The problem was that she could hardly speak German at all and no English, and so it was very difficult to communicate with her. However, when she came, we went to the computer in the church office and pulled up the google translator to communicate. We found out that she was a member from Mongolia and was here working to save money. The only problem is she didn't have a lot of money and needed to find a free German class so she could go to school and get around the country. We were able to tell her about the Young Single Adult German Class in Wien (Vienna) and that it was free. She then also asked for a Book of Mormon because she had lost hers on her way here to Austria. Fortunately, of the 5 different languages of Book of Mormon we had in the office, one of them was Mongolian. She started to get really emotional and was super appreciative during it all. What was also a miracle is that Elder Root had been on an austausch with one of the Wien Elders and during the austausch they had a dinner appointment with possibly the only Mongolian speaking member in the Wien wards, Sister Huy is her name. So we told this Mongolian lady that we would have Sister Huy call her to arrange everything with getting around. We called Sister Huy that night and told her the situation. It turned out to be really good, because Sister Huy then called us back later and told us that apparently this Mongolian lady was here working as a nanny in the St. Poelten area in order for her to get money to go to school at one of the music universities in Wien. However, the family she was nannying for signed her to a contract, but took advantage of her. They started only paying her the equivalent of 450 dollars a month and she had to work from 8 am to 9 pm Monday through Saturday and worse they started to get abusive. The Mongolian lady had no way of contacting anyone and didn't know what to do about the language barrier. It just so happens that Sister Huys husband is a lawyer and so they were able to basically rescue her from the mess she was in. The Mongolian lady is now living with them in Wien and finding a new job while learning German from the church. It was a miracle that it all fell in place and that nothing worse happened to her. I guess that was the extent of this week, but it's been great to work with Elder Root here.

Thank you so much for the birthday package you have sent. I really appreciate it a lot. Question, has the package I sent arrived yet? As for mail here, we get letters in a post box and if we get a package we just receive a slip in our mail box saying that a package is waiting for us at the post office to pick up. 

Your question from last week: by the end of my time with Elder Field I had lost 41 pounds. After a transfer with Elder Young I regained 10 back, but it stayed the same through the next transfer.  So I have kept off the 31 pounds I've lost since the beginning of my mission which isn't bad.

Dad, thank you so much for the mission story you sent me. I've heard that one from you in the past, but it was good just to have it in its whole like you sent it to me. Keep those stories coming. Thank you for having served a mission and being such a good example for me. 

Mom, I already have an idea for what I would like for Christmas if you are willing to put the work in. If it's too much don't worry about it, but I figure I could at least give you a notice in advance so you can decide. What I would like is a calendar with pictures of our family in it. Specifically I would like each month dedicated to members and I kind of thought of an order for it:

January: Brittney and Brandon
February: Mom
March: Tyson
April: Amber and Rolf
May: Zach, Emily, Koen (I don't know when Rolf's birthday is.
June: Grandma and Grandpa Crow, Nydeggers, Ricks family
July: Friends
August: Dad
September: Bekah
October: Grandma Bodily, Roberts family
November: DeMilles
December: The family

If you need any help with the friend pictures I am sure Sister Pearce could help you out with that and getting photos from facebook. If you are willing to do that let me know cause I would absolutely love it. 

 I really love you all and I appreciate everything you are all doing for me. Thank you guys so much, love you lots.

Elder Bodily
Gott sei mit euch bis aufs wiedersehen

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