The week when...
--You walk into the nearest s-bahn station and
notice Christmas decorations gracing the normally seemingly ghetto ledges and
start screaming for joy and you almost forgo sending emails just so that you
and your companion can gather around plastic Christmas trees and sing songs.
But you choose emails in the end.
--It gets dark really early. Light hours are a
precious and rare commodity now.
--You realize you forgot the English words to all
the hymns you've been singing in German for the last many months.
--You have not one, but TWO Germans in your
apartment for a day because you went on tausch (exchanges)
with the other new German sister missionary. Meet
Sister DeMolder. What do you get when a Frenchman marries an American? A
German! ...somehow...
--You get to have a marvelous interview with
President Kosak, who again astounds you with his personal, Christ-like love and
confidence in your potential.
--You consider shaving your head because the
people you teach keep getting distracted by your hair and its curliness rather
than focusing on what you're saying. Seriously, too many ladies keep touching
my hair and exclaiming what a wonder it is while we are trying to teach.
No more wearing my hair down.
--You get enough marriage advice to last the next
five years. As it turns out, we meet with a lot of single ladies who got
botched by their husbands after already having rough childhoods (Frau Kleine,
Frau Möbius, Schw. Kremer). They have great fear for me and Sister Kriser and
continually remind us not to marry dirtbags. Just in case we forget. And Frau
Möbius's final thoughts on men now? "They can all go jump in the
ocean!" Her ex-husband was an extra dirty dirtbag though. We met with her
a lot this week, still praying that she would get an answer to get baptized
even if she hasn't for the past five yerars. She knows baptism is really
important, but somehow doesn't sense the urgency in the Gospel and has seen a
lot of people get baptized and fall away over the years and it scares her.
We're still hoping for the end of the year. But yes. Don't marry dirtbags. Male
or female.
--You go to soccer with a less-active and are
painfully reminded of your ineptitude for the sport, leaving you feeling
vulnerable and not unlike a burden on society. But it's good to feel vulnerable
sometimes. Sister Kriser is really good at soccer and I still need to learn to
do things I'm not good at. See Ether 12:27.
--You have three investigators at church! Which
is a big step! Presence came to all three hours and was able to come to our
eating appointment with us afterwards. Woot woot! He's doing great and reading
a lot and coming to church is a huge step so we have great hope for him. On a
side note for those of you wondering about Homar, he's in Hamburg for 3 months
for work. :(
--You give a thema (lesson) on "How to begin teaching" at a zone training
meeting and use a cookies-are-like-the-gospel metaphor that also includes the
eating of spoons of flour, salt, sugar, and of many cookies.
--And the newest excuse you heard for why someone
can't meet with you or come to church?
"If I had gone to church, I would have
missed the news!"
So that was the week. I pulled out my warm winter
coat this week and have worn my running tights twice under my skirts already.
I love Sister Kriser and I love my hour of
personal study every day and the light of Christ and the much good to do.
--Sister Claire Michelle Woodward
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