7-15-13: Finally!

Claire's district got approval to go see the musical "Beauty and the Beast" at the Leipzig opera house on Saturday, so she's pretty excited for that. But if she gets transferred next week (which she thinks is very likely), she will miss their African investigator's baptism, which is sad. 

I just wanted to start out by saying that we took the right train to Delitzsch this week. No probs.

Thema

That's another one of those words where I have no idea what the direct translation into English is. You can use some context clues. And look at the cognate. 

We had a Zone Training meeting on Wednesday this week, which is where all the missionaries in our zone and gather and get...trained. I know. Expect the unexpected. Anyways, Sister D and I got to give a Thema during said training meeting about commitments. We talked about why commitments are important for conversion and for life changing experiences. And since everything is better with demonstrations, we used an object lesson. We brought two eggs with us and talked about how uncommitted people are just obtaining raw data from us and never take the opportunity to act to see if something is true. When problems and hard times come....(insert Sister D throwing an egg into a bowl)...they crack (visualize runny, broken egg bits in a bowl). BUT when we encourage commitments and people are trying their best to change their lives based on what they are learning...(insert Sister D throwing a hard-boiled egg with somewhat less force into a bowl)...they stay firm and whole. Because as we try to change our lives and apply what we are learning, we become firm, steadfast, and uncrackable. All the missionaries liked it. Because who doesn't like seeing people throw eggs?

How the members almost killed my companion

The same day as zone conference, we ate with our dear Schwester Pfeffer, who feeds us every couple of weeks usually. Except apparently she was trying to clean out excess oil, fat, and mayonaise in her house by smothering it all over our plates. Bless her heart. I stomached a plate, but Sister D took one for the team and ate two, plus the standard after-meal hot chocolate. She immdeiately feel into a state of cardiac arrest thereafter. Just kidding. But seriously, it was rough. We realized that maybe our nametags don't actually say "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints," but rather "I have never eaten a good meal in my life. Feed me as much as inhumanly possible." 

Weird Things

Missionaries see a lot of weird things. As in mucho. Some of the weird things I've seen have included Chihuahuas in purple, leather coats, countless numbers of people talking to themselves on the street, gothic gatherings, and people opening the doors without being fully dressed: #nearlypantlessappointments #whatdoyouevendo

Quote of the Week

"When I have a child, I can give him a Book of Mormon." --Francesco. Where all the best quotes come from. 

Motivational Moments

Sister D and I just have another week together probably. Because transfer calls come this week. (Insert increased breathing pace.) But we want to go out with a bang and both of us have been a wee bit tired the past few weeks. So we're adding something to our morning routine. I once heard a possibly fictional story about someone who woke up with his alarm every morning shouting "Finally!" because the day couldn't come soon enough. We decided to try this thing. So starting on Saturday when our alarm went off at 6:15am, I started the war cry of "FINALLY!" Except as it turns out, my voice isn't totally functional right when I wake up. So it kind of sounded like an old man’s death cry.
That didn't stop us from continuing our morning shouts every day since then.

So, world. Be excited for every day. Even if all you can muster are the sounds of a dying 98-year-old. Love you all. 

-- Sister Claire Michelle Woodward