Monday, July 22, 2013

7-22-13: Westward. Northish.

I am curious to know how her zone leader learned about how rabbits count.

Well.
I'm leaving Leipzig.
Moving to Altona (the west area of Hamburg).
Opening a new sisters program there.
And training a new missionary again. 
Here we go round 2. 
Even though I was kind of expecting to get transferred, I'm still sad to leave Leipzig. I love this place. And now I am just going into the great unknown, where no sister has served before. Step one of opening a new area and training: locate your apartment (we already have the address—we just need to locate it). Carrying all of your belongings. As your new missionary struggles to carry all of hers. I'll let you know how it goes. I was a little overwhelmed by all of that responsibility at first and there is so much to do before leaving, but...just bring it on! I'm going to Berlin on Thursday to pick up my new missionary and then we'll head on over to Altona. Westward. Away from DDR style housing and culture. Weird. 
My zone leader Elder Barr shared a fun fact about rabbits this week: they can only count to four and everything more than that is converted into a thousand in their minds. Therefore, to test your think-unlike-a-rabbit skills, this email is going to be a bunch of stats/numbers. Because I still know how to count past four.
1 traumatic transfer phone call on Friday (while I was on a tausch (exchange) in Chemnitz)
9 laps around the apartment screaming after previously mentioned phone call
12 pfannkuchen eaten during the last week (this is a crepe-like German pancake)
1 Tausch to Chemnitz and viewing of Karl Marx's head (not his actual head, but sculpture style)
47 flights of stairs climbed to help someone move from the top floor of one building to the top floor of another. 
0 lessons with our African friends :(
1 production viewed of Die Schöne und das Biest in the Leipzig opera house, with the permission of our mission president
2 suitcases that still need to be packed, trying to fit in all that I own
3 trainers coming in or out of Leipzig (Sister D is training here and Sister Wallin from Colo Springs is also coming to be a trainer and open a second sisters program here)
4 elders and an Ehepaar (the married couple serving in Leipzig) that I will dearly miss. Don't even get me started with how much I will miss my comp.
987 predicted tears shed as Sister D and I part ways.
Quote of the Week
Duol (our Muslim friend from Iraq): "Wait, we don't get holiday tomorrow?"
Us: "No, we don't really get holidays..."
Duol: "You stupid, stupid girls. Now I know you are crazy."
Meh. There are enough holidays to celebrate throughout the rest of my life.
Das Wunder der Woche PSYCHE! I mean Das Wunder die WocheN
I've loved my past five months in Leipzig and have seen so many miracles here and have learned so much. I've been thinking of the hymn ''I'll go where you want me to go, dear Lord'' this week because I know He sends me where I need to go. I learned a lot here. The phrase "following the Spirit" didn't mean as much before coming here. I learned about planning to meet and meeting peoples' needs. About the Atonement. About how to get to work and how to have fun. About obedience. About public transportation and taking the right trains. 

It's been great. And to top it all off, we called a Hungarian lady last night because she wanted to learn English. Except as we talked, she decided she wanted to learn about the Gospel. She was so sad that I was going to Hamburg this week and asked some questions about faith and hope and prayer and we talked for a while. At the end of our conversation, she said, "Wow, I feel so good right now. I had a really hard week and I am so thankful to know that you remembered me and were thinking of me. Thank you for sharing your hope with me and giving me the strength to carry on." I love this lady and I've only met her twice. She said that we answered her prayer of need with both of the encounters we've had with her. I'm so thankful God answers prayers.
Wish me luck on my travels and training and trying to figure out what the heck I'm doing in a big city with new kinds of public transportation. It will be okay J.
-- 
Sister Claire Michelle Woodward





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