Word from Usingen 1-24-2011

Well the cold weather is back. No snow, just a drop in temperature. B is getting married?! What the crazy!! Wish her congrats for me. I won't meet the guy for a while :/

As far as my living quarters here go, they are still way nice. I've been spoiled the first part of my mission. Every Elder that comes over makes a comment about how nice our place is. We rent out the top floor of this one guy's place. He and his girlfriend redid the upstairs themselves and it looks way nice. The stairs and downstairs are still in the reconditioning phase but he does a little here and there and it gradually improves with each day. This guy's mother is actually a member which is way random but kind of cool. He likes to talk English with us as well as his GF. He actually reminds me a lot of Elder W with how he looks, talks and all of his mannerisms. way random but true.

Yes I did get the PB krispie treat recipe which I am grateful for!

Sorry the nuts were stale :/ They are way good fresh, but that was like a month and a half ago. Speaking of which! I've been in the field longer than the MTC! It's like a milestone or something, I would say. I gave a talk in Church yesterday which I was surprised that it went as well as it did. I really could tell a difference from when I entered the MTC and the field as well. Everything is coming along. I think the thing I like the most about this work is talking to all of the interesting people. I don't really realize it during, but after a lesson I just kind of realize how cool it is to be talking to all of these different people about the gospel and help them really understand the Gospel. We taught a lesson to this one guy in a catholic church (which we got kicked out of) and he stopped us for a moment so we could just sit and appreciate the sound of the church bells.

Then of course there are all of those crazy people who make life even more exciting than it should be. We came out of a dönner shop with the Wetterau Elders and this Russian lady stopped us to tell us that she prays everyday for our church to fall. Elder L told her directly, 'Das ist nicht so nett.' He tried to wish her a good day and shake her hand but she backed away scared (which was pretty funny). One thing I've learned is to just look at everything from the right perspective. More and more situations and observations just become amusing to me.

I will definitely try and get some family history worked out. Our members here are way solid.

I'm sure I'll remember something else to write about in a little bit but for now...

Tschüß!

Elder Evan

Word from Usingen 1-17-2011

Well I've got a full week of Usingen under my belt and even though it is different from the busy streets of Erfurt, I still like it just the same. Work feels a little slower here because there aren't as many people around to talk to but it goes. I don't know if I told you but Elder M is my other comp. He was in the MTC with me. Since Elder C is the District Leader we still get our fair share of golden splits when he heads off to work with other companionships. There is another companionship that we hang out with a lot in the Wetterau area. One of the Elders was also in the MTC with me and the other is going home at the end of the Cycle. We get our fair share of lunches in together and games of Siedlers and Risiko. The elder going home, Elder L, has got his own band called I am Echo. He does all the instruments and sings and everything. You should check it out on iTunes! It is legit stuff.

So story - Elder M and I were alone doing some work in one of the little stadtteils and Elder C asked us to look for this one less aktive  who lived in this area next to a big scary prison on the hill. His number was number 23 but they have never been able to find it in the past. So we looked and looked and couldn't find it. We found all of these really old scary buildings sharing the number 21 which was way weird but no 23. I finally asked someone walking on the street if she knew where 23 was and she was like, 'Yeah! It's there.' And she pointed to the big scary prison on the hill. We weren't sure if this was a joke or not but we went up to the security check in desk anyway and asked the security guard if this guy was there. He said he had no idea because there were like 500 something prisoners and he didn't know any of them. He said the best thing we could do would be to write a letter to this guy and see if he gives us special visitor permission. We'll see how that goes. I think it would be way cool. The whole thing was just random and weird though. My favorite type of situation :)

Pretty much everyone in our ward works for the church and there are a lot of members who speak English which is nice but also not. It hurts the German practice but whatev. This one member does family history work for the church and found like seventeen generations worth of family history for Elder M. I really wish I had taken more interest in family history when I was home. I have that entire book that I don't think I ever appreciated fully and I am sorry for that. I can't wait to spend more time with that in the future.

I'm kind of bummed about the pictures because all the ones you finally get will be old news :/ Oh well. At least we still have them.

The weather your experiencing sounds similar to here. We have hit spring really early. As soon as I hit Usingen the snow just started to melt and it has gotten warmer and warmer. Maybe the seasons are shifting! Winter came early this year and has left early too. Crazy Germany. The weather actually feels more like home which is nice. I don't feel like I live on the Hoth system anymore.

H and R sent me emails! Everyone sounds like they've got something going on. The little Hammlings are growing up! C is even saving for a mission. I'm looking forward to the pictures and the future news.

Well! Overall I am doing really well. I feel like I've developed the right attitude about the work which is the first step. Progress feels slow but when I look at it from a distance it really is going fast. The language and my usefulness as a missionary is what I am referring to. All is well and I am glad I can serve the Lord in such a way.

Elder Evan

Blitzed - Word from Usingen 1-10-2011

Family!!

Well, I don't think I will be visiting any of those historical sights in Erfurt because well... I'm not in Erfurt anymore! I got blitzed, meaning they transfered me mid-cycle. Usually blitzing has bad connotations (does that have two N's?) like someone who wrecked a car or was getting friendly with a girl. I can assure you that that is not the case with me. Apparently one of the new Goldens that came in at the start of the new cycle went home (too bad) and they needed a new companion for the trainer. The easiest thing to do was take the two ZL buddies from Erfurt and send them off. Elder O went with that one Elder and I was sent to Usingen to be in a drit (note from Mom: drit means third or in context here - a companionship of three) because a drit with two ZL just doesn't make sense. So yeah! I'm in Usingen. The ward is really big and really strong. It's fairly new too. They meet right outside the temple in Friedricksdorf which is really cool. This means I get to go to the temple more often! Sweet! We are actually going tomorrow so I'm pretty stoked. We also have an area seventy in our ward which is pretty intense.

But yeah! President came up to me during Zone Conference and was like, 'Did you get along with Elder M in the MTC?' I told him that I thought so and he just kind of smiled and walked away. The whole rest of conference Elder H and I were stressing out because we knew something bad was going to happen. Way random!

I didn't think I would, but I actually miss Erfurt. Not as much now as the first night or two. But I was homesick for Erfurt. Usingen is really different. Our area is more of a collection of dorfs (note from Mom: dorfs means villages) whereas Erfurt was like an actual city. Living in the city center and talking with lots of crazy people is going to be something I miss for a while. But again, I never thought I would. Erfurt was my home and I was just tossed out of there like nothing. It really screws up my family history as far as my trainers and there posterity (as we call it). Note from Mom: he's talking mission family history here. Apparently, now days in the mission field the missionaries compare their companionships to family history. I'm already on my fifth companion for the mission. The trainer I am with leaves at the end of this cycle and the other drit member I was actually in the MTC with which is pretty cool. But yeah! Don't send anything to Erfurt. My new address is,

Westerfelderweg 12

61250 Usingen

Germany

That is too bad about the memory card. Any idea why it was fried? I sent that one on Monday. They've changed postage rules so it is pretty cheap to send stuff. That package was only 75 cents. But Elder C (new trainer) said that there is some kind of rule, a loose rule, but a rule about sending that sort of stuff. I don't really understand it myself but maybe some angry German tampered with it. No idea! I did back it up though. I guess I could copy the photos over to the next card I send but that just means you have to wait longer. Those photos are way better than the ones in the package which is too bad. Hopefully the cold weather didn't fry the card because that means you'll have another broken card heading your way with the old weihnachts markt food (probably gone bad).

Yeah the homesick stuff isn't too big of a deal but I either ignore thoughts of home and get a little depressed or I think about home and get a little depressed. So I just take it. That is all I can do. It's tough being around Elders who are leaving soon because they talk about all this stuff they are going to do when they get home which is kind of like a big slap in the face. I should be more grateful for the time I have left! I'm trying to get to that point where all I want to do is stay out in the field and cry at the idea of going home. I see those missionaries and don't understand. I'm so jealous! I just don't know how to get to that point. President says we need to put out all thoughts of worldly things like music and movies which is nearly impossible for me to do. I don't want to be an annoying missionary but I also don't want to be missing home so much. I don't know. Just have to figure it out I guess. I'm anxious to see what happens with the next cycle. I will no longer be a golden and this whole blitzing thing will be old news.

Do you know how C.H. is doing? I sent him a letter when I was in the MTC but I don't know if he ever got it or not. Is he back in Arizona with his mom? Is he planning on going back out? C.W. too! Is he better yet?

I was at Zone Conference talking to one of the Senior Elders and he was asking me if I knew Bill B ( is that how you spell it?). He knew him in Arizona apparently. Random! I told him that Bro. B had passed away and he wasn't too surprised, I guess he knew him a while ago.

Random Q: How can I get registered to vote?

Lastly I just want everyone to know that just because I don't write you all individually does not mean I don't love you. I just simply have no time! I have this fear that 2 years away with limited contact is going to destroy every relationship I have... which is not cool. I will try to write more I promise.

Love,

Elder Evan

Note from Mom: Terry says, “He’s(Evan) feeling just about how I felt in January 1977 in Denmark”.

Word from Erfurt - Jan. 3, 2011

Yes, I did get the annual Peterson letter and yes I can print out emails. I loved the letter and was a bit surprised to see it actually. I don't why. I keep on telling myself I need to write more letters but it is so expensive to send just one letter. Almost 2 American dollars. I shouldn't complain, that doesn't sound like much. But it does add up after a while.

I can't believe James is a senior comp! That is way weird. To think that when he will have been out a year I'll have been out sixth months. I still feel like I just left, but time is slipping away. There are times when it feels longer than I'd like it to, but that's my sign I need to focus on the work. I like working with Elder Hohman because he helps me get excited about the work. I want to make sure that I am actively engaged and not just passively doing the work. That is my focus at the moment. With the new year and the new cycle we have decided it is time to work with the members, because that is where the success will be. We want to get the members excited about doing missionary work so we are going to start meeting with them and giving them missionary plans that they can follow and stay excited about. We want to get as much done as we can and really get the ward started because Elder Hohman won't be here next cycle and more likely than not they will transfer Elder Owens and myself because only ZLs are supposed to be here in Erfurt. But we will see how it goes! Once Elder Dieduksman left all of this responsibility was just thrown onto my plate, which actually I am grateful for. It gets me out of my comfort zone and past all that awkward stuff that comes at the beginning. Meine gute! I finally got into the phone calling stuff which is way intense talking in another language because I already have a hard time understanding English on the phone. But you do what you have to do. I think that is one thing I've really come to understand is that you do whatever you have to do.

The mad-eye moody eye is sweet! Love it. Everyone thought it was random... but of course! That's what makes it awesome! The duck was OK. There wasn't much meat and it wasn't worth the work but it wasn't terrible. We still have yet to make the pumpkin cake. Elder Owens insists we make pie which at first I was like ok. But now it is not going anywhere and I already have the stuff for cake. I'll make it soon. Those snow shoe things work really well! I had a couple times where they have slipped off but I think I can figure something out there. I must say I have no idea what your talking about with this Avatar thing of me. You watched you tube videos through the apple tv thing which sounds sweet. But is that what you are talking about? As far as the package, they gave me no receipt. I just paid and they took the package. So we will see if it ever gets there.

I don't remember if I ever explained the Tschuss book but what it is is basically a journal/year book type thing. It is way cool. You pass it between missionaries you work with and they write in it and put pictures in it and stuff. I figure this Journal you gave me is pretty special and would be lost with a bunch of other normal journals that I will go through on the mission. So as long as it is ok I will use it for my Tschuss book. It's hard to describe how cool it is without seeing it, but you can in 20ish months I guess.

The new years was surprisingly like it is in Marysville. Lots and lots of fireworks. Except people here light them off in the tiniest spaces between buildings and off the roofs of buildings. There are still firework remnants everywhere. We ourselves set up a badminton net in our living room and held a tournament while sitting in our rolly chairs. It was way fun.

The work itself hasn't seen too much success yet but I think everything with this last month was just too crazy to be super effective so we will see how it goes. I'm doing good! I'm tired and always just a little homesick. But I learn to get over that and work. I've never liked the winter season past christmas because it always seems to drag on. But I am excited for what is to come.

Elder Evan