Word from Wesel - April 18, 2011

Here are a few translations again.  I wonder if he’s dreaming in German yet.  ~ Pat

egal – no matter

tschüssed – said good-bye to

Meine Gute – my good / this is good

Mal schauen – we’ll see / time will tell

alles in ordung ist – everything is in good order

4-18-2011

We saw lots of miracles this last week. We know the Lord has been ready to bless this area it was just a matter of our faith and willingness to act on that faith. Not only that but being well planned and prepared. We jumped from the average 4-5 lessons a week to 13, found 4 new investigators and set a baptismal date. It’s been 4 cycles since Wesel has seen that many lessons and 5 cycles since a baptismal date. I know that numbers are egal but we decided to change and really set things in motion. Sure enough! We were blessed. Even our best investigator who we tschüssed last week called us up and said that he prayed and wants to move forward. Meine Gute! Hard week but we saw miracles. Our hope is that we can sustain that same mentality and spirit and make it a regular thing. Without burning ourselves out of course. Elder H and I work well together in the sense that we work hard but still have a lot of fun. 

Thanks for the package! I’m pretty sure the cheetos were an inspiration. I especially appreciated the Pilates book (tough stuff) and the 12 days of Easter countdown. It is always fun to see what a package holds! I hope my package reaches you sooner rather than later like the last one. I asked for luftpost this time but when she gave me two options I chose the less expensive. Mal schauen!

My shoe size on my eccos is 42 but if alles in ordung ist can we try 40? If not, 42 is fine. The pictures are in the package.

They approved skype for Christmas calls so I don’t know if that is the same case for mother’s day. I don’t know how that works though. You have our number (assuming I stay here) and you are supposed to call us. It will be on Sunday and we will actually be at a member’s house but you probably won’t call us till it is late our time. Except, when do you have church? If you can give us an idea of when would be best for you then we can plan around that. If we do skype we would have to do that at a members house.

I still have about half a jar of JIFF left. 

Is the Lovely Bones girl old enough to be shooting people in the head?

I don’t know if I should be spreading rumors... but Elder H told me, who was told by his trainer, who was told by President N, who was told by Elder Nelson that people in Germany will flock to the church because it is the only light left in the world. And that it would happen in President N lifetime and Elder Nelson`s lifetime. 

Anyways! All is well in Wesel! I miss family, I miss Washington, I miss movies... but it is all worth it. I can’t believe that I have been out for 7 months! 

Can’t wait to see the Chevy!

And sorry about the trampoline :(

Love

Elder Evan

Word from Wesel - April 11, 2011

Here are some translations that you might find helpful.  Evan has a tendency to mix German in with his English, which I’ve heard is quite common for foreign serving/speaking missionaries.  ~ Pat

Glaube ich – I think

Tschüssed – said good-bye to

Mal schauen – we’ll see / time will tell

4-11-2011

The problem with the phone number thing is that mothers day is in a new cycle. There is still that potential of me being transferred, though not likely (knock on wood). Last time it was easier scheduling a time as well because I was with a European companion so he could call in the morning and I could call in the evening. We will see this time how it works out. Elder H and I will talk about that.

Basically Elder H and I have a lot of fun while still working hard, which is a good combination glaube ich. We're a pretty good combo. This last week has been quite the test. After ZoKo we decided that we needed to really consecrate ourselves and have more faith that we can find people who are ready to be taught. I know numbers don't really matter but just so you get an idea of what we are working with, this last week we had a total of 3 lessons with investigators and 1 with a convert. Two of those investigators we Tschüssed and we had several others that Tschüssed us over the phone. Our teaching pool is down to nothing pretty much but we have decided after a good plan and a fast and lots of praying that this week is going to change. I won't go into those details but I think it is possible based on our faith and willingness/readiness to act on that faith, and of course, if it is the will of the Lord.

We had an appointment with one investigator we Tschüssed which really made me quite sad. He wanted to meet with us I think because he secretly knows it's true but just can't change and admit that he is wrong. It was in English so it got intense in a loving way. We answered all his questions even though he couldn't accept them. He was very quiet and said what he always says 'I cannot believe.' I don't get it. He wouldn't even try. We finally said goodbye. We have since then come up with the idea for a short film about J and what we said to him finally clicking and realizing he needs to get baptized. It's pretty funny so far. I really (not secretly) want it to happen.

That same day we hurried to catch our bus home at the Bahnhof. Bus # SB58 - the same bus everytime. Little did I know that there are two SB58s. We were driving for a long time and the scenery looked different than usual. We decided to get off and see if we couldn't find a bus back. We did so and checked the bus stop times. But it wasn't in German. 'Elder, is that Dutch?`  'The liscense plates... they're all yellow!' 'Wait! Does that say... zatertag?` 'NOOOOOOOO!'


Sure enough, we were in the Netherlands. Our bus cards didn't work out there or our phone so we walked 15 Km back to our area where we got a ride to where we originally started at bahnhof. President Ninow thought it was pretty funny. You can see the pictures with the package I am sending soon.

Speaking of packages, can I request Cheetos in the next one? - if at all possible.

I'm sure I'm forgetting something. Pray for missionary opportunities in your area! We are praying intensively for the people here to open their hearts and realize how important what we are saying is. I've decided to just be as bold, blunt and honest as possible. I hate beating around the bush. Mal schauen.

Love,

Elder Evan

Yep, Elders Peterson and Hogan got on the wrong bus and left their area... and 
the zone...and the Mission... and the COUNTRY!  (They ended up in the Netherlands)                                   

Word from Wesel - April 4, 2011

4-4-2011

You would be exactly right in assuming what missionaries were thinking about Pres. Ucthdorfs talk. It just so happens that we had an investigator there at that session but one that we have never met with before. He's met with missionaries before and Elder C and I actually ran into him on the way home one night. He said he'd be there and sure enough he was. He liked it a lot but can’t meet with us for a little while. Schade.

  

Thanks for getting me registered to vote! I don’t need the card. You did tell me before I just forgot to mention it. The office is working on getting translations of our licenses. Then we can pay our fee and get a German one. Yay!

Sure enough, that is my companion and Elder D was his trainer. You are quite the detective! Anyone else you found that I might know?

I tried sending shoe pics but the computer was being stupid. I’ll try again today. Hopefully the picture is good enough. You might have to zoom in or something to see the crack.

  

Thanks for the Babylonish update! Sounds like there is a lot going on.

I’m doing good and keeping my hopes up. There is someone golden here... I know it. We just need to find them. Meanwhile we are keeping frequent contact with our favorite investigator Herr L. I’ll have to tell you more about him on Mothers day calls. Coming up soon! Anyways. Thanks for the support and the love and the prayers!

Love

Elder Evan

Word from Wesel - March 28, 2011

3-28-2011

Well senior companion isn't that bad and I've learned that I know more German than I thought. But I still have a lot of work to do...A lot. Elder H and I are only a cycle apart so we are learning together how to do things right. We are changing things up here in Wesel and trying to refocus our efforts closer to the church. We can lose a lot of time traveling in our area so we are trying to kill trips out to Kleve. This is going to be a fun cycle though I think. We teach pretty well together and share in nerdom. If that is how you say it.

To answer your questions: We don't get many opportunities to do planned service. You have to go to the city and they really don't give you much to work with. ZoKo is every transfer. Usually it is in the third week. We have six zones and usually two zones will meet together for that. It takes three days out of president's week. Right now I am in the Düsseldorf zone and we meet with Dortmund. We will just watch conference here in Wesel. We are lucky that we get an English broadcast of it. I think this is one of the first times I've really been excited for GC. It's a great missionary tool too. Sunday we watch like three sessions so we will go to church for a couple hours, then do some finding, do another session, finding and so forth. Saweet!

I've started to realize that my suits are starting to stink. It is quite unfortunate because I have no idea where dry cleaners are here.

Crazy. We went by on this one new investigator Elder C and I found a while ago, but could never make another appointment with, just to see if he was home. His grandson answered the door and said he would go get him. He came back and said that he would be down in a sec. Then the wife came down and said that we could go upstairs to see him. So we walk up stairs into this room where he and this other guy were on the ground praying. This might be cruel and judgmental of me but it felt planned. They happened to finish praying right as we entered. He was like, 'sorry. I've been praying and fasting today because I had this dream that I don't really know the answer to. This is a friend of mine.' This other guy was obviously a priest or pastor or something. We then started to talk about our church and message that we had. We had him read the first sentence of the introduction in the B of M, which talks about the B of M being like the Bible. 'Das ist schon falsch' he said. We talked and now have an appointment with a priest tomorrow. Hopefully it is not a bible bashing session. But the whole situation was just weird and random. The guy we actually came to visit Tschüssed us.

  

It's good to hear that Ten Commandments is now on BluRay. It was always a favorite of mine... you can decide if that is a lie or not. Is Star Wars on blu ray fact or fiction?

Anyways! Lots of crazy stuff happens here. There is someone that is ready.

Tschüss!

Love,

Elder Evan