Word from Wesel - August 8, 2011

Zur zeit – currently

Mal schauen – we’ll see

Tschüss – bye

8-8-2011

Well the week has been good and Elder T and I are getting along really well and working really hard. Zur zeit we only have 2 investigators and the only one that is progressing is the one I told you about last week. She doesn't speak English or German so communicating is a challenge. The funny thing is that we had four non-members at church yesterday, yet for some reason we aren't teaching any of them! Soon... We can see a lot of big things happening soon here in Wesel. 

I love Präsident Schwartz! Not because he sends you mail about me but because of his love for... everyone! You just want to give him a big huge hug all the time but he usually ends up beating you to it. 

The next transfer will start on the 29th and I think the transfer after that starts on the Monday after general conference. That is crazy! I will most likely be staying for at least one more. I think Präsident is going to try and keep the trainers and Goldens together as best as possible for both training transfers. I'm not wishing that I will leave after that but I have been in Wesel since February. That's a long time to stay in one area. Mal schauen. Elder F stayed in Aachen for 8 transfers which is half your mission! I was looking at the calender and my year mark is coming up soon. What is sad though is that I will be able to say I only have a year left before I hit my year mark. You lose 2 weeks and you end up going home on the 6th of September. Yes I counted; I promise I'm not trunky. I just want to know what is ahead of me. Guess I should focus on the here and now.

Speaking of the here and now, Cowboys and Aliens looked entertaining. I only ever read about before I came out here but then I saw pictures of it in a McDonalds magazine thing; looked kind of fun. 

Question for C since I don't see an email from her, which 90’s show is this theme song from? My pop culture knowledge is starting to go down the drain.

'Show me that smile again. Show me that smile! Don't waste another minute on your crying...'

Elder T and I have been trying to figure it out and it's driving us crazy! Speaking of Elder T, he is from Colorado Springs. 

I can't believe H is getting Baptized!!!! And C is going on his mission!!! All of this way intense stuff. How is B doing? 

Concerning packages, if there is any room in there, could you send either teddy grahams or graham crackers? And just so you know, I had a hard time parting with the Christmas tree you sent back in November so I wouldn't worry about sending a new one in the future. 

Did you do anything for G-PA's b-day?

I'm trying to think what happened this week... We've been seeing lots of success in working with the members. That is the way to do it. We talked to this one lady who said we were living off the city (even though we're not) and wasting money and time trying to talk to people when we could be in Africa helping the starving children. She also said we were of no worth. *sigh* That makes me sad. 

All is well. I'm sure I'm forgetting something. But until next time, Tschüss!

Love,

Elder Evan

Word from Wesel - July 18, 2011

7-18-2011

The last week of the transfer, no idea what is going to happen? Although it is more likely that I could go and Elder H stays. I thought that about the last transfer too. I would be happy staying or leaving but I think Wesel needs another new face.

Thanks for the nice words :) Right now I don't feel like the best most efficient missionary. I'm having a hard time keeping up with Elder H. He always feels the need to be moving which is better than the alternative. But sometimes I like to just take a breath. He's a good example and I'm glad I can work with him. He'll go far on the mish.

I don't really know what to report! Not much happened this week. Elder H was able to get back into contact with Q-Man on a split we had with the Zone Leaders. He is still sick and still having his room renovated. Both make it difficult for him to meet.

Everywhere I go there seems to be giant posters of Harry zapping something or a large stream of green magic coming from Voldemorts wand. *sigh* It will be there when I get back, I know.

Love. Love for the people and a desire for their welfare. That is the most important thing about this work and the most critical in being 'successful.' I seem to be lacking in that area right now. Any suggestions? How does one develop more love? Reading in the scriptures one learns that you should not only pray for love but also with love. Meaning you should already have that mindset. That's tough. I don't know what the deal is :( I'm just not as motivated as I was before to go and cry repentance. Any awesome parental advice?

I'm thinking about collecting different translations of the bible. Elder C, my drit companion from Usingen, had 8 or 9 different translations. He new the major differences between them all, which was pretty helpful when some bible nut tried to feed us false interpreted doctrine. Not saying we should bash. That is not my calling as a missionary... It is useful knowledge, however.

I really don't know what to tell you! The week just went by so fast due to two splits and other factors. It sounds like all is going well where you are. It's true; I did hit my ten-month mark. What is weird though is how fast the time went and how it keeps going faster and faster. This time is precious. I don't want to waste it or have any regrets. How can I make the most of my mission?

I love you all so, so much! Please stay safe and stay healthy. Love the gospel and live it. What a blessing it is! It's not easy and in no way is anyone perfect dazu. Talk to you next week! I'll try sending some photos this week. Tschüss!

Love

Elder Evan

Word from Wesel - July 11, 2011

7-11-2011

I will definitely keep them in my prayers. How old is E now? 

I did get the package! That came really fast. Thank you, thank you, thanks! I'm afraid to wear the new shoes and the attached picture will tell you why. That is after I polished them about a month ago. They looked worse before that. The bike seat I have not yet tried out but I am positive I will have an opportunity in the near future. Should be perfect.

Do you have K F's home address?

Oh! Before I forget, we had interviews with President. He wanted me to write home and ask you this question... If he were to call you up and ask you to tell him something about me, what would you say?

I love hearing all of the updates! Here is what is going on here:

This last week was up and down. Our favorite investigator Herr Q has stopped answering his phone and his door. He was sick last time we had contact with him and we thought maybe something bad happened. We ran into one of his neighbors and she said that he is still there and doing ok. That eliminated that possibility. That narrows it down to one of two things, I think. Either he found his 'answer' and realizes what that means and is too scared to do anything or he got some kind of negative influence from some other source (his daughter I think). Either way, we were really depressed about the fact that he is ignoring us. Elder H only had the chance to meet with him a couple times. In the time that Elder H(1) and I met with him we really noticed a change in his faith and his desire to learn more and keep the commandments. Schade.

The 4th sounds like it was a blast there. We went to Duisburg as planned and ate homemade burgers and played Siedlers von Catan. We listened to and sang the National anthem and devoured the, oh so delicious, Krefelder Kraken. It was kind of awkward though... The Krefeld elders, Elder JH and myself get along really well. No matter how hard we try to get the other Elders involved there is always some kind of social barrier. It makes me sad. My companion and Elder JH's companion sat and had a 2-hour long discussion about the BofM, which is totally fine. And then Dusiburg was just quiet the whole time. Hmmm. We all love each other but I guess there will be some social blockades sometimes. Elder JH and I did a split right after which felt really weird. We got along so well and had tons of fun and now that we were back it just wasn't normal. We both described our new companionships, which sounded strangely similar to one another. We think we are both being taught the same lesson. Elder JH and I were companions but friends as well. Our new companions are... companions. I love Elder H to death! He is such a nice guy and has the sweetest most innocent heart. We just aren't friends yet. Mal schauen. I just need to be more patient and love him more. 

The work is going well! We're pretty much starting over but that isn't always a bad thing. Two weeks left in this transfer. We'll see what happens!

Love ya! Tschüss!

Elder Evan

Word from Wesel - July 4, 2011

GML – ward mission leader

Gemeinde rat or gemeinderat (literal translation - community advice or city council) – in other words ward council

Dinslaken bahnhof – Dinslaken train station

7-4-2011

Happy 4th! We lucked out with it being on a P-Day. We are going down to Duisburg to sing some American songs and eat meat with the rest of the district. Krefeld is bringing their creation known as the Krefelder Kraken - layered goodness of brownies, peanut butter, cookies, oreo and drizzled in chocolate. Should be fun. Our GML asked us what we were doing for P-Day and so we told him. The 4th really has no significance hear. Go figure.

I promise I didn't get beat up. Eventually they got off the bahn and we had to do a little back tracking having missed our stop. We didn't get off at our stop because we didn't want them following us back to the apartment. I'm safe and sound! You can rest easy now :) Now about that guy with the knife this last week... JK :)

I LOVE the new Mission President. He's German so he knows what's up. He pretty much told us not to plan any time for streets and doors because it is a waste of time. Rather we should spend as much time with the ward as possible gaining their trust and encouraging them to invite their friends. That is the way! They already have the relationships with these people and know who is ready. Granted we will still do finding on our way to appointments and so forth but this whole new attitude is way more effective, especially here in Europe. Our GML is on board. We have Gemeinde Rat tomorrow. Hopefully the whole ward gets excited.

I still keep a good attitude when doing finding. I can definitely tell the difference in a contact where I am smiling and outgoing as opposed to one I just sort of get out of the way. It's just a matter of keeping the first mentality active. I'm not the biggest fan of talking to people on the street. I've come to love talking and getting to know people in appointments. That is my favorite aspect of the work and seeing the gospel work miracles in someone’s life is amazing - the best part of the work by far. It's all about the people! It's really rare to find that on the street or at the door though. Rarely does anyone like talking in that setting. Elder H and I were talking about the fact that with the less time we have to do straight finding we have to really believe that there are people out there that the Lord will lead us too and that the Lord will lead them to us. I also just need to learn to like finding.

The patio looks amazing! I'm so proud! That sounds like a lot of work to do still but it will be worth it in the end I think - for sure.

Babylon sounds like it is doing well. My only concern is that it will take way too much time to catch up on everything. I guess I'll start with the most important things and visit the rest if I have time.

I heard that the cycle change in the next few months is only about 2 weeks so I won't be back in time to start school in the fall. I think that is what J is doing. Can you believe that when I hit my year mark J will only have 6 months left?!?!?

Sadly our best investigator who you hopefully saw the picture of has dropped off the face of the earth. He won't answer his door or phone. We're not sure if he's ignoring us or if something bad happened. He doesn't have much contact with the outside world so the latter really concerns me. Our GML thinks he got an answer and is realizing the consequences of having that knowledge. Mal schauen.

I got a picture with Jack Sparrow outside of Dinslaken Bahnhof. I attached the picture to the Email.

Leave it to Elder Peterson to find a movie photo op in Europe!!

Happy Birthday to Adeline this week!

Love you al

Ok!

ByeBye now.

Tschüss!

Love

Elder Evan

Word from Wesel - June 27, 2011

6-27-2011

It sounds like Youth Conference was a blast! Mom, you've got it figured out, and I am so grateful for that. Actually, I've been thinking a lot about gratitude this past week. I could be much more grateful for all you guys do for me and how the Lord has blessed us out here in the field. So... Thanks! I really don't know how to say it other than that. I love you all.

This week has been a learning experience. Elder H and I definitely have different styles but we are learning from each other. I also went on a split with the Elders in Krefeld this last Friday and Saturday, which was pretty average until we took a seat on a straßen bahn headed for Haupt Bahnhof. These two drunk guys pointed us out as Mormons (a miracle) and were asking us all of these crude questions. I was sitting across from Elder B and these guys behind us made their way up to where we were sitting. At first one of them was talking in German but then randomly switched into really good English, which leads me to believe he would be a smart guy if he wasn't heavily intoxicated. He didn't like me at all and was saying that if he hit me I wouldn't hit him back. But then, looking at Elder B, he said if he hit him that Elder B would hit him back. He could see it in his eyes. I tried really hard not to say anything and when I did it only made things worse. I don't know why I told you that story but it was in itself a learning experience. Elder B said at least now we can say what Paul said and rejoice at the fact we were being persecuted for the sake of the Lord. I feel bad for them actually. So many people don't realize what's up.

I got a distressing letter from J that said it is getting harder and harder to get into BYU. I'm hoping that a good letter of recommendation from the mission pres will help me in that regard.  We all said goodbye to President Ninow on Tuesday at ZoKo. That was a powerful meeting.

 Time is flying. Missionary work is going well. The fear I have right now is getting into a non-progressive flow. One masters rejection first, because you face it a lot. That actually isn't too much of a problem for me. My problem is then expecting rejection. Forgetting that there are actually people who are prepared. It doesn't depress me but the problem is that then the work just becomes work and then you forget to look for people. I remember something from the MTC that was written on a chalkboard in one of the classrooms. 'Learn to fish and not to get lucky.' Any suggestions? 

I love you all and am so very grateful for alles. This is an important work! Tschüß!

Love

Elder Evan

PS Dad, no 'you too?' :)

 Love you