Week Twenty-one

Meine liebe, ausgezeichnite familie,

Hey hey hey it's a party in the D.D.R. over here in Deutschland!

So the last week had some ups and downs, but it was really great for the work. As you all know, Elder Thorley just left, and I received a new companion on Tuesday. My new companion is Elder Wightman. He's from Colorado, and he's in his 10th transfer (I think), which means he's been out about 13 months. Everything is going good in the Hannover Elders 2 area. We are staying diligent, working our butts off, and finding some cool people here in Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony).

My week:

Last Monday was P-Day Omega for Elder Carlson and Elder Thorley. We celebrated by going shopping a lot, eating FAT döners (like 2 kg) and playing basketball and fußball with some people from around the zone. It was cool to see everyone, and fun to get some exercise. After P-Day was over, and while we were locking up the church, a strange looking man just like walked in haha. We had met him earlier on the Bahns and talked with him about Mitt Romney (Germans love talking about Brother Romney) and gave him a card. So he found the church, and we talked with him a little about our beliefs. Unfortunately, it turns out he was only really looking for money or food, but it's OK. We still taught a lesson and gave him a Book of Mormon. Planting seeds and stuff. After that, we went and visited our favorite Iranian pigeon breeding investigator. He is such a cool guy and he really has a tough situation. So he's a political refugee from Iran. He came here to Germany and immediately decided to join some christian denomination church, so they can't send him back to Iran. Because if they did, he could die for joining a church. It's a tricky way a lot of Middle Easterners stay in Germany. So he like has already received such a strong spiritual confirmation that the Book of Mormon is true. He's super cool, keeps his commitments, super friendly, and I just love the guy. Unfortunately, he can't come to church. He needs to go to this Non-Dom church every Sunday, or they'll send him back to Iran. Hopefully we can work something out and get him to church. He needs it! So we just met with him and had a good lesson.

Tuesday morning I dropped Elder Thorley (my 'dad') off at Hauptbahnhof (Big, central train station) and picked up Elder Henderson, and Elder Wightman. Two cool guy. After that, we went shopping for weekly groceries, and made lunch. I made Lauk-Käse-Suppe again (missionary favorite). So we had two lessons planned out for that day, but unfortunately they both fell out. Oh well it was a good opportunity to get some really solid finding in. So we did doors in a poorer, more auslander neighborhood. We made out two appointments. One, with an African lady from Ghana, and another with a German Family. After finding, we had Gemiko with our GML (ward mission leader). It was a solid day.

Wednesday morning was district meeting. After last transfer, the only changes in the district were that Elder Carlson and Thorley left, and Elder Henderson and Wightman came. So our district is Hannover Zone Leaders: Elders Staheli and Henderson, Hannover Elders 2: Elders Wightman and Pollard, Nienburg Elders: Elders Welker and Cloward, Hildesheim Elders: Elders Spendlove (District leader) and Marshal, and the EhePaar: Elder and Sister WIlhelm. We have a really cool, really big district. After that, we went home and ate brats. We meet with an investigator after that, which didn't go too well because our 'restoration' DVD was broken. So we kinda just got a little in about the restoration of the church. After that, we went back and had a mini weekly planning. After that, we walked straight to Innenstadt and just talked with everyone we saw. My German was on FIRE! I was feeling it and just talking with everybody I saw and I taught a lesson about the Book of Mormon alone on the street. My German was primo and I was just so happy haha. We then rode the Zug (train) to Burgdorf where we visited a member for the last time. I enjoyed the Abendbort again. Bread, Meat, and Cheese, classic. We had a good lesson with her, and then went home.

Thursday Morning went well. I woke up, did Morgen Sport (75 pushups and sit ups each day baby) (I need to get better haha), got ready, and studied a bunch. After that we went by on the older Polish lady in the nursing home. It was her birthday! haha surprise to us. I shard a spiritual thought that I had just barely thought up, and everything went well. After that we went home and I made Spaghetti Carbonara again. mmmmm. We went to Innenstadt to find again, where I met a guy from the Congo. He's supposed to meet us at the church this week. Hopefully he does! We went by on the Iranian pigeon breeder again after finding. Just to see how we was doing, and to try to get him to understand that you need to read the Book of Mormon, to know if it's true or not haha. Some people don't understand that. Oh well, it went well. His pigeons are doing good. We went to a member family's home after that, where they made us Pfannkuchen (thin pancakes) and Eis (ice cream) It was soooooo good. I shared the same spiritual thought that I had earlier, and we played Yahtzee.

Friday morning was hectic. Due to poor planning, we had to go by on a family we found earlier in the week (weren't there) had to ride a bahn almost an hour north after that to a member family's home, and ride the Bahn all the way back to the first neighborhood that we had been in. It took almost 2 hours of pure bahn travel time. Not cool. Oh well, the member family made us delicious food. Potatoes, some white/clear veggie that reminded me of cauliflower, and goulash. Goulash is basically any leftover meat stew. It was so good. We ate Eis and strawberries for desert. After that, we went by on the African lady we met earlier in the week. We had an awesome first lesson with her.  She gladly accepted everything he had to tell her, took the Book of Mormon (in Twi) and made out another visit, and gave us her number. Super cool, I hope we can meet with her a lot. After this, we went and visited with a couple of sisters.

Saturday morning was normal.We decided to visit one of our African investigators, even though we didn't have an appointment with her. She hadn't called us or anything so we just went by. We couldn't meet with her that day, but we made out an appointment with her later in the week. So success. On the way back to the bahn, Elder Wightman had a spiritual prompting/need for soda so we went by on the little grocery store. On the way, we made out 2 new appointments! so that was awesome. We went home and Elder Wightman made lasagna, which was pretty good. After lunch, we went by once again on our Iranian investigator, this time for some service. He has this big garden, but doesn't really take too much care of it. So he did a couple hours of service, which felt awesome. He just removed some weeds. Gardening is fun. I like it. So Saturday was the EM game of Deutschland v. Portugal. The whole city was going crazy and watching the game in bars and restaurants, and there was even a public viewing thing that I think 60,000 people attended. It was crazy and nobody was on the streets haha. We ended our day by walking around Innenstadt and watching the insanity.

Sunday was church, which went great. We only had one investigator there, but it was still awesome. My Deutsch was firing, I was happy, talking to everybody. It was awesome. My companion got to meet the ward, and he likes it which is cool. I was told that I look 'like the American actor Ryan Reynolds' which is cool... After church we ate at the second councilor's home...he's super young, speaks awesome English. They made us burritos haha. Not the same as in SD though. Still delicious. After that, We did some doors and got a 'walk in', where someone lets you in just from doing doors and you have a lesson. Weird guy. He let us in right away, but he was kind of creepy. He almost kicked me out for saying 'entshuldigung' which means excuse me because I coughed a couple of time. Like legitimately almost kicked us out haha. Oh well he's a new investigator now. We also made out an appointment with his neighbor, which was coolio. We ended the day with weekly planning.

So it was a pretty awesome week. We got good numbers, did a lot of work, and it was a good start to a transfer. I only wish that we can continue to better our efforts and just work harder and see the results from that.

So. My new companion. He's an awesome guy who really has a good heart. I can tell and know he finds joy in success and likes being a missionary. There was a rough transition, just because he's senior comp, but I know the area and the ward better, so there was just an awkward transition. It'll be hard, but we can do it.

So that was basically my week! As I look back on it, I really enjoyed it. Parents, my German is awesome. I get super prideful just because everyone tells me, but I know I'm being blessed for being diligent and just trying my hardest. I just want to make you all proud!

Ich bin einfach so dankbar, das ich ein Missionar sein darf. Ich finde es so toll, das ich einfach Leute ansprechen kann, und über Gott, order Religion, oder Schriften reden kann. Deutschland ist nicht unbedingt die beste Platz, aber ich habe die Deutsch Menschen sehr viel Lieb. (Und auch die Afrikanische Menschen). Ich lerne so viel, und ich wachse auch so viel. Diese Arbeit ist die Arbeit Gottes. Ich weiß dass mit meinem ganzem Herzen. Ich weiß dass es ein Gott gibt. Und das er uns liebt. Er will uns glücklich sein. Deswegen, hat er deinen ersten Sohn zur Erde geschickt. Jesus Christus ist unser Erlöser und Erretter. Er ist am Kreuz für uns gestorben. Ich weiß auch das diese Kirche, die wiederhergestellte Kirche Jesu Christi ist. Es ist einfach. Mann kann das wissen, wenn mann möchtet.

I love you all. I pray for you every night.

Elder Pollard