Week Seventy-nine

Hello! It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood here in Ahrensburg, Germany. Just kidding, it's hot as heck outside. Last week was so so so hot! It just killed me haha but it's ok, because we got A LOT of work done and saw a lot of cool miracles and surprises on the streets of Hamburg.

Last week:

Montag: Monday seems like a very long time ago haha. We had a pretty normal P-Day in Ahrensburg. We emailed at the W's and they even made us lunch. It was super and I emailed for a long time because I had so many emails. Other then that, we just chilled and rested. Got ready for the beast week haha. When P-Day was over, we rode to Hamburg with the U-Bahn and went by some less active members. We didn't contact any, though. Bad timing. We did contact a referral though. They didn't have interest, but it was good to make that contact. And then we came home. So a pretty low key day. #calmbeforethestorm

Diesntag: Tuesday was great. We rode to Lübeck early in the morning to pick Elder Gleason up so he didn't have to wait alone for his new companion. We rode back to Hamburg and studied and ate lunch. Then we went and helped Bruder K empty out his janky old fish aquarium. This thing is like Shrek's swamp in a 50 gallon glass tank. Nasty. But it was good to help him because he has seeing problems. I love service. But we had a talk after about becoming active again. He has some health problems, but they don't make it impossible for him to be in the sacrament meeting. We're going to be working more with him. We went to Schmalenbeck and met another less active member who gave us her number and said we could make an appointment, and then went by on Frau S who was home and we had a nice talk in her garden. She is so super nice and I just want to help her. She's just not thrilled to learn about our message. We'll see. Then we came home and studied German. #shreklivesinHamburg

Mittwoch: Mittwoch means 'middle week'. Isn't that funny. So Wednesday was a beasty day. We had district meeting in the morning, so we rode to Lübeck and met the new member of our district, Elder Pack. Fresh from the office in Berlin haha so he knows secrets. It's good to have him here. I'm excited to work with him. District Meeting was good. We then were supposed to have an appointment, but it fell out. We came home and ate instead. We went back out and contacted a referral/had a lesson/got a new investigator!!! J is his name and he is 21 and listened to us. Which is just always good news. After that, we met with Bruder D, who's apartment was like a sauna,oh my gosh it was so hot. I couldn't stand it. #it'sgettinghotinhere

Donnerstag: Thursday was fun! We got to ride our bikes like 30 minutes north of Ahrensburg to a small town called Rehagen to contact a referral. It was nice to be in the country haha. But riding bikes is fun too......no. We had a great appointment with Schwester S from the ward and decided with her that we should meet more often and help her come 100% back. So we're looking forward to that as well. Her apartment was also really hot though. That night, we had a good joint teach with M, an African girl who's living at a members house right now. She speaks french though, so it's hard to communicate. It went well though. Africans Rock. #iloveafrica

Freitag: Friday was busy as heck. We went and did a lot of finding around lunch time and didn't find anybody, but somebody gave us a referral over the speaking box thing haha it was great. After finding for a while, we waited for an appointment that fell out. We had a great appointment with H, ate at the T's (they grilled, it was wonderful) and then had a joint teach with the K's and Herr R. That was very interesting, because he comes from a very theological and philosophical background when talking about the gospel. It's hard to teach simply and ask simple questions when we get some crazy poetic philosophical answer back. But we'll see. #whoisGodforyou?

Samstag: Saturday morning was soccer. And we rocked it! I scored like 5 goals against the Germans and they say I'm one of the two best elders who's played soccer there. Whodathunk. The lord blesses the missionaries so we can gain the ward's respect. That afternoon we met with Schwester C and her man who's African and Muslim. It was interesting haha. I feel like we're losing her to Islam. But it's her choice so it's all good. Then we went and contacted a bunch of people. That was the hottest day of my life. #gymtanlaundry

Sonntag: Sunday was church, which was great. We had two less actives back and an investigator!!! And a surprise visit from an American family who I had to translate for. Translating blows. It's way hard to focus haha. We ate with the K's in the church and went by on Sister S hasn't been there in a while. And then we had a great weekly planning session. #sixdaysyoushallworkandtheseventhtoo

SO the week was full of appointments! And now I'm enjoying P-Day! Gotta go though!

Love you all!

Elder Pollard

Week Seventy-eight

...in which Elder Pollard discovers the joy of hash tags...

Hey everybody!

This past week was just.....hot! Oh my gosh it got so warm in Germany! Like maybe not as warm as some places in America right now, but the humidity here is just killer. Especially with a tie and shirt and pants! Just sticky hot and when we're out all day it's like dangerous warm haha. I feel like a raisin because I'm so dehydrated. #hydrate

But like, the week was super solid and I had a lot of fun. We had a cool leadership meeting in Hamburg and I got to see a lot of people I know and love from the mission. We also had some some straight up miracles this last week! The miracles keep coming as long as we're working! #wunder

Let me tell you about this last week!

Montag: Last Monday was pretty solid! We had a normal P-Day, kind of haha. We had to wait FOREVER to get our haircuts oh my gosh. And the haircut lady was super awkward so yea. It looked ok haha. It's not too short though. Just normal. After that, we came to the Waterböhrs to email! They're so nice for letting us email at their house. I mean in Ahrensburg, where we live, there is like no internet cafe. We live in a super rich area, and everybody had email and internet at their house, so no need for internet cafes. We would have to ride the train all the way to Hamburg to email if they didn't let us do it here! We're super grateful. After that, we went and picked strawberries with the N's! Germans go hard with their strawberries oh gosh haha. They love them. So we got to pick some and take them home and make jam. And we had family home evening with them. Then we went home and finished P-Day. #strawberryfieldsforevaeva

Diesntag: Tuesday was our BEAST DAY! We started off with some good study. I've been studying specific topics that I feel I need to learn more about and have more experiences with, along with the New Testament, because Jesus is great and I love reading his words. The Bible rocks. We started off our day by doing doors in Bargteheide in a newer area where a lot of families are moving in. We didn't have any lessons, but a few people told us to come back. Yes. Then we grilled with the M's for lunch. Yes. And then we went home and had a joint teach with Bruder M. We met with R, an older investigator and we had a great lesson! She had read in the Book of Mormon and expressed desire to learn more. Unfortunately, she's went on vacation and she'll be gone for a while. We're praying that she reads the book with her time off. She is super cool. After that appointment, we walked A LOT because one of us forget their bus pass and we had no money. But it's all good. We went by on a referral that wasn't home and then we rode the train home and rode our bikes then to another joint teach. We met with Sister F and Frau S in the ward house! It was pretty cool. Frau S is super nice and great. We do need to pray a lot to know what she needs to come closer to God. She is pretty stubborn haha. #jointteachswag

Mittwoch: Wednesday was great. It was my super secret leadership training meeting haha. It was nice and I learned A TON there. It was about using scriptures to teach and teaching and our purpose. We're just super focused on goals and teaching in this mission. I find it great. We had to take apart 1 Nephi 19:23 and like dissect everything about it. I thought it was sick haha. I also got to see ELDER STANLEY! My trainee! It was super cool to see him and catch up. He's in Bielefeld now in the Hannover zone. Lucky haha. We also got Subway, which was great. And I saw other people. So great. The miracle was though that Elder Loitz was still working in the area on splits while I was in the meeting. And he found 3 new investigators and taught a bunch. That was just the best news to hear after sitting around all day haha. After the meeting we met with the L family who made us some delicious food. It was so good. Their apartment was super hot though haha we were both just sweating. It was kind of embarrassing. #sauna

Neumunster Zone

Donnerstag: Thursday was crazy. We wanted to go to Lübeck in the morning, but when we got to the train station, none of the trains were running and everyone was super confused and mad. There were so many people there! Turns out, somebody tried to rob one of the ticket machines with gasoline and fire......I don't think it ended well for anybody involved. But because of the, were were like an hour late to district meeting. It was our last district meeting and a really good one. The Sisters made us planners! That was super cool. Our district is staying the same basically haha. Only Elder Risley in Lübeck is being transferred. So the dream team stays together. After district meeting, we ate tacos that Sister Schoeüf made for us! That was great. Elder Gleason found some freaking Satan peppers at some African shop and we had those. I got Satan pepper sauce in my eye. I cried haha. But it's all good. We got home and had a joint teach planned, but the investigator wasn't home! So we went by on some other less actives and  earlier investigators in the area and reached one. I'm not sure if he still had interest to meet, but he has our number, so bueno. That night we met with H, who is doing A LOT better! He was super happy and telling jokes and being a goof, which was super great to see. H is a champ and we love him. He made us Pizza, too. #hadidelivers

Freitag: Friday was super great. We helped the L's in the morning in their house that they're renovating. Or job was to carry tile from the 3rd floor to outside haha. IT WAS SO HOT OH MY GOSH. But it felt good to get into some normal clothes and help the members. I want a house. That I can renovate haha. And Bruder L has helped us so much with E and speaking French, so it was good to give back. We were there for about 2 hours probably. We studied and got read at home and then ate lunch with the W's! They made some sort of soup thing that was great. We taught them about missionary work and how they can participate. It was buneo. We went home and planned for the week, which was awesome. We are pumped for the next week and transfer. That night we had a mega joint teach at the Franz's house with Frau S. Sister and Bruder Franz were there and Bruder Fenzau was there, too. It was an OK lesson. Frau S is very social and these lessons are more of a social thing than being taught. And she says she won't be baptized...which is sad. It was frustrating. But we love her so much haha she's the best! #ourinvestigatorsrock

Samstag: Saturday morning is always SOCCER! And we go HARD! The members always comment on how every American missionary gets really good at soccer really fast. It's one of the gifts of the spirit. To some is given the gift to beat Germans in soccer. Don't quote me on that. But we played in the morning. H came, which was wonderful. We got home and showered and got ready and studied. We actually talked a lot about goals and set some and revised some others. It was a long talk. Which was probably way more effective then walking around in the oven all day. But we still got out and went by on a lot of people. We met with a less active youth in Hamburg who is super nice but told us honestly that he doesn't have interest to come to church or meet with us. Which is sad, because I think it's affecting his Mom a lot, who hasn't come to church recently. But we totally respect free agency haha. We have to. A crazy miracle happened though! Some of the people Elder Loitz found on Wednesday gave us a wrong address, because they didn't know their street name....(Africans who don't speak German haha) But we met them on the street and talked and got the real address! #pollardinho

Sonntag: Sunday was great! We had church! And we had another crazy miracle. I saw a man that I didn't know and had never seen before and introduced myself. He's an investigator that had investigated, but never met with the missionaries. He said that he had the feeling that he had to go to the Mormon church that day, so he did! The spirit works in everybody. And we met and taught and he made out a new appointment with us! Miracles. After church, we ate with the Fanzaus, which took forever because they were grilling and hadn't started cooking when we showed up haha. But it was super great! So much food oh my gosh. And we got to talk about missionary work with them! After that, we did some doors in Ahrensburg in a street that a member prayerfully chose for us. We didn't finish though. Then we went home and made plans for studying German this next transfer. #sundaynightlights

So the week was pretty packed. We didn't have too many moments when we didn't know what to do haha we had plans. Oh my gosh it's been so hot and I've been loosing weight from working so hard. It's crazy. I've said it so much, but we're pumped for next transfer and that we get to stay together. The work goes on!

Well, I hope you all have a GREAT week! I pray for you all! Wish me luck this week!

Elder Pollard

Week Seventy-seven

Hello friends, here is yet another look into the life of a missionary serving in Delingsdorf, Germany. This last week was pretty good. It went by super slow for some reason. We got some good work in. Except for one day that I thought my head was going to explode. But other then that, there were some really good appointments and a lot was set up for this coming week. We've been working really closely with Bishop Otzmann to try and get the ward more involved in the work. It's kind of funny how members do work when you're a missionary haha. Compared to how much missionaries walk around and plan and worry, every member can do more work haha. But we have two years to just go hard in the paint and try to show people the door to salvation. Normal members have to balance a healthy life with the missionary work. We're still in the figuring it all out-stage of it, so we've been thinking and praying and brainstorming a lot. But it's going well.

Our last week was like:

Montag: Last P-Day was interesting. Elder Loitz and I didn't have too much planned, so we got our shopping and necessary errands done. Then we kind of went home and passed out. For any future missionaries who read this: don't take naps on P-Days. There is something about the human brain that says, 'I'm tired. Nap sounds good. Totally worth it.' It's not though. We slept for like 3 hours haha. And we woke up at 6 to go back to work...yea P-Day isn't a whole day. It's more like P-8 hours...and we were both totally tired and it was just so hard to get up and dressed and go back outside. But we did. Miracle of the day: Bruder Zickler, our GML (ward mission leader) was at the U-Bahn (subway) stop when we showed up. We were so tired and out of it. He told us though that he was at the store and felt the urge to buy some ice cream.....inspiration from God. So we ate ice cream with him. Totally made the whole day worth it. He is such a champion haha. Well we rode to Berne (Hamburg) and went by on Schwester S and her son. We had a good little lesson with them and invited them to come back to church more regularly. That was about it!

Dienstag: Tuesday was just like a lot of being outside and talking to people. We were going door to door before lunch...we've found that in our area, it doesn't really matter at what time we're finding and going door to door. People are either home or they're not haha. We had a good eating appointment with Bruder K, who ordered us some delicious chicken. That was great. After that, we went and met with H at his place. He gave us cake and we taught him about coming to church. The rest of the day was more finding haha. We were out a lot on Tuesday.

Mittwoch: Wednesday was a great day though. We got Zone Training Meeting in Kiel until about 2 in the afternoon. Then we ate some delicious lunch that the couple in Kiel made for us. It was primo. It was good to be with the whole Zone and to learn. Knowledge is power. After the meeting we came back to Delingsdorf and helped be waiters at the blood donation activity at our ward house. We sponsored some Red Cross action and I got to ask people if they wanted juice. It was great.

Donnerstag: Thursday was cool. You hear a lot of stories about the totally cool AHA moments on missions where a missionary gets some insane inspired idea and it totally works........I had never had one of those moments until Thursday. We were walking trying to go by on some older contacts and for some reason I just turned around and started walking the other way. We talked to the first lady we found and she totally listened to us and made out another appointment. My one thought was 'whoa, this stuff really happens'. It was great. And we also got to meet with Schwester D and get to meet her, which was sweet. Good stuff. And then we rode to Lübeck and went on exchanges.

Freitag: Friday was interesting in Lübeck. We had an appointment with a guy who's been investigating for a while now. We talked about free agency and it seemed like he understood. He was cool to teach. We then did some finding in the city center in Lübeck. The weather was super nice so there was just a ton of people there. We ate with some members too. I always go on exchanges when the other Elders have eating appointments. It's great. When I came back to the area, we had another eating appointment with the T's, which are like my favorite people haha they're so cool. It was a good day.

Samstag: Saturday was soccer. It was super fun but it killed me haha I just had the worst headache ever after. We were both down. Later that day we ate with Bruder M and his family. I had never been over there because they live in the middle of the wilderness....in a crazy cool house. They made us 'Mexican' food.

Sonntag: Sudnay was just great. We had no investigators at church, but we had a lot of really good talks with members and we met with the bishop and talked about the work. We ate at the S's and they also made 'Mexican' food haha which was just good tasting. I love it. We also planned that afternoon and came in contact with a less active member.

Well, that was about it for the week. I'm going to try and send some pictures now!




Love you all!

Elder Pollard

Week Seventy-six

Hey Family and friends! This last week was just hard haha. It was a good type of hard though and very rewarding. Elder Loitz and I (commonly known as the dream team) basically worked ourselves into the ground and at the end of the week I couldn't even keep my eyes open ahaha. We came home late almost every day this week because of appointments and work. And for some reason, I haven't been able to sleep super well lately. I wake up a lot at night. So I was running on low battery like every day. But we did work and saw a lot of miracles because of our efforts.

 

Montag: Monday was just great. We went bowling with the district and visited a really big and famous church in Hamburg called St. Michaelis. 

 

St. Michaelis Church

It was HUGE and like super old-school creepy style. #apostasy. It was good to spend time with the district and get to know them better and just enjoy the p-day. That night we did some work. We went by on Frau S. because we hadn't seen her in a really long time. She was home so we just kind of talked about her week and about meeting again. She is so nice and really likes missionaries and the church. The church plays such a big role in her life already. Like all her remaining family are members. We're going to be making some invitations soon!

 

Dienstag: Tuesday was a long day. We left early in the morning to go to an appointment (early is 10:30 haha). We went all the way out to this ladies house and there was just no way to contact her. The telephone number she gave us didn't work and there were so many names on the klingal that there was just no way! So we just doored the place instead. But nobody was home haha so we're going back later. We decided to mob some lunch at this Asian place called Thai foo. It was pretty good. But the Thai foo hurt our stomachs. We did some more doors in that area and then had an appointment with R B. We found her in the area book and we had a really solid first lesson with her. She was really listening and super attentive. But she wants to meet every 2 weeks......that's not enough! We have to tell her that next time. That night we had a bomb appointment with Bruder D, the recently baptized member here. He loves American football and I love him haha. We talked about missionary work. Because we love missionary work.

 

Mittwoch: Wednesday was district meeting in Lübeck. It went well and we got to do some sweet role plays and improve our teaching skills. Go team. We celebrated our county's independence by eating KFC. Good stuff haha. We then went to Bad Oldesloe, a city in our area. It felt like we walked about forever haha. And it was really really warm. We went by on some old investigators, found out some didn't live there, and talked to one lady on the street who took a Book of Mormon and wants to meet with us! Success in Bad O. We then came back to Ahrensburg and ate ice cream and met with Frau S. We really just had a good talk. After that, on the way home, we met another man who made out an app with us. Then we went to Berne and had a 'walk in' eating appointment with the R's. They're a family in the ward. The man is from Bolivia and she is German. Their kids all speak German, English and Spanish haha intense. And we just wanted to stop by but they fed us, too. It was cool.

 

Donnerstag: America day. It was wonderful. We did a lot of work. We doored a lot and had a great appointment at night with H. We made Hotdogs (Kind of) with him and talked about faith.

 

Freitag: Friday was weekly planning, doors, and gemiko.

 

Samstag: Saturday was great. We played soccer in the morning with the ward. We wrecked. The American missionaries are surprising everybody. After that, we got ready and got on a train to Hamburg/Kiel. We had district leader schooling in Kiel so that took the rest of the day. It was pretty fun.

 

Sonntag: Sunday was wonderful. We got to church super early because we thought ward council was happening....not haha. So we just kind of chilled and church was great. Frau S came and was in sacrament meeting and the investigator class. Bruder Z did an excellent job teaching it. And after we had a good elders quorum class. We ate at the N's house the afternoon, which was wonderful. They made really good chilli. We talked about the contacts that he wants us to go by on, too.

 

That was the week! It was a lot of work. A lot of dooring and talking to people on the street. And a lot of planning. We're doing well though.

 

I started reading the new testament in German. I love the scriptures. Every time you pick the book up, ´what it tells you means something different. It's non-stop and current, up-to-date, personal revelation for everybody. I find that pretty sweet.

 

Well I hope you all have a great great week. I love you all!

 

Elder Pollard

Week Seventy-five

Hey friends,

So this last week felt like a SUPER long time, but it was just capped off well. I'm feeling pretty good at this time and I'm just pretty stoked to still be here in Germany. Germany is a great place. I love being a missionary, too. Helping people in this special way is just like so fulfilling and really just a special thing.

Last week was long, but good. A couple of our investigators made some really good progress. I was on exchanges, and now it's p-day. Let me just tell you about it all.

Montag: Monday was solid. We had to switch around our P-Day time, because we had an appointment early in the morning with M. He is the man who works for Synergy, some company out of Provo. We had a good talk with him in a hotel haha. We talked about the whole gospel message and about what we as missionaries do. It turns out that he didn't really have a whole ton of interest, but it was still a good talk. He is a way cool guy and listened to us and took everything to heart. That's not too easy to find here haha. But it ended well haha. He totally can come into contact with the church whenever he wants when he feels like it's right. We then had P-Day and emailed at the W's house and ate there, too. We went shopping and just kind of chilled and took the time to zone out and nap. Good stuff.

Dienstag: Tuesday was fun. We were in Bergteheide for a long time. 

 

 

 

We went and at lunch with the M's. Dr.M was there...random...and we had a good talk for a little bit. We basically got from the talk that he's not too interested in 'investigating' the church like we expect him to. He needs some time to really ask himself like what he wants in life and what's important to him. It's crazy to see how the world today can like mold you into wanted, worldly things. A lot of people only want what media and stuff tells them to want. Kind of weird how we can't be too honest with ourselves. Naja. The M's made us bomb food. Like German food haha. It was the best. We had a good talk about the missionary work here (Bruder M is a former mission president). After that, we went by on some peeps and then met B V. She met the missionaries a while ago, but it sounds like there wasn't too much teaching and learning going on. More like hanging out. So she was surprised when we wouldn't come into her apartment (we had no joint teach and she is a single woman with no man in the house). But we had a good talk and said we'll meet when she gets back from vacation. Germans love vacation. After we got back from Bargteheide, we had an appointment with E! Bruder B was there and translated into French. E's faith is kind of strange. He interprets the Bible a lot. I don't see how the Bible has to be some fantastical book that you have to read into and make these crazy interpretations out of. It reads pretty simply, in my opinion. And when we don't pray about it, of course you're going to get these strange ideas. The lesson went ok haha.

Mittwoch: Wednesday was district meeting! In Lübeck. The zone leaders were there, too. We had a good meeting and the ZLs talked about finding and approaching people. Afterwards, Sister S made some delicious food and we had district finding in Lübeck. That took a while. After we got home, we had an appointment/ate/beasted member work with Bruder N. He is such a cool guy! We took us walking with his dog and showed us the homes of everybody that he wants to invite to take the missionary lessons. We bought us way too much pizza and then gave us 7 referrals....such a champion. I love that guy haha.

Donnerstag: Thursday was great! We met with Herr V early in the morning. We met outside at this Döner place and just kind of settled his concerns and got everything back on track. He is so great. We talked about really 'investigating' and trying to figure out if everything is true. And we set up plans to get him to church on Sunday. After that appointment, we went and ate with Schwester B at the Chinese buffet! That's always great. I feel sick after haha always. After eating, we kind of just walked around in the forest and let our stomachs settle. It was necessary. We did some doors in the area (the Bishop had picked this street out). And made out an appointment with someone. That night, we went to H's and had a BOMB lesson with him about following Christ and doing what Christ told us to do. He got us some Döner haha and we ate just way too much food.

Freitag: Friday was boring haha. We studied, ate lunch, planned, and then went on exchanges. We had to ride the train to Kiel, like 2 hours away. 

 

 

 

I came back with Elder Lüning from Kiel. And we had another appointment with E. This time was better and we talked about baptism. Eduardo is under the category of 'I've already been baptized' and we've already tried to explain authority, but he just didn't want to understand haha. So we're still working on that.

Samstag: Saturday was the most spontaneous day on my mission haha. Elder Lüning and I had to re-plan our day because soccer in the morning fell out. The Lübeck elders called and asked us if we could help with a move, so we basically jumped up, packed everything SUPER fast and rode our bikes as fast as we could to the train station. We made the train, by the grace of God haha. And we helped a member move like all day. We ate lunch in Lübeck where I met the coolest rasta guy and took a pic with him. I'm going to grow dreads. Elder Loitz and I got back very late that night.

Sonntag: Sunday was great. Herr V came to church! To understand how cool this is, I need to explain Delingsdorf. There's no way to get there without a car haha. The buses are really bad there. So Herr V got up super early and rode the train and got to Ahrensburg at like 8. We had to wait like an hour and a half to be picked up. I thought that was way cool. And he kept talking about how he wants to join the church! Haha it's great. We need to teach him a lot but I know he can do it. Church was just great. We watched the missionary broadcast thing, which just told the members to act up and start treating the missionaries like this work is real. I loved it. P.S. was Dallin Cutler in that video? I swear he was. After church we ate at the B's, who made tacos. Mmmm. I hadn't had guacamole and refried beans in so long. It was a miracle. And we actually spent the rest of the night planning.

It was a good week. Sunday was just great. And now it's P-Day, so blessings. Elder Loitz and I are getting to this focus of teaching members how to invite friends to church and going hard on finding ourselves. We're going to help somebody so much, that they'll just jump in the baptismal font. That's our goal! Always!

Was it really 129 degrees in SD? That's redonkulous. It gets up to like 90 here in Germany, but the humidity just kills. I'm super jealous that I'm missing the 4th of July again. Like my favorite holiday. I'll send a picture of my new suit and shoes. If your eyes can handle me.

I'm having a great time, and I hope you are, too! I love you all so much, and you just solicit my prayers haha. Thanks for being wonderful. One more week until I can email you again!

Love you all!

Elder Pollard