Well, it's almost been a month since I got to Germany. Sometimes it's crazy
to think I've been here that long already, and sometimes it's hard to remember
life before Freiburg. Oh, the life of a missionary!
So this week was rain, rain, and more rain. This week
was also a lot of appointments that fell out, so we did a lot of contacting in
the rain! As much as I love being a missionary, I'm pretty sure I'm
allowed to say that going finding in the rain isn't really my favorite thing in
the world. And it's so hard to make the decision at the end of the day
whether to go home a few hours early and have dinner and Sprache Studium
(Sister Jenson is awful at remembering to have language study, I have to remind
her every day. But it's still the first thing we get rid of when we don't
have enough time in the day), or whether to stay outside and keeping
contacting. Although it's perfectly fine to go home and have dinner and
study, which we are counseled to do every day, it's just hard to make that
decision, because as missionaries we are always looking for ways to find more
people to teach! So sometimes it's hard to know if you want to go home to
study or just because it's cold and you can't feel your toes and your leg hairs
and piercing through your thin tights. Gah, I'm so scared for winter!
So there is an investigator we teach, she's about 65, and
how can I say this nicely in English? sie spinnt einbißchen, that's the
only way I can think of to say it lol But she loves the missionaries, and she
still wants to take lessons, so we teach her occasionally. Anyways, we
set up an appointment with her yesterday, and Sister Jenson told me 'Don't eat
all day. "C" feeds us A LOT of food!' So I had a small
breakfast, no lunch, and was ready to eat my arm by the time we got to
"C"'s at 4. We sat down to eat and all there was was a cabbage
salad, a plate of tomatoes, and two cheese crepes. I was about ready to
kill Sister Jenson, I was so hungry and didn't see how that was going to be
enough for us to eat (escpecially since neither of us can have cheese crepes..)
All I have to say is be careful what you wish for! Shortly after we
sat down, Catarina brought out a huge bowl of potato soup, a large plate of
rice with gravy, a large plate of schnitzel, and four marmalade crepes for me.
(She originally had 4 cheese crepes for Sister Jenson, but Catarina ate
two of them before we came.) Oh meine Gute, I was basically holding back
tears as I was finishing the last two crepes. The funny part is, that's
how most of our food appointments go! So...much....food....
There was a piano concert in the Church on Saturday, which
was really neat. The music director in our ward asked one of her friends
to come put on a concert in the church, and then she had it advertised
throughout Freiburg. So most of the people who ended up coming weren't
members, and they were just coming to enjoy the music. It was such a
great opportunity afterwards to talk to people about our church and give them a
little tour in a non-threatening environment, and the people were so much more
willing to listen to what we had to say. If every member invited one
friend to a ward activity or even just sacrament meeting or mutual, how much
more effective missionary work would be! I am so grateful for the ward I
am in and for the excitement they have for missionary work, it makes our job as
missionaries so much easier. And members can normally reach the people
that would normally reject us as missionaries if we were to come klingeling on
their door.
I had two people tell me this week that I have a talent with
the German language. Which was really nice to hear, because I feel like I
am learning really slowly! Especially since Sister Jenson can speak
really well, and nobody seems to pick up on the fact that she is American.
But without fail, whenever we are contacting on the streets, the person
will ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS look at me for a few seconds with a look of
curiosity and all I can think is 'oh no, the next thing they are going to say
is 'you're American, aren't you?'' lol it's funny, but really frustrating
sometimes! Anyways, the language is getting easier every day. The
work gets better every day. And every day goes by faster and faster.
so does the time, which I am now out of! I hope all is well back
home! Tschüß!
-Sister Peterson
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