Hello, everyone!
This week's been good for me; we've
had some interesting things go down.
So, last Monday we went to FHE at
the Sertels, which was really cool. Bruder Sertel had a really awesome
lesson prepared about the fall of Adam, choice and accountability, and how
people can express their beliefs through music. It was amazing.
Tuesday we had an absolutely
amazing lesson with Wolfgang at Moo's. We talked about the Word of Wisdom, and
Wolfgang, being a doctor, was able to assure us that he hasn't smoked or had
alcohol for years. I wanted to cheer so loud, but because we were in the Mall,
I didn't think it would be a good idea. It was really cool that he could tell
us some of the reasons he AND his brother have not smoked or drank, and I could
feel the Spirit there very strong, and I knew that the Word of Wisdom was
inspired of God. It was absolutely amazing.
Wednesday we had German Class with
Sister Titse again. It is very helpful and wonderful of her to offer to help
all of us Missionaries with our grammar and pronunciation. We had Gemeinde Rat
(Ward Council) at 19:00 (7:00pm) and it was really interesting. I couldn't
understand most of what happened, but I got more than I have in the past. I am
starting to see improvements in my comprehension and vocabulary. It's quite
thrilling.
Thursday we had Zone Training in
Friedricsdorf. We were right next to the Temple, and it was absolutely
beautiful, and amazing. So, it took all day for us to get to Friedricsdorf--
okay, 2 hours -- from Wetzlar. And then Training started at 12:00, and lasted
for 3 hours. Zone Training was a BLAST! The Zone Leaders and Sister Training
Leader had a fun time getting things organized. It was super fun. The Themes
(tay-ma's AKA talks) were so fun and all on Christ-like attributes. They were
so cool. They all connected, and it was so cool. (I know, that's really
redundant. I just can't think of any other words right now), and then I went on
my first split with Sister Brown and Sister Sherwood who are stationed in
Wiesboden, and Sister Taylor, our STL, went with Sister Blackhurst back to
Wetzlar. Sister Sherwood had an Interview with President Stoddard, so Sister
Brown and I helped break down the tables we used for Zone Training and set the chairs
back up for Sacrament. There are no cultural halls here, so we have to use the
Chapel for events like that. It was really weird, but kind of cool at the same
time.
So, yeah, I went on my first Split,
met my Godmothers. (Yes, they use the whole "familial relationship"
thing in this mission. It's kind of weird, but more funny, because it's weird. Does
that make any sense?) Anyway, Weisboden
is really beautiful. It's one of the older cities, but lots of the buildings
have been remodeled and look new. Many of them still have the old Victorian
style look, which is my favorite. I just get giddy whenever I see those
buildings because there's so much history, and it's great. So, I got to see a
fair amount of, while lugging my suitcase around on Friday because we didn't
know whether or not we'd be going back to the 5th floor apartment (with no
elevator). Yeah, that was fun to walk up after a mental work out at Zone
Training, and the riding the bus and trains for 2 hours to get there. We didn't
get home until like 8:30pm Thursday. Yeah, it was fun. Then we watch The Testaments
auf Deutsch for language study, because we didn't really get studies since we
had travel time to account for with ZT. Anyway, it was really cool.
Friday, we had the usual schedule
up until Sister Brown realized she didn't have her Visa in her wallet, but she knew
that it was on the copy machine at the church. So we ran over there real fast, and
then went over to meet with the Gill family. The Gills are a Pakistani family
who lived in Italy, and know English. The Lesson was in English, and it was
really cool because the 10 and 11 year old girls, the ones we were teaching,
couldn't speak English very well, so they spoke Italian to their father who
translated for us. It was quite awe inspiring. I could feel the Spirit so
strong, especially when I testified about the power of scripture study. It was
really cool.
Also, I learned from Brother Gill
that there is a city in Pakistan called "Montgomery" and that is
where all of the famous Pakistani candy and clothes and things are
manufactured. It was really interesting. I also learned, from one of the ward
members (I think it was brother Schwerdio) that there was an English General
named Montgomery, and he played a big part in the 2nd world war, I believe. It
was really cool information, but I can't remember everything which is frustrating.
Oh, well.
So after we got done at the Gills,
we headed over to the Military base barracks to meet with a member over there.
Unfortunately, McKenna was not home. Mom, do you or Jeff remember which Base he
was stationed on? Because it would be pretty cool if he was stationed on the
Wiesboden base, because I went there. Yeah.
Saturday, we had another lesson
with Wolfgang. It was really cool. We talked about the Example of Christ and
were going to commit him to Baptism, but one of his friends, Michael, came over
and was listening, and then started asking questions and stuff. So then we kind
of had to give him a lesson of his own about Christ because he's an atheist. It
was really weird because he started talking about terrorism and stuff in the
middle of our lesson. It was hard for me to follow because I don't have a very
big German vocabulary, but Sister Blackhurst translated when he asked a
question to me specifically. So, yeah, that was really weird.
That night, our lesson with Diana
went much better. Her 6 year old son Jaime was there, and was flipping all over
and it totally reminded me of home. We had the same topic of discussion as we
did with Wolfgang, and it went a lot smoother. I think Diana and Wolfgang are
both ready for Baptism; we just need to set a date with them both. I'm super
excited for them.
Sunday was the usual. Except for
the primary program, which was adorable. You would think that I'd be able to
understand most of what the primary aged kids talk about, but no. I was still
struggling to understand. I got the gist of it, but most of the words still
went over my head. I guess I need to work on building my vocabulary.
We had dinner at the church with
the Gentiles, (Gen-Tee-Lay) the Finds (short I), and the Stahls (Sht-all). It
was really fun, and the food was spectacular. I don't even know what all the
dishes were, but they were all great. And they were eck German (real German)
food. After everyone finished eating, the kids ran off and played, and the
teens and Adults and Missionaries all sat and talked for a good hour. It was
super fun and great practice for my German, and the food and people were great.
We eat with Members almost every
Sunday. The food is all really good. It’s got lots of seasonings, not a lot of
spice, lots of starches, carbs and fat. But somehow I've managed to lose 8 lbs
in 3 weeks. Some of it came back, but I’m working it off again. NO, I have not
tried Sour Kraut yet, but I'm sure it's coming. I have eaten lots of
meats, and Düners, and lots and lots of yummy foods. Right now I'm serving in
the city of Wetzlar, but I went on my first split to Wiesboden this week. We
went to the Military base, and I was wondering if you know where Jeff was
stationed when he was here. No, there's not a lot of sight seeing here in
Wetzlar, but there's tons of shopping. Yes, we're seeing things on P-Day, no,
we don't do much shopping, and just what we need. I wasn't feeling well today,
so I was glad we didn't have a tone of shopping to do. We were going to go to
Brounfels Castle, but called it off because I'm sick. Just aches, pains, and a
cough. I hope to nip it in the bud soon so I can get back to work.
I don't really understand the
language. Every time people talk to me, I think of that line from "Finding
Nemo" where the sea-turtle is talking really fast to Marlin, the dad, and
he says "He's trying to speak to me, I know it! You know, you're really
cute, but I just don't know what you're saying." that's how I feel every
time, and yes, it's really exhausting to try and keep up with people.
Dad says you want more details
about why things were "cool" or "wonderful." I'll try. I
need to keep a better journal so I can actually remember the details, and then
I'll be able to give them to you. But, yeah, I will do that.
So, yeah, this week was really
busy, but it was great. I felt the spirit a lot, and learned a lot from
everyone, especially the Spirit and Sister Blackhurst.
Hope all is well with everyone over
on the other continent. Don’t freeze. It’s still really warm here. Like, 30's
at night. The cobblestones hurt my feet at the end of the day. But the work
continues, and I'm having a blast, just like Elder Scott said to.
I miss you and would love to hear
from everyone, and from people in the ward and other friends. So spread
the word that I'm letter hungry :D I'm just kidding. But seriously, tell people
I want to hear from them.
Love you,
Sister Montgomery
(It's really weird saying my first
name out loud, or typing It. is that normal?)
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