HELLO
ALL!!
Well, another week has gone by, this one including
the milestone of my first Christmas away from home in another country. It was
really cool to see the traditions of another culture for their Christmas
celebration. I'll tell you about them in a minute.
So Monday we had a double lesson with Wolfgang
(WOlf-gong) and Hans (pronounced like "Prince Hans" in Frozen) at
Moo's. It's always really hard to teach at the Cafe because of all the people
coming in and out, but somehow we manage to help the spirit get through to
them. Hans has a lot of questions. We talked about plural marriage and how it
was a commandment, but that it's not anymore. it was actually a rather
interesting topic of discussion.
Tuesday, we had DDM in Wetterau. I gave a Theme on obedience,
because that was our most common topic at ZoKo last week. it actually went a
lot better than I had planned, which was nice, because I actually really hadn't
had anything planned. I forgot I had a Theme until we were on the train. But I
had paid good attention at Zone Konferenz, so the Spirit and I both had
something to work with. It was actually really fun to do it on the spot like
that. Not something I would recommend, though. After DDM, Sister Blackhurst and
I went over to the TItze's and practiced "Mary, did you know?" for
our Gemeinde Weihnachten Pary (Ward Christmas party) it felt like we spent
forever perfecting it, but we did just that, and it turned out beautiful on
Wednesday.
Wednesday we had full studies, which is always
nice. I learn a lot, and have been keeping a study journal of all the things I
learn, specifically during personal study. It's fun to go back through my notes
and learn more stuff from what I've already learned. We had invited Wolfgang to
come to Heilige Abend at Familie Sertels, but he called and canceled because he
had to work.
We had the Gemeinde party at 1500 (3:00). It was 45
minutes, and we got there about 45 minutes early to run through songs one last
time before the program. It was really cool and the Spirit was really strong because
of all the scriptures and songs involved. I don't remember them all, but I know
it was really cool, and super fun.
After the Gemeinde party, we went home with Familie
Sertel and Familie Schneider came as well for Heilige Abend at the Sertels. It
was really nice. We had potato soup, wild pig, star shaped knoodle
(ck-noodle) and rot kohl. It looked so nice, we didn't want to eat it. Seriously,
it looked like when Danika is playing and makes it look like a 5 star
restaurant. it was wonderful. Then, as nachtish (nahck-tish (like fish with a
T) meaning dessert) we had chocolate mousse with whipped cream and Johannes
berries (red current berries) sprinkled with sugar so it looked like snow. it
was gorgeous, and tasted even better, and it was eck-German, too. Then,
B. Sertel went into the family room and set up the presents and was really cute
when he was trying to get us to go in. the believe that the Christ-kind brings
the presents and then rings a bell, when he leaves, so B. Sertel keeps saying
"was that a bell? I think the Christ Kind came." it was really funny.
So we finally went in after the Grandfather clock sounded, and he was like
"Everyone heard THAT bell." they divied out presents and they even
had a present for each of the missionaries, which was doch nice (Doch is an
emphasizer). It was really fun to watch them all get excited about their
presents. The Sertels gave sister Blackhurst and I each a nice moleskin with 2
nice pens, a pad of paper, and a box of nice chocolates with nits and fillings.
it was so nice, and wonderful. They spoiled us.
Christmas was spent with Familie TItze, and the
Elders. We had breakfast at 9, it was French toast, my favorite breakfast on
the planet, and then we did presents. The two girls each got about 20 presents
each, some of which were really big, which is not surprising seeing as they're
the only children they have, but they were wonderful enough to get us some presents
as well. The Elders got a 24 pack of root beer and a one person roclette (a
little grill and it's really cool, I'll see if I can bring one home and teach
you all, because it's really yummy and you can experiment all you want. I think
it's a new favorite) Sister Blackhurst and I got matching thermal leggings and
a scarf, and then we each got a present suited to our personality. Sister
Blackhurst got lotions and shower creams and stuff, and I got 2 CDs: the Piano
Guys 2 and die Eiskönigin (frozen in German). I don't remember what the Elders
got, but the CDs basically made my week. We had Roclette for lunch, and then we
watched Frozen because we were allowed to watch one Disney movie, and Sister
Blackhurst and Elder Brandner had not yet seen Frozen. Sister Blackhurst had
told me before that I could not sing along out loud to all the songs, and I
successfully restrained myself.
After the Titize's we headed over to the church to Skype,
which was the highlight of my week, and my year XD after Skype the bus never
came, so we literally had to run home to get the cake we had backed for Tina,
and then head over to her house. Tina's birthday is the 25 of December, that’s
why we had a cake. We went on had a small lesson with her about the plan of
salvation and how cool it is we have the opportunity to come here to earth. It
was fun, Tina's a character.
Friday, we went over to Familie Finds and met with
Shelbey the foreign exchange from Texas. We had Roclette for dinner again, and
it was kind of funny when sister Find found out. She was a little disappointed.
After dinner we had a really spiritual lesson on the restoration and the
Book of Mormon, and gave her a Book of Mormon in English. I could tell she
could feel something, but wasn't quite sure what it was, and that she is
sincere about learning more about the Church. We also showed her the Mormon Message
where elder Holland talks about how Joseph and Hyram wouldn't just throw their
lives away for something they'd made up on a whim. It was pretty powerful.
Saturday was back to normal; we had an appointment
with Wolfgang. He had gotten a book somewhere with information about us, and he
was smart about the misinformation in there. He came to us and asked,
"what's going on? is this true?" and then we read the book together
(It wasn't very big) and answered his question. it was actually a really cool
and engaging lesson.
Sunday, we went to Familie Titze's for lunch and
had Roclette again. I think I'm roclette-ed out for a while. Then Sister
Blackhurst and I shared a spiritual thought on how we can set goals to better
ourselves and how New Years Resolutions can help with that; this turned into a
really great discussion about goals and habits, and it was very insightful. I
think I may be able to reach more of my goals this next year than I have in
years past.
Oh! It snowed Saturday. 12 hours straight. We have
about 1.5-2 feet of snow, and it is cold. Saturday, Sister Blackhurst and I did
some go-byes over by the church, and then the busses stopped coming and we had
to walk home. When we got home we were frozen. Sister Blackhursts toes had no
feeling, and were white in places. I had her put them in cold water to warm
them up, and then we slowly increased the temperature. It was terrifying. We
were both scared she was going to lose her toes.
On that happy note, I love you all, and hope you
have a happy New Year!
Sister Montgomery
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