Frankfurt Germany Mission #13 - Crazies, Old People, And Refugees

Hallo allerseits!

So I started naming my email because someone who I won't specify (it was my last companion Elder De Young) made fun of my emails for just being titled the same thing each week with a different number. So now I'll try to think of more creative names.

Also Elder Jacobsen and I are actually getting along pretty well, in case anyone was worried.  

But anyways, this week has been pretty weird. As far as crazies go, Elder Jacobsen and I were walking on the street next to a strasse bahn stop (the street train) and a guy on a bike started zooming towards us screaming and shouting insults in German and when he got up to us he got in our face and was all like "(something in crazy man german)... (more in crazy man german)". I think my life flashed before my eyes, but we survived and as he biked away, he kept shouting but we kept walking. 

We also stopped and talked to quite a few older people on the street this week. And let me say, old Germans like to talk once you talk about something they are interested in. We talked to one guy that I have talked with before, and we just had the same long conversation (well not really a conversation, mostly him talking to us). He was so nice and friendly, but I had already had the same conversation with him like 3 weeks ago, and he actually spent a while trying to convince us that BREXIT was prophesied in the Bible (but who knows maybe it was.  We talked for about 30 minutes on the street. On the way home we stopped and talked with another old man who went off about how the media lies. What is really cool though, is that some of the older members in our ward have began to trust us enough that they will text us or call us and just talk about their problems, and we just listen. Sometimes the best thing you can be for others going through a hard time is just a good listener.  God doesn't try to tell people how to solve all of their problems, but He is always there for us as the perfect listener, because we can always turn to Him in prayer when we need someone to talk to.

The other day we were called and told that we were going to the American Ramstein Airbase the next day to go help out with all the refugees coming in from Afghanistan (at the time we didnt wven know what we were doing or for who, we just knew we were going to a differrent city to do service. It was only us and a couple other missionaries, but when we got there, the missionaries who had already been there told us we needed our passports to get on the base. Well my companion happened had his with him, but mine is still with the mission office while they do my visa and residency permit, so I didn't get to go and help out which was a real bummer. My fomo ("fear of missing out" for all the non-hip adults out there) was and still is real, but l'll get over it. I hung out with another missionary in the apartment in Kaiserslautern, but from what I heard, it is crazy. Elder Jacobsen was telling me that like half the airbase was filled with tents and refugees. It is so sad that so many people have been displaced from their homes. There was like 30,000 refugees oe something on the airbase, and more were coming in. I wish I could have helped out and contributed, but either way I would still encourage everyone who can to donate whatever they can. There are so many people who just came with the clothes on their back.

Anyways, I think my German is improving, and I can actually hold a conversation with our "German Grandma"  who has one of the hardest accents in the world to understand (I am convinced that it isnt even German), so thats a good sign. 

Also we went to the Saarschleife again today cause Elder Jacobsen wanted to see it, so that was fun.

I am not sure if I'll get an email out next week because Elder Bednar is coming to speak to our mission, so thatll be exciting.

Anyways, see yall later

Landon

1. Me and Elder Jacobsen in front of a beautiful view of industrial buildings.

2. Another picture at the saarschleife , nothing new

3. Waiting for a bus for the 4765336 time