Murder By Food, Italiano, And Rain

Hallo meine Lieblingsleute!

 

What a week. It's not even like a ton of stuff happened, I am just tired!

 

Last Thursday on my birthday, Vishnu (one of our young adults) and Elder Breinholt/the Sisters surprised me with a cake and candles so that was really awesome. I think that being sung Happy Birthday to is still one of the most awkward phenomenons of all time. Has anyone figured out what you do while they are singing? Cause I haven't. Do you clap? Do you just smile? Do you hum along? I don't know but what I do know is that I am incredibly uncomfortable each time (despite how grateful I am).

 

I hope everyone had a great New Year! We didn't stay up, but we were woken up around 12 by a bunch of fireworks so we essentially got to experience it anyways. On new years day we went over to the Dreier Families along with Piet to have Raclette, which is where you have a ton of ingredients (like cheese, potatoes, vegetables, different types of meat, etc.) and you can cook/make whatever you want. You throw it all into a mini pan, and then you heat it up, and boom there's your food. It's a traditional German thing but I'm sure they have it in the US. It was really good but they were trying to get rid of it all (they invited us over because they had too much leftovers from New Years Eve), so they forced us into eating until our hearts stopped. Not really, but essentially. It was a LOT of food, to say the least, but their family is so awesome so I am glad that we could go over.

 

I forgot to mention this last week, but we found someone new who we will be teaching. His name is Patrizio (he's Italian, cool right?) and he is really awesome! We actually came into contact with him through a member in Munich who called us and told us that she had met him and been writing him on Facebook and that he really wanted to meet with us. He knows he wants to do the right thing in life, but he doesn't always know how to determine whether or not he is doing what God wants. We met with him once last week, and we are going to be meeting with him again soon. He is really excited to learn more, and we are so excited to be able to talk to him more.

 

Tuesday we went to Frankfurt to get the booster vaccination, so that's what we were doing most of the day Tuesday, but that night I could barely sleep cause I had bad muscle aches, and most of yesterday I was really tired and just my whole body ached, but the work goes on! We went to try to get Elder Breinholt an appointment to get registered in the city, but he forgot his passport, so he couldn't do it. However, I did get to help someone from Syria who spoke English but no German, and I translated his questions for him and talked to the employee for him which was cool. It was cool, and I managed just fine, but it made me realize that I have to do some more flashcards.

 

Also told myself a lot before the mission that I love rain, and I think I still do, but only when I can stay inside and read a book or watch a movie with the family. Here it is just above freezing all the time, but there's never snow, just rain. Every day is rain, rain, rain, gray clouds, more rain. They say "faith is the hope that the sun will rise again in the morning" and I haven't seen the sun in weeks, so I have to have a lot of faith that it will show up anytime soon.

 

Anyways sorry for the long email (as always, you can't expect anything else from me), but I am really having an awesome time out here. On a mission I have the privilege to have a dedicated time to study the scriptures every single day, which is not something I did too consistently before the mission. I just have to say that it makes an incredible difference in life. Reading the scriptures every day, and just writing one sentence or one word of what you learned can be so awesome. You don't have to read a lot, but reading at all can really change everything.

 

I said sorry for the long email and then wrote more. Sorry.

Anyways I will talk to you guys next week, and I hope you had an awesome New Year!

 

Elder Lando

 

1. A cool staircase loopy thing

2. Momma sent some Kroger Three Cheese Mac n' cheese. You never realize what you have until you don't have it anymore. Be grateful you live in a country with Three Cheese Mac n' cheese...

3. Curry night with Vishnu! I was cold, sorry, that's why it looks like I'm ready to go skiing.

4. A cool church. Sorry it's a bad picture through a train window.

5. New Years Day Raclette feast with the Dreiers and Piet!