Denglish, RIP Mittens, And Baptism By Fire (Literally)

Hallo liebe Leute!

  

What a busy week! Although we were pretty busy I can't think of anything to write about.

Well Darmstadt has been awesome so far. There are tons of young people here and the ward has lots of activities. On Sunday we had a devotional with the bishop and the young adults, and I had the chance to get to know all them which was a lot of fun. They all speak pretty much perfect English, and a lot of times even when you speak German to them they will respond in English because they all say that they prefer talking in English, even between themselves because sometimes it's just quicker and easier than German. They will even be speaking in German and then just say a completely random English word in the middle #denglish (deutsch + english). My favorite line this week was from Janis who said when people come up to you on the street and ask if you've got a light (like for a cigarette, which happens surprisingly often), you say "Yeah I do. The light of Christ.". Yeah I know, cheesy, but I guess you had to be there. Everything is funnier when you hear it from a German (no offense Germans, I promise it's a good thing).

 

We also did our service project at the food bank again (Die Tafel). We took another trip around town with Heinz, picking up food from grocery stores. This time I began to understand his accent better, but I am still getting used to it. Most of the time I understand a couple words or a small phrase, and then I just fill in the rest of the sentence in my head. I guess you could say Heinz just has such a connection that we even finish each other's sentences. While we were in the car, Elder Worthington and I were exercising our most beautiful singing voices when Heinz just shook his head, rolled his eyes, and said "Ihr seid krank!" (Y'all are ill). The Tafel gave us 10 avocados just as a thank you, and we made about 5 pounds of guacamole, so that may have been one of the highlights of my week.

 

We have also been prepping for Shuheng's baptism and we are all really excited, including Shuheng! Even though he doesn't have great English or German, he understands the Gospel better and is able to understand its applications better than some people who have been baptized for 20 years! There was one time when we were going over the baptismal interview questions as practice and we got to the one asking if he had ever committed a serious crime. He said "One time I was crossing a street, and a cat ran out and I accidentally scared it and so it got it by a car. Is that a crime?". That completely describes the pure person he is. If that is the worst thing he has done, I think there is something we all can learn from him. 

 

Also quick side note, it's supposed to be almost 100 DEGREES on Saturday. And that's not even taking humidity into account. It also doesn't help that there's no A/C in this country, except for our chapel. Honestly someone needs to tell Germany about air conditioning. They got free wifi on buses and pastry dispenser machines at grocery stores (i'm.not complaining about that), but you can't get free water at a restaurant or sit in your own home without risking heat exhaustion. I thought when I moved to Germany I'd be enjoying a nice cool summer around 62 degrees, with rainy days here and there, but NO. I don't recall getting called to serve in the jungle. It does however remind me of good ole Virginia because I walk outside on a nice bright sunny humid day and I am soaked within 6 seconds. I really do love being in Germany, I promise, just the no A/C or free water is sometimes slightly inconvenient.

 

You know, lately I haven't been talking to many people on the bus or on the street, however, I have felt a lot more guided by the Spirit to talk to the people I talk to. Sometimes I will just walk up and talk to someone without even thinking because it just feels right, and I know that that is the guidance of the Spirit. Obviously that isn't the case all the time, but I have noticed that as I have strived to prayerfully do the Lord's work as a missionary, I have been able to look back and see God's hand in what I did. You don't need to be a missionary for that to happen!

 

Anyways that's all for this week, sorry I don't have any exciting stories. Next week will be good, I promise!

 

Love yall,

Landon

 

1. Downtown Darmstadt

2. Us and Shuheng

3. Ferrari

4. The District