Tuesday morning we had a lesson with Charlie. He's the interesting man with the white beard and long ponytail. We planned to talk about Jesus Christ and read 3 Nephi 11:1-11. As soon as we began to have a discussion he changed the subject. He does that every time! I would ask him about Jesus Christ or the Atonement and he would brush it off and then he'd change the subject to the philosophies of man or the Nazis. I don't think we're going to be going back there very often because he doesn't keep commitments and it's super hard to give a lesson.
Our bahn (train) home was late but I think it was Heavenly Father's will. We were walking home from the Buckau station and a man stopped us on the pathway and asked us if we had a Bible. That led to talking about the Book of Mormon and he was really interested. We asked him if there was another time that we could meet and he said, "Well, there is a bench right here--tell me more." He liked it all and took a Book of Mormon, a Restoration pamphlet, and our card. He said he was religious and that it was a shame that so many Germans have hard hearts. We really wanted to get his contact info so we could visit him but he said he would come by church on Sunday and that we could meet there. He also said he'd bring his four kids. He sounded super genuine. He hugged us at the end and said, "See ya later." I got this really good feeling afterwards. Unfortunately, he didn't come to church yesterday. But he was in every one of our prayers this week. We were praying that he would feel the Spirit and bring his family to church. Hopefully we can see him again. He made me realize how much people notice us though. He said he sees us all the time walking around. You never think how many people are actually watching you.
We had a lesson with Vinod that evening. We began by asking if he could fill us in on his arranged marriage and other "personal issues" he referred to last time. He said that being Mormon would make it a lot more difficult (but not impossible) to find a good wife. He said that he also worries that his Catholic family would treat him like an alien. He is also stressed over work but he looks forward to our visits because they take his mind off of everything else. We read with him Alma 20:7-27. Afterward, I checked for understanding. I realized that was important because his little English does not allow him to understand a lot of the scriptures. Therefore I explained the story to him in simpler terms and then I quoted 1 Nephi 19:23 and said we hope you can apply this story to your life and be an example of the believers. Elder Meeks read Moroni 3:7. After that I told him, look, I don't know what missionaries have told you in the past and I don't want to pressure you. He said, "Oh no you can say anything you want to me." So I explained that we know that baptism is a commandment from our Heavenly Father. Heavenly Father wants to bless you but there are certain blessings that he cannot give you until you are baptized. I said I know we talked about baptism last time and this is a decision you need to make with your agency, but if you can take this leap of faith, we testify that Heavenly Father will provide a way like it says in the scriptures. Have the faith that the hearts of your family members will be softened. Have the faith that you will marry the right woman. Elder Meeks followed that by letting him know that we wanted him to pray and with the help of his Heavenly Father, he could pick a baptismal date that he could work toward and we would help him prepare for that. I think he took it really well. I think he appreciated it. I also don't think we could have been more blunt.
Wednesday was a pretty solid day. We bounced up, had a bit of study, and then went to district meeting. The Zone Leaders stayed at our wohnung (apartment) Tuesday night so they came with us. District meeting was solid. We practiced street contacting and also took district pics since transfers are this week:
We also got some pics with Elder Slinker as well since he goes home tomorrow:
Afterward we went out district finding. Elder Pilling and I went out together. We had a lot of fun talking to people. It was funny, we really stumbled through trying to talk to one girl--I think she thought we were idiots. But we got a contact! Her name is Lena. She grew up just outside the city and now she is studying here. She is religious and she is interested in finding out how families can be eternal. I called her that night to set up something but she is going out of town for the next week so she said to call her then.
We went to lunch afterwards. I got food from Curry 54 since I didn't feel like a döner. I tried a drop of their hottest curry that they don't even have on their menu and I almost choked. I couldn't even speak to give my order. I got the Beyond Insanity curry which was just right for me--almost sweet. Elder Yarborough got the hottest. He was sweating profusely and then he got acid reflux and it came back up. We went by an old investigator's home from our area book that night. We caught one man at home and he agreed to meet with us! We are going over there on Wednesday. I think I told you we toured the Catholic Cathedral here in Magdeburg last week--here are a couple of my pictures. The second is purported to be a whale bone...from the whale that ate Jonah. Not sure about that but the cathedral is beautiful!
I miss and love you all!!
Elder Germann
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