Hey All!

This week was both really busy, but also kind of empty. This week we didn't have any lessons with any investigators!! Arg!  Oh well, we met a way cool girl this week on a train, and we exchanged numbers and we gave her a Book of Mormon!

On Tuesday I met my new mission president, and his name is President Stoddard! I asked him if he was related to some Stoddards in Michigan. He said he was, but distantly related. He said his family had been converted in Michigan from the early members of the church. I then asked him if it was from the members that are mentioned going up to Detroit in the D&C, and he said that was exactly right! Way cool! He's a way cool guy, and I am actually going to spend more time with him on my birthday in an interview, so that should be interesting.

This week we also went to a BBQ on Sunday right after church. It just wasn't the same even though it was still pretty good. This week I have been kind of missing school a little. Weird as that sounds it is true. I met a lot of cool people there, and I hope we will always be friends. Plus as empty as Idaho is, it is way fun!

So just the other day Elder Arts and I visited a man by the name of Erik Broeker. Erik cannot move and he cannot speak. I think he has Cerebral Palsy? Anyway, we visited him and all he does is watch TV and play video games all day every day of his life. It was really sad, and he lives in a hospital as a permanent resident. He blinks for yes, and shakes his head for no. He is able to write really slowly, and other than that, that is all he can do. We got on the topic of life and he asked us,"why is my test so hard and yours isn't?" Honestly I almost cried, and I had to hold back some tears. I felt crummy because I don't know why his life is harder than mine, and I can't give him an answer that brings him peace. It was really hard. Erik is also a pretty funny guy and has a sense of humor. He also told us that he occasionally smokes weed! Not exactly how he gets his weed let alone smoke it. Anyway, it was sad to see him sad but I was glad we could visit him.

We also got a tour of the city from a less active member, and we went all around and he explained some really neat things. We came across this road that is an original Roman made road, with the original stones in the pathway. It isn't very big or long, because most of it was destroyed. It is just so neat because so much stuff here is hundreds if not thousands of years old, yet here it is still. We went into the Cologne Dom and there is really no way to describe it. It is simply incredible. Today for our free day, we are going into the cellars and climbing to the top of it! So excited!

Elder Arts spotted quite the treasure this week, and we each picked up our own Deutschland Jerseys for soccer. It's not the real thing, but the real thing costs 80 euro and these cost 15 on sale...so. This week there was also a gay pride tour going around the city of Cologne. There were people everywhere in T-shirts, groups, games, and everything all rallying for rights. As someone who stands in a religion who is known for supporting traditional marriage, it was kind of scary being around so many people when it was just the two of us. Luckily we were able to contact a woman, and turns out she was an American serving on a military base. We thanked her for her service, gave her our card, and found out her best friend is Mormon. Small world! After that there were just more and more people coming from everywhere in the city, so we decided to head in early.

Well that's pretty much it this week. We helped the most technologically challenged person I have ever met in my life and helped him with his phone and help him set up a facebook because he has two emails without even knowing it. He also doesn't know his password to facebook or his email, and realized why his internet was so slow on his phone after we told him and explained that his wifi router had to be plugged into the wall to work. haha.

Well I hope everyone has a fun and productive week, Elder Arts and I are off to cut off his mop on his head and go to the Dom with a bunch of other missionaries.