Training a "Greenie!"

Hey everyone, this week was quite the week and a good amount of stuff
happened. This week we did have transfer calls, and it is no big
surprise that Elder Draper got transferred. With that said, on
Thursday I will be heading back from Frankfurt with a brand new
missionary! I don't know his name yet, but he should be landing in
Germany in just a few days. Elder Kelson also got switched to Essen
this week, which was very strange considering he only served here one
transfer! Offenbach is getting quite the change up.

Unfortunately I have some bad news, that being that Frau Woth called
off the baptismal date and told us she  found another church. Guess it
was just because she wanted to baptize her kids. I just don't
understand what the point in being baptized is when you don't even
remember it and never go to church again. Thats what a good number of
people do in Germany. Actually I think some of the churches are
actually closing in Offenbach. The church next door to ours doesn't
even have Sunday services right now!

As of this week I have a new hobby! Hedge trimming! Kind of strange,
but I really liked it and found it kind of relaxing in a strange way.
We helped out a lady this week with her hedge and we made it look all
castle like! Pretty fun service if you ask me.

Best news of the week is that we finally met with Greg and Ajda, and I
don't think it could have gone much better. It was a super natural
feeling and we just had a good time getting to know them. They had
some questions about the church for us which was something that we
expected, but their only worry seemed to be how not to look like an
outsider at church! They committed to coming next week since they just
started a new job, and had worked out with the boss that they would be
able to come from next week on. At least thats what I understood. It
was so cool to talk because we really got to see how long these
awesome people were being prepared. They both passed through periods
where they were mad at God, but eventually they turned around. Every
story they told pointed them to this moment, which they made clear
that they saw too.

One thing that excited me the most, was that they said that they
weren't so sure on meeting us just because of all the things going on
at the time, so they decided not too. Then, because we met them at the
hospital, they saw that it was a miracle and a sign that we were
supposed to start meeting. Hoping to get them in the water soon,
because it feels like I am talking to people that have been in the
church for years when I am with them. They already asked us for a book
for their neighbor, and love serving people. They offered us the lower
part of the apartment, but we already have one! Very excited to see
how things go from here. Hopefully they go through with the idea of
inviting us and their neighbors to a BBQ!

Last bit of news from me is about two of the three referrals we got a
few weeks back. We actually got in contact with them, and had a meet
up outside of where they live. It was just so peaceful, and as they
talked about the things they were struggling with, we shared a
scripture with them from the Book of Mormon describing how Christ
didn't just take his sins upon himself, but also knows how to help us
with our burdens and weaknesses. I know for a fact they were feeling
the spirit, and we really couldn't have asked for a better first
lesson/get together. The one is a less active that wants to come back,
and the other wants to join the church. Only problem is that they live
in the middle of nowhere and it takes us and members forever to get to
them. Still, every perfect sounding situation with investigators or
less actives has its own problems, I just hope we will have members
willing to sacrifice time to pick them up for church.

This week was fantastic, and it got me really excited to keep working
here. It is a little strange for me to  think that Elder Draper is
leaving after us only being together for 6 weeks, but starting a new
adventure will be fun. The idea of training has kind of shown me
though that I really dont have much time left here. Once I am done
training I will probably move to my last area. Time goes by so fast!
Sure hope everyone has a great week!

Liebe Grüße,
Kevin