Christmas Markets!

I would just like to start this week out by saying that Elder Dean and I are pleased to say that John, our investigator from Ghana, will be getting baptized on the 20th of December. That is the plan now, but we are super excited for him and he is just a sweet humble guy. John has had such a hard life but he trusts that despite all that has happened, the Lord will help him. How right he is! 

We just got that news yesterday, and I couldn’t wait to share it, so now Ill kind of jump around on the news.

Last week just as well as this week, we will be touring the massive xmas markets of Köln with 8 or so other missionaries! Last week it was freezing, but for whatever reason Elder Dean wore shorts! Some people gasped and marveled, and then as we were leaving a cop came up and asked why he was wearing shorts. It was really funny and actually led to a great conversation. So that was a really cool day, and I am sooo excited to do it again! My favorite is Heumarkt, so if you get the chance to, look up Heumarkt Weihnachtsmarkt 2014.

I also had the opportunity this week to go to the Wupp-Nasty as we call it, or Wuppertal as everyone else calls it. I think our name is cooler. Well, I got adopted by an African family as their son from Michigan, which was pretty funny, but we also had a really cool lesson with a member family on the side of the mountain. Beautiful view! They have a son named Kevin, and he is serving in Russia right now. The reason it was so good though, is because I learned a truth; when the spirit teaches you something is true, just because the feeling goes away the next day doesn’t mean it isn’t true anymore. 

Because I am a missionary, it is expected that we contact people in the streets and trains everyday. I am terrible at this. Our mission leader asked us how the work was going, and I could sense he knew something, so I just told him. He gave us a really awesome pep talk and it really got me motivated to talk to totally random people. Something that I thought of this week is this question. How important is your word? After that, I made a contract with myself saying I would contact so many people each day. I signed it at the bottom and I have got to say I have not missed a single day. Things are just all of a sudden more fulfilling. It feels better! He also told us how when we contact people, we can make really funny stories. Boy was he right! I contacted a woman that night and she couldn’t believe I was from America because I was white! Apparently she thought everyone in America was black haha! The guy sitting at the other side of the train burst out laughing but never turned around. Such a funny night!

Other funny things from this week consisted of an American school bus turned into a party bus filled with dancing white haired women, a crazy man screaming at the top of his lungs, and me "sawing logs" while I sleep haha. 

That’s all I have time for this week, but hopefully it is enough. Have a great week, and enjoy the Christmas Spirit! Remember, Christ was the best gift we ever got!

Kevin