Meet the Mormon Who Has Reached His Year Mark

Hello Everyone!

I hit my year mark on my mission, and it has gone by fast!  My week started with Pday, and for fun we (the Schweinfurt Elders) found an euro shop and found a bunch of ties for only one euro!  Tuesday was Zone Conference, and there we were shown the new movie from the Church, "Meet the Mormons."  A few months behind America on this movie, but at least we got to see it.  We also learned about the new initiative from the Church that started this week, #BecauseHeLives, that was fun to learn about.  I also got a bunch of packages from back home and got to see a few other Elders I knew earlier on the mission.  [Mom's note:  Aaron found out here that Herr Vogt from his last area did get baptised!]

Wednesday I had a split with one of the other Schweinfurt Elders.  We had an appointment with a family in our ward, and tried to talk to some people along a river.  The following day was my year mark.  In the morning I and the other Elders did service at our Bishop´s, and then we played basketball for a little bit with a guy the other set of Elders had found.  In the evening we had planned to go out to a nice German restaurant, but it didn´t work out, so we did that the next day.  For the first time on my mission, I went to a real German restaurant and got real German food, which was a giant Schnitzel.  It was a lot of food, but it tasted really good.

For the weekend there was a fun game night at the church, and we got to show the new video from the Church initiative, and for Church the next day someone we had invited to Church actually came!

Well, it has been a good first year, and I look forward to all the great things in store for the second year!  Ultron is still around also.  Until next week!

Aaron 

Aaron celebrating his year mark

Ultron in Schweinfurt

St. Patrick's Day and Street Display

My favorite holiday came and went on my mission, and I got the elders in my district to wear green ties and have a little bit of fun for our district meeting on St. Patrick´s Day.

Service at the Bishop´s has started wrapping up.  It was good to see all the progress that was made there.  I have enjoyed doing service, and think that you can never get enough of it out here as a missionary in Germany.

I was able to go on a split with another Elder in my district in the area of Würzburg again, and had a good time, we ended up meeting with a member there that we were not expecting to meet.

The area of Schweinfurt had a street display this past week also, which was an adventure.  We met some nice people, a lot of unfriendly people, and some crazy people.  There was one woman who surprised us by buying us some food at a grocery store, which was unexpected and very kind of her to do, especially because we had never met before.  I was also given a flower from a cheerleader during the street display, just because I waved and said hello.

It was a pretty fun week, and this upcoming week I have a zone conference to look forward to.  Let you know how it went next week!

Green Ties and District Meeting

Street Display in Schweinfurt

Splits, Splits, and Service!

This past week I had the wonderful opportunity to go on splits and do service for the bishop in Schweinfurt, and that pretty much sums up my week.

Monday I went on a tour with the Bishop and other Elders through Schweinfurt and got to know the city a little better, and in the evening my companion and I worked on walls at the Bishop´s.  Tuesday I traveled to Würzburg for district meeting, and then going on a split.  District meeting was good, and the split was a lot of fun.  We traveled with the missionary senior couple to visit a part member family and have an eating appointment.  This family had a son that just returned from a mission, and they fed us a ton of food.  I also got to explore Würzburg a little, and there are a lot of cool things to see there.

After the Würzburg split, I did service at the Bishop´s and worked on a ceiling, and then went on a split with one of the other Elders in Schweinfurt.  Our split for the most part consisted of doing service for the Bishop.  Friday and Saturday, my companion and I met with a less active member, and we also had a meal appointment with a member family, which was fun.  We also played Uno and Ping Pong for our weekly game night in Schweinfurt.  Sunday, we had no investigators at church, but my companion and I gave a short spiritual thought in the primary.

As for service goes, things are starting to wrap up now, and it will be nice to see everything be completed.  My companion was able to find some people on his splits so it all worked out with all the time spent helping the Bishop.

Until next week!

Touring the area

District Leader, Brownies, and Migraines

For my first full week in Schweinfurt, I got to get more familiar with District Leader responsibilities through a mission wide conference call for new leaders, a district leader meeting in the city of Nürnberg, and leading my first district meeting!  It all was fun, and was a good learning experience.  For a first district meeting, it went well, and it is fun to have a senior couple in the district.

As for normal missionary responsibilities, we knocked on some doors, went by and tried to meet with some potential investigators, and deliver brownies made by Elder Wilde.  As for getting Brownies out, only one person we intended to get them to received brownies.  That was cool however, and the lady was really happy about getting a treat for her and her daughter.  We also had a game night where a friend of the church showed up and we played Settlers of Catan together and got to know the guy who showed up.

One day, after a meeting with the Bishop, my companion got a migraine, which knocked him out for the rest of the day.  He just rested in the apartment, and I went about getting unpacked, shining shoes, etc.

On Sunday we had a service missionary come down to help translate for a Russian investigator, and another potential investigator came to church also.  In the evening, when Elder Wilde and I went out to do doors, the first door we did let us in, and we got to meet a prisoner of war from WWII who was in the Hitler Youth and we got to learn a little bit about WWII history.  The man and his wife had friends who were Mormons, so it was a cool experience.

As always, I will keep you informed next week about everything concerning my mission. Until then!

At the church on Pday

Welcome To Schweinfurt

A new start to a new transfer (the 8th transfer, to be exact)!

For my last Pday in Paderborn my companion and I found a place to go bowling, which was a lot of fun, and before I left Paderborn I got to say goodby to Br. Seeger and Herr Vogt, and go out to eat with them.  It was a good time, and I am happy to have served in Paderborn.

Transfers was busy, did a lot of traveling, getting little sleep, and trying to carry three suitcases of luggage with me, glad it is all over now.

Arriving to Schweinfurt, I met my new companion, Elder Wilde, and the other two Elders in Schweinfurt.  The next morning we spent a lot of time at the Bishop´s house doing renovations, and our entire district was there to help out.  It was a good time, and it looks like we could be doing a lot of service there these next few weeks.  The days following involved a lot of knocking on doors, because that it what you do in Schweinfurt.

On Sunday I got to meet the ward, which is the size of a branch because the American Military base closed down recently.  I would say it is about the same size of Paderborn, maybe a little bigger.  Everyone is friendly, which is good.  Sunday evening I got to do my first call ins with the elders in my district as district leader!

Schweinfurt is an interesting place.  It is small, and feels different from anything I have done before on my mission.  There are multiple Elders here however, and the bishop here is a huge help in missionary work, which is cool!  Should be a fun time serving in Schweinfurt!

Until next time!

Last Pday in Paderborn

Saying Goodbye to Elder Crittenden, 

Brother Seeger and Herr Vogt

Aaron and his new companion, Elder Wilde

Final Week In Paderborn

My last full week in Paderborn flew by so fast!  It honestly seems like a blur just trying to think back on it.  From what I can recall, Monday evening after P-Day my companion and I met with Br. Seeger and our investigator, Herr Vogt.  Tuesday we did some doors at the University, and we were let in by a Muslim guy and taught the first missionary lesson, but he was pretty set in his religion.

Wednesday was District Meeting, and afterwards we all went out to an Italian Restaurant, and directly after that we headed to a part member family from Bulgaria and were fed real Bulgarian food.  My companion ate too much at the restaurant, so he was struggling with finishing off the Bulgarian dinner.  It all went well, however.  The next few days were spent continuing meeting with Br. Seeger and Herr Vogt, teaching the commandments, and more work with members.

Friday, however, was when I learned that I would leave Paderborn.  I received a call from the mission president, telling me that I would be serving as a district leader with the new transfer that is coming up.  Saturday morning, for the transfer call I learned that I will be moving to the area of Schweinfurt.

Concerning everything else that happened throughout the week, we discovered that the FC Bayern soccer team was spending a night in the hotel across the street from us.  We had to get a picture of the bus!  We did service again at the other church, and this time we got to share a little about what we do as missionaries.  We also had the opportunity to teach Sunday School on Sunday, which ended up going really well, and to end the lesson I told the branch I was leaving Paderborn.  One member´s eyes nearly popped out when I dropped the news, that was pretty funny!  Of course, for Sacrament meeting I was asked to share my testimony, which was actually harder to do than I thought.  Being in Paderborn for seven months is a long time!

So Thursday I head out to Schweinfurt, where I will meet my new companion and district.  It has not been an easy time in Paderborn, but it has been a good time.  I was blessed to see a baptism during my time in Paderborn, and close to a second one!  I feel like I have learned a lot and my testimony has become stronger these last seven months.  I will never forget Paderborn.

Aaron with the FC Bayern Soccer Team Bus

Aaron having to say goodbye to Brother Seeger

Another Baptismal Date!

This week began with a split with a brand new missionary who just got to Germany.  Together we had a member appointment, where I ended up completely teaching the lesson and then we did some finding time on the streets of Paderborn.  It was an interesting experience to be with a missionary that was brand new.

Our meetings with Brother Seeger and his friend, Herr Vogt, have continued to go well, and this week we were able to set a baptismal date for the 14th of March!  We were not totally sure how that would turn out, because the man always falls asleep during our lessons, and it seemed like he was set on getting baptised around Easter, but it all worked out!

For Karneval, in the morning we ended up doing some insulation work for service at a Lutheran church.  We were not sure what we were getting ourselves into heading over, so we just came in our normal white shirt and tie attire.  They had stuff we could wear over our missionary attire, and it ended up being a good experience.  We then had an apartment cleaning check, and right when that was going on there was a Karneval parade right across the street.  There were a lot of people dressed up in costumes.  We then made our way over to a party put on by our branch in Paderborn, which was also fun.

To end the week we were able to meet with the Branch President and his family, and teach them the first missionary lesson, the Restoration.  It was a really good experience, and it is always fun to be with that family.

Ultron had some P-day fun, too.

Until next week!

Ulton with a replica of The Dom (Landmark of Paderborn)

Ready to help do insulation work

Aaron and Elder Crittenden