Lego Buddies

With the last week of the transfer, came many adventures.  So where do we begin?  P-day of course!  The day was actually my companion´s 20th birthday, so in the morning he opened up some presents and made a nice breakfast.  After emails, we traveled to Wetterau, part of our district, because we were invited to play a game with other missionaries.  What it ended up being was a "Star Wars" themed "Dungeons and Dragons" game.  Talk about a nerdy experience!  It made for some good laughs though, so it was kind of fun (although I don´t think "Dungeons and Dragons" would ever be something I would commit myself too).  My companion and I then went out to eat at a nice Italian restaurant for his birthday, and then we made a visit to a member.  Tuesday Elder Merkley and I got some contact information for a potential investigator from Elders in our district to check out.  The guy wasn´t home, but we were able to get something set up the next day, and then we knocked on doors in the area.  We then picked up a member to drive out to Fulda to make a visit to a member and her boyfriend who is investigating the church.  The member we took with, and the member we visited herself are both very missionary minded (she has three children who have served missions, one who is currently serving)  so it was a great experience to meet and talk with the boyfriend, plus there was some amazing food.

Wednesday we were able to meet with the potential investigator we set out to meet the day before, and he was way prepared for the Gospel.  He comes from a Muslim background, but he was asking all the perfect questions about the nature of religion and the purpose of life.  We then met with another investigator and talked about our Heavenly Father.  We also gave this man a copy of the Book of Mormon in Spanish, which was actually a way cool experience.  The man seemed so touched and grateful for the copy of the Book of Mormon, it was special to see.  Thursday was district meeting, and we got a district picture because we figured some changes would be coming for the next transfer.  In the evening we helped a member with a home teaching appointment.  The family we were visiting consisted of a single mother recently reactivated in the church and her six year old son.  At the beginning of the appointment, I was asked by the home teacher if I could help out this six year old boy build his Star Wars Lego he was showing off and distracting everyone with.  After two hours of legos, games, and everything six year old boys love, this kid and I were the best of friends while the home teacher and my companion talked to the mother.

Friday my companion got a call from our mission president informing him he would be serving as a district leader for the next transfer in another area.  We then went out to Fulda again to meet a woman who has had contact with missionaries for nearly 20 years.  She is very firm in her faith she has, but we had a really good discussion, and gave her a talk to read from the last General Conference in October.  We then spent a little bit of time at an Elders Quorum social we were invited too, and then drove home in the snow that had just started to hit.  Saturday Elder Merkley and I met with a man we call every night at 9:30 to see how he is doing.  Something is wrong with this guy´s head, and he´s known the Elders for years, but he´s a really nice guy.  We then met with a less active member and talked about the importance of church.  That evening we got a call telling us I would be getting a new companion in Hanau, and Elder Merkley would be going to the Nürnberg Zone.

Sunday there was snow in Hanau, Elder Merkley said goodbye to the ward, and then our Brazilian Elder gave his very first talk in Germany.  Elder Merkley and I then had a dinner appointment with some members: the single mother we visited for home teaching, and then her parents who are also in the ward.  During this time I found out how much the six year old boy I played with really appreciated me. His mom and grandparents told me I was like an older brother to him.  Wow!  This home teaching appointment really turned out to be something!

 I´ve only got one transfer left now for my mission.  Whatever may come, bring it on!

Aaron's district

Always On The Move

It was the first full week of the year in Hanau (and everywhere else in the world), and of course the week started with another P-Day.  Besides the usual shopping and emails, we as the Hanau Elders had a rematch or two against a member with "Settlers of Catan."  We also in the evening went by a family from Syria we met a few weeks back, and while they were still too busy to meet this whole week, they still seemed happy to see us.  Tuesday we went about trying to get into contact with some former investigators and referrals.  In the evening we met with our ward mission leader and then had choir practice.

Wednesday was a pretty cool day because as we were out continuing to find former investigators, we ended up meeting one without knowing it at first.  It was really confusing trying to find the place where this guy lived, so we asked a man in the area.  The man we talked too claimed to be the neighbor of the guy we were looking for, but later admitted he was the guy.  He was just making sure we were not from another church.  We set up a time to meet and then took a train out to Fulda to meet with a new member in the ward.  We met in a cafe over hot chocolate and talked about missionary work and got to know the new member better.

Thursday we walked out to a town we thought was a lot closer than it really was.  That made for a multiple hour adventure walking in the rain to stop by an investigator and former investigator.  Along the way we found a "Word of Wisdom" pamphlet on the side of a street with contact info for the Elders in Offenbach.  What are the chances of that?!  We did get to visit with an investigator and then decided to take a bus to end the trip.  At the end of the day we met with a less active member and we were able to give him a blessing when he asked for one.  Friday we had a zone training meeting in Friedrichsdorf, where the Frankfurt Temple is.  Planning was the theme of the meeting and setting goals (a new year, anyone?).  That evening my companion and I had help from our ward mission leader with meeting an investigator and teaching her about the Plan of Salvation.  Unfortunately, we don't know if this investigator really has any interest, so we will have to see where things go from here.

Saturday we were able to visit with the former investigator we ran into on Wednesday and set expectations.  He has a lot of positive memories of when he met the Sisters years ago, so that's great! After that, our plans weren't really working out with investigators, but at the end of the day a member said we could share a spiritual thought with him.  After the thought, he showed us his progress record when he was investigating the Church years ago, that was really cool.  On Sunday there was a mission farewell for a future Sister missionary, and I got to give a talk for part of the Sacrament meeting.  It was about finding happiness every day, and I used Elder Wirthlin's last talk from General Conference in October of 2008 for the focus of my talk.  It went over well, and to close the week, as we were out trying to meet with an investigator, we met the landlord of the apartment complex we were at and learned he is actually a member.  So while we didn't get to see our investigator (he wasn't home), we did find a less active member.  Despite plans being warped or thrown out the window, somehow things still work out

More Brothers Grimm Art

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Year´s End...

First and foremost, I totally made it into the newspaper!  It's old news, actually, but the ward recently gave me a copy of the paper to hold onto for memory's sake.  Somehow the ward in Hanau got a spot in the newspaper to say that two missionaries, the brand new missionary here and I, moved into Hanau, which is pretty cool!

With the start of the week, I tested my courage and decided to cut my hair by myself.  It turned out alright, could have been better, could have been worse.  With the seasonal sales in Germany after Christmas, I was able to find a brand new suit and shoes for an awesome deal, so now I got something nice to wear for when I'm back in the states! P-day was also spent playing "Settlers of Catan" with a member and the other Elders, and finding someone in the ward to help with a future teaching appointment, which was surprisingly hard to do, but in the end we found someone.

Tuesday all plans we had fell out, so we ended up going to a small town and knock on some doors.  We did meet a man who was in charge of the local church in the area, who recognized us as Elders and was happy to see us, so that was nice.  Wednesday was district meeting, where the zone leaders showed up and talked about how missions change people if you let it, and later in the day we met with a woman we met with last week.  She actually did the commitment we gave of her reading Moroni 7 in the Book of Mormon, which made for a nice appointment talking about, faith, hope, charity, and good things coming from God.

Thursday (New Year's Eve!) my companion and I ventured out to a town called Steinau to find a less active member.  Sadly, we couldn't find her, but we did find a cool little castle and stuff about the Brothers Grimm all around the town.  We also had a dinner appointment with a member family, the parents of the family both being return missionaries, and having a great visit talking about sharing the Book of Mormon with others.  My companion and I then stayed up to watch the fireworks and welcome in the new year from our apartment.  We tried to capture the moment of all the chaos outside, but taking pictures of fireworks never seems to turn out that well.  Oh well, welcome 2016!

Starting the new year, my companion and I planned for the next week, and then we went on a split.  I stayed in Hanau with my district leader, and he inspected the apartment.  The next day we drove out to meet with a less active member we meet regularly with and talk about faith and repentance.  The split ended, and then it was off to Sunday. The most notable event that happened in church was that I taught the lesson in Sunday School, with the new topic of the year being the Book of Mormon.  Of course it was daunting to be in a ward that's bigger than anything I've known my whole mission, plus I am still getting to know the majority of the members, and then teach in German, but I was told it turned out well, so hooray!

In reflection, a lot happened in 2015, my year completely dedicated to serving the Lord.  It went by fast, and I feel I can say I am happy with the year and how it turned out, which is the most I could ask for.  On to the new year!

Making the News

A Cool Little Castle

Brothers Grimm

Christmas Comes But Once A Year

Christmas came around again, and a lot of cool stuff went down!  For P-day we went to Frankfurt to check out the Weihnachtsmarkt.  It was cool, despite the rain that was falling throughout most of the day.  At the end of the day we visited a member in a hospital, and the bishop showed up at the same time, so we were able to visit this member together.  Tuesday we stopped by a family from Syria that my companion met on a split the week before, and we were able to sit down and talk with the family.  They were very open to meeting with us, which was pretty exciting, and we are hoping for the best with this family.  We also met with another investigator and talked about prayer and at the end of the lesson he gave the closing prayer.  To finish the day we met with a less active member and talked about the Plan of Salvation.  It has been great to see the steps this member has been taking to return to the Church!

Wednesday we met with a lady who lives across the street from us.  She met missionaries in the the past, and now we are back in contact with her.  We had a member help us out and talked about the nature of God.  At the end of the day we helped the member we were with create CDs for Christmas presents.  We also learned that the member we visited in the hospital passed away.

Now, on to Christmas!  For Christmas Eve, we helped the member we were with the day before a little bit more, then spent some decent time baking brownies and cookies for an appointment in the evening.  We visited our Ward Mission Leader and his family for Christmas Eve, where we had a nice dinner, talked about the reason of Christmas, opened presents (socks and Lightsaber themed pens for the Elders!) and upon returning back to our apartment we opened our Christmas Eve presents (Star Wars Episode VII pajamas for this Elder!). Christmas day we woke up, opened the rest of our presents and our stockings, had breakfast with the other Hanau Elders and played a card game, and then we went out to visit a member family.  We started by calling family via Skype, which was really nice, and then having dinner.  The family we were with invited a man they met at a grocery store to dinner as well that evening, and we ended up talking about the Book of Mormon with this man and more or less teaching a first lesson.  It was cool to see the family involved in missionary work!  On the second day of Christmas we picked up the other Elders and drove an hour to visit a family and have dinner together.

Finally, on Sunday, we didn´t have any investigators make it to church, but it was a good day none the less.  The members talked about helping less active members return to church, and it was great to see them talking about it.  Well, that´s how I spent my last Christmas on the mission!

Christmas in Germany

Ulton checking Aaron's stocking

Project: Christmas Party

The Christmas tree is up, so Christmas day is pretty much around the corner now!

A lot of the week was spent preparing for the ward Christmas party in Hanau, which made for some really cool experiences.  Monday I got to visit the Hanau Weihnachtsmarkt and pick up a few souvenirs.  The Rathaus in Hanau had a advent calendar in the windows, like the Rathaus in Paderborn last year, and this one, from what I hear, is the largest advent calendar in Germany.  The images they put in the windows are of scenes from the stories of the Brothers Grimm.  That night my companion and I met with a man who years ago had contact with missionaries, and was very open to meet with us again.  We also invited him to church and the Christmas party (both of which he ended up showing too!).

Tuesday we traveled around delivering party invitations to less active members, and along the way, I found some pretty geeky graffiti which of course Ultron got a picture with.  In the evening I went on a split to the city of Giessen.  Wednesday on my split we went out to a town to talk with people, and in the evening we had dinner with a member family.  After that the split ended.

Thursday we had zone conference in my first area, Offenbach.  Elder Johnson of the Seventy was there, and Christlike Attributes was the theme of the conference.  What was unique to me about this conference was that when we closed by singing "Called to Serve" (in German, of course) it hit me that this was my last time in a zone conference, and I would never have an experience like that ever again.  It was a powerful little moment, for me.  Friday we met with a man who lost contact with the missionaries, and set expectations with him.  We invited him to the Christmas party as well, and he ended up bringing his entire family the next day to the party!  Outside of that, we continued to give out invitations, and then set up tables in the church.

Saturday was the day of the party, which we helped set up, and then practiced with the ward choir before the program started.  We had a lot of people show up that we invited, which was really cool to see.  With having a large ward, it was a little overwhelming to get to know those around me, but I survived.  We ended the day cleaning up after the party.  To close, in church we had two investigators come for sacrament meeting, which was themed for Christmas.  Us Elders sang with the ward choir for the program and we ended the day attempting to visit the member in the hospital we visited last week, but she was moved to another hospital.  So, instead, we talked with people on the streets.

Now let Christmas begin!

Aaron's Christmas tree

Advent Calendar

Utlron' approves this message

Back to Hanau

Transfer 15 has begun, and it started with a new area for me: Hanau.  What´s cool about Hanau is that this area was a part of my first district, and I had a few splits in Hanau back in the day.  So, it´s pretty cool that l'll likely wrap up my mission here.  It´s the place where the Brothers Grimm come from.

The week started with wrapping up in Siegen by doing last minute shopping for P-day, and then saying goodbye to a member in the evening.  The next morning I packed up everything I had, and then drove down to Frankfurt.  Upon reaching Frankfurt, I met my new companion, Elder Merkley, and another Elder in Hanau, Elder Niebergall.  We then took the car that belongs to the Hanau area (which I am responsible for) and traveled to Hanau.  I got to unpack, get to know the other Elders a bit better, and then we did a joint home teaching visit and attended choir practice for an upcoming Christmas party in the ward.  Wednesday we all had a member appointment together, and then Elder Niebergall left us to go to Frankfurt to pick up his new missionary/golden that he would be training.  That evening, Elder Merkley and I met with less active member, who, surprisingly enough, turns out to be related to my old stake president back home.  Small world.  

Thursday we met the new missionary in Hanau, Elder Domingues.  He comes from Brazil and can speak pretty good German and English already, plus he´s way funny.  We then had district meeting and got to know our new district.  An Elder I was in the MTC with, Elder Brande, is in my district, and the missionary who was trained by my trainer immediately after me, Elder Arneson, is our district leader.  So, in summary, I have connections in my new district.  Friday was of course weekly planning and also a correlation meeting with the other Hanau Elders.  We also tried to visit another less active member.

Saturday was yet another move for me on my mission, but this one was much more organized and supported by other members than the last one I had.  Rather than taking a week, it only took half a day.  Elder Merkley and I then took a train to Fulda, a city that years ago had a branch, and met with a potential investigator.  We taught about the Restoration and it was a good appointment, but sadly, the man we were visiting didn´t want us to continue to meet with him.  Despite that, Fulda was a pretty cool place, including an impressive Weihnachtsmarkt, a Catholic Dom, and a castle across the street from the Dom.  Sunday was stake conference, which was centered on Christ and Christmas, and then we visited an older member in a hospital and read a scripture with her.  We ended the day meeting with our Ward Mission Leader, something I haven't had since my first area.  He´s way cool, plus he loves all things Star Wars and Marvel, an added bonus.

It´s cool to be back in Hanau!

The Hanau Elders

Christmas market

Seeing the sights

Farewell to Siegen

Well, it turned out to be my last week in Siegen, and what a hectic week it was!

Monday, otherwise known as P-day, was spent almost entirely helping some members move from one apartment in Siegen, to another.  What was fun about this move was that my companion and I were really the only ones who could help, the only ones who could lift heavy stuff, we did it all in the rain, we spent 11 hours in total that day helping, and our car got hit by another car when it was parked.  It wasn´t that bad of a fender bender we got, but still, it was a long, long day.

Tuesday was district meeting in Dortmund, and immediately afterwards we went back to the members we helped the day before, only this time with the senior missionary couple, to do renovations in their new apartment. Later that night, I started my Milka advent calendar.   Wednesday we were able to catch a breather, take care of P-day tasks such as grocery shopping, and we were able to visit our American investigators and talk about the Priesthood and had a really good appointment.  Thursday was a bit of a blur, but I know we did one hour of moving, and in the evening we visited the international family, and introduced them to the game "Simon Says" as we were teaching English.  They absolutely loved it.  Friday we had to run around doing different errands such as getting the lights on our car replaced.  Both my companion and I felt like we had no idea what we were getting into walking into a car dealership in Germany to fix our lights, but we survived somehow.

Saturday we had lunch with the senior couple, and then it was back to the move.  It was the final day, and we were able to get everything done, and we also got to know the less active son of the members we helped and build a relationship with him.  That evening however, during the move, I got a call from the mission saying I would be transferred to Hanau.  The next day at church, I got to say goodbye, bear my testimony, and then we visited three different member families in a row, all of which we were fed meals.  That left Elder Sollis and I at the end of the week with really full stomachs.

It was a great time serving in Siegen, a time that went by too fast, but now I´m looking forward to serve in Hanau for my final two transfers in Germany.

Aaron and Ultron enjoying an advent calendar

Saying goodbye to Siegen