Monday, July 4, 2011

Week of July 4 from Prenzlau

Halli Hallo!

Well another week come and gone in Prenzlau, lots of blessings, lots of heartbreak, lots of success, lots of mistakes, but naja, what can you do?

Well, trying to think of how i could possible try and catch you all up on another week in the mission field with me always limited time... Not an easy task.

Well first interesting experience would have to be Tuesday. Sewwww, it´s no big secret that our mission bikes BLOW. We are already fixing them at least twice a week and the kids always looking to vandalize them doesnt help much either, but ya, for the most part they´re things that can be fixed. Well tuesday we were in a big hurry to Bahnhof to catch a train, so we were going really fast when all the sudden i heard a big pop behind me. I looked back in time to see my comp lose control of his bike and literally flip over the handbars and slide like 6 feet across the cement on his backpack . EPIC. Haha his chain snapped off as he was pedaling really quick and the sudden lack of tension made him go over the bars. Lame though, we missed our train and needed the bikes for appointments so we had to go back home and fix them. My handlebars and seat had come loose as they do every 3 days anyway, so ya. We went home, grabbed the tools real quick and ran out of the appartment, problem was, we set our keys down and didnt grab them as we ran back out, so basically, my bike was locked up, his was broke, we actually still needed one more thing from the appartment to fix his bike, and ya the spare key i made last transfer and gave to a member was a good 30 minute walk away, haha WUNDERBAR. But it´s little incidents like that that make a day memorable and make a mission, so we couldnt help but smile and laugh and just get walking.;) We went on later that night to teach 3 really cool new guys from Afghanistan who speak Persian. They´re soooooo cool! I´m trying to learn a little persian from them to, it´s way cool. We have a new investigator from Palestein as well who´s way strict Islam, its soooo weird that i havent tought a muslim since Kiel, an eternity ago. Haha i have to knock the dust off my Koran and start to get back into the habit of teaching muslims again. The three Afghanis are all converted Christians though, so that makes that a lot easier.

So i think i wrote maybe last week about how we found this guy by a miracle while he was on his bike... turns out to be our most solid investigator at the moment. We´ve met with him twice this last week, the first meeting was really really really good, the second meeting , which was at his house, was decent as well, it was just hard for the spirit to be there because there was Pornographie EVERYWHERE. Lining the walls, on the table, bleh it was no good.  So ya, cigarettes everywhere and Cafee, we will DEFINITELY be teaching him at the church from now on haha, until he´s baptised and all cleaned up anyways.;)

Yesterday we headed back up to go by on a referal in a town called Paselwalk to go by on a contact recieved from the Neu Brandenburg ZL´s, pretty interesting experience. So pretty much this lady  was the nicest lady ever, the ZL´s talked to her about Charity and apparently she was just eating it all up! Well we got her address and brought her over a BOM. She was soooooo nice and loved us instantly. We klingeld and she said she´d come down to us, and she just couldnt stop grabbing our hands and telling us how we glowed, and it was just incredible. She took the BOM and said, it must be true and was so excited... then... the husband. I HATE SPOUSES GETTING IN THE WAY OF SALVATION!!! He came on the box and said, "you get back up here right now!" She jumped and started pushing us aways saying "god is with you" "leave this place and never come back!" "the people here are evil" "Never forget me!!!" She then stuffed the BOM under her shirt and said she´d read it, and then she retreated back upstairs. Apparently her husband must abuse her or something, long story short, we were just kinda left standing there with that blank "did that really just happen stare" on our faces. It was really heartbreaking and sad, and weird haha, but i hope something maybe comes out of it?

As we came back last night as well, we got a call from our prenzlau missionary mom who has a room renting business here in Prenzlau. She said she had a family from America there who wanted to meet us and to get a tour of the church. The Bahn workers were on strike, so our train was a bit late getting back, but we made it to the church and met up with them. Wow. I miss americans. Haha, it was so weird meeting someone who actually respected and admired you! They were so nice and upbeat and happy!!! They were asking all sorts of questions and the kids as well, it was really one of the coolest things that´s happened to me on my mission. They gave us the good ole "keep on goin Elders, we´re praying for ya!" And i honestly never have felt more rejuvinated in my life. It was so wonderful not to be met with appreciation and love! They were just amazed at how hard the work was here and how we do it. And only one of them could speak German so i think they thought it was really cool to hear us speak it with the member there. Ah, i just realized, i AM a missionary and people DO love the missionaries! Ugh, i cant get over how cool it was! It made me smile the rest of the night.:):):)

Well anyways, it´s just another example of those tender mercies of the Lord he always prepares for us. I dont know if that family will ever know what a boost they were for us, but they definitely blessed our lives by wanting to see us!  Just following those instincst and first thoughts, it just always enables you to be a tool in the hand of the Lord and bless the lives of those around you!  The longer i stay here in Prenzlau, the more i seem to realise though little blessings you get and to be thankful for them! They´re almost always there when we reflect back and look for them, it makes for more gratitude which leads to more satisfaction and happiness with life!

Love you all so much! If you see a missionary this week, tell them you´re proud of them, that your praying for them, and to keep on going! It makes a difference.:) Have a wonderful week!

-Elder Ott

No comments:

Post a Comment