This week has been good! I mean like honestly I'm not sure how it was because it went by sooo fast. I know there were definitely some rough patches but they're over now and time just continues to fly. It's kind of hard because of course we want the bad times to be over quick but unfortunately time works one way, it all goes fast or it all goes slow. Therefore the good times also just fly away. We've had some really interesting conversations with people while street comtacting.. so far we haven't really had anything come from them but people are interesting. It's amazing though because after (almost) every conversation as were walking away I end up saying "ahh I love them" and genuinely mean it. There are the few that we walk away from that I'm like, "that poor soul" and I'm just sad for a bit. I've learned so much though, it's crazy!!
So Ihsan has been MIA for about a month. He hasn't responded to any calls or texts and we are just so sad about it. He was golden, so of course opposition had to come in. We're still hoping he'll appear again or that maybe he just went on urlaub and hasn't had phone service... Yanira was here as a nanny and the family she was nannying for is extremely against the church and started threatening her, so she was on the hunt for a new family. She found a new family and moved this weekend. So she lives in different area and we have to figure out what ward she's in and pass her over to other missionaries : (. Manuela lives in a psychiatric ward and they told us we can't come back anymore because "our presence is triggering the patients". Whatever that means. So we have to try to find a new place to meet with Manuela, which is hard because she doesn't like being in public or around people, and this is Munich. And it's hard to meet outside because the average temperature is 18 degrees everyday (high 50s low 60s) which doesn't sound super cold but it is. And it's always raining. We have a new investigator from dooring, she's awesome and sweet. She doesn't believe she can receive answers to prayers, but we are going to help her build her faith and see that she can! She's gone to many churches and has just been on a lifelong search for the truth. She's from Germany too, which is quite rare for investigators in the church here. We're excited.
Food... umm we went to a less active sisters for lunch this week. She's from Hungary so she made goulash for us, which I've heard so many wonderful things about goulash. It's basically spicy beef stew. Which I said, and she was like "ja ja es gibt goulash in Amerika auch" so if you want some Hungarian food just make some spicy beef stew. Haha it was good though. Umm last night we had a dinner appointment and she's originally from Romania so she made some Romanian food. She made a vegetable soup and the only recognizable vegetable was carrots, I have no idea what else was in it but it was real good. And then she had like a rice beef tomato pepper casserole dish And it too was incredible, but again I'm not really sure what was actually in it but I loved it.
The fall is fun. It came faster and stronger than we expected... I've worn tights and wool socks and a coat everyday this week! It's freeeeeezing! Worries me for Oktoberfest and dirndls though because I don't want to spend at least $250 on a dirndl and then just have to wear a coat over it. What's the fun in that?
Randy story:
Okay so Sunday we went street contacting at Sendlinger Tor (our usual finding place, it's right by Marienplatz), anyway we were waiting to cross a street and we heard this guy yelling behind us "sisters!? Missionaries!? Hey are you guys missionaries!?" We turned and we saw this guy just running at us, but and we were slightly stunned so it took us a bit to answer so he was like "sorry do you guys speak english?" Anyway he asked if he could talk to us for a while and if we did he would buy us food. We told him we'd talk but that he didn't need to feed us since we had just eaten and it wasn't a big deal. Turns out, he's a member he just hasn't been active for a little while now, he's from California. He's in Europe because he's trying to write a novel about what "love" is. He was married in the church and he and his wife were perfect, they were active in the church, they were bestfriends, but it came to a point where they started doubting the church a little and started losing their activity in the church...and then his wife had an affair. It crushed him but they tried to work it out for a couple of months and then she finally just gave up and didn't want to try anymore so they got a divorce. It broke him and he really struggled with it, and still does even though it's been a year or so (I think, it could be longer.) Anyway he decided to come on this venture to see what other people think love is, so he was in Ireland and Italy and he'll be going to Switzerland and France still. But he wasn't sold with the answers he was getting and was just sad. Then he saw us, and remembered the church's view on love and the eternity and that was the thing he loved most about the church so he decided to ask us our viewpoints on love and if we believe in eternal love and whatnot, very interesting. As we were talking to him he just kept thinking back to when he was active in the church and following the gospel and he just kept talking about how happy he was and how he knew it. Anyway, we're hoping that experience will get him to start trying to get back to church because he knows it makes him happy. But anyway, that's Randy and his story. It's a sad story but hopefully will turn out better for him, he was a super nice guy.
Another finding story: on Thursday we were finding outside of englischer garten (not inside because there are always at least 40 butt naked people who just stand around waiting for people to look at them... And there's apparently a part of the river designated for naked people only where they yell at you for being clothed.. so we just stick to the border or stay outside completely). Anyway I stopped this man who ended up speaking English. Because he was an English speaker we asked where he was from and he told us Canada, we were like "oh that's cool!", I guess he didn't think we believed him because he pulled out his passport to show us he's from canada.. once he figured out we were from a church he just went off.. for probably 20 minutes without stopping about why there isn't a God and how we are being brainwashed. Then he apologized for disappointing us but that he was glad we talked to him so that he could save us. I responded kind of sternly with something like "well you believe what you believe, and we still believe what we believe. I've seen God in my life, I know He is there, and I cannot and will not deny it." He seemed a little flabbergasted, but then went off again for another 20 minutes and then told us we were pretty and shouldn't waste our time and do something else with our lives. Then he again said he was glad he could be here to help us find a new direction, and again I was like "we still believe in God. We're sorry you dont, but I know for myself that there is a God." He gave up and stormed off. I've never really had to stand up to anyone yet or truly stand my ground, I've heard stories of such things happening but it's never really happened yet on my mission till him. But it definitely was a situation where if I didn't actually know for myself, I don't know if I could have stood my ground. But I do know for myself! And his flattering words and his attempts to convince us, made no difference, it couldn't shake my faith.
I love yoooooou. ♡♡♡♡
Sister Carley Lundskog
Kirche Jesu Christi HLT
Francéstraße 6
80997 München
Deutschland
Kirche Jesu Christi HLT
Francéstraße 6
80997 München
Deutschland
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