Staying in Werdau

That's quite amazing Mom, I'm glad you're beginning to trust that me writing emails a day late doesn't necessarily mean that I'm dead. Yeah, I certainly feel the same about Sundays. After a week of feeling like we're in a war of 2 vs 100,000, it's always quite the refresher to partake of the sacrament, spend time with members and realize that we aren't alone in the work. Well Wouard, if you think it's interesting reading about East Germany and Berlin, just imagine living in it! I'm sad to have missed out on the mummy hot dogs...unfortunately hot dogs aren't really a thing 'round these parts, though on the bright side there's never a shortage of Bratwurst. Yes Andy, times change. I do hope you still remember your commitment to help me buy a 4-wheeler in the case of you not being married or having a girlfriend by the time I get home. I like your description, Dad, of being a law of Moses home teacher. I've read through a decent part of the Old Testament, and know a good bit about the law of Moses now. I hope you're encouraging the people you hometeach to make the necessary animal sacrifices.

Last week we got our transfer calls and it looks like I'll be staying little while in Werdau! I was relieved to be staying; it's been a while since I've stayed in a city longer than two transfers (12 weeks). Though I suppose I should hold my tongue, the last 2 times I thought I'd be staying in a city for a while I got 1) taken out of Bremerhaven after 3 weeks to open up a Turkish program and then later, 2) Emergency-transferred out of Hildesheim to train Elder Earl. Speaking of which, my boy Elder Earl will sadly be leaving me, off to the other corner of the mission, North-West close to the border of Denmark. My new companion's name is Elder Anderson, he'll be getting here on Wednesday but won't be staying long. This is his last transfer, so in missionary terms I'll be "killing him," a.k.a. sending him back home to good old 'Merica.

Sad news in terms of our investigator Frau Putschli, although on Friday everything seemed set for her to come to church on Sunday, she didn't make it. She still doesn't have her cellphone, so we haven't had contact with her since Friday. When we talked to her on Friday, she said that on Monday (today) she'd be going to the hospital for an unknown amount of time, so for the moment we're somewhat in the dark as to how things are going to move forward with her. But we're certainly not ready to give up on her, and our teaching pool here is continuing to grow, so all in all things are looking pretty positive.

My mind is kind of drawing a blank as to what actually happened this week...it's crazy how fast the days go by. Something that's been on my mind the last couple weeks is the power of service. In our daily efforts to talk to people about the Gospel, the majority of people either say nothing and keep walking or simply say that they have no time. Through these efforts we have seen very little success. However, on two occasions there were people standing outside their houses. On the first occasion a lady was doing garden work. We came and offered our help, she hesitantly accepted and as we talked later she expressed interest in our message and at the end said she was convinced that God had arranged our meeting. On the second occasion we offered help to a family moving in to an apartment; they too hesitantly accepted. One of the men told us at the end that he had always disliked Christians and thought they were hypocrites until he met us, and saw how "dope" we are. Obviously there are also times when people have refused our help, and even more obviously there are interested people to be found through our efforts talking to people on the streets or at their doorstep. But I think that service is one of the greatest ways of softening a heart to hear the message of the restored gospel, whether that be with strangers, friends, or fellow members.

Anywho, there's my soap opera for the week. Thanks for the prayers and support, I love you guys and hope you have a great week!

Elder Larsen