Life Is Pretty Darn Good

March 08, 2019

Life Is Pretty Darn Good

Wednesday, 27:

We woke up in Salzburg and had a pretty chill morning. My body was cracking a lot more than it usually does, so I don't think it was a big fan of the couch. But anyway, we were able to pick up Sister Kubricky's VISA and get back to Wels, so all in all it was a pretty morning.

It was also a good day because I got to videochat with Dad! Happy birthday! It was fun to get to share some of my spring with you. :D

We went to Familie Mohammadi and learned that we've helped so well with Arash's Englisch Homework that he's gone up a whole grade in that class!

Thursday, 28th:

We went by on Familie Bauer, an investigator family that hasn't been taught by missionaries for over a year, maybe, and unfortunately they weren't home. So we'll try again.

We had Gemeinderat, and our GML asked if we'd be able to go on splits each Sunday so that one of us could be in Wels and one of us could go to Haag, and that way we'd be able to support both wards every Sunday. I thought it was a really cool idea! We're working out details to see if it'll actually work, but I have hopes!

Friday, 1st:

We went to Familie Ausobsky thinking we had an appointment (she had written in our calendar "March", and wasn't there on Sunday for us to check with her). Turns out, we didn't. But they were kind enough to feed us anyway, and even recommended a member for us to stop by and check on.

We went by Schwester Till (the one the Ausobskys recommended), who had torn something in her knee (not the meniscus) during a skiing trip. She didn't need any help from us, but I think it was good for her just to talk to someone since she's been so stuck in bed. She was super sweet, and I enjoyed just being there for her.

We doored in Haag, which we don't normally do. We actually came across this one woman (we passed her on the street and said hello before walking up to a door when she called out to us and told us that was her house). She then said she used to come to our church and was actually really good friends with the Familie Barousch, who live in my first area! I was so excited and told her that they're such sweet people, and she got really excited that I knew who she was talking about. You'd best believe we're going back to this woman.

Saturday, 2nd:

We did some service and helped a couple families clean the Wels church, but with the army of small children it got done quite quickly!

We needed to do our Progress report and write to Präsident Brown, so we tuned into Rootstech and multitasked. It was a lot of fun. Gotta love the things missionaries do for fun.

We also watched the new "Safety Zone" videos for missionaries. ABSOLUTE FIRE I LOVE THEM SO MUCH I WANT TO GET THEM ON A DVD. Just in case you were wondering how they were being received by the missionaries, so far we are ALL fans.

Sunday, 3rd:

We didn't have a Termin, but because it was fast Sunday, Oliver and Rafaela Schmidl invited us for a spontan appointment. They were sooo sweet! Their daughters tried to see if there was a JAE empfehlungwurdig (Young single adult worthy of recommendation) for me to marry so that I could move to Austria for the rest of my life, but they couldn't think of any. They also tried to set their sisters up with our siblings, so Kyle, there's a Leoni here in Wels for you to look up.

Monday, 4th:

We inventoried/reorganized/cleaned up our pamphlet stash/shelves/cupboards. We found a lot more than I thought we would.

We had a meal appointment in Haag with Familie Adams. They were kind, but it was a little awkward because they were really excited about this "new musical put on by the church that's coming to Switzerland about two missionaries, maybe called the Book of Mormon?"... But, um, that's NOT put on by our church, and definitely NOT something I'd recommend watching. Then they made us watch the intro song, and I just felt so uncomfortable. Not just because it's not missionary-sanctioned, but I just felt so uncomfortable. It was 100% NOT what we as missionaries do, and I just felt so sad that that's what the world sees us as. *sigh*

Tuesday, 5th:

Salzburg! We got our groceries and proselyting hours in the morning, and then headed off to Salzburg. Cool story, actually, while we were waiting to wash our car, there was an old woman in front of us who was struggling to get the thing to work. I got out of the car to go and help her, and while we waited for her car we talked a little. In the end, we ended up getting her number and she invited us to come over to her home some time! That was really cool, because normally people don't talk to us. Service really does do wonders. :)

Then we went to Salzburg and went up to the fortress. I got some lovely pictures, and we did a little souvenir shopping, too. Oh, and we even got to go into the Salzburg Cathedral! Basically, I had fun spending time with the Salzburg Sisters, and we even a little impromptu meeting with several other missionaries! We also got to talk to a girl for a little bit who figured out we were Americans and missionaries, and really wanted to thank us for what we did - she even walked in the wrong direction so she could talk to us longer. I LOVE Salzburg and I LOVE Austria. :D

Favorite new word: Elend - Misery (shoutout to Mistborn)

Favorite funny story: Accidentally meeting several other missionaries on a little Gasse in Salzburg. What crazy coincidence! We had: 2 Neumarkt Elders, 2 Salzburg Zone Leaders, 2 Wien 1 Sisters, 2 Salzburg Sisters, 2 Waag Sisters, and a partridge in a pear tree. :)

Favorite spiritual thought: Ether 6:3-12. These verses can represent our lives. What stones has God touched in our loves to bring us light in the darkness? What are the great waters we are crossing? And always remember to have gratitude to God for His help in everything!

TLDR: Awkward appointments with members and blessings for being diligent.

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