You-scream, Eis-scream, we-all-scream for GENERAL CONFERENCE!

Wednesday, 27th:

Transfer day! It was kind of a lame day. People canceled on us, and we didn't get much done. Elder Buss left the district, and we got Elder Weingärtner. 

Thursday, 28th:

Happy birthday to Sister Kubricky! She turned 20, and was very excited to open the package of goldfish that her family sent her, along with a few other things. Yay! 

We tried to get our Licenses, round 2. This time, the station wasn't closed. However, after we got going they told us we needed a document saying we were going to be in Austria for the next 6 months, which our office hadn't told us about. So we left unsuccessful and called the office about the paper, which the Elder who's been coordinating all of this license stuff didn't know about, but he called the guy who had his position before him and got it all worked out. They mailed the right documents, so we had to put the licenses on hold. 

In Sister Kubricky's family, they celebrate birthdays by going out to eat at a restaurant. So she chose a pretty inexpensive Thai place that sounded really good. We ordered our food and they asked us how spicy we'd like it. We said "absolutely not at all!" Well, people have different spice levels, and we were coughing our way through that food. Some tears may have been shed. It was good food! I just couldn't taste it because my mouth was on fire. Very memorable, haha. 

Friday, 29th:

We had Pre-Mission-Leadership-Council (or whatever it's actually called), lovingly named PLC. We had a good discussion about Zone Initiatives, etc. 

We went to the Ausobskys for lunch. I said the opening prayer, and because it felt so much like spring, I thanked God for the Frühlingsgefühle that we were having (in English, Springy feelings). Turns out, it has a different connotation here than just being happy. Bruder Ausobsky cracked up when I said "Amen", and Schwester Ausobsky chastised him, and S. Kubricky and I were just so confused. Br. Ausobsky then turned to me with a twinkle in his eye and asked, "So which Elder are you in love with?" Needless to say, I apparently turned a slight shade of red. Sidenote: I'm not in love with any Elders. Also, we had a gooseberry cake for dessert and that was phenomenal. 

We went home and worked on our Zone intiative so we could get it approved by the Assistants. We have a very lovely Baum der Taufe (Tree of Baptism) in our living room now. It's basically just a web chart of ideas of how we can set more baptismal dates. I'll send a Pic when it actually looks cool (so basically, when the ball gets rolling). 

Saturday, 30th:

We went to Linz to meet with Z, a guy we had stopped on the street on Monday. Elders Hema and Valencia were also there, along with Z's friend. So the 6 of us sat on the bank of the Donau, and I basically felt like I was in a movie. I loved it. :D But how the lesson went was a little less than movie-worthy. Basically, Z really likes researching religions and debating. Not Bible-bashing, because he's not sure he believes the Bible, but he's just interested in Theology in general. So he came with about 35 pages of Anti-Mormon (do we say that now? Anti-Church-of-Jesus-Christ?) topics to talk about. He had certainly done his research. But even though he's thinking we're a pretty whacked church without the truth, he still genuinely wants answers to his questions because he's trying so hard to FIND the truth. But, after a two hour lesson (in which we got through one page of his materials, and ended up "agreeing to disagree"), he asked to meet again. So the Elders are using up their P-day to meet with him for 4 hours. We'll see how it goes. 

After Z, we went finding with the Elders. I was with Elder Valencia this time, and I actually learned quite a bit from him. He helped me to just start stopping people, and he has this amazing ability to develop trust with people in an instant. It was so cool, and I'm actually starting to enjoy finding. :) 

Sunday, 31st:

Bianca got called as a Ward Missionary! She was sustained and set apart, and she's so excited to start working with us. We want to take her streeting. :) I really hope it helps her decide whether or not she would also like to serve a mission. 

After church, we had a Potluck. Bischof encouraged S. Kubricky and I to sit separately, so he directed her to an English-speaking family, and he pointed me over to his two sons. To be entirely honest, his sons have kind of intimidated me, so I actually haven't really talked to them the whole time I've been here. But that was one of the most enjoyable conversations I've had so far! They were actually really sweet, and I feel like we'd be good friends. :) 

We went to Familie Hess for dinner, and they were super kind to us. They're the family that invited us over for Christmas. :) We had fun talking about General Conference and Easter and their cats. 

Monday, 1st:

The Elders gave Sister Kubricky and I each a blessing, because we had requested them last transfer to start of the transfer, and it kept not working out. So now we got them to start off this transfer! 

We had Distrikt rat, but it was short and kind of rushed because Elders Porter and Weingärtner planned a lesson for 12, which meant we had to end at 11:30, when we usually end around 12:15.

We did a favor for the Elders by running to their apartment to grab some keys they left, while they bought us lunch. Then we went to a member's backyard to let their dog, Sophie, out while we ate on the swingset/bench. It was a lot of fun. Love Döners! 

We did more finding, and it was a blast. I'm actually enjoying it now! 

We went to EisKönig, which is an ice cream parlor owned by a member, so missionaries get 2 free scoops every day - each. It's THE BEST GIG. My favorite flavors are raspberry and Raffaello (coconut peanut). 

We did more Finding. 

We left Linz to go to the Mohammadis, but unfortunately due to traffic we were going to be too late so they said to just come Wednesday. 

Tuesday, 2nd:

Linz! We ate EisKönig on the Donau and went into the several churches. It was amazing. I skyped my Grandma for the first time and it was so good to see her! We talked about her mission and it was basically just all around wonderful, especially since she's a large part of the reason why I wanted to serve a mission in the first place! 

Favorite new word: Wehmut - melancholy, but directly translates to "aching courage". I just like the idea of that. :) 

Favorite funny story: So we did the split-finding-with-the-Elders again, and I was with Elder Hema, Sister Kubricky was with Elder Porter, and then Elder Valencia and Elder Weingärtner were together. Anyway, so Elder Hema and I were walking along, talking to people, and trying to stay close to S. Kubricky and E. Porter. After one of our conversations finished, we looked around to find them to make sure we were still close. Well, we looked over and say them right as this guy hugged Sister Kubricky and leaned in to kiss one cheek, and then LEANED IN to kiss her "other cheek" (but the way he was angling his head, you know he was going in for her lips). Elder Porter quickly separated them as Sister Kubricky was pulling away from this guy, and he insisted on kissing her other cheek (which is the custom here, but he like full-on kissed it, not just the air kiss), they shook hands and parted ways. We quickly ran over to see if she was okay, and she mostly just seemed dazed, but Elder Porter was so bright red and just apologizing over and over again to her, and she was just grossed out, and meanwhile Elder Hema and I were just dying laughing because that was legit the most awkward thing I have ever witnessed. But, she was good to keep finding! Good thing we find in pairs!  And props to her for her courage. 

Favorite spiritual thought: GENERAL CONFERENCE! OH MEINE GUTE I AM SO EXCITED AND SIMPLY CANNOT BELIEVE THAT IT IS THIS WEEKEND AND AAAAHHHHHHHH!!! Like legit, I feel like people don't believe me when I say it's my favorite holiday. But it totally is. I mean, you've got the birth of Christ (Christmas), the Resurrection of Christ (Easter), and then you've got that time where Christ speaks to all of us (General Conference)! What other holidays do you need?! Also, furthermore, it's on Christ's birthday this year so like #doubleBonus. But in all seriousness, it truly is a wonderful opportunity where if we dedicate our time and efforts, we can find the answers to the spiritual questions we have. I challenge each of you to think of at least 1 question you have, write it down, pray for guidance, and then watch General Conference with it in mind. I promise you that you'll find your answers. :) 

TLDR: A lot of people canceled on us, I'm enjoying free Eis in Linz pretty often, I skyped my Grandma, and GENERAL CONFERENCE IS THIS WEEKEND! 

Love you all! Catch you next week. 

Liebe Grüße, 

Sister Hamilton