Again, not much going on here. Well, there is, but nothing extremely exciting! We are going to our first Jazz game of the season tonight. Woohoo! I told Steve today that because of all the injuries, I'm not even sure who is starting now. I am a big Jazz fan and usually watch the games on tv if I am not in attendance, but I haven't even been doing that much this year. I do know what their win/loss stat and standing is, but that's about all.
The BIG, BIG excitement for the week is, of course, the BYU/Utah game!! I was reading online today that even bad seats are selling for stupidly outrageous prices! We have 4 extra tickets and have friends that wanted them. We sold them for FACE VALUE. . . are we crazy?! Standing space in the MUSS is selling for $120!! We could have scalped our extra tickets and provided Christmas for our family!! And your family, too! Anywho, I am wearing red every day this week to show my support for Louie, . . . er, I mean, the Utes!
Speaking of the big game, I was in exercise class Monday with a big BYU fan and she was going on about how wonderful the game was at Air Force. I guess they went, so therefore missed the Utah game that followed on tv. When I started talking about the Utah game against SDSU she quickly and quite upsetly (is that a word?!) said, "I can't believe Kyle (coach Whittingham) ran the score up like he did!" I looked at her in disbelief. Did she not see the game? I found out she didn't. I said, "There were two deflections off of SDSU that were caught by THE SAME Ute player and ran back for touchdowns. This was the second string." Her comment? "Kyle should have had third string in when they were up by so much!" I just stood there with my mouth open. She did say a few minutes later, "I didn't realize it was two deflections, that makes sense." Well, if you woulda seen the game like I know you always do, you woulda known!! Okay, in through the nose and out through the mouth! Feeling better now.
Okay, on with the weekly letter.
Have a great week!
Hey Family!
Thanks so much for the email! It was nice to hear from all of you again! The work here is starting to pick up and the mission is really changing a lot. We just had Zone Konferenze with Elder Kopischke, in the European Area Presidency and it was absolutely amazing. He was the mission president in the Berlin Mission before this calling, and he completely changed it around. That mission went from about .3 baptisms to 3 baptisms per companionship while he was mission president. Our mission is about one per companionship for two years. We have high hopes for change. It was really interesting though. Elder Kopischke got up, pretty much spoke for 5 hours and told us straight out, this is how you are going to do this, I know it works, have faith that it will work and the Lord will do the rest. He based his whole thing off of Alma 32. He then told us, so you want to find German people who want the gospel. Well, according to the key indicators in Preach My Gospel, the Germany Frankfurt mission has a problem with contacting, so lets talk about that. For three hours we did role plays, talked about ideas, and then he said, that our mission will prosper if these things are done. It was pretty cool!
Our week has gone pretty well, despite the past couple of weeks. Things are actually starting to turn around here, and with the things that Elder Kopischke talked about, we are actually talking and having longer more meaningful conversations with people centered on the gosple. Nothing he talked about was new, but it felt like it was. I let you all know how it goes in the next couple of weeks.
The ward is doing pretty well. I wasn´t there this past Sunday because I had the opportunity to see two baptisms in Wetzlar, to the North of Frankfurt and so I had church there. I have never seen such a great turn out for two baptisms!!! It was really cool to see and the excitement was great and the spirit was strong. It really awakened my sense to the work and I really have a desire to find those who are ready.
Now, getting back to you all starting with Tanner. Tanner, Germany smells just like home! You are really funny, and I like your question. There are a lot of cool things here that you would like, like really fast trains (bullet trains), really old houses and cool forests and groves of trees everywhere! And, lots and lots of really yummy chocolate.
Erik, Well, first off, sucked is not that bad of a word, remember, I have a companion who just came from the Marines, and so there you have it! JK, he is really cool and fun to be around, but no, sucked is not that terrible, in fact we say, "Share the Suck!" all the time! It I´ll have to email you and tell you the details about Germany when I have the chance.
Now Holly, Elder Kramer isn´t too bad, my goodness! take a chill pill, and plus he is still on a mission for a little while longer! JK! Take a joke every now and then!! Really though, he is a great missionary. Sounds like Zack is doing well, and make sure he is nice to you or else hell have the wrath later! Hope school is going well, sounds like it at least, and have fun. Oh yeah, and smile! (Can you tell that the family gave Elder Kramer quite a hard time about mentioning Holly in the last letter?!?)
Okay, mom, I´ll try to answer all your questions now. This is so much fun! I get to write to all of you.
How did organ/piano lessons go last week? Well, it went well. This time I had them do everything. They are all progressing very well and we have a lot of fun. I´m thinking of ways to get more people there, preferably who aren´t members. We always start with a prayer and a short spiritual thought.
What would you like for Christmas? Actually, I just want a really solid investigator! We have talked to a lot of people, but they either have no interest, or they move really slow. But that isn´t really what you are asking I know. I would really like the yearly family Christmas letter and some pictures of the place now that it is landscaped. I know its a strange request, but It costs a lot to send things both from here and there at home this time of year.
What do you love about Germany? Are you loving those Germans yet?!? I love the Germans! I really love the landscape and the old german towns. There are a lot of them here around Hanau. There are just miles and miles of forest and fields. As far as the people go, they´re great. If they don´t want to talk to you they either say I have no time, wave their hands in the air give a grunt and walk off, or avoid making contact with you and start walking faster. I love it! It makes me laugh! I have also meet really cool people, and once you get to know them, they have some of the best hearts of anyone I know. You just have to get through the hard shell to get there.
What do you miss about the U.S? (Besides your family, of course!!) Descent milk jugs! and regular power outlets! All the milk comes in quarter liters or pretty much quarter gallon jugs. And European power outlets are just European. Everything else is pretty descent as you know, the chocolate, food and public transportation
Did Elder Kramer attend BYU before his mission? How many siblings does he have? How long has he been out? He did attend BYU before his mission, and plans on going back afterwards. He has two older sisters, so he is the youngest in the family. And he has been out for about a year. He says he feels a little awkward right now!
Do you hang out with the other missionaries in Hanau on P-day? I'm guessing so. Yea, all the time. We see the Hanau Elders all the time because they are just a few blocks away from us, walking distance.
Well, hope your week goes well, and may the Lord bless you all!
I pray for you all everyday!
Elder Smith
6 comments:
I love reading Jaren's letters! He's so Jaren!!
We miss you guys! Seems like forever since we've seen you! I can't wait for Thanksgiving! Just let me know what I can bring and what I can do to help. Seriously. Anything!
PS - can we email Jaren too? Or just immediate family? And if not, what's his mailing address? Maybe the mission home address since who knows how long he'll be in Hanau.
We miss you, too. You can email Jaren. I will give you his email address when you come for Thanksgiving or you can email me and ask for it. He would love to receive email. He told me that he may not be able to personally answer each email, but he would love to hear from anyone willing to write.
Wish I would have known about those extra tickets. We just finished watching the game on TV and I would have loved to be there!
Steve had an opportunity to get two extras being a Crimson club member. We mentioned it to some friends and they wanted them. Steve had another opportunity to get two more and they were thrilled. We just hope they didn't hock them for $500 each! They were $45 seats! They probably didn't even stick it out for the whole game!!
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