Trains

I would love to look up how many miles I travelled this week, it seems like it was quite a few. We went to Berlin and back... twice. I went to Dresden, Chemnitz, Mittweida, and plenty of other places. So the first picture defines what a lot of the last week has been like, people trying to take pictures of me asleep on trains. Somehow I have a magical ability to wake up and catch people before they snag a pic... but we'll see if the magic lasts. 

All of my pictures are from my two Berlin trips, so you can enjoy some typical German touristy things. 

How am I doing? Fantastic! This week our ward had a Christmas party, complete with a full blown play put on by the members! It was so hilarious to see everyone decked out in costumes and doing their thing all week long. This ward is something special! I'll see if I can track down any pictures. 

Funny moment of the week: (PG-13) I was on companion exchange with a fairly new missionary and we came across a Chinese student while street contacting. I stopped him and started speaking a very odd mixture of Chinese, English, and German. A while into the conversation, the new missionary chimed in with the one phrase that I had taught him in Chinese... "我没有包皮!" Which I had told him meant, "I don't speak Chinese." ...... That doesn't mean that you don't speak Chinese. Look it up at your own peril. 

Somehow we moved on with the conversation, though this Chinese man was now very intrigued. And found out regardless that he would love to hear more about the Book of Mormon! 

Oh, and if you're wondering how good my Chinese is... pretty horrible is the answer. No joke, I speak enough to stop and entertain someone for 30 seconds... and then it's game over. But sometimes that's all you need in Chinese here! I've literally started praying that they don't ask me to give a homecoming talk in the Chinese Ward in my stake.... That would be a nightmare haha. 

Well, if I had anything important to tell you guys, I forgot it. Sorry

Please pray that I don't have to give a homecoming talk in the Chinese Ward! Thanks!

Love you!

Elder Openshaw 

The Land of Christmas

This morning we had to wake up super early and we are on our way to Berlin to pick up our car. Our area is really hard to handle without a car haha. We got stranded in some dwarf towns a couple times and had to be rescued by our bishop. Turns out that the little town we went to has a crazy amount of Jehovah's witnesses, like 80% of the population. 

Saxony is a really strange area. Many people here are very religious, but it is also the place that communism effected the most. We get a very weird mixture of happy, angry, impassive, and passionate people on the street. 

You may be wondering what christmas is like, here in Germany. Many little kids are very scared of Santa here, and I totally understand why. At a Christmas party, all the children ran away and a bunch of them were crying as he walked in the room. He just looks a lot rougher and less jolly than our Santa haha. He dresses in a long black coat and carries a big staff around. And then he makes all the little kids recite poems or sing songs in order to get their gifts. 

Oh man, it snows so much here! We've already had 6 inches or so. But sadly it all melted due to rain... last year they had 3 feet of snow here, I hope that we get that again! 

The Christmas markets are up and going again! That means that all of the best German Christmas songs play through the town all day! It's crazy how well I can still remember them all from last year, but I guess I did play them through the whole month of August as well. 

As for mission work, everything is going really well! Nadine is going to be baptized on the 13th of January! I'm so so excited for her. She's going to the the Relief Society President of the church someday, Mark my words. 

I have also been able to continue teaching Sandra and her 4 little kids! They drove all the way to my new area to come to church here! It is amazing to see how the gospel is starting to effect their lives. Sandra just seems so happy to have her kids in primary, and the kids love to sing the songs and participate. 

I couldn't be happier to be on my mission, I love this place. 

I know that people can change, and I have been very lucky to see that through my mission. There is no such thing as a "fatal flaw," in real life. I think it's very important to recognize that. We aren't slaves to our mistakes, we are masters of our decisions. I love you all!

Elder Openshaw