Christmas Week

Wow, it was so good to hear from you guys. That made my whole Christmas! It’s a lot more different here in Germany but I had a lot of fun, even though I missed you all dearly. But I am so glad to hear that you guys enjoyed it as much as I did. I know it did get emotional but that’s just because I love and miss you guys. I am doing awesome though. This week was a little bit slower week because we weren’t as busy but it still was a great and a little bit more relaxing week.

I will just start from Christmas Eve and talk about the week. Christmas Eve here in Germany is their Christmas. So we went over to the Warncke Family. Such a cool family and they fed us Roclette. It was so good and I ate so much. Another cool thing is President was okay that Elder Bruneel and I slept over at the other Elders home. So Christmas Eve we watched some Christmas Church shows. Then on Christmas morning we were able to open our packages from home together. It was such a fun morning. The Elders we have here in Darmstadt are all so cool. I have been blessed to work with some cool people. That was a good morning. Christmas day we went over to the Wiese's house and ate even more food. We enjoyed the day and played some board games and hung out. Then that night I was able to Skype with you guys. I absolutely loved it. I am so happy that you guys are doing so well. That makes me happy and I am able to not worry as much. I am so happy to hear that you are all healthy and enjoying life.

After Christmas and talking with you guys we went over to another member’s house on Thursday and ate sooo much again. I think I gained like 5 pounds this Christmas. Germans have 3 holy days which are the 24th, 25th, and 26th. So we got plenty of food and we enjoyed Thursday night and played a game called "Big Booty" that was a lot of fun. I loved the Christmas here in Darmstadt. This area is such a great area. The people here in Darmstadt are such strong members. It’s weird because we have like 12 Deacons in this ward.. Which it feels like our home ward a little bit. Just everything is awesome here in Darmstadt. Elder Bruneel and I are still working hard on the University. We try new ideas every day and getting creative. So that is something good.

So Saturday and Friday we spent pretty much both days finding. We had this box that we had set out and talked to people about what they were grateful for and if they could give something back to Jesus Christ what would it be. We had them write it down and put it in the box. It was a lot of fun. Those days are always a bit longer though because you are outside in the cold talking to people. I have noticed it has been a lot easier contacting and talking with people here in Darmstadt than it was in Bad Homburg. People seem so much nicer here. I don’t know if that was because of Christmas or what but it’s been so much fun. By just talking to people is where I learn the language the most.

I hope you all enjoy your New Year's. Remember to not forget to write down your New Year Goals down. I love you all so very much. I loved talking to you on the phone. I know that I am supposed to be out here on a mission for a reason. I love this work. If you all have any questions just ask them. Have a great week.

Elder Emery

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great Week!

This was such a fast week and it’s so weird that it is already done. But it was one of the coolest weeks on my mission for sure. We got a lot done and it was so humbling. I learned a lot in this past week and I have a lot to tell.

First off, I was able to attend the baptism of Shirley and all I can say is that it was amazing! Normally missionaries aren’t able to go back to their area if there is a baptism. But I talked with President about it and he let me go back if we would go to the temple too. On Saturday it took us about 2 hours overall to travel there and we went to the temple. After that we headed over to the church. I walked in and Shirley turned around and just started bawling. It was so cool and I gave Thomas the biggest hug. What was really cool is that Elder Lindsey was also there. We both got to go back to see them. It was such a humbling experience and the spirit was so strong during the meeting. What the coolest part is seeing Thomas baptize her. The spirit was so strong and I am so grateful I had the opportunity to go back and enjoy the time there. It’s so cool because you build eternal friendships with people. They were both so excited and now Shirley is a member of the church. 

This week we had a ton of appointments. One cool appointment was with a kid named Ammon. He is 18 years old and has had these really bad head aches and so he can’t do anything. But apparently he is incredible at soccer and would be playing for a professional soccer team here but his headaches have been so bad. Everyone has been forcing him to serve a mission and asking him that every day and it’s really getting to him because he wants to do it because he knows it is right. Not because everyone is saying it. It was really cool because Elder Bruneel and I both play sports and it is the exact same situation as we were in. We told him the story about before the mission. Then I began to explain my story and how coming out on a mission has saved my life spiritually. It was such a cool experience seeing how much his face lit up and how strong we could feel the spirit. I loved that lesson and it brought me back to the old days a little bit and how it is important to hang out with the right people. My mission has changed and saved me. We are meeting again with Ammon this week and he is such a cool kid. I believe he will serve just needs to figure that out for himself.

Thursday we had the opportunity to go to a gym and to work out with a less active.. And wow, am I out of shape!!!! I ran for 10 minutes and then started lifting a little bit and was just done after that. It felt good to work out again. But felt the soreness the next 2 days. That was cool because this less active apparently wouldn’t meet the missionaries before. So it was cool going to work out with him and doing something new. 

Also, something that is really cool that I found out about Darmstadt is this is the home ward of President Uchtdorf. All the members know and love him. We were down in his hometown on Saturday night. That is something really cool and some of his best friends apparently are in this ward. So we have heard lots of stories and it has been so cool to hear about. This place is so beautiful too and I love working here. Yesterday, we had a missionary fireside about Christmas traditions. That was really cool then we had the opportunity to watch the Christmas devotional. Such a spiritual and fun night to be around the members and to hang out a little bit. I am so thankful to be serving here in Darmstadt. It really is such a great ward and has been so humbling and loving during this Christmas holiday. I am changed man. I am starting to write my goals down for the next year. I challenge you all to do that. Start early. Anyways, I love you all. 1 week and I get to see you all with Skype! I am super excited about that. Have a great week.

Elder Emery