Week 1 of the fortnight …
Where to begin!?! I guess you can say that there are good weeks and bad
weeks! This week was one of the latter! But hey, that’s missionary life!
Basically we found nobody, we taught nobody, nobody answered the phone or was
home when we went by, so we set up no appointments with anybody and the only
number we could really report this week was one referral contacted- who had no
interest anyway!!!! It was crazily stupid! But hey, it happens!!!! And it just
motivates me more to try even harder!!! So, this week we're gonna be coming
back fighting!!!!! #gameon
Let’s begin this week in Journal form, as it’s the simplest way to do
it....
So Monday! It was P-day, as
per … emails are the highlight natürlich!!! Then Familie Heim Abend. It was
pretty good and Brüder Meier brought some ice cream cake for the treat, which
was awesome, cause we totally forgot to get anything!!! Oooopppss!!!! Then in
one of our mission emails, we find out that our MSF has been cut!!!!
What!!!!!!!! We barely survived before,
here in Switzerland, but now … who knows how it’s gonna go...
Tuesday!!
District Meeting was back to being in Chur! What a sight!! Although, whenever
we have to go to Chur, it literally takes up an entire day!!! We have to leave
at 8.20, so no studies, then we get back at like 18.00!!! It's literally
ridiculous!!! But it's fun!! And we had a little raclette party for district
lunch!!!! Which sort of made up for it!!! And the new district is pretty
cool!!! Literally 4 of us out of 6 were in the MTC together! So life is
great!!!
Wednesday we had
a tausch! A little early in the transfer, but hey! It was a pretty fun tausch!
I stayed in Bonstetten with Elder Timm! Not much happened, so in the evening we
went to a member’s home, who lives in our ward boundaries, but goes to another
ward, and she is Elder Timm’s aunt! So we went by to say ‘hi’ and they invited
us in and she fed us, which was awesome! So, a pretty awesome end to a pretty
dead day!!!
Thursday, we
tausched back and had a termine with a member. It was really good! Her husband
isn't a member, so we tried to involve him too. He is totally open and ridiculously cool!
After the appointment we found it difficult to understand why he wasn’t a member.
And the food was great again!
Friday brings
us to the 3rd DA of the week! (we have another 3 DA’s set up this week, I think
that takes us to about 10 in just the first 3 weeks, when last transfer we only
had like 2 in the whole transfer!!!) So we had a DA with our new GML. He is
really cool and has an awesome vision for the work in the ward!!! I'm excited
to work with him more in the coming weeks!!!
Saturday- I hit
a low! Just nothing was happening, as I said at the start of the email! Luckily
for me, I still had a bit left from my Valentine’s Package- so I had a fat day!
I think I ate like 3 bags of chocolate stuff and then drank the whole thing of
custard!!!! It was bad, but hey!!!! At least I had a taste of home to get me
through!!!!
Sunday!!! One
of the Less Actives we've been trying to get in contact with after she went to
England a few weeks back, came to church!!!! It was so cool!!! Definitely agree
with Ash when she said how exciting it is when a less active you work with
comes back to church!!!! It was really cool!!! Then we had choir practice for
Gemeindekonferenz next Sunday! Hardly anyone came!!! So me, Elder Paulsen and
the choir director were the only men! And Elder Paulsen claims he can't sing,
so sang ridiculously quiet! So I had to be loud, which I hated, plus they
always complain that I'm singing an octave lower... it hurts my voice to go
higher!!! You can't win! But hey, we got brownies from it!!!! Then the senior
couple came by to drop off some Books Of Mormon for us and we also told them about a
couple of things that we want sorting with the apartment, so our apartment will
be perfect in no time!!! We already have like one of the best apartments as it
is, but a few things would make it perfect! Then we went to Bishop’s for dinner!
It was awesome!!! For our spiritual thought, we played the thankful pen game! It’s
a visual spiritual thought, but it's really fun and works brilliantly with a
family of any age!!! Basically, the idea is to pass the pen around the
group/family and say something that the pen can do zum Beispiel this pen can
fly, or this pen can be a dog! Absolutely random stuff! If the person says ‘thank
you’ when they receive the pen, then whatever they say is true! If they don't
say thank you, then whatever they say is false! Then you play it until people
pick it up!! Then explain and talk about thankfulness!!! We shared Mosiah
2:19-20. I think it’s the scripture, but there are many others to use!!!! Then
we sat with Bishop and went through a few less actives he wants us to work with.
So, that is basically our week! Plus, the
last few days I've been doing language study on our beautiful balcony! With an
awesome view of the mountains and the sun beaming down! It's pretty nice! Then
today, I don't even have to wear a jumper, let alone a coat!!!! It is
beautiful!!!!!!! Sitting at the chapel with the windows flung open!!!!! Life is
awesome!!!! I can't wait to get my Easter package!!! I may get it tomorrow
evening, as Brother Berg is the JM-Leiter, so he should be at Gemeinderat!!!!
So we shall see!!!
Week 2 of the fortnight ...
Montag... Twas a pretty good day!
Emailing is always the highlight, definitely my favourite part of the week!!!
Then Familie Heim Abend! I had the lesson/spiritual thought and it went
relatively well. I based it on 3 Christlike Attributes- Faith, Humility and
Patience. It actually went really well and the point got across!!! In almost
perfect Deutsch!!!
Dienstag.... oh, Dienstag!! It was Zone
Training day!!! So we headed to Schwammendingen! On our way we got a text from
Jessi telling me that the package arrived and that Jacob would bring it to
Gemeinderat... So I got it the very day it arrived! Zone Training was
awesome!!! The STLs did an amazing part on The Atonement, the Spirit was so
strong in that Zone Training it was amazing!! Our Zone is ridiculously tiny
though! We only have like 22 missionaries! That may be big in comparison to
some missions, but Zürich is the smallest zone in the mission. Like Bern was
around 30 something and then München was an enormous zone (but then we had all
the office couples there), but it was awesome! And the British elders loved the
Vimto Squeezy stuff I brought with me from the package!!!! hahaha!!! Then we
finished the day with Gemeinderat... They talked about whether or not to rent
out a cinema to show 'Meet the Mormons'. Basically all wards in Europe are
getting a copy of it and they were discussing whether to use it as a missionary
tool and do a ward activity where people can invite their friends and
neighbours and all.
 |
| Turkish Vimto! |
And
it's Mittwoch already!!!! We started the day by helping a member move the last
few things to their new apartment, as her husband was away with work, but it
needed to be done! So we helped move the stuff and then we had lunch. It was
cool! So 1st DA of the week! Also, this explains the picture I'll send! Her Mom
is from Manchester and they found fizzy vimto cans in a Turkish shop in Zürich,
so she gave me a couple!!! It legit is vimto, just with the Turkish design
cans. Then we had an appointment with Sister B. We brought a member who may be
my favourite member! He's called Brüder M, he's Swiss through and through and
probs in his late 60's and he speaks English! So we brought him to Sister B,
which is in English and she asked if he can help her with some legal forms to
do with tax and stuff, cause they were in German and he deals with that type of
stuff for work, so he was explaining a few things and kept turning to us to get
a translation of the most obscure German words to do with taxes. I was like,
don't look at me, I have no idea!!! So it was an interesting appointment, but
it was good and we taught her a lesson and the spirit was crazily strong in
there, that there may have been a few tears from some people. Then we gave her
a blessing and it was just amazing! The Priesthood is real, it is the power of
God! Then we were about to head home and Brüder M was like, "I'm
hungry, there's a döner place round the corner that isn't too pricey, lets go -
my treat!!!" So we went with him to this Döner place and it was great. It
was huge and around the same price as a döner anywhere else in Switzerland, so
there we had our second DA of the week and it meant that Wednesday we didn't
have to cook anything!!!! Perfect!!!
And
Donnerstag rolls around... We went to try and contact a referral we received on
Wednesday that the Sisters in the Scotland Ireland Mission taught. Apparently
he has loads of questions and is relatively young. It was like a 20 minute bus
ride into the middle of nowhere, but he wasn't home. I think they may still be
in Scotland though, as the postbox was full, like almost overflowing and the
house was dark, so we'll try by again in a week or so. He seems like there's
potential there, so we'll see! Then we received like another 3 or 4 referrals
in the day from Salt Lake, so we shall see how the week goes! Then we went to
see another member/less active. He's Mongolian, so they live in an Asylheim! We
have to hand in our Aussweiss at the office before we visit and then we get it
back when we leave!!! Then we had an appointment with a member, 3rd DA, but we
were a little early, so went by a former who lives near by! We ring the bell
and about 2 minutes later the guy comes to the door! Half naked! And not the
half that would be normal on a warm day! He's in his 90's as well! So he's
like, "oooo, I'm almost naked, come back on Saturday at 19.00!"
(Translated from his Swiss German as best as I can, just so you can understand)
... so that was an experience!!!! Then we had our DA and it was really good!
The Sister is from Syria, so I think it was some sort of Syrian Meal and it was
really good!!!!!!
Freitag!
Not alot! Literally nothing happened, as Elder Pauslen was ill.
Samstag!!!
It was full of Vorbeis and for a Saturday it was pretty bad, cause nobody was
home! So that sucked! And then in the evening we went by our half naked 90 year
old friend and he answered the door in the exact same way, but this time he let
us in and we taught him about the Book of Mormon! A half naked man, like he
wasn't even wearing any underwear, just a t-shirt and sandals!!! It was the
weirdest thing ever! So we got a lesson with a half naked, 90 year old guy and
he is now a new investigator, as we're going back on Friday! Hopefully this
time he'll find some trousers to put on!!! It was interesting!
Sonntag!!! Happy Mother's Day Mom!!!!
And Gemeindekonferenz! So we had to be there at 8.30 to practice, as the choir
for the musical item we were doing! It's like our own little MoTab! We even
have an Orchestra- like legit- flute, claranet, violin, cello, etc. It was
pretty amazing! The song we sang was one from the Primary book... I can't
remember what it's called in English "Liebe Umgibt Mich Hier" in
Deutsch! It's split into male and female parts! The male part in English starts
something like 'Mine is a home where every hour, is blessed by the strength of Priesthood
power'. I'm sure you know the one I mean! Then the talks were amazing and then
Sunday School and Priesthood/Relief Society was mashed together and I believe
the Stake Presidency talked about the Area Plan- so, like, the 3 point thing
with the red, yellow and green card, but we had to help out in Primary, as the
President was on her own! So we got to do Singing Time and Sharing Time... It
was fun!!! Then in the evening we had another awesome DA with Familie A! Brüder
A is a Dentist, who owns his own Practice, so as you can imagine, the house is
huge and beautiful and dinner was amazing!!! It was very similar to a Sunday
roast! It wasn't one, but it was very similar, so obviously it was amazing!!!!
... And that is basically this week!!!
Have an
awesome week, I love you alll sooo, sooo much!
All my
Love,
Elder Ammon Robertson xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
