Guten Abend Leibe Bretzing Familie!
Man, this week has probably been the fastest week I have had
on my mission!! I cannot believe that it is already gone! I will
just have to give you the rundown of the week so you can see.
Tuesday:
That was the day that I was put on the train from Berlin to
Hamburg. It was not too long, but it is always a hassle to get all the
luggage together and packing. I was also able to say goodbye to the two
missionaries that have gone home, and personally, the moment they were gone, I
started singing. Haha, that sounds bad. They are great
missionaries, but I am glad that I do not have home in the back of my mind
anymore or have to talk about it (sorry family and friends but I got work to
do). And the moment I stepped off the train at Hamburg Main Station, I
was able to meet my new companion, Elder Williams. He is from a small
town near San Diego, I cannot remember which one exactly but it is nice to be
with another southern californian. He is a stud. And we spent the
whole day from about 12 to 6 at the train station making sure that all
missionaries were getting on their connecting trains and what not. That
is one of our responsibilities, that on transfer day, we spend the most of the
day at Main Station and making sure that all missionaries who are going to be
passing through Hamburg, get off safely and they are met by us and we get them
on their trains safely. Sometimes, they are only traveling by themselves,
so it was a crazy day.
Wednesday:
That was the day we were able to visit one of the districts
in the zone. That was really fun because I was able to see some old
friends, but it is weird because now they see me as zone leader and not just
elder bretzing. I am still not used to that, where people act a little
different around us and they think we are big bad and scary zone leaders.
But that took us a while to get there and then we all went to lunch and then we
went to our appointments afterwards. Hamburg is a huge city. And it
is very different from Berlin. Especially where we are in. We are in the
Hamburg Ward, directly in the middle of the city. And Hamburg is full of
African immigrants. But they truly are the ones that have been prepared
by the Lord and are ready for the message. Just this Sunday, the other
Elders here in our area found a man on the street and he came into church and
he just kept telling us, "I feel it. I feel this feeling in my
chest." Just in a few days, he was so excited to come to church and
wanted to learn more. That was just a great thing to see.
Was quite a normal day for us. We had some great
finding times going to appointments and that is normally how we find
people. Some missionaries call it "Risking the Akward." But it
is basically just sitting next to someone on the bus and to just start up a
conversation with them, and hopefully being able to then start to talk about
the gospel and what not. I have been able to improve my skills
alot. It is actually really easy because we live in the much nicer part of
town, and alot of people wear the coolest things, like really cool shoes and
coats and so everytime I see them I just say, "Man! you have great looking
shoes! Wear did you buy them?" They usually try to tell me but
I have no idea where all these stores are in Hamburg, but it is a great way to
break the ice!
Friday:
Friday, we had a Missionary Leadership Council in
Berlin. So we had to get up at 4 in the morning and get on a train for
Berlin at 7. It was a fun ride and I got to get to know some of the other
missionaries in my zone, because it is all zone leaders and sister training
leaders that are invited. And that was really cool. Just 6 hours of
straight SPIRIT. We learned alot from President Kosak and Sister Kosak
and what the mission needs and how we can really help them. We discussed
almost everything! And President Kosak is one of the most inspired men
that I know! It is such a great joy to be able to serve with him.
We then missed our train back to Hamburg, so we spent another hour in Berlin,
got some Kentucky Fried Chicken, Germany Style, and got home late.
Saturday:
Yet another normal day or appointments. I cannot really
remember what happened, and I am trying to be better at that. But I also
learned alot of the responsibilities of being a zone leader. And
man! We have so much to do! I am looking forward to it, but
dang! CRAZY!
Sunday:
We got to go to church and that was really different.
This ward is the biggest that I have been in, in the biggest ward building I
have seen, too. They are very welcoming and warm people. There is
also alot of different diversity in the ward. From members who come from
Utah, New York, to Ghana, Nigeria, and of course, Germany. It has been such
a crazy expierence and I am soo excited for more! I am sorry that I have
not been able to take pictures that much but I am really trying to improve on
that and be better at taking pictures. We also have alot of missionaries
in our ward and just recieved a sisters program so we had some eating
appointments that night with all 6 of us! it was great! one of the
families made us homemade tacos and I wanted to almost cry. You know for
sure that I ate alot. But we have also been pushing ourselves to work out
more.
This upcoming week we have a zone training meeting, and we
have to plan this entire meeting for the zone and I feel really great and
prepared, but I would ask for your support in prayer. It is going to be
really funny, but also crazy insane because all of it will be in
GERMAN!!!
Anyways, I love you all and you are very close to me in my
thoughts and my prayers! I know that this church is the true church of
Jesus Christ that we have on the earth today. I have gained a testimony
that God is the head of this Church. I know that. And I am so
grateful for all the teachings and the principles that I am learning to apply
more in my life. I know that missionary work is so important. I
know that it will bring happiness. I am so happy to be able to talk to
people on the street, trains, and buses. It may sound crazy, but I look
forward to everytime I step foot into a train or bus because I am looking for
that one to invite to come unto Christ. The courage comes when we allow
ourselves to be lead by our Heavenly Father. When we trust Him and listen
to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, the courage to invite others or to just
open our mouths and share the gospel will be magnified.
Love with all my heart,
Elder Bretzing
Address:
Poßmoorweg 21BHamburg 22301
Germany
(Possmoorweg)
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