15.11.2004

hey friends! wow, what a great week! as i get closer and closer to the end of my mission, more and more wonderful things keep happening to make me want to stay! my comp is totally awesome, we love each other and work really hard. the ward is totally psyched to have me back for some reason and yesterday some members invited us to teach a friend of theirs at their house.. something that virtually NEVER happens here. i love the ward here and am really excited to be helping out. the most amazing thing is, we had a baptism yesterday! Christina Ahl, a lady from Ghana, got baptised in Bergedorf, a city about 20 minutes away, because we dont have a baptismal font in Lauenburg! Many missionaries were there, old friends of mine, as well as the mission president and his wife, and all the missionaries brought nonmember friends from their respective cities.. some coming as far away as Bremen and Bielefeld! We also had a few friends there who are investigating the church, and they found it awesome as well. the service was in two languages, because Christina brought many of her friends who dont speak German very well, and everything went without problems for a change. we had a great time- nothing makes a missionaries´ day like a baptism. Last saturday Christina invited us over to her house to eat Fufu, an african dish i have heard a lot about, but never eaten. basically, it´s a thick ball of mashed potatoes as big as a softball, sitting in a pool of super spicy soup, with chunks of chicken floating in it. not just sliced chicken breast like we are used to at home, but actually hacked up chunks of chicken, including all the insides, and if you get a bone you just spit it out. it is eaten without silverware, you just rip off a chunk of the potatoes with your fingers, dip your hand into the soup like a spoon, and slurp it up. a truly one-of-a-kind experience! Christina told us to invite friends of ours, so we invited 3 other missionaries, and we had a blast! the soup was so spicy, we were crying, and she kept asking us if it was too hot, and we had to keep saying no, it tastes great, because we have to be polite, even if tears are running down our faces. then Christina also had african friends of hers there, and they put on some music and started dancing and singing... the whole thing was an amazing experience! i love how Germany is such a cultural melting pot... there were 5 africans, 4 americans, and a frenchman sitting in a room in Germany, talking and laughing and stuff... i know i will never again in my life get to have such an experience. A ton of other stuff happened last week too, but i am running out of time. the church is true. God loves us. i am so happy to be here.... take care of yourselves! have a good week!