August 12th: Some Fun Tales From the Mission

    The last post was heavy!  Let's face it.  Last WEEK was heavy for Elder Heilmann.  But, in the midst of it all, he was able to share some fun little quips here and there.  

    On one of the first days of serving in Ahrweiler, Elder Heilmann was given a granola bar from the Government agency that was there to help feed the village and volunteers.   He realized that it had a peanut in it after he started eating it.  He didn't realize that the German word for peanut is "earth nut" or erdnuss.  He went back to the food tent and did his best to tell the agent that he had a peanut allergy so the agent gave him an entire tub of Haribo gummy snakes instead.  He got such a kick out of that!  

    Speaking of food he is really enjoying the cuisine in Germany but has really limited his consumption of meat.  It was making him feel a bit ill.  So instead, he is eating a lot of soups, breads, and NUTELLA!  His favorite.  He said the bakeries are filled with hundreds (well, he said thousands) of varieties of bread and they are all unique works of art.  Rough and crunchy on the outside but clouds on the inside smothered in Nutella.  He is pretty much in food heaven.  When he does eat meat, he really enjoys Turkish Durum sandwiches.  The meat is slow roasted on a spike and shaved off so every layer is beautifully caramelized and delicious.  Elder Heilmann also really enjoys the huge flat or fizzy water bottles that can be bought for about $0.20 USD.

    A funny side note he shared was that the German word for gift is geschenk. If you say the word 'gift' it means poison. So if you say I have a gift for you in German and use the word gift instead of geschenck, then you are saying to someone that you have a poison for them.  Ich haba ein gift fur dich  That's a funny mistake to make.  Might raise some eyebrows.

    Speaking or raised eyebrows and distrust, Elder Heilmann said that the Bishop of the German Ward does not trust the Missionaries.  He had bad experiences with missionaries in the past, so they are working on repairing that relationship.  The Bishop friended Elder Heilmann on Facebook but not any other missionaries that he asked.  Elder Heilmann was pretty stoked!  He said, "He likes me! I was sick the past two Sundays but I got up first and bore my testimony in German and after I sat down I was like- That was super nerve wracking!"  But he did it and he thinks it may have given the Bishop some confidence and respect for this companionship of Elders so he is hopeful.  The Elders swap off attending the German and American Military Ward every other Sunday. The Military Ward is in Offenbach so it takes about an hour to get to Church on the Autobann.  He is hoping that his talk goes well on Sunday, August 15th (his 19th Birthday), in the German Ward and is hoping it helps continue to heal bad feelings.

    Overall he stated that other than the service project, he's just in a groove.  The work has been pretty easy.  Just not street contacting...  But one month down is pretty good so far.  We can just continue to pray for continued strength and success.