Life in Germany
(view of Wiesbaden from the top of Macy's)
Another week down, and Elder Heilmann is reportedly "good and happy!" It's always so good to see his beautiful smile and sparkly eyes. I can tell he looks forward to seeing us as much as we look forward to seeing him. Thursday morning is my favorite, and I basically just watch my computer in total anticipation until he calls.
This morning, the Elders took a pleasant stroll to the bakery and had an exquisite breakfast. Elder Heilmann ordered a sandwich with freshly baked bread, eggs, and bacon followed by a warm, chocolate croissant. Doesn't that just sound heavenly? After breakfast, they headed to Post and went to the Commissary and PX, where, among other things, they picked up some Jet-Puffed Marshmallows for the Youth Activity with the German Ward that night.
Apparently, German marshmallows are like cardboard, so when the Elders found out about the needs of the activity, they suggested they could get American marshmallows. The German kids and Bishop practically begged them to do so. The German Ward kids meet for youth nights on Thursday and the American Ward kids on Tuesday, and they are usually invited to attend the activities to fellowship with the local Saints. They always have a great time.The activity was making Stockbrot (or stick bread) around a Lagerfeuer (or campfire) and toasting marshmallows. Elder Heilmann is excited to attend, as he just finds the German youth to be totally ridiculous. Last week, one of the boys tied his sweater shut and the arms around this body and started running around. But then, at the same time, they are "ridiculously formal," which he finds "slightly disturbing."
The German Ward Bishops' son is 13, and he acts like he's 19! The Bishop will say, "Ok, Chris, it's time to start the activity," so Chris immediately pops up and announces the meeting and finds someone to give a prayer with great formality. So basically, he's every youth leader's dream. Hahaha. Chris has an older brother who is in his 20's and lives in Poland while he attends school. His wife is pregnant and will be having their first child this November/December time frame. Elder Heilmann thought it was so sweet to share that both Chris and his older brother call their dad Papa.
While they were still on Post, they ran into a Senior Missionary couple at the Commissary. The husband is retired military, and they are in charge of news and emergency response in Europe for the Church. Quite a big job to keep track of all of that. They just moved to Germany 6 months ago and will be there for 6 more months. The couple told the Elders about disasters and news they are covering and planning a response to; fires in Greece, tornados in Czech, the volcano in Spain. This couple was part of the team that provided the missionary response to the Reine flooding, also. Elder Heilmann exclaimed that the turmoil in the world is indeed a witness of the last days.
After speaking with the Senior Missionaries, the Elders got haircuts at the PX complex. Elder Heilmann said his barber may or may not have been high. He was buzzing and jerking around. His eyes were bugging, and he smelled like smoke. Elder Heilmann complimented the man on his fine work, and the barber got excited that he could talk German with him and got super friendly. He said, "I got a good cut, though," so it didn't matter much to him what the man's circumstances were. They both had a great time together. It was nice that he didn't rush Elder Heilmann in his speech either. He says he can understand and follow most conversations, but he is still a little slow to reply, which tends to make people impatient. It was nice to be able to chat without needing Elder Tillet's translation help.
After hair cuts, they got bubble teas (without the tea, obviously). Elder Heilmann got vanilla and brown sugar flavor. He said that it's weird that water, milk, and flavoring taste so good together. His bubbles were like juicy fruit snacks. Gummy on the outside and liquid in the center. So basically, a sugar bomb. He was also able to pick up a portable speaker with the gift money from his farewell party. He is so excited to have that. It also has a carabiner so he can hook it to his backpack. He now has several gigabytes of music. He loves his music!
While at the Commissary, Elder Heilmann was surprised to see star fruit and dragon fruit. He anticipated seeing more American imports and was surprised at the diversity of products they had there. Christmas is around the corner, and he plans on buying his new companion some Pirolines and Martinelli's. Heilmann Christmas traditions! He saw both of those things at the Commissary already, so he's planning ahead. Hopefully, he will still be in Wiesbaden around that time or he may have to buy those soon! EEK!
Mom and Missionary Chat
Elder Heilmann often tries to teach me phrases in German while we chat and this week was my favorite. He had me say 'ich freue mich,' which literally translates to 'I am happy me or I excite myself,' but in German, it's how you say, 'I'm pleased.' 'Ich freue mich auf Weihnachten' literally means 'I excite myself on white night' but means 'I'm looking forward to Christmas.'
If you have something with you, you don't say 'with you'; you say 'at.' 'Ich bringe es mit mir' means 'I bring it with me' but if the keys are already in your pocket, you say 'bei mir' or 'at me.' 'Ich bringe es bei mir.' It means the same thing but has a different context.
To ask if you have something with you, you ask are you wearing it. We chatted about the similarity I saw in the way our friend Valarie speaks. She is from St. Kitts, and the surrounding islands have some Dutch influence. Valarie will ask me to carry something with me. She won't say, 'can you bring that next time I see you,' she will say, 'can you carry that with you.' Languages are so fascinating!
Elder Heilmann shared that he was looking on the Gospel Library app at all the available language translations, and he found a language called Igbo.
I asked my Alexa device where Igbo was spoken, and she replied that it was one of the languages spoken in Nigeria. I whispered, "Alexa knows everything," and she whispered back, "I don't have all the answers, but I am always learning." We both just cracked up!! My Alexa is sometimes kinda spooky. He also found that the Gospel Library has translations in Navaho. And he learned that you can learn Navaho on Duolingo and other dead or made-up languages, like Klingon.
Missionary Work
Kevanch (or Kivanc), their Turkish friend, is getting back on the 10th. The Elders really want to say, "Ok, Kivanc, come to Kirche." They really would love to be able to ask him when he wants to get baptized. Missionary work is complicated in Germany. Elder Heilmann said, "Here in the Holy Roman Empire, it's hard to bring people fully to Christ."
Their friend, Colin, is having some kind of drama in his life. He stopped coming to church. They don't know what is happening, and they hope to sit down with him ask him what's up. Elder Heilmann is very worried about him. He was hoping to encourage Colin to begin planning to go to the temple, and now he is unsure where he is with his testimony.
Jamie is the name of the gal that took the pass-along card and texted the Elders back. Elder Heilmann says that her texts are in "illegible German." They go something like, "hey you so how you so doing so how are you doing in your day how is your day doing in your day?" He said the interaction has been a bit strange so far, and he is hoping to clear the air with her soon. She has asked if the missionaries were married or had girlfriends. "I don't have many friends," she said. "We can be your friend!" "Well, do you have any girlfriends?" "We are not going to be your boyfriends." Oh, dear. It sounds like she just wants to hang out. He's not sure she understands that they aren't just going to take strolls with her for fun. They are there to bring her to Christ, not chill and be buddies. The age of consent is 16 in Germany, so it's hard to help people understand that they are not interested in relationships. They are on the Lord's errand. He's not sure she quite understands the purpose of Missionaries quite yet, but he hopes to be able to clear the air and start fresh.
Mike, their friend with epilepsy, cannot walk to church independently, so the Elders accompanied him there on Sunday. After they took the sacrament, Mike's face started changing colors, and so he went over to the hallway, leaned down, and fainted. The Elders caught him from his squat and lifted his legs in the air to get the blood back to his brain. Apparently, it happens to him daily.
One of the members, Brother Vanderput, gave Mike a blessing with the Elders. After the blessing, they all attended Elder's Quorum, and Mike stood the whole time. After services were over, the Elders' walked Mike back home as if nothing had happened. He was completely fine, and Elder Heilmann said he could feel the power of the blessing. They ended up sitting with him at home for a while to be sure he was ok on his own.
The Elders plan to watch Conference in German with Mike on Sunday, Monday, and again in English by themselves. Mike likes to practice English with the Elders because he wants to go to the States again someday. He was born in Colorado as his dad was in the military. The plan is that in a few years after Elder Heilmann gets home, he wants to come to the US. Elder Heilmann or Elder Tillett would fly to Germany, pick up Mike and then fly back to the US because Mike can't fly independently. They would then make the reverse trip. He thinks it would be an excellent opportunity and timing for a mission tour.
Like Mother, like son, we love to plan all the details often prematurely, but what would life be like without a myriad of well-laid plans!
Until next week, friends and loved ones.
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