Skip to main content

Jan. 6th: Short and Sweet...cause we need a nap

Daily Doings

This great shot of Elder Wright says it all. The Elder's are POOPED! Christmas, New Year, and Missionary Work. Just beyond the mark, tired. 

Today was a very short chat. Elder Heilmann was visibly wilting on the call. We could tell it was taking his all just to chat with us, so we entertained him more than anything.  

The Ward Mission Leader invited them over for dinner after their appointment with him this evening. He lives in the middle of the forest, and the bus out there only comes once an hour. Hopefully, they both sleep on the bus for a bit. Sounds like a long night is ahead.  

Elder Heilmann has decided it's time to up his game with his morgensport (morning sports) to work off all of his Christmas weight. He has been consistent with his daily yoga stretches, but "it's time to get serious," he says. He knows he isn't an Elder Mahoney who worked out 1.5 hours every morning and evening. Still, he was definitely inspired to try harder. (Remember, Elder Mahoney was a firefighter before his mission and is returning to service now that he is home).

Missionary Work

As for Missionary work, the week sounded rather productive! They received five referrals, and they also met a gentleman and taught him a lesson! He didn't expound, but we are happy that he is working hard and sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ at every turn.  

"Investigators in Germany are weird. They don't really seem like they are investigating." That definitely sounds like a challenge.

He also let us know that some Mission specific rules are no longer valid. They are now allowed to message people on P-days outside of just immediate family. The General Mission rules allow Missionaries to message extended family and friends on P-days. Still, the Frankfurt Mission rules only allowed messaging immediate family. Elder Heilmann says, "The law of Moses has been taken away." lol 

Quirky Germany

  • "If you are not in the city, you are on a farm. They don't really have suburbs," and farm people are super friendly! "Servus!" (Hello!) Most Germans don't say hi, so Elder Heilmann was not expecting such a lovely greeting from a gentleman farmer. It made his day. That, and the German countryside, is absolutely breathtaking. Beautiful country and cheerful people. 
  • "I have eaten more red cabbage on my mission than I have in my entire life! They cook it so much!" One of his favorite dishes is Rotkohl, which means red cabbage, but the preparation is gravy-like. Buttery cabbage ribbons in blended cabbage gravy. He says it's just a "purple goo and really, really good!" 
  • The German word for Smufs is Die Schlumpfe. "They love the Smurfs here." Haribo even has Smurf gummies! Elder Heilmann gets a kick out of all the gummy variations that Haribo makes. These are super adorable.  
That's all we got for this week, but more good things are coming.  Stay tuned for the next installment of an American Missionary in Germany.

Comments

  1. NanaFebruary 24, 2022 at 8:55 AM

    mmm Candy ... so many. I can imagine that missionaries sleep HARD each night ... mortal body just can't handle The Holy Spirit non-stop, until it changes their very nature and make-up ... but still <3 but I love my Elder Jules ... prayers and name in Temple <3

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 1: First Day in Germany

 Elder Heilmann has arrived and is ready to go!  I will be brief in my comments since I included portions of the first email from his Mission President. We are all so excited for Julian....Elder Heilmann...he looks nervous and excited.  Can't wait to hear from him soon.   Reminder: If you want to be included in the group email from Elder Heilmann, let me know.   Dear  Brother & Sister Heilmann ,    We are happy to report that  Elder   Heilmann   arrived safely in the Germany Frankfurt Mission. Sister Hammon and I met all the new missionaries at the Frankfurt airport, and your  son   looked good and was happy to be here. We are always grateful to have new missionaries come into the field as they bring a sense of excitement and a spirit of great faith. It inspires and energizes the whole mission.  Later, Sister Hammon and I both spent some time getting acquainted with your  son . I also took a few min...
2 comments
Read more

November 18th: Change. Change Always Weakens Me

Daily Doings I honestly wished that I could say that this week all was well and that Elder Heilmann has adjusted and is doing better. Unfortunately, that was not the case today. I saw my sweet son, and his light was definitely dimmed. He just got transferred to a new area, so he has a new companion, a new town, a new Ward, new apartment. Everything is new.  He just has never been great at handling change. It just takes time to adjust. He knows he will, in time. I just pray that not every transfer is this traumatizing.  Elder Heilmann expressed that his transfer experience was painful. He had a lot of time alone as he tried to get around Germany. He had two giant suitcases and had to walk up multiple sets of stairs to get to the rails. Elder Chamberlain's new companion showed up, and the two of them had to leave for their area. Elder Heilmann had to continue on his own to Krefeld, where his new companion would meet him at the train station and take him to his new apartment....
Post a Comment
Read more

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...
1 comment
Read more