Daily Doings
Elder Heilmann was in Duisburg today with his District and only had a short time to talk. He let us know that he had a mtg to attend. A geminda missions cordenantions (no idea how to spell it), a Mission Correlation Mtg. They call in Gemico for short and it was cute to watch him have to translate from German to English in his head. We thought it sounded very French and apparently a lot of German words are borrowed from the French language. Cool! For instance, 'chance' in German is 'chance' pronounced SHAWN-suh.
Even though he didn't have much time, we had a little surprise ready for him!
GRANDPA!!!!!
Grandma and Grandpa Heilmann are visiting us, and Elder Heilmann was SO excited to see Grandpa. Grandpa's father was born in Hamburg, Germany, so they enjoyed figuring out where Elder Heilmann was in relation to there.
He went on to tell us that the companionship is having a hard time. They are just facing a lot of rejection right now, and it is so disheartening. They often play board games at night together to reset. They enjoy Boss Monster and Mogeln Motte which means cheating moth. Elder Heilmann says it's like Uno, but you are allowed to cheat...expected even! Elder Heilmann will slide cards into his companions' sleeve or give him a pat on the back and put a card in his shirt collar. He joked, "It's fun to practice for my life of crime that I will have after my mission; it's very exciting." LOL, We all thought it would be a REALLY fun game to play with magicians!
The other difficulty he is really struggling with is the lack of sunshine. They went probably 5 weeks straight without seeing it. So, the other day, when the sun came out for the first time he said, "It filled me with inexpressible joy!!" They do have light boxes, but it's just not the same. I totally get it. I am totally solar powered, myself!
Missionary Work
This is Elder Wright's last Pday in Germany. On Saturday, they find out about a new companion for Elder Heilmann or if they are White Washing Krefeld. 'White Washing' is a mission slang that means the area gets two NEW Elders rather than retaining one and adding a new one. We'll see!!
For the last week of his mission, Elder Wright is having one of the toughest yet. This is one of the hardest areas in the mission, and it is one of the hardest missions. The District has three areas. Wasel, Krefeld, and Moenchengladbach. They haven't had a baptism in Moenchengladbach for 18 years!!!
Elder Heilmann said that a lot of people in Krefeld's eyes are glazed over. He says they look like "a bunch of NPC's" walking around (non-player characters). There is a huge drinking and drug problem there. A lot of people are "just gone. Permanently damaged."
Because of this, they try to do a lot of stuff with younger people. They play board games and sports with them to establish relationships. The older generations say they don't want to read a new book about Jesus. They are just shut off to it. Many people will say, "Oh, I love what you're doing. What do you preach from?" Then they get a "No thanks." Elder Heilmann said, "The Book of Mormon has more references of Jesus Christ than the New Testament does....and that's about his LIFE!" It just boggles his mind a bit.
The notably hardest working and best missionary who served in Denmark didn't have a single baptism his entire mission until the very last week. 6 months later, he came back with his fiance, and that ONE person had left the Church and was Anti. But, he still loved his mission and worked as hard as he possibly could. Elder Heilmann stated, "How hard I'm working is how successful I am, not what I see. You don't see much here." The mission is just as important for the missionary as it is for those whose lives they touch.
They try to share Christ's message with anyone and everyone; the people they shop from, the barber, or at restaurants. Elder Heilmann said, "We want people to be happy, but we can't make them." It's one of the reasons his emails are so few and far between. He said, "I don't want to write about how nobody wants to think about Jesus." He said he doesn't feel like sharing how sad he is. Grandpa and Daddy gave some excellent advice to help him through it. He also noted that German people have a nice, healthy amount of stubborn in them. His terminally witty Grandpa exclaimed, "Who are you referring to as about being stubborn?" ;)
Grandpa suggested that Elder Heilmann walks down the street with a stein. "you could probably talk to more people if they thought you were drinking beer. I didn't say to FILL it with beer" LOL Grandpa is forever the trickster and joker. ...and one of the most spiritual giants of a man I know. His humor keeps us going.
Elder Heilmann then shared that he feels you grow up faster when not around your family. You mature. You grow up. Then he paused and said, "I'm starting to sound like Dad and Grandpa!" Grandpa replied, "DOOM!" while simultaneously, Daddy said, "Join us!" Three little peas in a pod. So funny.
Grandpa then shared that he and Grandma pray every day for Elder Heilmann. "We are proud of ya," said Grandpa. Elder Heilmann soberly replied, "I can feel your prayers. Somedays, I'm like, there's so reason that I should be happy, but I am."
Quirky Germany
- Germans don't understand sarcasm. "In Germany, yes means yes and no means no and there's no interpretation." For instance, if you say sarcastically, "Oh I LOVE green beans!" they will say "Oh! Ok! Here are some green beans." You have to be very careful of what you say. They are very straightforward, too.
- Elder Heilmann needs to get a German driver's license. It's $3k for brand new or $50 to trade in his American license for a German one. YIKES! He will just get a new American one when he comes home.
- Elder Heilmann loves running around all day eating pastries. Grandpa said, "Man after my own heart! I got along just fine there." Elder Heilmann's favorite is something called the France Gretchen? or something like that. It's like a croissant, cinnamon roll thing. It's not quite as sweet as American pastries, and Elder Heilmann likes that JUST fine. American pastries have always made him a bit ill. His other favorite is a laugen butter ecke, translated pretzel butter corner. It's essentially a pretzel croissant edge-shaped pastry. Gotta love that German language. It just really tells it how it is. ;)
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