Week 20 - Life in Cottbus Week 3: Life in America

It's been a long week of fallen out appointments and other things, for the most part we weren't all that productive this week. It wasn't really our fault, though. The weather didn't really allow for effective finding, it's been a really humid, damp week. Last Tuesday we were walking around, the sky was blue, absolutely no clouds, and it started to snow. Apparently it isn't unheard of here for the moisture in the air to just kind of.... freeze. That was interesting. And on Saturday, Elder White taught me a new word for what we were experiencing.

Cancer Rain - noun: Rain where the raindrops are so small that you can barely see or feel it, but coming down thick enough that you will be totally soaked in about five minutes.

So, the weather was interesting this week. To compound things, Elder White has some minor Bronchitis. He has had a cough that just wouldn't go away, so we finally went to the doctor to get him some medicine. While we were walking back, we saw this wonderful protrusion of pipes from what we can only assume was a fountain in warmer seasons.

It totally looks like noo-noo or whatever the vacuum thing from Teletubbies was called. XD

Herr Müller popped in quick to church yesterday, but he left quick too. Elder White and I bolted out and talked to him for a few minutes, he was actually sick and didn't want to infect anyone, but he had brought something for a member that he had met. We got his phone number (so hopefully we can meet with him this week) and ended up missing the sacrament. 😭 The bishop did it for us again after church, though, so it all worked out.

Anyway, final story, apparently there is an "American restaurant" here in Cottbus. All that really means, as we found out later, is that it has a big statue of Marilyn Monroe, had 60's music, and sold hamburgers, one of which was called the Texas Burger. We went there for district meeting and all got hamburgers.

Elder White and Elder O'Bryant

Elder O'Bryant

Can you feel the America? Anyway, they ended up being pretty good.

I hope that you guys all have a good week!

Elder Spaulding

Week 19 - Week 2 in Cottbus: A Shrekliche (heh) Week

We meet again, my friends and⁄or enemies.... Welcome... Step right
this way into my lair- I mean living room... Take a seat.... Help
yourself to the skins- I mean blankets.... Get comfy, and prepare
yourself for a story... Yes....... A story.....

Actually, this week only really has one story worth telling, and it
happened yesterday. We went to church, like good missionaries, enjoyed
sacrament meeting, the works, and then headed into the second hour. We
go to a class that is focused on helping investigators⁄new
converts⁄not native German speakers. We weren't teaching this week, so
we got all settled down nice and comfy to listen to the lesson, when
Bruder Kosak (He's back! I'll hopefully actually get to know him for
more than 2 minutes this week, aber mal sehen.) practically drags this
old guy in by the ear and tells us that we are slacking as
missionaries, and he is our responsibility. (Scene may be slightly
dramatized for reenactment purposes, reader discretion advised.) We
find out that this guy had just showed up to church, he wasn't a
member, hadn't really spoken to anyone, just kind of showed up. This
ward is much bigger than the last one, so I assumed that I had
probably already shaken his hand and asked his name three or four
times, and that he was probably a member. Elder White though he was
probably just a visiting family member, but the point is that he was
just kind of wandering the church after sacrament meeting and didn't
really know what was going on.

We ended up sitting with him through the second class and helped him
to understand, and then the third hour we gave him an "Introduction to
the Church" lesson and gave him a Book of Mormon to take with him.
Apparently he found the church in a phone book, and decided to just
show up! He is a pretty cool guy, his name is Reinhard Müller and I
would place him in his seventies. He's got some interesting stories to
tell (such as learning English by translating Pink Floyd into German)
and he seems super excited to learn.

So as you all see, miracles do happen! I'm super excited to be able to
be here on the Lord's errand, spreading his happiness to the people of
Germany.

Love you all,
Elder Spaulding

You know the drill, have some random pictures.

The reason for the title this week!

Week 18 - Life in Cottbus Week 1: Bipolar Polar Weather

Cottbus is absolutely nothing like Bernburg. For one thing, Bernburg
had 30,000 people, Cottbus has over 100,000! There's a little more to
the city, so I'll need to see if I can actually learn the land this
time. Getting lost is a lot more possible, and people are a lot less
likely to be able to help. New goal, don't get lost. We get around
with the Straßenbahn, so no bicycles here.

As for other missionaries, Forst (the city on the Polish border) has
two elders in it, and that's it. Elder O'Bryant is one transfer older
than me, and he is training Elder Sadowski (Polish name, American
person). The four of us will be making the parties when possible, but
for the most part we will only see them on Wednesdays for district
meeting.

Elder White, my new comp, is from Sandy, and he is a couple years
older than me. He's got about four more months left on his mission, so
he'll "die" one transfer after Elder Mayer. He has done most of his
associates at Salt Lake Community College, and after he finishes that
he plans on transferring to BYU to study computer science.

Other than that, it seems like we'll have plenty to do here, the ward
seems wonderful, and I'm excited to be here. All, first impressions,
though, so I'll let you guys know if my opinion of the place changes.
After all, as the title implied, the weather has been doing some weird
stuff here. When I got here it was snowed over, since then it has
melted, re-snowed, and remelted. I might get sick of it eventually.

For now, enjoy yourselves!

Elder Austin Spaulding

P.S. No mom, I didn't forget pictures of Elder White and me. I
know you would have killed me. Enjoy those, and my final farewell from
district Magdeburg. I love you guys!

Final farewell from district Magdeburg:

And never forget:

This just in from Elder Mayer, it was so beautiful that I had to

forward it quickly. Goodbye my friend!