Week 77 - Life в Потсдаме Week 7: The Week I Have To Look Back To See Which Week It Is

Hey everybody! Fun fact for yall: With the way I do the titles of my emails, in every area there comes a point where I am no longer able to remember how long I've been in a place. This week is that week for Potsdam. Anyway, onto the good stuff.

Last Tuesday was a pretty normal day. We did some finding and had Ward Council meeting. We did, however, have an extra little nugget of fun. We got to help a girl in our ward prepare for an English test that she was freaking out about. We went and helped her to study and had a good time. 

Wednesday was another day of finding, and we decided to find through a park which is nearby. This is a pretty big park, and being Germany, was full of castles. We didn't know that going into it, but we quite enjoyed our discovery! We also got to have family home evening with our Ward Mission Leader, Brother Richter. I absolutely adore this man. Despite being quite the DDR fellow, he loves having a good time and loves the missionaries. He lets us know, too, and makes us feel like part of the family. After we ate and talked about the Easter Initiative, we played a poor man's version of a game that I had seen before. We all took a sticky note and wrote the name of a character on it, and then passed it to the person next to us. You then stick the sticky note you get on your forehead without looking at it, so that everyone but you can see it. You then get to ask yes or no questions until someone answers no, at which point it is the next person's turn. The first person to guess who they are wins. It was a hoot!

Thursday we did some more finding! We got to spend a little more time in that park, and saw yet more castles! Potsdam is a beautiful little place.

Friday was another day of finding, but nothing too noteworthy happen.

Well, you know it was an interesting week when the main event involves a Deutsche Bahn Flub. Not to point any fingers or anything, but I'm looking at you, German engineering.

On Saturday, we had a number of things planned, which all kind of fell to crap when a train we needed to take to catch a bus (which only comes every two hours) fell out while we were standing and waiting for it. It was supposed to come 3 minutes later, but so it is! This led to a 75 minute trek through the mud, during which we got to know the new addition to the district, Elder Buetler.

After reaching our destination,  we had our district meeting, and then were able to be present for one of Elder Blackham's piano concerts (actually, his last one). Sadly, our investigator, Olga, canceled on us and wasn't able to make it. But, all in all, it was a pretty great leg day.

Yesterday was a very interesting day. In addition to it being the last Sunday for the Schwichts (a missionary couple who attended church in Potsdam) Elder Hillary (a missionary who was just released) came with his family. The chapel was about twice as full as usual with everything going on, and then we ate some cake! I also had my first Russian eating appointment with a member family here. It took me back to the good old days of Bernburg, understanding about as much. Meine Güte is Russian hard. Got some Borscht out of it, though.

That about does it!

Anyway, I hope that you all have a good week. I pray often for just that. ;)

Love you all!

Liebe Grüße,
Elder Austin Spaulding

That isn't just any chocolate syrup, it was chocolate syrup dressed up and sold
as a face mask.
It was however, basically syrup. 3/10 would not recommend.

Week 76 - Life в Потсдаме Week 6: Out of one hot metaphorical frying pan and into another

Liebe people I write to,

I hope that you're all healthy, feeling well, and successfully doing all the things that you need to be.

I, well, I would say that I am also fulfilling those criteria.

Honestly, this week has been pretty unnoteworthy, we did have a few cool things happen though.

On Saturday and Sunday this week we had stake conference which, in Berlin, means lots of people. The Sunday morning session in particular crowded the stake center.

Other than that the week was full of spontan parkour, homemade cheesecake, Deutsche Post graffiti, Ghetto bikes, ninja snow, vampire selfies, drawn on mustaches, хлеб hugs, and so on. The usual.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that I'll be staying the next transfer with Elder Morford in Potsdam.

I hope you guys have a great day! Keep on keeping on and all will be well!

Liebe Grüße,
Elder Austin Spaulding

Elder Morford's "Vampire Selfie"

Week 75 - Life в Потсдаме Week 5: The Week of People

This week was full of people. There aren't really many other words that can be used to describe it accurately. We had Tausch twice, we had ZoKo, and we just had district P-Day. In addition to that, this week at church we had the most present that I have seen here! It was a pretty good week and I got to see some friends for the last times.

Tausch with Elder Keller was tons of fun. He is one of my zone leaders here. It was actually only my second time ever having an Austausch with my zone leaders, the first time was during my first transfer. We did some power finding, told some great stories, and met a man who looks like Papa Smurf, which was only made funnier by the fact that we had just opened a bag of Smurf shaped Haribo gummy bears.

Zoko was wonderful, I also must say that I quite enjoy being able to just listen! We learned a lot, and began to prepare for the upcoming Easter initiative: #AlwaysThere. I'm excited for that. :) 

Some fabulous ZoKo demonstrations Ft. Moses

We also discussed some new mission policies and rules which helped me to understand some changes I needed to make to be obedient. In my studies recently I have found a pattern, which is essentially that happiness comes from obedience. I'll share an excerpt from my study journal that I think sums it up well. Pardon for the "Elder Spaulding Spin" on any doctrine, like I said, It's from my study journal. I just wanted to share. :)

This life is an opportunity for us to begin to become like God. Most of that growth will not be able to be made until after this life. As such, this life isn't so much about the actual growth, but rather, it is about the cultivation of the beginning of growth.

Alma explains in Alma 41 what the law of restoration is. Simply put, we received returned unto us what we cultivate. Just as the resurrection makes our bodies (God's creation) more of what he intended them to be, the resurrection also causes our personalities, desires, and abilities (our creations) to be more of what we designed them to be.

As Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge said (The Lord's Missionary), "You cannot be in a state of happiness, whether now or in the eternities, if you do not want to do the things that lead to happiness, even if you do those very things."

Alma also teaches in the aforementioned chapter that the things that the commandments, the scriptures, and the words of modern day prophets are all in place to bring us joy. Those things are literally instructions on how to be happy. If we are not happy doing them, we will be unable to be happy in heaven.

During this life we are in the state most malleable and susceptible to change induced by ourselves. Our goal is to find happiness in the things that bring happiness in the scope of eternity.

Anyway, much love is being had for you all. I hope you have good ones!

Liebe Grüße,
Elder Austin Spaulding

Pizza pie taken literally!

Bowling with Elder Morford

District Bowling

Week 74 - Life В Потсдаме Week 4: It Wurde Холодно

Hey guys, I'll probably have to ask for a pass on my English as we head down the line, I've got some newly found Mitleid (freak, you can look that up, I can't for the life of me remember this word in English, exhibit a) for several of my friends. Having three languages in my head makes saying anything in any of them a whole heck of a lot harder!

This week was cold. Like, almost into the negatives as far as Fahrenheit goes. For my European friends who know the ways of the Celsius, it has been negative for a long time already. (Odd fun fact, the word Fahrenheit is actually German. O.o)

For the most part this week was full of finding, as well. That meant that, for the first time in my entire mission, my thermals got VERY used. I mean, every now and then there has been a cold day where I used them, and maybe even regretted wearing them a little bit later in the day, but you best be believing that I wore those things every single day this week. There were a few days where I even considered double layering those things.

We also got to have interviews this week. First time since being released as a zone leader, and, I must say, it was fantastic! Not being in charge of everything was a nice little tidbit, and the interview itself was very relaxed. I think that it was the longest interview that I have ever had (sorry Elder Hickenlooper, it was president's fault, not mine!), but I was in there for at least an hour with the guy. I have to say, sometimes it can be hard having a somewhat superficial relationship with the mission president, after all, we only really get personal time with him for (what is supposed to be) about 15 minutes every six weeks. But, President Fingerle is an absolute Baller. He makes every second count. I absolutely love the guy, and am super glad that I get to serve with him.

I'm also super excited for ZoKo this week. Once again, not being in charge will be nice. :p

As one final point worth noting, I have finally achieved a feat which I think merits me claiming mastery of the German language.

You see, today I needed to get a haircut. Elder Morford told me that he knew a place, so we headed over there. When we arrived, to my horror, I found out that it was a Turkish laden. And, when we got in, the barber wasn't even Turkish, he was speaking Arabic with one of his friends!

Being a missionary, you don't often use words that pertain to getting a haircut, so your language is already somewhat lacking in that department, and when you go to one of these foreign hair places, they barely understand German a lot of the time as well! (That was definitely the case today, as well. My haircut was mostly spent in awkward silence.) In addition to that, these barbers are trained to cut hair into styles which are popular in their countries, and aren't necessarily what a missionary would want. (As an example, the classic Turkladen haircut is basically shaving the sides of the head and then blowing the hair on the top of your head straight up.) In such a place it can be very difficult to get a missionary friendly haircut. If you don't understand each other very well, they are prone to basically give you the haircut that they have.

But, as you might be able to gather from the large buildup, I did it! Muahaha, I managed to get a decent haircut out of that place, and further, I was able to get Elder Morford one, too. Haha, now there is nothing I can't do!

Anyway, I wish you all a great week! I would love to ask you all to pray for Germany this week! I'll be perfectly honest, there isn't much going on in Potsdam right now, but we are doing our best to change that!

Liebe Grüße,
Elder Austin Spaulding