I am getting a bit excited as the days go by. Still
not much though. I am officially leaving on Apr 24th. Week from
tomorrow. We will be leaving at something like 8 in the morning. Not too
bad at all. Many of the other districts that we have seen leave, left
at something like 4 in the morning. In any case, we'll be laying off in
Amsterdam for an hour, and then on to Berlin. Also, from what I'm told,
we will be getting off the plane, putting our bags in a car, eating a
sandwich, and street contacting {paired up with a zone leader or other
leader}. In that order. No real breaks. I'm excited and a bit nervous
for that.
Deutch
geht besser und besser jeden Tag. I kann Deutch sprechen. Es ist ein
bissen seltsam. Vor zwei tage, ich war mit mein mitarbeiter sprechen,
und ich habbe gedenket, "Oh mench! I kann Deutch sprechen!" Sehr
seltsam... {I guess I can translate that for you. ;)}
First, the literal translation.
German
goes better and better every day. I can German speak. It is a little
strange. Before two days, I was with my companion speaking, and I have
thought, "Oh man! I can German speak!" Very strange...
Now without the strange grammar.
German
goes better and better every day. I can speak German. It is a little
strange. Two days ago, I was talking with my comapnion, and I thought,
"Oh man! I can speak German!" So strange...
It
really is odd to think how much I have learned here. Conjugation,
grammar, crazy stuff. It will still be very, very hard in the field
because of dialect and how quickly they talk and how much the words will
run together. But at least I understand grammar well enough to start
understanding once my ears adjust. But at least for now, I feel pretty
good at it. I keep having moments of realization where I realize I am
actually conversing and understanding in German. Way cool. The Gift of
Tonges is real. :)
It is very odd being 'off-grid' here. Every now and again you'll hear a
noise that is reminicent of a cell phone buzz, and it throws everyone
off. And it is actually rather odd, especially in my p-day clothes, not
to have my phone always in my pocket. But it's not so strange really.
It is very strange here, becuase we don't actually do a whole lot of
scripture reading, or have much time for it. We wake up and right away
we have things to do. Places to be. Meetings, class, firesides, language
study, meals, and by the time personal study comes around, you're so
busy beoming more familiar with Preach my Gospel, or reading something
like Jesus the Christ, or looking up specific scriptures to use for
your faux-investigator, that there is very little time to actually just
read. I used to read every morning and every night. Now I get to read a
chapter or two every three days or so... I'm excited to be out in the
field in that respect so I can get back on my own schedule as far as
study.
I have been asked for advice for Ben or I guess, in general, just advice I would give future missionaries.
1.
Careful not to eat too much. They pretty much give you all-you-can-eat
buffets at every meal. It is so easy to overeat. Pick a good main
course, one dessert, and make sure you drink lots of water. Oh and
fruits and vegetables would probably be good.
2.
Be warned. Personal and companion study time get sidetracked real quick
because you're always doing it in a room with your entire district. One
person makes a comment, and 20 minutes later, you've wasted 20 minutes
talking about some dumb movie or Lake Powell or whatever. Be ready to
ignore what is going on around you and simply focus on studying.
3.
Make sure you have clothes for at LEAST 7 days. I thought I wouldn't
need a white shirt for laundry day, but while my laundry was still wet
and hang drying, we had to go to the temple. I nearly was without a
shirt.
4.
Make sure your family and friends know what your favorite candies are,
but don't encourage them too much. When you get a package it is always
good to make sure you get what you want, but they will flood you with
candy. On top of that, the elders in your room, district, and zone will
also be getting countless packages full of candy, and all the elders
leaving each week like to dump what candy they have left on whoever is
nearby. So make sure to only ask for what you really want, and
sparingly.
Hmmm...
5. Don't stress. Stress destroys you here. Just let things come. They will. Don't worry.
6.
When you're new, everyone will talk like they know so much, and treat
you like a complete newbie. They aren't rude about it, or mean, but they
still try to talk like they have so much wisdom to share with you.
Don't get down about it or take them too seriously. They still have good
tips and tricks and advice, but the phrase, "Big fish in a small pond,"
is a ridiculously huge understatement here. Sure they know more than
you, but they've only been here for a few weeks themselves and are still
learning all the time.
7. You'll do fine. Just trust in Christ. :)
Have fun everyone! Also, if you're planning on writting to me, do so promptly, else you might want to consider writting to my mission home address.
Elder Michael Bright Miles
Germany Berlin Mission
Zerbster Strasse 42
12209 Berlin
Germany
Just becuase I'm leaving in a week, and any mail
that shows up here would take much longer to get to me out there. Also,
you should still be able to use Dearelder.com when I'm out in the field
too. The site should say whether it delivers to my mission or not. Go
ahead and check.
Good
to hear from those of you that are writing me! Been having plenty of
time to write, so any of you that haven't written me, or stopped
recently, feel free to write. I really would love to hear from you.
Getting letters is awesome. :)
Go make today awesome! Keep smiling, and keep Christ around!
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