Woche 80: Woche des Weihnachten

Woche des Weihnachten

Montag

Monday, we went grocery shopping and then went to the church anticipating on emailing. Well, we ended up cleaning the church. It was fun though. Found a creepy storage room in the basement with a creepy mannequin. And then the Sisters showed up to do emails while we were cleaning. So we left  and went to the Christkindlmarkt(Christmas Market). I bought a ceramic penguin. Then we went and took a train to Ansfelden. Well our train got delayed, even though we were sitting in it waiting to leave. but we had to get off and get on another one. So we ended being late to the Familie Obermayr's place... But that was way awesome. We played a scripture game afterwards. When you spinned a  certain colour, you had to answer a question from the standard works.

Dienstag

Tuesday we did District Meeting. It was good. We talked about Christmas from the Old Testament, Book of Mormon, and then from the New Testament. It was fun. We made Vanillekipferln for it. Yummy. And then we had a gift exchange. I got a cup with a smiley face on it with Haribo on the inside. We the went to McDonalds for lunch and then had to go back to the church to do emails. Well, we didnt have enough time because we had to help get ready for the Persian party we had that night. We helped make Schnitzel and Potatoes. We set the tables up and everything. We ended up having quite a turn out. We had 10 adults, 5 children, 1 member there. Those were only Persians. We had the 6 missionaries as well as 4 ward missionaries there.  So, it was good. We cleaned up,and played Ping pong with them. That was fun. Even learned some Persian.

Mittwoch

Wednesday was Joseph Smith's birthday!! Our mission was to testify about Joseph Smith as a prophet of God, visit someone lonely, and eat Lebkuchen. So, we went out to the church to finally do emails. We did them, while drinking Christmas tea and eating cake. We then went caroling with Familie Mielacher. It was fun... Well they sang an awkward song about kissing by candle light underneath the mistletoe... Haha, well I guess it wasn't that weird, but for the missionaries, it isWe had a good time singing to people about Christ as well,it was loads of fun. And then we got back to the church! We went and got some Lebkuchen. And then went to join the sisters for a lesson with their friend  "M". We testified about Joseph Smith being a prophet of God as well!! And we ate Lebkuchen and drank tea with him! It was awesome! He even accepted a baptismal date of Jan. 16th to start following Christ more fully!!! I am so excited for him!

Donnerstag/ Heiliger Abend

Christmas Eve is the day they celebrate our Saviour's birth in Germany and Austria. They have a special Church Service dedicated to it on this day.

Thursday, we made cookies. More Vanillekipferln. Well, I used to much butter. But in my defense, we don't have any measuring tools and their recipes are in grams, not cups and stuff.......... Anyway, We went and delivered them, with the sisters, to people who gave us ingredients. We caroled as well. And then we went to the downtown and caroled on the Streets. People enjoyed it! It was a pleasure. And then we drank hot cocoa and went to the church. We had the church service for Heiliger Abend(Holy Evening, or Christmas Eve. They based it off of the Book of Mormon. It was acted out sort of. Starting with Samuel the Lamanite in 3 Nephi. And then to the star finally appearing. We sang in the choir, O Holy Night in German. And the Spirit was so strong during the service! And then we later we went to the Familie Wagner's place for Christmas Eve. Oh wow, it was amazing. A new convert was there, "J". She is from Australia. We had such a great time. I got a tie as well! Wooh! It was great! We read a Christmas story written by her son. It was similar to that of the Christmas Service. And we had French Onion soup. Oh wow, it was delicous. And then we had Oven Potatoes with Joghurt and green onions and stuff like that and some had chicken in it.  Yum!

Freitag/ Weihnachten

Christmas Day is used for spening time with families. Usually the family of the Wife or Husband.

Friday, we woke up and opened presents. Thanks for everything!!! I loved it all! We had breakfast together and the like. We then went to the Erlacher's place. We had Austrian, not American, Turkey. And Stuffing Knödel. And veggies. And Some potatoes. and some Rot Kohl and Sauerkraut. It was all amazing. And the kids were there. We had fun. We sang together and stuff like that. And then we headed to the church to do some skyping!!! I went first, and finally got skype and the computer to work. Oh, it was awesome! I loved it so much! And then Sister Barter went, and then Sister Berry, and then Elder Ashcroft.

Samstag/ Zweiter Tag Weihnachten

The second day of Christmas is used to spend time with spouses family that they were not with the previous day. Of course exceptions are made, especially if you live very far away. But it is always spent with family, whether it is with siblings or uncles or parents.

The Second day of Christmas here in Austria, or Boxing Day in England and Canada. Well, we went to the other Erlacher's. She is English. So we had an English meal. With Turkey, Yorkshire Pudding, and other goodies. It was delicious. We had those Crackers, where you tug on it with another person. It pops and someone wins. And there is a crown with something small and a slip of paper with jokes on it. It was great. I was a king all day long.

Sonntag

Sunday was, nice, but different. We woke up and went to the church for choir. Well, President and Sister Kohler randomly showed up with their daughter, Ericka. It was a nice surprise. So we ended up singing during Sacrament Meeting. It was pretty good. And then we had a huge investigator class. 14 people from Iran, Afghanistan, Romania, and Georgia(not in America)... It was quite a surprise. Pres. Kohler helped us out. We got last minute notice to teach the class.

Have a great week! Happy New Years! Don't forget to set new goals.

 

 

Woche 79: Frohe Weihnachten

Woche 79

Montag

On P-Day, we went to a castle! It had a great view of Linz from there!!!

Dienstag

Tuesday we had District Meeting!  And then I went to Salzburg for our Exchanges!!! I was with Elder Hunt! We went finding and had Institute and then ate with the YSA.

Mittwoch

We did some more finding. We went over to a less actives house. He is American. He gave us a kiss as well on the cheek and kept hugging us. When we got back to Linz, we went to some cultural night for dinner. It was interesting.

Donnerstag

Thursday went to Solar City. It was nice. We doored a bunch.

Freitag

Friday we did Weekly Planning. We then went to the church to do a lesson with the Persians. Well, no one showed up except the sisters and a member... They all got confused.

Samstag

Saturday we went finding and asked people for ingredients so we could make cookies for them! It was so much fun. We then had a benefits concert. It went super well.

Sonntag

Sunday we went to church. We walked the thirty minutes to church actually. It was super nice. And then afterwards we had a ward picnic. It was great!!!

Well, sorry this email sucks, next week will be better!!!

~Elder Albrecht~

Siehe, ich bin ein Jünger Jesu Christi, des Sohnes Gottes. Ich bin von ihm berufen worden, sein Wort unter seinem Volk zu verkünden, damit sie immerwährendes Leben haben können   -3 Nephi 5:13

Below are some older pics.  The ones on the bottom are from when he picked up his Golden and they met for the first time.

Woche 78: Why We Need a Savior

Woche 78

Montag

Monday, we went and did P-Day. It was great. Went a couple places and then did emails. Went finding afterwards and talked to tons of people about Christmas. It was awesome.

Dienstag

Tuesday was the last District Meeting of the transfer. It was good. We talked about the Christmas initiative. How we can use it when finding. Some good approaches and stuff like that. It was good. We then went over to"W"s  place. We met with him and Br. Mayer. It was great! We taught about the Restoration and about Priesthood. It was really good. He told us that when we pray together, that he really feels the Holy Ghost  strongly. It was great. He then said, "I don't ask God for much, but I think this is worthy of asking." Of course it was in German, but it was great! We then went back to the church for a lesson with the Persians. We taught the beginning of the Plan of Salvation. It was super good. They had good questions. We talked about how important Jesus Christ was in it all! We shared 2 Nephi 2 with them. We used a couple of scriptures and explained how the Fall was a good thing, and that we can understand the purpose of life! They really understood it and liked it a lot! And then we had GMK.

Mittwoch

So,w e went finding all over downtown. We even found this book closet on the sidewalk. I guess you take a book and leave one. Well, I have a German book from 1930 and someone hopefully has a Book of Mormon. Then we went dooring in Auwiesen. Set up an appointment with a less active. And we even went and found someone who knew our Persian translator member! It was crazy!

Donnerstag

Thursday morning, we said bye to Sister Baker! And then we went and gave "K" a blessing. And then we went home to do studies. We then went finding and talked some more about Christmas. We then met the moonies. Well, we got invited to a religious discussion circle, but it turned out to be at the Moonies church with just them and us two... Well, I wouldn't say Moonies, and use their official name, but I honestly don't know it... But they really liked us and we had quite a nice time. Some of them even have met with our church and one is currently meeting with our church in Wels. 

Freitag

Well, we tried to go finding in a place called Gaumberg. It is a part of Linz. But pretty much no one was there... So that was a bust. But we eventually met with the Persians. That was a disaster at first. Most of them didn't show up, and our translator wasn't there at first... But two showed, and a member picked up our translator for us. So we answered their questions about Tuesday's discussion. It went rather well.

Samstag

Saturday, we did Weekly Planning. It went very well. We then eventually went to Pleschinger See. It was quite pretty there. Saw Linz at night from an elevated view. We met some nice people there.

Sonntag

Church was good. It took some effort to stay concentrated because I slept bad the night before. But it was all pretty good. And then after church, we went to the Erlacher's with the Sisters! Their family is seriously so awesome! I love them so much! We wrapped Books of Mormon and watched the new video about what the world would be like without a Saviour! It went super well, and they loved it! Oh man, we then sang Christmas songs with them! It was great! And S. Erlacher reminded Sister Barter and I of you, mom!

Woche 77: Wöchentlicher Brief

Woche...: Someone remind me!

Montag

On Monday, we did some shopping for Elder Ashcroft. We also went
to the Weihnachtsmarkt(Christmas market). That was tons of fun. And
then, I bought my 5€ gift for the Christmas Conference on Saturday. I
got a Snowglobe, it was pretty dang good! And then we went down to
the Erlacher's. They are so amazing! We had Grilled Cheeses with ham
and tuna and stuff like that. It was great. We also had some British
drinks. Don't remember what they were called, but they were
British. They are also taking care of the three cutest Egyptian kids!
They are just adorable!

 
Dienstag

Tuesday, we didnt have District Meeting! So the morning was
normal! And then we went out to go by on some Referral. He works at
some Pawn Shop thing. So that was real cool. He was super busy, so he
said to just call. But later, we met wit the Persians again! We
met with one of the Ward missionaries, Klaus, and a different Persian
member. Well, he talked almost the whole time! It was so hard to
take control, especially since it was in Persian! But, it ended well.
We then had GMK with only half the people. But it went pretty
well.

Mittwoch

Wednesday, we met with "WS". He was the referral from last
week. We brought Bru. Obermayr along this time. They got to know each
other and then we started! It went extremely well. We taught about
God, Prophets, Jesus Christ, and the Great Apostasy. We are all on the
same level. He also already believes Joseph Smith was a prophet and
that the Book of Mormon is true! He is amazing and so prepared! And
then we went finding after that.

Donnerstag

Thursday, we started our exchange with Wels. I went on over to Wels
with Elder Stahle. He is super cool. We went finding and stuff. Both
of our lessons that day fell through. So we walked for a bit with our
joint teach, Daniel. He is 17, and super nice and cool. And then, I
later ate Bratwürstel with Sauerkraut and Semmel. Sound Austrian
enough? Haha, it was amazing!!!

Freitag

Well, Friday, the other two appointments also fell through. So we went
finding some more! We asked people how they celebrate Christmas!
Apparently what I ate last night, is super Oberösterreichisch(Upper
Austrian) to eat on Christmas Eve... Hmm... Haha, but it was cool.

Samstag

Saturday, we had Christmas Conference in Salzburg! It was awesome! I
loved it, a lot! We talked about the new Christmas Initiative. The
Videos, and Jesus Christ! It was super good. We also watched this film
called "Silent Night." It talks about the origin of the song. Way
cool, especially since it was filmed in the Salzburg area, and we were
in Salzburg! Talk about fitting!
 

 Sonntag

Sunday was church. Went to choir. Sang. Had the rest of church. We had
8 Persians come. We have 10 investigators, not including three
children, 3 active members, and 5 less active members who speak
Persian. So many!!! But it was great! We then went to the Miesbauer's
after church. They speak in Austrian High German at home when we
are there. So not full out dialect. Elder Graham didn't catch what one
of them said about tea, so I translated it for them. Tey were all at
awe, because of my amazing Austrian German understanding skills, haha,
but it was a great time together!

Woche 76.. Immer noch keine Ahnung...

Woche 76.. Immer noch keine Ahnung...

Montag

Monday, we had a District P-Day! We made Schnitzel together, and then ate together. Well, we kept having to run back to the store because of a lack of supplies... but it was fun. We made so much! We also had funeral potatoes, Ccucumber salad, Rot Kohl, and ten cinnamon rolls and Oreo balls. It was so good! And then we had our Turkey Bowl! We played two hand touch in the backyard of the church! It was way fun! Good times. And then we did emails, and then went finding for the remaining time.

Dienstag

Tuesday was District Meeting. I gave the German Tip. It was on Double Infinitives. Don't worry, I won't explain it on here, but the meeting was generally good. We had to do it downstairs though, because they were doing construction on the front of the church, so it was pretty loud. But we did German study after the meeting and then headed out to visit a referral. Apparently this guy's brother is a Mormon in Australia and already gave him a Book of Mormon. So we visited him and it was nice. He is super nice, and we had a nice talk with him about it. He said we could come back and give the full lessons! So that was good. Then we went back to the church for GMK.

Mittwoch

Wednesday, our first appointment fell through. So we went down to Pichlinger See instead. We went finding there, and then went to the neighborhood right next to it. It snowed while we were there. This one older couple let us in. They were super nice. The man actually saw Hitler. He was in Hitler's Youth. They had some crazy stories about the Amis, the Americans, and about Russia, and about the war and afterwards. It was crazy. But we got to show them the older Christmas video, from last year. They really liked it. And we showed them the Articles of Faith. And then went home.

Donnerstag

Thursday we went dooring on the North side. It was going up the small mountain, so we got some great views of Linz. Man, it was breathtaking. And then we went to the church and taught the Persians. "M" wasn't there again. So we had to translate through the guy with broken English. But it went really well. We talked about the Sabbath Day. Wow, there are some amazing blessings the Lord promises us when we keep the Sabbath Day holy.

Frietag

Friday, we did our Weekly Planning. And the. We went to the church to move some benches around for a funeral. So we did that. And then we went finding and then we went to "A"'s house. Well, we were supposed to have a lesson with "M", but apparently "A"didn't catch that part. So he wasn't there... so we just chatted for a sec, and then got some info for the Elders in Wien. Apparently "A" has friends there that want to know more about the church. So we got that settled. And then we went to town and got up to "Y"'s place. He thought that we were supposed to come on Wednesday, even though we made it for Friday. Oh well, and then we ate some snacks and tried to start teaching. Well, he started interrupting us and then told us that this was too stressful for his situation. He would just come to church...

Samstag

Saturday, we had a Straßenausstellung! So a street display, if you can call it that. We had a camping table with a table cloth on it. And a large poster on some stand similar to a projector screen on the side. But we had Books of Mormon in tons of different languages. It was from 9 to 1600. So 7 hours altogether. We stood in the cold and talked to tons of people. It was really successful! We gave a lot of Books away and now have some more people interested in our message. Good thing we had it in tons of languages! It proved to be helpful. And then at 1400, Claus took us to some Japanese buffet. The one with the conveyor belt thing. Well, it was good, haha. But afterwards, I felt horrible! I couldn't stand up straight I felt so sick! So we went back home to drop off the books, and then we went to McDonalds for Hot Cocoa. And then we came home, did a little bit of studies. I ended up going to bed at 18:45ish because I couldn't stand it anymore. I felt to sick...

Sonntag

And then we woke up at 8 the next day. Well, I wish I could say that I felt better. But we got showered and ready, and then left for church so we could be on time. We got there and everyone was asking me where I was and if I was alright. I am usually at choir... and Sister Wagner kind of scolded me, slightly, for not calling her and telling her! And then came the meetings. Sacrament meeting was really good. Don't remember too much, but the Spirit was good. Before the next class, Sis. Wagner came up to me and gave me two oils. Peppermint for my head, and On Guard for my cold. Oh man, that Peppermint was just lovely! Then for third hour, we had a Persian class! Three members, and seven investigators, not including a child. There were so many! It was great though! And then later that day, we went to the Winkler's house for lunch. They are an awesome younger couple. They are so great and funny. We then drank tea together and ate cookies before we shared a quick message. It was so nice, especially for my head.

Well, have a great week!