Dear family,
The plane ride was fine and another missionary shared a sleeping pill with me, so I was able to sleep most of the flight. We arrived at 7:30 am in Munich (11:50 pm MST). We immediately got on the train with a copy of das Buch Mormon and several pass-along cards and we were to "go and do". My temporary companion had been fast tracked at the MTC because she already speaks German, so she spoke with people and I just smiled and nodded ... most of what I do know. We went to the Mission Office where they tried very hard to keep us awake and tell us very important things. The video we watched on eating manners was so useful when I had my first eating appointment. Things are a little different here, but I like it. We left first thing in the morning on the train to Vienna, where I went with Elders Field and Ramage (Elder Field is the one with the broken leg--the doctor said he could still see the tear, but that he would be fine to go). We also went with Sister McGuire going to Haag and the other sister who returned to the mission after a medical leave. I will be embarrased later when I read this and remember that I did not remember her name. I have had a lot of new names go into my head. The train ride to Vienna was only about 4.5-5 hours. My "indestructable" luggage from Sister Missionary Mall broke sometime during the trip (I do not know when since usually Elders took my luggage, but my guess was on the plane).
Apparently you have already all heard, but my first area is VIENNA!! I was very surprised and found that I will be applying for my Visa while living here. My first companion is Sister Borcherding from Stadthagen near Hannover, Germany. She is an angel in missionary clothing. She has brown hair and a wonderful smile. Even though she did not need to learn the language for her mission, she is very patient with my rather pitiful German and helps me move at my pace. She has an amazing testimony of everything. She is the second oldest of five girls. Her older sister has four children. She also served in Vienna for her first transfer, then went to Salzburg (now closed for Sisters), then back to Vienna, so she is an expert. She has been out 4.5 transfers (maybe).
The field is white, already to harvest in Vienna. The ward members are great and welcoming, though I generally do not understand what they are saying to me. We visited with a few members throughout the week. Most are interested in sharing the gospel with others and responding to our referrals or praying that we will find people to teach. We met with Christina Bräuer from Peru and brought along a joint teach. She is in her 40s or 50s and very kind. Christina is very responsive to what we have taught and wants to apply these teachings in her life. She is afraid to come to church because she does not know people there, but Aline, our joint teach, bore a wonderful testimony of her experience in coming to church for the first time and how she was welcomed and overtime, the ward became her family.
We met with Cetin, a very intelligent student and currently Muslim. He had very good questions and Sister Borcherding told me later that he was more open and willing to participate in the lesson this time, probably because he is anxious about his German since he is from Turkey and my German is very new. We made another appointment for later in the week, but the next day, he texted us and told us he does not want to meet any more. We also met with Christina Zukal, around 25 and anxious to get married. Before I arrived, she responded positively to our message about families and accepted the pass-along card with little children on the front. We spoke a lot about the importance of families and bore our testimonies of the restored gospel. She was very receptive to our message and even prayed outloud at the end of the lesson.
We met with Ivana on Saturday. She was making very good progress up until this point, but when we arrived (also had a joint teach), she had a lot of questions about information she found on the internet. They were good questions, but the attitude with which they were asked were questions unto doubting and not understanding. She is from the Ckech Republich and so she spoke English with us a lot, so I understood a lot more of what was going on. She told us at the end that she wants to be more familiar with the Bible and then start to accept other scriptures. She told us she is not willing to read any more in the Book of Mormon. She liked what she had read and thought it was impressive, but continued to refer to it as a work of Joseph Smith, not of God.
Our family came to church!! (Kostic family) I have not met with them yet, but we hope to commit them to baptism this week. They are so sweet and the children are especially excited about the gospel. If you want to see a picture of my ward (WIEN II), just pick up any German pamphlet on any of the lessons (Die Wiederherstellung, Der Erlösungplan, bzw.). That is my ward! The GML (Gemeinemissionsleiter = Ward Mission Leader) was late yesterday, so we were not able to meet before church. Oh, and I spoke in church to bear my testimony, so all the members know now that I do not speak German. :)
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