This week flew by extremely fast! It was unreal! It was also really good!
On Monday, right after writing my last letter, we planned on
going on a hike. We were in normal
clothes of course. We canceled it
because it was pouring rain like non-other. We decided to go to a Currywurst place in a
city next to us. There were 6 of us. On our way there, I left my wallet at home,
along with my Train Ticket. If you get
caught without it, you get a 40 Euro fine. It was too late to go home, and a lady was
coming by to check the tickets. I was
nervous and I was ready to admit that I left my ticket. I was also ready to pay 40 Euro. All the other Elders were waiting for me to
get a ticket by this point. She asks me
for my ticket and I told her that I totally forgot it at home. I apologized for that and waited for my
ticket. She then looks at me and asks
where I am from. I simply say,
"America" in my normal thick American accent. She then smiles and says that she will look
the other way this time. I thanked her
and I was so happy! It was simply
because I was an out-lander and a cute little kid struggling with German.
Anyway, we finally made it to the Currywurst. This Currywurst place is considered the
hottest in the world. They have levels
of hotness. It goes from 4-10. They even
have a level called 10+. It sounds like
it would be like licking Satan's armpit sweat. It even said that this level of hotness was
capable of causing health problems. I
did not even want to go near that level. I ended up going to a level 8. This was as high as I was allowed to go at
first. I needed to try this level before
I went to 10. I wanted to do 10 right
away and take it as it was. I ordered an
8 and I was excited to eat it. Four of
us even brought yogurt drinks too so that we could handle it better. Let me tell you, it only helped so much. I ate the first bite and it tasted amazing! I was loving it. I could then feel the spice kicking in. I quickly ate a second piece. I could feel my
mouth starting to kindle. "Oh crap!" I thought, "I need to eat
this fast or I will not be able to finish it at all. I need to eat and swallow without
thinking." So I proceeded with this
plan. I scarfed down the rest of it as
fast as I could. Halfway through, I ate
an inch and a half long dark pepper with it during my feeding frenzy. I never felt so much regret in my life, while
at the same time loving it. Kinda like sinning right? Besides the fact, my breath could light a
candle. I had tears coming out of my eyes
since the second bite, and boogers started to slide out my nose on the third. I still had 5 more to go, along with a piece
of bread that only made it worse. "Yogurt,
don't fail me now!" I thought. Meanwhile, everyone else was dying and
three of them did not even finish. I
tried to convince them to finish by saying, "It was only chemical burns in
your mouth right? No big deal. "Did not work. I was not in the mood to
buy a number 10. The 8 was 6 drops of
spice, the 9 was 10 drops and the 10 was about a teaspoon. I finished it all and I my mouth was on fire
for a long time. I was not excited to
experience the burning a second time. Let's just say I melted the toilet the next
morning.
That night, our washer machine broke down. We tore it apart
and tried to fix it. The door lock broke and we were unable to get out clothes
out. We stayed up until midnight trying to fix it. We gave up and went to bed.
The next morning, we had a lot of appointments planned! I was super excited! I was quickly shot down when we went by and found
out that 2/3 people we planned on going to were not home when we came by. I was way bummed. We did have one that day but it was just with
a member. He made some really good food
for us. That night we got home and we
were able to fix our washing machine. We
used the metal wires inside of headphone cords to hold some stuff together. It was fun and really annoying.
On Wednesday, we usually teach an English class for people
in the ward who want to learn. We also
invite nonmembers we come in contact with. We usually do not get much of a good turnout. This time though, we had a lady come who we
talked to about two weeks ago. She is
like 50 years old and has really good English. We already had an appointment set up for her
for the next day. It was in the morning
and the appointment went really well! We
taught about the Plan of Salvation. It
talks about where we came from, why we are here on this earth, and where we are
going. It talks about Jesus Christ and
his Atonement that he made for us. While
teaching, the Spirit was super strong there. She agreed with everything we said and she
even already knew most of it. Ever since
being here in Germany, it was hard to believe that there are people here who
are ready for the Gospel. Meeting with
is lady made me realize that there really are people out here who are honest in
heart and who have a desire to know the truth. My testimony grew a lot in this sense.
One thing that happened this week that I think you will all
laugh at is a prank that Elder Heil pulled on me. I am still haunted to this day...
So, on Thursday, Elder Heil decides to do some surgery on
his ingrown toe nail. He is up until
about 11:30 or Midnight working on it. He got a tub of hot salt water to soak his
foot in, hoping that it will make his skin softer. The next day, we are home
for lunch and we make some soup. It was
super good soup in fact. We sit down at
the table and Elder Heil leaves to go and get something from the front room. He comes back with two cups and sets them
down. I thought to myself, "Hmmm. I
do not remember leaving my cup on my desk out there. Oh well. Then again, I forget a lot of things anyways
so I probably did. "He grabs a
bottle of Carbonated Water and pours us both some. I continue eating my soup
for a couple minutes. I then decide to
drink a little bit of water so I can stay hydrated. I take a huge sip and set it back down. I then think to myself, "Hmmm, something
seemed a little off there". I take
a second big drink. I let it sit in my
mouth and I look over at Elder Heil. He
is busting up. I then swallow it and thought
that he put salt in my water like he did before in the past. All he said was, "That's not all". I then realize what he means. "Foot water!!" ,I yell. I can't believe what I just drank. I just
drank salty foot water with a foot that had an ingrown toenail. I go to the balcony and force myself to hurl. I did not want any of that nastiness inside. So gross. I got him back later by salting one piece of
sausage really good. He did not see any of the salt because I salted underneath
it. It was glorious.
Saturday was also good. We had a finding activity and I went with
Elder Stout. He is way cool. We were able to switch numbers with someone
who seemed interested! I was super
stoked! Later that night, I end up
buying a 2TB Hard Drive for 95 Euro. I
got it so that I could save photos and videos from my camera and from emails. I also got it so that I could get music and
talks from other missionaries out here. 2TB
is a ton, but it will last me until after my mission for sure!
This week was really good and my testimony has grown even
more. The work here in Gelsenkirchen is
finally picking up and it is a lot of fun at the same time. I am truly loving it out here and it has
snowed a ton this week. Never stayed for
too long, but there was lots of snow and hail. Very unusual for this part of Germany. I love you guys and I will see you next week!
Elder Grow
Massive Jar of Nutella
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