Hi ya!

     Well this week was harder than the last but we came out with two new investigators! On Friday it snowed. It was so fun to see and ride around in. I like how snow makes everything white. It’s like seeing it all for the first time again. Friday night we were riding home from visiting a member and we rode past these two guys walking on the street. One was so very kind and threw a snow ball at my face. Luckily for me he didn't have very good aim and so he only got my chin and cheek. 

     Saturday we were going door to door in a neighborhood that was pretty fancy. Sister Stewart and I rang the doorbell at one house and this lady peeped through her window under her blinds at us. I smiled and waved to her and then she put the blinds down. We thought for sure she wouldn't bother to open her door to us but sure enough she did. Then she told us to come in, to take our coats off, and have a seat in the living room. We were so shocked we thought we got trapped in some bible bashing home. But that wasn't the case at all. This woman, when she was our age, had two LDS friends and so she knew a lot about missionaries and a little about what we believed. She was so friendly and open. She also teaches German to those who learn it as a second language and so she could understand me just fine! We were able to teach her about the Restoration of the Gospel and set up another appointment to talk about the Plan of Salvation. It was a really neat lesson that Sister Stewart and I learned that you can't judge others. You have no idea who people are until you get to talk to them for a bit and learn from them. It was even more fun that before we left our apartment on Saturday I prayed that we would be able to find a new investigator that day and low and behold 30 minutes later we found one. Pretty neat!

   We met twice this week with a less active member who was so gracious enough to help me translate my talk for Sunday. I really learned how much can get lost just in translating it from one language to another. You never realize how many things you say that are ideas or idioms that can't be translated. Thanks to the less active member and Sister Stewart we were able to get it translated as close to what I meant as possible. After Sacrament on Sunday a member at Church came up to me and said my talk was toll (great) and that it left an impression on him. One of our investigators at church told me ''Sehr gut Gemacht!'' (Very well done!) It was funny. He even brought a friend to church. I was impressed! 

    I've been playing piano in PV (Primary) and it is a lot of fun. I love sitting in on the sharing time lesson because they tend to use smaller words that I can understand and when they do use a bigger word they ask the kids what it means and define it so it’s great for me to learn German and church language better. So - most members are really impressed that my ancestors are Italian. Sister Stewart says that Germans love Italians so it’s a good thing I’m Italian! This week I got to eat some Stollen and it’s like Pannetone but more dense with powdered sugar on top. And at our eating appointment we ate Roladen which is just a bigger version of Uccelletti (the little birdies Dad loves and we normally eat on his birthday) with a pickle inside. It’s funny to see these things that I know and how another culture has them too, just in a little different way.

    It snowed again Sunday and has slowly been getting colder throughout the week. Last night when we were done going door to door and heading home we passed this bank that always has the time and temperature and it said -5 Celsius! (23 degrees Fahrenheit) Buh!! Soooooo cold! I successfully had three layers over my entire body except for my hands. I have sure learned how to layer here!

  

   Anyways, I love you all! Have a fabulous week!

-Ariel Nell