Monday, February 20, 2012

Baby it's cold outside!


  Surpirse! I'm not in Celle anymore! Don't worry, it was a surprise to me too. On Tuesday, after Sister Stewart and I had been riding around delivering Valentines' to investigators and going to appointments we noticed President had called. We found a bus stop to sit down in and called him back. Sister Stewart and I thought we would be discussing one of our investigators with him but when she called him he asked to speak to me. Uh Oh? What did I do? President explained that he had prayed lots about it and feels very uncomfortable each day that the Sisters in Halberstadt (a very small city in our district) weren't driving legally. Sister Openshaw is from California and Germans don't accept their licenses and the other Sisters' American license expired (she's 25) and couldn't renew it. He said he is transferring me to Halberstadt to make me the designated driver since I still have 6 months in the country on my American license and that the transfer would take place immediately. After that phone call sister Stewart and I sat dumb founded and quite sad to be leaving one another and for me to be leaving Celle. Normally transfer calls happen on a Saturday and you don't actually move until a Tuesday so you have all that time to say goodbye to people and do all the things you had wanted to do but never had the chance. Sister Stewart and I finished our day out and then went home so I could pack my things and we could get everything organized for the new sister. It is very weird to see all your earthly possesions fit into two bags. 
   So welcome to Halberstadt. We live above the church in this huge house. The church takes up the bottom floor, all 4 rooms, and then there are 5 apartments above it and we are on the third floor. My new address is Sister Abamonte, Kirche Jesu Christi, Mozart Strasse 7, 38820 Halberstadt, Deutschland. Sister Openshaw is my new companion. She is very fun and is from Houghson, California. In Halberstadt we have a little branch of 15 active members. One family makes up half the ward. Its really quite a testimony builder to come together as such a small group to take part in the sacrament. We only have two hour church so that it gives some people in the branch a break. They trade off weeks of having Elders Quorum and Relief Society and then Sunday School. To be a missionary here is completely different than working in Celle. The whole branch really relys on us. It's fun and will be a very good experience. I'm excited to have my first full week here.
   Sister Openshaw and I do service at an old peoples home for those with dementia. We play games and talk to them. Sister Openshaw wore red lipstick and an old lady sang her a song, ''roten lippen muss man kussen'' ( red lips, a man must kiss), it was quite funny. 
  The Branch had a Fasching activity on Saturday, like Halloween but corrisponds with Carnival and Mardi Gras, and Sister Openshaw and I went as red mushrooms. It's was a bunch of silly games and old people dressed up in costumes. It was sure funny :)
   Talk to you all later! Love you,
-Ariel Nell

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