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Woche 78- Elder Robertson

hoi zämmä! 

this week was STELLAR! Man, we have been having a good time indeed. lots of things been going one thats for sure! The first half of the week was kinda hard saying goodbye to elder rozan- pday we went to the Mercedes Benz museum with the district- also said goodbye to edler herog- man im gonna miss that guy so much! Then we were just getting Elder Rozan ready to go for the next couple days... then thursday he was gone! we had to wait all day in Stuttgart for our new companions to get there- then Elder Robertson came! i feel bad for the guy- he spent 8 hours in a train coming up from Bern! but we got home to apartment, threw his bags inside, and ran straight back out the door for our first appointment! it was a great way to start our comp! hit the ground running! 

Elder Robertson is from Birmingham, England- but his dad works for the church in Frankfurt, so he has been living there since 2008. Its weird because his house is like an hour and a half away from here..... but we dont let that distract us! he is also taller than me- that doesnt happen too often! He is a man of many talents- drawing, singing, soccer (football as the euros call it...) and that kinda of stuff. hes a way funny guy. not goofy... more... devious. its pretty fun.

I dont have much time, but the BEST part of our week- Natta, the girl who wants to be baptised (from Thailand) came to church and LOVED it. to get to church, she would have had to ride a train that got her there 2 hours early- which she was prepared to do- but a member went and picked her up and she was able to come and visit all the the members and make tons of new friends. she just fit right in so well wit the other young people. plus she shared a way cool experience she had- a friend called her up last week because his girlfriend broke up with him and he was having a hard time and he had a test coming up- soo Natta prayed to know what to do. then she went to help him- taught HIM how to pray and they prayed together that they could pass this test. then she invited him to learn more about the church because he passed the test and basically has a testimony of prayer! he couldnt come this week, but is coming next sunday! basically Natta is a rockstar! 

I guess that was the best part of the week. we are just working hard, seeing miracles. loving life. i hit my "18 month mark" this week... odd. but i dont think about that much.

By the way- happy anniversary to scott/julie and malcolm/laura this week!  love you!

I love you all so much! 

adventure is out there!

Elder Bartholomew

Woche 77- transfer calls!

Liebe Familie,

this week was dramatic. emotional. but we survive haha.

the transfer is.... im staying! Im getting Elder Robertson- hes been his whole mission in the switzerland, but hes coming up to heilbronn now! Hes British! that makes my 4th euro companion! It makes me miss america a little bit haha... Elder Rozan was originally supposed to go to Frauenfeld to work with another spanish missionary (which was already crazy!) but they called us again last night and changed it! Hes going to Dielsdorf now to work with a german guy! Dielsdorf is just a part of Zurich- so hes going to the biggest city in switzerland! crazy!! Its been an emotional rollercoaster trying to say goodbyes and stuff. elder Rozan has been such a champ! He works so hard and is such a good example. Im going to miss that guy.

Ill share two cool stories from the week!

1- NATTA! She is our new investigator and she will be baptised on the 30th of August! She is a referal from a member in Stuttgart- she is 22, married to a german guy- was born in Thailand, but grew up in germany. She used to be Budhist, but was always dissapointed with it. This member taught her how to pray and she has been praying for months now- and she has felt the heavenly father loves her. She wanted to know more about Jesus Christ- so this member refered her to us! She attended church in Stuttgart once, where she recieved a blessing because of a recent car accident she had had, and that evening, she felt all the pains taken from her body- basically she is golden! We visited her this week, and she just swallowed up the gospel! She is sooo ready, and we are so excited to teach her. way cool! 

2- we recieved a different referal from the Ellwangen Elders- it was a man living in a small town in the forest. so we took a long bus ride into the forest to go contact this guy. On the way, this skater kid, about 16 years old, got into the bus and sat close to me- i saw he had a piano book, so i asked him if he took piano lessons. He looked up and realized quickly that i was an american- which led to quesions about what i was doing here... etc... anyways, i noticed then that he also had a BIBLE in his hand! So i told him i was a representative of Jesus Christ- and began to explain the restoration. It was one of the best moments of my mission- i have never seen the eyes of someone light up like this kid. He asked so many questions and just lit up with the knowledge of prophets and priesthood. He got out at the same stop as us and we gave him the book of mormon. He was a little nervous to give us his info- but he took ours and the book of mormon. Ive never been a fan of the phrase "planting seeds" but i truly felt poweful witness that this boy was prepared for the gospel. I dont know if i will teach him, or someone years from now, but i saw the light literally light up his eyes like a fire. It was incredible. i cant even describe it.

that was basically our week. We are just working hard- im looking forward to the changes and hopingthat it will all go smoothly!

I love you all! 

Adventure is out there!

Elder Bartholomew

Woche 76- time for an ADVENTURE!

Liebe Familie,

Wow how the times are going- i was reading in my Journal and a year ago this week was when i got Elder Parkinson as my companion, back in St. Pölten! can you believe its been so long! I lot of stuff has happened, but whats important, is that the work has moved forward, and i feel like im a better man and missionary now than i was then. in the grand scheme of things, its all about progression- and that progression can be measured in many ways!

This week was WILD. I wish i could describe everything that happened, but time doenst allow such luxuries. I would rather talk about some of the people we are teaching. It suffices me to say, that basically every day this week, our "main plan" for the day would fall through suddenly and spectacularly- and we would need to quickly improvise a plan to use our time effectivley despite the set back. I cant even count how many times this week i said to elder rozan "well elder, lets go have an adventure!"- but the testimony of it all, is that the Lord is guiding and steering this work. He has taught me that He is truly in command of the ship. Every time our plan would collapse, miraculously people would come into our path that we could teach, and new opportunities would be available. Its incredible! It really built our testimony of being open to follow the spirit to see what the Lords plan for his work is! 

Now, a few of the people we are teaching-

Br. Kästle, a less active member. So, we visited him again, because he got scared and called and didnt want us to meet anymore, but we convinved him to let us come again. So we went and taught him about prayer- because we felt prompted that THAT is what he needs. and we got to the point that he never really prayed in his life to know if the church was true- he had just accepted it before because it felt good. But he left the lesson really determined to find an answer for himself! 

Desuja- he is a man from India- we finally got contact with him this last week, and taught him again. It turns out he has been meeting with Jehovas Witnesses and thats why he hasnt been to church yet... we committed him to come to church though (next week, he was on vacation this week)

Cicek and Nida- ok this is the couple i talked about last week. Cicek is from Turkey, Nida is from Bulgaria. Cicek is christian and Nida is muslim- but she decided to be become a christian, and we met her on the street the next day. she asked us if she could be baptised ASAP. So- we obviously wanted to help her! The adventure has been that she doesnt speak german- but Cicek does. But he doesnt really like to translate for her. hes the kinda guy who only speaks "boss to boss" and hes the boss. We kinda have the problem that when we go to teach them, he sends Nida into the other room, and wants us to explain it to him, even though he currently has no intentions of being baptised. Its a struggle haha. But this week he have organized a Skype lesson with an Elder That speaks bulgarian that can explain it to her alittle better. its a work in progress.

We also recieved two member referals this last week that we should meet with this week- one is a 22 year old girl who seems GOLDEN. she went to church in Stuttgart last week, and Loved it and lives in our area! So we'll see how that progresses!

Well, thats all folks! I love you all and am grateful for your prayers! This week is transfers, so pray that Elder Rozan stays with me because we are working really well together!

I lvoe you all!

adventure is out there!

Elder Bartholomew

Woche 75- Winter has come and gone...

Familie! 

Well, i need to start off by declaring- GERMANY WON THE WORLD CUP! this time i didnt get to live through the craziness really, because by the time they won the game it was midnight and we were all asleep. So today people are a little more tired... but the excitement is still there. World champions! 

And now my reference to winter is because we broke out the winter coats this week because it was FREEZING! i think it started on tuesday night when a huge thunderstorm rolled in, then its rained on and off ever since and the temperatures went WAY DOWN... like from 28-30° on monday to 13° on wednesday! 13°!! it was so cold! (by the way, i mean C°, i dont know what that is in F°) But we are considering it a blessing.. working in the heat is never fun.

This week was super fun! Monday night we made home made Maultaschen with the Zanders- they are teaching us how to cook all sorts of Schwäbisch foods! Tuesday we went out to a small village to visit an investigator- DRAMA. there is seriously a soap opera going on between him, his wife, and his nieghbor, involving lots of money, guns and threats, and probably adulterous relationships. and we are trying to teach the gospel in the middle of all that. i wrote down the whole affair in my journal- its really dramatic haha. In the evening we visited this family called the walters- they are a family of really really quiet white personalities- if you know what i mean. so elder rozan and i had to supply 99% of the conversation at the dinner table. those appointments are always fun.

Wednesday we FINALLY had a ward council- my first one since coming to Heilbronn! It was hilarious, as they always are. many things discussed, feelings hurt, jokes told, not much decided. classic.

thursday we visited a less active in a city on the border of our area- his apartment was FULL of books about philosophy and history, and it was full of smoke- because he wouldnt stop smoking, but he was too cold to open the windows... (i think im going to die someday of 2nd hand smoke) but he talked to us for 2 hours about all the problems in the world, and why his faith is week and thats hes lost hope in humanity. and i couldnt help but ask myself- "why do you care about the worlds problems? you are out of a job, sitting alone in a run down apartment smoking all day, and you are worrying about the worlds problems? GET YOURSELF TOGETHER, solve your own problems, then you can think about how to solve societies problems." of course i didnt say that- but i was thinkin it. we will probably go back this week haha. Friday we had 2 AWESOME lessons- one with a 20 year old guy named Maurice who we havent seen in months, and one with a pretty regular investigator. Both we SUPER spiritual- especially maurice. he is a sincere seeker of truth, and he is the youth that the ward and the church needs! 

Saturday was the ward BBQ and hike- luckily the rain stopped long enough for the hike, but the BBQ had to happen inside because of the pouring rain. it was SO FUN! none of our investigators could make it, but the members invited some of their friends and we had some way cool conversations. plus, that evening, we decided to go outside and talk to somepeople (despite the rain) and on the street we chose there was only ONE person- so we went straight to him and told him we were there with a message about the truth- he invited us straight into his house! (which he happened to be standing in front of)- he was a little drunk, but he told us he reads a lot and he searches for the truth. so we left the book with him and told him we will come back when hes not drunk anymore. super cool! And finally, sunday was great. a young couple blessed their baby in the church, so we were full of visitors! Plus, we had an investigator couple come, named Nida and Cicek- thats a really long story. depending on what happens this week, i will explain later :) but it was all good fun. We are really blessed!

I hope we all take a minute to consider how blessed we are to be reading this email on a computer right now- that we even have access to such things! The Lord has truly enlightened the world for our benefit and for the bringing to pass of his eternal purposes! how humbling to know that "the glory of God is Intelligence" and that he has granted parts of that intelligence to us (i hope i didnt misquote that scripture!)

Anyways, I love you family! wish me luck this week!

Adventure is out there!

Elder Bartholomew

Woche 74- new mission president!

Liebe Familie,

what a week, what a week.

This last week we had to do a lot of evaluating- our work as missionaries and the progress of our investigators- after many many fallen out appointments- we decided its time for extreme area makeover- we are going to try out some new tactics this week because we need some new people!!

I would say the most exciting thing i could report would be our adventure of friday/saturday- we got invited over to the Zanders to watch our 2nd of 2 allowed soccer matches- this time France against Germany- germany won! it was super cool! As soon as the match was over, we packed up everything we needed and headed to spend the night in.... GÖPPINGEN!!! It was so unreal being back- it felt like i had never left. sleeping in my old apartment- walking those streets- it was sureal. We had to spend the night because we were up early the next morning to head to Munich to meet the new misison president- president kohler! and göppingen is on the way to munich. The meeting began around 10- and got to know their family! They have 2 kids- Tanner who is 17, and Erika who is 13- I have so much respect for those kids! they packed up their whole lives and left for germany- they are real heroes. President Kohler and his wife are SO COOL! President Kohler helped write Preach My Gospel- and for those who are familiar with missionary work, he was the head director of "The District" DVDs- such a boss! The meeting was incredibly inspiring and it pumped us up! We also met as a zone while he interviewed us (basically he just asked us where we were from and how long we have been serving) and we talked about consecration to Gods work- it really touched Elder Rozan and I and we have decided to make it our quest to be consecrated missionaries! no more distractions- no wasted time- just work work work! I think that will help me keep my last 6 months in focus. Im really really excited about the coming weeks! Pray for us!

I love you all so much! 

Adventure is out there!

Elder Bartholomew

Woche 73- Post Baptism Blues :)

Liebe Familie,

dont worry, i put a smiley face after the Blues because i think its just natural for everything to slow waaay down after a baptism! Even though the beginning of the week looked really really cool- unfortunatley people use their free agency to do silly things- like cancel our appointments or cease answering their cellular phones! Well, whats a goof ta do? We just keep moving forward like usual i suppose! 

Naa the week wasnt that bad- im just being mega dramatic. It was actually really fun! We were in Stuttgart on Tuesday for district meeting, and in the evening, we had to clean out a shed at the church that was FULL of old stuff from a deceased member- a little gross, but no big problem for us! That was just the prep for CLEANING DAY- wednesday we were ordered from the mission to lock ourselves inside the whole day and clean clean clean the apartment- we thought we would run out of stuff to do, but we were decieving ourselves! It was 10 PM and we were still cleaning... yikes. The next day the Zauggs from stuttgart came to inspect the apartment- and of course they had to open the oven and see that we didnt scrub it out- what else could they expect from two 20 year olds ?? 

Thursday we were able to teach Desuja (our investigator from India) and he really opened up to us- so we taught a lot about repentence- it was really a cool moment! then thursday evening...... we watched DEUTSCHLAND v. USA FUßBALL!! we watched it with the Zanders- and in the pictures, even though im wearing my germany jersey, i was still cheering for USA dont worry! Stars and stripes forever baby! But we lost :( We will still be playing Belgium tomorrow- so life goes on! 

Friday nothing really worked out like we wanted... until we taught Herr Krausse in the evening. he is making REALLY slow progress. but he cooked us some AMAZING italian food- oh my goodness it was so good. it was rosemary bread rolls, with green olives in the middle- it was to die for it was so amazing! 

Saturday we did a finding day in Pforzheim- of course it poured rain and i forgot my umbrella- but thats what makes life fun! 

All in all- its just another week in the life of a german missionary :)

I love you all! 

Adventure is out there!

Elder Bartholomew

Woche 72- BEST. WEEK. EVER.

Dear Family,

Well, i used a lot of my time writing a lot of people i didnt write last week... foolish decision? maybe- because now i dont have much time to write about the best week ever! It was seriously so cool! 

First off- i need to comment on the World Cup- Germany is going nuts- or europe i should say. people take this so seriously- its like walking around a college campus on gameday... just all day every day. After Germany won again Portugal last monday it was chaos in the city all night long- people really love soccer here. We got permission from president miles to watch 2 matches- so we are going to watch USA v. Germany on thursday- as much as i love USA, i hope for my safetys sake that we dont beat them haha. 

Well, in other big news- Brigitte got Baptised!!! It was SO COOL! Such a sweet baptism, and we had tons of people and visitors at her baptism. I would send a picture home, but the computer is being silly and wont let me load pictures. Plus my card got completely full- so im just going to send the card home in a letter and you can have all 857 photos on my camera. 

This week was the best because of all the cool people we met! We met with our cool Indian investigator again- his name is Desuja- he really wants to change his life and come to christ- he is maybe 25-30 years old- so hes cool to be with. We took him to the baptism on saturday as well- he LOVED it! he was taking pictures of everything! 

Also, we met a couple from Turkey/Bulgaria- they invited us over (we thought we would be teaching the husband because the wife doesnt speak german) but it was for the woman! she is muslim, but wants to be baptised a Christian ASAP! She had a dream that she needed to be christian, and we met her the next day- cool stuff! But she has a long way to go to help her understand everything... but we will work on it! 

We also met a guy on the street from North Korea- i used the few sentences i learned from you dad!- and he seemed really interested. hopefully we will meet with him next week!

and then on saturday, before the baptism, we went to play soccer with some young men from our ward who are from Ecuador (by the way, playing soccer with europeans/south americans just proves to me that we arent very good at soccer. they are just naturally so good at soccer!) and on the way we were standing on a bus stop and a man came up and asked us what we  were doing in germany- and his name is Bruno. hes like a 50 year old german guy. he was way stoked to hear there was a mormon church in Heilbronn and wanted us to visit him next week! So cool! 

These are all random mixed stories... but the best miracle story of the week (possible of my mission) was on thursday night! So, two weeks ago, Elder Rozan got the feeling like we should call this less active member (Bruder Kästle) that we had never met before- we called him and he immediately invited us over! We have visited him twice now- both times he told us his life story (he was completely active, in the temple, everything for 30 YEARS- then he got divorced from his wife, moved wards, and had an argument in the church here 8 years ago and never came back) and he just told us so many excuses about why he doesnt come to church (too far, he doesnt like the people, doesnt trust the church leaders, he has questions about the pearl of great price... ect.) pretty much doubts everything. But we had SUCH a spiritual lesson with him- we were all crying. well, short note to the story- a family recently moved to a town near his, from Ecuador, and they offered to take him to church. Br. Kästle lived in spain for a few years and speaks spanish. Sooo- he called us on thursday to tell us that this family had called him and talked to him and invited him to come to church. and he said "Well elders, i thought about it. and in two weeks, Im coming back to church! we're making progress!" WOW- it blew me away. 

Well, I dont have any more time. but this week was just so cool! 

Missionary work is the best. hands down.

I love you all!

adventure is out there!
Elder Bartholomew

Woche 71- Fun in the Black Forest!

Grüß euch!

Well, today i dont have time to write many people personally- we spent the day in the Black Forest hiking around! So... ill be sure to attach some pictures next week :) But ill do what i can to write many people- from your emails it sounds like youre all packed to the brim as well with summer activities... its good that we are all staying busy!

As for me- this last week was pretty fun, i must say! 

Tuesday we were in Stuttgart for a farewell conference with President and Sister Miles- oh my goodness i cant believe they are leaving!! they have had such a major influence on my mission... i cant even express how grateful i am for those two! They gave us a CD with ALL of the their pictures from the last two years- so ill be sending that home so you can have a lot of pictures of the mission :) :) :) They talked to us about consecration as a final goodbye thought- its was really really good. it got me so pumped! then i went on exchanges and worked in Ludwigsburg with Elder Allen- he was in the MTC with me- it was fun to work with someone "my age" so we could talk about all our experiences up to this point- missions are so cool and teach us so much! we were pretty much able to bear testiomony to eachother all night- so cool!

Wednesday we switched back and went to the Zander family- yes dad, they are pretty much our adopted family. they love to have us over and ask us to come at least once a week. Br. Zander is working on coming back to church, so we love to come and support him in that. And no mom, im not depressed in those pictures haha- its a look of serious concentration! thats what happens when you eat Raclette! Raclette is a swiss dish- you have a little griddle- and you cook all sorts of different things on top, while roasting a special swiss cheese underneath- its so yummy! I really love that family so much! 

Thursday we had a PACKED day! We met with this man from India- he is an honest seeker of the truth- so sincere! We have a lot of hope with him- and right after we met with these two 20 year old girls we met in the train..... i think they came to the appointment with other intentions- but we tried to just bear testimony and invite them to church- we'll see if they have interest in meeting again haha. Then in the evening we met with Brigitte- she is SO COOL! Im so pumped for the baptism this saturday- pretty much all the plans are set in stone, and its definitely going through- ill write more about her next week. 

Friday we had transfer calls... we are staying 6 more weeks! and im so grateful- elder rozan is a BEAST! we met with a less active named Br. Kästle- his story is really sad. he was really active in north germany for many years, been to the temple and everything- and then he moved, didnt like the ward and just stopped coming! now he doubts his testimony of everything! AHH! i dont understand how that just happens! i guess its like Alma 32- if you dont water the tree its gonna die! But he was really nice and its looking like we can help him make progress towards coming back! 

Sunday in the church finalized all the plans for the baptism with the ward- its looking like a lot of members are going to be there and are helping! Im so stoked! this is a way cool baptism for sure! 

Well, that was pretty much my week- today was way fun hiking in the black forest- this place looks like its in a fairy tale- it really doest feel real! that feeling hasnt even worn off the  last 17 months.... haha i dont think it will!

Well, I love you all- thanks for everything! i promise to write more next week!

Adventure is out there!

Elder Bartholomew

Woche 70- turn up the heat!!!

Beunos Dias! <- that is the extent of the spanish elder rozan has taught me. he just likes to speak german haha. But i also learned to say- hallo, grandma i love you- in russian! But i dont know how to spell it in russian... so i cant write it to you.

This week has been crazy... and when i say crazy, i mean all our plans got chewed up and spit out right in front of our faces haha. But weeks like that happen on the mission! We just do our best to keep moving forward always! 

monday night we did FHE with the branch president- man i have a lot of respect for that guy. he has 3 kids, is the branch president, and works like crazy. the poor guy seems really really stresssed- but hes keeping it all together good. he works in business- and as we got out of the car elder rozan and i had the same spooky impression. he turned to me and said- "when we were in the car- i had the feel like that would be you in 10 xears"- that was the same thought i had- stressed haha. lets hope we didn see the future! he seems happy though so thats ok.

Tuesday we took a bus out to a tiny tiny village for an appointment that fell out... the first of many haha. so we were stuck there for a few hours- and when we  got home we went to the Zanders house to make hollunder syrup! that stuff is my FAVORITE stuff to drink here- it is so good! And the gave me some hollunder seeds (for the hollunder flower/bush. i dont think we have that  in america) but they told me to send the seeds home  and we can plant it in our garden- so im sending the seeds home with some translated instructions- then someday we can make the syrup too! 

wednesday we went to stuttgart to district meeting and we ate lunch in this china garden place- weird culture mix haha. when we got home, our first appointment fell out, but then we had a lesson with brigitte and it went great! we taught the plan of salvation and she really loved it.

thursday i got really sick. i guess i caught whatever elder rozan had and it wsa  awful- but we went out and tried our best to keep going! we did a lot of work- but shortly said, all our plans failed haha. fun days!

Friday we went up to a place called Mosbach to track down some less actives- didnt find them, but in the train home, a different less active found US and came and invited us over! the lord works in mysterious ways i guess. In the evening we visited some way cool members- the Janottas- they are a young hipster couple. they are super cool.

Saturday we finally had another appointment with a guy named herr Krausse- he is super nice and catholic, and we had a long debate about the great apostasy. and in the middle of the lesson the Robins family stopped by to deliver the package! Thanks so much for the socks and candy- they are AMAZING and muuch needed- you guys are the best!

Sunday was Pfingst (pentacost) sunday- and lots of members were on vacation- but we were able to do a special sunday school class for brigitte on word of wisdom and tithing- those were the big ones we were worried about- but she totally accepted them- no problems! man she is so cool! After church we got invited by some members to lunch- they are really nice, but really old as well-- and we ate old person food. yum....

Well that was the week. Its been REALLY hot lately- it was 38° yesterday- i dont know what that is in F° but its really hot haha. we survive though!

Im running out of time... but i love you all!

Adventure is out there!
Elder Bartholomew

Woche 69- Summer time... and the living is... just like the rest of the mission

Guten morgen liebe geschwister! 

Wow what a good week. Elder Rozan is working me and himself to the ground! He actually caught a cold and isnt doing so good now- but i think thats a sign that hes working hard enough haha. its really inspiring to watch him. 

This week was really awesome! Tuesday we had district meeting in Heilbronn after which we did a finding day- and we found some awesome people! one guy named Pashk- we were talking to a different guy who didnt have any interest, and Pashk stopped to listen- he was really interested in the message! Ill talk more about him later though. 

Wednesday was one of those days that  looks really packed, but then everything seems to fall out! we taught a less active sister in the morning- she is really making progress towards coming back to church! then our appointment with another less active brother fellout in the afternoon. But we were able to meet with the ward mission leader finally and discuss plans for the area and the ward (much needed) and then we took a train to a northern village callled Möckmühl- and we called the guy an hour before to confirm before making the long trip- WELL he wasnt there. wont answer his phone. thats life though! 

Thursday we went by to check up on a romanian friend of ours who we gave a book of mormon- and he has actually read aLOT! and he is interested! the language barrier is pretty hard, so we ordered a bunch of material in romanian so we canteach him next week! Then in the evening we met with Brigitte- she is so great! we taught the restoration and she just absolutely loved it! what a golden investigator! and the member is obviously really happy too- because his future wife will be a member! 

Friday we spent most of the day with the Zanders working in their garden- did you get the pictures from him? They are such a great family- seriously some of my best friends here. and its good to work with them- because br. zander is actually coming back from inactivity a few years ago- he has a rough past. so its good to help him. 

Saturday was crazy! We went and worked with a different less active named Josh Warner (ok crazy story, he was a missionary here in 98-00 and then came back and married a girl here and has nothing to do with the church for 12 years, then the missionaries found him again, and he is super nice and lets us come work. BUT the craziest part- hes originally from West Valley! he went to Hunter jr. high!) so we worked with him, then the went to our new friend Pashk- wow. he lives in the middle of nowhere. literally. its so far out there. He has a lot of problems to overcome- but he believes faith can help, so we are excited to work with him! in the evening we taught Constantin- or jehovah witness friend. he isnt really a JW- but his grandma is, and he is trying to decide between us and the Jdubs. He has some really interesting questions about the bible and such- he has made me study really really hard. But ive been enjoying it. it strengthens my testimony that the church is true! I never use the arguments i find, because i dont like to argue with people- but i mostly like to find good arguments just to satisfy myself knowing i would be right if i had to be :) 

Well thats about it! sorry if its a little short!
I love you all! thanks for all your support and everything you do! 

Adventure is out there!
Elder Bartholomew

Woche 68- Brigitte Schübeler

Guten Morgen Liebe Familie!!!!

What a week. first of all- is the weather in Utah being bi-polar too? almost everyday here, the weather switched between cold and rain, too really... reallly hot haha. a couple nights we slept without blankets and a fan on, and the next night we were sleeping with extra blankets because it  had gotten so cold! This flip flop is making me tired i think haha. But despite that, we had an awesome week! 

on tuesday, we did district meeting in Ludwigsburg, and afterwards i stayed for an exchange with the DL elder smith! after the meeting we went straight to a service project in another town- well there wasnt a train or a bus, so wouldnt ya know it- we hoofed it! it took us about an hour of walking through tall fields- kinda cool, but it was really hot that day haha. then we worked in the garden of a member for a couple hours- and they cooked us some awesome food at the end. I love meeting members all over the place! 

wednesday, when i came back to Heilbronn, we met with a less active member named Br. Ruppel- hes russian so our lesson was half german, half russian. he would come to church if he didnt need to take care of his mother all the time- so we committed him to personal prayer and scripture study. Afterwards, the senior couple from Stuttgart was supposed to meet us at our appartment to deliver some furniture- and they got so lost on the way that they were 2 1/2 hours late! but we got the new shelves eventually haha. cool story- we had bought a watermelon on monday (because watermelon is awesome) and we had sliced it up while we were waiting. we had the thought to leave a few slices for the Bensons (the senior couple) when they got there. Well when we gave them those simple slices, they almost cried they were so happy, because we didnt know it, but watermelon was their favorite treat! something to do with when they were dating and some story with a watermelon... anyways, we felt good that we had saved some for them! That evening, a man took us out to dinner from Boston- he was a member here on business who wanted to take the missionaries out to eat- he was so nice! Br Micheal Lewis is his name- and during dinner we somehow found out that the missionary who baptised him 24 years ago is none other that sister Allmans (the sister from Singen) older brother! So we called sister allman on the phone and he was able to talk to her and begin reestablishing contact with the missionary who taught him! cool right! Through small and simple means the lord does his work...

Thursday was one of those reallly hot days- but it ended kinda crazy! We were at dinner with some members, when we recieved a text about a storm warning- that a hail storm was coming and that we should return to our appartments and lock ourselves in- it seemed sunny outside still. but within 15 min. dark storm clouds had rushed in and the wind was blowing like crazy, so we did our best to make our way home and out of the storm. it never got worse than wind... but in other places in our zone it was hailing like crazy aparently! 

Friday, we went to help the Zanders build their fence again- and it was tons of fun. Br. Zander is actually the ex-husband of a family in Göppingen, and his son, Michel who normally lives in Göppingen, was spending the weekend in Heilbronn, so i got to see him again! that was fun!

the best story of the week was saturday though. you might be wondering why the letter is called Brigitte- well. she is the girlfriend of a member, and she came to church last sunday. I approached her to ask how she liked the church and if she would like to know more! she agreed and we set the date for saturday. Well we went to meet with her (and Br. Trippel the member) and they told us they were planning on getting married soon. Then she said she wants to be a member before they get married, and she asked "how can i join?" WOW! We can help you with that! so we explained to her the whole process and she will be baptised on the 21st of June! its a miracle for sure! Her real interest came because of the good example of this member. He is simply a commandment keeper, and she wondered why. so explained the resoration of the gospel and she is now going to be baptised! See how simple missionary work is! :) after that we taught a kid named Konstantine- he is a previous investigator who is struggling between mormons and jehovahs witnesses. we met and he had some bible arguments prepared... well, i had done a little studying, and i definitely stumped him with my bible scriptures :) i kinda had to catch him in a trap... thats not bad right? but he agreed to start reading the book of mormon again, so its all good!

I also gave a talk on sunday, but nothing else really exciting happened.
Well that was the week! Man! 

I sure love you guys! thanks for the letters and the prayers!

Adventure is out there!
Elder Bartholomew