Hi Everyone!!

How is life going??? I'm doing just fine. Ok, so our numbers kind of tanked this week. We had loads of appointments set up, but one by one they all fell through, so that was a bummer, but I guess that's just how things roll sometimes. It was a really good week though. We had some really cool experiences.

On Tuesday, we went out to this little village that is quite far away, to go contact a potential. They were not there, and we decided that we could not just have lunch and leave. There was a reason we were in this village. We picked an area and just started ringing door bells. Eventually, an old lady let us in. When we told her we were the Mormon Missionaries, she cut in right away and talked about how she can not possibly believe in a God when she has lived through something as horrible as WWII. In the MTC they prepared us for this scenario and said it would happen and we did role plays and stuff, but it is totally different when someone tells you that for real. WWII really was horrible and there is no possible way for me to imagine what it was like so I was kind of dumb-founded, but Sister Powell just complemented her on a picture hanging on the wall (it was a picture of two cats), and the lady brightened up and asked if we would like to see more. We ended up just talking and looking at pictures in her house and talking about her trips to America. She still did not want to hear our message, but we could tell she wanted a friend. We wrote down her address, and intend to write her letters and keep in touch. It was just a really cool experience for me.

The next day, Wednesday, I was doing personal study and felt like I wasn't doing a very good job of just talking to everyone. I wanted to be better. It's easy to say that, but it's totally different when you are sitting on the bus and don't know how to start a conversation with the person next to you. Well, I have a method now and it's working just fine. I talk to people with dogs (I like dogs, they're cute) and when I'm sitting by someone, I scan they're outfit really quick and then compliment them on what I like the most. There's usually more than one thing I like because everyone in Europe is gorgeous. That's been working for me and I have been having way more meaningful conversations and enjoying just talking to people. Almost everyone I talk to asks about what I'm doing in Germany or what my name tag is for, so BOOM! It's actually a blast. Missionary work is the bomb.com.

Thursday was transfer day. Sister Powell and I were both not transferred which is nice, because packing and suitcases and stuff is such a hassle, but we still had to help. Transfers in a mission that includes four countries is insane. We went to the Stuttgart train station to pick up Sister Motto. Her companion got transfered to Passau, and her new companion would not be coming until later in the afternoon, so we met Sister Motto and helped everyone get on to the trains and waited for the new missionaries to come in. Something kind of exciting is that Sister Motto's new companion is Sister Penz. She was in the MTC with me for about a week, so I know her and she is awesome, and she is my sister training leader now!!! Sister Arnold was also at the train station helping out another set of sisters so we both freaked out when Sister Penz got of the train. We love her. I can't wait to work with her.

Well, this week was really something for sure. Sister Powell and I have this thing going on right now called the Avon Lady Theory. We are learning that if we are more persistent than an Avon lady (and they are pretty persistent) we can have so much more success. We call a lot, we text a lot, we contact people a lot, and eventually they will come around. There is one couple we are teaching and they both want to come to church and be baptized, but there are certain changes they need to make in their lives first. They are exceedingly slow with making these changes, but we had a really good appointment with them on Friday. They are just really scared of making these changes because it is a super big deal, but essentially, they thanked us for not giving up on them and not judging them. It was really sweet because I know they both have testimonies and want to make progress. We just need to keep encouraging them and praying for them and then the Lord will make it happen in His time.

Oh and one last thing!!! At an appointment this week we were given this stuff called Coro Coffee. It's fake coffee, so Mormons here drink it a lot. I learned why we shoudn't drink coffee though, because that stuff is so good. I would be addicted in a second if I wasn't a poor missionary (actually, I think I must be one of the richest missionaries in the world, they give us a lot here cuz everything costs a million bucks but yeah). That was just kind of a random tangent.

I hope everyone is having a great day and making good choices!

Love,

Sister Smiley

One last thing: So the World Cup is happeining and that is insane! It is basically a second religion here. You can literally hear all of Germany screaming when they score a point. It's so cool. WE get to watch the Germany vs. USA game on Thursday. I'm so pumped! I'll let you know how it goes.

Pictures: Sisters Powell, Motto and I invested in some Oreos at Stuttgart Bahnhoff when we were waiting for Sister Penz (it was a big deal, they don't just have those here). Us at Schwarzwald last Monday, and then the little town we went to when we saw Schwarzwald. It was super cute.