January 5th:

Heyyy!!! I know, It's 2014... Crazy, eh?

New Years Eve is CRAZY here! So most people in America stay inside for most of the night, eat junk food, and play games, then watch the ball drop. Most Germans buy fireworks and light them off from the time it gets dark (which is about 5 pm) to however long it takes to get rid of the megatons they purchased. I'm pretty sure if a blind person walked around on that day, they would think it was another world war all over again. Most of the fireworks sound like bombs anyway. That and the smoke. We looked out our window and literally couldn't see anything because it was so smoky. Then, the next morning, we looked out again, and it looked like there had been a slaughter on our street. BUT. We did have a party with some members at the church. We ate and played games and lit off one box of fireworks which was enough for the night. I was satisfied...

We are playing nerf capture the flag at the church today. That should be fun! And I am staying in Chemnitz for another 6 weeks. Mal sehen when I get transferred, but for now, I am happy to be staying here. We've been seeing lots of miracles recently. We added several new investigators to our teaching pool and have been working on teaching with more power. AKA diving into Preach My Gospel again. 

Yeah! We taught our Iranian friends again! And they are awesome. One of them, Karim, speaks german really well, so he translates for the others that don't speak as well. They are so sweet and are very excited to learn more. We have another appointment with them. it's really nice to find people who have real intent. Pray for Karim, Masood and Nasser? 

hahahahahahahahahaha the missionaries. That's awesome. They just call and ask if they can eat with you? Gutsy. I guess that works. I still feel weird inviting myself over, but it works. And the members are usually happy. But don't worry about the missionaries. They love to do stuff for th emembers. I promise. I wish more people would tell us the things we really can halp them with. EG letting us do the dishes after we eat. But that is awesome. Haha missions. What a weird life. 

I am super happy we got to meet up with Christine too! She reminds me a lot of mom. I think you would really click. haha. You have a lot of the same personality traits. And Lucia is also SUPER sweet. I love them. A lot. 

Well, I told Christine on Christmas when she called that I don't know when I would be in Hamburg, but that I would be in Berlin on the 3rd and she said "okay, we'll be there. How much time do you have?" So we just planned on meeting up for the evening and I texted president if that would be okay if we overnighted in Berlin with some sisters so that I could meet Christine and he said yes. So the night before, I baked some banana bread and wrote my testimony in a Book of Mormon and brought it with me to berlin! We met up at the Television Tower and went up and saw all of Berlin by night. It was really cool. We just chatted, Christine asked a lot about missons and why we do the things we do, and we got Lucia to open up a little more. Then we met Uwe, Linus's uncle and we went to his house where his wife, Eureka, had made dinner. So we had alcohol free coctails, potatoes and wurst. It was really good and we just enjoyed eachothers company! It felt a little weird just chatting because I'm not used to being in a family situation where I am treated like part of the family anymore. But we were able to explain the Book of Mormon and give our testimonies about it. Eureka and Uwe invited us back any time we were in Berlin and then we left. I loved it though. They have such a strong family bond and it was so fun to be with them. You will LOVE them. 

What we usually get served? Klöse or potatoes, rotkohl, and meat of some sort. Sometimes it's schnitzel, sometimes wurst, sometimes goulasch... But it's all very similar. Has Linus made any German food? It's delicious. I like it a lot. 

Have fun at the Grand America!! I am sure you will :)

About going back in the fall? Yes. Please. I would love that. And don't worry about my GPA. I will talk with my professors when I need to and it should be fine. And no worries. It's not stress. I don't think about it that much, besides, it's not distracting ;) i still have a while. 

I love you!