The
first week of three ...'Versetzung Anrufe,
General Konferenz und Einkaufen in Deutschland'
We'll begin with Monday again! So Monday was
Bowling day! District P-day! We went down to Baar to a bowling alley! It was
fun, but I played terribly because of my back, even though I still got quite a
few strikes in the 2 games we played! But hey! It was fun and wasn't terribly
priced for Switzerland! Then we had Family Home Evening and it was my turn! So,
I just decided to show the new #BecauseHeLives video and then discuss ways we
can share it with friends and use it to do Member-Missionary work. It worked
out quite well and we gave a few #WeilErlebt pass along cards to the members
who came with us to give them out during the week, so it wasn't too much of a
tricky home evening to prepare and give!
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| Bowling fun on P-Day |
Tuesday we had District Meeting in Bonstetten, so
we finally got to do studies on a Tuesday Morning! Wahey! It was a pretty
cool Meeting! And then Chur, so had to leave early to go to a lesson, so we
chilled and had lunch with Richterswil! Then we ended the day by teaching the
Plan of Salvation to the couple who are friends of members! I think I told you
about them, so please pray for them that their hearts will be softened and they
will have a spiritual experience to make them want to learn out of a desire to
learn and come unto Christ, rather than just helping us improve our teaching, but
it was a powerful lesson!
Wednesday, we had a few WA lessons, but that was
that!
Thursday! We did a load of WA Vorbeis, which Bishop
asked us to do and one of them was home and let us in! He is only less active
because of sleeping issues! He has a ridiculously strong testimony and he
shared with us a book he's been writing for the past 40 years and it is
basically proving that the Book of Mormon is true! It's strange, but the bits
he shared were well interesting, but that was basically Thursday! Then, just as
I was getting ready for bed the Young Women came by at like 10pm with Easter
baskets with chocolate and cookies and stuff for us - which was cool!!!
Then Friday we had our apartment inspection and
apparently we have the cleanest apartment they have ever seen! I always seem to
get comments like that when apartments I live in get inspected! I must have had
a brilliant Mother who trained me well!!!! Then weekly planning and I had to
get a new planner! Can you believe that it's planner number 6? This last
transfer has gone by so quickly it's ridiculous!!! - and then ‘Bible Prophecies’
for transfer calls tomorrow! Mine was weird! It was Exodus 3:1-3 .. I'm still
not sure what to make of it! haha!
Saturday!!!!! Transfer Calls!! Transfer calls kind
of just came up out of nowhere! Legit - this transfer has gone by too quickly!
We are both staying in Bonstetten! It's gonna be weird, I haven't done more
than one transfer with a companion since Elder Little and it means that I will
do at least 3 transfers in Bonstetten, meaning it will be the ward that I have
spent the most amount of time in so far!!!!! So I'm happy with it and our
district is us, Richterswil stays the same and then Chur; Elder Timm gets a
Golden. Elder Timm was in my MTC group and so were both of the Richterswil
Elders, so we are a real young district! Elder Paulsen is like a major old man!!!!
hahha!!! - but it is gonna be fun! Then,
as today is Easter Monday everything is closed in Switzerland, so we were told
by President to shop on Saturday! Our plan was to go to Germany today, but we
can't as nothing would be open, so we went on Saturday! It was pretty cool and
we got masses of food! So life is great!! Then General Konferenz! I loved the
focus on the family in the Saturday Morning Session! It was
brilliant! I absolutely loved the fact when Elder Perry said that a Muslim
Scholar from Iran quoted 2 paragraphs from the Family Proclamation. That was
just amazing!!!!! haha!
Then Sunday! We had breakfast with the rest of the
men in the ward! They said it was an English Breakfast, but it seemed pretty
Americanised to me with Pancakes and Syrup with Bacon and Eggs, but it was
really great! Then we watched the Priesthood session, which was brilliant and
then over to Schwammendingen to watch the Saturday Afternoon one and
then we decided to stay in Schwammendingen instead of coming back to Bonstetten;
that way we could get something to eat as well! So Sunday was very spiritually
uplifting! I can't believe that was the second General Conference on my
mission. Only 2 more to go!! And Ash just has 1 more!!!! That’s mental!!!! It
goes too quickly!!!!
Week
2... 'Neue Versetzung, Tschüss Jake and Daddy (Mission
Daddy of course) und nur Schweizer Untersucher'
And we are back to Monday again!!! It is
ridiculously crazy how fast time is going! In 2 transfers time I am legit at
the half way mark! It's gone too fast!!!!!
So Monday was P-day and we just decided to chill at
the chapel here in Bonstetten with the Richterswil Elders. It was a fun day! We
played Wizard (card game) and I won! Wahey! Then just chilled and had fun! Then
we had our haircuts by our old GML’s wife! It was cool and I would definitely
recommend her!!!
Tuesday we did a load of vorbeis, not too much came
from it! Then we had Gemeinderat and it was fun!!! Gemeinderat always is!!!!!
Wednesday We had District Meeting in Richterswil-
who knows why it was a Wednesday when it's meant to be Tuesday, but hey! It was
actually a really good District Meeting! Probably the best one I've had in this
District so far!!!
Thursday was transfer day!!! Zürich HB is in our
area and we were meeting Jeffrey in Bahnhof for breakfast at 8.30am, so we met
him and had breakfast and happened to be there to say goodbye to those heading
to München, so I got to say goodbye to Jake (Elder Robertson) and to Elder
Little!!! It was a sad time!!!! Although their train had a 10-15 minute
Verspätung on it, so we got to chat for another 10-15 minutes longer!!! haha!
Then tradition is that when the train leaves - you run with it, if your trainer
is dying or a missionary you really get on with and seen as Jake and Elder
Little were dying, I had to do the run, so I did it, and the platforms in
Zürich HB aren't the shortest platforms either, so it was quite a run and you have
to stay level with the carriage they are on, so when the train is late; they go
pretty quick from the platform. Normally it's a nice chilled run, but not this time,
but it was cool and I got to say Tschüss to them!!!! Then in the evening we got
to teach Seminary- Wahey!!! It was D&C 133 I think- about the Second Coming,
so it was a cool chapter to teach and then we went out to get something to eat
as it was Elder Paulsen’s Birthday!!!
Friday we had planning!!!! Then in the evening we
went with Brüder Meier to see a less active. It was the cat lady I went with
him on splits to a couple months back, so we went and it was an interesting
appointment, although one of her cats were pretty ill.
Saturday we went down to Richterswil to go to a
baptism. It's a guy the Richterswil Elders were teaching! He was so prepared,
like legit; I don't know anybody more prepared then he was and it was the best
attended baptism I think I have ever been to! The ward legit just love him, so
that was awesome and it was a really spiritual baptism!!! Then we did some
vorbeis and then I realised on Saturday that all of our investigators that we
meet with regularly and have some form of progress are all Swiss!!!! Now that
is really awesome!! A lot of missionaries never teach a Swiss person past the
first lesson, if they teach one at all, but all of ours are currently born and
bred Swiss, so that was the awesome highlight of the week!!!
Sunday we had church, which was cool and then Choir,
which was also cool, but Elder Pauslen was ill, so the rest of the day not much
happened, but that was our week!!!
I can't believe Jake is back! You will have to
harass him for photos, cause he took some on his camera that I never did! Like
our last photo at Bahnhof on the Thursday before he left!!! Jake mentioned then,
"You know, now I'm home you are the oldest Robertson Missionary, in terms
of time out in the field" That’s weird!!! It is only by like 5 days
though!!!
Week 3….. ‘Zone Ausbildung, Interviews und Tempel’
I guess we'll begin from Monday!!! So, we were shooting off to Konstanz,
Deutschland to celebrate Elder Byrom’s birthday!!! We went, had lunch, took a
trip to the Sea Life Centre and then did some shopping! It was actually a
really fun day! Plus the workers gave us like all the stuff that they give to
kids when they come with parents, so we had a childish p-day!!!! haha! And we
got to touch/hold a starfish- it was disgustingly weird!!!! But that was
basically Monday, with FHE I the evening!!!
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| At the Sealife Centre in Konstanz for Elder Byroms Birthday / P-Day |
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| At the Sealife Centre in Konstanz for Elder Byroms Birthday / P-Day |
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| At the Sealife Centre in Konstanz for Elder Byroms Birthday / P-Day |
Tuesday!!! This week was crazy busy, so Tuesday we headed to the Stake
Centre for Zone Training!!! Our zone is even smaller this time round as one of
the sister areas got closed down. But it's a pretty cool zone!! Zone Training
was pretty awesome! And we have 2 goldens in the zone, one German and one from
Australia. It's so funny hearing Golden German! It reminds me of the days when
I could barely even speak MTC level German. Haha! Good times! After that we
went to do a few vorbeis in Zürich before coming back to the Stake Centre to
have a lesson with Jeffrey before Insti. We had a pretty awesome little lesson,
then for Insti we went to the D&C class which is taught by none other than
President Uchtdorfs son!!!! It was such a good class!!!! And.... During Insti the
ZLs and STLs in the Zürich stake were having a meeting with the Stake Pres. And
it turns out one of the STLs for the other Zone that is in the Zürich stake is
Sister Smiley (we were in the same District when I was in Kaufbeuren)!!! So we
had a catch up! It was so cool!!! Like I ledgit thought I wouldn't see anyone
from that district until the Elder Bednar Conference! So that was highlight of
the day!!!!
Wednesday was another crazy part of this crazy week!!! We were back at
the Stake Centre for interviews and training with President! Training is just 2
districts together and we just discuss different things with Pres. So we spoke
about a few things and he finally told us that Elder Bednar is coming to speak
about iPads. He said he isn't sure if we'll be getting them on Saturday but
they are coming! Apparently at this stage of time, all missionary iPads are
property of the church but in the coming months we will be buying them, or
something like that! So we shall see!!! Exciting stuff!!!! Then interviews- it
was another strange one! One thing about President Kohler is that he likes to
hint at things! This time he knew like everything- the past few times he didn’t
even know which area I was serving in let alone how long I've been out! But
this time he really brushed up on his knowledge! So he was going on about how
I've been in Bonstetten for a long time (only 3 transfers- but whatever) and
that Elder Paulsen and I have been together for quite a while now (we are only
in the 2nd transfer- but hey) and then he was going on about whether to move me
or Elder Paulsen next transfer and how my age of the mission are the soul, we
are the heart of the mission and he's needing us to start training and
leadership and stuff! So it was a pretty weird interview!!!! But hey! Then we
tausched with Richterswil! Did I mention before that Elder Bakewell is our
District Leader! Well if not there you go! So I was with Elder Bakewell in
Richterswil!! It was such a fun tausch- I just love working with him!!!
Then Thursday we worked and then tausched back in the evening after Elders
Paulsen and Byrom taught Seminary! (Yes we were asked to teach Seminary
again!!!- luckily it was just a film this time) So we planned for us to tausch
back after seminary!
Friday was planning and we went out to get something during Lunch- I
can't remember what, but we bumped into a member at this shopping centre and
she just gave us CHF50 to get ourselves lunch as we haven't been over to theirs
for dinner in a while! It was so nice! So we are definitely going to have to do
a personal touch for them at some point in the next week!!! Then in the evening
we had another essens termine which was really good!
Then Saturday! It was Stake Temple day. I believe the ward wanted the
whole ward to be there, including us, so we took Saturday as our day this
transfer to go to the temple! It was super nice! I just love going to the
temple, it is such a special place and I always feel so much closer to family
and home when I am there!!!! I love it!
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| I love the Temple and I love Bern |
Plus we were in Bern again, and I LOOOOOOOVVVVEEEE Bern!!!!
Then Sunday!! Church was lovely! After we went to Bishops for dinner
which was also awesome! I love Bishops family! They are so cool! There are a number
of families in the ward that I love! You really grow even closer to a ward when
you spend more time there! I just love Bonstetten!!!!
In other news this week- I finished studying Jesus the Christ!!!!!!! If
you haven't read it read it! It is such a beautiful book!!! I must admit though
my favourite chapter in it is Chapter 40, it's about the Apostasy and it just
explains it so perfectly! Like all we are taught growing up and even all we
teach as missionaries is that there was an apostasy and a few other details but
it's really brief. But this chapter is just exactly why there was an apostasy
and how it happened, and why the Catholic church did have the Priesthood from
Paul, but then the history as to why it was taken away! It was so
cool!!!!
Also, we finally got our travel plans for the Elder Bednar conference on
Saturday!!! I am so unbelievably excited for it!!! It's the dodgiest plan
though because we are taking the train from Zürich HB to Lindau Hbf, which
actually goes through and stops at München Hbf, but we have to umsteig if we want
direct- they just went dirt cheap on the whole thing, I think, but it is whole
mission meeting, so would be costly!!!!! And then we take a bus back from Lindau to München!!!!! It's gonna be a
killer of a weekend but will be so, sooooo good!!! I cannot wait!!!!
Well that’s it for now.
Love
Elder Robertson
