Letter Fifty-Nine from the Lovely Lady Lena

W E L T M E I S T E R. erledigt. Okay, I don’t want to start up on how awesome Germany is, and how I am the luckiest Sister missionary ever, but come on….did you hear?! We won WORLD CUP! Three cheers for Deutschland. (or should we say 4 cheers since this is the 4th world cup won) Last night sounded like New Years Eve with all the fireworks and screams. It was music to my ears. One day I will be able to turn to my soccer loving children and say ‘I was living in Berlin when Germany won their 4th world cup.’ (except I will say it in German, because hopefully my mini-mes will speak this language) and they will be so impressed by their mom.

I will also tell them many other, and more spiritual stories about when their mom used to live in the big B. Stories like the ones I experienced this week. Here’s a preview of the stories that I will tell my children: 

1. We had a feeling that we should visit this inactive member. We kept making out appointments and they kept falling out, but we kept trying. This week we finally got to meet with her and it turns out she has 5 children who are all not members of the church. They are the sweetest kids and we had such a great time talking with this family! The 14 year old girl reminded me of my twin sisters, even going on and on about some book called ‘The Fault In Our Stars’ (anyone heard of that?!) that they love. We are meeting with them again this week and hopefully we can start teaching the kids, I have always wanted to teach a family!

2. We met with a lady I found dooring in my first week here. She lives on the very top of a Hochhaus (highrise apartment? help, someone translate my danglish!) and she reminds me just like Jynx for all my missionary friends out there who have to watch The District 2.

3. We called a member to ask for help with a lesson but he said he was busy painting an apartment, so we asked if he needed any help. He gladly accepted and when Sister McBride and I arrived on the scene we were greeted by 2 non members, one of them named Armin. They made us a tasty Indian curry lunch and we got to casually talking about our missions and the gospel. At the end of the service project Armin said ‘I would really like to talk more. Can you come over next week?’ Ummm…tchhha! (That means I am now teaching someone with my Dad’s name and someone with my uncle’s name! I just need to find someone named Alena.) Sister McBride made the comment on the walk home ‘don’t you think it’s kind of weird that two 20 year old girls are stoked about meeting with three 45 year old men next week?’ When you put it like that, then yea, missions are weird. But I love them.

I hope everyone has a splendid week. GO GERMANY! 

Love,
Sister Alena Helzer

posted by Splendidly Sar 

 

the view from a communist hochhaus

 

Jynx’s German doppelganger!

 

 

7 to 1!!!!

 

Daniel went to the Temple for the first time!

 

Bike tour!

 

Today we biked from our house to down town and back sporting our soccer jerseys.

 

Then we biked to where all the Berlin missionaries were meeting to play soccer together.

 

This is Elder Beck, he runs the office, loves cat puns, and is head of the Berlin Mission Party Planning Committee. He is also a fan of The Lady Lena, and you should be to!