Like that 'Price is Right' game (27.9.10)

Liebe Eltern - - - HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!! Hopefully you'll get mail soon.

Alles gute von die Alpen!!! This week, I felt like we were that yodeling climber game on the Price is Right. We had an appointment for service to this extremely inactive woman (Melanie Kaiser) and her family. She was baptized in Graz in the 70s ish and when she got married, her husband said no to her going to church so she's been inactive for 12 years. They have 4 children and the husband is old enough to be their grandfather (she is mid-thirties). Interesting, but that's a common thing among the farmers in the mountains. She invited us to come help on their farm - - IN THE ALPS. It was a long drive up to their home, but it was all worth it. The most beautiful and quaint little farm ever. Just like in the movie Heidi. We were mainly doing garden work and Dad, if it is at all possible, I think Sis Kaiser loves her garden more than you love yours. We worked for about 3 hours and then took a Jauzer (dinner break). We walk into their woodframed home (being sure to duck for beams) and into the kitchen where there are wooden discs at each place for plates with a hunk of cheese and meat in the middle followed by a basket of bread. All that was missing was a goat to wander through....but one did walk passed the window since the house is built into the mountain. (see pic 1,2).

THIS (pic 3) is what we encountered on the way home. No wonder everyone always tells me that my name is Austrian (and they argue against Danish).

On Thurs, we went to visit another inactive old lady who lives about 45 min away. We called that morning and asked if we could stop by. She said yes, so we packed up and left. When we got there, she wasn't there so we contacted all along the mountain. LITERALLY. No success, but we got to hear real cowbells in action. Really, this week I felt like Heidi...minus the grandfather. (pic 4)

Friday morning we left to travel to Vienna for Stake Conference. We had gotten permission to go up early and do Exchanges with the Sisters there. I got to work with Sis Carroll who was my unofficial companion (meaning, when I needed someone to teach in German with me, she'd come from the German classes and go with me) when I was moved to the Fast Track in the MTC. She was also my travel buddy. I realized this weekend how much I don't like big cities...and yet, how much I miss working in one. Everything is connected and there are members close by willing to come on Joint teaches. On Saturday, our Exchange ended at 6pm (exchanges last 24hours). President Condie spoke at the adult session that night and asked all the missionarires to stand up and recite D&C 4. Good thing I'd just finished learning that last week. The Stake President spoke last and I really liked a particular joke he said. (Please pass on to Bishop Parks) - - There's no difference between a graveyard gardener and a Stake President...they both take care of a lot of people and no one listens.- - (see pic 5 Me, Sis Carroll, Sis Alder). We took the train up to Vienna, stayed with the Sisters, then rode back on the bus with the branch. A good 2 1/2 hour journey through the mountains.

The Sunday session of Stake conference was really neat. We met in the Vienna International Center (kind of like the Salt Palace in SLC). Sis Alder and I were in the choir. As I was sitting there (front and center might I add, right beside the speaker) I noticed someone who looked familiar, then I just shrugged it off and forgot about it. As we were taking a picture, someone said "Anne". Turns out, that face was Avery Hill's, my friend from the Elms. She is on a study abroad in Vienna. Really wonderful to see a familiar face, but REALLY weird to hear someone say my name. And around other missionaries too. I got a glimpse of how returned missionaries feel when they begin to be called by their first name again. Since Pres and Sister Condie spoke at both sessions of conference, they brought the mail from the office, so I was pleasantly surprised to have received 3 letters...more than almost my whole mission combined. Thank you to Bro Monn for the monthly update!! I also got a really great letter with pictures from Emily. Mom, I love the card!! Thanks. I needed something new to stick above my study area.

An interesting thing stuck out to me from the conference. It's not enough to make sure the calf stays away from danger, we need to be there for the rescue as well. They need protection just as much as the preparation. In reference to new members and youth. We can't just rely on preparing them for the hard times, but also picking up the pieces. This particular principle became really evident last night as we were getting ready for bed. We'd had an appointment with Janosch and Shirley right after arriving back from Conference. We could feel that something was up, but we'd brought a member with us so we knew they weren't going to open up with us. Shirley always leaves Sun night at 4 to go to Berufschule (like Votech where you learn skills for a job) and we always make out an appointment to meet with Janosch during the week. This time, he said he'd call us later to make out the appointment. Later, when he called, he told us that he's moving to Graz. Things with Shirley have taken a turn and he's moving out. He emphatically assured us that he's still going to go to church and so will Shirley. If I'd heard that from anyone else I wouldn't have believed it, but Janosch bore his testimony to us and we knew he would. We're going to meet with him every Tues when we're in Graz for District meeting until we can transitition him over to the Elders there for more regular meetings. This is a blessing in disguise because the whole reason Shirley and Janosch didn't set a baptismal date was because they weren't married. They want baptism so bad, so we began praying for something to work out (mainly for their families to accept each other) and now it has. We'll be able to get Shirley baptized since she was ready long before we started teaching Janosch. And Janosch is strong enough to handle the transition to the Elders. AND he'll be able to go to Gen Conference there this weekend. (Us too).

Today, Sis Alder and I rented bikes. WAY TOO MUCH FUN!!! We're going along a trail around the city. Should be great. The weather is BEAUTIFUL today.

Gotta go teach the gospel and praise creation!
Auf Wiedersehn!
Schwester Lind (sounds so much better than Sister)

As for mail - I'll let you know on Mondays if I'll be transferred or not. Sis Alder gets mail on Thurs/Fri when they mail it Mon so let's give that a try. We're currently in the 3rd week of transfers so the next date that I could possibly be transferred is Oct 18th. I would find out that Sunday the 17th, and wouldn't actually leave until Wed. So there's a suggestion as far as mail. Also, I can't send pics to Tay, so if you could forward this to him sans pictures. Thank you!

SIS THURSTON - - - Good luck in the MTC. You'll be great and the people you'll teach in NC will appreciate the preparation you'll go through there as well. P.S. I got your letter. I've decided you're definitely in charge of the roommate newsletter when we're all old and married.
ASHLEY - - - You've been on my mind a lot this week. I hope everything is going great. You're amazing and don't let anything get you down. Dance a little 'Parlez Vous Francais' for me.

Yo-doh-lay-he-whooo!!!! (20.9.10)

Address:

Kirche Jesu Christi

Sister Anne Lind

Salzlände Str 15\21

8700 Leoben

Österreich

I am in the heartland of Austria in a Bundesland called Steiermark (Styria) which is the home of Yodeling and incomprehensible German. I thought Bayerisch was hard to understand, Steirisch is IMPOSSIBLE! I'm determined to learn something. It's really funny to hear two Steirische speaking.Our district is based in Graz and our stake is the Wien (Vienna) Austria stake. And, since it's conference coming up I'll get to go there. I'M SO EXCITED!!!

Bruck an der Mur is AMAZING!!!! It's a little city nestled in the middle of the Alps. We actually live in a town called Leoben which is like a little Provo because of the University that is located there. Our entire ward covers about 300km long. It's a bunch of little cities and only one ward (located in Bruck an der Mur which is on the extreme east of the area). It's a car area, but there is a train that we use occasionally. Our district meeting each week is in a city called Graz which is south from us. We'll take the train there. My companion is sister Alder from Beaverton Oregon. She's the friend from BYU I told you about being in my mission. She's AWESOME and I really feel like this is the actual start to my mission. We're both the same age, have the same likes, and love to experiment when cooking. Pretty much you could say that we're the same person. Sister Schulthess was transferred to Singen (Germany) which is West on Bodensee, right on the Swiss border. She'll finish her mission there as she goes home end of October. She's actually training my German-branch MTC companion (of four days).

I usually wear a different pair of shoes each day or every couple of days. Nothing is being worn out yet except for a shirt or two. I really like the Walmart ones I got because they are comfortable and easily layered, and easy to throw on. I save my nice button-down ones for meetings or when President does interviews. So as you can imagine, those aren't worn quite as much. I really really really love my cardigans and I wear one of those every day so maybe in a couple of months I'll look into getting a couple others.

Tay - an L-shaped rip is usually how fabric tears in clothing so don't think you're special this time. PS I want to hear this dog attack story, I seemed to have missed that one. Also, did you get that card I sent from München?

I don't remember ever going to the Boardwalk so I think dad had a made-up memory. I do remember going to a literal BOARD WALK when we went with the Cheek's to the beach. The time we went with you to AC it was yucky and raining the whole time. There's a really good chocolate here that a member gave me before I left that had rospetals and white chocolate. I kinda liked it even though I despise white chocolate. P.S. mom, if you got those runny caramels...they're one of my favorites.

Pic 1 - Little German grandma in München (Schw Bayer)

2 - From a mountain we drove over to get to church

3 - Leoben (sorry about pic, it was raining)

4 - a bridge for the autobahn

The new apartment is HUGE. We actually have a separate bedroom, a separate study area, and the toilet is not in the same room as the shower (it's down the hall). This apartment isn't as well stocked with things as the München apartment, but the basics we have (except for spoons). This area used to be an Elders only area, then it was closed up until about 3 months ago when they reopened it and Sis Alder was there when that happened. What'S super great though is that it's not above a garage so the floors aren't freezing cold and the heaters actually work. Since it's such a vast area, we get a car. Each month we have 2000 km to use. Last transfer there was a Sister here (with Sis Alder) who had been sent home because she'd gotten tendonitis, not told anyone, then got frostbite to top it off, so they mostly drove which means that our miles for the rest of the month are scarce. That Sister was transferred to where I was (in the same apt and everything) and has been assigned to be a secretary in the office along with her new companion. We have to buy tickets whenever we use the trains (unless we call the office and get the preordered), but we are reimbursed for stuff like that. Before leaving München, President Condie asked me to get a driver's license so I need to start doing that. The procedure is that I will pay up to $100 and then the rest will be reimbursed. I'll have to get a doctor'S appt and other little things such as getting a translation of my license so that's why it's expensive. I'll keep zou up to date on that though. Don't have anything with that this coming week.

Most of our tracting is street because of the area. We drive to an appt or referral, then walk around before and after. If the referral isn't there, then we 'door' the building meaning we knock\klingel on every door in the building.

We have a really really really great investigator couple named Janosch and Shirley. They have a 3yr old son named Lukas. Janosch is from HUngary and Shirley is from Brazil. Their story is that they were in the wrong crowds and Shirley got pregnant at 17. When Lukas was born, they moved in together and have been happily unmarried ever since and have really changed their lives around completely. They truly love each other and Lukas so much. Shirley was contacted on the street and invited the missionaries to come teach her. She accepted everything with open arms and really wants to be baptiyed. Then she invited Janosch to meet with the missionaries as well. He accepted and really takes everything in as well. He wants to be baptized too, but he and Shirley have to get married first. And they know that and want to do it. The only problem is that their families are very very much against their getting married. His dad wants him to marry a HUngarian and her mom (living in Graz) just hasn't accepted Janosch as the best one for her daughter. Exciting news though is that Shirley gave us her mother'S address and we're going by on Tues when we're in Graz for disctri meeting.

You'll have to tell me about the underground bunker. It sounds super interesting. My kind of thing.

Church on Sunday was interesting. It was nice to noly be in charge of one branch...much less stressful. There's a 30yr old guy here from Hershey who's a grad student here at the University. I had to translate for him. We meet on the second floor of an apt building, but the area we meet in was rebuilt into a church for us. The branch is about the size of our branch in Bray. And it's populated by all old people. A couple and their baby, and two older people are transplants from Graz. Meaning, they live in Graz (1hr away) but their calling is to serve in our branch. There used to be a branch in each city with loads of members, but when they reduced it to the current branch in Bruck, the numbers died instantly. It's just too far to travel.

Today, Sister Alder and I are going to rent bikes and go for a ride since this is the first day all month that it hasn't rained at all.

This weekend is Stake Conference and so we're traveling up to Vienna on Fri and doing 24 hour Austausches (exchanges) with the Sisters there then coming back with the branch Sun afternoon. Next weekend we'll go to Graz and stay with members for General Conference.

Tschüßi Baba!!

Sister Lind

P.S. mail stuff to me. We're in an actual apartment building so it's fine for packages too. If you have doubts about something...send to the office. They'll get it to me ASAP.

Dirndl day (16.8.10)

Servus!

This week has been crazy!! First off, the ancient old pipes to our building broke so we've been without hot water for 9 days now. Our apartment is above the garage in it's own building so according to our assumptions of what the land lord said (in Bayrisch) we're not that important. I didn't think I'd be taking sponge baths at age 21. Each morning, we boil four pots of water and then take turns in the bathroom. Pres and Sis Condie were in our ward again this week (they're usually traveling the mission) so we told them about it. Sis Condie invited us to come shower at the Mission Home any day we wanted to. TODAY WAS THAT DAY!! You never realize how much zou miss a hot shower till you have to "sponge it". At 7am this morning, a huge backhoe came into the little couryard, so we have hope that we'll have hot water soon.

News - We've got another baptism planned. Barbara, from Nigeria, has been following the crowd of Africans that come to church each week. We finally got a meeting with her. Her only hesitancy is that she thinks she'll have to be perfect 'no sin' after she's baptized. The Sundaz School lesson this week solved that problem. She'll be baptiyed the same day as Comfort. AND, we found out the Elders have a baptism scheduled that day as well, so we're going to have a "triple dunking" (according to Gabriel, who was baptised on Sunday).

Food Story AGAIN - We teach Comfort every Sat and Sun and she always feeds us when we come on Sat. This week we had another adventure. She had made "Pounded Yam" which is a powdered yam mixed with boiling water. It's sort of like reallz really stiff mashed potatoes. She put a softball-sized kugel on our plates then went for the soup. Sis Schulthess had told me about a similar dish called Fu Fu, where zou take off pieces (with aour hands) dip it in the soup and then swallow it. NO CHEWING!! I got nervous and my throat tightened up. She returned with soup with a nice, big, gray FISH staring out of the pot at us. Before she dished that out, she slopped some okra 'soup' (more like paste) onto our plates which had stringy stickyness coming from it. THHEN she glopped soup and a hunk of the fish on our plates. I waited for some silverware, but my companion just laughed. Here we were, sitting on a couch in an itty bitty room with our plates in our laps and no utensils. Off we went. Fingers and all! The fish = catfish. I accidentally swallowed a little bone which doesn't feel good. We called Sis Condie when we got home and she told me to drink hot fluids. The bone is gone, but my throat is killing me. And, I think with all the rain we've been getting, I may have a little tingle. From this experience, I learned that when zou just swallow food, zou get fuller faster. And now, I have no qualms about swallowing pills....of anything else for that matter.

We have a new investigator. Her name is Gioma, from Nigeria. The Elders found her and gave her to us. She just had surgerz to have a tumor removed and that surgery has caused her to go blind. She's onlz about 27. We went to her Asylum to meet with her and when we arrived, the guards wouldn't let us in. They told us to go to the office and get permission so we trudged 3 blocks and got a note from the man in charge. Back at the Asylum, the guards looked at the note, conversed a little under their breaths, then laughed and said we weren't allowed in. Sis Schulthess was MAD!!! Apparently, the Jehovah Witnesses had been there the day before and caused a ruckus so they think we're going to do the same.

Bought a Dirndl today. It's blue with a red Schirtzl (apron). The Elders and Assistants invited us to go to Dachau concentration camp, but every tourist attraction is closed on Mondays. We're planning a big trip to Neuschwanstein at the end of this transfer.

I'm now officially reading only my GErman scriptures. Pres gave all the new missionaries a mini german bible and it's wonderful. I'm also finallz comfortable teaching a lesson by myself.

Missionarz work is fantastic!! It's no picnic that's for sure, but I really enjoy it when we have an appointment to meet with people. Wandering around stopping people on the street for two hours is not so fun. We're meeting with an extremelz inactive woman named Schwester Cheeseman (not KäseMann, CHEESEman). We just go and give a spiritual thought. Last time, her daughter and Enkelin were there (non memebers) and by the end, they all said they'd be coming to church on Sunday. We're doing something right.

Interesting Fact - It's true that South America has the most baptisms, but Germany has the highest retention rate in the church!!! TAKE THAT TAY!!! There are stubborn people, but the ones who listen, stick with it forever and truly believe. That's given me hope that we'll find people who'll listen....even after 20 doors being slammed in our faces. No one has let us in nor asked to meet with us from the street, but the lessons are powerful. Like I said before, the gospel goes to the humble and poor before the rich will even taste of it. I hold to that firmly.

No photos this week - tghe internet cafe computer is having issues.

Servus!!

Sister Lind

PS our nametags say 'Sister' because Schwester is associated with a nun. Definitely don't want to be that.

I will now be serving in.... (13.9.10)

Bruck an der Mur (Austria, near Graz).

Transfer calls came Thurs night and both Sister Schulthess and I will be leaving München. It was quite a surprise (and very rare) for both companions to be transferred. Their replacing us with Sisters who will be serving in the main office. They won't be in our apt but our positions\wards. Every six weeks are transfers so watch out when mailing. If it's close to the sixth week, safest thing is to send it to the office. I'd say to keep the ward bulletin up to date and maybe put the mission office address on like the 5th week of a transfer just in case someone writes to me.

It was funny when we told people because we never get appointments with members (besides old ladies) and when the news leaked out (from the Assistants and the Secretaries) everyone began to invite us over for our final Abendessen. The next three days are packed. We even have to make appointments for the new sisters coming in.

Comfort was baptized yesterday and it was PHENOMENAL!!! I finished the dresses Sat night (could only work on them during food breaks\Pday) and the day couldn't have been better. Sister Schulthess and I had to do the music and speak so it was packed, but absolutely wonderful. About 7 of Comfort's friends came and were 'so impressed and touched' by the service (they came to church AND the baptism) that we were able to make appointments with every one of them (between us and the Elders).

Check out the Ensign from Jan 2001. There's a little article\blurb about the Book of Mormon finding someone. That article is about a man from Nigeria who lives in the international ward here. Also, while preparing a talk for Comfort's baptism, I came across an article that I used that had a blurb by Sis Loski (Sept 2008 Ensign, pg 22).

We went to the JAE (YSA) dinner the other day and come to find out one of them served in the Düsseldorf stake and even in Osnabrück. Turns out, the branch is now a ward and there's a branch in Bad Bentheim. Also, there are MANY ACTIVE MEMBERS IN NORDHORN. That's amazing!!! It blew me away when I found that out.

That's so random about Keri's parents meeting up with Tay. As we'd always say....ONLY IN UTAH AND ONLY MORMONS. Sounds like he's doing great. Is he in Santiago itself or a little suburb. His email to me wasn't very clear.

Schöne Grüße aus München
SISTER LIND

München Zone Conference\Neuschwantstein Pic 13.9.10

Group photo from Zone Conference mid August
Last week's Pday adventure to Neuschwanstein.

Pictures from Comfort's Baptism (13.9.10)

I made the dresses Sister Schulthess and I are wearing. She made the ties that the Elders are wearing. Luckily we found a baptismal dress to fit COmfort (she's a little well-endowed).

Castles Galore (6.9.10)

Just got back from spending the day (more like 2 hours) at Neuschwanstein Castle. It took 3 hours to get there and 3 hrs back. Having to be back at 6 didn't help either so it was a short visit. BEAUTIFUL!! My camera battery just died so I will send pictures next week. Hopefullz you'll want to go down there and see it when you come. Especially since Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was filmed in the area.

We're planning Comfort's Baptism this week. Sis Schulthess and I are speaking and doing the music. She also gave us material for African dresses so I'm making us some awesome dresses after the super simple example and pattern she gave us. They're awesome so stay tuned for pictures.

Other than that, not much new to tell. We only have 20 min before Pday ends so this is a short email.

Love

SIS Lind (wie die Schokolade ohne T)

Dad - any packages, please send to the mission office (Lommel Str 7) and not my apt. With transfers coming up this week and the fact that there'd be no place for it to be dropped off, the office is safest.

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