Rain and Church

Well, we had a great week! On Monday night we had the privilege to have a Family Home Evening with President & Sister Freestone, Elder & Sister Clark and Sean. We had a yummy pizza from Domino's for dinner and then we had a spiritual thought by President Freestone on gratitude. We watch the Mormon Message about living in Thanksgiving daily and we spoke of something we're grateful for. It was pretty nice. We got to Sean and he started talking, and talking, and talking and he almost shared his whole life story speaking about what he's grateful for. It was quite epic! xD But all in all a good FHE.

We also got to meet with Kostas and his girlfriend this week. We drove back out to the little village they live in. We met with both of them this time. They are really cool and nice! We just spoke with them about God and who He is to them. Then they asked us about marriage and family. We explained a little about the temple and about eternal marriage. They seemed to like the idea. We'll see if they can commit themselves enough.

We had an exchange with Elder Barber and Elder Hatton this Friday. It was a really good experience. I got to spend the day with Elder Barber and I discovered that he's an extraordinary missionary. I was very impressed with him. I saw the Lord's mercy in our life this week. When we woke up it was raining like nothing I've ever seen in Greece. All of us were just really dreading the moment we had to go outside after our studies. So, I prayed that we wouldn't get drenched in my morning prayer. Then as soon as we finished our language study the train stopped. We didn't even have a drop hit us during all the time we were out! We also had the mercy to have a lesson with a man that the Elders had been trying to meet for weeks without success. We just walked to the guy's shop and he was there and available and we were able to have pretty good lesson with him about God's nature and how the gospel could help him. Afterwards Elder Barber said that he hadn't ever expected to be able to meet with him. He'd always been telling them that he was busy...

I saw the hand of the Lord in our lives on Sunday too. We got to church and were helping Ralph with the Sacrament. After we finished with that and came out of the Sacrament Room we bumped into to gentlemen from Africa (some country I can't spell or remember) and they were looking around rather forlorn. We spoke to them and welcomed them in to the meeting room for them to have a seat. I got to speak with them a little before the meeting started and it turned out that they'd been invited by someone to come to church. I didn't catch who invited them the first time and we got talking more. They are French-speaking but one of them had decent English. They did great during the meeting. They both tried to sing along with the hymns, which impressed me immensely.

As we got talking after the Sacrament Meeting I asked them again who brought them and they pointed and said that it had been that "old lady over there". I followed their finger and I saw Helen at sitting over there! Helen is and elderly lady that likes to speak to herself. She comes to church every Sunday and also goes to the branch that is in the afternoon at the Akropolis. She isn't all there and couldn't be baptized because of it; however, she has a sweet spirit. I was impressed just how much the church means to her to see that she would invite some people to come to church with her. Even when you don't understand everything, the Spirit that you feel in church makes a great difference and anyone who doesn't harden his heart can feel it.

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Training and Exchange

This week we had a training with President Freestone on Tuesday. As always it was a spiritual feast and also a nutrition feast. We enjoyed great food prepared for us by the senior couples. During the training we spoke a lot about our mission plan and the action plan we have to achieve our mission goals. It was really good, because we'd all worked together on these goals and actions that we wished to take. So everyone was in agreement about them and wanted to do these things. It seemed to me that the statement by Elder David E. Bednar "Revelation is scattered among us" is really true. We also watched a driving safety movie that we're supposed to see every year. It was quite amusing. Though, I'm not sure how effective it was. Athens traffic is just quite different from anything you can imagine. :)

Elder Rahal and I relaxing after training in the Dungeon (Elder Jensen's and my abode).

We had a few experiences this week where I felt the hand of the Lord in my life. The two experiences that stick out to me this week happened both during the exchange we had this Saturday-Sunday.
During my exchange with Elder Dale we worked for about 5h in Nikaia doing contacting and some tracting. We were about two hours in to contacting and we'd been rejected quite a bit and I was feeling a little discouraged by that time, when we turned into a small park which included a playground with a fair amount of families on it. As we walked in I suggested we go past the playground first and walk up to the man sitting on the bench on the far side first and then work our way back. As we approached the man on the bench he started berating us for trying to change people and started pontificating about something or another (I tuned him out fairly quickly). We wrapped up that dead-end conversation and zeroed in on the playground. The first family: cold rejection! The second family waved us away too. We were about to leave the playground when Elder Dale spoke to a mother and two girls (one late teens and one around 10). The mother was super friendly and spoke with us and accepted a Book of Mormon. She didn't really want to meet to learn more at the time but she was just so friendly and upbeat, that I was again encouraged to continue and we were again enthusiastic about the work.

Another experience of how the Lord guides and helps us was a little more indirect. Elder Jensen and I have been thinking about transfers and we had figured out a transfer board which we felt pretty good about the evening before the exchange. Then we had the exchange and we worked hard with our exchange partners and then on Sunday afternoon when Elder Jensen and I drove up to the office from the church after finishing the exchange, Elder Jensen turned to me and said we have to change the transfers. I was relieved because I felt exactly the same way. So, we were very glad for the Lord making sure that we scheduled our exchanges like we did, for this gave us the information that lead to the inspiration to change the transfers again.

I'm glad that we always can rely on the Lord to help us perform His work. It isn't always easy the Lord's way but it always is possible. I've found that He lets you struggle just enough for you to learn and grow but never for you to fail in what is really important.

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Roundabouts and Switzerland

This week we had some great experiences teaching the gospel. We got to go visit a referral from Switzerland xD out in a village out of Athens. His name is Kostas and he's Greek but he lived in Switzerland for a little while. It was really cool for us to go and visit him. It took us a super long time but we got there and he turned out to be a great man. He is very sincere and was taught quite a bit already. He said he was reading from the Book of Mormon and how he wanted to learn more still.

What I feel, was the Hand of the Lord in his life, is that he got in contact with the church in Switzerland at bus stop close to his house. He'd only been in Switzerland for 2 months when he met the missionaries and only a month later he had to leave again. I really think that he went to Switzerland to be able to come into contact with the church in a more neutral (no pun intended) setting. I really hope that he'll take this opportunity and continue with the church up to being able to strengthen the kingdom.

We had some other cool experiences. On Wednesday morning we called President Freestone if we could come over to his house (down the road) to pick up some desks for our apartment from the  ones he has in storage. He said sure. So we took the van and drove over. When we got in the house we met President Freestone drenched from head to toe. It turns out that a pipe had broken in the room with the water heater and water was just spraying everywhere. President had tried to find the valve that would close off the water. During the time we were there he managed to find the valve and someone came over and we could get repairs arranged. I'm just glad that we'd decided that morning to try and pick up the desks. Because, we'd considered doing it another day and then President Freestone might not have noticed the leakage for a much longer time.

We also had an exchange on Thursday. That was really fun. We got to be outside all day doing contacting. I worked with Elder Kopischke and we said that we'd talk with everyone we crossed paths with. That was a great experience. We managed to give out 9 BoM to people on the street throughout the day just speaking with them all. We also met some very interesting people. We met one funny guy who spoke to us on and on explaining that he didn't really like words because they can't truly explain reality. (He sure like to hear himself talk considering how much he hated words and language xD). That was funny and just before him we met an elderly Greek man that got quite worked up about the Swiss. Why didn't they just give a check to Greece with all their money to help the Greeks. It was just all so unfair.... I understand that he was upset but I didn't quite know how Switzerland could pay for all of Greece's debt. Well, it was at least a very entertaining day.

Driving has been a treat here in Athens. People are crazy on the roads. Wow, it is quite amazing how crazy people drive. And you have to adapt or you don't survive xD So, I'll probably be worse driver for having driven here xD That's ok I guess... They do have some really strange rules and things on the streets here. I found them quite difficult to adjust to. In Greece, the person coming into the roundabout has the right of way. So you sometime have people just stopping in the middle of the roundabout to let someone in. It is quite disconcerting. I've also seen some strange stuff like stop signs and a traffic light right next to it. I also saw a stop sign coming into a roundabout. I seems that they like their stop  signs here. NOT that anyone pays attention to them xD

What our screen looks like on an average computer day.

It has been a great week and many cool things have happened. We're going to have a specialized training next Tuesday which I'm looking forward to and another exchange.

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Driving and Korinth

Wow, what a week. This has been crazy. I've been busy, busy, busy, busy.... There hasn't been a calm minute, that I can remember. But we also got to go on a great trip to Korinth.

The temple of Apollo that you can see in your LDS bible.

My term as Assistant to the President started on Tuesday morning with driving the missionaries to the airport to let them fly to Cyprus. Then we picked up one coming down from Thessaloniki. We headed back to the mission office. Only a few short hours later we went back to the airport to pick up the new missionaries coming in from the MTC. They are five new missionaries. They are really great missionaries and speak already amazing Greek. After bringing them back to the mission office we just turned around and went back to the airport to pick up the missionaries coming from Cyprus. Phew, that day with all the transport of missionaries we drove more than 460 km. It was quite amazing...

Then we had training for new missionaries on Wednesday. Elder Jensen and I had to do a 2.5h presentation during that training. We were only companions since Tuesday. We might have been scrambling to get it prepared the morning before we had to do the training. But don't let anyone know xD We managed pretty well, I think. At least we didn't forget anything.

We also managed to teach a bit this week. We met with a new investigator who is Greek American. He is quite interested and also quite talkative. xD We managed to meet him twice and he then came to church on Sunday. That was great. He enjoyed the services and wants to meet more often. I think it was also good to make a bit of an impression on the branch as a new missionary there.

Well, I had a wonderfully simple and nice view of the Lord's hand in my life. This weekend I told Elder Jensen that I'd like to forge good relations with the members in the Halandri branch. So as to strengthen them but also to just help them trust us and help us in missionary work.

In church we had Fast & Testimony meeting and after the first testimony there was silence and I felt that I should get up and take the chance to bear my testimony and introduce myself. So I did and it was nice to do so. I made an concerted effort during the proceedings to speak all the members there and be especially friendly. At the end of the meetings we were invited by the Fam. Karamboulas (Branch Pres. & Wife) and after we'd left the church we got a text message from the Frost (American family working there) family inviting us to dinner. So I guess I made an alright impression on my first Sunday.

I hope that we'll be able to work with these and all the members and help them spread the joy of the gospel. xD

We got to go to Korinth today! That was a great treat. We walked and talked and stood where Paul, the Apostle walked, talked and stood. It was humbling and really awesome! The company was great with all the missionaries and we also enjoyed some wonderful view!

Hoodlums and Hikes

This week I had a special experience on Wednesday. It was quite disturbing at the time but now it makes me rejoice in my Savior and my God! Here goes:

We just got off the bus and rounded the corner of the metro station Attiki and were walking along the back road of the station. We were on our way to an appointment with an investigator. As we walked down the road we crossed the road to the far side from the metro in anticipation of turning at the end of the road. As we walked on this side of the road we approached three young men (about 20) and the tallest of them spoke to us in English asking us if we spoke English. Elder Uhlig said "Yes" and I answered in Greek saying "Nai" because I could tell that they were Greeks from the accent and looks. They continued speaking to us in Greek and asked who we were and we replied that we were missionaries. I could already tell that this conversation wasn't going anywhere and I tried to slowly continue walking. Then one said in a very accusatory tone that we were JW, adding that he didn't like this denomination. We denied that and tried to continue walking when one grabbed Elder Uhlig and the other me by our bags and the third yelled STOP. Surprised we stopped and as we turned they said that we should stay right there and then the short one came up to us and as they were talking he backhanded Elder Uhlig, and as Elder Uhlig stared at him in surprise he backhanded him again, knocking his glasses down. As Elder Uhlig turned to and bent over to pick up his glasses the man that had been holding him kicked him in the stomach. I was watching this in horror and I turned to those people to say or yell something when the short one that had hit Elder Uhlig slapped me in the face. I stepped back still not quite comprehending what was going on. And then Elder Uhlig gathered enough of his wits about him to yell for help in Greek. As he did this one of the young men kicked me in the leg and I wanted to walk away when they grabbed me and yelled "Stay here" in Greek. Then I heard what I thought was Elder Uhlig say to me "Run". As I heard that I thought that was a very good idea, I'd better do that. So I knocked the hand away of the guy grabbing me and I turned and ran, Elder Uhlig right next to me. We reached some people further down the street. The three men didn't pursue us and turned a corner.

Well, the hand of the Lord in this story is the following. As Elder Uhlig and I spoke later in the day we recounted to each other what we remembered. As I told him about his great idea to run he said to me, that he hadn't yelled that but he'd heard it too and he'd thought it was me. He himself had thought that it was a good idea and was proud of me to have yelled it. Well, I know I didn't say anything. And Elder Uhlig is sure he didn't. But we both agree that we heard someone yell "Run". We've come to the conclusion that it must have been the Spirit of the Lord telling us to run so we would realize what we needed to do. And he had to say it audibly for us to recognize it in the time of distress. I know no other explanation. So this is a grand testimony to me of the Lord's hand in my life. I know that he's looking out for me and that he's taking care of us. We need only be worthy of His Spirit's guidance and we shall be led by the hand and He shall go before us and His angels shall be round about us.

One other miracle this week occurred this Sunday. We've had some great lessons with our investigators from Ghana. And we got them to agree to come to church with us on foot. Church attendance has been a big problem for them because of financial difficulties and also a fear of the police. So, we offered to walk with them to church and we promised that they would have no problems if they walked with us. So on Sunday at 12 we met at their house and after we said a heartfelt prayer pleading for protection we headed out. Oh, it was a long walk. Over an hour through the center of Athens. I think we made motley group of seven traipsing through narrow roads and hurrying across large crossroads. However they made it to church safely. They had a great time there and after the meetings we put on our coats and walked back with them. It was a great experience and a wonderful way to end the transfer. We also had an Iranian family come to church (Father, mother and child.) and we had two of our Greek speaking investigators come to church in the morning. So we had 9 people we'd invited attend church with us this Sunday! It was awesome! I"m excited for this area next transfer. The next missionaries better do a good job xD

Well, now I'm going to move to the office this evening. Bye bye Sepolia. Hello paper work... xD I've been called by the mission president to serve as his assistant. That means I help a lot in planning the things of the mission. I assist in training missionaries. I do many administrative things for President Freestone. The truly great part of this arrangement is that I will soon get to drive a car. xD First time in 1.5 years. I'm excited!

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