May 29, 2012 Street Display and Baptism in French Branch

Street Display in Saarbrucken, Germany

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Well here we are.

So basically we had a couple of things happen this week. We had a
street display which was cool and we also had a baptism in the 
French branch.

The street display was fun. It was really hot though with the sun
shining on us. I did end up with a slight singe. However, that was
alleviated significantly by the wind. We also got these really cool
street display signs, but the problem with them was that they wont
stand up in the wind and because the center city is like a wind
funnel, they were totally useless. We still had a good time even
though it seemed like everything was going against us that day. We
still had some good conversations with people.

Then the French branch had a baptism which was way cool. We got to
listen in French and eat some food afterwards. They had more people
then the Saarbrücken ward did. Haha.

And with the baptism the French elders came too. There was of course
the one that Elder Wilkinson and I poke fun at and then the one who I
am pretty sure I saw at the MTC.

Yeah, that's about it.

1.  Did you get to go to the place that has the church in the side of
the cliff? 
No... We ran out of money, we planned to go today, but the
Elders in Idar Oberstein checked out...again. So we will see some of
the sights here in Saarbrücken that are normally closed on Mondays.

2.  Did you get transferred or did Elder Wilkinson get transferred? 
We aren't sure yet; our conference call is on Saturday.

3.   Are the people in Germany typically blond and blue-eyed? 
It varies a lot. The stereotype of German people is, of course, a
stereotype.

4.  Have you seen any of the new Bible videos from the church yet?  
No I haven't yet, I guess that's something to look up today...

5.  We're having Memorial Day here on Monday.  Does Germany celebrate
that holiday? 
Yeah they do. It's actually the day of Pentecost. They
call it Pfingsten.

6.  The Indy 500 was today.  Does Germany have race car races like
that? 
I don't really know. I am somewhat lacking in German television
and sports.

7.  I liked hearing about the sausages in jars in your last letter.
What is the strangest thing you've eaten since you've been in Germany?
They use a lot of mushrooms. I never liked mushrooms before my mission,
but now I love them.

8.  Have you tried anything that you would like to learn to make when
you get back home?

9.  Have you been writing in your mission journal? 
Uhhh... Not really.
It's really hard to do it... I write notes though!

10.  When is the next time you will be in Frankfurt at the mission
home? 
Probably in February when I go home. I don't really like being in
the middle of everything, which is Frankfurt.

11.  Do you have a favorite scripture? 
 I have lots. Check out 2 Nephi 9.  It has a lot of good doctrine in it.

12.  What hymns are your favorites to sing in German?  Do you know
"Praise to the Man" in German? 
My favorite is a Christmas one called
"Weit, Weit Entfernt dort in Morgenland." I still like "Praise to the
Lord the Almighty". I can play part of it on the piano.

13.  Did you find a euphonium yet? 
Yep! But I don't think I can rent it
or borrow it. I found it in a store in the middle of nowhere in
Scheidt.

Well that's about it for this week. I will let you know what happens later!

Elder Trevor Baker

May 21, 2012 Time goes by so fast!

Well, it's been another one of those weeks. 

There is a new initiative in Saarbrücken to try to reactivate less actives. The a bunch of people from the stake are coming as well as all the missionaries in the Zone to visit a bunch of people. It sounds like it should be fun.

Yeah, I went to Kaiserslautern last week and was with the Zone Leaders for the day. That was weird. Elder Telfer is going home in a couple weeks. I remember doing a split with him last year at this time. 

Its weird how quickly things are changing here. We don't know if Elder Wilkinson will go, or I will. We are already at week 5 this transfer which means I have 6 transfers left. Time goes by so fast. 

Next week we plan to go to Idar Oberstein for P-day. They have a church built into the side of a cliff so we want to go check it out.

1.  How many zones are in your mission, and how many zones have you served in? 

There are 7 and I have served in 3. The zones are Frankfurt, Heidelberg, Kaiserslautern, Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Erfurt, and Nürnberg. I have been in Düsseldorf, Kaiserslautern, and Nürnberg. 

2.  How many missionaries are in your mission? 

 I think there are around 170 or something.

3.  Did the numbers increase or decrease after the mission in Switzerland changed and didn't allow any non-Swiss missionaries? 

They changed the missions at that time (so I think) and the numbers decreased.

4.  How many new missionaries do you think you get in your mission each month? 

We are about to get an influx of about 50 new missionaries within the next 3 transfers. The number varies monthly.

5.  How often do missionaries enter your mission?  Is it every six weeks like your transfers? 

Yeah it's every 6 weeks.

6.  What kind of training do you get when you get to Germany?  

Well, we basically get thrown into the mix of things. Its cool.

7.  Have you ever traveled alone on your mission like during transfers? 

Nope, my trainer has once though. It never really happens.

8.  What is something you want to see in Germany before you come home? 

Yeah, there's this cute girl in one one of the wards I was in...haha jk

9.  Do the mission presidents of the different missions like Frankfurt and Berlin ever get together? 

Yeah, they have lots of meetings. They are always in Frankfurt though.

10.  Do you still keep in contact with Elder Baum?  Is he still in Wesel? (I can't believe Elder Mayle is going home soon!  That seems quick!) 

Yeah, I talk to him sometimes. He is doing well.

11.  How often do you do your laundry? Once a week. 

12.  What is something you see sold in German grocery stores that you don't see here?
Hot dogs in glass jars. Haha

13.  Do many people have piercings or tattoos there? Yeah, lots actually.

14.  Have you ever asked members how they joined the church (if they are converts)? Yeah, when we have eating appointments it usually comes up. It's cool.

15.  Do the members ever give you referrals? Not very often. 

16.  Do you teach investigators in members' homes or in the investigators' homes? I have a couple of times in Nürnberg. But other than that, no.

17.  Who were you riding with in the car in the video?  Who was driving? So that was Elder Harty. He was in Ramstein but he is not in Bitburg. That was the second split I did with him. He is pretty cool.

18.  How often do you get to ride in a car to do your missionary work? Like on splits. That's about it. 

19.  Did the Elders from France tell you anything interesting about their mission or mission life there? The only time we talked with them was last transfer and they didnt talk about mission life at all. Just the areas and stuff like that.

Not much going on this week other than district meeting and stuff.

Well have a great week and I will talk to you later!

Elder Trevor Baker

May 7, 2012 Spam Musubi!

Well hello Everybody.
 Another week has passed. This week has been full of trying to contract less active members and a few appointments with investigators. First off, we have been riding in buses and bahns more than ever trying to squeeze go by's between appointments. So far we have made out a few appointments (mostly for next week), but we hope a lot of people will show up to a few of the wards activities. We have an activity next week where the brethren will be cooking for the sisters. It sounds like it should be fun and yesterday we practiced. We have been handing out lots of invitations to some of the sisters so we hope people show up. Then last week in Ward Council, the bishop asked if there were any missionaries who could play any instruments... I told him that I could (I haven't even touched a Euphonium in years). He seemed excited to hold a musical evening or something. We will see if an instrument ends up in my hands.

 So yeah, skype is good to go. I also had an eating appointment with some members here. They asked me what kind of food I would like and I said I didn't have a preference. Then they said if they didn't get any requests we wouldn't get food. So I said spam musubi. Well long story short, I ended up making spam musubi for the family and they loved it! I will send a couple pics. Anyways, this week has gone by way fast and I am glad you all got those pics I sent. Have a great next week!

 Well, here are some questions for this week.

 1. What do you think about the job I applied for at the district office?
 I think its cool; if you make more money and have enough time to get everything else done that needs to be, then I don' see why not.

 2. Is Elder Wilkinson a fun character? He looked like it in the pictures you sent.
 Yeah, he is pretty funny. He usually comes up with something else to joke about every day or so. We have a good time.

 3. Have you broken your glasses and don't want to tell me? I never see them on you, and since you've had glasses since you were in 1st grade, you probably still need them.
 No, I really haven't! I think I told you that my glasses are a little too powerful now. After wearing them for hours sitting on trains and stuff, my eyes start to get really tired. If you want me to take a picture of them and send it to you, I can.

 4. If you haven't broken your glasses, do you need new ones or a new prescription or something? I think you need to be able to see. It's kinda important! lol
 I don't think its a big deal. I still use them for reading and stuff, but its kinda handy not being able to see some things while on the street. What I mean by that is that its nice not being able to see all the porn shops around here.

 5. Have you ever met for church in a building other than a chapel? (Dad)
 Nope. Every branch and ward in our mission has its own building or office. The only one that I have seen that didn't have its own building was Idar-Oberstein. It's in a rented out office on the second floor.

 6. Have the places you've met for church always been wards or have some of them been branches? (Dad)
 Everywhere I have been has been a ward except for Wesel. That was still a branch.

 7. How far is Trier from Saarbruken?
 A 2 hour train ride.

 8. Is Elder Wilkinson happy to be skyping home to his family on Monday? One of the missionaries in our ward wasn't really interested in talking with his family. Maybe he's afraid he'll get homesick.
 Well, I don't think he will be skyping. I don't think he is that excited about it either.

 9. Emma wants to know if you miss her. heehee.
 Haha. I got her email too. Yeah. I miss everyone. But with my current release date, I am looking at a little more than 9 months left.

 10. Have any of your companions played musical instruments? Which companions and which instruments? (Dad)
 Let's see, Elder Mayle was the most musically talented he played piano, organ, and french horn. Actually, he was the only musical one.

 11. You said it was shorts weather. How hot is it right now? (Dad)
 Well, it WAS shorts weather. It's chilly again, but in spite of that, I am still wearing shorts. 

12. Everyone knows German drivers have a reputation for driving fast on the autobahn. Do they have a reputation for driving any other way? (Dad)
 No, they drive pretty crazily sometimes. They like to floor it and then hit the breaks a lot of the time. I could show you when I get back. =)

 13. What time does the internet cafe you are going to skype from open up?
 Early, it's never been closed since I have been here. It may go late into the night.

 14. Are German kids into video games as much as American kids are? (Dad)
 Oh yeah, one of the members that lives above me showed me some of the new computer games that came out recently. It was nice.

April 30, 2012 Visit to Trier

Hey guys this week has been pretty fun!

 So we went to Trier (the oldest city in Germany, so the story goes) to go see the robe of Christ. We saw it in the cathedral there but unfortunately I wasn't able to get a picture of it. They gave me one instead! It was pretty cool. I don't think it actually was the robe or tunic or whatever, but it was definitely old and apparently the only reason they showed it this year is because it's been 500 years or something since they first started putting it on display. It was definitely something cool to check out even though it was a hoax. I am glad to say that I did it and saw it! But seriously it looked like a 15th century night gown that was dragged through mud 500 years ago.

 We then went to La Porte Nigra in Trier. Apparently, it used to be an old roman fort. I took a bunch of pics and a couple vids. I will see if I can get those to you this week.

 Well, I guess the most exciting thing coming up is mothers day! That means that we get to skype! So here is the deal. That Monday we will be going to the internet cafe and I will skype you there. I will most likely be using my old skype account. I just checked and it still works. The account name is ..... and I will probably be able to skype whenever is most convienient for you on Monday. I have a time window from 10 am to 6 pm my time for the internet cafe. That's basically my entire pday. haha.

 Things here have been doing really we. Our main investigator is doing really well. She has started to work on the word of wisdom which is going to be a big challenge for her, but I know she can make it. She has made a ton of progress lately and she has been having a lot of support from the ward. Things are looking really exciting for her now. I am still working on the Book of Mormon challenge. That's to mark every reference to Christ, his attributes, and his words. I am in Alma now. Things should go smoother through the war chapters.

 This week's questions:
 1. Do you still have your investigators coming to church? (Grammie)
 Yeah actually. Our most promising investigator comes every week and even prepares herself better than most members for church. We are planning on setting a date with her this week.

 2. Which investigator made the most progress this week and tell us about it. (Dad)
 So she has been progressing really well. She found a job, loves to help people and has a great outlook on life. We have been meeting 3 or so times a week and she says that its been helping her a lot. We are working on the word of wisdom right now but we have to have patience with it.

 3. What was your favorite food item you ate this week? (Dad)
 Probably my cheap cereal (cinnamon toast crunch) with maple syrup used as milk. Then of course there were some nuts we got from a member from Macedonia. They were like really dry and they tasted like they were supposed to be healthy so we called them "Macedonian Health Nuts." I know its not that funny, but that's where we get our kicks and giggles from. Haha. Then of course Sister Schroeder. Oh my. The best meals ever are eaten at her house. We had a classic meat potato and vegetable course. It was way good.

 4. What day did you spend the longest on the trains and what were you doing? (Dad) Anytime we go to district meeting in Bittburg, we spend 2 hours on trains going to and then another 2 hours back. Its always nice to catch up on beauty sleep. Haha.

 5. Are you planning any more trips over to France for missionary splits? (Grammie)
 I actually have been in France on a split because we don't have an investigator that only speaks French and (or) the French Elders don't have any investigators who only speak German.

 6. How far are you actually from the border of France? (Mom)
 Like a 20 minute train ride or a 20 minute Strassenbahn ride.

 7. When are you going to send us a copy of the talk you gave in your Sacrament meeting? (Grammie)
 Probably not, I didn't have access to a computer because I had to write it the Saturday night before. Haha some things never change.

 8. Have you figured out how many miles a week you travel on the train on average? (Grammie)
 I have no idea. I don't even think about it.

 9. Have you gotten any new ties? (Grammie)
 Yeah actually, there is a sale going on that has ties for 2 for 2 Euro. They are pretty good quality and the silk ones are 1 for 2 Euro. I have around 20 new ones or so.

 10. Are the ties any different than the American ones? (Grammie)
 Yeah a lot. The stripes typically go the other direction, they are skinnier, and the colors are usually brighter and more saturated. American ties look really goofy now.

 11. Do you prefer the German style of clothing to the American style of clothing? Both church dress and casual. (Dad)
 I prefer German styles for dress clothing, but the German casual style is a lot like American style. I like the casual American better. There is something about a good pair of jeans and a t-shirt. The German Dress style is a little more form fitting and sleek. I like it.

 12. How is your new German suit? (Mom) I want to see a picture. : )
 It's been great. I may have a picture already, but we will see. I only wear it for Zone Conference and Church.

 13. Do people ride bikes much in your mission? (Dad)
 Hah, no. I rode bikes once as a golden and I haven't since. I know a lot of missionaries have fantasies about riding out to random hamlets and dooring them out. I don't because I know there are better things you could be doing, instead of wasting your time riding out into the middle of nowhere. And when you pick up an investigator out there you have to go back just to teach. It's a big time waster. I saw it a lot in Wesel. Sorry for the rant, but we live in a country with the best public transportation system in the world. We can get around really easily for the most part.

 Talk to you soon! Elder Trevor Baker