Email - June 10, 2013

Hahahahahaha I just laughed for ten minutes and had to email other people back first because I couldn't stop laughing at Dad's opening line. I think I have myself under control now though, and the German man next to me doesn't look as frightened.

 Are you all ready for the craziest news of the century? It's time. Transfer calls came Saturday morning and.....drum roll please....I AM GOING TO BE A FATHER. My son is boarding his plane tomorrow morning in Salt Lake City, and I'll pick him up on Thursday! And you wanna know what makes it even crazier. I'M NOT EVEN TRAINING IN EUSKIRCHEN! Elder Divver is! Again! I, bless my soul, am going to Erlangen, in the Nürnberg Zone baby! Hands down the prettiest area in the mission. I am still freaking out. There are three of us "goldens" who are finished being trained this week, who will be training as of Thursday, in our 3rd cycles. Poor kid in Provo right now, he has no idea what he's getting himself into. President must be running out of people to train, that's the only reason I can think of that I'm training after I just got trained, in an area I have never even seen. This is definitely going to be an adventure, to say the least. Elder Divver hates me though, because he was down where I am going before he came to Bonn, and he is in love with it. AND, me and my golden are opening up as the two new elders in Erlangen, so there will now be four elders there, and I believe we are all in the same apartment. This is like getting drafted by the Miami Heat, and everyone hates me because they love it there. I am so excited, and unbelievably terrified. I just got comfortable with how everything is running in E-town #1, and the success was really starting to take off, and then President Schwartz pulled a fast one and kicked me to Narnia. Isn't that how these mission things work though? The second you think you have it down, you don't. So next week, this email will be coming from an internet laden in Erlangen… if I am still alive.

 Well now that that is out of the way, let's get to the other news of this week: the baptism! This week was one I will definitely never forget, for so many reasons. On Thursday Martin was interviewed by our Zone Leaders and passed, and we got everything ready for Saturday. He asked Elder Divver if he would baptize him and if I would confirm him and confer him the Holy Ghost. I accepted before I realized it needed to be in German. OH CRAP. All Elder Divver did was laugh and say "I've never done that before! Usually it's the bishop or someone, I don't think I could even do it!" So I spent a lot of time on lds.org in German to find out how to say those things.

 On Saturday Divver and I got to the church early to fill up the font, and it was FILTHY. Spiders and cobwebs and dirt like you wouldn't believe. So by the time we cleaned it and got the water running, the service started in 15 minutes, and everyone knows those things take like an hour and a half to fill up. So the service started a little late and we stopped the water a little low, but it was still doable and Martin was baptized. I have never seen someone shine in my life before then, but he literally did. When he came up out of the water, he hugged Divver and just started bawling saying "I feel so clean." over and over. It's a scene I will never forget, I can promise you that.

 BUT, after the service when we were headed home, we got a call from President, after we realized that we had missed 6. That is NEVER a good sign. We answered and President told us that we need to drop any appointments we have and get on the next train to Köln to help out. So with just the clothes we had on, we went to Köln to spend the night, with church the next morning in E-town for the first time ever, AND Bonn where I was supposed to confirm Martin. So the next morning we caught the very first train to Euskirchen, and we showed up to the sacrament meeting about 15 minutes late, but it was packed and such a good service. But we couldn’t stay because the second it ended, we left with the bishop and he rushed us 40 minutes down to Bonn, so that I could sing in a musical number (surprise, surprise Elder McGinn! Welcome to my life) and then confirm Martin right after. To make a long story short, everything went well, and he is a legitimate member of the Church, I promise.

ANYWAY... That is my week. I'm still alive, and it's only going to get crazier, but I love the madness. It is hotter and more humid than I could ever imagine, but that means it's super pretty too, and will only get prettier in Bavaria and Erlangen. Win the Family Feud for me at the reunion, get some Icees, and keep enjoying the best time of the year! It all starts with my birthday. :) Thank you for the quote dad, I love that one. It's in PMG and it's the biggest comfort to me whenever I get frustrated with the language. Sincerity is everything. I love you all so much, and I can't wait to hear from you again and about any crazy things that went down in your lives.

 Die Kirche ist wahr, und dass Buch Mormon ist ein Beweis dafür. Wenn ihr irgendwelcher fragen habt, lies darin, und ihr werdet ein bestätigen bekommen, ich verspreche es dir. Vergiss mich nicht, und hab zuviel spaß ohne mich nicht! Ich habe euch lieb! (The church is true, and the Book of Mormon is a proof of that. If you have any questions, read it, and you will get a confirmation, I promise you. Do not forget me, and have too much fun without me! I love you!)

 -- Dein Lieblings

 --- Eldah McGinn