Hey Hey Hey, it's faaaaaaat Elder McGinn!
JK LOL, I'm not fat. I do love me some German Milka chocolate bars, but not enough to grow a second chin. :)
The baptism was indeed wonderful, and I have a picture of him and me rockin' some 3D specs at his house, so I'll attach that! Yesterday, actually, I was lucky enough to be asked to stand in the circle in the High Council room as we ordained Bruder Döschner to the Aaronic Priesthood as a Priest, and that was so powerful I can't even describe. Our bishop, Bishop Pavel, gave him an amazing blessing, and after it was all over, Bruder Döschner just wanted to stay in the room after we all left and just soak up the feeling and Spirit that was in the room, so we left him with tears in his eyes. He made it. And I've never been more proud of someone in my life. I must admit, up until this point I may have taken the power of the Priesthood a lot lighter than I should have. Sometimes people don't realize that this is a literal POWER, something that heals, spiritually and temporally. The same power through which the earth was created. It wasn't until I saw Claus Döschner feeling the effects of it that that realization truly clicked in my head. If I hadn't learned a single other thing from my mission, that ordination would have been enough.
SEAHAWKS, baby! I told you all! I got a text from a ward member this morning at about 6 a.m. telling me that they won. This family stayed up to watch the game that started at 2 a.m. or so. True fans!
Cohen probably can't read, but if he can, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, COHEN! You’re my favorite nephew. :) but competition is coming up fast, so watch those sticky fingers and my money.
Time is a scary thing. He's growing up so fast, and everyone has been telling me about hitting my year mark on Thursday....that just freaks me out. Waaaaayyy too fast. I don't like the thought that I've almost been out longer than I have left, and I'll never get that time back. But on the positive side, it motivates me to work harder, faster, and smarter than ever. I just love this country so much, I don't know if I'll leave!
This last week was full of a lot of member appointments and service, and not too much time with investigators, unfortunately! But we've really been setting the groundwork with the members, and things are starting to roll. President Schwartz gave an awesome presentation in our Heidelberg Leadership Meeting where he talked about what characteristics or attributes make a successful person successful. Is it IQ? No. Is it Social Q? No. Emotional Q? Nope! The people who are successful are the ones who see the world as a world of possibilities, ideas waiting to be formed, molded, shaped, found, and whatever else you want to put there. The ones who aren’t successful are the ones who see it as a place that has already been defined for them, and they'll just live within what has already been created. The same applies to missionary work. If you come into a slow ward, just thinking that this is how the ward is and always will be, then it will always be slow and in-effective. But if you come in seeing it as a giant chunk of play dough, waiting to be sculpted into what you envision, then it will become what you want it to be. And that is what we're trying to do here right now, and it's going well. :)
We hope things go just as well this week, and I can't wait to tell you all about it next Monday! Things are going better than ever, and Elder Colson and I rearranged our apartment to get a new fresh feeling, and it feels good! Fung shway (however the heck you spell that Asian word) better than ever.
And I found a funny story this last week that I want you guys to look up if you ever are bored and have time, and want to understand how a lot of us missionaries here in Germany feel sometimes about the language. It's by Mark Twain, at www.cs.utah.edu/~gback/awfgrmlg.html
I love you all! I hope you are all doing well and staying healthy, and I can't wait to hear from you guys next week! I still haven't seen snow. Just thought I'd throw that in there.
Die Kirche Jesu Christi der Heiligen der Letzten Tage ist wahr! Und auch das Buch Mormon. Wenn ihr Zweifeln habt, lese mal darin. Ich bin so dankbar jeden Tag für die Gelegenheit und Möglichkeit ich habe, ein Missionar und Diener des Herrn zu sein. :) **(The church Jesus Christ of the saints of the last days is true! And also the Book Mormon. If you doubts have, reads sometimes in it. I am so thankful every day for the opportunity and possibility I have to be a missionary and servant of man.:)
Bis nächste woche!
-- Elder Lieblings
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