Well this week was
pretty hard, which means I learned and grew a lot.
On the good side we
had the wedding of Eder (the guy I baptized) and Ana!! So we went home
before the wedding and took a shower and got all dressed up. And then when we
were walking over to the wedding I felt something hit my head. There are a lot of birds here in Portugal so
many pigeons, it’s crazy! And yes, a
bird pooped on my head, it was really funny!
We thought it would be nice to go early and set up, so we were there
at 5:30 and the wedding was at 6. We should have known when no one
was there at 6:00 that most Portuguese people are ALWAYS LATE!! The bride and groom weren’t even there at their
own wedding, eventually they got there at 7:00. Since it was just my comp and I
and the bishop waiting, he looked at me and said "Elder Herrmann, have you
given a talk yet in sacrament meeting?" I told him no and he said,
"Tomorrow you will." This
was Saturday night, my heart dropped because I had no time to prepare
and it needed to be in Portuguese! We
got home that night at 9:30 and I just thought, “Well if I’m doing
this I’m going all in!!” I stayed up until midnight writing and practicing the
talk while everyone was asleep and then I woke up really early and practiced
some more. When I got to church I was like, "Yeah I got this!" I entered
the church and the bishop came right up to me and told me that I didn’t have to
give the talk since there was a change of plans. I was like WHAT?!?! I was
actually disappointed because I spent so much time and energy on the talk. But
on the bright side I have a talk now for a rainy day and I learned so much
while I was preparing. We got a new bishopric this week and they are all really
young and so cool, so I was pretty excited!!!
As far as the work
goes, this week was very slow. A whole lot of walking, knocking, and nothing. But
I just have to keep having faith! Because of all the cobblestone everywhere
there are no bikes in this mission so we walk everywhere. Because of all the walking many have feet
issues. Mine started really hurting this week and I would come home and take
off my shoes to find bloody toes. Remember how I said I love the rain? Well after being here 3 months with rain every
day, I can testify that I DO NOT like the rain!
A cool experience, we
were tracking in the rain and we stopped at this building to take some cover in
a stairwell. There were two old ladies
there and we just sat on the ground and started talking to them. In the middle
of it I thought, "Wow, I am in Portugal right now speaking Portuguese,
while sitting on the dirty floor in the pouring rain teaching these ladies
about the restoration, how awesome is this!!" I am so grateful for the
opportunity to share the gospel with these people!
An Elder in our area
had a birthday and we threw him a surprise birthday which was way fun. I really love the cakes here! This week I finished the book of Helaman and
am starting 3rd Nephi. I feel like a
Book of Mormon addict--the more I read, the more I love it, and the more I want
to read!
Probably the best part
of the week was on Sunday when this super cute old couple in our ward
talked to us and asked if we could give a priesthood blessing to their friend. This couple reminds me of the old couple from
the movie "Up" and they are always so funny and happy. So we went to their
apartment and met their friend and gave her a blessing. The spirit was so
strong she started crying in the middle of the blessing. It was a very simple
blessing but it meant so much to her. With
tears in her eyes she said, "Thank you so much, you men are a blessing in
my life!" After the blessing she
told us that she has read some of our church’s teachings and has a desire to be
baptized. The blessing softened her heart enough to act. This is why we are
here, to serve and help others come unto Christ and prepare them to meet God
once again. The best feeling in the
world is helping someone change their life for the better!!
Hard week but an
awesome week! The church is true! I love the mission! Have the best week!
-Elder Herrmann
 |
No comments:
Post a Comment