Snail Mail letter home.....

Hey FAM!                                                                                                        October 29, 2016

Wow! So I just had my 5 month mark this week and it’s a month until my 20^th birthday. I suddenly feel very old because I’m no longer a new missionary and I’ll soon no longer be a teenager either….WEIRD!  Why does time go so fast?!

Anyway, this week was a turning point for my German (because I know you’re all wondering). I had 3 different people compliment my German and looked astonished when I told them I’d only been learning/speaking it for 5 months.  Another turning point was that I’m finally feeling more like myself in German. There seems to be a point where you’re not so focused on what you’re saying is grammatically perfect so it allows your personality to seep through finally.  I reached that point with Sis Krysanski (my STL) while we had a lunch appointment and I felt just like myself as if I was speaking English, but it was all auf Deutsch.  Ich kann eigentlich Deutsch! (I can actually speak German). Wooo!

The thing is I can’t even compare myself to any other missionary learning a language because 80% of my investigators know English better than German or they only know English. So it’s not exactly the full emersion everyone expects. But sis Harris and I do our best to only speak Deutsch to each other and of course wir reden mit leute an die strasse auf Deutsch (We talk to people on the street in German).

Anyway, German is fun and its spelling and grammar rules are far superior to English. Words like “weird”  should be spelled “wierd”; “sea” should be spelled sae, also people don’t “breakup” they “haben ein schlieb gemacht” or “they have made an end”. It’s nicer and it sounds like more feelings were spared.

The funny story of this week was Sister Krysanski and I doored into a man who was wearing a HUGE fur coat – floor length.  It was as if he was wearing a grizzly bear for and he’d’ just cut it and sewed it so it had sleeves and a collar.  He was also wearing a fur hat, AND 2 huge gold bejeweled rings on each finger. He looked absolutely ridiculous and also very into himself.  He gave us a copy of “Mein Glaube” (my beliefs) and explained how he believes on a great white spirit and if you’re a Jew or a Muslim you will be damned.  I had to use my self control to NOT start petting him during his rant.   I secretly wanted to because it might have made him stop talking. But alas, I did not pet the bear and endured his hate rant.

I’ve been super good this week and I’ve betted a dog every day this week. But it doesn’t make up for my time lost with Dixie.

Miss you guys! Hope all is well.

Sis Luymes