Well here am I in Erlangen. It’s a pretty big difference from what I had. The apartment is miniature. Seriously our microwave is in our bedroom because our kitchen is a hallway and doesn’t have enough room. At least we’re only on the 2nd floor. 

All the other missionaries in Erlangen got trained here (and the elders are in training now) so there’s a ton of new missionaries vibes going on (both good and bad). They‘re maps.me is a catastrophe so I’ve made it a goal to fix it. Our shower‘s water pressure is so hard that it hurt! Our stove is really ancient and takes about 10 min to warm up. My bed and bedding is also ancient and is quite gross. I‘ll be ordering some new stuff from the Ehepaar or the tech Elders. I‘m convinced that this area has been a be-trained-and-then-train area for so long that no one actually realizes that they shouldn’t have to live with some of these things. I said that to Sister Swain and she was like „oh my gosh I‘m so grateful you are here! There is hope now“ 

On the bright side this southern dialect is hilarious! I can understand it so that was a relief! They roll their R‘s and they use different phrases like „ganz eilig“. We were in Nürnberg for district meeting and we were on the elevator in the Hauptbahnhof and this guy started talking to me about how in Bayern you don’t have to stay on the right side of the elevator in case someone needs to walk fast on the left. He said they just needed to use their words and then you should move. He had this awesome accent and how he said Nürnberg it was more like nürn-bursch. I love it. 

We have some awesome people that we’ve found and some cool appointments coming up. Last night we taught this part member Vietnamese family and they’re adorable! The ward seems cool so far and laugh when I tell them how much time I’ve got left. They‘re all good eggs. I‘m missing Br. Tiebing hard Core. Our ward mission leader is your typical Deutscher GML and on the older side. Lots of good intentions, but slow on the following through. Naja it will be a Great 6 weeks. Sister swain is awesome and I i‘ve found my excitement for being here. The Lord has a lot for me to do still.

 Sister Swain reminds me a lot about myself during my third transfer (she’s in her 3rd) when the training wheels came off. She keeps saying how grateful she is for having me here. After our lesson last night she seriously cried out of joy and yelled I DIDN‘T KNOW MISSIONARY WORK COULD BE THIS FUN!!! She’s way dedicated and motivated and has a work hard play hard attitude that I have. I‘m really grateful to have her as my last companion. Being in a dritt was fun, but training in a dritt with so many personalities was sucking a lot of energy out of me. With this companionship I feel like I can finish as strong as I had imagined myself finishing at the beginning of my mission. She’s from Oceanside, CA so we’re 2 peas in a pod. 

I‘ll be completely honest saying goodbye to Wiesbaden has been one of the hardest things. It felt like home, the ward felt like family, the people were familiar even if I didn’t know them. I felt like I could keep going for 6 more weeks. Even in the dritt. When the members found out they all kept saying „ohhhhhhhhhhh wie schade!“ (oh what a shame). Yeah it sucked, but you know what I‘m here now and I‘m ok with that. I‘ve prayed a lot about it and at first I was pretty depressed, but now that I‘m here and I‘ve met some people I‘ve realized that I still have a lot of room in my heart to love a lot more people. I feel needed here and I feel loved. I‘ve had so many members offer their house to us when we come visit in December. The problem is I have to remember their names haha. 

How was your week? I love you guys so much and I appreciate your love SO MUCH. 

Liebe Grüße,

Sister Luymes