Well Tuesday I sent Elder Brimhall off, then I hopped on a train by myself to Chemnitz not knowing that that day and the next would be quite the adventure. For a few hours we helped missionaries get on and off trains at the train station. We got to help a lady from New York that didn’t speak German find her train. Then we went to check our train that would take us to Berlin the next morning. We found out that the trains were all going on strike so we had to find a new way to get there…

So we went and checked out buses and that wasn’t going to work, but then we had an appointment doing service so we went and changed and helped this lady with her yard, went back and changed again, so we could go to teach a guy from India in a park at the university. After, one of Elder Carpenter’s investigators was planning on coming to institute that night at the church. So we went to the church and looked for a way to get to Berlin on the computer there, then their investigator was late and didn’t remember how to get to the church. Some walked to the bus stop to go get him and brought him to the church.

Then I sat in institute with their investigator while Elder Carpenter continued his search finding a ride to Berlin. And there was none… So the APs told us to go take a train to Hohenstein where the sisters there have a car that we could use to drive to Berlin the next morning. But that meant we had to leave right then and run to the train station. So, we left the investigator with the members (after institute they bought him Subway and drove him home, he had a great time) and ran to catch a bus, then ran to the train station just in time to make the train. But as we were waiting they came over the loud speaker and said that our train had just fallen out… Then we got to help a guy find his train.

So we called the sisters and they said they could drive to Chemnitz and pick us up, then drive themselves home, then we could drive the car back to Chemnitz. So we took a bus back to the apartment. On the bus a guy needed help finding a street but he didn’t speak German or English and had no map, but luckily we had ours and pointed him in the right direction and then we got a call from one of their investigators. He told us he had no food and was out of money so we gathered some food from around the apartment and when the sisters picked us up we went and dropped it off at his house. Then the sisters drove us back to Hohenstein, and we took the car back to Chemnitz just in time before 10:30.

Elder Carpenter had the idea that we leave a little bit earlier in the morning so before our meeting we could go see a few of the sights in Berlin. So we woke up early and drove to Berlin. Luckily there’s a lot of cool sights in Berlin that are close to each other so we could just walk around and see them all quick. Then we went to the mission office and picked up our trainees! Elder Burns is my new companion! He’s from American Fork, and he’s really working hard on his German so he’s doing great!

After looking back on Tuesday, we had a lot of fun running around, and I also didn’t realize how many people the Lord put in our path that needed help. It wasn’t coincidence that we happened to be all over the place that day. I’m grateful for the time I can be here as a missionary, and that day was another testimony to me that God really does love ALL of his children.

Moroni 7:33

Have a sweet week!

Elder Winkel

Skype! It was great to see everyone! It was a good day.

This week on Thursday is “Christi Himmelfahrt”(Ascension Day) a Catholic holiday but Germans use it to get really drunk, so we have to be in our apartment by 6 on Thursday…

We taught 5 lessons this week with our 3 old investigators! They went well and Herr S even listened to the Book of Mormon on CD! We asked if he had – but we didn’t really think he had – but then he told us “ya they were in the wilderness and stuff, then that one guy wouldn’t give them that one thing…” really cool, always have faith in people! In the End we almost got 6 lessons to break our record but it was still a good week!

Mother’s Day was great! I’m so very thankful for my mom! A member in our ward I think quoted Gordon B. Hinckley with “Be kind to the women. They constitute half the population and are mothers to the other half.” We have so many women in our lives to be grateful for. My mom does so much for me and always is thinking of ways that she could help me.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Elder Winkel