Translation

Monday, August 27, 2018

Hey, guys!

It has been a long but okay week in Limassol. The weather seems to be edging more towards the “cooling” side. I can't call it cool yet...but maybe not as crispy. The humidity is still crazy though.

TUESDAY: I don't have my journal today, so forgive me. We had a lesson with a former investigator and his family. We went to the address and were searching for 30 minutes (Cypriot house numbers are chaos) and were heading back to our bikes when a little girl rode up on her scooter and told us to follow her. Against probably our better judgment, we did. She would ride ahead of us and then wait until we caught up before riding a little more. Eventually, we came to this guy's house. Turns out, it was his daughter, and her mom had seen us and sent her out to get us.

We also got a call from a guy asking for his copy of the Book of Mormon, but his bus was leaving, so we needed to get there "NOW.” So, we threw proselyting clothes on and biked the fastest I ever have to give this guy and his friend a Book of Mormon each! They want to learn more as well.

WEDNESDAY: We had the APs (Assistants to the Mission President) from Greece and the Zone Leaders at district meeting to present yet another new initiative for members and missionaries to use. We then went to the beach to do the “Voice of the Lord” survey with everyone. It went okay, and we were able to get some phone numbers. We also had a good lesson with a less-active member who came to church on Sunday!

THURSDAY: Thursday, we finished up entering the survey data from Wednesday's proselyting and then had a short day exchange. Elder VE. and Elder F. went to Larnaca for a leadership meeting about self-reliance, and Elder AJ. stayed with me in Limassol. We caught a bus (Elder AJ. has a broken hand with a cast and can't ride) to visit the same family we met on Tuesday. We taught the Restoration, and it went well. I am just not sure how interested they really are since they were not very responsive during the lesson. 

FRIDAY: It was weekly planning; everyone's favorite thing...We also had a meet up with our friend from Pakistan. He is always trying to stay positive despite his troubles.

SATURDAY: We handed out a bunch more flyers for our English classes. We have done almost 300 now in a week or so.

SUNDAY: We had T. come to church! He showed up 30 minutes early and just wanted to read his Book of Mormon while we prepared the sacrament and got everything ready for the service. We had a lot of people in church that day, and Sister Riser and I spoke.

I had to do translation for the first time during Sister Riser's talk. But, she mostly used a talk from President Benson, and that meant hard language. I butchered the translation, and the poor guy probably didn't understand anything. What was interesting was to see that the grammar flowed, and I could speak eight times faster than normal; it was just the words that I didn't know that were the problem. That is evidence of the gift of tongues and how the Holy Ghost brings things to our remembrance if we put in the effort.

We were able to see a less-active member that we haven't been able to really talk to for a few weeks and her friend! We also did family history and had leftovers from the potluck after church with the Risers.

Thanks, guys! 

Elder Müller

Not many pictures this week:(

Elder VE., not sure what happened here!

Elder VE, Elder Muller's newest companion

Elder VE. Looks like they were enjoying some
Chinese food!

Short Week, Short Email, But Long Naps

Hello, guys!

THURSDAY: We had lots of planning and branch business to take care of, so we were inside for most of the day. All of our scheduling seems to keep being for naught because something changes at the last minute every time. Welcome to every missionary's planner, haha! We printed and cut up our new language class flyers and went to the beach to hand them out. An hour and a little bit later, 200~ flyers were handed out.

FRIDAY: We had another day of branch training and meetings. We were also able to do some finding down at the beach that went well. I didn't bring my journal today to review, so I don't remember anything else that happened, lol.

SATURDAY: We had service for most of the day with our friends D. and K. at a dog shelter. We got nice sunburns that are turning a good brown. We look like we have survived a Cypriot summer! That was a smelly and hot day, but playing with the puppies for the last 15 minutes made it all worth it. We also got to hold week-old puppies whose eyes aren't even open yet, but I don't have pictures of those ones.

We went out with our friend O. that night and had an interesting time. We were with him and his cousin, and he was going to Guaba, a club, haha, and we were like, “Sorry, mate, we can't go.” But, he was going anyway...then God Smacked Him.

Or rather, we smacked a car...That's right, we were driving a little too fast. ;) (Δεν Φταίω εγώ) A bus started pulling out, and pretty much our friend sped up so we wouldn't get smooshed by the bus against the guard rail, but that meant he hit the car in front of us. The bumper on the other car was pretty smashed in, but all the passengers in both cars were 100% fine with no injuries whatsoever. The driver of the other car wasn't even mad at our friend because he saw it was the bus driver's fault really, and they went together to stop the bus and get its license plate.

Candid scene of the car accident over the shoulder shot   
photo cred Elder VE

SUNDAY: Church was small but good, with two smashing talks about Jesus Christ and His Atonement, very well done by a member and Elder VE. We had dinner with the Risers and ate Sister Riser's amazing fajitas after doing family history there. I found around 10 names again, but somehow, they aren't connected to my family tree, lol. We got a guy's number, and apparently, he read the Book of Mormon every day and knows our religion from Bulgaria. So that's awesome!

MONDAY: We had a chill P-day finding words and memorizing them while watching Disney movies. We put on Wreck-It Ralph and instantly fell asleep for two hours.

Love you all and have a great week!

Elder Müller

Elder VE made breakfast with
Elder Muller's chocolate chip cookies and bananas

Clean Apartment!

Elder Van Godsmack

Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Hello, everyone!

WEDNESDAY (August 8th): We gave our friend L. a Book of Mormon in Greek to give to her husband. You will see pictures of our visit to the pizza shop. Her kids love my camera, haha. We took lots of pictures for them. They are so cute! We visited a less-active member and found out she has a daughter here who is a member as well but isn't on our records. We also ran into a former investigator who was away for a few months. She is really good friends with Elder VE., and we are meeting up with her and her husband on Saturday to do service!

THURSDAY (August 9th): We had service in the morning and did Weekly Planning (every missionary's favorite activity) and had dinner at a member's home. Her husband made the best souvlaki ever, and we celebrated Elder VE.’s birthday!

Elder V.E., Elder Muller's new companion this transfer

FRIDAY (August 10th): We were stuck inside all morning because our AC has been broken all summer long, and Elder V. and I were too lazy to do anything about it, haha. Elder VE.  is coming from Athens and is readjusting to the heat here, so he called the landlord, and eventually we got a repair man to come out. He came in the apartment with a screwdriver and just started hitting the switch...Elder VE. and I just started laughing. He took everything apart and put it all back together again and said he can't fix it until September...The birthday of the Virgin Mary is today actually (August 15th), and the entire country shuts down for two weeks—literally shuts down [Editor's note: After a little research, it appears that the Assumption of Mary is celebrated August 15th, and the Nativity, or birthday, of the Virgin Mary is celebrated September 8th in the Greek Orthodox Church.].

We had a Family History tools meeting with President Anderson and then had a really busy and successful whiteboard with all the Paphos elders and the APs down at the beach. Then, we had the APs at our apartment for dinner. McDonald's was a treat, and then it was bed time.

SATURDAY (August 11th): We had Zone Conference all day. We learned about new finding tools and things. The Pano Paphos elders stayed at the apartment with us, and we ate McDonald's again (not a good start to the diet for us).

SUNDAY (August 12th): Church went well, and I taught Sunday school about King Solomon. That went well. I was also called as the Branch Clerk. We had a 2-hour long branch council meeting to get Elder VE.  situated, and later in the day, we had a lesson with T. He accepted the Plan of Salvation and agreed to be baptized on September 22nd! He has read all the way to 2 Nephi 25!

MONDAY (August 13th): We didn't have P-Day because we went with a friend and spent all day cleaning out his yard. He lives in a village about an hour away in the mountains. He's a lad. We had some good conversations about the gospel as well.

Elder VE and our service project

Lots of service!

Elder VE

TUESDAY (August 14th): God smacked me! We caught the 9 o’clock bus to Paphos for District Meeting, and as we were waiting, I asked Elder VE. how on earth we will achieve our goal of having 42 lessons this transfer. Less than 10 seconds later, a guy walked up to us and asked us about our church, saw the Greek Book of Mormon next to me, and asked to have one in English. So, we got his phone number, lol. Then in Paphos, as we were walking with the Pano Paphos elders, another lady stopped us and asked what exactly we do here. I explained about us being Christian but that we have a special message about Jesus Christ. We gave her a Greek Book of Mormon, and she almost started crying. She has the Pano Paphos elders’ number now as well. We went back to Limassol after the meeting and started new language class flyers.

The average bus ride to and from Paphos!

That's about it, folks.

Elder Müller

Changes

Saying good-bye is hard
Elder Muller and Elder V. 

Tuesday, August 7, 2018

Hey, guys! It's been a week of food, companions, and changes in Limassol.

TUESDAY: We had an interesting lesson with a member about reincarnation and the footnotes in the scriptures. All I can say is read the Book of Mormon. If you are a member, or not a member, just read the book. If you do, your life will be better, you will be happier, and you will feel the power it brings into your life.

We had district meeting, and it went well. It was the last one for the lads. Sister Riser made amazing shepherd's pie, and I had three servings. I was going to write "no shame," but I was a little ashamed, lol. We saw L. and the kids and helped her with them. She had a problem with her tooth, so she couldn't really talk and was in a lot of pain. It was a good thing I bring good old American drugs with me everywhere! Ibuprofen works, lol. She also told us she is reading two pages of the Book of Mormon every day.

Greek class was fine. We went and picked up trash in the park by the boardwalk, and this little girl came up to me and asked really loudly what I was doing, haha. So, I responded really loudly so all the people around us could hear. Thirty seconds later, a pregnant mom with her son came up to me and asked me what I was doing there. I got to explain that I am with my church and was called by a prophet of God to serve the people here.  She wasn't freaked out and complimented my broken attempts at Greek, haha.

WEDNESDAY: We did service at the Red Cross and had a great time there with our friend. On our way home, Elder V. saw two guys cleaning out a garden (remember I am British, not) near the church (we live seven minutes from the church on foot), so we changed and went to help. They were great, and we helped clean up all the leaves and branches from the trees. We also met the mother of the guy who owns the house. She lives there with him, and she gave us soda. Her name in Greek means happiness.

We went and found a referral from Sri Lanka, but she doesn't speak any English or Greek. But, she now has a Book of Mormon. We had dinner in Sinhala with N., and the day ended.

THURSDAY: We went to a member's house and did family history in the morning with the Risers. She gave us koopepkia: vine leaves with rice and meat and stuff in side. [Editor's note: After some research, it seems like koopepkia is another name for dolmas.] It was sooooo good. We had a dinner appointment get pushed back, so we went finding around the neighborhood. We went and did what we do best...BETTING SHOP FINDING, BOOOOYS. We hit up the local megabet where all the Cypriot men are. You just walk in, and you can feel all of the eyes turn towards these two mugs in white shirts and ties. It was great! We asked about computers and stuff and just started talking to the guy at the desk, then another guy, and then another, and he asked us if we had any books in Greek: “Yes, sirree! I have a Book of Mormon right here for ya.” His wife likes to read apparently, lol.

Then, we had Sri Lankan curry, with "less" spice. I was still dying. And, I also couldn't see because it was dark, so I started eating a chicken head...I didn't finish once I realized that.

FRIDAY: We saw Y.! She is a Russian member here who has a 4.5-year-old son. They travel for almost two hours every Sunday to come to church. She gave us brownies and Magnum Double Raspberry bars. I'm putting that plug in there because they were really good, lol. She was great, and we talked about Family History. She loves the gospel and is so consecrated and amazing! We had some time before an appointment, so we went and spoke to some Cypriots about souvlakia! Then, we had dinner with a family. We went to go pick somebody up with the husband and take him somewhere. He started telling us all about the end of the world and the Bermuda triangle and fun stuff. If it is on YouTube, it is true, folks (just kidding). 

SATURDAY: We cleaned the church and had lunch with the Risers. They took us out, and I had fajitas. They were really good, lol. We even had ice cream afterwards. We had correlation meeting and spent some time with L. and C. saying goodbye. They are soooo mint. I love them so much. They wrote out a list for Elder V. It is of the first movies he needs to go and see, haha.

Then, we went with the bus to Larnaca. A member there picked us up and took us to his house where we ate watermelon and halloumi, then got to the baptism late, haha. The baptism was good, and our musical number was decent, but my voice had a small crack. We spent the night in Larnaca with the plan to catch the 7:30 bus in the morning.

SUNDAY: Woke up at 5:45 and got ready. As we were about to leave and walk to the bus stop, Elder Gunther (Senior Missionary Couple) called us and told us that he was going to drive us to the bus stop instead of making us walk for 40 minutes. He's a lad. :) We got the bus home and walked from the beach to the church with a member we met along the way, lol. We had lots of goodbyes at church, and then we went home, and Elder V. packed. We hadn't had time for him to pack at all, so he did it all in two hours. Then, we said goodbye, and Elder V. went with everybody to Larnaca. Elder S. stayed with me, and we had dinner at the Riser’s home. It was tacos, a lot of them. They're amazing. 

We're Back Boys!
They served in Nicosia for one transfer

MONDAY: The plumber came and fixed the washing machine! So, now we can do our laundry again. Poor Sister Riser has been doing it for us. We had a lesson with the member who likes reincarnation again. It went really, really, well. And, then Elder V.E. arrived, and Elder S. left. We went to an appointment with the Risers and turned in for the night.

Thanks guys!

Elder Müller

Elder V. and A.

Elder V. and A.

The Best Dinner Ever Cooked! And Good-bye Presents

The Best Dinner Ever Cooked! And Good-bye Presents

Elder Muller, Elder V. and C. and L.

Elder V. saying good-bye

Baptism!

Elder Muller with P.

Elder V. and member good-byes

Elder Viner and N.

Elder V. and  Sister Riser

Elder V. and Elder and Sister Riser

Packing Up - going home after 24 Months in Greece and Cyprus
Well done, thou good and faithful servant!

Packing in two hours!

Packing

Two transfers in Limassol
Elder V. and Elder Muller