Here comes the sun

 Hallo Familie und Freunde!

One thing I've come to realize is that  sunshine is a rare occurrence in Germany. It's always overcast here and kind of gloomy. Whenever the sun does come out though, everyone is out and about. This occurred this Sunday. We walked out of church and the sun was shining. Those who know me, know that I love the sun. So being without it is hard. But that Sunday I stood in the sun for about 10 straight minutes just soaking it all in. 
Something crazy that occurred this week is that we received about 12 elders from the Ukraine mission. I guess the issue between Ukraine and Russia is really bad so they pulled all of the American missionaries out. So every single one is getting reassigned to another country in Europe. They now have to learn German and they might be permanently reassigned here. 
This week we had another austauch with the STL's. This time we traveled to Würzburg. We had dinner and FHE with the Sosa's. They are a family from Mexico. They are the cutest family and it reminded me so much of home. I never realized how much Spanish culture played into my life until it wasn't. I loved being able to hear them speak Spanish and tell them all the random words that I know. 
For pday today, as a district we went to Rothenberg. It's this old medieval town. I can't remember if it was the one Herr Hirst told me to go to or not but this one was really cool. They had a medieval store full or weapons and clothing. The elders spent about an hour just looking around and gawking over all the swords and daggers. It was absolutely frigid in this little town and I swear we were close to frost bite. We got to go into a torture museum and see all the ways they used to punish people for even the smallest of crimes. It was verrückt (crazy). People would publicly shame you for falling asleep in church or even not playing music well. It was a really cool town though and filled with lots of history. 
On Sunday we had the opportunity to hear from our prophet, his wife and Elder and Sister Bednar. It was really good and was a call of action to the youth to gather Israel. President Nelson mentioned that the coming of our savior is getting closer and closer everyday. I knew the days were short, but it made me think about just how soon the time is coming. I need to do all I can to make sure I'm ready and to try and save as many souls as I can. I know that the lord sent me here for a reason and that he's been preparing me. We never go through life alone. Wendy Nelson talked about President Nelson and all of his characteristics. It was really sweet to hear. You're still able to watch the devotional on YouTube or the church website if you wanted:)
To end the week, we had a super fun youth activity. We played sports/ games. We played volleyball in the Chapelle and tried really hard not to hit the light. It was really fun, we had German candy and listened to American music. Not a bad way to end the week in my opinion.
Love you all! If you'd like to see all the funny videos we've taken. Here's a shared link:)
Sister Nielsen 
1. Familie Sosa
2. Cool Christmas store
3-4. Rothenberg 
5. A painting on the wall in the STL apartment 

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