Elder Mortensen & Elder Harps
Serving in Langen, Germany

Hallo von Langen! 

So I made it to Germany! I didn't die. Yay me! 

My first area is called Langen. It is in the Frankfurt Zone, about 15 minute train ride south from Frankfurt. My companion is from Delta, Utah, and his name is Elder Mortensen. Super cool. 

Germany is actually amazing. Like, everything is so cool. And so very German strangely enough. Who knew? 

All the taxis are Volkswagen or Mercedes, all the houses are really boxy with pointed roofs. Sausage is super cheap, and super delicious. Actually all meats are. It's awesome. And holy cow the chocolate is so good. I'm going to gain way too much weight. Das Essen hier ist echt toll. Ich werde dick werden. 

Also, everybody talks soooo fast. I should probably have expected that, but it's hard enough to understand normal German speakers, and if they have an accent, no way in heck can I understand haha. Unless they are also new to Germany. Then they talk slow and I can understand :) 

On the first day we did a street display. A bunch of missionaries handed out copies of the Book of Mormon in 

This is what a street display might have looked like.
This picture was taken in the same mission by
some other missionaries. 

various languages, and talked to anybody that would listen. I was really nervous at first, but once the conversations were started, it was really cool to talk to people about the gospel. 

Two gentlemen I talked to were Syrian refugees. It was kind of interesting, because I spoke more German than they did. Especially since my vocabulary is gospel oriented, and they knew nothing about Christianity, they didn't know really any of my words. I had to talk and explain everything. It was sooo cool. I got to explain from the ground up all that Christ did for us. I got to bear testimony of the Atonement and its redeeming power. One of them said that it is hard to believe in God when there is so much hardship and evil in the world. He had every right to say that, as he fled war-torn Syria and had spent the last year and a half living in a refugee camp. I got to explain to him though how Christ and his Atonement help me have hope, peace, and happiness through hard times. That even though hard times come, Christ can help us get through them. He took upon himself not only the sins of the world, but also all the pains and insecurities (Alma 7: 11-12). Christ knows everything we go through, so that He can help us overcome it. We can have hope throughout our trials. He won't always take them away, but he will always strengthen us so that we can endure them. The Man seemed to understand, and I think he felt the spirit. He took it very seriously. They agreed to meet with the missionaries, and swapped phone numbers. It was really really cool. 

I'm super excited to be here. I'm gonna work my tail off. 

God is real. He knows and loves us. He knows and loves YOU. 

Come unto Christ 

I love you all! Pray for me to learn German! I'll need it! 

Bis aufs Wiedersehen!! 

Elder Harps