Hey mom!

So, we just talked, and I´m not sure what to write about... oh well. 

We had interview with president on Friday. Usually when we have interviews we learn about them 1-2 weeks in advance, but this time, we learned about it the day before. So we had to cancel an appointment, go to Dresden, and have interviews. We had a great time though, and we found out a little more about the iPads. So President Kosak called Apple this week to ask where they are, and they told them that the shipment was on the way! On Wednesday it came, with a grand total of 1 iPad... out of 250. So really we have no idea when we´ll be getting them. Hopefully before September 2016.

We also had our stake conference this weekend. That was really cool. Coming from a district in Leer, to a giant stake here was a big change! There were so many people there, I thought it was America! Except everything was in German... of course. But yea, that was pretty cool.

We were also able to travel to one of the villages outside of Freiberg and we came in contact with 2 less active families that allowed us to meet with them, and wanted to set up return appointments. I really enjoy less active work, and it´s especially nice when we have a senior couple who also likes it and is willing to drive us out to the places that are a little too far for our bikes.

One more thing, do you remember how I told you about the girl that we helped? Well she contacted us this week and wanted a Book of Mormon! So we gave her one and set up a return appointment. I can start to feel the work picking up here in this area, but it´s only going to keep up if we work for it!

Ok... Well I´m not sure what else to write about. Maybe a spiritual thought?

I was reading in Helaman 5 (One of my favorite chapters of holy scripture) and it tells the story of Nephi and Lehi, the son´s of Helaman. They went off to serve a mission among the Lamanites, and right when they got there, they were taken and bound and thrown in prison. Not the best start ever, right? Well, after a few days the lamanites came in to try and kill them, but when they walked into the prison Nephi and Lehi were surrounded in fire! Pretty cool, right? After the Lamanites saw this they realized they were in darkness, they wanted to repent, one thing led to another and they ended up converting a ton of people. Now, the part that I found cool was that Nephi and Lehi did nothing. They were just sitting in prison, and they converted all these people. So what do we learn from this? Nephi and Lehi were tools of the Lord, that´s it. They were in the right place, at the right time, and they were worthy to be protected and to have the holy ghost with them. God did all of the work. He converted all those people. It wasn´t the words of Nephi and Lehi, it was the spirit of God. So when WE want to be successful missionaries, we need to be the best tools we can be, so the Lord can do the most work possible through us.

Oh, can you also send taco mix? I didn´t want any more while I was in Leer because we had a bunch, but my taco stash is now (sadly) in Leer. 

I love you mom :) I´m really glad I got to see you yesterday. I hope you have a great week!

Elder Oliphant

After meeting with President Kosak