So the other day we were on the Strasse Bahn (aka trolley like you see in San Fransisco but more high tech) and I see this nice looking guy with a cool hat so I decided to talk to him about it, and it was blistering hot outside and he was in jeans and a long sleeve shirt, and I had to comment on it. So I asked him if he was from Afrika (he was black) and where and wondered why he was wearing all his gear and he explained that he is from Southern Africa so this weather wasn't all that bad. And he had to leave quickly so I gave him a card and told us to call us. Well two days later he did!! This never happens!! When you meet someone and they leave with a card, you never hear from them again but he did!! So we decided to meet downtown in Dortmund at an U-Bahn station (Subway station like in New York City). We end up waiting for like 30 minutes until we see him.... AND his friend! His name is Alfonso (isn't that romantic) and his friend's name is Louis! From the first handshake we knew something wasn't right haha Alfonso asked if we could SIT somewhere and TALK. Oh boy... Not really knowing what to do my companion and I said okay why not, we find a place and he baught us Milkshakes, aka not really milkshakes more like milk with ice haha. The entire time he asked about my family and what I was doing here, and blah, blah, blah. Meine gute that reminded me of a crazy first date I never want to go on ever again. But because I locked my heart to any man that crosses my path, I was able to teach him about God, Jesus Christ, the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith, the church and how we have 12 Apostles, and a living Prophet. He actuallly took a Book of Mormon and said he would read it until our next appointment!! But the most hilarious part about it was that Sister Sprouse and Louis were having engagement plans, wedding plans, and family plans made haha. Louis is in love with her and the entire time I was trying to grab his attention with what I was explaining to Alfonso, but it didn't work. Poor Sister Sprouse haha but she locked her heart too so Louis had no chance. I love random adventures!! Random adventure number 2: Utte who is a random lady that comes to church sometimes finally asked us to help her. Everytime she comes to church she just cries because she is so unhappy and being at church is the only thing that helps her feel better. And everytime we ask her to help her, and she always says no, until this last week! We made an appointment and we met up at her apartment. She let us in and from the moment I saw her apartment it literally took my breath away. I don't know if it was because of the smell or what I saw, but you would have never guessed that this lady who honestly doesn't have anything; no money, no car, no nothing would have so much stuff! She doesn't even live in this apartment. She keeps paying rent every month to keep her stuff there. All of this stuff that she finds is off the street. She has had this apartment for at least 4-5 years. Three rooms full, plus hallway, kitchen, and garage storage downstairs were full of boxes of rubbish. For an hour and a half we just organized and moved her stuff from one room to the next. We managed to persuade her to get rid of some, but then she decided not to. The worst part of it all is that she lives on the very top floor of this buiding (6 flights of stairs) with no elevator!!! Meine Gute!! She explained that her mom was very poor during the war so she kept all that she could find and she taught it to her children. Utte is now just like her mom.... Its really sad and she said that she can't trust anyone to help besides us, and it is really touching because she asked us for help. That is the first step. I am so proud of her for that. I love how I can see the difference the gospel brings to people's lives. This is the first major physical experience of repentence that I have seen yet and it is really inspiring to see someone ask for help and receive it to change her life for the better!
Liebe, Sister Tuschling
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