Happy New Year Everyone!

Heilig Abend! (Christmas Eve)
Christmas Eve was just fantastic!  Can't ask for anything more perfect than to celebrate your only German Christmas Eve with a wonderful German Family!  We spent it with the wonderful Petzold Family.  The dad, Bruder Petzold was just recently baptized this summer and is an amazing father and husband and is thriving in the Gospel.  We began the evening by sitting around the table eating German Stollbrot which contains of suger on top but the bread is baked with raisins in it or plums or anything else delicious and we talked about Christmas!  And then the kids were dismissed to get ready for the "Weihnactsraum" or also known as the "Christmas Room."  As they go to the other room that's when the Wiehnachtsmann/Santa Claus comes and brings presents for everyone!  So they wait patiently until the mom or dad rings a bell and then once she rings it, we all go into the Christmas Room.   We felt like part of the family, more like the children experiencing Christmas for the first time!  And when the door opened, the aroma of insense filled the air and and the enitre room was lit by candle light.  It was magical.  And of course, under the tree there laid all the presents.  And the children were allowed to open them all on Christmas Eve so the rest of the Christmas Celebration would entail putting the toys together and playing with them :)  It was really special to be a part of the celebration and tradition.   
Weihnacten! (Christmas!!)
Christmas was awesome!!  I thought that Heilig Abend was exciting, Christmas morning was the even better.  It was a mix of America and Germany thanks to my lovely companion Sister Sprouse.  She decided to mix both!  I don't know when she found time to do it but she was able to sneak in the Christmas Room (our living room) and wrap my package that I got from my momma and then put fruit and other gifts we recieved earlier in the week from people into her wool socks to make stockings.  And I guess right when we woke up, she told me not to go into the Weihnactsraum but being so early and not really being awake, what did Sister Tuschling do??  She went in and I was instantly awake!  What a wonderful surprise!  Not to mention we had to wear ugly sweaters while unwrapping our Christmas gifts from home.  It was a wonderful Christmas morning.  Then we headed off to a wonderful member's house for lunch which included Knoedel, Turkey, and Rotkohl.  I don't know how to descibe Knoedel all that well but all I know is that after two of them, I was done for!  Then we made our way back to the wonderful missionary couple's house to talk with our families!!  I was able to Skype with Mom, Ash, and Jimmy for 1 hour and then talked on the phone with my Dad for another hour :)  I am so blessed!!!  I was so wonderful to see everyone's faces and hear their voices!! we all just stayed at the McPherson's house and played card games, like Golf (that was way fun!), and dominoes (also very fun!) and other games at the table.  It felt like I was still in America :) We had a combination of giving spiritual thoughts to uplift the members and bring the spirit, and we were able just to sing in a circle all of our favorite Christmas Songs or Hymns in the church.  I love the Spirit of Christmas!!  And a lot of members love using real candles on trees to light them up.  They are so old fashioned here its beautiful!  We have gotten a lot of chocolate and oranges.  Everyone gives everyone oranges its cute.  And Germans love Christmas so much, we celebrate it for 3 days!  And by the end of the 3rd day, you are ready to take down all your decorations!  And then before you know it, they are getting ready to celebrate the new year!  Firecrackers are definitely legal here no matter where you are.  I have had a heartattack about 50 times in like 1 hour because all we here are "BOOM BOOM BOOM" and then all we see is smoke.  Everytime I think I am getting shot but really 'tis the season!
Transfer Call!
As you predicted and as I predicted, I am now leaving Dortmund...  Yes they are finally giving me the boot!  But Heavenly Father has a nice boot because he kicked me to a wonderful, magical place called Friedrichsdorf!  It is a small town outside Frankfurt and it is kind of in the "mountains" and it also has a wonderful building that is very valuable to us called THE TEMPLE!!!  I am now a Temple Sister!  I will be in a drit with Sister Kreth and Sister Mosher who are both older than me on the mission if you can believe that!  I am so sad to leave Dortmund.  I love this place and even more the people with my whole heart, but if there is a place to go, Friedrichsdorf is the place!  Since there the temple is there, the members come to me instead of going to their houses :)  My last Sunday was the hardest of all.  Goodbyes have never been my favorite but I am grateful for the word for goodbye in German = Aufwiedersehn!  Which means, "Again See."
'Tis the Season!
The Spirit of Christmas is still in the air and so while we were in an appointment with a lady we had the idea to go out on the streets and give people begging for money food for their bellies.  I am so excited to do this before I leave Dortmund.  I love serving other people.  I love looking at the faces of those you just helped and you see their thankfulness and love for you right back.  I truly know that charity is the pure love of Christ.  As we do as He does, our lives are better.  We feel better, and those we touch with those acts of love feel better as well.  I am grateful to be a servant for Him :)  I feel His love in my life everyday and because of that feeling I want people to feel it as well.  That is the fuel that keeps me running.  Happy New Year everyone :)  And again, Merry Christmas!
Liebe,
Sister Tuschling