Birthdays, Broken teeth, and Baptisms

Family,

So much good news this week!

First of all, I got my tooth fixed!  Awhile ago I was eating chocolate in a bus. Everything was fine until I heard a crunch.  After a quick investigation I discovered the "crunch" was my tooth.  I was chewing my own tooth.  A massive chunk of my front tooth was gone.  

So for the past while I have been wandering around Osnabrück with a pirate tooth.  The Elders gave me a theme song:

Hey, I just met you

Yes, my tooth is crazy

But here's our number

Get baptized maybe?!

It was kind of funny at first, but then it was just my life....

It took some time to get everything worked out, but this week we were finally able to go to the dentist and get it fixed. I was so scared!  I hate going to the dentist at home.  I was super worrieed about my German too. They didn't teach us Dentist vocab at the MTC...

Everything went alright.  After an hour, a few x ray pictures, a shot, and a visit from the blue blinking light all was well!  

Still a little numb.....

I also had a birthday!!!!!!

The members were all so sweet.  It was fun to get hugs and hand shakes all day long.  We had an eating appointment with the G's. We ate raclette.  We used this fancy stove thing where you cook meat on the top.  Then everyone has a shovel that they fill with veggies and cheese and sauces.  Then you put it under the meat girll and it gets all melty.  When it is all done you throw it together on potatoes and eat it!  It was super yummy!!

After we ate, we had a small sing along of Christmas tunes.  

Then we all voyaged back to church for the First Presidency Christmas devotional.  It was really great and I was thankful we got to see that.

Then Sister Hayden and I went home and partied it up Elder Dallin Solomon style.  We hurried and finished our planning so we could enjoy a The Testaments movie night. We baked the pumpkin mix my family sent too becuase what is a movie night without treats?!?

We also had the ward Christmas party.  There were almost as many nonmembers there as members.  It was super impressive.  We had a lot of our investigators come but the members also did a lot of their own missionary work.  They brought neighbors, coworkers, and friends.  It was a great night.

We weren't quite sure what to expect. It was most defnintely the fanciest ward christmas party I have ever been to.  There was a large program of classical musical numbers, poetry, and scripture reading.  We all sat and watched by candle light and drank tea and ate cookies. 

{We met with Herr W this week.  We played something at the ward Christmas party together so we set up a time to practice.  As part of the practice jam sesh we played Bach double and Pachelbel Canon.  All I can say is that it made my soul happy. I was seriously smiling the whole rest of the day.  

We also taught him about prayer.  He seemed to really listen and take it in.  Maybe he will have gospel interest after all!

I sure hope so, because the jam sesh friendship is blossoming :)

Oh and G's gave me a violin shoulder rest for my birthday!  Best.Gift.Ever!  I have totally upgraded from the sponge :)}

 Herr W and his wife

Then der Weihnachtsmann came with his list and his bag of treats.  He also came with Sklave Rupret.  It was so fun to watch.  The kids all went up one at a time and had to sing or recite a poem in order to get their gift. 

The Bad Bentheim Elders have a baptism this weekend and one scheduled for next weekend.  Our Osnabrück Elders have one scheduled for the week after that.   Sister Hayden and I found the man our Elders are working with. We were so excited to get the news this week that he had set a baptismal date!  White Christmas!!!!!

I have no more time!

I love you all!

Love,

Sister Brown

And I send my apologies for the lack of spell check...Good luck!

Hamburg Hauptbahnhof Döner