A huge teaching pool

Hello Family!
    This week was basically super awesome just like every other week
=)  We had a zone conference, and the area President, President
Kopishke really stressed finding and asking inspired questions.  He
invited us at the beginning of the meeting to write down personal
questions on a piece of paper and then he said if we really tried to
focus on these questions that the Holy Ghost would reveal the answers
through the meeting.  Basically the meeting was awesome and he was
right haha.  So, we decided to put that to practice and really focus
on individuals and invite them to do awesome stuff like that.  We
ended up finding 4 new investigators this week.  We have such a huge
teaching pool now, it´s amazing to see how much this area has changed.
    Its been fun working with Elder S, his German is really
good and getting better every day, I can tell he is feeling more and
more confident as he speaks to me in German.  Thanks for sending that
package, I actually got it on Wednesday and I already opened
it... but you can send another if you want me to open it for Christmas
haha.
    Well, things are going great, thanks for all of your love and support!
Elder Collings

New companion

Hello Family!
    This week was the best week I´ve had in a long time haha.  On
Tuesday, I got to go and stay in a super nice hotel with all of the
new missionaries, and then the next morning, I got my new companion,
Elder S.  He´s really awesome, and his German is very good.
He´s working really hard, and we´re going to have a ton of success
this transfer.  Basically when we got to Offenbach Wednesday evening,
we hadn´t taught many lessons, and didn´t really have any lessons
planned out, I was kinda bummed that he wasn´t going to have the
opportunity to teach much his first week, but, in 2 days we ended up
having 9 lessons and finding 2 new investigators so things turned out
really well =)
    It´s been pretty cool training, I remember my trainer and how I
learned so much from his example and how he worked, a lot of what I
did was influenced by what he did.  I have been trying to be a good
example for Elder S so that he knows how to work hard =)  He is
a little shy and doesn´t like talking to people on the street, but....
he´s going to do it haha.  I already had him take the lead in 2 of our
lessons.  I can tell he doesn´t really like how I am giving him so
much to do, but, he is fully capable of it and it is stretching his
abilities making him basically the best missionary in the world haha.
    I´m doing great and really enjoying the work, we´ve got a TON of
lessons set up this week, and I´m really excited to meet with some of
these people. We´re lookin´ to have a white Christmas in Offenbach =)
    Thanks for everything you do for me, I´ll
probably be spending a little money this week on winter clothes, it
hasn´t even snowed yet and I am really cold when I go outside haha.
Elder Collings

Trainer

Hello Family!
    This week was pretty dang awesome, this was the first week this
transfer when most of our lessons went through, every other week we
had atleast 7 fallen out appointments, this week, only 3 =)  We got
our transfer calls this week, Elder H will be going to Duisburg,
it is right by Krefeld, my first area, and I will be staying in
Offenbach, and I am training.  Isn´t that crazy?  It seemed like
yesterday I was trained by Elder M haha.  We are expecting a lot
of miracles this next transfer, I´m really excited to get out and do
some awesome work.  Elder H has been here for 4 transfers, this
was his first area, and he is pretty nervous to be transferred for the
first time.   But, I am
way excited to train, I´m terrible at teaching stuff, so, I don´t know
how I am going to teach German grammar... I just know it, I don´t know
how to explain why it is the way it is.... it just is that way.  I
guess I better learn how to teach it.
    Wolfgang is still doing good and wants to be baptized, he still
has a probem with smoking...  I am really excited for him for once he
finally makes it and quits smoking.  He is down to like 2 a day, on
Sunday, he only smoked 3/4 of a Cigarette, then we knocked on his door
and threw it out the window haha.  Anyway, I don´t really have a lot
of time, I´m taking Elder H by a bunch of the families today to
say goodbye, so we gotta go fast.
    Thanks for everything you do for me, I´m doing great!
Elder Collings

A Visit from President Uchtdorf

Hello Family!
    This week was really awesome, guess who decided to come to
Offenbach?  President Uchtdorf =)  It was way cool to hear him speak
in German, afterwards he took the time to give everyone a handshake,
all 500+ people.  It was so cool, and he knew a bunch of the people
right by me personally, so, he gave them a hug, and I just happened to
be in the way, so, he basically got on top of me to hug his friends. I
felt more loved than them all haha. 

This week I also got to interview
someone for baptism, his name is Erik A.  He talks SO much!
Basically every question in the interview had a 30 minute answer to
it.  He was way awesome, and had a solid testimony, he just got
baptized on Saturday.  When he came up out of the water, he looked
around and then smiled SO big, it was awesome.  I talked to him
afterwards, and he couldn´t explain what he had felt, he just said
that it was right. 

Wolfgang also made it to the baptism, he said he
just wanted to jump into the water right then and there to get
baptized haha, he´s trying so hard to quit smoking, we actually had to
move his baptismal date back because he´s having troubles with it.
Hopefully I can stay and see him get baptized, we get our transfer
calls this Saturday, I´ve never stayed anywhere for more than 2
transfers, so.... this could be a first =)

    This week also had more fallen out appointments than I have ever
seen before.  Basically we planned out the most epic week ever, we
were expecting around 23 lessons.  I would like you to know, that 23
lessons is a lot haha, the mission average is 6.  Almost all of our
appointments fell out, we had 6 lessons this week haha, and 2 of them
weren´t even planned.  We called everyone the day before our
appointment to make sure they were okay, and like everyone said that
the appointment would work, until we got to there doorstep, then
something had come up and they had to cancel.  All I can say is that
it happens haha.

    Things are going good, I´m excited to see what happens for this
next transfer, I never know what to expect.  Thanks for all that you
do!
 
Elder Collings