We can choose to be happy.

Hi Mom!

My week was absolutely wonderful. Crazy! But wonderful. :) im glad you liked the video of Brother Ryser, he really is hilarious. Haha the funny part is that that was him trying to speak normal German... it wasn't even Swiss German most of the time XD. the language is good! It kinda stinks because I don't have a lot of time to learn it. I still have to keep up my regular German study, and most of the time i end up just helping my companion with it. But I'm trying to slip it in!

P-Day! Sis.Pugh Seattle, Elder Hankemeier Germany, Chisholm Utah, Moreno Spain, Sis. Call Poland, Johnson Texas

Sorry about Dad's back being out.  I'll definitely pray for Dad, he's never been one that can just sit still for long, unless he's in a hammock. ;) That's a real bummer. Home everything goes well. If I know him, he'll be back on his feet in no time.

So the tennis team is really good there?? That's awesome! And Skylar is playing good, as always. I'm glad she's playing for Cashmere!

Zone P-Day

Yeah I got to watch conference! My companion and I were actually asked to run the programs throughout the day at the church, so we were here from 11 am to 8 pm... wooo! Looong time.  But we got to watch loooots of conference. All of the talks were amazing, and I felt like most of them were aimed right at me! It was a really spiritual experience for me.

Well I got some great stories from this week!!

So we went to go meet a guy we'd set an appointment with at Bahnhof, but he didn't show up.. so we waited a while and then decided to head out because we had another appointment to get to. As we exited the Bahnhof we saw an investigator and started chatting with him. He introduced us to his brother and we chatted for a bit. Then these 3 drunk guys came outta nowhere and shook our hands, and Tyson looked around like: "Oh great" and he dipped out. His brother stayed with us. It became clear that these men were VERY drunk and out of their senses. Two of them were super nice, but the third one was NOT. So awesome elder Chisholm is chatting with the nice guys while this crazy drunk guy is telling me how much I suck xD He was thinking of all KINDS of German insults I had never even heard before. He kept telling me I didn't believe in God, and that I only believed in myself... and

i knew there was no Talking sense into him so I just kept taking it and saying: no problem, no problem. That's ok. Tyson's brother was on my side and he just kept saying: you don't know what you're talking about, man, go home. You're speaking nonsense. That just made the guy

more excited. And finally, he tells me I'm a horrible person, and says: in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, iiiiiiii hate you. And he thought that was really funny so he kept repeating

it. This went on for about 10 minutes and I was feelin reeeeaaal uncomfortable. Tyson's brother was just looking at me like: This guy is nuts... and FINALLY This lady comes out of nowhere and it

turns out she's their "designated driver" and pulls him away. Then she asked about our church and we talked and got her number!! It was insane! I was so uncomfortable. It was horrible in the moment, but

super funny thinking back on it XD.

Beautiful view.

 

 We've been meeting with this guy Johannes for a few weeks, and he's been meeting the Missionaries for about a year. He only speaks Eritrea, Amharic, Arabic, Egyptian, and a little Italien. We teach him

in German, but he can barely speak any German. He's amazing though. He reads every day in the Book of Mormon and when he read the pamphlets in his language, he just looks up and says: yep. That's correct. I asked him if he wanted to be baptized and he said: yeah, when? I was

really surprised! We're working to set a date with him this week and get him to church. On Thursday we had an appointment with him and we showed up at his refugee home. This lady came out and told us we couldn't park there. (she managed the building sometimes) I was confused because we had always parked there and were always given permission. She told us we weren't allowed and had to park somewhere else. We looked on the navi and the nearest park place was 1 and a

half kilometers away! That's not too bad, but we were already late and had an appointment afterwards! So we go park there and take off on a km run in our shirts and ties and bags. Halfway there, a police car pulls off ahead of us and two officers get out, waiting for us. Great!

So we had a nice chat with these gentlemen as they stopped two suspicious young men in suits and ties running down the side of a two lane country road. We had to show our passports, and I had to prove to these guys that I had intent to leave the country after my time in Switzerland was up! Then we were reaaaally late XD so we ran the rest of the way. It was hilarious. A great story and memory. They were really nice officers too.

We set up an appointment with Tyson and we showed up to Bahnhof on time to find him and his group of friends hanging out, drinking, and smoking weed xD he thought we just wanted to hang out I guess... we talked to him and got to know his friends a bit, but it was super awkward. These guys couldn't understand why we didn't smoke weed! XD we eventually gave out some cards and talked a little bit about the church and our missions.

We had an exchange with the Elders in Bonstetten. One of them is from Spain and the other is from Germany. Elder Moreno and Elder Hünkemeier. I was with Elder Hünkemeier. We had a cool Tausch with lots of service and good old fashioned missionary work. It was interesting because he didn't speak English, so we spoke German the whole time, and during language study I helped him learn English! They're both great elders.

WW II Bunker.

World War II Bunker

We had a lesson with a long time investigator named Irina. She's a hilarious woman from Romania. We go to her sewing shop and talk about the gospel. She has a tiny little dog that's adorable and friendly (looks like jasper, but white) and it was an interesting lesson. She would only talk about a past missionary who was super crazy XD .We basically learned why it's important that we act mature and professional, because this lady's impression of missionaries was VERY skewed :( but we got to know eachother and have a good conversation.

Those were only a few stories, but this week was just pretty crazy! I've learned a lot from this area so far.

Swiss Flag.

It's a beautiful place. The people are really nice, our apartment is nice, our members are nice, but the missionary work is at kind of at a stand still... we have one person we're teaching right now that's

really serious, and the rest of the time we are working to find more people to teach. We're doing ALOT of that. On the street, at the door, whatever. Lots of it. But so far NOTHING has really panned out. I only share this, because I have a strong STRONG testimony of the purpose of moral agency. These people greet us on the street and reject something they have never experienced. They reject something that is actually my source of happiness. I am in Chur because I have a purpose there. It

may not be completely clear at the moment, but it doesn't have to be. I don't have to see the light at the end of the tunnel to know that it is there. I just know that I've learned a lot. I've gained a lot. We have agency, so that we can choose to be happy. Some people do not choose to be. I cannot control this, so I simply accept it :) some people would be angry or discouraged and the amount of rejection and unsuccessful attempts to teach someone something as important to them as this. I am not. I am living the dream here. :) There is nothing for me to complain about. I am doing the will of my Father in Heaven, and doing it with a smile on my face. This is his work, and I testify that it is true.

I love you Mom, thank you for the sweet email and the encouragement.

It always helps :)

Until next week!

Elder Tanner Larson