Mara and Rakel

Pictured above, from left to right:
E. Woodall, Me, Mara, Rakel, E. Beckstead, E. Hebbert

Valentines Day was pretty fantastic. Everything worked out and went as smooth as butter. I am not going to lie, at the start of this transfer, I was a little hesitant and afraid that we were not going to be able to get everything taught. But sure enough, we went through all the lessons and they passed their baptismal interview!

The service was fantastic as well. It went way better than I thought it would. Mara is deathly afraid of water, so the whole baptismal font thing was a little bit of a stumbling block. But we got someone she really trusted to do the baptism, and she didn't have a problem at all.

Now the cool part: Afterwords, there was a little luncheon. Mara walks up to me and introduces me to a 10 year old by named Victor Grill. He saw the baptism and asked me when he could be baptized! We are meeting with him this week and are going to set a date for (at the latest) the second week in March.

Awesome, right? The members here are on fire!

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A Rediculous Purchase

Last week, Elder Beckstead saw something he had to have: A H&M Elmo pullover. Retro is in?

This face is to represent the type of person who would wear such a sweater.

PS- It has ELMO written down the left sleeve...

Missionaries...

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Big News

So, we got a phone call this morning. Effective 1 July, 2010, the number of German-speaking Missions will be decreased from 5 to 3. We will then no longer be known as the Germany-Munich/Austria Mission... Let's hear it for...

The Germany-Munich/Austria/Switzerland/Lichtenstein Mission

AKA The German South Mission.

Too bad that it happens in July. The chances of me working out of the current mission boundries are slim. Oh well, it's big news in the Mission right now...

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Russell Holmes and Hypo Tirol Volleyball

This Wednesday, the Elders had the oppurtunity to watch a Europeans League Championship Match for Volleyball. We watched the local Hypo Tirol play against a team from northern Italy. Number 14 on the team is Russell Holmes, a member in our ward from California. Russell is a superstar, standing about 6'11'', and plays center block not only for Hypo Tirol, but also for the US National Team. He decided that after he wins gold in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, he will retire from volleyball and move on to some business persuits he has been watching over the last few years.

Hypo Tirol qualified for the All Europeans Quarterfinals, taking place in mid- to late February. Right now, they are seated 1st in the Austrian League and are looking good for this All Europe Tournament.

Russell is featured on both the tickets and programs (what I am holding). On the poster behind me, he is the second player from the left in the second row.

And we have an eating appointment with him and his family this Saturday...

You might be able to see us in the game he played. Google "Hypo Tirol Januar 20, 2010" and see if you can watch the match. We are the 4 rowdy boys in white shirts and ties sitting on the front row...

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Elder Woodall

Meet Elder Braydon Woodall.

He comes from Roy, UT.
He is a die-hard fan of BYU Sports.
His father is a pharmacist.
He is in his 2nd transfer and was in Munich before.
He refuses to wear the color red. (see point 2)
His plans for life include going to BYU, graduating in something relating to history, getting married and living happily ever after somewhere in or near Roy, UT.
He is an awesome companion (the Y aside) and is excited and ready to be the best he can be.

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For Elder Ballantyne's last P Day, we decided to go up into the mountains that occupy our backyard. Elder Ballantyne thought that we should wear our traditional Bavarian attire, dispite the below freezing temperatures in Innsbruck.

The view was fantastic, the P Day was wonderful, we were freezing... Poor Elder B only has short Lederhosen and no socks... His legs were purple by the time we went in...

Sweet though, right? Totally worth the discomfort and frozen body parts. Is there anywhere in the world more beautiful that Innsbruck?

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Happy Birthday, Dad!!!

I think someone misdelivered your present... This was a sweet Porsche 356C I saw parked right outside of our church. It wasn't registered, so I don't know if it was real, but man, it was b-e-a-utiful.

Anyways, have a happy birthday and a great year. I love you!

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