Almost Christmas

Not much has changed here in Germany there still isn't any snow and its always cloudy but its really fun. I went on exchanges twice this week once on Tuesday with the district leader in Köthen and then with the other trainee in Magdeburg on Friday when our trainers went to a choir concert for the night and stayed the night in Baremburg. Elder Germann did a ninja week this week. tell dad t try it. you can only eat plain rice, as much as you want but only rice. then you sleep on the floor without pillows or blankets. apparently its an effective weight loss program.

 Monday was p day and most of it was spent going around Magdeburg. there is a ton of malls and stuff but not much other things for p day in the winter.

 Tuesday I went to Köthen and spent the afternoon and night there with elder short. We did a lot of street contacting and dooring. and found 11 new investigators. That was cool but I wish we could find some in Magdeburg.

 Wednesday I came back to Magdeburg and not much happened its a really slow time right now because everyone is so busy with Christmas.

 Thursday we had a lesson with Johanna. She is scheduled for baptism on the 3rd of January. She will be the first one baptized in our area in over 2 years.

 Friday the trainers left to the choir concert. so me and elder Gibbs were left in magdeburg. that was fun he has only been here as long as I have he was in my mtc group so we had quite the adventure but somehow we lived through it and we did a lot of street contacting. because our lessons fell out.

 Saturday our trainers came back and we switched back. we had another lesson but that was about all.

 Sunday the first two hours of church was watching the first presidency Christmas devotional. I could understand bits and pieces but it was still good. then for the first time we didn't have any where to be so i was able to study.

I DO like chocolate

I am getting along well with my companion. my German is getting better. the more I hear the more I understand.  About half the lessons we teach are in English to university students who speak about as much German as I can. This week I found out that your child that used to hate chocolate was just always given the wrong kind of chocolate. milka makes an oreo chocolate bar that is 100x better than Hershey cookie and cream bar. and all German chocolate is awesome.

  I love the food here. some of the fun food I have tried is

Döner, very similar to a gyro only better

Curry wurst, Bratwurst covered in curry sauce 

Schnitzel, similar to a country fried steak. its made out of chicken veal or pork, and topped with a fried egg. sounds a little weird but it is delicious.

Dumplings and red cabbage are very popular here. 

  The city i'm in is cool i'm not having as hard of time as I thought I would in the city but it is a lot different than Utah, instead of gum at check out counters they sell shot sized bottles of liquor and there is a cigarette vending machine on every other street corner.

On Monday last week we went to the Weihnachtsmarkt that is the Christmas market they sell tons of junk food and little trinkets like a county fair. Tuesday was a cool day we taught a girl who is a daughter of a member and we committed her to baptism on the 3 of Jan. her father was super excited. Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty normal days Wednesday night the Romneys took us out to eat, They consider us their grandchildren and like to take us out once a week. Thursday we went to Dresden for zone conference. Dresden is a really pretty city and I would love to  spend some time there. Then Friday and Saturday were really normal. all we did was a lot of street contacting. Then yesterday we went to Köthen after church for a choir concert. 

  The city of Magdeburg is really cool. there are many old churches all over the city. There is this really really big one called the dome. I'm told that it is over 1000 years old. We have a tiny little branch here that has about 30 people who come to church but between the two companionships of missionaries we have had 7 investigators there in two weeks. The members here take good care of the missionaries so I expect you to do the same at home.

I will send some pictures when I can there isn't as much wifi here as in the states so it might be a while but I will.

  I hope you guys have an awesome week. i pray for each of you all the time and thank you for all the prayers you send my way. I appreciate them a lot. Bis nächste Woche Liebe ihr Liebling Kinder  

Elder Oldroyd

1st Week

I don't have any pictures this week for you but I do have some cool things to tell you. One flying is cool but not the best thing ever. when we flew over Greenland i got to see the northern lights that was cool. ill try to take lots of pictures this week to send to you. there are some really cool things here in Magdeburg i love you guys.

The MTC gave me a lot of false hope about the language. I don't understand 90 percent of the time but i will learn. well I got into Berlin and we were busy for the night but they let us go to a hotel and sleep at 7 until 11 so that was really nice. then I met my trainer Elder Germann and we got on a train and went back to our area.We are in a city called Magdenburg. We ride on strassenbahns everywhere we go in town and on trains when we go to other cities but that doesn't happen often.

  My trainer is Elder Germann he is from South Carolina we are getting along well. he has only been out here for 12 weeks so I'm a little scared of what they will be having me do in 2 transfers. We live in an apartment just the 2 of us. its a nice little apartment on the 3rd floor (it would be the fourth floor in america but in Germany they have ground floor 123...) we have quite a few investigators but I haven't had the chance to meet most of them. but by next Monday I can tell you more about them. I'm still trying to figure out directions. its really hard without mountains and without the sun.

yeah December is cool here we get 3 days of Christmas instead of 1 there are a couple of Christmas markets here in Magdenburg there a lot like a county fair.

Well for me all is good. it will be better when i can speak German but I'm sure that will come. I always pray for you guys I love you all.

Sweet Angles

Got a surprise call today from this wonderful lady.  It was after 11pm their time.  Sister Romney whose husband is the branch president says Kyle is safe and happy and doing a wonderful job.  His first area is in Magdeburg. She says he should be there for about 12 weeks.  Hopefully we will get an email from him tomorrow.  Very Thankful today for wonderful people who are looking out for Kyle.

He Made It !

December 3 - He made it to Germany  Left the MTC at 6am on Tuesday Morning.  Arrived in Berlin about 3:30 am our time on Wednesday.  (11:30 am in Berlin) Tired but happy

Kyle with his Trainer Elder Germon and his Mission President and his wife Brother and Sister Kosak

MTC Adventure

Kyle loved the MTC - Learned tons met lots of Good people - had all the Chocolate milk and Ice cream they could inhale on Wednesdays and Sundays.  Gained at least 10 lbs.