Down in the south of Österreich lies a town of but 900 people where King Richard was held captive long ago. The land itself has been inhabited for thousands of years, as the winding Danube provides for lush green. As a desert child, I was of course ecstatic to hike through the forest up to the top of the mount, where the rolling grape vineyards and red-roofed city could be seen from the crumbled castle ruins. The surviving foundations were speckled with wild flowers of a thousand vivid varieties.
In the town below, cobblestone streets snaked between quaint cottages, and then there was
the monastery, impressive as any with the dainty blue tower and the chapel of pastel fresco.
We also had the chance to visit Krems, and then later that week was exchange in Wiener Neustadt ("Veener-Noy-shtot," translated as Vienna New City, even though it's not very new at all; we walked past an 800-year-old church right next to their apartment).
In Wiener Neustadt I had the chance to work with Sister Gudnasen from Iceland! I asked her a bazillion questions about Iceland and also about Denmark where she previously lived. We had a number of appointments together and were even surprise-treated to some ice cream by one of the cute young moms she has been meeting with! People are so nice. Seriously though, I was so amazed that when you say hello people there say hello back, because that rarellllyyyy happens in Vienna. Other than that, the rest of the week was comprised of finding, singing at the rest home, chilling with Baagii and Richard, and meeting with some amazing new people. Richard 1) loves the gospel and 2) always tells us about how he was Elvis Presley's lawyer, so when we told him some of the tough questions we've been recently asked, he was able to give us some excellent answers.
Weird Quotes of the Week:
- "The Plan of Salvation can be compared to Twilight." "Really?!" "No but I'm sure if you looked hard enough you could find something." -our GML. I will note that this is the second time he has brought up Twilight in casual conversation.
- One of the senior missionaries saw a guy coming through the door for institute. A look of panic crossed her face for a split second before she put on a smile and then through her gritted teeth said to us, "Oh no. Sonny Michael Jackson." We are still waiting for this backstory.
- Ok not exactly a weird quote, but someone asked me if my family comes from Italy... Cause apparently I look like it? I think I'm going to trust Sister Gudnasen a little bit more when she says I look Scandinavian.
Well, this week I will hit my 1/3 WAY MARK. I am SIX MONTHS OLD now! To my future missionary friends, here are some things I didn't know about, half a year ago before I stepped on that plane:
- Preparation day does not last the whole day.
- A lot of people will mistake you for Jehovah's Witnesses. Sometimes nuns.
- You will have THE WEIRDEST DREAMS.
- Even though it's terrifying, sometimes it's actually pretty fun to talk to strangers, even if all you get to talk about is casual things before they get off the tram. If they leave with a smile then that makes it so worth it.
- If you have an iPad, you can receive and read emails that people send you any day of the week as long as you have wifi. You just can't respond till Monday.
- No matter how much churchy music you listen to, you will still get random pop/theatre/other songs stuck in your head all the time. (However, some older missionaries tell me that they can't remember a lot of their favorite music anymore, so maybe this will change.)
- Wearing normal clothes like jeans is so exciting.
- You will start to love those weird cheesy church movies, even the ones for kids.
- You will no longer be a night owl.
- There is something called Book Trunkiness that kicks in every time you are at someone's house and see their giant bookcase.
- The mission veil is a real thing. You literally just forget stuff from pre-mission life.
- When you look at your pictures, it will no longer be about what you look like but about where you are / who you're with / the precious memory made. Maybe this is because you will no longer have social media to be constantly comparing the number of likes you have, or maybe it's because your perspective will really be broadened to things beyond superficiality, to things that really matter.
- You will meet people in your ward who become role models.
- The Spirit does not change no matter the language. You could be halfway across the globe and yet be with a family whose house is filled with the spirit, and just feel at home again.
- You will become a lot more grateful for everything.
- You will discover new opinions, new cultures, things that make you really reflect on what that you have been raised with.
- Your testimony will be seriously challenged, but oh how it will be strengthened! You will learn to love the scriptures during your hour of personal study each day, and your prayers will become so sincere. If you thought you treasured the gospel before, now it will truly become something immeasurably great.
XOXO.
Sister Lundgreen
