10 Days till Christmas

Elder Hoggan cannot believe that another week has flown by! Christmas is next week and this is such an awesome time of the year. Steve loves being where he is and has learned more about the true meaning of Christmas. When younger, we think about the gifts. Jesus Christ is the GIFT! Check out the "He is the Gift" video and share it with others. He really is the best gift that any of us could get or give during this time of year.

Elders Hoggan and Jensen finished up their baking preparation last Tuesday for the ward Christmas Party on Saturday. They had four more Elders in their apartment, too. On Wednesday, they went to Munich and stayed over the night, because of traveling.

Wednesday was a day that Steve could have written about forever! It was so amazing! The highlights included a musical fireside put on by missionaries, hearing President and Sister Kohler speak about putting Christ first, had an awesome lunch, and gift exchange. Elder Hoggan gave away a couple of ugly ties that he found in their apartment along with a spaghetti flavored baby food and other flavors. Steve received a coin holder with a Bavaria coin. Chips are used for shopping carts at markets. Money can be used, too, but the idea is to get people to take their cart back. In America, it could be used as a golf ball marker. Elder Hoggan is pretty satisfied with his gift.

President Kohler then surprised everyone with Ipads!! Ok, that was a joke. The missionaries did get to watch Meet the Mormons instead!! That was just as cool, because President Kohler had to pull some strings :) Elder Hoggan received his Christmas package from  home and that was a highlight as well. It is under his tree. So cool!

The Ward Christmas Party went well with the fortune cookie stand. Their sign read, "Leckeres aus den Schriften." Deliciousness from the Scriptures, or something like that. The cookies were a lot of work, but it was worth it. Elders Hoggan and Jensen baked about 130 along with a giant one that was on display. The members seemed to like it. Karlheinz and Thomas Boden, investigators, showed up and seemed to have a good time. All of the stands at the Christmas Market were all nice, too. There were games for children, food, arts, and crafts. Overall, Elder Hoggan thinks it was a success. He won't pursue the fortune cookie business though.

A miracle story occurred regarding Frau Schif. She called the Elders a few weeks ago and told them that she wasn't so interested anymore in the church. She dropped them and they didn't really understand why. Phone calls were rejected, so Elder Hoggan knew that they had to stop by on Friday. They talked to her at the door and her new job added too much stress. A new appointment was made for Tuesday and their visit that day went well! It was really awesome. Elders Hoggan and Jensen were worried about her, fasted and prayed for her, and miracles do happen! Hopefully, all will go well on Tuesday.

Last Pday, the Elders were able to go to a Christmas Market in Ludwigsburg. It was pretty and today they will go to one in Esslingen. It's supposed to be super cool :)

Eine schone Woche wunsche ich euch!