July 29,2013, Hamburg

Dear Family, 

               So crazy that I'm in Hamburg! I'd be walking down the street and just thinking, wow, I'm in Hamburg, wow I'm in Hamburg, WOW I'M IN HAMBURG, ha-ha. Okay not so dramatic, but ja, crazy. My companion Elder Mckean is an awesome missionary. He works hard. He's been out for a year and really loves the people in this city. We are doing a lot of good work together.

We've seen miracles so far since I've been here. We have 5 investigators who want to be baptized - four of them on the 18th of August and one on the 15th of September. S is an amazing investigator. He's from the Bronx in New York, black, 70 years old, but looks like he's 50, plays the blues on the piano, and was a Methodist and church organist for 20 years here in a German church. He one day decided he didn't belong in that church and that it wasn't true. He had the strong feeling and impression to go to our church on Sunday and he followed it. The members greeted him right away and he loved it! We gave him a church tour and taught him the lesson of the restoration and he loved it and said that Joseph Smith’s story was like his story. The spirit was just as strong in our next lesson on Friday, and he knows that this church is true and wants to be a part of it. During the “Plan of Salvation” lesson, we taught him about where we want to end up and he's like, 'I'm gonna be there! I'm gonna be there with y'all and we're gonna have a good time!' It was so cool. We taught him about temples, too, and he says it all makes sense to him. It's so amazing how receptive he is, and he also came to church yesterday. He's excited for his baptism and we're helping him get ready.

We've also had really good lessons on the street with people and Elder Mckean and I are killing it here. We've set goals in our companionship and district and zone of what we want to see happen and want to accomplish. We want to work a lot with the ward and it looks like it'll be successful. We also have 2 small families that we found this week and will be teaching. We're focusing on true conversion. We need the amount of faith in the church like the pioneers had - willing to sacrifice and do what is right in building up His Kingdom.

                 The ward was very welcoming and we've got an meal appointment at Oma and Opa's every Thursday, where we will be teaching them the lessons and helping them strengthen their testimony. They're really excited to have me here.

 Wow your trip sounds amazing, Mom and Dad. Thanks so much for the money. That was a lot of money you gave me. Please pass my thanks on to Bishop Redekop and Grandma and Grandpa at home! I really loved their letters and am so thankful for the money.

 I'm stoked that you got to see Br. Bentke! He sent me some pictures, ha-ha! I'm really glad you enjoyed your trip.

Thanks for the referrals in that letter. The sad thing is that Rahlstedt isn't in our zone. It's in Neumünster zone, so I'm trying to figure out how to handle it. I want to see the family and will probably do that on P-day next week because I'm helping someone move today in an hour so. There’s no time for anything.

I love you! Hope you have a great week!

 Elder Lüning