Elder Karl adds another "food" to his box!

Hello everybody another great week in Brest. First on P-day we went to Ocèanoplis!

Which is one of the biggest aquariums in france. It was so much fun and was a really good way to meet a lot of people and for them to see that we are normal people lol.Then that night we went to our DMPs house for dinner he is 80 years old and can't hear very well. But it was a lot of fun but half way through the meal I realized that we were not eating chicken! I asked what is this? He said something in french I have never heard then Elder Ricks looks at me and says .. Dove. Yes I ate a dove lol it was not that bad pretty good actually.Then later on in the week we had to travel to Lorient which is another city in france to do exchanges with the district leader. It was a lot of fun and a really nice city too but I like Brest more ;). Then we were suppose to have a branch picnic on the beach but wouldn't you know it a huge thunder storm comes in and it gets cancelled. However the Branch president invited over for lunch since he had so much extra food. Sounds like a good time right!? Oh how I was wrong he made us eat all these cheeses that had to be from like the 1700's it was purple and just so gross and he just kept giving us more and more. Later that night Elder Ricks got sick haha but I was smart and started to put some of the cheese in my pocket and then threw it away later on.But down side now my pocket smells like gross cheese haha. Then at the end of the week we ported into this really nice muslim family that let us in and gave us food. Super strange because they are muslim but they want to learn more so it is really awesome. Elder Ricks and I have been having alot of success and blessings! Super awesome and we are hoping it continues:) Love you all and thank you for the support!!! Love - Elder Karl    

New area - Brest

Bonjour! Oh my such a busy week i don't even know where to begin. Well Wednesday I left Belgium and and had about an 8 hour train ride which is very uncomfortable in a suit if you were wondering. But I finally made the trek to Brest! All I can say is wow, it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. We are right on the ocean and it is just amazing.

Brest

My new companion is Elder Ricks he is from California and is just one transfer ahead of me so we are a young companionship that's for sure! But it is great we get along super well and we are working our butts off. Guess you could say we have something to prove but also we just want to do as much as we can because we owe it to the lord. My first day we went to a members home and helped them paint their entire roof. The upside though is I finally got some sun and no longer look like a ghost. Then we taught a few lessons that night and saw some less-actives. The next day we walked into the main part of town and there was a huge dance floor with about 2,000 people. turns out there is a huge break dancing competition each year and it just happened to be on that day.

Dance off

But it was a great chance to talk with lots of people and also get to see some amazing dancers. It was super cool and just a fun way to contact people. Later that night we went porting and as we were walking towards a home there was this girl following us so we asked to you live here? She said no.. so we kept walking up to the house and she walked up with us. We then rang the door bell and all these girls opened the door! Turns out we had ported into a huge girl sleepover party haha. And the girl behind us was going there as well. So it was a little bit awkward but we were able to keep it together. Side note- I have noticed that there are nothing but girls in this ville! For every 1 guy there is 10 girls its crazy. But gotta focus i'm a missionary just was throwing it out their.;) Easter was sunday which was really good! To my surprise though I was asked to give a little talk and had about a 5 min heads up. But it went well so no problems there. However Easter dinner was a little bit different. We did not get invited anywhere there are only 14 members in the branch here so a little bit small. And back at our apartment we had no food. And when I say we had no food i mean it! So we searched the apartment and found some mash potato mix and some old pasta and made some dinner haha.

Elder Ricks and I Easter dinner

it turned out decent so I am thankful for that. Being on a mission has really made me realize how nice it is to have parents who make you dinner and buy food haha. Today we are going to ocèanopolis!!! Which is a giant aquarium! one of the biggest ones in france so I am super excited should be a lot of fun! Well I am super excited for my new ville and I will try to take lots of pics for you all! Love you all and thank you for all that you do. Love Elder Karl

Brest

Elder Karl's last week in Belgium!

Big news everyone!!! I am leaving Belgium and heading to France. I am going to a ville called Brest. It is on the very coast of France, that's right I will be at the beach for summer ;). But I am really excited to finally be going to france and to the coast for summer should be super fun.I leave early Wednesday morning and my companion is someone named Elder Ricks. It's an 8 hour train ride lol! I will find out my new address and everything next week so stay posted. This week we had a pretty slow week. To start we were on our way to the church to teach a lesson and out of nowhere it starts to pour down rain. We began to run but then realized we were totally soaked and just walked in it. To make things worse the person we were gonna teach at the church never came. He must have been smart to know not to go out in the rain ;) But Elder Miller and I had a good laugh about it. The next night we had dinner at the Ablecita's and they knew I might be leaving and they bought me some socks and made me a going away CD with pictures from the birthday party. It was so nice of them and really touched me. I love the members here. It's gonna be hard to leave but I am so ready for a new area. 
Some crazy things that have happened this week is that I saw 3 girls pee right in front of me! And they were all at different times. It was so gross and they just smiled at me and took their pants off and peed! I was like what the freak!!! Then to make it worse women just breast feed out in the open here and just take everything out and show it to everyone so we have to be really careful where we look lol. 
But on a brighter note we found the coolest family ever this week. They are african and super awesome! We are helping him remodel his house. Thank you dad and the amish for teaching me how to build so many things! We also ate at the Orsinis house this week! The dad is from belgium and his wife is from Ireland! they have 3 kids and they all speak with an english accent. It is so legit and the food and ice cream was amazing. Tonight I am going to the Davis for dinner to say goodbye! I love them so much and know they will be my friends forever! Love you all and thank you for all the support! Love -Elder Karl  

Singing Disney songs!

Last week in Belgium ahhh where has the time gone lol. This week went by super fast! First we had dinner at the Volz( a german family). It was alot of fun, but something really cool happened. The night went a little long so they gave us a ride home. When we got to our apartment the dad ( Brother Volz) got out to say goodbye and when he shook my hand he pulled me in for a hug and told me that they are praying I don't get transferred and that I stay! It almost made me cry lol. It's hard to explain but it means a lot when people like you being there and that they care about you. Since most of the time people want nothing to do with you. So it was a really cool experience for me! Also this week Elder Miller and I were riding the tram and we were singing disney songs and just laughing and having fun. Some lady saw this and contacted us! She thought it was strange we were here for Jesus and that we enjoyed life so much! Needless to say we explained a little more and gave her a Book of Mormon and she is now a new amie! Later that day Elder Miller had to go to Paris so I went on an exchange with 2 other Elders. I did not pack a bag which was a mistake lol. Because Elder Millers train broke down and I had to spend the night in my church clothes for 2 days haha. I was a little gross haha. Can I just say General Conference was so amazing! It was so good!!! I don't know why I was such a punk before my mission lol. I love Conference<3. Not to mention I got to watch 2 of the sessions at members homes! Saturday I watched it at the Davis house of course ..Love them! Then on sunday I watched it at the lauritezs. I think that's how you spell it haha but they are from utah and are a young couple with 2 kids. They are super awesome and it was so much fun and such good food. That's all for this week! Love you all and thank you for your support! -Elder Karl

A marriage proposal and a train wreck, all in the same week!

Hello everybody! Things is Belgium are going well only 2 more weeks in Belgium until I get transferred. So I better enjoy it while I can I guess :p. This week I tried to give myself a hair-cut. I say tried because I messed it up really bad! But thank goodness for members haha. So I went over to the Davis house and he fixed my hair. I love the Davis family so much they are the most amazing people and I am going to miss them so much. 

Also got the chance to eat with Frere Frankin again(the one armed man) And it was good! 

We had a member baptism on Saturday. It went really well and also had some awesome food after it so I can't complain. Funny stories of the week! While waiting for the metro Saturday night. Elder Miller and I were approached by a very drunk women. She asked who we were, and as we talked with her she found it very strange that as missionaries we don't have sleep around. Then she asked Elder Miller if he would sleep with her and marry her. That it only costs 2500 euros and that she was in love with him. To her surprise he said no haha and we ran away and jumped on the Metro haha! Also on the tram we were on our way to a members house for a birthday party. When all at once the tram goes from 45mph to 0 mph because we smashed into a car. What you don't know is that the tram is packed and we have to stand. So when the tram hit a car everyone flew 5 feet and everyone fell on each other and got messed up. However Elder Miller and I did not get hurt lol! The lord watches out for us I swear. pretty crazy week, also in church had to teach primary and the gospel principles class all in french all alone! Not too bad if you ask me! Love you all and hope you are all doing well. Thank you for all of the support and love it is much needed! Love -Elder Karl