All the Leaves are Brown and the Sky is Gray

Fall is has arrived in full force here in Erlangen. All the leaves are brown, and the sky is gray (Mamas and the Papas reference), but today its a little warmer ad we get a break from the dreariness and enjoy some sun. Its been somewhat of a disappointing week but in the end it ended up being more successful than we thought it would be.
Unfortunately, our appointments with Walter and Andreas, our two golden investigators, fell out, leaving me and Elder Jensen in stitches. Luckily, we were able to get hold of Walter last night and he sounded like he was doing well. We were able to make out two appointments for this week and will be prayin' like crazy for the next couple of days that they go through.
Elder Achtmann was sick this week so we had the opportunity to do some mini companion exchanges so they could still get to some important appointments. Elder Anderson and I went to Frau Maisel, their golden investigator, and we were able to set a baptismal date with her! Super exciting because it'll be the first baptism in Erlangen in years. Hopefully we'll be able to set a baptism with Walter as well in the next week. I would love to see him baptized before I get transferred. We were also able to get a couple new investigators that the other Elders had found in our part of the city, so things are really shaping up for us.
Had a pretty hilarious experience at Zone Conference on Friday. I guess I'll start out with the background information: Elder Achtmann loves spicy food and had bought some ridiculously hot hot sauce called "Beyond Death" at this American food store that we went to with the Bishop a couple of weeks ago. Now he brings it with him everywhere so he can put it on his food when we eat out. Anyway, It came time for lunch at Zone Conference and sure enough, Elder Achtmann busts out the "Beyond Death." Before long, President Condie happens to notice that we're putting a small drop of this stuff on our food, treating it like its radioactive, and saunters over in his President Condie way to check out the situation. He looks at the stuff, takes the bottle and says to Elder Achtmann, "I'm gonna try this, and if there are any problems, that means that you can't have it anymore." As he puts a drop on his plate we're all on pins in needles, telling him to be careful not to put too much.
After President Condie quietly saunters back to his table, Elder Lindgren, our awesome Finnish Zone Leader, comes over to our table to try this stuff out. Well he tries some, and he puts way to much on his food so now tears are streaming down his cheeks. He then proceeds to wipe his eyes, not realizing he has a big blotch of hot sauce still on his hand, and before he knows it he's in real trouble because he just put this ridiculous hot sauce directly on his eye. The hilarious thing was that as all this was happening, our table was just watching the whole thing laughing as Elder Achtmann got more and more nervous. After a couple more minutes Elder Lindgren frantically runs to the bathroom to wash his eyes out and President Condie soon follows to check up on him. Now Elder Achtmann is really freaking out. In a few more minutes, President Condie comes back into the room and walks straight over to our table. As we're all thinking that Elder Achtmann is in big trouble, President Condie just gives him a thumbs up and says, "That Hot Sauce tastes pretty good." and quietly walks back to his table. Hahaha President Condie is so legit.
Well, I hope that story was entertaining. Kind of a "had to be there" situation but since it was one of the highlights of my week, I thought it was worth sharing.
And yes, for whatever reason, I didn't get your email last week. Don't worry Mom, I know that you would never forget me, and I learned a valuable lesson from the experience. Its a strange thing to be away from your family for two years, only having contact with them once a week through emails, and I will admit, it was a little nerve racking not to know what was going on with my family for a whole week. Last Monday evening I found myself almost getting paranoid, thinking, "What if something's wrong and there's absolutely nothing I can do about it because I'm on the other side of the world?!" My nervousness and paranoia gave way to peace, however, as I prayed and asked Heavenly Father if everything was OK with my family. I was able to focus on the work for the rest of the week and not worry because I knew that my family was in my Heavenly Fathers hands, and always will be, even after I return home.
Thank you for your prayers and love! Hope you all know how much I love you and pray for you and your needs whenever I can! You are my family and are more important to me than anything! Take care and have a great week!

Alles Gute!
Andy