Wk 23 RLF May 29

The Fuller in Spain Food Poisoning Edition

No, these were fine.  Cupcakes on Mother's Day.

 So last preparation day, my companion was getting over a cold, so we both opted to stay in piso and read and to sleep.  It was obvious she was getting progressively worse, but we went at 5 to the church to write our families, and then at 8 we had a Sita with a family, on the way over there she was super nervous and all day she was just pale and tired, then finally in the Sita the family was talking about things that needed to change in the branch and she was just getting more and more freaked out until finally we had to leave.  So we were walking home and she was looking around her like there was something following us.  Then she told me, 'I'm seeing things' and I'm like....
What? Seeing what things? Trees animals what?
Just things, wouldn't give me details, so we went to a members house nd it was Almost time for us to be in piso, but he gave her a beautiful blessing and told her she's probably just having an anxiety attack.  And that's where it all started....

That night she couldn't sleep, and it was clear something w seriously wrong. 

We got a phone call the next day from the other elders in our district asking us if everything was okay.  Turns out they were all sick too, all of them!!! Except, me.  

So we're all trying to figure out what to do calling the nurse meanwhile my companion is still somewhat loopy and has already lost 10 lbs from dehydration.  

And even though they were all sick, our district theater decided we were going to do district meeting anyway.  So we did, and it was... Interesting,  I took a sneak photo I've attached below.  

That night we were to have our investigator have his interview for baptism, which he passed!! 

He didn't get baptized by that's okay, next time! 

Anyway, so finally after Tuesday nd Wednesday being a complete blur, I basically just read and studied while I Made sure my companion was still breathing and drinking water. Finally Thursday we get a phone call that tells us we're all going to the emergency room, at this point my companion is feeling better but just hasn't eaten anything for a few days, I'm still completely fine nd the two elders are in the same boat as Hermana Richey. They all had tests done and they found nothing to be wrong except they were dehydrated.  

So... That my week! Goes to show you, Texas people can handle nasty Mexican food better than anyone!!! 

Wk 23 DTF May 29

I had to patch a letter together this week.  He is always in a hurry and rushing.  No idle time!

Dad:  You look like you visited a Fortress designed to protect the harbor – English, Spanish or something else?  Also curious as to how old it is.

Dan: Yes i did! before i left mombasa! its called fort Jesus! It was super cool! i think you would have liked it alot! Yeah it was Portuguese! They were trying to give the gospel to the natives and it was one of the first organized churches in Africa!

Dad:  Oh – and the cannon – if you hold it to your ear what do you hear?

Dan: Haha the ocean.

Dad: Did the tuk-tuk go off the road or was it being washed away – the waters looks to be about knee deep in the pic you posted – wow!  “Rainy Season”…

Dan: It was being washed away!!!!! the driver just abandon ship and ran away haha. For real! it was crazy while it was in its prime. 

Tuk Tuk out of commission!

Dad: Watch out for mosquitos now – you’ll have a lot more standing water.

Dan: I take my doxy i will be fine haha. no malaria for me.

Dad: Just FYI: those sentences I sent out in Kiswahili were from an app for learning the language, not from Google Translate.  I noticed something a bit awry, though – when you look up “hello” in the app, it says “jambo”.  You said that folks who actually know Swahili don’t use that, right?  Makes me question the app…  

Dan: Oh thats cool! It is actually Kiswahili but for the most part because of the wide variety of greetings they have, they use that one for tourists.

Dad: I’m really impressed with the screen-cap of your comp photo-bombing your call – great timing!

Dan: For real! im gonna miss that guy. anywho! love you so much! miss you!

Elder Tucker is a good photo bomber!

Wk 29 BJF Jun 1

SOOOOOOO,

Transfers this last week. Swapped 3 of our 6 missionaries for some new ones. Elder Warr went down to Friedrichsdorf to be a Zone leader. So, oddly enough I got paired with Elder HolyOak! I panicked a tad when I heard because we had already been companions for 3 weeks in Offenbach. I didn't think that was possible but guess what happened.

So we're having a party and the other missionaries seem to be settling in just fine. I don't have a lot to tell this week as we're running out of time BUTTT. Life is goes well and we'll be doing lots of

 fun stuff.

LIEBE - Elder Füller

Also in the picture of the new district you can see the difference between Elders and Sisters.

Elders chilling sitting around, and Sisters very very far away smiling as hard as they can.

I looked this up and Kolner Dom is the largest Catholic cathedral in Deutschland.
It is also nearly the only thing left unscathed after the complete destruction of the city after the bombings in WWII.

This may be Koln (Cologne) which is where the cathedral is.

Good-bye Elder Warr.

And if I know Ben, Sisters far, far away is code for they are too cute.

Wk 28 BJF May 25

Hilfe! das Pferd Frisst der heilige kartoffel!
*(Help! The horse eats the sacred potato? Well that's a random way to start off a letter.)

It's been a couple weeks since I did much emailing so I'll piece
together the interesting parts.

We've been working much more with the rest of the district, the Bonn
Sisters and the Euskirchen Elders.
They're all crazy and it's wonderful. So you'll see some pictures of them.

As for the Bonn missionary work....we're spending a lot of time
getting in contact with people and trying to help those people we do
have continue to make progress. However our miracle investigator got
deported about a week before his baptism which was bit of a blow to
Elder W. and I. But we're sure he'll go be a miracle for some other
set of missionaries.
Overall It's about finding the people who are ready. Germans are
wonderful people and usually very nice except when you speak to them
about their least favorite subject...religion. Which just so happens
to be our job. so ist das Leben.

Last Pday we played frisbee in the rain and made waffles.

*Hey those look just like the ones I posted!  So he is eating them in front of me AND everyone else after all, eh?!  Well I will just have to go out and buy one of those so when he comes home he will have one, of course.  Note: It is all about his needs, not my insatiable desire for German waffles!!

The following week we went to a zoo in Köln and saw quite a variety of
animals in rather nice enclosures (nicer than any I've seen) with some
animals who are native to America but not to Europe so seeing a
Buffalo as an "exotic" attraction was odd since in Texas I lived next
to a field of them haha.
Today we're going out to Köln again to visit a chocolate museum and
for a holiday "Christi Himmel fahrt" which is just another excuse for
Germans to get drunk, we'll see if anything ridiculous happens.

As an example of drunk German entertainment, A few weeks ago I crammed
into a train with people wall to wall. As I was contemplating how to
talk to someone 6 inches away from my face, a group of drunks broke
out into a well versed song about their favorite ways to cook
breakfast accompanied by some attempted dancing which wasn't so
successful in the cramped train and thus was hilarious.
They would then chant anything and everything, which some silly
American took advantage of and had them chant "aussteigen" which
essentially means "to get out/exit".
At the next stop and to my surprise they followed the chant and got
off even though it wasn't yet their stop. It was beautiful, and a few
rather ugly laughs ensued.

One last note on the last picture, earlier we payed a visit to the
Jehovahs Witness' headquarters here in Bonn. We made some faces and
took some pictures....They weren't at all happy to see us and didn't
open the gate even though we had cookies, but we certainly had some
fun hehehe.

Ben's dream come true...a comp that makes faces like him!

So yes I am still alive, my companion and I get along schwimmenly, we
bought way to much chocolate today, and I have yet to try Schnitzel.
I'll let the pictures/video do the rest of the talking/screaming. Bis
nächste Woche.

*Schnitzel as you may know is:  Wiener schnitzel is the same things as schnitzel, right? Not quite. There's some confusion surrounding the schnitzel family of foods — which one is made with veal? Which isn't? It turns out the difference between the two isn't what's most surprising about these dishes — it's what they have in common.

Schnitzel Is a Cooking Method

Pounding a piece of meat into tender submission and then lightly coating that meat in a flour, egg, and breadcrumb mixture and quickly pan-frying the whole thing is called "schnitzel." Food historians debate the true origins of the method, but Austrians have claimed it as their own, making the dish something of a national treasure. Schnitzel can be found everywhere from high-end restaurants to street carts and, of course, at home.

Hallmarks of schnitzel include very thin meat and a thin crisp coating. Schnitzel is most often served with cranberry jam and warm potato salad, but it can also be served simply with a bed of greens and a lemon for squeezing onto the meat just before eating.

Wiener Schnitzel Means Veal

True wiener schnitzel is the only schnitzel made with veal and is protected as such under Austrian law. Unfortunately, schnitzel and wiener schnitzel are often used interchangeably on menus throughout the rest of the world, so be sure to inquire as to whether the schnitzel in question is made with veal or pork — another popular preparation and what we use in our recipe.

German schnitzel (or Schweineschnitzel) is traditionally made with pork chops that are also thinly breaded and fried in a tender crisp coating.

Another Infamous Schnitzel

To add to the confusion, there is a chain of hot dog restaurants named "Wienerschnitzel" that was born in Illinois during the 1960s. While Wienerschnitzel are infamous for their chili dogs, burgers, and soft-serve ice cream, there isn't a single schnitzel to be found on their menu.

Sorry about that...a blog is for reading though, right?  Now see there, you learned something new...congratulations!  🐄🐷🐔

*Bis nachste Woche means: Until Next Week...or Veek, ha.

Wk 22 DTF May 22

Hello you wonderful people of whom i love so dearly!

So I got transferred out of Mombasa! I am now in an area called Mbukoni! IT'S BUSH! not just kind of bushy either no no no... We're talking Bushier then my eyebrows bush! There is nothing out here but cows, mountains, and mud huts! Its the only biking area in the mission to so i got this awesome Heep of rolling tetanus that is probably older then time and i love it! Gonna take it off some sweet jumps. 

Not to much time today! I love and miss all of you!

Photos

1. Wait that's not coco powder...

2. If you put it up to your ear you can hear the ocean!

3. My African bungalow

Honestly I wept at the prospect of my boy living here. But this is the way it is there in Africa.  The people are happy and work hard.  They are devoted to their families and live simply.  They are humble and love God.  They recognize his gospel when it is introduced to them.

The rainy season is making things green up!

The heap of rolling tetanus!

His dad wants to buy him rubber handle bars.  This is a hard way to build up callouses.  He had them while weight lifting but they didn't start out as broken blisters.  Tetanus is right!

Here is Elder TT's blog for the last time. They were only together for one transfer but I am sure it was long enough to be friends forever.  These comps go through some very memorable times together bringing souls unto Christ.

🙉🙈🙊

What is up my homies?

So this week i dont have many stories for you but we did get transfer news and i will be getting a brand new straight from the mtc missionary.  He is from zimbabwe so it should be fun when we go meet people and they have to talk to the mzungu instead of the african haha. but here goes for stories.

story number 1; I dont need that joke elders

So on sundays when people are getting transfered usually the missionary leaving gives his testimony.  However when we got to church and told the person conducting that Elder Fuller is leaving, he just laughed and said i dont need that hoke elders.  And He wouldn't believe us.  so we announced it again in priesthood, and the branch president is like why didn't you give his testimony?! our defense being "We told malande!" at this point malande stands up and states "Wait you aren't joking, what?!!?!? so elder fuller didn't get to give his testimony and it was quite funny.  Looks like i will have some explaining to do next sunday.

story 2: Conductor Battles!!
So since we weren't sure if either of elder Fuller or me were staying in mombasa for any longer, we decided to  mess with the conductors as much as we could.  SO when you get close to a conductor if you are white, the usually say my friend! so we just started being really good friends, and like shouting i have never had a friend before, we can go to the store, and have sleepovers and eat candy and all that fun stuff, then they just look at us wierd and drive away.  one time elder fuller followed this guy all the way to his matatu, almost stepped in and dabbed then turned around and walked out.  THe other matatu conductors just laguhed their heads off and the one who got swerved was just furious.  He started yelling at fuller in swahili but i couldn't translate cause i was on the ground rolling in the mud laughing.

Anyways have a great week you guys love you all

Sincerly Elder Tucker

p.s. camels are dinosaurs fact

Here is a link to an amazing article about the LDS church where Daniel is currently serving:

http://www.mormonnewsroom.co.ke/article/focus-on-mbukoni---the-church-flourishes-in-chyulu

Wk 22 RLF May 22

Look!  It's our favorite Germanas!

We were noticing how different these tags are. They have 2 sets of name tags.  Catalan is different in subtle ways.

 

Well dear friends and family, here we are, 3 days from my 5 month mark. It is going by too fast!!! Time needs to slow down.  

I never want to not be a missionary.

 Its literally the best to be able to talk about Christ to whom ever I want.  I can literally go up to a random person, tell them Im  not from Spain and ask them if I can get to know them better, and they're alllike, HECK YEAH!! So then we talk a minute until they ask why I'm in Spain nd this is where it gets fun, I say I'm a missionary for the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, Boom and then testify about  how families can be together forever BOOM Bang and suddenly I have their name number and address and a time to meet with them next week.  

Or sometimes it's even easier.  Sometimes we're walking through a town of Gypsies and they ask us if we're the Mormons and we say Heck yes!  And they tell us we're beautiful and we say thanks and invite them to come to family home evening with us and all 9 of them say sure, no problem! So we will see what happens Tuesday when we meet with these amazing Gypsies.  

Then sometimes, we have a family of inactive members who introduce us to their non member cousin, and he gets baptized by the inactive dad.  And they all come to church and are incredible.  SOMETIMES THAT HAPPENS 

And then sometimes nothing happens, literally everyone cancels their appointment, they basically all stop talking to us, and we have no investigators to meet with.  

Or sometimes you get into a Sita where some people want to Bible bash, and your companion literally owns them but they still refuse to accept that we know what we're talking about.  

Sometimes it's all miracles and you and your companion are owning the streets, and sometimes, it's emotionally so trying you can barely roll out of bed without wanting to cry.  

But you wake up on time anyway

You say your prayers anyway. 

You study everyday anyway. 

You contact the mean looking Spanish lady, or the creepy drunk man anyway. 

Because this is the lords time, not yours.  

Because this is the lords work and you're going to do it his way, and you're going to be perfectly obedient, because that's how you get miracles and we ended all the help we can get.  

Hug a missionary, feed a missionary, help the missionaries we can't do it without the members.  

I know this church is true, and I love being a missionary.  It's been almost 5 months and I can't imagine doing anything else.  

The work will roll forth no matter what, the Lord is building his kingdom and we get to be apart of it!!! 

 Best thing ever.  

I love you all!! Talk to you next week

Wk 27 BJF May 18

Words to live by according to Elder F this week.  I completely agree and the confusion also stems from the length of letters to produce simple sounds. Ich liebe dich!

I added this one. "Let's see, can I buy a vowel?"

I found this in some funny German memes. It basically says vacuum.