Owww....

Hello Family!

I am very old and feel like a Grandma. My 15 month mark was on Friday. In one and a half weeks I will be the oldest Sister in my mission (transfer wise) and especially this week, I feel it.

Last Monday was a fun day with big adventures. There is a fun park (not quite a theme park but more than a normal park) by Cottbus called Teichland- Erlebnis Park. There is a hedge maze, zip line, alpine slide, bungee trampoline, ice cream, a huge tower and lots more things. Last winter the Dittrichs took Sister Neukomm and me there but all was closed. I was telling Sister Babbitt about it and she wanted to go so we asked for directions and a member, Schwester Leuschner, offered to lead us there on our bikes. She is about 84 years old so we figured it would be no problem. We had lunch at her house then off we rode! She whipped our tails. She was so fast and so full of engery that this was the first Oma (grandma) experience of the week. But it was fun! We did the hedge maze (I won because the hedge isn't too high yet and could see the path. Sister Babbitt was getting help from the people on the tower) and rode the Alpine Slide and ate ice cream. Sister Babbitt did the bungee trampoline. She was doing really well till she tried to do a double back flip. Then she landed on her face. But she said it didn't really hurt. Then we rode back and had family night with our Ward Mission Leader and an investigator.

But other than that, this week was rather a slow week. Tuesday we had a funeral from a Sister in the ward. She was 92 years old and so nice. She loved the missionaries. Do you remember me telling oyu about an eating appointment where Sister Neukomm and I had to eat so much food we could hardly move? That was with this sister. Her husband is still here and misses her so much. The funeral was good but very different than funerals in America. Way too serious and sad. At my funeral no one is allowed to wear black. Then we had study time and a few appointments and at night we had choir practice. The ward is happy to have my soprano back. They said I'm not allowed to leave untill after the Christmas concerts, which are on December 8th and 15th. (the one on the 8th is most important, it's in Cottbus. The 15th is in the city of Forst)

So Mom, I guess you have to come with Dad and pick me up then. And I have been thinking about it. If it would work out, you coming to pick me up would be fun. I don't want to really put it off saying we'll come back later and then we never do. I want to so you, Mom and Dad, andeveryone else for that matter, Germany. So if it works out, would you like to spend Thanksgiving and the first week-ish of December in Germany? :]

Wednesday we had District Meeting and then an Ausstellung in Bautzen. You should google Bautzen, it's gorgeous. Sister Babbitt and I decided to write www.mormon.org in chalk there too. It was going well till the police came. Turns out that it's against the law in Bautzen. Oh well. No ticket, just told to stop. So we sang instead. One of the Elders is profi violist and brought his viola and we sisters would take turns singing with him while the other talked to people. It went well. Bautzen is a little far from Cottbus so the rest of the day was spent getting back home.

Thursday Sister Babbitt was sick with a fever so we stayed home. Until that evening when we had Tausch with Eisenhüttenstadt. For Tausch we have 4 companionships, 3 in Berlin- Dhalem, Lankwitz and Neu Kölln, and then Eisenhüttenstadt. This Tausch Sister Babbitt stayed in the other city and I came back to Cottbus with Sister Bronson. (who has a friend in the Rome mission. Trey, do you know a Sorella Preston? If yes, say hi to her from Sister Bronson please)

Friday, my 15 month mark, I hurt my back. I don't know what I did but I could hardly walk. Since we were on tausch I didn't want to stay inside so we went out but ALL of our 6 appointments fell out! Lame. Our 7th though was still there, with Brother Graf. Then we had to get on the train and Tausch back.

Saturday I really couldn't walk or move or anything. Elder Baumann in Görlitz is a retired back sergon so we called him and he told me to lay on the ground and take ibuprophane. Sister Kosak wanted me to go right to the hospital. But I stayed laying down, got a blessing (where I was hoping it would not say "doctors" in, but it did.) and then Sunday morning went to the hospital. Yup. Missionaries did not go to church because I was in the ER. Should have just gone on Saturday, oh well. Sister Dittirch came and got us and was like a worried mom in the waiting room. (she says to give you all her love and tell you not to worry, she is taking care of me.) I layed on a stretcher in the hallway of the ER (yes hallway) for over 4 hours before the doctor came. He didn't believe me that I wasn't pregnant even though I told him multiple times and Sister Dittrich did  too. We laughed at that. But I took the blood test (which took 2 hours to come back negative) anyways and had a CT  scan where they saw (after another 2 hours wait) a nerve sticking out of my spinal chord and said I had an infection there too. While laying in the hallway again waiting for the CT scan to come back I had to go to the bathroom (I have now been in the hospital for about 8 hours) but they wouldn't let me get up becuase they wanted to see what was wrong with me first. They wanted me to use a bed pan. But I was on my period (another sign that I am not prego that they did not believe) and the nurse didn't want to have to help with that from a bed pan in the middle of the hallway. I didn't want that either. So I convinced them to let me use the toilet where two nurses helped me. It was a little embarrassing. But we did it. Then the results came back. They wanted me to stay in the hospital for a few days for observation. I didn't want that. When I said so, the doctor said, OK well let me give you a shot and then you can go. When I saw the size of the needle I almost wanted to stay. It was an huge epidural needle. They just stuck it in and shot, not an epidural, just something to calm the muscles while using the biggest needel they could find. Then Sister Dittrich took me back to her house (Sister Babbitt too of course) and fed me. (She and Sister Babbitt had gone back for lunch, they weren't there the whole time which was good.) It was now almost 3pm and I had left my appartment around 7:30. I was hungry. The food was yummy. Then we came home and studied and slept and all that fun stuff. There were two investigators at church though which was great!

Then this morning, Monday, I had a physical therapy appointment. It hurt but the good kind and now I can slowly walk! Yes! On the mend! It will get there. Hopefully I won't be Oma for too long. I am taking it easy, don't worry. Not carrying anything, going slowly, resting lots. Lame. But it will be OK. Don't worry!

I'm glad to hear the boys are all Scuba certified! Can I be next? :] Have a wonderful week! I love you!

Love, 

Sister Walker. 

Giant Schnitzel we ate (half of) on Tausch! This is Sister Clark from Neu Kölln

a very dangerous playground. Germany definatly does not have the safe safety codes as america, I was wearing a helmet playing on this thing. ( took it off for the picture, then put it back on)