This weekend we got to have a conference with the whole entire mission! All 136 missionaries serving in the Alpine German Speaking Mission all together in Stuttgart, Germany! We left from Salzburg Friday morning and all of the Austrian missionaries were on the same train which was a blast. We pulled into Stuttgart a couple hours later, and went finding right off the bat. The whole mission was all on Königstraße which is a couple kilometers long and estimated to have 13,000 people walking through it each hour. It was a great experience and even President Naatjes came finding! I had one of the funniest finding experiences too.
Afterwards we met up at the Stuttgart chapel and it was almost overwhelming to see so many people that I know, and many who I have seen only on Facebook but never in person. We had some great musical numbers, talks, and time with our zones. That night we all stayed at a hostel nearby the church which was actually a blast. The next day we had a bunch of workshops which was great and my Zone actually did a musical number! At the end of the conference our zone had to leave fast to catch our train back to Salzburg. From Stuttgart to Munich its about 2 hours and we had a little layover time and then from Munich to Salzburg was another 2 hours. We got there at 9PM and then sadly Elder Yospe and I still had a 2.5 hour drive back to Klagenfurt so we got home VERY late. It was such an amazing conference though, and probably the only time that the whole mission will meet in my whole mission.
We bought Laderhosen this week! We went into the store and I wasn't really planning on getting any because they are really expensive, but I found a pair that fit me and was half off! When we went to the counter to pay, Elder Yospe wanted to see if we could strike a deal. He explained that we are from America and that we are just living here right now, and with a little convincing, she caved. So I got an authentic pair of Laderhosen that was normally €300 for €70!
Today for PDay, all of the elders in our zone went to a Concentration Camp near Linz. Probably one of saddest most interesting places I have ever been in my life. As we were driving up to it, it felt almost surreal. I've learned about the Holocaust for my whole life, but it seems like it was such a long time ago. As we walked around and looked at the gas chambers, barracks, torture rooms, and so on, it felt weird knowing that thousands and thousands of people died on the ground we were standing on, not even 100 years ago. It was really really sad, but also very interesting and I feel like I appreciate the significance of the Holocaust more. It helped me to appreciate the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation and the Atonement, that those people who were brutally murdered will have justice, and that those who killed them can have the opportunity to change. I'm just so grateful that this life is not the end, but just the beginning of many great things to come.
It's been a great week! If anyone has questions about the concentration camp or about mission life, send me an email! The gospel is true and brings hope in this life and the next!
-Elder Jarnagin
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