This week I received several more creative conversation starters. Enjoy!
Elder Muller writes:
I wanted to share another contacting idea with you. It makes travel contacting pretty easy and fun, especially if you have a group of missionaries. Pretty much you have a normal conversation, and then a missionary asks a question like: "So can you tell me more about Joseph Smith, like who was he? What did he do?" Then the others teach him the first lesson. It's best to do it around other people, like in a tram or metro. Everyone around you hears what you are talking about, and when I was in Rotterdam, I had people come over and ask questions.
Elder Matos offers this starter:
If someone sits beside you...politely ask, "Do you have enough room?" Heeft u genoeg ruimte?
It works Always! It’s a very subtle conversation starter.
Elder Higham shares this:
One of my favorite ways of travel contacting is to make comments about the weather. Dutch people LOVE talking about the weather! If it's a beautiful day, "Prachtig weer toch?", followed by asking them if it's always this nice this time of year. It almost always leads to being able to comment on how you're not from here and that, in turn, leads them to asking you what you are doing in the Netherlands. If it's terrible weather, this strategy becomes even more effective because Dutch people love being sarcastic about how nice the weather is. ex. "Prachtig weer toch?" (while it's pouring buckets) will almost always be followed by a laugh and a response similar to, "Heerlijk!" Then you can continue with the pattern
Elder Watson’s favorite question to ask is:
“What sort of cultural things are there to do around here?” It usually leads into a conversation about how we are new in the area and gives us something interesting to do on Pday!
Thank you for sharing your ideas!
Finally, here is a fun note from Sister Ryser. She is the wife of our Area Medical Advisor, Elder Ryser.
Why do I get so tired?
Everyone has times when
mentally and physical they feel exhausted.
That is a fact of life, and missionaries, of all people, have reason to
run out of gas once in a while. When
that happens to you sometimes, you have a severe case of being normal.
Fatigue only becomes a problem when it occurs so frequently or
persistently that it starts to affect your ability to function as you
wish. When this
happens, it becomes a matter of concern instead of a passing part of normal
life.
What can cause this to
happen and what can be done to prevent or cure it?
About 90% of the time
no medical abnormality can be found after extensive testing. In the other 10% it can be due to anemia,
hormone problems, anxiety or depression, a simple lack of good sleep patterns,
and/or inadequate diet and exercise.
How can I prevent “hitting the wall” more often than usual ?
Take
inventory of yourself.
Are you - Eating a balance of fruit, vegetables, meat, grains and drinking 8 glasses
of water daily? Exercising 30 minutes per day?
(Something that raises your pulse above 150/minute
Exercising early in the day, not before bedtime?
Doing the things recommended in “Adjusting
to Missionary Life to help deal with stress and fatigue?”
Keeping a regular schedule of bedtime and getting up?
*When do I ask for help or get a medical evaluation?
“If
you just can’t get up and go, day after day” “If
you fall asleep when doing things and can’t stop it.”
“If
you have fever, weight loss, unexplained lumps, and/or skin discoloration.”
