Week #8 in Oldenburg (22 September 2014).  Another wonderful week for Reese.  They were able to baptize an investigator who Reese respects a great deal.  He remarked that it was awesome to see her afterwards because she was "glowing" with happiness. It sounds like she will be a wonderful contributor to the branch.  Reese was also grateful for how the branch rallied around her.  The week was busy with a tausch to both Bremen and Wilhemshaven.  Not much in the way of photos.  Reese took this road sign shot, perhaps as a reminder that it was good to be back home after his tausch.

Week #7 in Oldenburg (15 September 2014).  Reese had a good and busy week.  One favorite investigator decided that she wanted to be baptized next week, which was a cause for rejoicing.  Reese met and began working with his new companion, Elder Schaal.  Here is a photo that Reese took, from arm's length, of the two of them:

One fun part of the week was the chance to drive over to an All-Mission Conference in Berlin to hear from Elder David A. Bednar.  Reese loved hearing from Elder Bednar.  Here is a photo of all the missionaries.  Reese, in best Rasband tradition, is in the back toward the left.

Finally, here are a couple of fun photos or Reese doing some sort of leaf trick:

Week #6 in Oldenburg (8 September 2014).  Reese and Elder Savage had another wonderful week, culminating in the opportunity to baptize the young son of some long-time investigators in the branch. The only blemish on the week was that p-day was spent with car problems;  Reese reported their car battery went kaput.  On Tuesday, they had a combined zone conference with the Hannover Zone, which Reese enjoyed because he saw many missionaries from his former zone.  Here is a photo of everyone together:

It was also transfer week in the mission.  Elder Savage is headed to the office in Berlin and Elder Schaal, who is from Stuttgart, will be joining Reese in Oldenburg.  Reese was sad to see Elder Savage go.  They've had a good experience together.  However, he was excited at the prospect of working with a native German companion.  It is something he has wanted since very early in the mission.  Here is a photo Elder Schaal (with black sweater) taken on the day he arrived in the mission from the Preston MTC in January 2014:

Finally, here are a couple of photos of an interesting hay configuration that Reese and Elder Savage found:

Week #5 in Oldenburg (1 September 2014).  Reese had a joyful week.  An "awesome" investigator was baptized.  Reese said the young man was absolutely glowing after his baptism and he looks like he will be a wonderful addition to the Oldenburg Branch.  Other investigators continued to make progress.  Reese and Elder Savage also made cookies for one of their investigators.  Here is a photo:

On Friday, they were in Berlin for Mission Leadership Council, which he really enjoyed.  The focus of the meeting was on finding, which Reese noted "is the hardest part of the mission, or at least the thing with which the mission struggles (I think it is a European mission problem)."  He and Elder Savage taught a thema on Elder Bednar's talk "Converted unto the Lord," and felt like it had gone well.  Here is a photo of the Mission Leadership Council:

Reese closed his letter:  "The work here is great and we are loving it!"