December Missionary Gatherings

Merry Christmas. We are heading out in a few minutes to a church concert where Derick is singing, but I wanted to get these pictures posted first. They show our elders in various meetings - two district meetings and the last ones are this morning at our house on Christmas day. Don't be alarmed by the last one. They made a smoothie of a lot of dark berries. I had to get the picture before they cleaned it up. The schnitzel hammer was added to add to the effect. The red is berry juice.

District meeting in the Ravensburg chapel

These three show the elders walking to a house, ringing the door bell and greeting a man there.

This is the Christmas meeting in Dornbirn

Now these are from this morning:

Sigmaringen - December 2013

We had an appointment in Sigmaringen (not a missionary appointment). While we were there, we visited the castle there.

This is a church across the street from the courthouse.

Derick and I approaching the marketplace

They set up a house as an Advents calendar. The previous days of the month are open, the others are still covered. Below is the public ice skating rink.

Derick at the entrance of the castle.

Waiting to go into the main castle area. They do not allow pictures except just barely in the entrance. That is what you will see here.

These are old rifles they placed on the castle walls to blast things (not necessarily bullets - rocks, glass, etc.) at the armies trying to storm the castle.

looking out a window into a courtyard

This part of the castle burned down in the late 1800's and was rebuilt. The architect and builder used more modern styles.

This castle was home to the Hollenzollerns, a royal family who were very prominent in European politics, many married royalty of other countries, such as France, Portugal, Romania, etc. Queen Victoria arranged for some of the marriages.

The basement contained a very large collection of weapons and armor. It was quite amazing.

District meeting, etc. Early December

We have a couple of new elders. Elder Wasden was transferred to Heilbronn and Elder George came to Ravensburg. We had our district meeting in Dornbirn. It was a good meeting and the elders, as usual, have a lot of good ideas for the work. These meetings are essential for training and sharing ideas for the work. We are always rejuvenated by the meetings. I do not usually do a good job of getting pictures at these meetings (it seems that there are other priorities - imagine that!), but here are a few at the end, though they are not very serious. It is good to see the elders in pictures from time to time, especially for those missionary mothers out there.

Elders George and Aardema, together again in a district.

These next two are not from the district meeting, but Sister B and the elders took these pictures showing the alps and Bodensee in the distance, near one of our member's home.

The more distant line is mountains, not clouds.

Christmas Party 2013

On the 7th we had our Branch Christmas party. Sister B and I worked on a number of things in preparation for it (she did the most, of course). We had planned for a Nativity enactment, something like what we have done at home. The Germans sometimes do a similar presentation, so they really got into it as well. 

one of our angels.

Three wise men, of course.

Mary and Joseph were overwhelmed

some of the sheep having a conference

There was a simple meal planned. At least we thought it was simple, until so much started showing up. The idea was to have sandwiches and cakes, so we made up a big batch of Chicago Italian beef. It turned out that everybody brought a whole lot so it was not possible to even get a taste of everything.

We had a music section planned, but there was already so much going, we did not do it. (We did sing some Christmas hymns during the Nativity, though).

After the dinner and everything, a man in a red hat (I guess he did not want to put on the red robe...), gave out goodie bags to the children.

We had a lot of people come who do not usually come to church, including several non-members. We all had a good time.

A wonderful lesson taught

Yesterday, we went with the elders to visit a young man for a teaching appointment. He was not home, so we continued to try to visit another person, also not home. As we were returning the elders back to their apartment, the first young man called and an appointment was set up to teach him. Since it was right away (20 minutes after the call), we went with them once more and met this young man in the church meeting rooms. Elder C and Elder F (a temporary trade-off companion - quite new in the field) started visiting with the young man for a while and then after our opening prayer, Elder C asked the man if he had any questions. He asked about the 3 prophets. We had had a Nativity performance the previous Saturday in our Branch Christmas party and three of our people played the part of the three wise men. Our young man was in attendance at the party and now wondered what that meant. We explained the visit of the wise men to the baby Jesus and then Elder C asked our young man what he knew about Jesus. He explained some basic points, but it was evident that he did not understand much. The planned lesson for the young man was the Plan of Salvation, but Elder C wisely spent time explaining the role of the Atonement. Our young man really reacted to the concept of the Savior as a healer and that he could receive healing and peace. The steps of the Gospel were laid out and we discussed points as he asked questions. We also talked about the Priesthood and priesthood blessings. The Spirit of the Holy Ghost was strong and we all felt it. At one point, he simply said "I want to be baptized." This was purely from him and not a result of any challenge given. We talked about a baptism date, and when he expressed concern about being ready, we explained that it was only a goal and would definitely be according to his readiness. At the end of our meeting, Elder C talked about singing a hymn and that how music helps bring peace. We rarely do this (sing a hymn with people at lessons). We chose "Where can I Turn for Peace" by Emma Lou Thayne and sang it. The spirit was overwhelming. After prayer, there were hugs and smiles. It was a beautiful experience.

A week of Thanksgiving

As was the case with you all, we had our week of Thanksgiving last week. We had some wonderful experiences, first with our missionaries, then joined with some of our branch members and finally visiting family in Stuttgart. This is going to be a lot of pictures covering many events, but overall, it shows our wonderful time of Thanksgiving. Before I get into the details, I want to pass on some choice descriptions of our life here. Sister B wrote a wonderful expression of thanks and joy in our work here. I know some of you already have seen these words, but I wanted to also share them with you who read this blog.

"My heart is full today with gratitude.  I feel I am walking with angels some days, and yesterday was one in particular.  These last two weeks have been full of commitments and promptings to serve, leaving me with wondering how I could do it all.  As I began yesterday starting to tackle some of the things to prepare for our Branch Christmas party on Saturday, I wondered how it could all be done.  While working, I would occasionally check my watch.  Usually when I am busy, time seems to fly at double time.  Yesterday I felt time slowed down and tasks flew by completed: buying and filling treat sacks for kids, sewing costumes for acting out the nativity, working on our gifts to members, giving service to our Elders, having the church open for visitors, ...  At the end of the day, I was humbled at the aid I felt I had received from heaven.

"As I read emails from my children, memories come back of days filled with total randomness where nothing happened as planned.  Busy schedules, lives full of little bodies, messes to clean up, commitments to church callings, phones ringing, ... so different than our lives right now.  Our days are mostly predictable, few required activities, but full of service and blessings.  We are in a different season of our lives, but feel so blessed to be here."

I, too, am so thankful for our wonderful blessings here and our family at home.

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First, this past week we decided to have an early Thanksgiving for our good elders of the district. Also, we decided to invite a few of the members, particularly my two counselors and the wife of my 1st. C. (the other counselor is not married). To begin with, we had our district meeting later in the day. The elders from Dornbirn travel a bit to get here so we arranged for dinner after the meeting.

District meeting is winding down. Two of our elders were transferred soon after this, so it was good to get them all in a picture.

After dinner, they look a bit less serious.

On Thursday, the real Thanksgiving, we picked up our rental car and headed to Stuttgart.

In Ulm they have a church tower that is about the tallest in the world. Unfortunately, most of the pictures did not catch it very well. Here are parts of three pictures in the attempt to get the picture. As you see a passing car stole the show in the first, some trees in the second and finally, it was way off in the distance in the third.

Yes, I am driving. She took this to show the huge windmills along the road.

We arrived at the Cazier home in Sindelfingen (Near Stuttgart). This is their van and our rental car.

We had a wonderful dinner with the Caziers, along with a number of people from their ward. We did not get any pictures (sorry).

The next day, we went to the Christmas market in the nearby city of Esslingen. It is quite the extravaganza. They set up booths (sheds) in the inner city and have a huge area where they have activities themed around the Middle-ages.

First, we packed into the van.

Here is an interesting tower in Esslingen (not the marketplace). It has a very long rod of metal with a statue of a man waling on it.

This is the church which is right next to the marketplace.

The family (plus two children) al bundled up and ready for fun.

The beginning of the market area.

another booth

A hand-powered ferris wheel for the little children. Two men turned it and balanced the empty seats with sandbags so it would turn smoothly.

Shoot objects with catapults.

Crossbow shooting

"The Egg-cracker, a kingly game" You toss metal balls to try to crack the eggs nestled in the tops of those logs.

A celtic band with middle-ages authentic instruments (I bought one of their CDs).

Here is another marketplace shot.

There was a small costumed group of musicians that came through. We had trouble getting the camera out in time.

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The next day, I went with Paul to the Mercedes Museum. I got other pictures, but this blog is already too long.

Sunday, we went to church with the family in Stuttgart.

The Caziers were so kind and it was fun to spend so much time with them. It was a blessing to be with family for Thanksgiving. We thank our Heavenly Father for our blessings!