July 28-August 4, 2018

July 28-August 4, 2018

One week ago today we arrived in Munich after an all night flight.  The flight was an adventure.  Let's just say we really missed American Airlines service and benefits.  We were about 4 rows from the back of the plane in the middle aisle.  I sat by a very nice lady from Wisconsin who was traveling with her son and his family, taking them back to where she was born.  Her father was a German prisoner of war who was taken to Wisconsin.  After the war he was asked to stay in Wisconsin as a worker.  He returned with his family and eventually owned his own cheese factory.  Her brother continues to run that company and she and her husband started a company that builds parts for the machines that make the cheese.  It was very interesting learning from her.  She knows her Cheese!  She shared stories of growing up in Germany and how grateful she is to live in Wisconsin.
About an hour into the flight, just after they had served everyone a beverage and were starting dinner service, the pilot asked the flight attendants'  to take their seats.  Immediately without warning the plane just dropped and started bouncing.  I have flown many times over that route and others and never experienced that.  Needless to say, everyone had full glasses that immediately went everywhere.  Russ had cranberry juice and it went all over him and his white shirt.  It was chaos for a little bit and the flight crew did nothing to help.  Finally, one of the crew responded and brought some paper towels to help those who needed it.  We were very glad to arrive safe and to be on our way.

The Mission Assistants to the President, Elders Hilton and Richardson picked us up in the mission van.  They were so good and gave us a wonderful welcome.  The airport is about 45 minutes from Munich city center and we had a nice drive and tour of the area.  We were taken to the Mission Office and met all of the Mission Office Missionaries.  We had a two hour training and then met the Pres. and Sis. Brown our Mission President.  They took us to an early dinner and a walk through a park.  We had now been up for 24 hours and it was showing.  We were on overload and a lot of information was being given to us.  We went back to the Mission office and were given our new Mission Phone and car.  We drove down the street to a Holiday Inn Hotel.  The President scheduled us for another meeting with the regional YSA representative and he came to our hotel and met with us.  It was so nice meeting him and learning about the young people in this area.  By the time he left I was falling asleep and just wanted to go to bed.  We got to our room around 7 pm and were fast asleep by 8.

                              Pres. & Sis. Brown and Sis. Mecham(our traveling companion)

                                          Park we walked through - surfers on the river rapids

  We were up early and on the road by about 7:30 for our 5 hr. drive to Freiburg.  It was a beautiful drive.  Their summer break from school started on that Saturday, so there was a lot of traffic with people and their travel trailers headed to the lakes and camping.  We were re-routed to a back highway to avoid all of the traffic.  We were so glad because we got to see a lot of the countryside.  You knew you were in Europe when you stop at the rest stop and have to pay to use the toilet.  The reality of being here started to hit and the lack of language skills a little daunting.  We were given an address and were glad for Google maps to get us here.  We arrived in Freiburg and drove to our apartment.

There was a security gate to get in.  How were we going to get in.  We looked at our keys and then Russ parked the car and walked up to the gate.  He got the key fob to work and it opened the gate.  He came back to the car and we drove to the gate.  The key fob would not work.  We tried everything we knew, waving the key like he did before and nothing.  Finally, I said, "I think it won't open because you have not used the fob to go out.  He got out of the car and tried the other side, exit, and sure enough it worked.  We were IN!  We were blessed to have me with Elder and Sister Gasser from Bountiful, UT on Monday night while at the MTC.  They had only been home for 2 weeks from serving in Freiburg and we would be living in the same apartment and taking over where they left off.  They took us to dinner and gave us wonderful information.  We were so glad we had met them.  They told us we would park in #8 and that we lived on the second floor.  That is more than the Mission Office told us.  We drove down into the parking garage and parked in #8.  In Germany, you have -1 for the basement.  0 for the main floor and then 1 for the second floor and so on.  We went up to the 2nd floor and their were 5 apartments.  Two had names on them and 3 had nothing.  We did not know which door was ours.  We looked at the mats and tried to figure it out.  I said, "let's ring the doorbell and if they don't answer we will try our key."  We picked the middle door and there was no answer.  Reluctantly, Russ tried the key and it worked.  We saw a picture of Christ and of the Swiss Temple when we entered and we knew we had found "HOME".  It is a beautiful apartment.  Very new and modern.  It is out of IKEA.  2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms with laundry, a nice kitchen, living and dining area.  We have a nice big balcony.  One catch, there is NO AIR CONDITIONING.  There is no air conditioning at the church and at many of the stores.  We have found our car is the best place to be to get cool with the air conditioning.  Thanks to those who were here before us, the kitchen is well equip and even some food in the cupboards.

kitchen

bedroom

We unpacked and got a little settled.  Not hard when you can only bring 2 suitcases with 50 pounds each of belongings.  We then were off to find a grocery store so we could eat on Sunday.  We found my favorite ALDI.  Always nice to find something that is familiar and reminds of home.  The Elder's in our area came over to meet us in the evening and it was great getting to know them.  Elder Batzke from Germany and Elder Silva from Portugal.  It was getting late so we told them we would take them home.  We went to the car and went to drive out of the garage.  To get into the garage you have to put your key in at the top of the driveway and it opens the gate.  To leave the garage you pull on a long blue rope.  Russ rolled down his window, pulled on the rope and said, Yeah! it works.  He began to pull forward and also roll up his window.  All of a sudden the window shattered in thousands of pieces,  We could not figure out what happened.  Then the  Elder said, "The rope got rolled up in the window ".  The pressure of driving away caused it to shatter.  Sounds like something the young missionaries would do,  We had to call the Mission Office and report on our first day!  So, we took the Elders home, went to the store to find plastic and tape - not an easy thing to find when you are new in town and don't know your way around.  We went back to the apartment and cleaned up all of the glass and put in the plastic window.  This made for a late night and a very long day.

broken window

Pull Rope to open door

SUNDAY
We were so glad to attend church on Sunday.  The members were so kind and so happy to have us.  The Elder's forgot to the the Bishop we were coming so they were very surprised we had arrived.  I am glad I at least know how to read German and the pronunciations of the words.  I was able to sing and that was good.  I could not understand the speakers, but I could feel the good spirit.  Russ was trying to get his bearings and understand the dialect of German they speak here.  We were asked to attend the YSA Sunday school class and they were awesome.  Those who could spoke in English and it helped me a lot.  We told about ourselves and they all told us about them.  They then asked me to pray and I was able to do part in German and the rest in English.  They were appreciative I at least tried.  I was so glad it was a 5th Sunday combined meeting for Priesthood and Relief Society and that I could stay with Russ.  After church many people came and introduced themselves.  One Sister came to our car as we were leaving and brought me fresh cut flowers.  They are lilly's and are very pretty.    We were glad to go home and have time to plan out our week and rest.

MONDAY
We went first thing to the Hyundai Dealership to schedule our window repair.  The said they could have the part by the next morning so we scheduled the appointment.  We mapped out our route for taking the bus back home.  We went shopping again for my assignment for Zone Conference that we would be going to on Wednesday in Zurich Switzerland.  It is about a 2 hour drive from here.  I was asked to bring chips, condiments and cookies.  I knew I would not have a car on Tuesday so we shopped and got everything we needed so I could bake.  We were told about Metro, it is kind of like Costco, and so we went and got the membership card in our name and we were able to shop there.  It was huge and a combination Restaurant supply and department store.  We went to Monday night Family Home Evening with the YSA (Young Single Adults).  They have a dinner every Monday and then an activity or lesson.  We had hamburgers and fries and then they said they wanted to show us old town and get gelato.  So, we went walking.  We walked several miles and it was so fun.  They were so great to us and fun to be with.  They took us to the best gelato place in town and it was just like in Italy.  They say Freiburg is the German Italy.  I have had chocolate raspberry and also the next day we went back and I got Mango.  Russ of course had chocolate mint.

Missionaries and Anna

TUESDAY - PDay (preparation day, only day off usually)
We took our car to the dealership and dropped it off.  We found the bus and took it home.  We then walked and walked again and rode the train.  We have been trying to Register with the city (Anmeld) but have had some problems.  They need our marriage certificate and the Mission Office has it.  So we have been to the rathaus (city building) 3 times and still are not registered.  We cannot get our VISA until we are registered with the City.   By night, we are hot, tired and with blisters on our feet.  The cobblestones take some getting used to on your feet.  It doesn't seem to matter what shoes we wear, it is tough on feet.

WEDNESDAY
We were up early and drove to  Zurich.  We picked up the Elder's at 7:30 AM and arrived at 9:30 AM  We had a wonderful Zone Conference with 3 zones and the Mission President.  We received training and also met two other (ehepaar). senior couples, The Lakes and The Adreasons.  We had lunch that the three couples prepared.  We had the best ham, turkey and cheese sandwiches on good German bread.  I made chocolate cookies, ginger snaps and my homemade granola bars.  They could not believe I made them.  It was fun to face the challenge of finding the ingredients and substituting where I could not find things.  It is very hard to find chocolate chips here, but I just bought some good chocolate bars and grated them and it worked perfect.  Baking Soda is found in the drug section and is called Natron.  It was my comfort thing to cook and feel like I could do something.  I just listen and smile a lot right now.  We arrived back home about 7 and were glad to be home and rest.

                                                        Cookies for Zone Conference
THURSDAY
We finally had a day that we did not have any commitments.  I have to say we slept in.  With the heat and all of the walking, it is taking a toll.  We don't eat much as it is too hot to enjoy.  I wish I could say I was getting fit, but so far I don't think I have lost any weight.  We continue to enjoy the sights and to learn more about the area.  We visited a Sister in the Ward today who is home bound because of illness.  She is about 35 years old and has many health problems.  She was so glad to have a visit.  I took her some cookies and we talked and read scriptures with her.  She asked if we would come every week and visit.  She has Persian ancestry with a father from Germany and a mother from Sweden.  She is the only member of the church in her family.  We were happy to visit her.

FRIDAY
Another comfort of home.  IKEA!  We went to a catholic refugee camp to try and volunteer today.  The office was closed until Tuesday so we will try again.  It just happened that Ikea was just down the street.  We found some good things for our apartment and also got some of their good meatballs.  It was just like at home.  They were having a special day with students from a massage school giving free shoulder and had massages so I took advantage of it.  It was great!

So as we come to the end of our first week, we have so much to be grateful for. We arrived safe.  We have been welcomed with open arms and have enjoyed exploring the city.  We have a lot to learn and know that our Father in Heaven will bless us as we are here to do His work.  In 1 Peter 2:21 it says, "For even hereunto were ye called; because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps;"  As the Primary song says, "I am trying to be like Jesus" as we serve and love the people of this area.