Aug. 26-31, 2018

My last post on Saturday told about the phone call we received to go to Lahr Branch to church on Sunday.  I was prepared to just go and listen and even took some reading that I could do instead of not understand anything.  There were about 30 people in attendance and Russ helped with the meeting.  The Elder's Quorum President was presiding and conducting the meeting.  He came and asked me something in German.  I looked at him and said, "I don't speak German."  He looked at me and walked away.  I went up to the front quickly and asked Russ what he said.  He said he wanted us to both speak for a few minutes in the meeting.  I went and sat down and thought -  It is now or never.  I can do this with this small group.  So, the meeting started and after the opening business and the sacrament, the President stood up (this was the first time he had ever conducted and was very nervous) and he said the ehepaar (senior missionary couple) would be speaking.  Russ looked at me and said, "do you want to go first?"  I had notes that I have been studying for weeks and went to the podium and gave my testimony in German.  Just before the end I realized I had been speaking in German and was overcome with emotion.  I finished and went and sat down.  When I got to my seat it came very clear to me that I felt like Peter must have felt when Jesus walked out on the water towards the boat and seeing the disciples were troubled said, "Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.  And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.  ...And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.  But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord save me.  And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased." 
I know that the Spirit was with me for those few minutes of me speaking.  I know I felt amazed and faltered for a moment.  I know the peace that came to me and then the thoughts of Peter that put it all in perspective.  In the end, I know the Lord will bless us in our times of need.  I have felt His love and hand in mine.
I can't tell you the difference in the people because I spoke in German (or at least attempted).  Those who would not speak to me the week before came up and in English told me how much they felt the Spirit and knew I was speaking from my heart.  A sister visiting from England came and sat with me in the next meetings as she did not speak German either.  The Relief Society President sat next to me and interpreted the lesson.  I felt so welcome and it was a great day.  Building bridges one day at a time.

 Monday was District Meeting.  We decided that Skype is not a great way to participate in meetings and so we picked a place that everyone can drive about an hour and meet.  So we went to the city of Schwenningen.  It is a nice little city with a beautiful little chapel nestled in the middle of a neighborhood. Two of the missionaries are going home on Wednesday and One Elder has been reassigned to a new area so it was an emotional day of great memories and good byes.  Sister Lau (in the pretty dirndle) is going home and she wore this special dress.  I have been looking for one - lots of stores are now getting them in because of Oktoberfest coming up.  They are quite expensive and I am still looking. 

 Our Elder Batzke, from Berlin Germany,(front row left) is going home.  He has completed his 2 year mission.  We will really miss him.  He has been such a blessing to us.  He has been so patient and kind and helpful to us.  We have traveled many hours together and even in this short month we have grown to love him and his dedication to serving the Lord.  We hope to see him again soon when he returns for a visit. 

We fed the missionaries on Monday after the meeting.  I baked real bread (not my Italian bread) and we made ham and cheese sandwiches.  They loved the bread.  I made a chocolate cake called 4 way fudgey cake that you bake and then decorate with four different toppings.  Elder Batzke loves peanut butter cups so I put chopped up peanut butter cups (hard to find in Germany), M&M's, nuttella with chopped hazlenuts and plain powdered sugar as the toppings.  Let's just say I brought home an empty pan.

  Tuesday P-Day!
I know I post a lot of pictures of the Freiburg Munster (Cathedral) but I love it.  There is so much history.  We went to the museum today and it was filled with history.

 I hope you can see the detail in the steeple.  There are statues of leaders of area in 1300's, Prophets and gargoyles.  There are 10 Prophets and the only one they can identify is Moses.  So, they were put in the steeple when it was built in the 1300's and over the years, the sandstone weathered and some were completely faceless.  So in the 1960's they took them down and had exact replicas made and donated the statues to the city for the Museum.  They are huge - picture below of me standing at one to show size.  They are near the top of the steeple.  The next row down are statues of local leaders at the time it was built.  They have also been replaced.  Then at the top are the Gargoyles representing five of the Deadly Sins

It is amazing how they have them displayed in the museum and how old they are.  Again, the history is very interesting.  This room is three stories high with portals at each level to see better.

Gargoyles representing five of the 7 Deadly Sins:
Pride (knight), Greed (man with a pot), Lust (nude woman), Wrath (lion man) below, and Gluttony (pig)
Freiburg, 1300-1310

WRATH - LION MAN

Description of a Saint

Jesus on the Mount of Olives in the Garden of Gethsemane, Freiburg 1400

Mary at the birth of Jesus
Mary visited by the Angel
Jesus presented at the Temple
Wood carving from around 1500






We really enjoyed the museum and the rich art history that was displayed.  It is hard to comprehend the age of this artwork and the beauty that is still there.  We walked around town and explored new stores and then decided it was time to head home.  We decided to treat ourselves to our favorite gelato and so we stopped and ate some cheese bread and then the best gelato.  The Elder's passed by on the Tram and saw us eating outside and called on the phone and asked if we could meet them in town.  We quickly finished our gelato and walked back to meet them.  Elder Batzke was going home the next morning so that was good-bye.  It was perfect timing as we had purchased him a little treat for the train ride and we were able to give it to him.  We must really stand out for them to be passing by on the Tram and saw us among all the people.  I will call it a Tender Mercy.

Wednesday we shopped and prepared for a dinner we were having that night.  We invited a couple

that were married last week to come for dinner. We just had soup and salad with bread and a chocolate cherry torte. This is a picture of the salad I made.  They love salad here.  We had so much fun.  We ate and talked and then played a favorite card game, Quiddler.  We played until 10:30 pm and they were really good sports to play our English game.  We are planning to invite a few people each week for dinner so that we can get to know them better.



This past week has been very challenging for me and for my siblings.  It has been hard to be so far away from my family as decisions were being made to take care of the needs of my aging father.  He has been living in an Independent Living Apartment for the past 17 months.  He has done really well with the help of family members.  His needs are changing and those who have been helping needed some changes to be made.  There has been a lot of research and visiting facilities that would better meet his needs in the future.  I was hoping all of this could have been done before I came to Germany, but it was not to be.  After much prayer, a family council, and a trip to Utah for my Dad to tour a new location a decision was made to move him to Utah.  It is a coming "home" for him.  He moved from Denver Colorado when he was 20 years old to Salt Lake City.  It was at the beginning of the War and that is where he joined the Army Air Corp and also met my mother in the front of Hotel Utah.  Their first three children were born in Salt Lake and for 40 years it is where we visited Grandma and Grandpa's.  My mother is buried in Salt Lake and that will be his final resting place as well.  There are a lot of memories and also my Sister and many grandchildren  live in the area.  Change is never easy especially as we get older.  I am grateful to my siblings for working through the process and finding a solution.  It was very difficult and I know that the prayers offered and hours of talking made it all possible.

Families are returning from their summer vacations and the city is starting to come alive.  Our apartment building is starting to have sounds of children and everyone is getting ready for school to start in the next few weeks.  It has been very quiet and we have enjoyed it, but we are looking forward to meeting our neighbors and visiting more people as they return from holiday.  They take their holiday time very serious. They are starting to gear up for Oktoberfest and it is fun to see the shops decorate and get ready as well. September is bringing cooler weather and much needed rain.  We have a lot planned for this month with some travel to conferences.  We are learning the area better and shopping is getting much easier.  Every day is a learning experience.  We can't believe all that has happened in our first month.  We survived!  We begin Month 2!

Viel Liebe
The Grimmett's