Oct. 21 - 27, 2018 We'll Bring The World His Truth

Lina's Baptism in Singen

Sunday was a wonderful day.  We had a new student who just moved to Freiburg attend Church.  She participated in a Service project in Sweden during the summer and was housed with a family who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  She was very interested in their family life and enjoyed serving in their community over the summer.  When she returned to her home in Dresden she contacted the Church and started attending and taking the missionary lessons.  She moved to Freiburg to continue her studies and came to church.  We were glad to meet her and look forward to getting to know her better.  I don't stress over the meetings so much and just do what I can.  I play the piano in Relief Society and I enjoy that.  We had the Elder's over for dinner as we were going to take them to another baptism in Singen that afternoon.  They enjoy being in our home and getting to eat home cooked food.  I just made Tortilla soup with all the toppings and bread.  I also made caramel and pumpkin dip with apples - their favorite.  We then went on our road trip - it is about an hour and a half and attended the baptism of Lina.  Her brother joined the Church a year ago and she has been attending Church with him since then.  She is 20 years old and it was wonderful to be there with her.  Her parents and grandmother came and almost all of the members from their Branch. (a Branch is a small group that is less than a Ward)  They had a pot luck dinner afterward and it was really nice to visit with those people.  We met a man from Manchester England and another young man from Italy.  It was nice to share stories of England and Italy.  I took an apple, pomegranate salad to try it out before I serve it on Friday at the Zone Conference.  It turned out great and especially for Fall.
For those who would like to try a new recipe:
APPLE POMEGRANATE LETTUCE SALAD

1/2 cup unsweetened apple juice
2 Tbl. lemon juice
2 Tbl. cider vinegar
2 Tbl. oil
4 1/2 tsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
dash ground nutmeg
3 apples, thinly sliced
1 pomegranate (seeds only)
1 head lettuce, 1 head romaine, spinach, red leaf and green leaf lettuce (any combination you like) to make about 12 cups

In a large salad bowl, Whisk together first 10 ingredients until blended.  Add apples and pomegranate seeds; toss to coat.
Place lettuce over apple mixture (do not toss)  Refrigerate; toss just before serving.
I made it and took it in the car for the 1 1/2 hr. drive and then tossed it just before serving and it was very good.  I used a salad bowl that was narrow at the bottom and wide at the top so that the apples/pomegranates stayed in the bottom in all of the dressing.

I got a little diverted with details.  Back to the story.  Lina is a beautiful girl.  She is loved by so many and we were so glad to have been there to see and feel the wonderful spirit that was there.

Lina coming out of the water

This is a picture of Lina as she came out of the water in the Baptismal Font.  She was beaming.  She said, "I have waited over a year for this and I know I made the right decision."  After she dressed into her street clothes she went to the podium and bore her testimony of Jesus Christ and the process she went through to be able to be baptized.  She thanked her parents for being there and for their support of her and her brother.
I have shared before how there are all of these beautiful churches here with not very many people attending.  Most of the older people have been through a lot in this country and do not have a belief anymore of God or Jesus Christ.  As a result, most of the young people were not raised going to a church.  Many of them are hungry for answers and truth.  It is a big decision to accept God and Jesus Christ in your life.  You can see the light and joy within her.



I have written about how healthy the people here try to be.  Well,
that is an interesting study of people.  What does it mean to be healthy?  I have a code of health that I follow and each of you probably have your own way.  What seems like a large group - and it is, that choose to be vegetarians - and there are many restaurants that cater to them, there are just as many that do not worry about it at all.  The nature of our area lends itself to many people riding bikes, walking, exercising, but along with that almost all of them drink and smoke.  For me, that is not a very healthy lifestyle.  I would prefer a little cleaner air.  They have started a no smoking ban in many restaurants and indoor areas, but outside it is everywhere.

We have been around a lot of people and going strong the last few weeks and Sunday night we were feeling it.  Russ started to get a cold and was not feeling well.  We took Monday and just stayed home.  He slept most of the day.  I did five loads of laundry - for most of you that is not a big deal, but when it is only 65* outside and you dry most of your clothes outside on a rack, it is very time consuming and takes all day.  It was nice to get some things done at home and prepare for the rest of the week.

Tuesday P-Day!  The Sister's from Singen came to Freiburg today to learn how to make Cinnamon Rolls.  What a fun day.  It went way too fast.  It was a two hour train ride for them one way and then they had to be back home in time for evening appointments so the time together went really fast.  They were quick studies and learned really fast.  We made lemon, Nutella, lingon berry (from IKEA) and regular cinnamon rolls.  We barely finished baking them in time for them to catch their train.  We were hoping to take them to the city center and see the sights of Freiburg, but that will have to be another day.  I sent as many as they could take on the train and will use the others for dessert Wednesday night at Institute.  Nice to accomplish two things at once.  These Sister's are both from Utah and having great missions.  They are working with so many people in their City and they are really good at talking to people about Jesus Christ.  It was nice to have a Sister's day!
It has been an amazing week with no stopping.  I am already looking forward to P-day to get some rest.  Sis. Griffith (above left) has been in Germany for about 9 weeks.  She asked where I bought my Dirndle (German Dress) and said she really wanted to get one.  They are hard to find - at least one you can afford as a missionary.  I told her it is good to check flea markets and second hand stores.  We have been waiting all month to attend a large flea market on Saturday.  It is held indoors at a large arena in Freiburg.  Saturday was a very busy day, but we got up early and went to the market.  It was huge and so many people.  We found some really nice things - good thing I can't buy them - or at least I really don't need them.  Great antiques, World War II memorabilia, lots of collections, clothes and anything else you can think of.  I actually found a great new Winter coat and for only 20 Euro.  The Mission Papers said to plan on about $500. for a Winter coat here.  I think I got a great deal!  I also found another Nativity (yes, I had to buy it)  I am already looking forward to the Christmas markets at the end of November.  Faye Landham, I think of you often and I tell everyone about your beautiful Nativity collection.  We were just leaving the market and the last booth had a Dirndle in just the right size for Sis. Griffith.

I took a picture and sent it to her and asked if she wanted me to buy it for her.  As  you can see, it is new and still has the tags on it.  I asked the vendor how much and she said, 20 Euro.  You do not find them for that price.  I bought it and when we paid the lady asked us where we were from.  She said, "is this dress going to the US?"  We told her yes, it will end up in the US.  She was happy.  We were very happy.  This was truly a tender mercy for Sis. Griffith.  She came to meetings today in Freiburg and I gave it to her.   She was so excited.  She sent me a picture of her in the dress when she arrived home tonight.  She looks wonderful in it and it just fits.  The dress is much prettier on than in the picture.  It is perfect for a young Sister Missionary. 

OK, another cooking story.  I cooked for Wednesday night Institute.  Just Chicken tortilla soup with all of the toppings and homemade bread with honey butter.  It was so fun to see the kids taste honey butter for the first time.  None of the European kids had ever had it.  The few who have served missions in the US were really excited about it.  Oh my goodness, they tasted it and then spread it about 1/2 inch thick on their bread - they were addicted.  Something so simple, and yet it was a big hit.  We served Cinnamon Rolls that we made on Tuesday for dessert.  These kids are getting spoiled.

Wednesday we shopped for the Wednesday night food and also for Friday Zone Conference.  It took us about 3 hours to do all of the shopping and then home to start cooking.
Thursday was a total cook day.  I was in charge of the luncheon on Friday at Zone Conference.  There are three Senior Missionary couples and we all share in the cooking.  It was decided that we would serve Chili.  I made my Vegetarian Chili (in Linda's Cookbook) and the other two made regular Meat Chili.  I cooked rice for 45, made more honey butter, baked 9 loaves of bread, a batch of salsa, seeded 5 pomegranates, and made the dressing for the salad (recipe above).  We visited Amira (our home bound friend) and ended our afternoon at IKEA.  They were having a special on the desserts and I decided to purchase the desserts for the conference instead of doing more baking.  Good decision.  It was a late nite and early up on Friday morning to go to Zurich.  We have a small car and I was hoping I could fit all of the food and 3 young Elder's in the car.  Everything fit in perfectly so it was great.  We had a very inspiring Zone Conference and it is really nice being with 70 other missionaries and our Mission President.  This was the last conference for the other two Senior Missionary couples and our own Elder Silva.  They will all be going home in  the next 3-6 weeks.  We will get new missionaries in their place.  We have grown to love them as we have worked with them and they will be missed.  We will be the "old" ones in the group and we have only been here 3 months.  The lunch went really good.  There were several who said when they heard we were having Chili they were not going to eat because they do not eat red meat.  When they saw that there was vegetarian chili with rice they were so grateful they could eat.  I am grateful again, that I have the recipes that I do to make good food for everyone.  They liked the salad and the honey butter was another hit.  It was the same as Wednesday night with those who were tasting it for the first time.  The First Councilor in the Mission Presidency had never heard of honey butter.  He could not believe how good it was.  I gave him a jar of it to take home.  I saw him at our meetings today and he was so cute.  He said he and his wife had a date night on Friday night when he arrived home and that Honey Butter was the center of their date.....
So, for those of you who have never had honey butter here is the recipe:
3/4 cups butter
1/4 cup honey
 a dash of vanilla
Mix together until creamy
Spread on bread, toast, pancakes, etc.

So, on five  hours of sleep I drove to Zurich, attended meetings, served lunch, sat in more meetings and drove home.  What was Elder Grimmett doing in all of this?  He did a lot of reading - I hope it was a good book.  He was my taster to make sure everything was OK and he enjoyed going to IKEA.  He actually washed and cut up all of the spinach for the salad and that was a big help - he was not very happy when he finished the first bag and I told him there was another one to do.
An hour and 45 minute drive took us over 3 hours to get home on Friday night.  It took us an hour just to get out of Zurich - Friday night traffic.  Just before we arrived home there was an accident and it was another hour delay.  Needless to say, I was very glad to be home to get a few hours of sleep before we would start Saturday and all that we had to do.
 
Today is the start of Winter Time (daylight saving time).   So, I had an extra hour to finish writing!  We have had an awesome day.  I made a batch of bread and granola bars.  We knew lots of missionaries would be coming to town today for Stake Conference and I wanted to be ready to feed any who needed lunch.  We are also going to Zurich on a Bus on Sunday for Conference and I wanted granola bars to take and share.  We went to the Flea Market that I talked about earlier and then we were asked to pick up some Sister's from Zurich at the Train Station.  So we became the shuttle bus for the afternoon and had several over for lunch.  It was really nice to have them in our home.  Those that did not come really missed out.  It was a cold rainy day today so we were out in the rain several times.  Russ drove the Senior Missionaries to our house and the Sister's and I walked.  It is about 1 1/2 miles.  We ate and then Russ took the Seniors back to the church while we cleaned up the dishes and we thought he was coming back to get us.  He came back, but said we were walking as there was no parking.  So we set out in the rain again and went to the meeting.  When the meetings were over - we got to walk home again.  I think I got in my exercise today.
It will be an adventure to take the Bus with all of the other Ward Members from Freiburg on Sunday to Zurich.  We are looking forward to it - I am just glad I do not have to drive again.

When I went to my 10 year High School Reunion 44 years ago, I had recently been called to serve as the Relief Society President in Church.  One of my classmates said, "Oh, that means you bake your own bread every week."  I told her No, that is not one of the requirements.  I have thought of that comment many times (people who expect more of you than what is really expected).  Well, I think I have finally achieved her perception and have become the bread baker.  Just this week I have baked 15 loaves and a batch of Cinnamon Rolls.
Elsie Talmage Brandley (1896-1935)  said in a talk to Young Women Leaders in 1934:  "Who gives himself with his gift feeds three - himself, his hungering neighbor, and me."  I am so grateful to be serving my Father in Heaven in Germany at this time in my life.  I am grateful for the gifts he has blessed me with and that I can share them and also grow closer to Him as I serve.

Glenn Frank, in "The Will to Doubt," says:
The will to believe has given us our great saints; the will to doubt has given us our great scientists.  The goal of the intelligent man is a character in which the will to believe of the saint and the will to doubt of the scientist meet and mingle.  Neither alone makes a whole man.  A merely blind faith gives us a soft saint; a merely blind doubt gives us a hard scientist.  Humanity owes much to the saint and much to the scientist, but humanity would fare badly if the world were peopled solely by saints with a blind faith or by scientists with a blind doubt.  Modern science is modest.  It suspends judgment when it does not know.  In all other fields - religion, politics, and so on - we must learn to do likewise.  We must act in the light of the best we know at any given moment, but we must be willing to hold our beliefs open to revision in the light of new facts.  Thus can we combine saint and scientist.
We must ask in order to find answers; we must analyze and harmonize.  Our very eagerness to do so shows our interest; and we must be converted personally.
James E. Talmage, a former University President, geologist and Apostle in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints replied when asked how he received his testimony: "Though I seem to have been born with a testimony, yet in my early adolescence I was led to question whether that testimony was really my own or derived from my parents.  I set about investigating the claims of the church, seeking a way out if its claims should prove to me unsound.  After months of such inquiry . . . I was convinced of its truth once and for all, and this knowledge is so fully an integral part of me that without it I would not be myself."
I too can testify that I have asked questions and searched for answers that have witnessed to me that the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ are true.  This knowledge has shaped who I am and what I am choosing to do at this time in my life.  I am forever grateful that my parents also asked questions and found the answers and instilled in me a love of Jesus Christ.  I am grateful for their testimonies that helped me until I could study and find out for myself.  I invite each of you to do the same as you seek for truth and answers to your questions.

I got a flu shot on Friday as well, and I think I will schedule to be recovering from the effects on Monday and get some much needed rest.  The work is good and we love serving and making a difference in someones life every day.
Viel Liebe,
The Grimmett's

Oct. 14-20, 2018

The Schwenningen District

Monday was District Meeting in Singen.  It was about a 2 hr. drive in the beautiful mountains and countryside full of Fall color.  We had our meeting and then went over to Elder and Sister Andreasons home for grilled hamburgers.  It was a real treat for the missionaries.  They do not get hamburgers very often.  We ate and the missionaries had fun singing and playing the ukelele.  Listen to the LAVA song on Disney Pixar shorts.  The picture is of them singing along with the video.
We had a long ride home because of a really bad accident on the road.  There is only 1 road through the mountains and when there is an accident all you can do is wait.  We made it home just in time for Family Home Evening.  It was nice to go and have dinner that I did not have to cook.  One of our young married couples cooked tonight.  They made pumpkin ginger soup.  It was really good and the ginger made it spicy hot.

Tuesday P-Day.  We have been looking forward to this adventure for several weeks.  It was a perfect day to be in the mountains.

 A 20 minute bus ride out of the city took us to Schauinslandbahn Freiburg.  It is a mountain in the Black Forest with an elevation of 4,213 ft. above sea level.  It was originally developed for  silver mining.  For over 700 years silver, lead and zinc were mined here.  In the 14th century it was so productive that the mine company was able to donate glass windows to the Freiburg Minster.  The mining tunnels are spread over 22 levels and total about 100 kilometers.  Production ceased in 1954.  Since 1975, the Barbarastollen, a reconstructed part of the mine, has been used by the Federal office for Civil Protection and Emergency Aid as a storage

 facility for Germany's archived materials.  The tunnel is Europe's largest long-term archive.
The schauinslandbahn is Germany's longest cable car.  It ascends a height of 746 m and has a length of 3600 m.  There are 37 car cabins that can transport up to 700 people per hour.  It started it's operation in 1930.  I have to admit I was not feeling very good when I reached the summit.  The altitude took a few minutes to get used to.  Once we started walking and hiking, I started feeling much better.  The views were spectacular. 

 We hiked to the Eugen Keidel Tower.  It was built in 1981 and named after a former mayor.  It has 91 stairs, roughly 20 meters high and a viewing platform at the top.  On a clear day you can see the Swiss Alps and Mount Blanc from the top of the tower.  After  hiking and still getting used to the altitude, We decided we could climb the 91 stairs for the grand view.  It was worth it.  Amazing when you are above all of the trees what a difference the view can be.  We have noticed every tower we have climbed the stairs get very narrow at the top.  Do they think you get thinner as you climb to the top and don't need as much room?  It was easy to get dizzy at the top. 

Russ just catching his breath and taking in the view of the French and Swiss mountains.

 Looking from the tower to the town of Hofsgrund.  It is a very quaint farming community and has been there since 1590's  An original farm house built in 1593 was used until 1966 and in 1972 was turned into a museum.

 Gate house for Cable Cars. We are just starting our accent up the mountain.

 Fun tree carvings.  This tree was alive until the drought in 2013.  It was in Freiburg and when it died it was cut and brought up to the mountain.  Beautiful carvings on the inside as well.

This is the same tree, other side.  I think the expressions fit!

There is a lot of history on this mountain.  The German Military has used the mountain since 1943 and continues to have a solar telescope and an observatory for radio communications and an air measuring station for radiation.
Hitler Youth used one of the monuments on the mountain that was a memorial to a group of English students who died on the mountain when they were caught in a snow storm while hiking.  They used it for propaganda.  After WWII, "Hitler Youth" was replaced with "Youth of Germany" and the swastika and imperial eagle were removed.
We really enjoyed the day.  It was a great day to hike and enjoy nature.  We ended the trip in the little cafe at the top with locally made ice cream.  Russ had chocolate with vanilla raspberry meringue and I had vanilla with fresh raspberries and sweet potato biscuit (cookie) crumbled on top.  It was amazing.  I was not sure what the sweet potato biscuit was going to be and it was wonderful.  Kind of like a snickerdoodle made with sweet potato in it.  The ride down was much more relaxing and my body was much better coming down than going up.

 Interesting Pine trees that are wispy and loaded with pine cones.

BIKES AND MORE BIKES
 School started on Monday for all of the University Students and they are out in force.  This is in front of the library and on the edge of the city center and University.  Bikes are everywhere.  Driving is very interesting as you have to watch for cars, buses, trams, bikes, and people.  Most of the time you are also watching your GPS to know where you are going.  It gets very tricky.  They also have traffic cameras everywhere.  The police do not stop cars for violations.  They just take your picture and send you the bill.  I just got my first speeding ticket in the mail.  They do not tell you where you were speeding, just that you were caught on camera.

It would be nice to know so I will be more careful next time I am in that area.  My GPS warns when I go over the speed limit, but on the highways it is really crazy how they change the speeds frequently and quickly.  All the more reason we like to walk and ride the tram to most places.  We love watching all of the families down to 3 year olds who ride their bikes.  Even the Post man rides a bike with big baskets attached filled with the mail.




So, it is Friday and am I ever feeling the 91 stairs I climbed on Tuesday.  I used muscles in the top of my legs I must not have used for awhile.  We climb 48 stairs at least 6 times a day, so I didn't think stairs would be a problem.  It must be the combination of trail walking and the stairs.

We have had some interesting experiences this week.  We are feeling more comfortable in our surroundings and it is feeling like "home" to us.  We were walking to a meeting at the Church on Thursday night and a lady who was drunk asked us if we were German.  We said "No" and continued walking.  She said, "Who are you?"  and then she threw a can of beer at us.  Luckily, she was drunk and could not throw very good.  It went into the street.  I thought it was good she threw it so she could not drink it.  We kept walking and got stopped at the red light.  She followed us and asked a few more questions that I did not understand.  We were very glad when the light changed and we could keep walking.  She is a regular on the street but this is the first time we have had an encounter with her.
Earlier in the day we were riding the Tram.  We usually sit together or if there are not seats together we stand.  There were two aisle seats next to each other so I sat next to a young college girl and Russ sat across the aisle.  I smiled and sat quiet.  I felt very strongly that I needed to talk to this girl.  She watched me for a few minutes.  Finally I asked her if she spoke English.  She smiled and said yes.  We had a really nice conversation.   She is new in town as a student and I could tell she needed a friend or someone to talk to.  As we left the Tram she asked me what Church I was from.  I told her, she had never heard of us and I told her to have a good day.  Maybe another day I will see her again and will be able to talk to her.
Friday we went shopping for some food.  You usually have to go to more than one store to find everything you are looking for.  We have found the ones we like the most.  Even different locations of the same stores have different things, so we have found the locations we like the best.  We were on the other side of town at a store and I still needed a few things from Aldi.  We decided to go to the one closer to where we were.  I was talking to Russ as we were waiting in line and a man came up to us and said, "you are talking in English and yet your name tag is in German."  We talked to him for a minute and he got in the other line and said we will talk later.  Then the man behind him said, "I would like to talk English with you."  He was in the film industry and had been to New York working on a Superbowl bid for his company.  We had a nice conversation.  When we finished checking out the first man was waiting for us at the door.  He wanted to talk.  He was very interested in our Name badges but did not understand them.  We told him we were with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  He said he was not familiar with that.  Russ tried to talk to him in German and he said, No, I want to talk in English.  I asked him if he had ever heard of Mormons and he said, yes, yes.  He said, they baptize at an older age than infants.  We said, yes we baptize at 8 years old.  He then identified himself as a Catholic Monk who lives outside of Venus, Italy in a Monastery.  He said he too was in the film industry and had made a film that was shown in the US.  He asked us several questions.  He said he had never met a Mormon before and was glad to have met us.   We asked if he ever went to Rome.  He said, yes.  We told him about the Temple being built there and that it would be open to the Public in March 2019.  We told him that he should plan to go and see the Temple and the visitor center.  We talked about our son serving a mission in Sicily.  He said, "there are no coincidences in life, you were here for a reason.  He said, even the sweater you bought was not a coincidence."  It was a nice conversation and interesting that English was the means by which we were able to have it.  I am grateful for tender mercies and I too believe that there is a purpose in what we do and the actions we take each day.  He brightened our day and I hope we made a difference for him as well.
                                                                                                                                                               

Freiburg Elders

We have three Elder's in our area now.  The new Elder has grown a little since he arrived and 3 of his pants have split open in the back in the last week.  I told him I would repair them so he would have some pants to wear.  We decided we would also take him and get him some new clothes.  We took him today.  It was fun just being with him and getting to know him better.  It gave him a chance to have some time just with us and he could feel good about himself.  When he came out of the dressing room to show us how the pants fit, we saw that his socks were completely worn out and his toes were showing.  So we added new socks to the list.  Socks are a big thing for our Elder's.  They like them to stand out.  He was cute when Elder Grimmett suggested plain dark socks - he picked the colorful patterned ones.  It was nice to help him have a good day.  We enjoy Saturdays in town.  We went to the Saturday organ recital at the Munster and really enjoyed it today.  Most of the organists have been female and today was a male organist.  We really enjoyed his selections, especially because he started with Bach.  There are so many people out on Saturday's and musicians playing on every street.  It is very festive and is a good place to be.

We hope our Texas friends and family are keeping safe and dry.  We hope our home is still an Island and not part of the river.  We appreciate all of your thoughts, prayers and letters to us.  Congratulations to the Hutchinson/Astorga families on their new grandson.  Beautiful baby!

Viel Liebe

The Grimmett's

Oct. 8-14, 2018

We have had an incredible week.  Time is going so fast, especially when we have been so busy it is hard to keep tract of what day it is.  We have been on the road for part of the week and that makes the days go quickly.  We started the week in Schwenningen for District Meeting.  We had to meet early because it was also the day we had waited 6 weeks for - VISA appointment day.  We had to leave very early Monday and that put us in morning traffic.  It is not too bad, but it makes going up the mountain a little slower.  We had a great discussion about General Conference and we each shared 10 thoughts or quotes that were meaningful to us.  I shared some of mine on last weeks blog.  I did not have time to make lunch this week so I took Cinnamon Rolls instead.  There were no complaints and they ate a lot of cinnamon rolls.  It is a good things, because we DO NOT need them in our home.
We are almost legal to be in Country.  We went to our appointment to finish the paperwork for getting our Visa's.  We had spent some time getting all of the paperwork ready.  We had done most of the work before we left home, but it was all for Austria.  Three days before we left Utah we received a phone call that we had been changed and would be going to Freiburg Germany.  We are so glad to be here, but that meant that we had to come on a tourist Visa and apply for permanent ones when we arrived.  They required some additional paperwork and we had acquired everything.  We felt good about it, but had heard horror stories from other missionaries about the process.  They were very nice and one of the girls in the office thought Elder Grimmett had a cute accent with his German.  They said we would need to come back on the 25th and it should be ready or we might have to pay 30 Euro for a 3 month extension.  She said she was almost certain it would be ready.  We paid our 200 Euro and now we will hope for the best.  Time and money gets you just about anything.

Tuesday was District P-Day.  We drove with the Elders to Schaffhousen Switzerland.  It was a beautiful drive in the mountains and through the countryside.  The Fall colors are absolutely amazing.

THE DISTRICT

 We went to Rheinfall.  This is where the Rhine River comes out of the Bodensee (largest inland lake in Europe) and continues as the main Rhine River.  You ride on these small boats and it takes you right up to the drop of the falls.

Elder & Sister Andreason

 This is on the water as we are nearing the falls.  I have been to two other falls that have boat rides.  Being from Twin Falls Idaho, I wonder why someone has not ever started a boat trip to the bottom of the falls and back under the bridge.  It is a huge tourist business here.

 We were right in the middle of the spray that comes off of the falls.  They are not large like Niagra Falls or Twin Falls, but it is thrilling none the less.  Let's just say you hope the motor on the boat does not go out and that the captain does not hit any of the rock and goes just where he is supposed to go. 

 These are a little blurry from the mist and the rocking of the boat being so close.

It was a fun experience.  We were planning a picnic, but that did not work out.  We normally do not eat in Switzerland because it is so expensive.  The Andreason's told us they had a great place for lunch to get some brots.  We thought we would get the brots and then have a picnic.  Well, the little place for brots was not a take-out and it was crazy prices.  8 Euro for a brot that we pay 2 Euro for in Freiburg.  The missionaries did not want to spend their money on that.  So, we ate and then we started the drive home.  I got out the things I brought for the picnic and fed the Elder's from that.  They were very grateful to have something to eat.  It was nice, but a long way to go for a 20 minute boat ride and an expensive brot!

Wednesday was Transfer day in the mission.  Every 6 weeks there are changes made with leaving and arriving missionaries.  We were not loosing anyone, but we gained a third Elder for our area.  We were asked to go to Bad Sackingen and open the apartment for new Elder's.  This is the apartment that we inspected in August that was a mess and never cleaned when the other missionaries closed the city and moved out.  We went early in the day so that we could visit some castle ruins on the way.

 This site is high on a hill looking out over the city and the Rhine River.  It is just before the Swiss border.  We drove up as far as you can go and then it was a little hike to the top.  It was absolutely beautiful.  A big contrast from the day before.  We love history and we also like to hike.  This is what is left of the outer wall.

 This is the entrance as you walk in almost at the top.  This is where the court was held and if found guilty, you were executed on the spot.

 This is the view just past the gates from above.  It was damaged in an earthquake in the 1500's.  It was repaired and last used in the early 1800's.  It sat vacant with no upkeep for over 200 years and then in 2011 it was opened as a historical site and museum.  It was wonderful to walk around and explore all of the areas.  Because it is a ruin, much of it is gone and you have to imagine how it was.

 This is from the museum.  It was only 2 Euro entrance fee and not a tourist site like our trip to Switzerland on Monday or even to Salzburg.  A group of about 100 volunteers keep it open and running.  They work every Saturday to do maintenance and care. 

 We walked the 60 plus stairs to the top of the tower.  It got more narrow the higher you went.  It was well worth the climb.  It was amazing to look out over the countryside for miles in all directions.  You could truly see how it was a fortification from the enemy and they could see what was coming.
The picture below is a new bridge over where the draw bridge originally was.  It had a mote around it and was literally a city enclosed on a hill.

When we finished the tour they have a little outdoor cafe and biergarten.  It was busy with people and we decided to check it out.  What a difference from Switzerland.  They had wonderful food and for 3 Euro we got enough brotworst and pomm frites (french fries) for both of us to share.  Many people just came from the city to eat lunch and not see the museum.  It was delightful and ice cream to top it off.  We would go back just for lunch if we are in the area again on a beautiful day.  It is worth the walk up the hill.
We continued on our journey to Bad Sackingen and got the apartment ready for the missionaries.  We went to the store and bought them some basics of food and toilet paper.  We opened all of the windows and let the fresh air in.  Then it was time to go to the train station and meet them. We arrived and there were five elders.  The two new Elders that would be moving in to the apartment and our new Elder for Freiburg along with our current Elders.  They each had two bags and a carry on.  We filled our car to the roof and gave them directions to the apartment.  They walked and we drove with all of their luggage and met them at the apartment.  We got them settled and were "On the Road Again", as the song goes.  We had to hurry home as I was cooking for the Institute class.  I made Chicken Enchilada's in the morning and took it to the church so it just needed to go in the oven.  I left cans of corn, chips and salsa, cucumbers and dressing and homemade granola bars.  I am still learning that we do food differently.  When I arrived, just in time to help with final preparations before the class was over, the Sister who helps had taken the cans of corn and mixed it with cut up cucumbers for a cold corn salad.  I keep forgetting that they eat most things cold.  I have also learned, it is usually very good and to not say anything.  I thought, it just might be good.  They loved the chicken enchiladas.  Some had never had them.  The corn salad was a hit and the granola bars were all eaten.  Needless to say, we were exhausted when we arrived home just before 10:00 pm.

We were so glad we did not have any appointments until 2:30 in the afternoon on Thursday.  We needed to shop and to get ready for Saturday.  Shopping is always an adventure.  We needed to go to IKEA to get meatballs and I promised Russ that is all I needed.  When we got there they had put out all of the Christmas items.  I kept my word and only got the meatballs and said we would come back another day and look at Christmas.  I am always up for an IKEA Day!
We had a really nice visit with Amira.  She has been very sick the past two weeks so we have not been able to visit.  We were so glad to see her and to share Pres. Nelson's Sunday Morning Conference Address on the name of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  We had downloaded it so we could play it for her.  She does not have internet so she was not able to hear any of conference.  I love when technology can bring the world to people - we take so much for granted.  She has to go into the hospital over the weekend for a special antibiotic treatment.  She is amazing as she deals with so many medical problems.
I started cooking on Thursday night for a Baptism we are having on Saturday. I made Hummus, caramel dip and pumpkin dip.  You cannot get canned pumpkin here, but pumpkins are in every store and are a big food item in the Fall here.  So, I bought pumpkins and cooked them and made my own pumpkin.  I like the end result on most of the foods, but they take so much longer because you have to make everything from scratch - even the things you normally think you are cooking from scratch but now you don't just open a can of something and mix it together.  I made pumpkin, banana, chocolate zucchini, pear and lemon breads.  I cooked most of the day Friday. We set up the serving tables and decorated them on Friday night.  I used flowers, cabbage plants, pumpkins, squash, and apples to decorate with.

Where did this week go.  I was just typing last weeks blog and telling about General Conference on Saturday and Sunday.  It is already Saturday again.

 We started the day at a Service project with the Young Adults and the Missionaries.  A family in our Ward built a new home and needed help with the yard and landscaping.  This is our three Elder's looking at the job sight and wondering, "What did we volunteer to do."

Two Elder's helped to work on the pergola.  I should have volunteered for that job.  They just trimmed some boards and looked busy.

 Elder Falkena, Elder Grimmett and myself took the assignment to get the rocks out of the dirt and then fill in the planting areas with the good clean dirt.  We had this large screen that you would shovel the dirt and throw it at the screen and the dirt would go through to the will barrow.  We started with a large mountain of dirt that was made from the dirt taken from the excavation of the house.  We got a great system going and we moved a lot of dirt.  My goal was to level the mountain of dirt. 

 This is our mound of dirt.  We did get it down to the level of the shovel handle.  We moved a lot of dirt and rock.  It was good to work in the dirt again.  They kept saying, Sis. Grimmett, you can go in the house and rest.  I told them I was fine and doing what I really did best.  We made a big difference for them and we will plan to go back and help.  They are trying to get as much done as possible before the cold weather arrives.  It will really help with their Spring planting if we can get it all done in the next few weeks, weather permitting.

We were off to quickly shower and change to get ready for the Baptism.  We finished the food preparation and went to our next assignments.  The Baptism was very special.  Eleni Edelmann was baptized by Elder Silva - he completes his mission in 5 weeks and this was his first baptism of his mission.  He is about 5 ft. tall and maybe 100 pounds from Portugal.  Elli is 6 feet 5 inches and many more pounds, basketball player.  Picture this:

He baptized her and it went great.  Elli just turned 18.  She was an exchange student to Nampa, Idaho last school year.  She lived with a family that were members of The Church of Jesus Christ.  She attended church with them and also read The Book of Mormon.  She returned home to Germany and lives high in the Black Forest.  There are no churches close to her.  She wanted to attend church, but her parents were not happy about it.  When she turned 18 they told her she could do what she wanted.  She would drive 1 hr. each way to be able to attend church.  There were almost 50 people at the Baptism and she was so happy.  Russ was one of the speakers and he gave a really good talk (I can only tell you how I felt because it was in German and I only understood a little, but I know how I felt and the Spirit that was there.)  I played the piano and was glad to be able to participate in a small way.  Elder Silva forgot to bring a second white shirt for after the baptism.  We live close to the church so they asked Russ to go home and get him one and we would sing hymns while we waited.  Long story short, it took about 25 minutes and so we sang a lot of hymns.  I had to just play whatever they picked and I would look at the song and have no idea what hymn it was in German until I started playing.  Luckily, they were hymns I was familiar with.  They have a beautiful Grand piano and it was very nice playing on it.  I know I was blessed.  I was very glad when Elder Grimmett walked through the door and we could move on to his talk and the end of the meeting.

 The food turned out really good.  As I have said before, many people are vegetarian and so I made many foods that they could eat.  The Hummus was well received and the Salsa is always a favorite.  They could not believe I had made all of the food.  Many people asked for the recipes.  Elli was so cute.  She said she had not had Mexican food since she left Idaho.  She said the fruit bread I made tasted like the  Christmas bread she had in Idaho.  She loved it and I was glad to help make her day very special.

These are the missionaries and two girls who are friends with Elli and helped make it all possible.
Great group of Young Adults - they don't get any better than this group.  We love them.

 We were then off to celebrate the 80th Birthday of Bro. Herb.  He and Russ have become friends and they are wonderful people.  This is the family we took dinner to last Wednesday.  She is fighting cancer and just finished radiation treatments.  She is grateful to be here celebrating his birthday.  It was a nice gathering in their home.  Everyone gathered around the piano and sang a fun Birthday song to him and then they sang several hymns.  It was so neat to watch and to feel the love in the room for such wonderful people.  That is fresh homemade apple juice on the table.  It was very delicious.

 

We ended the night going to an Italian Restaurant.  It was in the basement of a very old building and was wonderful.  I had salmon zucchini lasagna.  Russ ordered just  "normal" lasagna - the waiter laughed.  It was fun to try something different and it was very good.  Of course, we ended the night at our favorite gelato stand.  It was a beautiful evening to be walking.  We have been blessed to have such a beautiful Fall.  We hope it lasts a few more weeks.





We attended the Lahr Branch for Church today.  Elli was confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints today.  This is the completion of her baptism where she is given a blessing to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.  It was really nice to be there with her and with the Elders.
Sundays are usually my hardest days.  I love the people and they are very nice to me.  It is just very difficult not understanding what is said and not being able to contribute to the classes or discussions.  I was feeling a little down today, even though it was a very good day at Church.  I felt the Spirit so strong and even was drawn to tears on a couple of occasions.  Today, Pres. Brown our mission president sent out our monthly letter and it was just what I needed.  I am sharing a brief part of his letter:

There are so many things (wounds) from our past and
current circumstances that make this process of
overcoming the natural man difficult. And as a little
reminder, it is supposed to be difficult. “And if men
come unto me I will show unto them their weakness.
I give unto men weakness that they may be humble;
and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble
themselves before me; for if they humble themselves
before me, and have faith in me, then will I make
weak things become strong unto them.” Ether 12:27
But a little reminder from Elder Neal A. Maxwell can
help.
“But we are not alone! The chilly wind one sometimes feels is more than offset by the warming
reality that each of us has within us: the guiding light of Christ. We can actually distinguish between
good and evil (see 2 Nephi 2:5; Moroni 7:16, 19). We can repent! Further, the gifts of the Holy Ghost
can guide us and reassure us. And those gifts include peace and joy and love..... Such is the precious
and pervading sunshine of the Spirit (see Galatians 5:22; James 1:17; Moroni 10:8, 17).”

Wishing each of you a great week.  Life is good.  I love Fall - Jaime sent pictures today of Minnesota with their first snow fall at her house.  I am not ready for that yet.  Still enjoying the beautiful Fall.
Viel Leibe
The Grimmett's

Oct. 1-7, 2018

IT'S OCTOBER IN GERMANY
  
OCTOBER FEST IS IN FULL SWING -
Not very big in Freiburg - just nice decorations and clothing.  I have been looking for a Dirndl (authentic Bavaria dress) for many weeks.  They can be very expensive and several different styles.  We found one that had two different aprons and was really good quality.  I went back to the shop several times and finally Saturday we decided it was the very best deal and it was still available.  It will be nice for Christmas and parties (missionaries don't do much partying, but I will have it just in case)
Russ also is decked out in his new Leder Hosen.  Everyone has them on sale because it is the end of October fest.  We are really ready for a party, German Style!

It is a beautiful Sunday and I love the Fall flowers.  It is starting to turn cooler and the gardens are beautiful.  We have been traveling a lot the past two weeks and have not had our normal routine.  I don't think there is a normal in missionary work, but we are getting used to it.

We got a new Dryer on Sunday and that will be nice, even though I like putting my clothes outside to dry.  That takes a lot of time and you need a good day.  We are spoiled with convenience.  The machines here are very different.  You have to empty the water from the dryer every load as they are not vented to the outside.  The water from the clothes goes into a tank and you empty it.  There are three filters and they also have to be cleaned.  The washing machine also has a filter that has to be cleaned, but that is good - it catches anything that was in your pockets or wash that should not have been.  I am so glad to have the facilities in my apartment.  We just have been on a real learning curve to figure everything out.

We started the week on Monday with a ZOOM Conference for all missionaries in the European Countries working with the YSA (18-30 year olds).  It was nice seeing people we met in the MTC and also some from our conference in Salzburg.  We were hoping to see the Quinn's in England, but they were in a different group the week before.  We are in an area that is well organized and functioning.  They really do not need us, but they like the help and support we are able to give.  Other areas are not functioning and the missionaries have a lot of work to do building the programs.  Just like in the US - every area is unique with their students and needs.
We also cooked for FHE on Monday night.  We had Chili over rice with homemade bread and cookies.

Pres. & Sis. Brown

Tuesday was P-Day.  We were supposed to travel and have a District P-Day, but it was cancelled and scheduled for this next week.  We were glad to have a day at home to catch up, clean and shop.  We had a very busy Wednesday planned so I cooked a lot to get ready.
We had our 6 week interview with our Mission President.  It is always nice to be with him. He asked us to share our Conversion Story.  Russ shared his story of being a 20 year old missionary 48 years ago.  He had prayed about going on a mission and knew that is what he needed to do - being drafted was the other option.  He had been raised in the Church and knew the stories and teachings and had just accepted it.  He was in the LTM (language training mission) in Provo learning German.  He was reading the Joseph Smith pamphlet as part of his studies and he received a personal witness that it was true.  He knew then, that he was going to go out and teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and had a testimony of the truth of the doctrines and principles.
I shared the conversion story of my father who joined the church when he was about 32 years old after 10 years of being married to my mother and after the war.  His conversion has always been very special to me and a guiding force in my life.  He has always been a great example and I knew that if it was important enough for him to change his life after many years of living and believing differently, it was what I wanted in my life.  My parents taught me and prepared me for my baptism when I was 8 years old.  I have held on to those teachings and truths and continued to study and strengthen my knowledge and beliefs of the Gospel.  Pres. Brown is a very tender man and very close to Heavenly Father.  He left a blessing on us and each of our children.  Words cannot express the value of that blessing and our need for it at that time.  Prayers are answered when we ask in faith.
We then went to our favorite corner cafe.  It has become one of his favorite places so he makes time to go to dinner with us.  We love the extra time and fun conversation in a less formal setting.

 Wednesday I made my first apple strudel.  I am always afraid to try a new recipe that does not have specifics but is just a little of this and a little of that - till it feels right.
I followed how they demonstrated to us last week and got some hints on the internet.  IKEA dish towels are the best!  You roll the dough thin until you can see the pattern of the towel.  That was helpful.  Apples, cinnamon sugar and butter all wrapped up in the dough. 

 The apples are just now being harvested here.  We can't believe how many apple trees there are.  They are all along the highways like the wild flowers we have in Texas.  You slice them very thing for the strudel

 Fold in each side about 2 inches and then roll like a jelly roll.  Dot with  more butter.
Bake in oven

 I cut this to try and show the inside.  Sorry, not a good picture.  It was wonderful.  I learned some things I will change next time, but it was a success.

After I made the strudel we had to do Apartment inspections. The Elder's were great.  It makes it so much nicer when they do what they are supposed to do.  We then had a lunch appointment with Katrina.  We said we would not go back without the Elder's so they could eat the food.  She was so glad to see us.  She cooked the same potato soup with salad, tomatoes and cucumbers.  She made rice, potatoes and stuffed peppers.  It was much better than last time.  At least it was cooked.  It was nice having the Elder's to eat and to talk with her.  They are amazing as they can understand her mixed language.  Always an adventure.
We then took dinner to a Sister who is going through Radiation Treatments.  We took homemade chicken noodle soup, homemade bread and one of the apple strudels.  They live about 20 minutes out of Freiburg on the Rhine River.  France is on the other side of the river.  I can't believe I am so close to France and still have not been able to cross over.  (It is out of our Mission) We had a really nice visit.  He is turning 80 next Saturday and a delightful man.  She speaks English so it was good for me.
We raced back to Freiburg and had two appointments with the Elder's.  We visited one family in the park and spent about an hour with them.  It was nice and the children enjoyed playing while we visited.   It was a full day and we were ready to be home.

Thursday we shopped again and cooked for a Zone Meeting in Zurich on Friday.  I made cookies and brownies.  Still trying to get the recipes right with the different ingredients here.  The oven cooks a lot hotter and it is a trial for me.  Learning is good.

Friday was another travel day.  We drove to Zurich for a Zone Finding Day.  It is a nice drive until you get to the outskirts of Zurich and then it is like driving in Dallas at Rush Hour.  Lots of construction just like everywhere else.  We had a nice day with a Devotional and then the young Missionaries were given assignments and divided to different areas of the city to find and talk to people.  We stayed back as support.  We put cards on flowers for them to give out, and then we made packets for each missionary with our testimonies and shared some experiences with them to read.  We also prepared Pizza and salad and the dessert I made.  It was a nice day.  The missionaries talked to a lot of people and gave out many Book of Mormons in many languages.  People really liked the chalk art they did on the town square showing the Plan of Salvation.  It was the highlight for all of the missionaries.  The City of Zurich gave them permission to be there and to do the drawings.

Saturday was Cinnamon Roll Day!  I made Cinnamon, Lemon and Nutella.  The Nutella was amazing.  I have been trying to make a good chocolate roll for a long time and this is it.  The cream cheese lemon were a close second.  We had several people over for General Conference Saturday evening and everyone enjoyed the Rolls.  With the time difference, we listen to the Saturday Morning Session of Conference at 6:00 PM Saturday night.  General Conference is a meeting held twice a year in Salt Lake City for all of the Church to attend or listen to via Internet.  The leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ speak and it is something we look forward to every 6 months.  Tradition is I make Cinnamon Rolls to enjoy while we listen.  We missed the "Group" coming over to our home on Saturday night, but we enjoyed the conference here.

A few highlights from Conference:
Come Follow Me - Home centered - church supported effort.
...is designed to help the members study the gospel at home.  It is designed to help us better to learn the gospel on our own and in our family.  As a result, Sundays meetings will be a 2 hr. block instead of a 3 hr. block.  Living in a foreign country with different needs, transportation and buildings than we are used to helps us see the real value of this new schedule.  We know there is great potential for all families to develop a plan that will help them Keep the Sabbath Day Holy with a more gospel centered focus in our homes.  Pres. Nelson said, "Home is a sanctuary of Faith.  We need to remodel our homes into gospel learning centers.  Your children will be excited to have these changes.  The Spirit in your homes will increase.

We have been asked to use the official name of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Pres. Nelson said, "Our rigorous efforts to use the correct name of the church will increase our faithfulness."

12 New Temples announced around the World.  I was touched to hear of the announcement for San Juan Puerto Rico.  Pres. Nelson recently visited the people there and told them better days are ahead.  He told them to endure this trial of rebuilding and that blessings would come.  This will build that storm ravaged area in a way that they never expected.  It is a new day for Puerto Rico.

I loved the quote that was shared that has always been dear to my heart because of a friend who shared and lived by this quote, "We are not Human beings having a Spiritual experience, We are Spiritual Beings having a human experience."

"Repentance is not a back-up plan in case we fail - It is the Plan"  Lynn G. Robbins

Choices - it is not Do What is Right, it is Choose What is Right.

I am grateful to be serving a mission at this time of my life.  I know we are being blessed as we pray, study, learn, share, act in faith and trust in our Heavenly Father to go forth a act upon the promptings we receive to serve others.

"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children (and grandchildren) walk in truth."  
3 John 1:4

Viel Liebe
The Grimmett's

Stilt Houses and village - Lake Konstenz, 3500 BC