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