April 21 -27, 2019

Easter Sunday!  The good news is I survived giving my talk in Church on Sunday and I am here to write about it.  I kept having visions of me collapsing at the end of my talk from either anxiety or embarrassment.  I worked hard all week reading over and over my talk so that I would be able to pronounce the words correctly.  It really did help and it also helped me learn new words and have some greater understanding.  I will share a few thoughts in English from my talk:

I started with,

There is sunshine in my soul today,
More glorious and bright
Than glows in any earthly sky,
For Jesus is my light.

I am going to share my testimony of Jesus Christ today through the words of hymns that have special meaning to me this Easter morn.

I then read the words of the Hymn, "My Redeemer Lives" by Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley.  About half way through it I got very emotional and felt the Spirit very strongly.  I thought, I am doing it and I have to get control of myself and finish.  I knew if I really started crying I would not be able to finish so I just prayed for courage (in a split second) and continued on.  I then shared the words of the song Gethsemane by Melanie Hoffman.  It is a beautiful song that the children sing.
Jesus climbed the hill to the garden still.
His steps were heavy and slow.
Love and a prayer took Him there
To the place only He could go.
He felt all that was sad, wicked or bad,
All the pain we would ever know.
While His friends were asleep
He fought to keep His promise made long ago.
The hardest thing that ever was done,
The greatest pain that ever was known,
The biggest battle that ever was won -
This was done by Jesus!
Gethsemane.  Jesus loves me.
So He gave His gift to me
In Gethsemane.

 I am grateful for those sweet words that bring light, understanding and peace.
I truly stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me-
I then read the words to the hymn, "I Stand All Amazed"

Heavenly Father's love of man was fulfilled when he sent His son Jesus Christ to the earth.
He Lives - He invites all to "Come Follow Me"

I was the first speaker and then Elder Grimmett spoke.  He gave a wonderful talk - I think the best one he has given here.  He was much more confidant and he is doing really good with the German.
Then Elder Janousek spoke.  He had to fill some

extra time and did a really good talk.  He has been on his mission for 9 months and is doing good with the language.  He talked about Gospel learning in the home using Come Follow Me.

So after church many people came up to me and were very kind.  The Bishop who speaks no English asked me if they had made me sweat - I said they sure did.  That was his kind way of saying Thank you.  I knew they would all come and speak in German to me because I had just given my talk.  I just thanked them - one Sister said I spoke to their hearts more than to their minds.  She said they felt the Spirit of what I was saying.  So, I am learning and at least I can read it and know some of what I was actually saying!

 We had the YSA, missionaries and a friend over for Easter dinner.  It was a wonderful afternoon.  I went home after my talk to put the Turkey in the oven.  I was quickly finishing the stuffing and putting it in the pan when I tasted it and realized I put in 2 Tablespoons of salt instead of 2 teaspoons like the recipe indicated.  I had made my own bread cubes and prepared the onions and celery on Saturday and was really looking forward to this stuffing.  I just put it in the colander and rinsed it with hot water to get some of the salt off.  It also was washing away the good chicken broth I had made. I put it in the pan and put the Turkey Breast on top and prayed for

a miracle.  Yes, the bread plumped up with the extra moisture so I was hoping the baking would dry it out a little.  I went back to finish Church and pick up Russ.  I have to say I even amazed myself.  It was better than Thanksgiving.  The Turkey breast turned out so good and moist (must have been the extra moisture in the stuffing) and the stuffing was so good.  Elder Robertson said he usually did not eat stuffing, but he tried it and he ate a whole lot and said it was really good.  The sweet potatoes were a favorite.  They had never had them cooked in the orange sauce that I make and they ate the whole dish.  I told them I am usually the only one who eats them when I make them at home.  The missionaries invited a man that they had met on Friday.  They told him it would be a good meal that he would not want to miss.  He works in a local bakery.  He was so nice and really enjoyed being with us.  We had two Germans, two Albanians, one Czech Republic, and 3 Americans.  So we ended the meal with this Chocolate torte.  It was made with chocolate torte cake (3 layers) filled with chocolate truffle cream and cherries and topped with cream and fresh berries.  Lucas, the baker said it was the best Black Forest Cake he had ever had.  He said especially because it did not have alcohol in it.  I just combined a few recipes and came up with the finished torte.  It was delicious!
We ended the day watching a Hallmark movie and talking to family.

 I have to share the pictures of some of the grandchildren on Easter.  They are so cute and we love and miss them so much.  I love getting these pictures and talking to them on FaceTime.  I would love pictures of the other Grandchildren - they are older and not as willing to get pictures - but I can ask and hope!
On the left are Logan and Preslee in Utah.
Below are William and Nora in Kansas.

They really are best friends and love each other - maybe they were bribed for the awesome photo's.

 Will and Nora are naturals in front of a camera - it is in their blood!

Tuesday was District P-Day.  We went to Triberg to hike up to the Waterfall again.  We were the only ones who had been there before and it was a wonderful day.

This is the place many of the clocks are made.  I have narrowed my choice down to about 3.  It is always fun to watch them being made and to see all of the different styles.  We did not spend much time shopping, just window looking.  We took the train with our Elder's because our car was in the shop.  It turned out to be perfect to take the train and I did not have to drive and could enjoy the sights along the way.  It meant having to pack our lunch in a backpack, but that was also good because everyone brought their own and I did not have to bring food for everyone.  What they did not tell me was

that the train station was 1.5 km from the entrance to the waterfall and it was at the bottom of the hill and we had to walk straight up the road to get to the entrance.  We had such a wonderful day hiking and being with wonderful people.  It was a beautiful day and lots of water flowing over the falls.
This is a picture of our District.  We had several people stop and ask who we were.  One lady just kept looking at me and looked like she wanted to say something.  I finally asked her if she spoke English.  She said, just a little, but my daughter lives in San Marcos Texas and is a member of your group.  We then told them we were from Texas and had a nice conversation with the help of Russ and other missionaries.  

 There is a ropes course along the trail and these cute little wooden bunnies were at the entrance.  It is an awesome ropes course and many people were doing it.  A few of us wanted to, but it is against the mission rules.  It was fun to watch.  My body is grateful I did not try.

The Rathaus (City Building) has their main chamber room completely carved in wood.  It is open to the public during the day and well worth the visit.  It details the history of the area and city in the carvings.  All occupations in the area are depicted by these statues that are all around the room.  It shows the interaction of man and animals in the Forest.  It was beautiful.  It was added to the room in the 1940's just after the War.  The Artist moved to Freiburg after completing this work, hoping to open a school for teaching the craft of woodworking.  He was never able to do that and died a relatively unknown artist.  His work is beautiful.

We are feeling our age and the effects of hiking several miles using muscles we have not used for awhile.  I keep thinking that with walking stairs every day and walking around town on cobblestones we would be in better shape, but climbing mountains uses muscles that don't get used every day.

Friday we were back on the road doing apartment inspections.  Now that we have discovered the Milka Chocolate Factory in Lorrach, just down the road from the inspection, we get to treat ourselves on the way home.  We found a really good German gasthaus (restaurant) and had a nice lunch before we returned back to Freiburg.

The 2019 Organ Concert Series began on Saturday at the Munster.  They purchased a new organ and today was the inaugural concert.  It was nice to go back to the Saturday free concert in the Cathedral.  It was a full house and standing room only.  It amazes me how many people go on Saturdays to hear the organ music.  A lot of tour groups attend.

 It is definitely Spring in the Forest.  We have had a lot of rain with warm and cold days.  The fields are full of dandelions - they do not spray them or do anything to destroy them.  The crops are all coming in and the countryside is beautiful.

  
Apple and cherry orchards and grape vineyards are on every mountain side and hill.  It is so beautiful to see the different stages of growth.  The flowers are gone and now the leaves are out and the fruit is starting to grow.  We love all of the agriculture here. 

Russ has been asked to speak in the Lahr Branch on Sunday, so on the road again.  We are so grateful for the experiences we are having and for being able to be in this beautiful part of our Heavenly Fathers vineyard.  Even with all of the rain today, I can truly say there is Sunshine in my Soul today - For Jesus is my Light. 

Viel Liebe!
The Grimmett's

April 15-20 Mission Hump Day!

This has been a week of recovery and preparation.  The most noteworthy event of the week was that we hit our hump day of the mission.  We have been out 9 months and have 9 months to go.  I don't even want to think about it because the time is going so fast.  We still have so much we want to accomplish and we are just now starting to really feel like we belong here and are not just visiting.  We also look forward to being with family again and being a part of our Grand children's lives.  Jaime and Andy bought the home they have been living in for the past 3 years this week.  It closed on Friday and we are so happy for them.  We see projects for the future!

We have been worried about our Texas friends and family with all of the Spring weather, but so far we have had good reports of no damage and storms that have bypassed the area.  I love the Spring weather that we are having and being able to plant flowers.

This is really dark, but it is better than seeing all of the construction on the building behind us.  We planted trailing geraniums, hydrengia, zinnias, tomatoes, zucchini and lots of herbs.  Our balcony is beginning to look beautiful and I can't wait for it to be in full bloom.  It still amazes me what people grow on their balconies.  The tulips in the fields are just beautiful and so big.  I have never seen them so big. 

Russ decided he needed this portable wagon - not to do yard work but to haul all of the food we buy and prepare.  We can load up the wagon and just make one trip from the car to the elevator.  We might even use it on mountain hikes for our picnics.  Probably won't be bringing this home - he was just bored while I was picking out plants and decided he needed this.






We started back playing ping pong in the mornings and we are actually improving.  It is really a good workout both mentally and physically. 
I have worked really hard on my talk for Sunday in Church.  I have found if I sing the words I can learn them better, so I have been practicing that way and now I think I am ready to speak the words so that they will understand me.  If only I could understand everything I am saying! 
We had a broadcast tonight with Elder Uchtdorf for all German speaking members in Germany.  It was broadcast from Frankfurt to all of the Church Ward buildings in Germany.  I was able to understand some of what he said and it was wonderful to start to make sense of the words.  Maybe there is hope for me yet. 
We had two discussions taught in our home this week and our weekly visit with Amira.  We had a really nice lesson with Amira as we talked about Easter Week and all that took place in the ministry of Jesus Christ from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday.  We have studied from Matthew 21-28 this week and taken each day and studied what happened on that day. 
Day 1 - Palm Sunday:  Triumphal entry into Jerusalem
Day 2:  Cleansing the temple
Day 3:  Teaching ni Jerusalem
Day 4:  Continued teaching
Day 5:  The Passover and Christ's suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane
Day 6:  Trial, Crucifision, and burial
Day 7:  Christ's body lies in the tomb while His spirit ministers in the spirit world
Day 8:  The appearance of the resurrected Christ

It was touching as we shared a story of Elder Paul V. Johnson who related the story of his daughter Alisa who wrote a letter at Easter time just before she passed away from terminal cancer. "Easter is a reminder of all that I hope for myself.  That someday I will be healed and someday I will be whole.  Someday I won't have any metal or plastic inside of me.  Someday my heart will be free of fear and my mind free of anxieties... I am so glad I truly believe in a beautiful afterlife." 
Amira, said I have metal and plastic inside of me but I am not suffering from cancer like she was.  She said she looks forward to that day as well to be free from all of it, but that she can't even comprehend what that will be like.  She has only known sickness most of her life.  She said, I know I will not live a long life, but it is who I am and I want to make the most of the life I have.  She shared that she contacted a foster sister she had not talked to in 25 years and asked for forgiveness.  She said they had not had any contact and that it had been so long they couldn't even remember what happened that they were not talking.  It has been a wonderful reunion and she talks to her often.  Her body is not whole, but her spirit and mind are growing every day in relationship with Jesus Christ. 
I am so grateful for Jesus Christ and The Atonement he made for all.  He made all the difference.  He paid the price.  He is with us every step of the way.  He is our constant energy source.  It is not the light at the end of the tunnel but the light the moves us through the tunnel.  Jesus paid our debt in full.  He paid it all.  It is finished. (Brad Wilcox) 
I am grateful to my little granddaughter Preslee who sings Gethsemane so beautifully.  She sang it to me last week and it gave me inspiration for my talk.  I am so grateful she knows the story of Easter.

I hope you will enjoy this Easter Day and allow the healing power of Jesus Christ into your life.  We love and appreciate all of our family and friends.
Viel Liebe,
The Grimmett's

April 6-13 from General Conference to Salzburg conference

Sunday was a wonderful day filled with three sessions of General Conference.  With the time difference we only get some of Saturday's during normal hours.  I stayed up until 4 am watching the Priesthood session.  Russ had long before gone to bed as we was going to the Church on Sunday morning to watch it with all of the men.  We had 7 for lunch on Sunday and to watch the morning session.  They enjoyed it and we settled in for a few hours more of listening to the Conference.  With the changes in our Sunday church schedule in January to a two hour meeting instead of three the are emphasizing Home Centered, Church Supported Gospel Learning.  It is already making ad inference in so many families.  Pres. Nelson admonished us to repent daily, drawing closer to Jesus Christ. He expressed the importance of the Sacrament in our lives and to make changes in our lives now because  time is running out for each of us.  Life is short and we need to act now on making and keeping sacred covenants.
Monday was District council Zoom meeting (online) and then lunch with the Elders.  I was so glad we did not have to travel today.  It is always nice having the Elders in our home and feeding them - leftovers from Sunday!  Lots of Cinnamon Rolls were eaten.  We then had an appointment with a girl from Italy who has lived in Germany for about three years.  It was really nice having her in our home and sharing the gospel message with her.
We mixed work and play on Tuesday, P-day.

Dirt Road

We had to go to the Lahr apartment to clean.  We also get requests for Find A Grave and had two cemeteries that were on the way, via the back roads.  We got to a little village and the road was closed for construction right in the middle of town.  The Navi came to the rescue and took us up over the mountain- when I got to a fork in the road and had a choice of a paved road or a dirt road I chose the paved road. Oh, did I mention it was poring rain.  Well, as soon as I did that the voice said, refer to map you are off course. Sure enough it wanted me to take the dirt road.  So, we turn around and go back to the dirt - now muddy road and pray we will make it.  I could just see us getting stuck and having to explain that to our President.  It was absolutely beautiful! We were in the vineyards and then the forest and up over a hill to a neighborhood of beautiful homes in the little village we were looking for.  We found the grave in the little cemetery and took pictures.  We were off to the next one.  It was in an old Jewish cemetery.  It was built in about 1620 and has thousands of graves.  It is very old and most of the headstones are worn away.  It was damaged during WWII.  It was locked, but a sign said a key could be picked up just down the road. It was raining hard and we decided we would go back on a better day.  It was an adventure.

Jewish Cemetery

 We visited Amira on Wednesday this week and the Elders went with us.  The usually go on Tuesday night and while they are there they clean her hamster cages.  So, Elder Grimmett got to hold Lima the hamster while they cleaned her cage.

I cooked for Institute this week.  I tried two new recipes and they turned out really good.  I will share at the end of the blog for those who would like them.




Thursday we were invited to Sister Runga's home for lunch.  She served with Russ 50 years ago in Austria.  She is so good to us and likes to invite us once a month for lunch.  She served us red beet soup that was so delicious.  It was a pureed cream soup made with red beets and potatoes.  Then we had a wonderful salad - huge.  That would have been enough for me - my favorite - soup and salad.  We then had rice with what she called, Kings meatballs with sauce.  She ended the lunch with a creamed applesauce.  Homemade apple sauce mixed with pure cream and cinnamon.  We had a delightful time with her but could not stay to visit too long after that long wonderful lunch.  We had an  Area Zoom Conference with all of the YSA Senior Missionaries for this part of Europe.  It is always nice to hear what others are doing and learning new things.  It makes us grateful for the program we have going and the wonderful people we work with.
We finished that just in time to have the Elder's over for an appointment with Christina.
I still had to make cookies for the Missionary Conference and pack my bags.  Another late night trying to get everything done.

Friday - Up bright and early and off to Salzburg Austria via Ravensburg Germany.

 We went to the Ravensburger Museum.  They started as a publishing company in the 1800's and then added puzzles and games.  This picture is of the current games that are offered.  We even have Scotland yard that my kids used to play.  They are the makers of the original Memory game for children.  They have beautiful pictures on them from animals, toys, etc. for you to lay out and match the pairs.  They have their first board game - based on the Jules Vern "Around the World in 80 Days" - available for purchase only at their museum store.  So, of course we had to have it - Russ loves that movie. We could not leave without having a famous Ravensburger puzzle.  We started with just a 500 piece - we need

 to be able to finish it!

 Their books are educational for all ages starting with babies to Adults.  They started the hard board books for children.  This picture shows the reading room in the museum.  It is really neat.  Check out the benches and the grass carpet floor.  We have some great friends, Elder and Sister Bretzing who are serving their mission in Ravensburg.  We are spent the day with them at the museum and seeing the sights of Ravensburg.  We stayed the night with them at their apartment and had a wonderful time. 

 City of Ravensburg Germany.  It is a small city with a nice charm.  We tried "spaghetti gelato".  They take vanilla gelato and add whipped cream and put it through the spaghetti pasta machine.  It comes out with the cream frozen in with the gelato in spaghetti strings.  Then they top it with strawberry topping and more whipped cream.  We shared one and it was really good - Russ would have preferred chocolate drizzled over the top, but it did not stop him from eating it.

 We ended the night at a Gausthous (restaurant) that had German food.  It was sooo good.  They had these Easter Trees hanging in several places and were so cute.  I loved how they hung them from the ceiling and decorated them.

 We got an Early start on Saturday to finish our drive to Salzburg.  It was a 3 hour drive and then we want to drive a little further and to visit Halstatt. It is a little village on a lake that we visited 40 years ago.  There is a salt mine and lots of shops.
It was a  very overcast day so a lot of haze.  We did not get to see the tops of some of the mountains.  The lake was so calm and beautiful with the swans swimming around.

 Several buildings had these bonsai trees growing up them.  It will be really beautiful when it is in full bloom in a few weeks.

 There was a shop that had hand carved nativities and other wood toys that were stunning.  This picture does not do it justice because of the glare on the window.  The shop was closed we could not get a better look.  I loved the different people and their expressions.  We learned there is also a shop in Ravensburg that has hand carved that are very nice, but it is also closed right now.  Our friends have one and said you can order them so we will have to see.

 This just depicts my love of churches.  This is a Lutheran Church.  We hiked up a large hill to the Catholic Church and cemetery.  It was very nice- you would really have to be dedicated to make the hike to attend church.  Maybe there is a back way for the locals and they just have the tourists take the scenic route!

This was on our way down the mountain.  There is a Salt Mine on this Mountain and this is water that comes out of the mountain and down to the lake. 

  We stayed at an AirBnB just outside of the city of Salzburg.  It was wonderful.  This young couple built this home and an apartment on the side of it to have as an AirBnB.  They are still finishing the upstairs addition.  It is very modern and new.  It worked out really well for us.  We stayed there 2 nights.  We went to Salzburg for a special Mission Conference with Elder Uchtdorf - one of the Twelve Apostles of our Church.  He is actually from Germany and he enjoyed being with family and speaking in German with the missionaries.

 We arrived early on Sunday morning to assemble the sack lunches for the missionaries to have after the conference and for their long rides home and trains, buses, and cars.  We had so much help and the Sister from the Mission office were so organized that we had 200 lunches assembled in 30 minutes.  Elder Uchtdorf decided to surprise the Salzburg Ward and attend church with them at 9:00 AM.  Because we were finished with the lunches, we were invited to attend the Sacrament meeting with them.  It was a really nice experience.  We were given translators and it was great.  It was Fast Sunday (we abstain from food for 24 hours and pray and prepare ourselves for the Testimony meeting)  One of the Sisters in the Ward bore her testimony on the Power of Priesthood blessings in healing and that she had received a blessing the previous week and how she was blessed from that experience.  She did not go into details, but bore a wonderful testimony on that experience and the blessing of Jesus Christ in her life.  When she finished, she walked passed Elder Uchtdorf and he reached out his hand to her and just touched her hand has she walked by.  It reminded me of the Woman who had such great faith that she knew if she could just touch the garment of Jesus among the throngs of people, she could be healed.  Because of her faith, she was healed.  I don't know if anyone else saw what I did, but I know it was a special experience for that Sister.  We then had our meetings and we took a group picture with Elder Uchtdorf and then we each got to go through a receiving line where he and his dear wife greeted us.  We were told to only say our name and where we were from and move on.  If he asked us a question that was fine, but we were  not to stop and ask him any questions because of the time constraints.  We were at the end after all of the young missionaries and when I said my name and that I was from Arlington Texas, Sister Uchtdorf just grabbed me and gave me a great big hug.  I was not expecting that and it was very nice.  Then they both spoke to us.  It was a very special day and we are so grateful we were able to be there.  We invited the Blanchard's and the Bretzing's over to our apartment to eat our sack lunches.  It was so fun.  They stayed from 3 until 9 and we had a wonderful time.  We don't get to be together very often and it was so nice to just talk about our mission assignments and laugh and cry with each other over our experiences.  It was so nice that we had a nice place to gather and not have each of us just go back to a hotel room.  It was a Fantastic Sunday!

 Monday morning we went to the Mirabell Palace and Gardens before getting on the road for home.  It was nice to see it in the Spring.  We were there last September and it was very pretty, but the Spring flowers are always nice.

 This a a park with all of these fun characters.  We had a good time finding a character to pose with.

 I liked this one for Russ and he likes the other one so he gets two pictures.  You be the judge of which one fits him the best.

This was inside the palace.  I have to say I liked all of the statues in Austria better than in Italy - they all had some kind of covering and were much better to look at.  This is in the marble gallery.  It was beautiful and concerts are now held in this part of the building.

It was a 7 hour drive home and a very long day.  I am sorry I am a few days late getting this out.  It will be a very short week before I am writing again.
This was a wonderful long weekend and we are so grateful to have had the opportunity to be with such wonderful people and to have been taught by an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ.  The past 10 days have given us a lot to study, ponder and pray about.  We have been spiritually fed armed with helps for the coming months.
Russ and I have been asked to speak in Church on Easter Sunday - stay tuned for the details next week - better yet, pray for me that I will be able to speak German so that they will understand.  It will be a week to study, study, study and pray.  I knew this day would come, we will see if I survive.  Thank you for the love and prayers we have received for the past 9 months while we have been serving as missionaries.

Recipes for those who would like them.
Apple Pie Dumplings
4 Apples, peeled and cored (I used Breaburn)
1/2 cup Brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
Puff Pastry sheet, sliced 1 cm. wide with last slice cut into leaf shapes.

1.Peel and core apples - leave bottom in place or plug with a small piece taken out of the core so filling does not all come out.
2.Mix brown sugar with cinnamon.  Roll apple in brown sugar to coat.
3.  Slice Puff Pastry
4.  Wrap 2 slices around each apple covering entirely overlapping each slice slightly and then pressing down to smooth out.
5. Place salted caramel sauce in center.  (I used 1/2 cup chocolate cream cheese mixed with 1/2 cup brown sugar).  About 1 Tbl. fits in the center where the core was removed.
6.  Add 2 leaf shapes to top of apple.
7.  Mix one egg with 1 Tbl. water and brush on each apple dumpling.
8.  Place on a parchment lined baking tray.
9.  Bake 20 min. at 350* or until golden brown and apple is soft.
10.  Serve warm.  Extra good with a scoop of ice cream.

Open-Faced Sandwiches
1/2 cup Onion, diced                      1/2 cup bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup mushrooms, diced             1 Tbl. Butter
1 cup cooked and diced meat (ham, chicken, turkey, etc.)  I used chicken.
6 oz. cream cheese
grated cheese
thin sliced bread like French, Italian, sour dough etc. or buns (split)

In a skillet over medium heat, saute onion, pepper, and mushrooms in butter.  When they are soft, add cooked meat and mix well.  Remove skillet from heat.  While the pan is still hot, spoon in the cream cheese to make a spread.  Cut buns in half if using or lay out bread slices.  Cover with filling.  Place on baking sheet.  Sprinkle with grated cheese.  Bake at 350* until cheese is melted (3-4 min.)

Open-faced sandwiches are a big meal item here and the Young Adults really enjoyed these.  It is a change from just meat and cheese with a pickle on top that they usually eat.

March 30-April 6, 2019

Sunday was the start of Daylight Savings Time in Germany.  It was nice for the past two weeks to be 1 hour closer to the USA time.  I can say at the end of today and this past week, I have not adjusted very well.  I have a lot of sympathy for the parents of young children who have complained about the time change and what it does to their children's internal clock.  I have been 1 hour behind all week.  I seen to stay up later trying to catch up and then sleep in and then I am 1 hr. behind in my day.  I know, it is all in my mind - I need to change mind over matter.

We hand a wonderful Sunday with attending Church and then having the YSA over for Family Home Evening and Lunch.  I served canolini (stuffed manicotti) and they loved it.  They had never had it before and they ate the whole pan. With Elder Robertson, that is not hard to do.  I made bread and added a salad.  It was simple but good.  Rhubarb is coming into the stores and that is one of my favorite things - so I had to buy some and make a rhubarb, apple, and cherry cobbler.  Oh my goodness - it was the perfect blend of sweet and tart.  I am glad I had people to share it with so I would not eat the whole pan!

More important than the food, we had a wonderful Family Home Evening with the young adults.  We talked about Matthew 14-15 and John 5-6.
"Jesus did not come to improve God's view of man nearly so much as he came to improve man's view of God and to plead with them to love their heavenly Father as he has always and will always love them."  All that Jesus came to say and do - showed us who and what our Father in Heaven is like.  Christ said, "The Son can do nothing of myself but as my Father taught me."  Our Father in Heaven taught His son all things and then trusts him and gives him the authority to act in His behalf.
In John 17 we read, "I have glorified thee on the earth.  I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do."  God's love of man was fulfilled when Christ came to the earth.  I am so grateful to know that I have a Heavenly Father who loves me and that He sent His son, who fulfilled all that he was sent to do - so that I may return and live with my Father in Heaven.  That belief gives me reason to be here on earth and to love, serve and do as He would have me do.  Eternal Life is Life with Heavenly Father, life with family, progression - Eternal Joy and Happiness.

It was a beautiful day and so when everyone left, we decided to go for a walk in the park.  We rode on the Tram to Seepark and walked the whole loop around the lake.  It is about 2 kilometers.  It was packed with people.  We enjoyed seeing the sights and watching the people.  The trees are beautiful with the blooms and many flowers.

 People were gathered on the large bridge that you can see in the picture above.  We went over to see what everyone was looking at.  It was amazing to watch the duck sitting on 4 large eggs and the turtles taking up residence on part of her nest.  As we were watching, the mother duck got off of her nest and went into the water to get more things to finish her nest.  The water was very clear and you could see her dive to the bottom and clip off a plant and bring it to the top and take it over and add to her nest.  She even found a sponge on the end of a rubber tube and brought it to the pile.  Well, as soon as she left the nest, a turtle came and sat on the nest.  We were all afraid the turtle was going to come and eat the eggs, but it just sat on the eggs like the mother duck was doing.  It is wonderful watching nature and how it all works.  We did not stay to see how the mother duck took back her space.

Russ was looking very dapper in his German suit jacket and hat.  H fits in very well.
You can see it is a large lake and it was a very nice day to have a walk in the park.

Monday was District Council here in Freiburg so the missionaries came from Singen and the Schwenningen Elders got mixed up and drove to Singen so they had to SKYPE in.  The wonders of technology that saved the day for them.

P-Day was Tuesday and we took our wonderful Elders to Ruine Burguine in Lorrach on the German Swiss Border.  We went last fall and really enjoyed it, so it was nice to return in the Spring.  This is the entrance to the ruines.  The castle was built in the 1200's and was occupied until the late 1500's.  It was vacant for over 400 years and in 1921 a group came in and started preserving what was left. 

Elder Grimmett at his P-Day finest.  He loves castles and ruins and climbing to get to them.  We climbed to the top of the tower - all 77 stairs.  Does not seem so bad 8 months later after we climb 45 stairs many times a day.  Our hearts are in much better condition this time when we climbed them.  The elevation is just a little higher than in Freiburg.

We are at the top of the tower feeling like we were on top of the world.  Beautiful 360* view of Germany, France and Switzerland.  It was definitely a stronghold against attacks. 

 Friday we finally made it to volunteer at the Garden of Robert Bosch College.  We presented at their Faith Day back in October 2018 and wanted to go back and volunteer.  They told us we could help with the garden starting in February.  Every Friday from 3:00-6:00 they work in the garden.  We went and had an amazing experience.  Everyone was so friendly and they all love the garden.  It is a learning place for the students and many people in the neighborhood come and volunteer.  We learned a lot and look forward to returning in the coming weeks.  If you volunteer, you also get to have whatever produce you want.  It is all organic and

they also harvest the seeds and keep the varieties going.  They not only use them, but supply the seed bank with seeds.  They have honey bees and hives and make their own honey.  They said to come and enjoy the garden - don't work too hard, talk and visit with others and feel the beauty.  We were asked to weed 3 large rows and they gave us an amazing "hoe", nothing like I have ever used.  It takes the weeds right out of the dirt with the root.  We worked together and in about 45 min. had it all done.  They then sent us to the strawberry patch.  We got it almost cleaned up and weeded.  What we did not know is that at 5:00 everyone stops working and has tea.  They have a room in the garden house for cooler days and an area under a big apple tree for nice days.  You gather and have wonderful bread, honey, pesto, jams, and herb tea from the garden.  I asked what was in the pesto - thinking in my limited mind basil, oregano, pine nuts, etc.  They told me it had dandelion, nettles, mint, salvia, garlic, and anything else they found in the garden.  I ate some on the bread and then came home and took an allergy pill - I have never done well with dandelions.  They do not consider them a weed and use them a lot here.  We had lemon, ginger tea.  It was so fun visiting and meeting other people.  They were all facinated with who we were and why we were in Freiburg and would come and volunteer.  I think it will be a wonderful experience.  The Director came and tole us she has never seen volunteers work so hard and so fast.  She was amazed at what we got done.  She could not believe we cleaned up our tools and put everything away.  She said she stays after an hour each day just to clean up after everyone.  I was taught very young to work in a garden and my summer job starting at 14 was working in the beet and bean fields of Idaho.  What we did learn is that it is not about work, but about enjoying nature, respecting the land, preservation and enjoying each others company.  It was a great way to end the week.
We left there and were off to game night with the Young Adults.  It was a fun evening, but we were feeling our age and tired after the work in the garden.  Saturday was tough - knees and calves are so sore from bending down and working on our hands and knees.  Next time we will talk more and work less!                                                                   
Saturday and Sunday are General Conference for our Church.  This is a broadcast from Salt Lake City with the leaders of our Church speaking to us.  It is held every April and October.  We look forward to it and the council we will receive.  It is our tradition to have Cinnamon Rolls and good simple food to eat for the two days.  We don't receive it until 6:00 PM on Saturday night and it gets over at midnight.  So, I had all day to make the Cinnamon Rolls and make all of the food for the two days so that I can sit back and enjoy the Conference.  We will have people over for Saturday evening and most of the day Sunday.

 Rolling out the dough.  Sour cherry ready in the pan and lemon cream ready to roll. 
They turned out really good today.  I do like the many kinds of flour here and to have a special pastry flour to work with.  I made chocolate cream cheese nutella and regular cinnamon rolls. 

We are ready, and as you can see, they have already been sampled.  I sent some home with the Missionaries for their breakfast.

In Mosiah 2:9 King Benjamin tells of 3 ways we receive the Word of God.
"...I have not commanded you to come up higher to trifle with the words which I shall speak, but that you would hearken unto me, and open your ears that ye may hear, and your hearts that ye many understand, and your minds that the mysteries of God may be unfolded to your view."  That can be explained in modern terms for us to understand.  I had Institute Directors that I worked with, Mick Smith and Bob Van Drimmelen who would say, get ready, we are going scuba diving today in our learning.  This puts it in an even deeper meaning:
Water skiing:  open our ears that we may hear
Snorkeling:  open your hearts that ye may understand
Scuba Diving:  Open your minds that the mysteries of God may be unfolded to your view.
To know the mysteries of God we need to gear up, plan ahead and dive deep.  We need to sit at the feet of Jesus.   This weekend as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we have the opportunity to go Scuba Diving.  I am so grateful that there is a Prophet of God on the earth today.  That there are 12 Apostles, just like in the days that Jesus was on the earth, to teach us and guide us and direct us in the ways of Jesus Christ.
 I invite each of you to enjoy the adventure.

Viel Liebe,
The Grimmett's