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
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