Dec. 22-28, 2019 Christmas in Vienna

Sunday, December 22 was a special day.  We were invited to attend Church in the Ward with Beirosa and her family.  (She is the lady who taught us how to make the stuffed grape leaves).  Her 9 year old son was asked to speak about Jesus Christ in his life and they wanted us to hear him.  He is the only member of the Church in his family.  We are getting to know more people in that Ward and they were very friendly.  We enjoyed their simple Christmas program with music and testimonies of Jesus Christ.  Our Mission set a goal to invite 1,000 people to church for that day during the week before.  As a mission, about 3,400 people were invited.  Many new people came and also many who have not been to church for awhile were there.

We left for Salzburg shortly after Church. 

AirBnB in Sazlburg

 We had a nice 3 hour drive and arrived at the wonderful AirBnB the Madl Hof - it is a working farm and they have converted one of the large farm houses to apartments and built a new building with additional apartments.  It was wonderful and worked perfectly with the kitchen to finish the food prep for Zone Conference.

We have loved finding out of the way places to stay - they have added to the adventure.  We like the free parking and out of the city traffic when we stay in these cities.  We still had all evening to enjoy Salzburg and so we headed to the city to check out the Markets and to get some dinner - even in the rain.  We were not going to let a little rain keep us from seeing the city at Christmas time.

We started at Mirabell-platz and walked through their small market.  We then headed to the Old Town section of Salzburg.

Lover's lock bridge

As we were starting to cross the bridge we were stopped by two men from Bangledesh who were visiting and had come to see this bridge and learn why it was famous.  They asked if they could ask us questions and film our responses.  The fence on the bridge is covered with locks with the date and initials of the couple who "locked" it on to seal their love.  They kept asking us about the reason they would do this and what makes it so special. 

 I finally told them that I did not need a lock to define my love for my husband, that we had been married for 44 years and that we had made covenants that sealed our marriage.  As you can see in the picture, the bridge was packed with people, most taking pictures as they crossed the bridge.
One item of interest is that every Market we visited in Austria had a Nativity Scene somewhere on the square.  Each one was unique and usually drew a crowd.  This one was very typical from the Salzburg area.

 We  loved the market in the Old Town.  It was decorated so beautiful and really unique booths.  The whole theme of the market was based on these gold angel wings.  We really enjoyed being there before the evening crowds arrived and we got to enjoy just looking. 

Decorated tree

 They did not have very many food booths like in Vienna, but the ones they had smelled so good.  Russ was drawn to the crepe and waffle booth when he saw a cherry chocolate filled crepe on the menu.  We decided to start with dessert and end with dinner.  It worked out great!  The crepe was so good and so big there was plenty for both of us!

 We found a nice restaurant next to the market and had a light dinner.

Crepe Booth

It was a wonderful way to end our Christmas Sunday.  We returned to our AirBnB and finished the food prep.
A Christmas Hallmark movie was the perfect end to the day.

Christmas  Zone Conference 

Donor Kebabs

After weeks of planning, we are ready for the conference lunch.  Last week I showed you all of the meat that was cooked and the stuffed grape leaves that were prepared.  We had our "family tradition" NIGHT IN BETHLEHEM  Dinner.  The tables looked really nice with the trays of fresh fruits, dried fruits, nuts, cheese cubes, and olives.  We had dessert trays with 4 different fruit breads.  Then we had the serving table with the Donor's (Middle Eastern chicken sandwiches with lots of topping choices.)  I made two kinds of Humus, Yogurt sauce, salad toppings with rice and the stuffed grape leaves.  We had SOOOOO much food.  I told Beirosa that I needed to make 120 stuffed grape leaves so everyone could have 2.  I think in the translation there was some confusion.  We ended up making over 400 stuffed leaves and we had about 300 left over.  They were really good, but too much of a good thing can be a waste.  I will freeze them and try to use them with the YSA.  The sandwiches are so big, everyone was filled with little room for anything else.  They all seemed to enjoy it.

 Zone Conference is always a Spiritual Feast.  Pres. and Sis. Brown are spiritual giants and we learn so much from them.  Sister Brown taught us about the Shepherds and the Wisemen and their special roles in the Birth and first years of the life of Jesus Christ.  I love digging deeper in the scriptures and learning the symbolism and significance of each story.
Pres. Brown spoke on different aspects of the Christmas story and how they influence our lives.  As he spoke, he had asked several missionaries to perform musical numbers.  It was really special

Elder Sandlin (from Sweden)

After each number he would talk about the meaning of the song or what was felt as we listened to it.  We love these missionaries so much and it was wonderful to have them share their talents that really invited the Spirit to the day.

 Our Wonderful District Leader, Elder Cooper (Victor) sang Let them In from Michael McLean's Forgotten Carols.  It is one of my favorite songs and he sang it a capella and it was beautiful.  He continues to live up to his nickname, the gentle giant.
I played the Austrian Carol, "Still, Still, Still" for Elder Bennett and Sis. Clark.  I have to tell you a miracle happened.  Just 1 week before I could not even play a few measures.  It just did not sound right to me and I could not do it.  I just played their parts at the performance that Sunday.  I only had one day to practice the coming week and I sat down to practice their parts and decided to try the accompaniment again and it just came to me and I played it.  It all made sense when before I could barely play the notes.  We did not have time to rehearse together before the performance.  I sat down at the piano and had a calm come over me that I have never felt at the piano before.  I played the whole song and their voices were like angels.  The words are beautiful and very meaningful as it is a lullaby sung to Jesus.  I know that I witnessed my own little miracle that day and I am so grateful. 

Sis. Griffith

Sis. Breinholt

 Another part of Zone Conference is the testimonies of those missionaries completing their missions and going home.  We served with both of these Sisters when they arrived on their missions in Freiburg and we get to serve with them in Vienna as they are completing their missions.  We can't believe they are going home.  It means our time is quickly coming to a close as well.  It has been nice to watch their growth into very special young adults and ready to face the next phase of their lives.

After lunch the party began.  They learned a traditional dance and had so much fun.  Every Sister in the group had a Dirndl on and it was very festive.  Almost all of the Elder's had purchased Leder Hosen with the festive shirts and a few had the socks and shoes to match.  It was so fun to see so many in native dress and having a wonderful time.

 I was busy cleaning up in the kitchen while Elder Grimmett was summoned to fill in the fourth man spot and learn to dance.  He had so much fun and was worn out.  He kept up remarkable well considering he has about 50 years on the rest of them!

 Our Christmas Picture for 2019.
This will be a fun memory of a very special day.

Elder Mogensen

We loved getting to see some of the missionaries we have served with in the past that are now in other areas.  Elder Mogensen is one of our special "boys".  He is serving in Salzburg now and it is always good to be with him.  He is one of the craziest, thoughtful, dedicated missionaries we know.
We then had to drive the 3 hours back home at the end of a very long day.  The missionaries all received their Christmas packages from home at the Zone Conference and they asked if we could help take them home for them so they did not have to take them on the train.  Before we could even figure it out, they had dropped all of the packages at our car and headed to catch their train.  A nice addition to the day is that we also received a new car today.  It is a larger Hyundai I-30 - a big upgrade to our current smaller car.  So, we began the game of Tetris and tried to fit it all in.  By the time we loaded all of the left over food and all of the gifts, we were filled to capacity.  It was so full I could not see out of the windows.  I have to say, I was not very happy as it was raining, dark and a 3 hour drive home.  I had to get used to the new car and all of the bells and whistles that came with it.  Once we got on the road, it was OK and the drive actually went quick as we figured out things on the car and talked about the wonderful day that we had had.  Blessings again came our way.

Sorry this is so long and we are not even to Christmas yet!  It has been a very busy week.

We wanted to enjoy Christmas Eve day in Vienna so we headed to the main part of the city for Breakfast.  We chose the historic Landtman Cafe.  It did not disappoint.  It is Vienna at it's finest.  You have to check your coats and hats - no coats at the tables.

The waiters are all very formal and very well trained.  It was fun just to watch all of the people.  Russ got his favorite Kaiser Schmarin and I opted for Dumplings with fresh berry sauce.  We both had Hot Chocolate to top it off.  It was a fabulous way to start the day.
We then headed to Schonbrunn Palace to visit the market there one last time.  It was filled with people and very festive.  We enjoyed just looking at the wares and being part of the festive atmosphere.  Our Zone had been doing the 12 days of Christmas with each day being a different attribute or lesson from Christ put on a video and sent to the Zone.  We had been asked to do the last one on Christmas eve about HOPE.  We did not even know how to do a video like the young missionaries do it.  So, we bought us a Selfie Stick and decided we would film at different spots around the city talking about HOPE.  So we found a quiet spot with Stars in the background at Schonbrunn and filmed our first segment.  Well, we did not check to see if it worked and moved on to the next place.

 We wanted to go back to the University market where the lifesize Nativity was on display and use it at a backdrop for us to film.  When we arrived, they had already taken it down and the market was closed.  We found the mistletoe arch with benches and decided to film there.  With the market closed there were not very many people and it was a good quiet place.
On the way from there we passed one of the historic cathedrals - Votifkirche.  We decided to go in a take a look.  It is a newer cathedral built in 1856 and completed in 1879 with one architect and not over the span of many decades.  It was in honor of the failed assassination attempt on Emperor Franz Joseph.  It was in neo-Gothic style and dedicated as part of the silver jubilee of the royal couple.  They were just starting the dress rehearsal for their evening Christmas performance.  It was so fun to sit and watch and listen to the children.

 I loved the little angel.  She waited so patiently for her part and then appeared - so cute.  I was really impressed with how they told the story and acted it out.  It made my day getting to see this little performance.

As we walked back to the Tram Station, we passed another church and decided to go in and see.  They too were getting ready for their Christmas Eve Mass.  This was a very small church that is part of a monastery.  It was very nice to see.

We returned home and found out that the new selfie-stick did not have blue tooth and so when we plugged it in to our phone there was no sound.  So, instead of having nice places around town, we then had to film in front of our Christmas tree.  By this time, we had our parts down better and we got it filmed.  It was a little stressful, but made for a fun day of seeing some wonderful sights in the city.

We had a nice quiet evening at home listening to Christmas music and movies.

 CHRISTMAS DAY!

We spent the day at the Institute with our District.

The District

We made breakfast for all of the missionaries and it was absolutely wonderful being with them and sharing the day.  We set a nice table and had breakfast casserole and Pannetoni French Toast.  I made homemade Eggnog, Hot chocolate with Lindt Truffels

and lots of juice.  It was very relaxing as we shared stories and memories of home.  I know it was good for all of us.  They spent the rest  of the day playing games and calling home.  I made Cinnamon Rolls while they played.  They really enjoyed the new flavors of Nutella and Cherry that they had not ever had before.  We packaged them up so they could take to people.  The Sister's even shared with their Tram driver.
Most of them had Dinner appointments with Member's from the Church and the last ones left at 6:30 p.m. and then we were able to leave and go home so that we could talk to our family.  It was a beautiful day!

St. Stephans Platz

Dec. 26 is 2nd Christmas here.  It is also a Holiday and everything is closed.
We spent the day taking care of missionary apartment needs.  We took care of a clogged drain, fruit fly infestation and an Apartment inspection.  It is always good being in their apartments and helping them keep them in good working order. 
It was a nice evening after raining all day to take a walk in the City.  These are just pictures of the lights.  It is so festive and so full of people.  It is amazing to me how many people come here to celebrate Christmas in Vienna.

One of our missionaries had the need for an emergency transfer - so we were asked to take him to the airport for a 6:00 am flight on Saturday morning.  That meant being up at 2:30, out the door by 3:00 am to pick him up and have him to the airport by 4:00 am.  We had a mix of snow and rain most of the morning, but we accomplished the task.  He will be serving the remainder of his mission in the Nashville, TN Mission.  He will be missed and we pray that all will be good for him.  We then had to go pick up the new Elder that had arrived on Friday evening and take him to his new apartment and companion.  We returned home at 6:30 am and took a nice long nap.  It was a good day to stay in because the weather turned really cold  today.

 It was a good day to make Apple Strudel.  I have not made it since last Christmas and I decided it was time to make them again.  You pay a lot of money here to get a good piece of strudel and I thought it would be a great dessert for dinner on Sunday.

The dough is just cream, flour and salt.  You roll it very thin, until you can see the lines from the towel below. 

 Cover the dough with sliced apples sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar topped with a little butter and roll it up.
The dough is easier to work with than pie dough.

Bake it basting with butter and then when cool, sprinkling with powdered sugar. 

 We had to try it to make sure it would be good enough to serve on Sunday - with a scoop of ice cream on the side.

We will plan an Apple Strudel party when we get home.

And so we end the week so grateful for the time we have had here.  We will always remember this Christmas in Vienna.  It was so nice to focus on serving others and sharing the Light of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  We enjoyed the markets just looking and feeling the spirit of the season.  It was just fun watching people enjoy it all.  I did not do the Christmas baking or the making of 30 jars of Salsa like I enjoy doing.  For a few minutes I worried about it and then I let it go and focused on other things and it was OK.  Oh, I am learning so much and enjoying the journey.  These young people are so dedicated to serving others that they even saw that Christmas was not about "things".  They were sharing a far greater message with a lasting impact.  The best gift we  saw was parent's who put extra money in their accounts so they could go buy Lederhosen and Dirndles for our Christmas Zone Conference.  There was a unity there that I had not seen before.   Austrian Proud. 

Our message of HOPE we shared with the missionaries:
Hope is the confident expectation of and longing for the promised blessings of righteousness.  The scriptures speak of hope as anticipation of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. 
Romans 12:12 - rejoicing in hope
Romans 13:13 - Now abideth faith, hope and charity
Alma 7:24 - see that ye have faith, hope and charity
Joel 3:16 - The Lord will be the hope of his people.
2 Nephi 31:20 - Ye must press forward having a perfect brightness of hope.
Elder James E. Faust said, "Hope is the anchor of our Souls.  Hope is trust in God's promises, faith that if we act now, the desired blessings will be fulfilled in the future.  The unfailing source of our hope is that we are sons and daughters of God and that His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ saved us from death."
And as missionaries Elder Neal A. Maxwell said, "Being blessed with hope, let us, as disciples reach out to all who, for whatever reason, have moved away from the hope of the gospel.  Let us reach to lift hands which hang hopelessly down."

Plenty to serve in 2020

Viel Liebe,

The Grimmett's

Dec. 15-21, 2019 Countdown to Christmas

I have to keep asking myself what "retirement" looks like because after a week like we have had, I would not consider myself retired from anything.  I have been worried about returning home and what we will do and today I am looking forward to just having a rest. 

We were out shopping today for last minute items for our Zone Conference, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Dinners - because today is the last day for us that the stores will be open with us in Salzburg on Sunday and Monday and then the stores all close for Tues. - Thurs. due to the Christmas Holiday and we could not find a parking place.  Russ said, "it is too bad we are not handicap to park in all of the empty places.".  I said, "I am so thankful we are not needing those parking places and that we have been blessed with good health and are able to be serving in Austria at this time.  It was a reality check for me and just allowed me to think and be grateful for the blessings in my life.   With that said, I am learning I have to be more patient (and that is really hard) because we are aging and that is an adventure every day.  It has taken a lot of planning, especially with a major event to begin the week and then having enough refrigerator space to store it all. That means, shop for one event and then start over and shop and cook again for the next.

 Sunday evening we had a Stake musical fireside to watch the First Presidency Christmas Devotional.  Some of our missionaries were asked to sing and they asked me to play the piano for them.  With only Sunday to learn the music, it was a little rocky on my part.  The missionaries did awesome - they have beautiful voices.  I got through the first song and said I would redeem myself with the second much easier song.  Well, they dimmed the lights and there was not a light over the piano and I started to play and then I could not see the music.  It was a new song that I had just learned that day and so I did not know it well enough to not see the music.  Again, their voices were like angels and they did great.  I was on overload mentally and I felt really bad that I was not able to do better for them.  Well, they called and asked if I would play at Zone Conference for them to sing it there and I laughed and said, that is double punishment and that they did not have to ask me to make me feel good.  They are so loving and have wonderful spirits and they must be really desperate.  We will see.

 There is an excitement in Vienna with the missionaries that  is so fun to be a part of.  We have a new District leader, Elder Cooper and he is really making a difference.  I call him the gentle giant.  Our meetings are inspiring and we are so united as a District.  It is definitely making a difference with the work and teaching that they are doing. 

 Wednesday night was the YSA Christmas Party at the Institute.  I was asked last Thursday while I was out of town if I could prepare the meal for the evening.  I was already very busy getting all of the food for our Zone Conference and was not sure how we would be able to do it all.  So, we shopped on Tuesday and then I baked the rest of the day until we left at 9:00 PM.  I made Chocolate Almond balls, no-bake cookies, ginger cookies, white chocolate cranberry cookies, English Dainties and caramel dip for the apples. 

 The Elder's were ready and willing to help - especially to be the taste testers.  They were the best kitchen help on Wednesday as we prepared the rest of the meal and set up the tables for the dinner. 

Elder Grimmett with Elder's Bennett, Koch, Cooper and Coleman

So we served a traditional Austrian Christmas meal with
Pork and Chicken Schnitzel, parsley potatoes, salad and bread.  They wanted to begin the evening with hot Christmas punch and cookies.  They ended the evening with French toast dessert.
The Elder's were hard at work peeling 20 pounds of potatoes.  I was not going to peel them, but they were there and wanted to help so I put them to work.  Fun time for everyone. Oh, time in the kitchen together is so much more than just cooking - great lessons learned together.

YSA getting ready for a group picture

They had a musical program to begin the night and then did a White Elephant gift exchange.  Then they had dinner - by this time it was 9:00 PM and then their Dessert and clean-up.  We left the building at 11:00 and they were still doing some dishes.  We did not get home until 11:45.  It was a very long day but enjoyed by all who came.  We had about 50 in attendance.

We walked through the closed market at the end of the evening to get to our Tram.  Most of the lights were off except for the tree and the building and it was beautiful.  It was nice not being filled with people and just enjoying the beauty of the season.

Our District had a street display on Wednesday as well and so I made granola bars and made 30 packages for them to give out with Light The Worlds cards.  I did not have time to  go, but Russ delivered them and spent a little time with them.

With the Wednesday event done, it was time to concentrate on Zone Conference and Christmas.  Lots of planning and shopping.

 One of the favorite foods of the missionaries in Germany and Austria is a Doner Kebab.  There are Doner shops on every street.  It has been a tradition in our family for the past 30 years to have "A Night in Bethlehem" on Christmas Eve.  We have always had a Texas twist on the meal, but a trip to the Middle Eastern market was always a highlight to get fresh Pita bread, olives, dates and baklava.  So, I have now learned how the meat is really cooked and the other foods that they eat with it.  What an experience this week has been. 

Doner sliced chicken

So on Tuesday I started the marinade for the chicken.  It is yogurt based with lots of delicious spices.  Then you put it on a large skewer - I only had two of the stands so we alternated with skewers and a roasted pan.  The secret is tightly layering the chicken pieces on top of each other.  Then you bake it to perfection and slice is very thin.  We cooked 24 pounds of meat, sliced it and have it packaged and ready for Monday.  We will serve it in Pida bread (not pita pocket).  It is a large round bread that is sliced like a hamburger bun but different texture and larger.  It is then filled with yogurt sauce or hummus, lettuce, tomato, onion, cheese, cucumber, carrots, corn, and meat.  I will show pictures next week of the finished product.  We will also serve rice, stuffed grape leaves and an assortment of nuts, fruits, olives and cheeses.  We will serve fruit breads for dessert.

 Friday was an experience I will never forget.  I have been looking forward to this day for about 6 weeks.  My friend, Beirosa, a Kurdish woman living in Vienna came and showed me how to make the stuffed grape leaves.  We made about 400 rolls in 5 hours.  I had the Sister missionaries come and help and we had a wonderful experience as we all learned together.  Beirosa brought her whole family and they played and watched as we learned from her. 

 We learned about a lot of spices and blends.  One of the favorites in the meat was pomegranite oil.  It is AMAZING.  We mixed rice, hamburger, garlic, tomatoes, parsley oil, tomato paste and lots of spices to make the filling.

filling mixture

 Assembly line being set up.  Meat, grape leaves and pot to cook in.

Learning how to fill and roll

It took us each about 10 tries before we got the process down.  I wanted to fill them too full - bigger is better, and she would laugh and say, too full.  She speaks Kurdish and some German.  We had fun even if we do not communicate well.  We make it work with both of our limited vocabularies.  Love fills in the difference.

 We filled two large pots with the filled leaves.

Cooking in tomato broth

The next step is to fill with a spiced tomato broth.  They cook for about an hour and the aroma is wonderful.  I felt so bad her family had to be there so long.  The kids played UNO and kept occupied most of the time.  I told them they could leave and i could cook them, but her husband said, "no, we will stay till the end."  He was the official tester and taster to make sure they were OK.  The missionaries are invested in this meal and they are looking forward to eating their creations.  I love when we can share each others cultures and learn from one another.  Their 9 year old son, was recently baptized in our Church and they come with him every week.  He has been asked to speak in Church on Sunday as part of the Christmas program.  They have asked us to come and hear him.  We will be there to support him and to also be with his parents.   I am so grateful for this opportunity and once again - so much more than cooking took place in the kitchen today. 

 We were so tired when we left the building at 9:00 PM but

Christmas Market booth

 so grateful for the delightful
experience we were able to have.  We walked one last time through the Christmas market on our way home.  I love the lights of Christmas and the festive spirit that is there.  It is kind of magical that we walk through this wonderland on our way home.  I am so glad to have been able to be in Vienna for Christmas this year.  Millions of people come from all over the world to see the Christmas markets.  We were glad to see the few that we did.

Picture at the Heart Tree

Mini gourmet market down town.  We walked through this market on Saturday.  It was a very rainy day and we took a little walk to see a few more markets.  We did not last long.  It was cold and wet and going to dinner was a lot more inviting.  The car is packed and ready for us to go to Church and then drive to Salzburg for Zone Conference that will be on Monday.  We are looking forward to being with the other missionaries and also to have the lunch served.  It will be a new experience for many of the missionaries.  I hope we have fun with it.

Of all the booths at the Christmas Markets, this booth is my favorite.  I am drawn to it every time we walk through.  It is a booth with light - tea light candle containers.  I have thought about why I like this booth so much and why I am drawn to the LIGHT.  We are here in the Alpine German Speaking Mission to spread the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  The Light of Christ is given to each one of us when we come to this earth.  It is through this light that we seek Him and come to know Him.  In that process, we choose to follow His teachings and make covenants that will allow us to return to our Father in Heaven.  Jesus Christ is the Light and Life of this World.  He lives! It is through Him that we can find peace, comfort, happiness and Joy.  He is the Prince of Peace.  We wish each of you a Joyous Christmas.  2019 has been a year of many blessings, trials, challenges and joys.  Because of the blessings of Jesus Christ we have been able to not only get through each of these experiences, but we have been strengthened and magnified in what we have been asked to do.
Continue to invite Jesus Christ in your life through your obedience and serving others.  As we do so, we will have the Christmas spirit with us every day of our lives.  Be a Light to the World.

Viel Liebe,
The Grimmett's