Jan. 19-25, 2020

We have had the wonderful experience of serving with these Senior Couple Missionaries for the past year.  Five of these couples have completed their missions or will complete by the end of February.  Our numbers are declining and the need for Senior Missionaries is ever increasing.  We have been so blessed to have made new friendships from all over the country.  We don't get to see them very often, but when we get together it is always a grand event.  We will really miss those gatherings.

Time is going so fast and we are having to face reality that we only have 12 weeks left on the mission so we have a list of all the things we want to do and see before we leave.  There are museums, cafe's, churches, etc. that we are hoping to visit.  Vienna is a city centered in tourism.  There are peak seasons, but it is busy with tourists all year long.  January is the slow time and many shops and restaurants close down.  It has always amazed us how the shops just close to go on holiday for weeks at a time.  We tried to go to two different restaurants this week to cross them off our list and they were both closed.  February will be fasching (carnival) and then April begins the summer tourist season.  The University has there semester break the whole month of February.

We have an English Conversation Class every Thursday and we had 31 attend this week.  It was amazing to have so many.  They are from all over the world.  They have asked if we can offer it two times a week so that they can learn better.  It looks like we will be adding Saturday to the schedule.  It is so inspiring to hear their stories and what many of them have endured and their desire to have a better life.  Cultural barriers have come down and they accept each other as human beings and they have started to make new friendships.
 Prophets throughout the generations have prophesied that Jesus Christ will return again to the earth.  Isaiah recorded, "And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together" (Isaiah 40:5)  These prophecies help Jesus Christ's disciples to prepare themselves and others for this singular event and to have hope, knowing that Heavenly Father foresees the future and is preparing the world for the glorious return of His Son. We have already been able to see the change in people as they learn a new language and culture.  As they progress, they then want more in life than what they currently know and seek for more knowledge.  They go from believing in God or some higher being to wanting to know more about Jesus Christ.  The scriptures tell us to "prepare ye, prepare ye, prepare yourselves for the great day of the Lord.  Awake and arise and go forth to meet the Bridegroom; behold and lo, the Bridegroom cometh..."  We do not teach religion to these students, but as they come and meet with our missionary instructors, they are so impressed with them and the light that shines within that they ask questions.  We have had many opportunities to share why we are here and how we can help them learn about Jesus Christ.  We are all children of a Heavenly Father who loves us and wants us to return to His Heavenly Home.

 "The Church is designed to nourish 

the imperfect,

the struggling,

and the exhausted.

It is filled with people

who desire with

all their heart to

keep the commandments,

even if they haven't

mastered them yet."

                           Dieter F. Uchtdorf

There is a really good article this past week in LDS Living I would encourage you to read: https://www.ldsliving.com/How-We-Misinterpret-Black-and-Curse-in-the-Scriptures-Insights-from-a-Black-Convert/s/88562

In the two years we have been gone, technology is passing us by.  We have found that the devises we brought with us - they were old when we came - are no longer supported and harder to use.  We were hoping they would last until we returned home, but with my phone being stolen on New Year's Eve and my IPad 4 so old it could  not update, it was time to look at new options.  We spent Thursday afternoon in the Apple store.  That is always an adventure.  They have a very effective system and is very customer driven.  Are you seeing the picture - I left with a new IPad 7 instead of a refurbished one that I had picked out.  We decided with what we want to accomplish we needed to stay up with technology.  Wow, a whole new world opened up and we are enjoying the better graphics and information available, especially on the LDS Library.

 We checked off another Museum on Friday.  We visited the Wien Welt Museum.  It houses the largest armory in Western Europe, mostly from the 1500's.

It is an interesting time in history.  I am grateful to life in this day and time.  They were well protected, but I can't imagine what it would have been like in the heat to wear all of that.

1500's armor

horse armor

 I am always fascinated with the horses.  In these displays, the horses are very large and the people are actually quite small.  They were shorter than most people today.  Each uniform was custom made to fit the individual. 

Entrance to Armory

weapons

 Also part of the museum was a music collection.
There were four rooms just with the different pianos from the very small table top to the beautiful grand.  This picture shows the very long original grands with the giraffe version that fit in the smaller homes and had the strings going up instead of taking so much space on the floor.
"Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a master of instrumentation.  As hardly any other composer of the Classical period in Vienna, he understood how to incorporate the tonal and technical qualities of the various musical instruments into his compositions.  His numerous travels allowed him to become acquainted with diverse musical styles. 

Portrait of 13 year old Beethoven

"Since Beethoven was already viewed as a child prodigy at a young age - at the age of 13, he played as an organist, cembalist, or viola player at the Grand Elector's Court in Bonn and published his first three piano sonatas at that time - it is not unlikely that he was already the subject of portraits.  This is the earliest known representation of Beethoven."

Trombone on far left

 "The writing along the garland of this trombone indicates the date of manufacturing and the maker of the instrument.  According to this information, the instrument on display is the second-oldest trombone in the world.  It was originally a bass trombone.  It is not known when it was modified.  Jorg Neuschel is the youngest member of a family of instrument makers from the sourthern German region. 1557. 

Michael

Camilla

 Friday night the YSA had an activity at the Wien Icefest.  It is a huge array of ice skating rinks that fills the whole park in front of the Rathaus.  It is the largest skating I have ever seen.  We enjoyed watching them skate and eating a Viennese Hot Dog.

Wien Icefest at the Rathaus

We had 9 YSA attend with only 1 young man.  He was either very lucky or very lonely.  He had a good time and we are so glad he came.  The other Young Adults really missed out.


I taught the last class for this semester on Wednesday night.  It has been a learning experience for me and has given me a lot to think about.
I am so grateful to Mick Smith, Bob Van Drimmelen, Jared Jepson and Mark Richins for wonderful examples as Master Teachers.  I learned so much from each one of them.  One of the most important things I learned was to expect the students to come prepared to learn.  When the learner and the teacher each do their part, the Spirit becomes the teacher and great learning takes place.  It is easier to just come to a class and sit back and expect the teacher to deliver a lecture but very little learning really takes place.  When you come prepared to learn and then take notes on how the material makes you feel or what you have learned it becomes personal to you and you receive what you needed to learn that day.  I have watched so many lives change as they participate in this kind of learning.

It has taken me about 12 weeks of teaching to see some results.  It was very difficult the first 10 weeks.  They were not used to having to prepare or participate in class in such a personal way.  I would get very little responses and I was not sure if I was making a difference in their learning.  The past two weeks have made it all worth it.  This past week one of the students came into the Institute early and was just beaming.  He said, I went home and read all about the First Vision and the letter from Pres. Nelson about General Conference that you asked us to read.  He said he listened to the Podcasts that I also had told them about.  He was so ready for class and he participated in the discussion with great comments.  He stayed in class the whole time - sometimes he wanders in and out.  After class he stayed and visited with us.  He shared what he was experiencing and the personal witness he had received to make some changes in his life.  It was nice to have Russ embrace him and share his joy.  Another student said, "this is exactly what I needed to hear tonight." 

If only 4 students from the class complete the class with the understanding that they are beloved spirit children of Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ is their advocate with the Father and makes it possible for us to return home and through faith in Jesus Christ and acceptance of His gospel, we become begotten sons and daughters unto God and that they are loved and accepted in class - then it has been more than worth it.  I am grateful to have been a small part in their learning process.  It is interesting to see that no matter where you live or where  you are from, we all need Jesus Christ in our lives to understand the full purpose of why we are here on earth and where we are going after death.  His atonement covers for all.  

We are grateful to our Children and grandchildren for all that they are doing in their lives.  There have been new homes purchased, job changes, school changes, new church callings, new cars, broken cars, stolen cars, personal trials and challenges, cuts, scrapes and sprains, new friends, new hair colors, learning how to ride a bike and many other daily happenings and challenges - we are so grateful for the growth from these experiences and the many blessings that have come as our prayers have been answered in their behalf.  We know the Lord is watching over our family while we are away and we are so grateful.  Sometimes the answer to the prayer is just having the strength to make it through another day - that is a blessing. 
Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said, "It is of great significance to me, that I may at any moment and in any circumstance approach through prayer the throne of grace, that my Heavenly Father will hear my petition, that my Advocate, him who did no sin, whose blood was shed, will plead my cause." D&C 45:3-5
I am so grateful for prayer and that my Heavenly Father knows each one of us personally and blesses us with just what we need at that time. 

I was asked by a professional photographer to bake some cookies using peanut butter and a Protein powder for a photo shoot.  His team had tried to make the recipe and they did not turn out so he asked if I would just make some good American Chocolate chip cookies - but they needed to have peanut butter in them.  I asked for his recipe - he said OK, but don't use it because it will not turn out.  So I used my own Protein Powder drink (Melalueca) and I made his recipe.  They turned out - at least the picture looks nice and they actually taste wonderful.  They are a gluten free, healthy protein filled cookie.  

Viel Liebe,
The Grimmett's

Jan. 12-18, 2020 Winter is here!

It started snowing today and Winter has arrived in Vienna.  It is our P-Day and we shopped early before the storm came and thought we would just stay in today and get things done at home.  We got a text that the mission office wanted a group photo today and so we ventured out and went to Maria Hilfestrasse - the main shopping district in Vienna and where the missionaries go to do street finding.  It is always fun to meet up with the missionaries and then our District went to McDonald's for lunch together.  Only second time we have been to McDonald's in the past 18 months.  Then they asked if we would go to the Institute with them for an appointment - so, the afternoon became a little more than we had planned and P-Day once again was spent with the missionaries!  It is great to serve.

So, I have been cooking and baking the rest of the day and evening getting ready for Sunday dinner, Monday District Council and Zone Conference.  Now the favorite part of Saturday, writing this Blog and sharing my thoughts for the week.

Sunday Dinners with the missionaries continues to be one of the highlights of our week.  We really enjoy having them in our home and getting to know them better.   We had Elder's Coleman and Hyde on Sunday.  Elder Coleman is from Idaho Falls, ID (where Russ is from) and Elder Hyde is from Preston, England.  So, lots of things to talk about and share stories.  Elder Coleman asked if they could come over on Tuesday for their P-Day and learn to cook some new recipes. 

They came on Tuesday and I shared with them my Caramel Dip and Hummus Dip recipe.  It was fun to be with them and then I fixed them lunch and we samples the Caramel Dip with apples and the hummus with chips.  I sent the rest home with them and they were happy.  Elder Coleman said he really wanted to get an Austrian Trockten Jacket.  We had found one the week before at an antique shop but it was too small for Russ.  We took them over to the shop and it was a perfect fit for him.  He was so excited.  It even came with two pairs of dress slacks and he got all of it for $7. So nice to make someone happy with little things.

Monday was District Council and the end of a Transfer so we took the traditional photo of the group.  The chairs show how many transfers you have been on your mission.  We have a pretty young group.  Each chair represents 6 weeks.  We just completed 18 months on our mission - we are the longest serving in the group.
Elder Grimmett takes the safe route and does not stand on a stack of chairs.  I can't say it is very good on the chairs to be stacked and to have the weight on them, but the missionaries like to do this.

We learn so much from these young missionaries.  They work so hard we love their faithfulness, knowledge, craziness, spiritual awareness and testimonies.  We have come to really enjoy the time we spend with them on Monday's.

Monday night was FHE with the YSA and we watched a Fireside that was held on Sunday evening in Provo, UT.  We made the regular waffles with fried potatoes and fruit and they really enjoyed it.  A few missionaries helped us prepare it and again, it makes our time serving to wonderful when we are with them.

Tuesday's are P-Day for the young missionaries.  They gather at the Institute to call home and write their emails.  It is usually buzzing with lots of talking and just enjoying their day of rest.  I decided to take ingredients to make Calzone's for dinner. I made 4 large Calzones filled with grilled chicken, cheese and sauce and they turned out great.  We shared them with those that were there and they were very grateful.  

We have spent a lot of time taking care of apartment and missionary needs the past few weeks.  It seems like since the first of the year we have had a lot of repairs and broken things.  It took us over a week to find and purchase a new washing machine for one of the apartments, but we finally were able to get the right size and it was delivered and installed this week.  Lots of shopping as we replace bedding, dishes, vacuums, cleaning supplies, etc.  We just do not have big stores that you can find everything you need.  We have to go to many stores and even then it is hard to find some things.  We have ordered on Amazon, but even that is an ordeal.  Many things cannot be shipped to Austria so we finally figured out to have it shipped to our mission office in Munich and then they will bring it to Zone Conferences.  Patience and perseverance have become important for survival. 

We had a visit from Elder and Sister Homer who serve in the mission office in Munich.  They brought one of our new missionaries and also some bed mattresses for one of the apartments.  It is always so good to visit with other missionary couples.  We took them to dinner and then took them to their hotel.  With parking so difficult for visitors in Vienna, we had them park the mission van in our parking garage and then took them to their hotel.  We picked them up early on Friday morning and they were off to a busy day of apartment inspections on their way back to Munich.  They will be completing their mission at the end of February.  Elder and Sister Mecham (from Arizona) who we came from the MTC with 18 months ago returned home on Jan. 16.  It is becoming very real that we are in the last 12 weeks of our mission.  With that said, we will be loosing two additional missionary couples in February and that will put us down to 6 couples.  If you know of anyone who is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Retired, at least one knows some German, PLEASE tell them how much they are needed to serve as Senior Missionaries in the Alpine German Speaking Mission.  It is one of the most beautiful missions in the Church.  It is an experience that will change their life forever and it will be a blessing to their family.  How is that for an advertisement!

We went to St. Polton, a city about an hour away on Friday to check on an apartment and deliver supplies.  We were so excited to see Elder Janousek who arrived on Wednesday to serve in that city.  We served for 10 months with him in Germany and we will end our mission with him.  It was a great reunion and he continues to be a very dedicated missionary. 

 We decided to take a back road home and not the highway.  We took a road that followed the Danube River.  We stopped off in a little city called Tulln am Donau.  It is on the river and a really cute city center.  They have beautiful gardens and parks along the river that will be nice to see in the Spring.  This is a big statue on a hill overlooking the river that depicts the spot where a Royal family member met this princess and they then married.  This monument was erected in their honor. 

This is looking out from the top out to the river.  Viking River cruises has a port there as well as smaller river boats that you can take day cruises on.  They are closed for the Winter and will begin the first of April.  We are hoping to take a day trip before we leave to come home.   It was really nice to see a new place, even if it was sooo cold we did not stay long.
It was a great day, but a long day as well.  I came home and took a quick nap before we had to go to the Institute.  Often we take the stairs instead of the elevator when we are going down.  It was dark and I thought I was at the bottom and took a step and fell down the last stair and onto the landing.  I fell on the same side that I fell on 5 months ago just after we arrived in Vienna.  It has not healed completely.  Russ asked if I was OK.  I said, "I am in pain."  I really wanted to lay there and cry, but knew that would not do any good.  I just wanted to go back to my apartment.  Russ said, "OK then, let me help you up, we need to get to the train."  So, I picked myself up and off we went.  It is times like this that I think of my angel mother and her example of strength, courage and determination.  Today is her birthday, she would be 96 years old.  I know she watches over me and is cheering me on.

I only have one more Institute class for this Semester and it has been a great experience for me.  I have a small class, but the past two weeks have been worth all of the effort.  It is so wonderful to see students learning and feeling the spirit that bears witness of truth.  Our lesson this week was on the First Vision of Joseph Smith and the role of Jesus Christ in that vision.  The Church will be commemorating the 200 anniversary of this event in April 2020.  Pres. Russell M. Nelson has asked the members of the Church to prepare for this event by studying the account of the First Vision in the Pearl of Great Price.  The Church has also made available additional resources to study in preparing for this event.  6 Podcasts have been created that are well worth your time and efforts to listen, study and ponder.  I promise you will learn things you have never heard before. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/inspiration/latter-day-saints-channel/listen/series/the-first-vision-a-joseph-smith-papers-podcast?lang=eng&cid=email-IN_010520_CTA2c

"The Second coming of Christ is mentioned over 1,500 times in the Old Testament and 300 times in the New Testament.  If God thought this subject that important, he must have wanted us to do something about it."  Elder Sterling W. Sill

Why do we need to prepare others and not just ourselves for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ?
Elder Dallin H. Oaks said, "What if the day of His coming were tomorrow?  If we knew that we would meet the Lord tomorrow - through our premature death or through His unexpected coming - what would we do today?  What confessions would we make?  What practices would we discontinue?  What accounts would we settle?  What forgivenesses would we extend?  What testimonies would we bear?
If we would do those things then, why not now?  Why not seek peace while peace can be obtained?  If our lamps of preparation are drawn down, let us start immediately to replenish them."
The Parable of the 10 Virgins found in Matthew 25:1-13 is a great parable that teaches us about preparing to meet the Savior?  The Lord said, "And at that day, when I shall come in my glory, shall the parable be fulfilled which I spake concerning the ten virgins." (D&C 45:56)

I am so grateful to be able to study the scriptures and the words of living Prophets to help me be prepared for the coming days.   As Lehi in the Book of Mormon said, "And he did exhort them then with all the feeling of a tender parent, that they would hearken to his words, that perhaps the Lord would be merciful to them, and not cast them off; yea, my father did preach unto them." 1 Nephi 8:37
And so, with all the feeling of a tender parent, grandparent, friend, teacher, and missionary, I would ask that you read and study The First Vision, Ask questions about The Book of Mormon and share your testimony of Jesus Christ with others.  As you do this you will be prepared for the days ahead.

Viel Liebe,
The Grimmett's

January 5-12, 2020 Off to a great start

Justice - Melk Abby

We were invited to spend P-Day Tuesday with our District for a return visit to the MELK ABBY.  We had the most wonderful day with the missionaries.  We all took the train from Vienna to Melk.  It is an hour train ride and was so nice to sit back and just enjoy the scenery and the company of missionaries.  We toured the Abby in November with some friends and encouraged the other missionaries to plan a visit.  We saw and heard things we did not see on the first visit.  We had a really good tour guide and they also had some new items on display for the Christmas season.  They had several Nativities and also pointed out ones in the display that we did not know about earlier.  I shared a lot of pictures in November, so I will only show a few highlights of this trip. 
So we arrived at the train station and then it is a short walk straight up the mountain - that is where they like to build castles and monasteries.  I told the others to go ahead and I would catch up, but when our District Leader, Elder Cooper saw that I was huffing and puffing he fell to the ground and played hurt until I quickly caught up.  He is an awesome leader.  When  you enter the courtyard of the buildings, on each of the four buildings is a painting depicting a virtue.  The original paintings were destroyed and when they found they could not restore them they decided to have them repainted in a more modern art but depicting the same virtues.  They represent Justice - is Blind, no rich or poor judgement of people; Fortitude - strength; Wisdom - picture a reflection from a mirror showing light from Heaven; and Temperance - fire and water. 

 The high point of the baroque monastery is the church.  The left side altar contains the skeleton of St. Coloman in a sarcophagus.  The altar to the right is dedicated to St. Benedict but the sarcophagus is empty.  Young Benedict left Rome, repulsed by the immorality of the city, and lived int he mountains of Subiaco as a hermit.  He found his way to an experience of God step by step.  At each level he had to learn through experience to recognize the will of his God.  He went from a strict ascetic to a wise father of monks.  In 529 AD the foundation of Monte Cassino.  He died in the middle of the 6th century.  He continued to write his monastic rules until the end of his life.  In his monastery Benedict founded a school to serve the Lord.  For Benedict the most important criterium for a good monk is that he truly seek God. 

Peter and Paul farewell

In the order of importance of the rooms in a Benedictine monastery, the library comes second only to the church.  The globe is from the 1600's.  It was interesting to see that California is depicted as being an island off the mainland of America.
The library consists of a total of twelve rooms containing approximately 100,000 volumes in total.  About 16,000 are contained in this library room pictured.  They are organized by topics beginning with editions of the Bible in row 1, theology, jurisprudence, geography and astronomy, history and ending with the baroque lexica.
The statues, like the one of Peter and Paul saying farewell, are all made of wood with a gold paint and gold leafing only on the front side of the statue. 

We all enjoyed our time there and learned a lot of history.  We then took a walk through the little quaint town of Melk.  In the city center is this monument dedicated to the Jews who were in the local concentration camp.  The camp existed from 21 April 1944 until 15 April 1945.  The camp was located on the grounds of the "Freiherr von Birago" barracks.  After 1945 it served as a Garrison for the Soviet Army.  Since 1956 the Birago barracks are being used again by the Austrian Federal Army.  The Memorial was established in 1963. There is a museum at the crematorium where more than 3,500 corpses were cremated from 1944-1945.

We had our District Council and Interviews with Pres. Brown on Wednesday.  It was a wonderful day.  It is always so good to be taught and instructed by Pres. Brown.  I volunteered to prepare lunch for the Zone.  There were 24 of us for lunch.  I had so much food left over from Zone Conference that I had frozen, I just added a few fresh vegetables and fruit and we had a wonderful Donner lunch with rice and stuffed grape leaves.  I added apple slices with caramel dip and mint brownies.  I think it was actually better than the lunch I served at Zone Conference.  The Hummus, salsa and caramel dip have become favorites of the missionaries. 
It was a busy day as we finished there and then were off to the Institute for our assignment there.  I had 6 students in our class and we had a great discussion.  They are starting to trust each other and open up and share their thoughts and feelings.  It has taken 3 months, but it is nice to see the change happening and the students learning from the scriptures.

We have had a lot of missionary apartment needs the past few weeks.  Every day we are taking care of something somewhere.  This week we did more inspections - more clogged drains and washing machine repairs.  We have been trying to purchase a new washing machine for one of the apartments, but it has been a bigger project than expected.  We have been to several stores and on-line and hope to have it ordered by Monday.  Purchasing things in Austria is very different than we are used to and it is not as simple as just going to the store and finding what you need.
It is always a good day when we go to IKEA for more missionary needs.  We spent a few hours on Thursday there and got new bedding, pillows and kitchen items for a few apartments.  It is a never ending process.

Our two Danish Missionaries.  They are like twins.  They are not companions, but they always seem to dress alike and they are hard to tell apart from the back.  It is always a great time when they are at the Institute. 
We have our English class on Thursday evenings and they are doing really well.  We had 8 returning students and they really like coming and learning, especially because it is FREE.  We are enjoying getting to know them better.  We have several from countries that they left because of the dangers and they say they continue to be in harms way if they associate with Christian believers, but they want to learn English so they will come in spite of the danger.  I continue to be amazed a people and their will and determination for a better life. 

The time is going so fast and we have already started receiving mail from Salt Lake with forms to be filled out and arrangements to be made for returning home.  It is becoming real and coming way too fast.  We are in our last two transfers and that is crazy.  Saturday was transfer calls and next week will be the start of a new transfer period.  We only had a few changes in assignments and will be getting a few new missionaries in our area.  We will be welcoming Elder Janousek from The Czech Republic.  We spent the first 10 months of our mission and his mission together in the Freiburg District.  We will be ending our mission with him here in our area.  It will be wonderful to serve with him again, and we look forward to a great reunion this next week with him. 
It was also announced this week who the new mission president will be on July 1, 2020.  Scott and Jody Naatjes from Minnesota will be coming to serve as Mission President and companion.  They are in our daughter, Jaime's Ward and he was their Stake President until last year.  Pres. and Sister Brown did a fun video to make the announcement - it is always bitter sweet when a Mission President changes. 

We ended our week with P-Day on Saturday.  It was a nice cold day to spend the afternoon in a museum.  We went to the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. 

 Housed in its festive palatial building, it is crowned with an octagonal dome.  It is the largest art museum in the country and one of the most important museums worldwide.  It was opened around 1891 at the same time as the Natural History Museum across Maria-Theresien-Platz from each other, by Emperor Franz Joseph 1.  The two museums were commissioned by the emperor in order to find a suitable shelter for the Habsburgs' large art collection and to make it accessible to the public.  We have a season pass and can go back and see it many times.  It is too large to take in in one day. 

 This is a picture of the outside of the inner courtyard with fresco's painted on the walls.

Coin collection

 These are rings from the time of Jesus Christ.  They are still very colorful and very detailed in workmanship.

Buste Einer Frau

 These are marble statues dating to the time of Christ and later. 
The ivory sculpture on the right is the Angel Michael overcoming Satan (depicted in black).
It is a beautiful statue and very intricately detailed. 

 This is part of the dome that is very ornate with carvings and statues.  A nice lounge and restaurant are on the main floor of this room. 
We spent about 2 hours looking and will return to see what we missed - with an annual pass it is nice to be able to come and go and not worry about not seeing everything.  It really is overwhelming to see so much and take it all in.

We ended our day at a top rated Indian restaurant.  What an experience.  We started with this dish called Tiki Potato and Naan bread with cheese.  It was a potato on the inside with a dough around it drizzled with a yogurt lime sauce with a light gravy.  It is one of their specialty items.  The Naan bread was so good, the best I have ever had.  We then shared a Curry Chicken with rice dish.  It had a little kick to it that gave it a wonderful flavor and taste sensation.  It is always an adventure to try new places and foods and this one did not disappoint.  Enjoying the many cultures of Vienna.

We started the 2020 Come Follow Me Study at Church this week.  We ended our study of The New Testament and will now study the Book of Mormon.  I am really looking forward to this concentrated study and the many helps that have been given to us on www.churchofjesuschrist.org
The Book of Mormon was written by way of commandment by the spirit of prophecy and revelation.  The Purpose of the Book is:
1.  To show the House of Israel what great things the Lord has done for their fathers.
2.  To know the covenants of the Lord
3.  Convincing the Jew and Gentiles that JESUS IS THE CHRIST the Eternal God, manifesting himself to all Nations.

We studied this week about Nephi, who recorded the "Things of God."  He showed us that the word of God is "of Great Worth".  We have seen over the centuries so many people who have given their lives to preserve the "word of God."  We learn the Nature of God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost from The Book of Mormon. 
Nephi said in 1 Nephi 3:7 to his father, "I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."  As I studied and pondered on this scripture, I have also committed to "Go and Do" as we serve our mission.  It was not easy to leave a home and clothes and things too numerous to name and take only what was necessary and would fit in two suitcases and go to a far away place for 22 months.  In 1 Nephi 3:5 Nephi's brothers murmur and say it is a "hard thing" they were being asked to do.  I too have learned about "hard things" that have become blessings as we have willingly served the Lord.  It is the hardest assignment I have ever done, but one of the most rewarding as I have drawn closer to my Father in Heaven and His Son, Jesus Christ.  I too have learned when I murmur I do not progress.  I have learned new skills, new foods, new languages, new driving rules, new money values, and have met so many friends.  We continue to be so blessed in our service.  I am grateful for the teachings and lessons learned from Nephi that help me on this journey we call life.  It makes all the difference.
We continue to pray for the leaders of the countries throughout the World, especially for those at home in America.  2020 will be an eventful year - get ready for the ride.
Viel Liebe,
The Grimmett's

Dec. 29-Jan. 4, 2020 Happy New Year!

This picture is promoting all of the New Year's Eve events in Vienna.  There were 11 locations of organized activities from dancing, music, opera, fireworks, etc. throughout the city.  The festivities began at 2:00 PM and went until 2:00 AM. 
We decided to spend our New Year's Eve mostly at home and invited 4 missionaries over for a traditional Raclette Dinner.  It is actually a Swiss food, but has been adopted by the Austrians and is what most people do for New Year's.  In fact, the cheese is only available in December and January.  So what is Raclette.  It is a semi-hard cheese that is usually used for melting.  It is based on oheating the cheese and scraping off the melted part.Traditionally, cow herders carried cheese with them when they were moving cows to or from pastures up in the mountains.  In the evening, the cheese would be placed next to a campfire for softening, then scraped onto bread.  A modern way of serving raclette involves an electric table-top grill with small pans, in which to melt slices of raclette cheese.  The device is put in the middle of the table.  The cheese is brought to the table sliced, accompanied by platters of boiled or steamed potatoes, other vegetables and meat.  On top of the device you grill the meat and vegetables and beneath you melt and brown the cheese and the cheese is scraped onto the potatoes and other foods.  The emphasis in raclette dining is on relaxed and sociable eating and drinking.  On a side note, they recommend you serve a hot drink with it like herbal tea, other hot drinks or wine.  Tradition cautions that other drinks like water will cause the cheese to harden in the stomach, leading to indigestion. 
We had a wonderful evening together around the table melting our cheese and grilling the meat and vegetables and eating so much.  We ended the night with apple strudel and a cranberry cake and ice cream.  It was a real treat for the missionaries. We had gone to the store to pick up a few things for our dinner and ended up buying a Raclette machine, all of the food to go with it and put out an invite to the first four who responded and within minutes we were having guests for dinner.

PICTURES - where are the pictures?  I did take pictures of the evening and the events of the next hour.  Unfortunately, we decided to take a walk into the city center and see what Wiener Silversterpfad was all about after the Missionaries had gone home.  We wanted to see the fancy dressed people and the Viennese Waltz and all the people.  There were a lot of people and at one point it was crazy.  I had been taking pictures of the different venues and we had just watched a few minutes of the Opera that was being simulcast outside for those outside to see.  It was amazing to see how everyone was dressed in vintage formal wear and very Viennese.  We were trying to get to the venue to see the dancing and it was so crowded.  I decided to put my phone in my coat pocket so that I would not drop it and my hands were getting cold so I put my gloves on.  We held hands going through the crowd so we would not loose each other.  I had a horrible feeling about being in the crowd and so many people bumping up against me.  As soon as we made our way through the crowd and to an open spot I stopped and said, "I need to check my pockets, I think someone took my phone."  I reached in, and sure enough, no phone.  I do not know why I knew it would not be there, but I had just had a really bad feeling about pick pockets.  I did not take my purse for the very reason of not having it in a crowd of people.  We went back through the crowd two times to see if we could find the phone, but no sign of it.  So, NO Pictures of that night.  The real thing is they were not getting much.  My phone is an IPhone 5 and was going to have to be replaced when we return home.  I was using it mostly as a camera and with Wi-Fi.  I was hoping it would keep working until we return.  At this point, we are hoping our computer and IPads will keep working for the next 4 months.  We know we will have to upgrade to newer technology but were hoping we did not have to replace anything until we come home. 

So, our New Year had a crazy start and can only get better.  Every year for the past 30 years my family (instigated by my Dad) has come up with a family slogan for the year.  I missed talking with my Dad this year on New Year's Eve and coming up with the new slogan.  A favorite memory.  I came up with two slogans this year - For my personal life:  Serve Plenty in 2020.  For the Business side when we return home:  Achieve twenty twenty in 2020. 

So much has happened in the past five days. I am still trying to believe we are in January of 2020 already.  We spent Monday morning in our District Council meeting, and then off to the city to be with  our District for street finding.

Sis. Griffith

The District

Sis. Fromme, Elder Bennett & Sis. Griffith

It was so cold, but so fun being with this awesome group of missionaries.  We have this display bike and we talk to people as they walk by.  I was just standing with the Sister's and a man came up to the bike and asked about it.  He noticed my name tag and said, "are you Mormon's?"  He was visiting from Australia and asked where the missionaries were.  He said he was familiar with the young men who dressed nice and rode bicycles.  We explained that they were down the street and that we too were missionaries.  We had a nice visit and he explained that he was originally from Iraq and his wife is from Iran and they have lived in Australia for about 20 years.  He travels all over the world.  He lived in the USA and the Catholic nuns taught him English.  He noticed a Persian Book of Mormon on our cart and said he was leaving the next morning for Berlin on the  train and that it would be a long train ride.  I asked if he would like the book so that he could read it on the train.  He was so happy to take it and I gave him a challenge to read it and see if he finds answers to questions he has and truths that  are new to him.  I will never see him again, but he knows I believe in Jesus Christ and that He made it all possible for us to live, and have the blessings of the atonement in our lives. 

Organ in Malteserkiche

 We left the group and attended an Organ and Trumpet concert at the Malteserkirche.  It is a very small church that seats about 60 people with this simple but beautiful pulpit.  It is a Roman Catholic Gothic church of the Knights Hospitaller in Vienna.  The first church on this site is mentioned in 12 17, as a "House of the Prueder of the Order of Saint John", a commandry to care and support crusaders.  The current building was built in the mid 15th century.  It was rebuilt in 1806.  The Order ran into financial trouble after World War I and had to sell it.  It was able to be bought back in 1960 and restored in stages starting in 1968 and finished in 1998.

The church's high altarpiece was painted in 1730 by Johann Georg Schmidt.  The Empire marble pulpit, built in 1806 is decorated with a Maltese cross, a dove and gilt rosettes.

The organ is a historical Baroque built in 1767.  It was refurbished two years ago.  It is small with only 2 keyboards and billows that you pump.  The concert was outstanding.  You would never know the limitations the organist had with the sounds that were coming from the organ. Freddy Staudigl played the piccolotrompete and the a Konzerttrompete that was wonderful.  I have never heard Ave Maria performed so beautifully.  When the concert was over and they did an encore they actually played two numbers ending with Silent Night.  I was in tears it was so beautiful.  I was the first one to shake their hands as we exited the Church.  It was the best performance we have seen so far.  A great way to end the year.

  We started the New Year Wednesday bright and early at the Train Station to say good-bye to two special Sisters.  Sister Breinholt and Sis. Griffith completed their 18 month missions and returned home.  Sis. Griffith served in Singen and was in our District when she arrived on her mission.  We welcomed her to the mission and we had the privilege of serving with her in Vienna for her last assignment.  Wow, it makes our time become so real that we are in the final months. 

It is always bitter sweet to be at the Train Station.  The wonderful part of it is we have made some forever friends and we are looking forward to many gatherings and reunions when we return home. 

We have done lots of Apartment Inspections this week and have cleaned a lot of clogged drains.  We spent Friday in Graz and enjoyed the drive and beauty of this Country.  We had a little snow and rain, but mostly a nice day.  We made a return visit to our favorite restaurant in Graz and it was a great way to end a nice day of visits and repairs and meetings with the missionaries. 

We had 12 people at our English class this week and it was a great evening.  We have people from all over the World who are here and want to learn English.  The class is growing every week.  It was really fun having a bigger group and all of them talking and participating and getting to know each other.  They are surprised we offer it for free and have such a nice place to have class with such good teachers (our young missionaries).  They are really good instructors.  We are so glad to be here and be a part of so much service to others.  We like helping people and making their lives a little better.
We look forward to all that 2020 brings.  We are not sure what lies ahead but we are ready for the adventures that await us.  Our family will be the first priority. 
 The Holiday Season ends Monday with Three Kings Day.  It is a state holiday and finishes the vacations for most people.  Many shops have been closed since Dec. 24.  Tuesday we will be back to our regular schedule - I think we have been as busy with the Institute closed.  Always things to do and people to serve.

Viel Liebe,
The Grimmett's