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| Frankfurt Germany Temple |
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What a memorable week! We have been so blessed as we have served our mission and I continue to be amazed at the lessons I continue to learn every day. We have so much we want to accomplish before we return home and we are down to 11 weeks. Some of our greatest adventures await us and we are so glad, but I could not help but ponder and reflect on how we live our lives when we know we are on the final stretch. We have lists of things we want to do, need to do and have to do. We have reservations to make, flight plans, final interview to schedule, release date, etc. and we have deadlines to get it all done. What would life be like if we lived every day with such urgency to be prepared to meet our Father in Heaven. Am I making lists, scheduling and preparing with as much urgency? Life is so precious - just as the time on our mission is.
I have been in a reflective mood today as it is the 1 year anniversary of the death of my wonderful Father, George Haney. So much has happened in this past year. I could not have spent the past few days in a better place than the Temple - one of his favorite places. I was able to do the temple ordinances for some of his direct relatives and I truly felt his presence near me. One of his greatest concerns in his life was wanting all of his children and grandchildren to have and participate in the blessings of the Temple. One of the last things I did with my parents before my mother passed away was to be in the Twin Falls Idaho Temple with them. I will always cherish that experience. Yes, I am so grateful to know that "Families are Forever"!
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| 9 passenger Van |
Bright and early Wednesday morning we gathered with 7 YSA and boarded the rented Van with the 9 of us. It was not an easy feat. We drove to the Institute to deliver our suitcase and bag of food and then returned the car home to turn around and walk to the S-bahn and catch the tram back to the Institute since we cannot park there. Russ was so worried we were going to be late and was stressing us both out. I was not so worried knowing we were dealing with YSA. So we arrived with 10 minutes to spare at the Institute and no one is there. We wait and wait and wait and finally the first one arrives. We then get a text message that some are running late - usually always happens when you depend on the train schedules that constantly have delays. So they move the meeting time 30 minutes and then 1 hour. So what we thought was an early departure was slowly becoming a mid morning departure. The Van finally arrives and we load all 9 passengers and baggage into the rented van and are on our way. There have been few adventures in the past 19 months that have been as memorable as this trip. I can truly say we were with the some of the finest young people we have been privileged to serve with. It was so nice to be in the passenger seat and let them do the driving. All 9 hours of the drive. With 9 passengers a bathroom stop is not a quick experience. They rotated three times the drivers and who sat next to us. We had such a great time getting to know each one better and sharing that time together. We arrived around 8 PM, met up with the other car with 4 young people and checked into our accommodations. The Frankfurt Temple was built in Aug. 1987 and was closed the past 4 years for a major renovation. It was just reopened and rededicated on Oct. 20, 2019. Everything is new and the housing was so nice. We were pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed staying there.
There is a very large self serve cafeteria for preparing and eating meals. Our group of 13 ate all of our meals together and each had an assignment for a meal. Every one in the group helped and made it possible. We actually ate really good food. That is a lot of food to fix for three meals a day. Other guests were very impressed with our group and how well everyone helped and made it all happen.
This was no vacation! It was four days of travel and full days of activities. We started Thursday morning at 7:00 AM breakfast. We then went to the Temple at 7:45 to begin our day at the Baptistry. I was able to do baptisms for 10 individuals - 5 of whom were my relatives.
We served until noon and then fixed and ate lunch together and then Russ and I returned to the Temple while the rest of the group went swimming. We then had Dinner together and a fireside talk with a member of our Stake Presidency. We finished at 11 PM.
We began Friday again at 7:00 AM breakfast and off to do Baptisms.
We spent the morning in the temple and then met for lunch and then we
returned to the Temple while the girls went on a 4 hour hike. Dinner
was leftovers and back to the Temple for the YSA. Russ and I decided to
walk to the little city center for dinner and Joel, our YSA president
asked if he could come with us. We had such a good time visiting with
him and enjoying our time together. Everything we did was an experience
with a young adult that we would not have had in any other setting.
They made us feel so welcome and kept telling us how much they enjoyed
us being with them. We me so many new people and also saw and visited
with some people that we had met in various meetings throughout the
mission. I had a wonderful opportunity of visiting with Sis. Kopischke,
wife of Elder Kopischke of the Area Presidency. They spoke at our
mission conference in Munich back in September and she was in the Temple
on Friday and I was able to visit with her. That is always a special
treat as she is a very outgoing and lovely lady.
We ended the
evening with the a few of the YSA eating snacks and playing "the coin
game". We had so much fun and were a little loud and rowdy, but it was a
great way to end a wonderful day. We look forward to playing the game
with our grandchildren when we return home. Another late night with an
early morning alarm to look forward to.
We had to check out of our room by 7:30 AM and then met in the Temple to finish our time there with doing Sealing families together while a few of the others finished up doing baptisms. It was the perfect end to our time at the Temple.
We fixed a brunch of fried potatoes with bacon and German pancakes. It was wonderful and perfect start to our return trip home. We got on the road by noon and we arrived at 8:00 PM. They dropped us off at one of the train stations and we went to our stop and then walked the 10 minute walk home. Wow, we are doing things we never imagined - and we are surviving and doing well. It is really a new way of life for us, but a good walk at the end of an 8 hour drive was the best thing we could do - even with suitcases and food bags in tow.
We will forever cherish the past four days. We wish we had been able to do something like this sooner to have gotten to know the YSA better. Again, time is so short, but we are still making memories along the way.
Pictures of the Trip:
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| Temple Presidents Home |
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| Bianca & Marie Louise |
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| Angel Moroni |
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| The Group (minus 2) |
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| Moon coming over the mountain |
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We were sorry to see the week go so fast and to say good-bye to everyone. I only put one girl to sleep as I talked and talked on the way home! Lots of time to talk about life and answer questions as we had become better friends and a bond was forged. We are so grateful that Pres. Brown allowed us to leave the mission and take this trip. It will be one of the highlights of our mission.
So, we are home on Saturday night and we are putting the finishing touches on our talks we have been asked to give in Church on Sunday. This has truly been an extraordinary week in the life of a missionary. I am speaking on prayer and the "First Vision of Joseph Smith". I have been doing a lot of reading and study and if it has been awhile since you read the The History of Joseph Smith by his mother Lucy Mack Smith, I would highly recommend you read it. I am re-reading it after 40 years and I am learning so much. It is one more help in preparing for the April General Conference that will celebrate 200 years since the first vision. Russ is speaking on Faith. This should be our last talks before we return home. We are speaking in the International Ward, so it is in English and a lot easier to prepare. So grateful!
Viel Liebe,
The Grimmett's
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