March 8-15, 2020 Covid-19 Evacuation- The final days

Today our hearts are heavy as we are completing our 20 month mission in the Alpine German Speaking Mission in Isolation due to the Covid-19 (Corona) virus.

The past several weeks I have lamented about how fast the time was going and we had so much we still wanted to do and accomplish before returning home.  Little did we know how fast our time was coming to an end.  We were preparing for being isolated in Austria and perhaps having to stay a little longer due to the virus.

Zone preparing for Quarantine

We feel there were some tender mercies this past few weeks as we were preparing that I will share in this Blog.  Thank you for sharing our experience with us.    We will continue to be missionaries for the next 14 days and then we will officially be released.  At that time I will no longer be sending out weekly emails, but I will continue to write on this blog and you can continue reading as you desire.  I will hopefully keep this entry to a chapter and not a whole new novel, but there is so much to
 share.





Every quarter we have a regional YSA Sunday where YSA from all over Austria come for the weekend and socialize and then we have Church together on Sunday.  On March 8 we were able to be with our YSA for what became the last time.

                                                                                We will cherish the picture as a wonderful memory of our time in Vienna.  These are some of the finest young adults that we have served with.  The first row has our High Councilor and the Stake Presidency.  We did not attend the dance on Saturday night because I was finishing up with the lunch for them on Sunday and we wanted to spend the evening with the English class.  Another tender mercy that we got to spend some time with those students that we have made so many friends with.  We knew things were changing rapidly in the World and our future was uncertain.

Tex-Mex Haystacks

  I cooked 12 pounds of chicken breasts, 4 kilos rice 1 kilo black beans, grated 3 pounds of cheese and make 1 gallon of salsa to make the dinner.  I made granola bars and had a fruit tray to round out the meal.  It was a great way to end our time with them with a little bit of Texas cooking.  They love the chips and salsa.
I had things prepared in advance and it made it nice to be able to serve and then eat with the young people.  So many things happened that we are so grateful for not knowing this was the last time we would see most of these people.
We went home when lunch was over and decided to plan for the next five weeks we had left.  We created a list of things we wanted to see and do.  It was not a long list and we knew we would see some of the things when my brother, Tad and his wife Kris came to visit in two weeks.    On Monday the missionaries were told to get a two week supply of food on their P-day Tuesday.  I put together a list of food and items they would want to have in their pantry.  I am so grateful for the knowledge I have from years of working with food storage and especially the Stake cook book I put together for the Bishops storehouse.  It is still on my computer and I was able to use that resource in putting together the list of things.  I think it will make a difference for our missionaries and they will not just buy snacks and unhealthy choices.  We shopped and made preparations for ourselves to be in Vienna for the long haul.  We decided it was time to take our large box with my new Bosch mixer and other items we had purchased to the Post office.  We thought it would cost about 130 Euro and were prepared for that.  When we got there, they said 70 Euro and Russ heard 170E.  We decided it was what we had to do and were pleasantly surprised when it was only 70E.  We spent several hundred euros getting a good supply of food to be ready for whatever came.  We were also in full preparation mode to get ready for Zone Conference on Friday.  I was serving the same menu that I did on Sunday and knew what I needed to do and how much to prepare.  We also had Family Home Evening on Monday with the Institute kids.  It was waffles as usual, but I kept it simple and did not add potatoes or other things.  We still had a wonderful time with the few who came.  It is a wonderful night of waffles, buttermilk syrup and Nutella.

Opera House

Reception Room

 Tuesday we decided to start on our list.  We took the tour of the Opera House.  It was as magnificent as expected.  We decided we wanted to buy tickets and attend a performance.  Unfortunately, we were the last tour and they were closing the Opera down until the Covid-19 situation is over.  We were so glad we got to see the inside and to take the tour and see the behind the scenes rooms and happenings.

Opera Ball held in February

Entrance Hall

 We were waiting for the tour to start in the main lobby.  We wish we would have known sooner that there are inexpensive tickets to see the opera or the ballet.  We will have to return someday.

We walked from the Opera House back to the Institute and decided to check off another location on our way back. 

We stopped at SLUKA, a famous cafe for a piece of torte (cake).  Russ ordered the traditional Sacher Torte and I got a Chocolate Torte.  As you can see, eleven layers of cake and chocolate - one of the best I have had in Vienna.  I ended up sharing some with Russ - it was much better than his.  Good thing we visited in the last days of being in Vienna so we don't return too often.
Tuesday is always a good day at the Institute being with the missionaries as they call home and send emails to family and friends.  We get a chance to just visit in a more casual atmosphere.  Everyone was talking about stocking up on food and afraid of being sent home.  They really do not want to leave and then come back.  They were all looking forward to Friday Zone Conference.  It is the bright spot of their transfer and they put a lot of effort into music, presentations and of course, what to wear.  Most of the Elders got hair cuts today and they all looked really nice.

Wednesday was another shopping and cooking day.  I cooked 6 pounds of chicken and made another gallon of salsa.  I cooked the 4 kilos of rice and 1 kilo of black beans.  I made mint brownies and put the finishing touches on my lesson for Institute that night.  The lesson was on the Atonement of Jesus Christ and it was a really special lesson.  There was a really good spirit in the class and I felt so blessed as I just shared a conference talk and was guided in the discussion.  Little did I know this would be the last lesson I would teach to these wonderful people.  I saw so much progress in their learning and understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  We really had gotten close.  I did not know how I was going to tell them good-bye in a few weeks.  I knew they would have a wonderful teacher with the new Senior couple that would be coming and that made it OK for me.

We felt it was important to start packing all of the paper (receipts, legal papers, bank papers, etc) that needed to be sent home.  We got them in a box, now that we knew it was not going to break the bank to get them home.  We were making preparations to help make the next few weeks not so hectic with family coming to visit and everything else.

Thursday morning I slept in a little and just needed a little rest before we left for Salzburg in the afternoon for Zone Conference.  I got in the shower about 9:30 am and Russ came in and said, President Brown is on the phone and needs to speak to both of us.  Really - I was expecting him to say Zone Conference was cancelled and we were to stay in our apartment.  I jumped out of the shower and came to the phone.  Pres. Brown informed us that All Senior Missionaries were being sent home and that we had 24 hours to pack and be on an airplane.  He said they were working on travel plans and we would hear later in the day our flight schedule.   I asked about Zone Conference that was to be the next day and he had not even had time to think about it.  He decided there was no way we could hold it with all that he had to take care of in the next few hours.  The next few hours were a whirlwind of activity.  We were so grateful we had been preparing all week without really knowing what was coming.  We had mailed "the big box" and had the paper box half full.  Russ started packing while I took care of final reports and financial items that they asked us to finalize.  We were in a state of shock and also renewed energy to get it done.  We knew we would not be taking any of our Winter clothes home so we separated all of that and packed the bags.  When your whole life basically fits into 4 suitcases, it does not take too much time to get that done.  It was the other things trying to decide what would fit within the weight restrictions and what we should mail home.  We packed another box with things and just had the bathroom personal items to add.  Our Zone leader Elder R and Elder Kroes, our District leader were working together that day and they came over to help.  They spent the whole day with us - it was really hard for them and they were trying to make sense of all of it as well.

Elder Kroes with arms out

Elder Kroes is an amazing missionary.  He has Cystic Fibrosis and was really worried that they would be sending him home.  He was a true miracle just being on the mission and he did not want to go home to Germany.  Elder Grimmett took the missionaries and mailed the additional paper box and went to the bank to get our money out. It gave me a little time by myself to get some things done.  We felt a real need to be with the missionaries and help them prepare for what was to come as well.  We had all of the food for Zone Conference that I had spent days preparing and so we invited the whole zone to come to our apartment and have dinner.  A few of the missionaries would still meet with the English class, not knowing it would be the last one for awhile.  I had made chocolate zucchini bread and cookies for them so we took them earlier in the day and finalized a few things at the Institute.  We had so much to think about and just kept moving down the list.

This missionaries started arriving at our apartment and helped with the kitchen.  The Elders loved
Elder Grimmett and were especially fond of his sweaters and ties.  He had a pile for them to look through and it was so fun to see them "fight" over his sweaters and hoodies.  There were a few favorites that went quickly.  I had the meat warming in the crock pot and we were just about to start putting out the food when we received a call from Sis. Brown (our Presidents wife).  She said they had been talking and felt the missionaries needed to gather at Zone Conference and that our travel plans had not come through and the soonest we would be going home was Saturday.  She said, I know this is a crazy time but can you still bring the food to Salzburg in the morning for Zone Conference?  We said sure.  We had already cancelled our AirBnB for Thursday as we were packing and thought we would not be going.  So, I had all these missionaries over to eat and needed to go to plan B.  I quickly looked in the fridge and pulled out hamburger and we made big pans of nachos.  It was a first for some of the missionaries.  I had fruit and made a fruit tray with caramel dip and cookies for dessert.  We reloaded the car and had it ready to leave at 5:30 am the next morning for Salzburg.

We were also know for the drink bar we had with mineral water and flavored syrups.  Green apple and Ginger were the favorites.  We gave away all of the syrups for them to take them home.
Esther Duffles, our Institute Director dropped by to say good-bye as well.  It was really good for her to be there with the missionaries as she will be working with them more with us gone.  

Our missionaries are so amazing and so filled with the desire to serve the Lord and continue doing what they have been called to do.  After they ate, they organized a meeting - what they do best.  They started with an opening hymn and prayer and then they each went around the room and shared their memory or something special about their time serving with us.  We were not expecting this and it was very special.  Many tears were shed and also great laughter and good times.  Sister Fromme shared that she was not excited to come to an area with a Senior Couple.  She thought it would be like having her parents there.  She said she quickly 

The District

learned it was awesome and it was like having the grandparents that she never new.  Elder Kroes shared how comforting it was on Tuesday night at the end of P-day that I came to the Institute and offered to make waffles for all of the missionaries that were there.   We had waffles and fruit and shared stories and memories, again not realizing this was a final P-day together.

The farewell group

We have grown close to Elder Bryant and he shared how much we have helped him as he has a special assignment to speak Persian when everyone else speaks German.  He is an amazing young man and is making a huge difference in the mission.  We are so glad to have served and helped in those efforts.
When they were all finished, Elder Grimmett and I were then able to thank them and to share a few thoughts.  We found a box of masks in our cleaning and gave one to each of the missionaries.  They wanted a photo as a memory of the times - it will always be a great memory and one not soon forgotten.

So, we had a little extra time to finish up and once everyone was gone, we could make calls home and start to make plans for our early return.  We knew we had a long day ahead on Friday and so we knew we needed some sleep.  We got up at 4:30 am and we left about an hour later.  We were planning to drop off some desk mats to the missionaries in St. Polton on our way before they caught the train to Salzburg.  Just as we were pulling into St. Polton we received a phone call from Pres. Brown that the Zone Conference was cancelled due to the Church cancelling all gatherings.  We told him we would make the delivery to the Elders and then return to Vienna.  No sooner had we hung up than we received another phone call from President.  He said, we have all of the packages and mail for the missionaries and we feel like they really need to have it.  One of the reasons the missionaries like Zone Conference is to get their mail and packages from family every 6 weeks.  He asked if we needed to have the Zone Leaders drive our car to Salzburg to pick it up or if we could continue driving.  We told him we were an hour into the drive and we would continue coming and would meet the AP's at the Church.  So much to take in the last few hours.

Elders Garlick and Robertson

We arrived and the Sisters were there to open the building.  Also Sister Hepworth and Sis. Akrea arrived on the train a few min. later to deliver some keys.  We served with Sis. Hepworth in Vienna a few months ago and she was really needing a friendly face.  We had a nice visit as we waited for the AP's to arrive from Munich.  It was hard on all of the missionaries and they were trying to make sense of all the changes and so many missionaries being called to return home.  I think we were able to help fill in the gap for a few minutes.  Elders garlick and Robertson arrived and it was a wonderful reunion.  We have served with both of these fine Elders and they too were a little stressed from the events of the past few hours.  They loaded our car - and it was loaded full with all of the food and now all of the packages.  I gave all of them some of the food and cookies and we were on our way back to Vienna.  We had a lot to talk about and prepare for on the 3 hour drive back to Vienna.  We did not know what the next few hours would bring.  When we arrived back home we found out that 8 missionaries with health problems would also be returning home.  Two of the missionaries in our Zone would be leaving.  Elder Kroes, our District leader and a Sister from Graz.  We drove to the Institute to be with the missionaries and to distribute all of the food we had.  I took baggies and divided all of the food into a meal for each set.  They got a bag of meat, rice, beans, cheese, a container of salsa and a bag of pineapple.  They also got brownies, granola bars and cookies.  By this time there were a lot of sad hearts as they were going to have to say good-bye to companions and things were changing quickly.

Elder Christiansen

Happy Birthday Elder Kroes

Elder Christiansen from Denmark drew this picture of us.  He is one of the English teachers and we have loved serving with him.

Elder Kroes has a birthday on April 6 and we had been planning a party for him at our District meeting that day.  

Final Good-bye

When his parents found out earlier in the day that he was coming home on Saturday, they gave him some extra money and told him to take the District out for a treat to celebrate his birthday.  We took the car home and then met the group at the Waffle Cafe. 
We did not know where we were going but this is a place the missionaries have walked by every week when they are finding on the streets and always wanted to try.  It is a Bubble Waffle rolled and filled with ice cream, fruit and topped with chocolate or nutella. We were quite a group standing outside enjoying our

Elder Bryant with waffle

time together.  This is a main street in Vienna that they do most of their finding on, Mariahilfer Strasse.  It is still a little cold and they have not set up all of the chairs yet for the summer so we just had to stand.  Again, these missionaries are amazing when they gather.  We had a mini farewell as we huddled together on this very public street.  Elder Kroes shared his thanks and thoughts about serving in the mission.  He was sad to be returning home and leaving his companion and the rest of the District.  Sister Scharffs was being moved to Graz to fill a void there and her companion, Sis. Fawson would join with Sis. Fromme and Sis. Pentleton.  That was going to be a hard transfer.  I took the opportunity to share my final thoughts with the missionaries at this time.  I was not able to bear my parting testimony at Zone Conference that is tradition and I wanted them to know how much they are loved and needed at this time.  I shared the "theme" for my mission had become: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.  I have shared my feelings about this in previous Blogs, but it has continued to have so much meaning for me.  I shared that we have been counseled since last October to prepare ourselves for the April General Conference of the Church.  It is the 200th Anniversary of the First Vision of Joseph Smith.  We live in a very busy world and only a relative few have prepared for the conference.  Plagues are something the Lord has used since the beginning of time to chasten His people.  He is in control.  We need to trust in Him and in His Prophet on the earth today.  Maybe the only way he had of preparing us was to cause us to be isolated to our homes and prepare.  It would be up to each of us individually what we choose to do, but if we are obedient we have been promised it will be memorable and unforgettable.  Those words are becoming more and more important.  It is time to Be Still and to be ready to HEAR HIM.  I shared with them the importance of continuing to do missionary work.  Many people will be effected by the events in the coming days and will be searching for peace.  They are the messangers the Lord has chosen to teach his gospel.  They will not be out on the streets, but they will be contacting people and teaching in new and innovative ways.  The work will not stop.  I shared my love for them and we departed for the tram station.  The picture above was the final picture we got.  We thought we would see everyone at 10 am the next morning at the train station to tell Elder Kroes good-bye.  It was probably best to leave this way - happy and filled with a wonderful spirit from a great evening together. 

The District Final Good-bye

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were exhausted from an early morning and about 7 hours of driving and then a busy afternoon and evening.  We had decided since we had not heard about travel plans we were not leaving until at least Sunday.  We thought we would finish cleaning the kitchen on Saturday morning and would just go to bed.  Just as we were thinking about going to bed we received a call from Pres. Brown telling us that travel plans were on there way and to not go to bed until we heard back from him.  We started packing the final things and cleaning what we could.  At midnight we received the call that we were on a 6 am flight and would need to be at the airport at 4 am.  That would mean leaving our apartment around 3:30 am.  We had to call the Zone Leaders and tell them that they needed to be at our apartment at that time to load the car and drive us to the airport.  Thankfully will all that was going on, they were still up talking and answered our phone call.  We needed to know if all of the luggage would fit in the car as well as us and the two missionaries.  So, we packed up the bags and at shortly after midnight we were dragging them to the car and trying to get them to fit.  We decided we could make it work.  I decided to shower and get dressed and then maybe get a little sleep.  By the time we loaded the car, showered and packed the final carry on bag it was time to go.  I did not even have time to consolodate the two refrigerators into one.  I would have to have the missionaries do that.  We had to leave instructions for mail, paying upcoming bills and anmelding us (visa requirements).  The Elders arrived and we stuffed our two last suitcases and them into the back seat.  Not a pretty picture.  So we have now been up for 23 hours and it was not looking very good for a good sleep any time soon. 

living room

kitchen

Elder Ballard at airport

The missionaries did not get much sleep either.  Lots of emotions

Elder Ballard and Elder R

and they were amazing as they were the leaders they have been called to be.  It was very special being at the airport with them and leaving our apartment keys and car with them.  It is not the farewell we were planning on and I had been planning for the new senior couple that would be coming to replace us.  I had purchased new plants and other kitchen things to leave for the new couple.  I had just received my Melaleuca order on Friday that had lots of things to get us through the isolation we were expecting to have to endure.  You can't even think about all of the things you left behind of the things you did not do.  Our memories now are of all of the wonderful people we met and served with.  It is all about the people and being able to be in one of the most beautiful places in the world -Freiburg Germany and Vienna Austria - so blessed.

 We can say we have been to France.  We landed at the Paris airport and purchased neck pillows for the long flight ahead.  We were so blessed to fly Air France and to have a very accommodating flight. 
Some people had been waiting 36 hours in Paris to get a flight to the USA.  We thought it would be very full and a difficult flight.  We had the whole back of the plane mostly empty and a whole row to ourselves.  Very good service and we were able to get a few hours of nap. 

 We arrived in Atlanta Georgia as our first point of entry.  We had to go through the Covid-19 checks and customs.  By the time we did that, we had time to grab and sandwich and board the plane.  By the time we arrived in Dallas, we were going on 40 hours without real sleep and we were really looking forward to the hotel and sleep.  We were so grateful to have Josh meet us at the airport and welcome us home.  It was a quiet arrival and that was as it was supposed to be.  We have been asked to be in a 14 day isolation.

We had to purchase a thermometer to take our temperature twice a day for the next 14 days.  We picked up a few essentials and were ready to be in isolation.  We rested Saturday night and all day Sunday.  We left briefly to have some lunch and spent the rest of the day in the Hotel.  We stayed at the Sheraton in Arlington.  We were planning to finalize the purchase of a car that Josh had found for us and be on the road to Wichita Kansas to be with Brian and his family for the duration of our 14 day isolation.  On Monday morning about 7 am things suddenly changed.  Russ had a stroke that affected his eyesight and balance and he ended up in Arlington Memorial hospital.  I was planning to write the whole story, but this is very long and I will close this week at this point.  I will add one more week as we navigate through these final two weeks of our mission.  We will not be released until after the 14 days of isolation.  So much is happening with the missionaries all over the world and in each of our everyday lives.  We have witnessed so many miracles in the past weeks and this week especially.  Russ has fully recovered from his stroke - still on many medications for the time being - and we were able to drive to Kansas on Wednesday.  We are taking it very easy and just trying to make sense of all that is happening.  Mostly we are taking advantage of this Still time and preparing for General Conference.  Oh how grateful we are for our Prophet and for the call to come home when we did so that we could have the best medical care and family to help us.  We have witnessed so many tender mercies and know the Lord is mindful of us and our needs.  Thank you for your prayers and for all of the support we have received.  We look forward to seeing you soon.
Viel Liebe,
The Grimmett's