MAY 8-14, 2017 FREIBERG, GERMANY

     Since Monday is our preparation day, we spent it doing some necessary things like making appointments for hair cuts, and trying to check into the office of the local chiropractor, and see if he would take Ann as a patient. We can walk to the hairdressers house, because she lives only a block away from the temple, and is the Relief Society President in our branch. She doesn't speak any English, but has been meeting the missionary's haircut needs for many years. I took Bill with me to act as interpreter, and we walked to make our appointment, because we didn't know how to get our needs across over the phone. Her name is Angela Froebel. Because she is so busy, we thought we'd have to wait a couple of months to get in, and with Bill's crew cut already being a week or so overdue, it would have been a big problem for his hairstyle. She was kind enough to work us in within a week, but we did have to make future appointments through August, because her calendar is so booked up.

OUR HAIRDRESSER, ANGELA FROEBEL'S, RED HOME, ON THE LEFT

     We next visited the office of the Chiropractor, Dr. Fischer. He was recommended to us by a temple worker from Freiberg, named Bruder Kleinert. Bruder Kleinert is a retired doctor, and is familiar with the medical profession in the city. What a blessing that is!! He recommended Dr. Fischer. As it turns out, Dr. Fischer doesn't take new patients except on the first day of the month, and he doesn't speak any English. His receptionists, aren't too great with English, either. Bill tried to speak to them, but his German in medical terms leaves something to be desired. The bottom line was, "call us on the first of June for an appointment, and when you come, bring an INTERPRETER!"  We promised we would.
     Most evenings of the week we take a walk around our neighborhood after we finish our work in the temple for the day, which is usually around 3:30 PM.  It is very interesting to see the different colors of stucco with which the houses are finished- everything from blue to orange, etc.  Most of the the homes are not large, but usually have pretty flowers blooming, and are well taken care of.  Most of the streets are narrow, just barely big enough for two cars to pass, and some of them are really only big enough for one car at a time.  It is so interesting to see that most of the sidewalks are made of brick pavers.

A NEIGHBORHOOD WE FREQUENTLY WALK THROUGH

Grocery shopping has provided us with a new experience with the shopping cart.  We shop in a two story grocery store called Kaufland.  To get to the second story of food, we must take our shopping cart up an escalator.  At first I thought we would have a hard time keeping the cart on the escalator, but the carts have an automatic brake system that does not allow the cart to roll.  Also, the escalator doesn't have any steps.  Bill had a great time trying the escalator for the first time.  He had so much fun, that I just had to take his picture.I've never seen this in the United States!

BILL ON THE ESCALATOR AT KAUFLAND

About  a quarter of a mile from our apartment is a lovely forest that we enjoy walking in.  The trees are so tall and beautiful.  It provides a cool, pleasant walk.  A ways into the forest, there is a parting of the paths.  Walking either way will take you to a little village just down the path.  Some of them are two or three kilometers away.    Some of our friends have visited a little restaurant at the end of one of the paths, that Bill and I will have to try.    As I walked in this forest, I thought of Hansel and Gretel being taken into the forest by their father, and left there all alone.  The only thing missing was the candy house of the wicked witch.

THE HANSEL AND GRETEL FOREST

 

HMMM, WHICH PATH SHOULD I TAKE/?

     

This week in the baptistry we have had youth visits from the town of Annaberg, and the country of Russia.  The youth are always so vibrant and excited to get baptized.  It is a joy to work with them.   The Russian people are almost always adults doing work for their ancestors.  The names they bring are really a challenge to pronounce.  But,  surprisingly, many of then know English better than they do German, so we usually help them in the English language.  

     We had one young man from Germany visit the baptistry, last week, who had just made up his mind to serve a mission.  His parents were so happy that he had made this decision.  The young man told us that he had made his decision after attending General Conference in Salt Lake City in April.    He attended baptisims several times last week, and you could really see that he was touched in his heart by his attendance here.

Another interesting set of visitors at the baptistry was a set of adults and youth from BYU in Provo.  These youth were on a study abroad for the month of May, and were visiting  6 different countries in Europe.  We were delighted that they wanted to attend the temple as part of their European experience.    We, also, had a visitor from Syria, who had just been a member of the church for two months.  This was his first visit to a temple.  He amazed us when he started to speak English.  He was working with the church member who baptized him, to find a way to bring his wife and family to Germany to be with him.  We had to admire him for all the struggles he had been through to get to this place in his life.

OUTSIDE THE FRONT DOOR OF THE FREIBERG TEMPLE

We are doing well, learning more all the time, and enjoying living with each other 24/7 in a small space, (much to our surprise!)   We are so thankful for the Gospel, and the blessings of the temple!