JULY 22 - 31, 2017 FREIBURG, GERMANY

        Playing games is one of the ways to spend leisure hours.  When we left home, we brought two games with us - Quiddler, and Rook!  We brought these just in case we needed a little down time, and could find someone willing to play with us.  On Saturday night, July 22, we decided to invite two couples to play, and eat popcorn in our apartment.

GAME NIGHT WITH FILLMORES AND ASHBYS

 The interesting thing about this is that one of the couples we invited, also, brought two games with them when they came on their mission.  YEP, you guessed it, they, also, brought Quiddler and Rook!  I had to smile when I saw these two games sitting on the shelf in their apartment.
 We spent a pleasant couple of hours playing Quiddler and Two Up, Four Down!  We provided popcorn, and they brought apple slices and ice cream and cheese danish.  I think we'll have to do it again sometime.

     Montag, 24 Juli , the temple missionaries had a special day trip  to Luebben, Germany.  Luebben is about 1 1/2 hours North from Freiberg towards Berlin.  The Spree River runs through this town, and this area is known as the Venice of Germany, because many little canals from the Spree River run through areas of the town.

OUR TEMPLE GROUP

 Twenty one of us temple workers traveled to Luebben and boarded one long boat, beautifully decorated with benches, round tables with flowers in the center, and our personal Boatman who, also, acted as tour guide as we traveled.  We floated through beautiful forests, saw many ducks, interesting carved works, and a grass hut or two along the way.  We passed through two locks, like you see in the Erie Canal, or the Panama Canal.  We passed other boaters, and several families using kayaks, and having a great family time.  Summer homes, as well as year round homes line several miles of the River.

GRASS HOUSE & BARREL HOUSE

     Half way through our cruise, we stopped at a beautiful restaurant, Gasthaus Lehnigksberg, for lunch.  It took three tables to seat us all.  Bill ordered schwein cordon bleu ( pork cordon blue).  I ordered trout.  We both thought our food was good.  Bill ordered a chocolate milk shake, which was a disappointment.  It was chocolate milk with a small scoop of chocolate ice cream dropped in the top.  We decided not to ever order one of those again.
     After lunch, we again boarded the boat, and floated back to the dock via a different route.  It was a thoroughly enjoyable day.

GASTHAUS LEHNIGKSBERG

 We arrived back home about 5:30 PM.

     A highlight of this past week, was receiving messages and pictures from our children and grandchildren who were having a family reunion, planned and organized by Eric and Gaby Moss, from Michigan.  All the family arrived at Eric's home in Macomb, Michigan.  They attended Sunday Meetings at our old home Ward in Livonia, Michigan.  They also visited the homes we lived in, and the schools they attended.  It was so much fun for them.  
     Traveling to  Sleeping Bear Dunes, on the shores of Lake Michigan, was a highlight of the reunion.

LUNCH AT THE GASTHAUS

 Three days in a beach house, swimming, hiking, and playing games during the rain storms helped them to bond with each other.  Our three grandchildren, who are leaving on missions in the next few weeks, and a month or so, talked to their young cousins about why they wanted to serve, and shared their feelings.  I understand it was a very spiritual time.  I wish I could have been there to hear them express their feelings.  I am thankful to know that all the families are back home safe and sound.  What a blessing it is to know that they love each other, and really enjoy being together.

     This past week we have had temple visitors from the Salzburg, Austria Stake.  Relief Society Sisters from the Hamburg Stake visited for the weekend.  I was pleasantly surprised that about 35 sisters from Hamburg came, and kept us very busy.  It's was great to see the Salzburg Youth who came to do baptisms each day.
   
     Sunday dinner was enjoyable, as we got to know one of our new Sister Missionaries, Sister Sheffield.  She just arrived in Germany from South Dakota.

GOING THROUGH THE LOCK

 Her Father is in the U.S. Air Force, and is a pilot on the B-1 Bomber airplane.  Sister Sheffield and Sister Wacker serve in our Branch, and are great young women.  She is really working hard on becoming more fluent in her German, but she did bear her testimony in church in German, and did a great job.

SERVING AS TEMPLE MISSIONARIES IS STILL WUNDERBAR!

DINNER WITH SISTER SHEFFIELD & SISTER WACKER

RAINBOW ABOVE TEMPLE AFTER THE STORM