MARCH 10 - 23, 2018 CZECH REPUBLIC, AUSTRIA , GERMANY

         The Spring Temple closure dates for 2018, were from March 10 - March 26.  We have looked forward to these dates for many months, because David, Jennifer, McKenna, Dallin and Eliza were coming to visit.

  They flew nonstop from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Frankfurt, Germany.  There they rented a car and drove to Freiberg.

AT DOORS OF FREIBERG DOM CHURCH

  They arrived in  time for Dallin to do a few baptisms in the temple, and for us to take Jen and David on a quick tour of the temple before it closed.   
 
     Following our work in the temple ,we had a luncheon with our Branch in the Ward Meeting House, called the Gemeinde.  I was happy to take this opportunity to introduce the family to some of our German friends, and temple missionaries with whom we serve.  This weekend was our Branch conference weekend, so visitors from the Stake were there.

     On Sunday afternoon, March 11th, we drove to the site between Dresden and Meissen  where President Monson rededicated the land of Germany for the preaching of the gospel in April 1975.  We then drove around Freiberg, showing them the Silver Mining site that put Freiberg on the map 500 years ago.  We also visited the many hundred years old Dom Kirche (church).

AT PRESIDENT MONSON DEDICATION SITE

We have a cemetery in Freiberg which is the burial place of 1300 German refugees, driven out of Poland  and Czechoslovakia after World War II.  These people came to Freiberg, but there was no place for them to live, so they died from the cold and from hunger.  Freiberg was at the time under the control of the Russian communist government. The Russians buried these people in mass graves with no markers, however, their names were listed.  After the Russian governent lost control of Germany, with the fall of the Iron Curtain around 1989-1990, the German people made grave markers and had the names of these people engraved on the headstones, six people to one headstone, with their birth and death dates.
     One of our temple missionaries, Ed Fillmore, came to this cemetery with missionaries Larry Bonner, and Lee Ashby, and took pictures of the names on these headstones, and he then submitted the information to the "Find A Grave" program accessible on Family Search.  He wasn't able to completely finish taking pictures of all of the headstones, so he has asked Elder Ashby to finish the job for him. 

GERMAN REFUGEE CEMETERY (SO SAD)

     Monday, March 12th, we drove to Dresden, Germany, a short 40 minute drive from Freiberg.  It was a very rainy day, and we walked around with umbrellas all day long.  We took a tour of the Historic Green Vault, inside the Royal Palace of the Princes of Saxony.  The Historic GreenVault  houses the collection of the royal family's treasure trove of ivory, silver and gold, plus the Saxony crown jewels.  This collection was begun by Augustus the Strong in the early 1700's.  Though damaged in the bombing of Dresden in World War II, it has been painstakingly restored.
   
     We, also, visited the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) in Dresden.  This church was totally destroyed in the bombing of Dresden, and sat in ruins for decades.  Restoration began in 1992, trying to use as much of the original materials as possible. This reconstruction cost 100 million euros, 90 percent  coming from private doners around the world.  President Uchtdorf referred to this church in one of his General Conference talks.

DINING AT THE PULVER TURM RESTAURANT

     Situated next to the Frauenkirche is a lovely restaurant called The Pulver Turm.  It serves delicious German food, but the decor and ambiance of the place is super.  This restaurant was built on the ruins of a building and tower destroyed during the bombing of Dresden.  It is very interesting to see the parts of old walls inside, and the decorations from old time Germany.  We had lunch in this restaurant, and a delightful meal was enjoyed by all.

     Our last stop in Dresden was at the Zwinger.  The Zwinger was a baroque masterpiece built by the Wettin Dynasty, who ruled Saxon Germany for more that 800 years, right up till the end of the First World War.  It was built for pleasurable pursuits, like partying, weddings, etc.  It now houses four different museums, none of which we visited.  It has a beautiful glockenspiel that chimes every fifteen minutes.  The chimes are made of porcelain, and make a beautiful sound.

      During our two and 1/2 hour drive to Prague, we finally dried out from all the rain in Dresden.  In Prague, Czeche Republic, we stayed in an airbnb apartment way up on the third floor of a building in the heart of Prague.

JAN HUIS MEMORIAL

  It was old, but we enjoyed it because we could all be together.  Prague is a  beautiful city.  On Tuesday, March 13th, we visited the Old Town Square, about a block from our apartment.  The streets are made of cobblestones, and are very narrow.  We saw the statue of Jan Huis, a religious reformer who had trouble with the Vatican about a 100 years before Martin Luther.  He preached in the people's language and complained about church corruption.  He was tried for heresy and burned in 1415.  He is considered a hero by the Czech people.

     We visited the Prague Castle and Cathedral, located way up on a hill in Prague.    It has a very interesting area in the castle complex, called The Golden Lane.  This is a street of homes that are very small, and used to house the servants, and maybe some goldsmiths who worked in the castle.  They were occupied until World War II.  The houses now display medieval torture, alchemy, armor and medieval clothing, as well as gift shops.  We actually ate lunch in a small restaurant on this street.

PRAGUE CASTLE & ST. VITAS CATHEDRAL

The St. Vitas Cathedral is located on the castle grounds.  We walked through it, and Bill took numerous pictures.  Prague was ruled by the Habsburg's and their coronation ceremonies were held in the St. Vitas Cathedral.  Another church located in the castle complex is called The Basilica of St. George. It was used before the St. Vitas Cathedral was built and was founded by Good King Wenceslas' Dad around 920 AD.  It housed the remains of the earliest Czech kings.  St. Wenceslas' grandmother is buried here.

     The Charles Bridge  is the most famous of all the bridges in Prague.  It is over theVltava River, or better known German name of Moldau River.

CHARLES BRIDGE TOWER

This much loved bridge offers one of the most pleasant and entertaining strolls in Europe.   Musicians, and artisans and a constant stream of people make it a festival every day.  We watched several artists and musicians on our stroll across this bridge.  David actually climbed one of the towers to see the view.

      As Jenny, Eliza and I were strolling on the Old Town Square one day we just had to stop and taste the local baked goods.  We have a picture of us eating a TRDELNIK.  It tasted like a cinnamon sugar doughnut, but surely had a different shape than a donut.  Just after eating the TRDELNIK we saw the Easter Egg Tree, and had to have a picture.

MUSICIANS ON CHARLES BRIDGE

     Wednesday, March 14th, we finished up in Prague and drove to Salzburg.  Salzburg actually got its' name from the Salt Mines nearby.  Salz is the word for salt, in German, and the name of the river running through Salzburg, is the Salzach.  We all wanted to visit Salzburg because of our love of the movie "The Sound of Music."  The scenery in the movie is so beautiful.  We booked our "Sound of Music Tour" with PanoramaTours, and we just loved it.  We had a very good tour guide.  The tour was all in English..  We stopped at places where the movie was filmed and had some insider information shared with us.

PANORAMA TOUR BUS

For instance, the smallest Von Trapp girl in the movie, Brigitte, I think, almost drowned when they filmed the scene where the canoe tips over in the river.

CHURCH WHERE CAPTAIN AND MARIA MARRIED

Also, Christopher Plummer didn't think the movie would be such a hit, and he called it "The Sound of Mucus."  He has since retracted that statement.  Also, where Captain Von Trapp tears up the Nazi flag, Christopher Plummer wasn't strong enough to tear through the fabric, so they had to cut a place in the flag for him to start tearing.  He has to turn the flag around to the right spot to find the tear, which you can see him doing in the movie.   Our tour lasted four hours, and took us through the lakes and mountain region near Salzburg, because Maria's wedding scene was actually filmed at a church miles away from Salzburg.  We would see clips from the film, and then we would stop at the place where it was filmed.  This tour was one of the highlights of our trip for me.


        We took the Funicular up the mountain to the Hohensalzburg Fortress.  It was built on a rock 400 feet above the Salzach River.  Built by a Catholic Archbishop, this fortress was so foreboding that nobody ever attacked the town for over 800 years, so the fortress was never really used.  Salzburg was never really taken over by force, but when Napoleon stopped by, Salzburg wisely surrendered.  After a stint as a military barracks, the fortress was opened to the public in the 1860's.

  The fortress now houses restaurants, museums and a marionette exhibit.

HOHENSALZBURG FORTRESS

     Taking the walking tour through town, we passed Mozart's birthplace and museum.  Mozart is one of Salzburg's most famous citizens.   It was here that he learned to  play the piano and violin, and composed his first boy-genius works.  His family gained fame touring Europe's palaces, and became the toast of Salzburg.  Mozart lived the first 25 years of his 35  year life, in Salzburg.  He played his first big concert at the age of six.


     Thursday Afternoon, March 15th, we left Salzburg, and drove through the Alps on our way to Neuschwanstein Castle near Fuessen, Germany.

MOZART BIRTHPLACE

As we left Salzburg, we got a brief glimpse of Hitler's Eagle's Nest on the top of a high mountain looking over into Austria.  For several hours we just enjoyed driving through the beautiful Alps, past Innsbruck and on to Fuessen.   We stayed in a charming hotel in Fuessen called "The San Marco Hotel."  We had two rooms here, and enjoyed the beautiful views from the dining room to the lakes and mountains outside our windows.

     March 16th, Friday, we arrived at Neuschwanstein Castle in the morning.  We rode a bus to the top of the mountain to visit the Mary's Bridge (Marienbrucke).  The bridge affords a beautiful view of the castle, and spans a deep gorge and river far below.  We then walked down the path to the castle to join our  group for the castle tour.  You're not allowed to take pictures in the castle, but it is one of the famous and beautiful in all of Europe.  Walt Disney used this castle as his plan for the Castle on all Walt Disney productions and theme parks.

NEUSCHWANSTEIN CASTLE

  The castle was built by King Ludwig.from 1869-1886.  He only lived in it for 172 days, when he was declared "mad" and unfit to rule.  He was taken away to another place, and was found dead two days later.  They still don't know if he committed suicide, or was murdered.  He died in 1886, at the age of 40.  As I toured this castle, I thought of Joseph Smith, and that this king was alive at the same time as the Church was in its' infancy.   It's something to think of the homes Joseph Smith lived in, and to see the home of King Ludwig.

     On our way back to Frankfurt on Saturday, March 16th, we took a detour to Lindau, a city on the shores of Lake Constanz, or the Bodensee, near the borders of Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

MARIEN BRIDGE - NEUSCHWANSTEIN CASTLE

KUMPS ON STUMPS - NEUSCHWANSTEIN CASTLE

Jennifer wanted to see Lake Constanz, so even though it was a cloudy, misty day, we walked down to the Lindau Harbor and saw the beautiful area.

LINDAU HARBOR - LAKE CONSTANZ

  It was rather cold, so we didn't linger longer, but we know that the view would have been stunning, if the weather had been better.
   

     Our last stop before our hotel near  the Frankfurt Airport, was in the dark, at a town called Deerfelden.  This was a special stop for our son-in-law, David, because his Kump ancestors came from this small town.  It was so dark, and we were running late, so we didn't get to see much, but we do know that it was in the mountains, up miles of winding roads.


     Sunday morning, March 17th,  the kids boarded their plane to fly back home, and Bill and I went to church at the Langen Ward in Frankfurt.  Bill forgot his tie, and was loaned one from the Ward Bishop's office.

BILL WITH BORROWED TIE - LANGEN WARD

  The ward members were all very kind and welcoming to us.  After Sacrament Meeting, we started our 5 hour drive back to Freiberg ,in a snowstorm. One stop along the way took us to Eisenach, Germany, and Wartburg Castle.  We wanted to see this castle because it is where Martin Luther translated the New Testament into the German language the common man could read.  He was in hiding here, because the Pope was after him because of his rebellion against the Catholic Church.   A friendly prince gave him a place to hide while he did this translation work.  Luther had attended some  of his schooling in Eisenach.



     A few days after our arrival home, we took a day trip to Berlin, which is about 2 1/4 hours North from Freiberg.  We were especially interested in seeing the World War II sites.

WARTBURG CASTLE - EISENACH

  Berlin has become a beautiful modern city, with a wonderful shopping district. We parked downtown, using our "hop on hop off" bus tickets, we took a 1 1/2 hour tour of Berlin.  We then got off close to the Reichstag and began walking.  We saw the Reichstag, but didn't go inside.   We also saw the building where Angela Merkel has her offices.  It's not in the Reichstag, but in the Chancellerey, which is a modern looking building of concrete and glass.  It is nicknamed "the washing machine" by Berliners for its' hygienic spin-cycle appearance.
     We visited the Memorial to the Politicians who Opposed Hitler, The Berlin Wall Victims Memorial, The Memorial to the Murdered Jews In Europe, and the Site of Hitler's Bunker, even though it sits below a parking lot, today  We, also, visited the Brandenburg Gate, and the U.S. Embassy nearby.

MEMORIAL TO THE MURDERED JEWS

  We wanted to go inside the embassy, which is guarded by German Poliezi,  but we were not allowed.  Only those with business were allowed inside.  I couldn't even have my picture taken by the words that said "EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA."    The police woman said it was because of the terrorist threat.  I told her that my tax dollars helped to build that building, but it didn't make any difference. (smile)
     Our last visit of the day was to The Berlin Wall, and to Checkpoint Charlie.  Outside Checkpoint Charlie was a young man dressed in an American soldier's winter overcoat, holding an American flag.

BRANDENBURG GATE - BERLIN

  If you gave him money, he would let you have your picture taken with him.  We took a picture from a distance, anyway.  Believe it or not, we ate lunch in Berlin at a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant close to Checkpoint Charlie.  Kentucky Fried Chicken, Burger King, and McDonalds were all over the place in Berlin.  And, McDonalds is in many, many towns in Germany.  So is Subway Restaurant.

     We are now back home, and content to put our feet up, sit back and relax!  We would do that, but we are in charge of the baptistry, and have 60 youth from Hannover, Germany, and 40 youth from Frankfurt, Germany here to do baptisms during their Spring break.  Oh well, maybe next week!!!


     

    RANDOM PHOTOS FOR               THIS TIME PERIOD

CHECKPOINT CHARLIE

HITLER'S EAGLE'S NEST AT TIP TOP OF MOUNTAIN - BERCHTESGADEN

THE GOLDEN LANE  - PRAGUE

EATING TRDELNIK - PRAGUE

EASTER EGG TREE - TOWN SQUARE PRAGUE

BILL'S CONTRIBUTION - 2 DAYS LATER WAS MELTED

JANUARY 2 - FEBRUARY 20, 2018 FREIBERG, GERMANY

TEMPLE GROUNDS IN FEBRUARY

     I haven't posted a blog for a few weeks because it has been a slow time for us.  Our Winter snowfall has been way less than normal.
Last year about two feet of snow was on the ground in Freiberg.  January and February were full of snow.  This year we have a skift occasionally, and it is usually gone the next day.  The good thing about that is that we are able to still go outside and take a walk without worrying about slipping on the ice.


     We have had some beautiful full moon evenings.  The temple looks beautiful with Moroni shining, brightly lit up by the temple lights and the moon.  Notice how green the grass is!

MORONI AND THE FULL MOON

 











In Mid-December we turned in our two door car and were able to lease a four door Nissan turned in by a released
missionary couple, the Freemans. It is nice to have a little extra room, but the trunk space is still very small.  It's okay for just the two of us, and our occasional passengers, but for a family, or for much luggage, the space is quite limited.

OUR NEW FOUR DOOR NISSAN

Bill has found something  to do with his time  when we are not in the temple.  He has had a lot of enjoyable hours putting puzzles together.  He got a puzzle of Neuschwanstein Castle from Lanette for Christmas.  That got him started, and from there he has done puzzles of ships, Paris' Eiffel Tower, a toy store puzzle, and one other.  He is still working on the Eiffel Tower. Sometimes another missionary will stop in and they work together on the puzzle.  The hours he has spent doing this in the temple missionary room are about the only times we are not together.  It's good to have a place to go when we need a little space,

PUTTING TOGETHER THE EIFFEL TOWER - 1000 PIECES

or a change of scene from our one room apartment.


     In January, another missionary couple came to serve in the Temple with us.  William and Ruth Ann Parker are from Highland, Utah.  They both served as missionaries in Germany in their youth.  They later dated and were married.  William is a retired OB-GYN doctor, and Ruth Ann is the mother of 10 children.  She was a temple worker in the Mt. Timpanogos Temple for several years before coming here to serve.  The Parkers are our next door neighbors, and we have enjoyed

WILLIAM & RUTH ANN PARKER

getting to know them and introducing them to Freiberg, and the legalities involved in coming here.  Last week, Ruth Ann was hospitalized for three days with what they thought was a small stroke.  It affected her speech for a few hours.  She is now back with us, and all the tests seemed to show that she is okay.  We are so grateful.  She is a lovely person.


We attended two baptisms this month.  The first was the baptism of three men from Iraq, who came to Freiberg as refugees.  Included, are a father, his son, and a friend.  They speak Arabic, and we have missionaries from the Berlin Mission who have learned to speak Arabic.  The baptism and Holy Ghost talks were done in Arabic, and translated into German for the rest of the people attending.  These brothers have done baptisms for the dead in the temple, and are being taught German by the sister missionaries serving in our Branch.  It was an interesting baptism.

   

LOGAN GETS BAPTIZED

 The other baptism was of the eight year old son of our Branch President, Dario Dzierzon.  His name is Logan, and he is a sweet little guy.  I played the piano at his baptism because I am the Primary pianist.  The  Primary children all sang the "I Like To Look At Rainbows."  It was a very lovely, well attended baptism.  Logan's Mother is Trisha Dzierzon, and she is from the United States.  She saves my life in Primary by telling me in English what pages the songs are on, etc.  I am very grateful for her.  She and Dario met when they both served in the same mission as young people.



     We American missionaries tried to celebrate Valentine's Day here, but we kind of failed.  We were all going out to dinner together, when Brother Parker came out of their apartment and said his wife was having trouble being able to put her thoughts together to speak.  Bill and Brother Parker gave her a blessing and  then Larry Bonner and her

VALENTINE'S DAY AT OUR APARTMENT

husband took her to the hospital.  We also found out that we couldn't get into the restaurant we wanted to go to, or any other place, because they were all booked up with reservations.  So, we ordered pizza, and Bill, Ellen Bonner and I went to the missionary room to eat our pizza's and watch the movie "Australia."  It wasn't a very hearty celebration, but we did remember the day, and I can say that I am very thankful for "MY VALENTINE, BILL."    The German people don't really celebrate Valentine's Day, but you do see Valentine's decorations in the stores.


     Thursday, February 8th, the temple was full of about 17 Berlin Germany Mission missionaries who were attending endowment and sealing sessions before being released to return home.   They are called "finishers."  The Mission President and his wife bring them to the temple, take them out to a nice restaurant for dinner, they stay in a hotel,, and have a special testimony meeting in the chapel.  Bill and I were invited to attend this meeting by Sister Jennabee Wacker, who is soon to be released.

SISTER SHEFFIELD & SISTER WACKER - SUNDAY DINNER

She served in Freiberg for a while, and we had her and her companion into our home for dinner several times.  Sister Wacker and Sister Smith, played their violas in the testimony meeting and asked me to accompany them as they played "A Child's Prayer."  It was beautiful with the harmony of the two parts.  Jennabee is a talented viola player.


     Yeah! another missionary couple has come to serve in the Freiberg Temple.  Gordon and Kathleen Lindsay arrived last Saturday.  They are from Provo, Utah, where Gordon recently retired as a Professor of Public Health at BYU.  His wife, Kathleen sang in the Tabernacle Choir for 7 1/2 years.

GORDON & KATHLEEN LINDSAY

I think she is a talented musician.  Right now they are experiencing jet lag.  They served in the temple for  four months in Provo before coming here.  Kathleen is really into genealogy research, and has found many, many of her German ancestors.  She and her husband both speak some German.  We look forward to getting to know them better.


     Bill and I are presently Baptistry Coordinators.  The past two weeks we have been super busy in the baptistry.  The children in Germany have been out of school for two weeks for winter break.  February is, also, a month where they celebrate "carnival" or "Fasching."  It is a combination of what we know as Mardi Gras, and Halloween.  The children dress up in costumes like we do at Halloween, and I guess many of the adults drink lots of beer.  One Bishop brought his youth to the temple on the day of Carnival, to get them out of the atmosphere  that prevails during this celebration.
     We have had many groups of youth, Young Single Adults, & whole families come to do baptisms.  The countries represented are Austria, Germany, Russia, Poland, The Czec Republic, Croatia & Hungary.  Bill and I go home very tired some days, but are so happy for the many baptisms that are done.  I enjoy being in the baptistry, but you do work hard cleaning up.
     SERVING HERE IS STILL WUNDEERBAR!

NEUSCHWANSTEIN CASTLE - 1000 PIECES

MIGHTY SHIPS - 500 PIECES

   

DECEMBER 1 - 31, 2017 FREIBERG, GERMANY

BESIDE OUR APARTMENT DOOR

     December has been a busy and eventful month.  We have experienced what a German Christmas feels like.     We began by decorating our Christmas Tree and our shelving unit outside our Apartment door.  We bought a small 1 1/2 foot artificial Christmas Tree at "KIK, a store nearby.

OUR CHRISTMAS TREE

  Jennifer sent us some ornament pictures of her children, and we hung up ornaments purchased in Paris, Delft and Heidelberg.  As the days went by, we gradually were given other ornaments to add to our tree.  By Christmas time it was quite covered with decorations, and added a festive atmosphere to our home.
   

     Outside on the Temple/Gemiende grounds, a manger scene had been set up, and two large pine trees were decorated with lights.  Snow fell a couple of times, and lasted for a day or two, but then melted away.

MANGER SCENE AT TEMPLE

For the most part, the rest of the month we received rain instead of snow.  I think snow adds a more Christmas -like atmosphere to the season.

   
         German Christmas Markets are set up in the town square the last weekend of November, and remain open each day until December 22nd.   Freiberg had a lovely Christmas Market with many booths set up selling things you could buy as Christmas presents.  They sold Christmas decorations, and many, many booths sold all kinds of foods such as bratwurst, stollen,  doughnuts, drinks, etc.  It  opens at 10 AM and closes at 10 PM.

ME WITH FATHER CHRISTMAS

Christmas music is broadcast, and in the evening special music groups perform.  I enjoyed posing with St. Nicholas on our second visit to the Christmas Markt.

FREIBERG CHRISTMAS MARKET AT NIGHT

  German people celebrate Advent.  First Advent is held the first weekend of December.

FIRST ADVENT WITH FREIBERG WARD/BRANCH CHOIR

Accordingly, December 3rd, the Freiberg Ward and Branch choirs presented a concert.  The choir had been practicing since October for this concert, and the chosen music was beautiful.  About 30 people sang in the choir, directed by our Branch President, Dario Dzierzon, and accompanied by Ilona Harzt on the piano.  Earlier in the week I went on splits with the Sister Missionaries to some dorms at the University of Freiberg to invite students to the concert.  Surprisingly, a few of them did come.  The chapel was filled with members of the church and people from the town.



    Bernd Kleinert, a retired medical doctor who works in the temple with us, invited  us to go with him to a special Christmas display be held in the largest furniture store in Germany, called Mobel Mahler

A PARTIAL GLIMPSE AT THE DOLL DISPLAY

.  We had no idea what to expect, but it was a beautiful display of all the dolls, dollhouses, and doll furniture that any little girl could want.   Different dolls used by children throughout the years were on display, all dressed in typical German clothing.
     As we walked along further, we saw trucks,trains, constructions equipment, forts and castles on display which would be every little boy's dream to play with.  There were so many train sets all set up going through cities and villages and farms, that I couldn't count them all.  We saw a house on fire with smoke coming out of the place, and fire engines with sirens flashing all around.  It was amazing.

A MINIATURE CITY SURROUNDED BY THE RAILROAD

     There were several areas for children to actually play in; a skating area, a sand box, a lego play area, and the kids could even touch buttons and activate the train sets.  We enjoyed our visit very much.
     After leaving the Christmas displays, we drove around several towns and villages enjoying the Christmas Schwebboggens and other decorations shining in the windows and in the yards.  It was a four hour experience with the Christmas displays and the tour of the lights.  Bruder Kleinert was very kind to take his time to show us around.


     2nd Advent was held the second weekend of December.  The Temple Presidency and some of the other native German workers, decided to cook and serve a schnitzel dinner to all of the missionaries and other temple workers serving from Germany and Austria, who were being released.
     Kent and Marlis Freeman had completed their 12 month mission, and were returning home to Aurora, Utah.

TEMPLE MATRON AND ASSISTANT HAMMING IT UP

  Detlef and Sonja Glomb finished a seven month service in the temple and were returning to their home in Bielefeld, Germany.  Sister Erlacher, the temple presidents wife,  is a real ham.  She can be serious, but she has a great sense of humor, and is fun to be around.  She was in charge in the kitchen.  We had a lovely meal(the Germans really love potato salad)and we had three different kinds of potato salad.  Potato salad is not my favorite, but I did try one that did not have eggs in, and survived.
     Following dinner we went to the missionary room and watched a church movie entitled "The Letter Writer."  It had a beautiful, uplifting theme to it, and we all enjoyed watching it.  It was in German, with English subtitles.


     Since the Freeman's were leaving, we missionaries decided to take them out to their favorite restaurant to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary the night before they left.  We went to the "Schwanschloss."  When we went upstairs to our tables, we saw that President and Sister Fingerlie, of the Berlin, Germany mission were up their, also, with about 12 Elder and Sister Missionaries who were being released from their missions to return home.

THE FINGERLIE'S & MISSIONARIES

  The two groups of us shared the whole upper floor of the restaurant.  The missionaries held a quiet testimony meeting, and Sister Fingerlie sang us a Bavarian Christmas song.  It was pretty sweet.  We didn't hear their testimonies, but we did enjoy the Christmas song.  It was great to be in the restaurant with them.  As they left the restaurant, the Fingerlies asked the waitress to take a special drink to the Freeman's from them (the Fingerlie's) in celebration of the Freeman's anniversary. 

     December 16th, the Freiberg Ward and Branch presented a Christmas play at the chapel, entitled "The Golden Goose."  I think that traditionally they do a play every Christmas.  Last year it was "Cinderella."  The play is presented for two days, and many elementary school children come to the play with their school group as a field trip.  I was told that 200 school kids were coming to see the play.  Bill and I attended, and I got the gist of the story, even though I couldn't understand the language. 

CAST OF THE "GOLDEN GOOSE"

I recognized some of the actors and actresses as being from our Branch, but all of them were members of the Church.  At the end of  the last performance, all the Primary age children were presented with a Christmas gift from the ward or branch.  It was the Ward/Branch Christmas Party that last night.  Delicious food was served following the play, and it was very well attended.


     3rd Advent was held December 17th, with a Christmas Concert being held at the Mittweide Ward Building, in Mittweide, Germany.  Brother Kleinert, from our Branch was the conductor of the choir, and he really wanted us all to attend.

ADVENT CONCERT AT MITTWEIDE

We made a 45 minute drive to Mittweide, with several other missionary couples, and were delighted to see that several of our temple workers from that area were in the choir.  The chapel was full for this concert, too.  The people really do support each other, and are willing to give many hours of practice time preparing for these special Christmas traditions. We were happy that we had come to support Bruder Kleinert.


     Sunday evening, which was  Christmas Eve this year, is the night when the German people open their presents. I was surprised to learn this.  We missionries held a lovely finger food dinner together in the missionary room.

OUR CHRISTMAS EVE SPREAD

  Bill and I brought raked bar b que roast beef sandwiches and stuffed mushrooms.  After eating, we watched the movie "Silent Night."   It is the story about how the song "Silent Night." was written.  It left us all with a great spirit.  Bill did his traditional poem reading of "The Night Before Christmas," and we all shared a Christmas tradition from our homes.  We did not open any presents that night, but celebrated in our traditional way on Christmas morning.


     In Germany, the day after Christmas is also a holiday.  All the stores are closed, and so was the temple.  Three of us missionary couples were invited to dinner at the home of Dietmar and Ilona Harzt.  Ilona serves in the temple twice a week, but her husband is not a member.  It was great to visit an authentic German home, the first I have been inside.  Ilona fixed a beautiful lunch for us, we visited their garden and yard ( no snow yet), and then went back inside and had kuchen (cake) and cookies and hot chocolate.  We sang Christmas carols together and learned a bit about Ilona and her husband.

DIETMAR & ILONA HARZT

   Ilona's father was in the first temple presidency of the Freiberg Temple.  She grew up in a home where the church influence was very strong.  Ilona's husband, worked as a miner.  Freiberg was famous for its' silver mining.  He worked in the mining industry for many years.  His area of expertise was in blasting.



     Temple work resumed on December 27th, and we had a four day week.  Members from the Czec Republic were our special visitors.  Since the Freeman's and the Glomb's were released, and only one couple of the temple presidency were there, plus President Erlacher, we were working with a skeleton crew.  It was a real challenge to meet all the needs of the patrons visiting.  We worked pretty hard.  We look forward to receiving more temple missionaries in January, February and March.


   New Year's Eve afternoon, we had dinner with another missionary couple, Lee and Lyn Ashby. 

THE EXTENT OF OUR NEW YEAR'S CELEBRATION

They wanted us to orient them to their new assignment in the temple, since we were just finishing doing that assignment.  Later, in the evening,  we all gathered in the missionary room and played the "Name Game," and watched a movie about the life of Mario Facione.  Mario was a member of our Ward in Livonia, Michigan and we knew his family quite well.  He had been part of the Detroit Mafia, and had left it to join the church.  The movie was like a documentary of his life.  We ate snacks and enjoyed the story, then shared a few noisemakers and other New Year's celebration paraphernalia.  We could hear fireworks going off throughout the night from 5 PM until after midnight.  They really go for New Year's fireworks here.  We watched a few fireworks, and then came inside and went to bed.

WE KNEW THE FACIONE'S FROM OUR LIVONIA WARD

     HAPPY NEW YEAR 2018:  Bill and I now resume our temple duties, and we are in charge of the baptistry for January, February and part of March.


     I was saddened to learn that my Brother in law, Bill Jenks, from Sacramento, California, died on Christmas day.  Bill was a wonderful, kind man, and had battled Alzheimer's disease for about 10 years.  I was happy that his fight was over, but will miss him.  My sister, Marlene, has cared for him so well, and I know she and their children and grandchildren will miss him, but are glad that his struggle is over, and know that he is in a wonderful place.  Her comment to me  was"thank goodness for the gospel."  I echo her words.  Truly, thank goodness for the gospel!

KENT & MARLIS FREEMAN - RELEASED

 

DETLEF & SONJA GLOMB - RETURNED HOME

OCTOBER 23 - NOVEMBER 27, 2017 FREIBERG, GERMANY

OUR FIRST SNOWFALL

     Winter has arrived in Freiberg.  We have only had one snowfall, but the trees have lost almost all of their leaves, we have a lot of rainy days, and I am finding it more difficult to go on my walks because it gets dark by 4:15 PM.


  We don't get home from the temple much before three, so we have such a short window of daylight.  I can't wait until December 21st so the days can start getting longer. 


     Christmas preparations are in the works.  Out on the temple lawn a manger has been set up. So far nothing has been put inside the manger, but I am excited to see it.

PYRAMIDES & SCHWIBBOGENS IN SEIFFEN

    Bill and I spent a couple of weeks buying and wrapping and packing Christmas gifts to send to our children and grandchildren.  We wanted to send them something authentically German, as a memory of our time on this mission.  We ended up having seven boxes to send.  We hope they arrive in good shape, with nothing broken.  We purchased 98% of these gifts in Seiffen, the town where they are made.  It is a super place to visit and shop!  The boxes were all in the mail by November 13th.  It felt so good to get them on their way!

   


    Bill's brother, Neil, died on November 10, 2017.  He was 74 years old, way too young to die!  Neil lived in Boise, Idaho and was walking back to his car following an event.  He tripped over a speed bump in the road and fell, bumping his head severely.

NEIL AND LIBBY MOSS

  This caused him to get a subdural hematoma in his brain.  He was in the hospital for several weeks, and was unable to recover from the physical complications that resulted in his body.  His funeral was held November 16th in Boise.

     Bill flew home to attend Neil's funeral, and was gone from Freiberg for one week.  He was so sorry to lose his brother, but felt peace about going to be with his family members as they celebrated Neil's life.  I was very happy to get him back in Germany again!


     The past three weeks in the temple were super busy with people from Hungary, Poland and the Czec Republic.  The people from each of these countries stay 4-5 days and attend the temple throughout all those days.  We are able to get to know them much more personally than if it was just a one day visit.  That's the joy of it!  They stay in the Herrberger, or patron housing, and many of them bring their children, and take turns tending for each other so they can serve in the temple.

BILL & ANN WITH CHRISTOPER SOUTHWICK

   


We had a wonderful experience meeting the Stake President from the only Stake in the country of Hungary.  His name is Christopher Southwick, and he is from SUGAR CITY, IDAHO!  Chris is the son of Neil and Marilyn Southwick.  He served a mission in Hungary, and married a girl, Nora, from Hungary.  They have three young boys.  Chris teaches in an international school in Budapest.

He came to our apartment and visited with us for an hour.  It was so enjoyable to talk about things from home, and people we knew in common.  Actually, Bill's sister, Joy, taught Christopher when he was in Elementary School.  Neal Southwick, his father, has passed away, but his mother is still alive, and lives in Meredian, Idaho with one of Chris's sisters.

ANGELA & VOLKER DIENER

     Temple workers come and go, and we have recently lost five of the workers we have served with for the past six months.  Volker and Angela Diener, from Hamburg, finished their service and returned home.  They were such enjoyable people to work with, even though they knew little English and I knew little German.  We were still able to communicate quite well.

ANN & KARIN SPIZZIRRI

   











Karin Spizzirri, from Italy, also returned home.
  Karin had been here for six months.  She is a native German, but married a man from Italy, and moved there to live and raise a family.  She joined the church after the death of her husband, and only she and her daughter are members of the church.  It was so fun to serve with her.  She taught me a few German words, and we enjoyed saying "Ciao" to each other.  David taught me that "Ciao" is the word for good bye in Italian.

     Our Assistant Temple Recorder, Robert Saitz, and his wife, Edith Saitz, our Temple Office Secretary, completed their assignment at the end of October.  We miss them. 

ROBERT & EDITH SAITZ

They were so effective doing their work, and so far we have no one to replace them.  The temple presidency and their wives, plus our permanent temple recorder, Peter Schonherr, are trying to handle all the work.



     Thanksgiving Day in America this year was Thursday, November 23rd.  Germany doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving Day, so we worked in the temple just as we do every Thursday.  We American Temple Missionaries, decided to cook a genuine American Thanksgiving dinner for our German and Austrian fellow temple workers.

ANN'S HOMEMADE ROLLS

We divided up the menu, and Bill and I ended up cooking a turkey, making homemade rolls,  making gravy, providing ice cream for the pies, serving jellied and berry cranberry sauce that Bill found in our pantry in Rexburg when he went home for Neil's funeral.  We spent most of that P-day Monday, November 27th ,cooking.

TABLE DECORATIONS

    It really did seem like Thanksgiving Day, because we spent most of it cooking.  We all told of something we were thankful for, we listened to Thanksgiving jokes, told by Larry Bonner.

ENJOYING THE FEAST

At one point I was able to tell a few of the people the story of the Pilgrims and the Indians, because the Germans and Austrians had no idea why we celebrate Thanksgiving.  It was a very enjoyable night, and the guests told us that they enjoyed the dinner very much.

     The weather is cold, every one's thoughts have turned to Christmas, but I feel that I have so much to be thankful for.  I'm so thankful to be serving this mission here in the Freiberg Temple.  I am so thankful for my missionary companion (Bill).  How blessed we are to have our wonderful family, and to have three grandchildren in the mission field.  Life is Wunderbar!