19-20 Dec 2010 Wintertime in Germany

Sunday was our Christmas Program. Our choir sang four songs and we sounded fabulous if I must say so myself. Half of the members of the choir are Senior missionaries. We try to be very supportive of our ward. The Bishop called Elder Walters and I to work in the Primary, teaching the 8-11 year old Valient boys and girls. We will be teaching as a team with another missionary couple. We are looking forward to preparing them for Baptism. Teaching them the things they need to know before taking that most important step in their lives. You can see a picture of our chapel and one of Gene after church. Also notice the picture of the cute Sister Missionary who is wearing her newly acquired German dress. She is going home soon and she is so sad. Like I said Germany does get into your blood. The country as well as the people.

After church we just had to take a drive around Frankfurt to see how much snow the last storm had dropped and to view the winter wonder land of Germany. Some of the pictures are of Bad Vilbel and our car that was covered with snow. Every morning Elder Walters has to get out and shovel snow. He still hasn't found a pair of gloves that keep his hands warm. We spotted a huge park that had been converted into a place for sledding. Kids were building snowmen and families were all having fun together. It reminded me of life in the 40's and 50's, when it was a lot less complicated and hectic.

We were invited that night, to another Senior Missionary couples house, for dinner and a movie. The Hermann's are from Centerville, UT and he is a professional photographer on the side. Their mission assignment is to travel all over Europe and gather histories of Wards and individuals, to be sent to Salt Lake City and kept in their archives. They told us some very interesting stories of people who experienced life during WWII. One lady from Czechoslovakia was 11 years old when they took her family away to a concentration camp. She said her father and brother were separated from her and her aunt and they never saw them again. Some day these stories will be put into a volume so that we can see what really happened in Germany. How the church and its members were able to survive all the atrocities.

Bro and Sis Hermann have been on 4 missions back to back and three have been to Germany. The church just kept calling them. They say there mission now will be to go back home and be good grandparents. I guess once you get Germany into your blood, you can't get it out, but why would you want to? Bro. Hermann was asked by Salt Lake to take photographs of different objects associated with Church history when they were in Salt Lake City on a mission. He went to the Prophet's office and someone escorted him to a vault that is near the office and a white handkerchief was removed that was in cased in glass. He took it to a room in the temple and there he took the photographs. He didn't know the history behind it but later found out that it belonged to the Prophet Joseph Smith. During the terrible epidemic in Nauvoo when so many people fell ill. This is when the Prophet administered to almost everyone, even bringing one brother back to life. Someone from Montrose, which is across the river from Nauvoo, came to the Prophet and asked if he could come there to administer to his daughter who he felt would die soon. Joseph said he could not go because he was too ill himself but he would give him his handkerchief and he could give the blessing. It would be the same as if Joseph were there giving the blessing. That was accomplished and his daughter revived. That handkerchief was passed down through the family until it was given to the church and has only been on display once. It is always kept in the vault. Just a little story of wonderment to me and another testimony that Joseph Smith was a true Prophet of God.

We are making so many great friends here, ones we will have throughout Eternity. Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season.

17-18 Dec 2010 Christmas in Nurnberg

The Glockenspiel






















Today we had a day off from work so we left about noon for Nurnberg. We took two single sisters with us and we had a blast. Sister Udy is from Colorado. She is petite and full of vim and vigor at 80 years old and Sister Windley is the ultimate outdoor girl. We really enjoyed being with the two of them. We literally slid into Nurnberg as we left right after a big snow storm that hit all of Europe. You may have heard it on the news. All the airports are closed here. It took us a good 3-1/2 hours to finally get there. Elder Walters did a good job of keeping us on the road and out of danger. Our hotel was about 2 miles from the center of Nurnberg so we had to catch a train both ways. We still have problems figuring out if we are going the right direction. You are underground most of the time and you have no way of knowing. They don't tell you N,E,W,or S, they just tell you what the next town will be.

Even though we were very cold and tired it was well worth the time and effort, as this Weihnachten Markt was outstanding. There were at least 200 booths all decorated with lights and nothing was duplicated. The Beautiful Fountain was covered with lights and it was beautiful. We saw some handmade ornaments that were dublicated from the original ornaments used. We ate the famous Nurnberg sausages which are very small but very delicious. We also had the gingerbread which Gene and I both love. Don't worry family, your gingerbread is on it's way. We looked at each vendor and had at least three mugs of kinder punch.

We got back to the hotel at 10:00 and dropped into bed hoping the next day would be a little warmer. To our surprise it was warmer, if you call -7 C. We looked through the two main churches there, the St, Sebald and the Frauenkirche. They are both beautiful inside. They are decorated especially for Christmas and we got to hear a concert on the huge pipe organ. Sis. Windley is a music major and she said she had to hear how the organ sounded. He played 5 songs and his last one was from Handel's Messiah. At noon on the outside of the chapel something special happens. A life size glockenspiel plays. It is on the very top of the Frauenkirche. If you have ever seen how a German cuckoo clock works, this is the same thing. First 2 men come out and play the long horns, then 2 more play the drums, 2 more play the bells and then on the stroke of 12 the big bell in the tower chimes while 8 Roman Priests circle the tower. It is amazing that all of that is coordinated. Everyone stands and watches no matter what they are doing.

I was able to capture a few of the special moments we had and hope you get a little feeling of how Germany celebrates Christmas. We headed home thinking we would never see anything so exhilarating.