A Wonderful Month of Giving Thanks

Just to let you know how important you all are to us...........

Everyday we count our blessings. Everyday we express gratitude for each of you and for the meaning and richness you add to our lives. Everyday we are thankful for being able to serve the Lord on this mission and we feel it such a privilege to be working with so many others who are doing likewise. 

 

The above names are our life and our joy. Each one is so vital, so important, so precious. Every  name has such a power of individuality and talent, of uniqueness and  potential. Each name fills us with happiness, pride and hope. So much of our lives and energy have been invested in these names and so much of our fulfillment, enjoyment and wonder have come from these names. So much of our worry and stress have come from these names, so many of our grey hairs and wrinkles have come from them too. So many restless nights and so many well-worn prayer rugs have come from these names. And for all these things we mention above, both the joyful and the challenging, we thank these names and embrace them and find peace in who we have become, what we have learned and where we  have yet to go with them. Each of these names are sons and daughters of God and are brothers and sisters of the Savior of the world.  Every one of these amazing names is our world!

After a very busy and tense week for both of us where we  dealt with some emergencies and close calls in both our legal and medical responsibilities, we were able to get away Saturday to catch our breaths in the beautiful city of Heidelberg. We first went through the modern part of Heidelberg with  linear, clean cut architecture and contemporary art work. The sea of bicycles is typical of any German city as bikers rule the right-of-way on all streets and are definitely a main means of transportation here.

Next, we found a parking garage, a major feat in Germany, and took the funicular train up the mountain to the famous and beautiful Heidelberg Castle. It has a long and tumultuous history of monumental construction phases, unfortunate and destructive wars and uncommon lightning storms, and a beautiful romantic period as well. Its beginning was in the 13th century and expanded both as a fortress to protect and a repository of  art and Renaissance grandeur. 

Unfortunately (or fortunately) most of the exquisite detail and artistry of what you'll see are products of a grand scale restoration that was begun in 1810 by a Frenchman and still creeps along into the 21st century. Much of the castle will not be restored as there is artistry and haunting beauty in the remains of it's history that have allured many artists who seek to lend their talents to tell its story.

As you enter the huge courtyard, you want to hurry along so you are not caught unaware by the  immense, hidden spikes that could bring you to an untimely end.

After being under unending grey skies in Frankfurt it was so wonderful to see and feel the sun shining brightly above.

 The doorway sculptures were detailed and stunning as you see here.

You can see evidence of the ruins here with only a facade remaining. The full sized sculptures represent their finest military leaders, representations of the seven virtues and other worship-worthy figures.

To start our tour we were shown miniature models of what the castle looked like during its most grand times. At the forefront you can see acres of gardens that were considered the 8th wonder of the world by many but which compromised the security of those within.

This is our tour guide from the Netherlands who pointed out the sad ruins and destruction inflicted mostly by the French enemies.

 This was considered the most modern and desirable toilet room of the times attached securely to the wall above. The toilet had no bottom no pun intended), so the waste just fell to the small patio below to be cleaned up by some unfortunate servants. True story.

Here are some of those artistic ruins I was telling you about.

This three story facade has such a romantic story to it. At the time it was built there was a 17 year old King ruling the area. His parents had arranged for him to marry the English king's daughter, Elizabeth Stuart who was the granddaughter of Mary, Queen of Scots. This child princess was accustomed to the grand and opulent life of English royalty and had no idea of what it would be like to move to a harsher, less refined life where she would be ruling over a bunch of farmers. King Frederick V, her new husband was absolutely taken with her as she was with him, but she became very unhappy. To cheer his wife up, he had  lavish three story quarters constructed for her with large windows that brought in much light and had a panoramic view of their kingdom. It also made that part of the castle much more vulnerable to attack. She apparently loved it and her charming husband.

This huge arched tunnel was a secret passage  the horse soldiers could use to be safe guarded and concealed from advancing forces.

Every huge cement block that was used to build the castle had the personal insignia of the mason who installed it. Notice the straight lines etched into the block.

Every soldier on this wall wears the fierce head of a lion somewhere on his war clothes since it is part of the family crest. This particular one is on his helmet. It can also show up on his knee guard, boot or belt. He also has his foot on a lion.

This is the biggest wine barrel in the world. The king required 10% of all his subject's wine crop which were gathered and made into a variety of red and white wines that were brought to the castle and poured into this huge barrel.

This was the Italian jester who became the official wine taster of the king.

This is part of a beautiful apoteka (pharmacy) museum in the castle that  lavishly displays the medicines and dispensing methods of the times.

This is the breath-taking view of Olde Town Heidelberg from the castle.

 

Next to Lowell are Elder and Sister Wilcox who will soon be moved to the military base near Frankfurt to work with the servicemen there. They are from Washington state. Next to them are Elder and Sister Bangeter from Arizona, the mission couple who work for President Stoddard, the mission president of the Frankfurt Germany mission. I work with them in my calling as well. Wonderful friends!

This is an old etching of the amazing gardens that King Frederick constructed for his young bride, patterned after the grand gardens of England.

This is the town square in Olde Town that we wanted to explore a little after coming off the mountain.

This is the main street which was very crowded, as always, on a Saturday afternoon. Notice the huge church to your right which we also had to explore.

Such a sense of awe when you think of what it must have taken to construct these archways and ceilings during that period of time.

What a wonderful way to top of the day. This is a quaint and charming German restaurant where I had a salmon salad and Lowell ordered a wonderful brat and sauerkraut dinner.

I thought of my daughters-in -law as I passed so many charming shops along the cobble stoned streets.

Above is one shining knight in armor next to another!! Love this man!

In closing,  another little romantic story. On Elizabeth's nineteenth birthday, King Frederick surprised her with this stunning arch that he secretly had made for her, signifying their undying love for one another.  Their reign did not last long. They soon were forced out of the castle and exiled to another part of the country where they had 13 children, nine of whom lived. They continued to be completely devoted to one another throughout their lives. 

Another Busy, Wonderful Month

Out with October, in with November

     Lowell and I had the great opportunity to travel to Saarbrucken, about a two hour drive from Frankfurt, to be with one of our missionaries who was having out- patient surgery and his great companion. The Mission President and his wife usually like to be there but they were in Portugal at the semiannual Mission President's Conference.  That was a good thing for us. We had an enjoyable day and got to know these two elders pretty well. It's always very interesting to see what medical care is like in another country.  There were no frills, for sure, but the care was very good and the woman doctor was impressive. The post-op care seemed very odd to me, however. Our patient was given a general anesthetic for his procedure and yet he hadn't been back in his room for ten minutes when they brought him in seltzer water and juice and wanted him to start drinking right away. Soon after that they stood him up and had him walk around the room. He turned as white as a ghost and became very light-headed, so we had him right back in bed. About 30 minutes later they wanted him to get dressed to go home. I was pretty shocked.  He was still a bit nauseated and I was doubtful this would be a smooth process. Then to top things off, there was no wheelchair ride to the hospital entrance. We had to stand on each side of him and walk him downstairs to the first level. No surprise, about half way to their apartment in the car he got  very sick and the rest need not be explained.  This missionary experience will truly be something he can tell his kids about someday. After the clean-up and a stop at the pharmacy, we got our dear elder settled in bed and stayed with him for a while until we were convinced he'd be ok. We left our "house-call" offering of groceries and treats and headed back to Frankfurt.  Thanks in large to his caring companion, his recovery went well and he's again out preaching the Gospel. 


      The end of the month always means our Senior Missionary temple night and dinner out at a nearby restaurant.  The Frankfurt Temple was dedicated in 1987 and still looks beautiful and majestic on the outskirts of the city. We don't serve as ordinance workers here like we were able to in HongKong. Although that was disappointing, we realize different Areas have different policies for their missionaries and we're fine with that. Just that fact that there is a temple and we can attend monthly is a great blessing.

          The Europe Area has 40 countries and 30 missions. It also has 6,000 missionaries serving in the field. The Asia Area had 20 countries, 10 missions and about 2,000 missionaries. Lowell is daily confronted with the magnitude of legal challenges, particularly with visas and residency matters, as I mentioned before, that stack up on his desk everyday. It's never a question of getting everything done. It's just how many bites you can take out of the elephant each day. That is his job and his challenge as it is with all the legal staff he works with. You just do the best you can. You move ahead an inch at a time, you take care of emergencies when they come up and then you forge on again. He's still in the adjustment phase of setting his pace and being comfortable with it.  He knows from experience that with the Lord's help, it'll all work out in time and many little miracles will be sprinkled in along the way. I think he's doing great!

 

      Our ward is an international one where English is the primary language but where the members are from all over this part of the world. Italy, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland and England are our best represented countries and it's delightful to hear all the many accents of adults and children alike. Many of the children are trilingual so I feel rather sheepish that I'm so challenged in getting my German to a functional level. We now have an investigator family from Ghana who will be baptised very soon.  The husband stopped the missionaries on the street here because a very close friend of his in Ghana was a Mormon Bishop. 

 These pictures are from our ward Halloween party which they did in a very big way. The sister missionary here is from Utah and has only been in country four days. She's getting off to a great start.

On Saturday after getting all our apartment duties done we drove to one of the breath taking suburbs of the larger Frankfurt area. This little town was near a friend's home where we were invited for dinner that evening. It was only about a 40 minute drive. One of our Mental Health Advisors told me this was her favorite little German town. We were intrigued to know why.  I think you'll understand, like we did, exactly why she might have felt that way.  
This is the Town Hall which was built in 1698  in this picturesque town of Idstein.  

The "Killinger Haus" with its carved facade is the most elaborately decorated half-timbered house in Idstein. Circa 1500.

Since most people live in multilevel dwellings, their "piece of earth" is found on their balconies and thus the stunning cascading flower sprays both in medieval and modern times. They are magnificent!

In every town square we've been in, there has been a towered fountain in the middle, here with a gold statue on the top and four small spigots all around. 

I had to pause and snap a picture of this quaint little flower shop tucked in one of the narrow side streets. These are also very typical everywhere you go. The Germans love their flowers and many of them end up in their balcony rail gardens. Surprisingly, they are very reasonably priced. 

This is the Gatehouse constructed in 1497 which marks the separation line between the town area in the south and the grand area in the north. This beautiful structure was used as the Count Philipp of Nassau-Idstein's chambers, the guardroom and prison, the torture chamber, the granary and living quarters for the clerks. Thank goodness the walls are VERY thick!

This was the resident palace to the Idstein royalty between 1634 and 1721. Over the following years it took on many interesting functions including the Naussau central achive office, a convalescent home, a military hospital, military barracks,a country hostel, a teachers training college and then again a military hospital. Since 1946 it has been the Pestalozzi  Grammar School.

Here you see Lowell in front of one of the beautiful residences near the palace.

An example of a wonderful carved door and entryway of the period.

 

As it started to get a little dark, we headed for Konigstein-Falkenstein for dinner with our new friend, Gaby Harth. We became acquainted with her at our offices. She has worked there for a long time and now is in charge of getting all the Senior Missionaries their residency documents and their visas. We just clicked and have become fast friends. We were so thrilled when she invited us to dinner at her beautiful home where she has lived for over 30 years. I must say her architect husband was pretty progressive. The red cupboards above are the originals.

She set such a beautiful table with her best English bone china. A perfect light meal on a chilly evening with homemade pea soup and German sausages, bread right out of the oven and delicious German applejuice.

Gaby is a longtime member of the church

 and is a notoriously good cook. She often brings her wonderful pastries and sweets to the office.

There were dim lights, Chopin playing in the background and then came dessert. The crowning touch to the wonderful day and evening was Gaby's superb

Apple Kuchen which just melted in our mouths.