We couldn't let the Christmas season pass by without taking a few pictures of decorations inside the big department store, Karstadt. Everything goes on sale the week before Christmas. The day after Christmas, all  of the stores were closed. The next day, everything that was Christmas was gone--put away for the next year--except at our house.

This man collected money in a can from passer-bys in front of the store that let their children pet his little pony.

Post Christmas Blues and Parties

Bad Elevator

The day after Christmas got me! I was in one down in the dumps mood, so I decided to clean the house. First I gathered up our two trash bins and our wet garbage (food scraps), and without telling Reuben, I headed for the  elevator to go down to the basement and out into the parking lot  to empty the trash. I must have needed a lesson in gratitude because the elevator got stuck on the second floor. I was stuck alone in the elevator with the stinky garbage for over a half an hour. Finally I heard some footsteps in the hall and knocked on the elevator and in my pitiful German asked for help. A very nice lady went to get the maintenance man, who just told me to push the buttons which I tried to patiently explain to him were not at the time working. Then I asked the lady to please go get my husband. My hero arrived and forced the elevator doors open and rescued me. I was so grateful. I took the stairs the rest of the day, but now they have assured me that the elevator is fixed. I'm still leery.

Two more parties lifted our spirits. We had the missionaries over for dinner. They are so great! We remember the letters that were sent home from our missionary sons telling us about kind families that loved them and fed them. We're trying to do the same here.

Last of all, we invited the TLS theater directors over for crepes and discussed the new first act for A Grimm Tale. They loved the new concept, so we're off and running or should I say writing!

Christmas Week

What a week of mixed feelings--highs and lows!

It's always hard to be away from family during the holidays, so we tried to stay as busy as possible. Our week was filled with a sweet Christmas spirit, especially because of our feelings of deep gratitude for the birth of our Savior. What a gift his life and resurrection are to us. We went to church on Christmas morning. The International Ward met with the German Offenback 1st Branch, and we enjoyed the beautiful intermingling of languages as we sang, some people in German and some in English. The prayer on the bread was given in English, and the prayer on the water was said in German. Some women wore dresses, and others wore pant suits. Elder Teixeira spoke about the signs of Christ's birth, and choirs from both our ward and the branch performed. It was a beautiful and uplifting service.

Following the meeting, we were invited to the baptism of a man named Godfrey. He was baptized by one of our priests, as our Bishop likes to give our youth many leadership opportunities in preparing them for their missions. In fact, some are called as Ward Mission Leaders. What a special Christmas Sabbath Day!

After church we were invited over to Gilles and Larissa Francois' home for Christmas dinner. The table was beautifully set with decorations and a Raclette Grill. We had a most enjoyable meal with their sweet family and thoroughly enjoyed being with their cute three children, Thibault, Benoit, and Guillaum, who were patiently waiting for evening to come to open their presents under the tree.

Their desserts were so delicious. We brought almond sweet rolls (Susan Maughan's recipe). Yum!

The Raclette experience was so much fun that the next day we decided to try it at our place. Some previous wonderful missionary couple left it here to bless our lives.

A high point was being able to enjoy phone or Skype chats with our dear family for five hours. It was so wonderful to get to experience some of their Christmas fun. We love our family so dearly, just hearing their voices was the greatest Christmas gift. Our home ward sent us a large box of little gifts and thoughtful cards that we enjoyed opening. What fun! We are thankful for these contacts with home.

On Christmas Eve, we enjoyed a delicious brunch with 35 other missionary friends. We had such a feast with egg casseroles, crepes, fruit bowls, and even a waffle bar. We enjoyed visiting with our friends and then we played a fun gift exchange game. We passed wrapped gifts to the left or right as The Night Before Christmas (revised edition) was read. You can find it here to play next Christmas: www.LetsCelebrateXmas.com

That afternoon several of us went over to the Church offices and watched It's a Wonderful Life. We had a candy exchange and enjoyed sharing treats for the movie.

Merry Christmas!

Dear Loved Ones:

We got an early Christmas gift this year--our fifteenth grandchild! Little Elizabeth came to Earth to live with Josh and Sarah’s family on December 10^th. What a joy! We were blessed last summer with two handsome grandsons. Felix came to James and Kirsten’s family and Matthew to Christian and Natalie’s. We are looking forward to March when another new grandson will join John and Nikki’s family. The Bradley family is growing, and we adore all of our grandchildren!

We feel that our family is receiving blessings as we serve our mission in Germany. Kate was just offered a seat in the Physician Assistant’s School at University of California at Davis. Josh and Michael are enjoying their practices in Salt Lake City—Josh at Salt Lake Clinic in ear, nose, and throat and Michael at Hoopes Vision Center, doing cornea work. Christian and James are both working for the same DC area company, telecommuting from home with computer engineering work. John is enjoying his financial management work in Kansas City. Paul is going to college and just got promoted to a new position in his company teaching rehab classes. All of our children and grandchildren are being blessed with health, safety, and happiness, which is our prayer every day.

We are very busy with our missionary service here in Frankfurt. Reuben has been working to catch up on all of the Church employees’ year-end needs. He gets  phone messages or emails at all hours with a request to get something done immediately. But we are happy to have the opportunity to serve the Lord in our mission work here. We have met wonderful people and have had opportunities to help new friends see the truth of the Gospel.

There are two area Church offices in the Frankfurt vicinity. The one where Reuben works is about 75 yards from our apartment building. Sometimes with the wind blowing, we get cold just walking from one building to the next. Reuben has been working primarily with real estate transactions and construction in the Europe Area, which consists of 41 countries, ranging from Greenland to Cape Verde, to Moldova, to Finland, and all between. He works with an attorney, Dave Colton, with whom he went to Law School and also worked with at Van Cott Bagley for his first six years there. What a small world! Dave and his wife, Julie, have become some of our best friends. In the legal office here, there are three paralegals and three other staff people. We’ve come to know them well and have had them over to our apartment for crepes. They are wonderful people, and we love them.

Lonnie is volunteering at two different schools. She goes to the Kindergarten (ages 3-6) two days a week and teaches English to seven and eight year old children at the neighborhood elementary school on Fridays. She is able to do some writing and entered a playwriting contest about The Brothers Grimm. The play will be produced here in Frankfurt next fall. She has met with the theater company several times, and it has been fun to associate with them. We are having them over for crepes after Christmas. They invited us to see their Improv Theater and a play, Dickens by Candlelight. It was very creative, so we’re looking forward to a fun production of Lonnie’s play, A Grimm Tale.

Frankfurt is a city that is a mix of old and new with many apartment buildings rising high into the sky. Ours is twelve stories tall, and we are grateful to be on the ninth floor to enjoy watching the birds fly around, the trees change colors, and the storms blow in and out. The weather is very dramatic here and changes on a whim. We have central heating, but that means that we turn the knobs on the radiators to try to control the temperature in the rooms and then open the windows. We have a refrigerator that is much smaller than we are used to. The freezer has three small drawers. If we are both in the kitchen at the same time, we literally have to squeeze past one another. We can never open the cupboards or refrigerator when both of us are in the kitchen. Interestingly, there is no brown sugar in Germany, but the bread and yogurt are heavenly. Fresh eggs are truly fresh.

Germany is a country full of Christmas fun this time of year. We have enjoyed two big Christmas Markets, called Weihnachtmarkts--one in Frankfurt and one in Nürnberg. The markets are overflowing with lights and color and every imaginable Christmas decoration available to mankind. It is almost overwhelming. There is lots of good food—bratwurst, Nutella crepes, marzipan candy, giant heart cookies, and a hot apple “punch” that seems to make the Germans laugh a lot. We have enjoyed putting up a few Christmas decorations in our apartment to make it feel more homey. We have a very large Christmas tree this year that we found up in the closet. It is about 15 inches tall and sits on our dining table.

Our hearts are with our family and friends this time of year. We are so grateful that we have been blessed with such dear and wonderful parents, children, grandchildren, siblings, and friends. Being away from family at Christmas time is hard. As we are anticipating some lonely moments over the holidays, we are planning lots of parties and activities with other missionary couples, such as having a Christmas Eve party to watch It’s a Wonderful Life while munching on marzipan chocolate bars and other yummy German treats. We are also inviting friends and missionaries over to enjoy crepes and baked apples. We have been playing Christmas songs, and Lonnie has been singing in the Regional Christmas Choir.

At this season of the year, we are particularly grateful for the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, for the Atonement, and for the restoration of the Gospel. We are reminded every day of the blessings of the Savior in our lives and the tender mercies of our Father in Heaven. By the end of the month, we will have read the Book of Mormon through since the beginning of September. We are growing. We are learning to rely on Him, and we are grateful for the rich blessings which our Heavenly Father is providing for us. We know that the Church is growing in Europe. We know that God lives, that Jesus is his Son, and the Christ. We know that Joseph Smith was the young boy whom God chose to restore the Church, the ordinances, and the Priesthood to the Earth.

We love you, and each of you are tucked into our hearts and our prayers. We wish you a Merry Christmas and a joyous New year!

Lonnie and Reuben (Bob)

Please stay in touch with us:

Our address:

Bob and Lonnie Bradley

Europe Area Office of General Counsel

Porthstrasse 5-7

D-60435 Frankfurt am Main

Germany

Phone:

801-272-6044

Remember the 8 hour time difference.

We’re 8 hours ahead of Mountain Time.

Emails:

lbooradley@gmail.com

rbooradley@gmail.com

Blog:

Lonnieandbob.blogspot.com

Josh, Jacob, Andrew, Sarah, and Elizabeth

Simon, Michael, Melanie, and Sam

Christian, Eve, Laine, James, Natalie, and Matthew

Marshall, Coen, Nikki, and John

Violet, Kirsten, Atticus, James, and Felix

Kate

Paul

Lonnie and Bob

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Today we were blessed with our first snowfall.

The Christmas Play With the Kindergarten

We were invited to attend the Kindergarten's Christmas play in the old wooden church, whose church bells we hear chiming every day at noon and six. The children were  dressed in simple costumes. Morena wore a white petticoat and dress, a cap, and a cape. Of course, the play was all in German, but I could understand the message as the play unfolded. As Morena walked up and down the center aisle looking around, one child after another came to her expressing a need. First she gave away her cap, then her cape, and then finally her white dress to those in need. When she was down to her petticoat, I felt worried for her. It was freezing cold in the old church, yet this added even greater poignancy to the play and brought a great feeling of love. The message was clear--be generous with those in need as we walk through life.

The next day at school, I put my arm around Morena and told her what a wonderful job she had done in the play. As I was leaving school that day, putting on my big black winter coat, Morena came up to me and asked  if she could button up my coat for me. As she buttoned me up before I headed out into the cold, I thought about Morena in the play. She was living the message, and I was touched by her loving, generous spirit. This dear child truly brought the spirit of Christmas into my heart in faraway Germany.

The Kindergarten decorated every room in the school beautifully for Christmas. Each day as I look at this painting that a teacher and the children painted on this window, I am reminded of Morena and the lovely play.

Each day when I leave the Kindergarten, I pass by this wall art. Today I looked up the reference in Matthew 24:31.

And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.