Busy Week With Way Too Much Food!

We  were grateful for some cooler temperatures and some rain this week. The week zipped by with work, church activities, and going out every evening, except for Wednesday. I was happy on Friday to get my new group of children to teach at the Munsenburgershule. I have twelve sweet eight-year-old German children, who know very little English. We are going to have a good time together.

Nan and Brent Gudgell arrived in Frankfurt to train the new missionaries that are taking their place in Budapest, so we celebrated the completion of their mission by going out to dinner twice--once on Monday and again on Wednesday before they left on Thursday. We ate at Dick and Doof's. I always enjoy their Saffron Tortelloni and at another Italian Restaurant Wednesday near the Temple.

Across the street from Dick and Doofs is a home that Anne Frank lived in as a baby, so we walked over and looked at it.  

Then we drove to another house that Anne Frank lived in as a toddler, located at Ganghoferstrasse 40 in Frankfurt.

On the wall of this house is a plaque inscribed in German by the Youth of Frankfurt.

Translated into English, it reads:

In this house lived Anne Frank who was born June 12, 1929 in Frankfurt am Main.
She died as a victim of National Socialism persecution in the concentration camp at Bergen-Belsen.
Her life and death--our responsibility.


I am reading The Diary of a Young Girl once again. It is so touching.

On Wednesday we had an inspiring Zone Conference presented by Elder Richards of the Second Quorum of the Seventy. He is in our new Area Presidency over the Senior Missionaries. 

Elder Richards talked about the Law of Blessings found in 2 Nephi 2:10: 

"And because of the intercession for all, all men come unto God; wherefore, they stand in the presence of him, to be judged of him according to the truth and holiness which is in him. Wherefore, the ends of the law which the Holy One hat given, unto the inflicting of the punishment which is affixed, which punishment that is affixed is in opposition to that of the happiness which is affixed, to answer the ends of the atonement--"

Elder Richards also talked about the gift of free agency--that we may choose happiness or sadness in this life. Whatever our circumstances, we can choose to be happy through the atonement of Jesus Christ. Later in the same section, 2 Nephi 2:25, we read ". . . men are, that they might have joy."

This discussion turned my thoughts to Viktor Frankl, an Austrian survivor of the Haulocaust who wrote Man's search for Meaning. 

Some of Frankl's quotes I like:

"What is to give light must endure burning."

"Everything can be taken from a man or a woman but one thing: the last of human freedoms to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."

"The last of human freedoms - the ability to chose one's attitude in a given set of circumstances."

"When we are no longer able to change a situation - we are challenged to change ourselves."

It was an uplifting conference and both of us bore our testimonies. We ended our meetings that day with a fabulous catered lunch of beef goulash over noodles, salad and bread, and trays of the most beautiful German pastries.The tables were decorated with baskets of fresh fruits and tall sunflowers.

On Thursday evening, Monika Lippert invited us over for dinner at her apartment. 

She prepared delicious pork patties, two salads, and a German potato salad. Then Sister Draga Dolovac stopped over with food that she had made--pork in a tomato sauce topped with feta cheese, and a delicious chocolate nut swirl bread. We felt so richly blessed.

We asked Monika to share her conversion story with us once again, and then we had a discussion about how she and Draga and Brother Dolovac knew it was the right time to be baptized. Monika said, "When you think of things too long, you never get around to it." They told us that they had taken the lessons, and then prayed ,and that it felt right in their hearts. Monika had been Catholic, and Draga had been a Jehovah's Witness for forty years. Although Brother Dolovac had atended the Jehovah Witness meetings with his wife, he never felt impressed to be baptized. But the first time he attended the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he said he would be baptized. 

Bob closed the evening by sharing a scripture from D&C 8:2-3:  "Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart. 
Now, behold, this is the spirit of revelation. . . ."

We left with joy in our hearts and trays of food to take home. Such dear and wonderful women!

Friday evening found us at a barbecue and fireside for all of the Senior Missionaries at Bishop and Sister Chaves' new home. All of us brought food to share. We brought Great Grandma Harris' famous Lazy Lady Cake, which was a big hit. But the barbecue was unforgettable. We started off with seasoned pork wrapped on a shish-kabob sticks, then we had grilled chicken, then we had grilled steak, and finally tender, grilled lamb. It was such a feast. After dinner, we sat on the patio and listened to our dear Bishop and his wife share thoughts about relationships. Then we went around the circle sharing the one thing we most love about our spouses. There was a great spirit of love tin their home.

On Saturday morning, bright and early, Jerry Dearing and I and another brother headed out to two flomarkts. I was so happy to find two more stacking dolls that I added to my collection.

On Saturday afternoon we headed for Beatrix and Gerd's wedding reception at the Offenbach Ward. We met them while visiting the German Branch with Monika. We were the only Americans who attended the reception and enjoyed the American decorations in the cultural hall. The afternoon began with cakes and beverages, then a fun game to see how well the couple knew each other, then dancing, followed by dinner. We stayed for two hours, but needed to leave before dinner (which was German enchiladas, by the way.) What a fun afternoon! This cute couple is going to renew their vows at the Elvis Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas! Then in a year, they plan to be sealed in the temple.

We ended the evening with a delightful dinner at the Vietnamese Restaurant with Swen and Gretel Swensen.

We sat beneath his very unusual Sycamore tree.

Then we topped off the evening with double-decker ice cream cones at the local ice cream shop. 

See what I mean? A busy week with way too much food!

Driving down the Mosel River, Berg Eltz, Trier

The week just flew past. We enjoyed having Dave Colton over for dinner on Thursday, as Julie is traveling with her two daughters. It was back to the Kindergarten for me after a three week summer vacation break. It was wonderful to be back with the children again. The move to the Frankfurt Chapel has found us overcrowded and hot in our meetings as we have no air conditioning in the building. On Sunday it was 96 degrees F. with high humidity. We are working on alternatives to stay a little cooler. The Relief Society moved into the cultural hall for our meetings, and we set up fans for our fireside last night. That helped a little. Brother and Sister Moore spoke to us about their experience as temple president and matron in the Madrid Temple. Brother Moore asked us, "What is the purpose of everything we do in the Church?" He told us our answer is the same as God's answer (Moses 1:39): "For behold, this is my work and my glory--to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man."

On Saturday, we headed off with the Dearings at 7:30 a.m. for a full day of travel along the Mosel River, located near Germany's western border. Quaint village after village connected by hillside vineyards sit on the edge of this peaceful river. Occasional castle ruins dot the landscape. It was one of the most beautiful drives we have taken in Germany.

Our first stop was to Burg Eltz, nicknamed "Sleeping Beauty of the Mosel." It is one of our favorite castles that we have seen. It was very clean and beautifully maintained, as it remained in the hands of the Eltz family for eight centuries. It is now owned by Count Karl. His family has owned the castle since 1815.  It has never been damaged by wars.

One thing that was really cool about this castle is that it is built on a firm foundation. Throughout the structure and even along the pathways, you can see how they built on the existing rock. Some rooms even have interesting shapes as they were designed to fit the rock surfaces and spaces

The castle is furnished throughout its 80 rooms as it was 500 years ago. We could not take photos inside, except in this chapel and the museum.

It was interesting to learn the purpose of this bay window bump out. Inside is a tiny chapel in the room for prayer. It has its own roof so that no one in the house is walking above God.

 A view from the top.

This small fortress served as part of the protection for the castle.

The Museum's family tree.

Exquisite jewelry, tapestry, keys and sculptures.

The next two sculptures reminded me of the art work of James C. Christensen from Orem, Utah.

James C. Christensen

James C. Christensen

 

Fresh flowers graced many of the rooms.

We loved these old German clocks.

The doors in this castle were particularly splendid.

We drove to Munstermaifel and went inside the Stiftskirche.

The sculptures in this church reflected faces with real compassion.

The architecture of the houses in this area of Germany is distinct with more use of rock for building and interesting turrets.

Back on the road again, we were lucky enough to find a flomarkt along the river!

I could have spent a fortune in this "gem shop," but instead, bought a necklace for my friend.

Driving back along the Mosel River, we saw cruise ships and hang gliders.

This is wine country, and this is a very innovative machine to get up into the hills to carry the grapes back down. It follows that metal track.

We stopped at a store and bought some food and had a delicious picnic by the river!

Then it was on to Trier.

Bob and I have been here three times before, so Bob showed the Dearings around. I had a double-decker ice cream cone and enjoyed the shops and the bells.