Week 7

Our week has flown by again. It is remarkable that seven days can come and go so quickly. Maybe it seems so because John and I work one day ahead on the schedule for temple worker assignments so we have trouble remembering just which day it actually is.

Monday John and I borrowed President Metzner’s (1^st Counselors) bike and another belonging to a former missionary who had donated it to any and all who followed after them. We enjoyed a glorious fall day riding through a park just off the old-town wall.

This week we have enjoyed having the saints from the Czech Republic here all week. It was a repeat of the joy we had experienced serving with the faithful Hungarians. I quickly gave up saying Jo reggelt  to the Ungars for greeting the Czechs as they arrived each morning with Dobré ráno—“Good morning,” the extent of my language acquisition, thus far, in their difficult language.

Czech Republic Flag

With the change in our assignments I don’t have the same amount of time to learn the ordinances in those languages. My training is given in English with Sis. Metzner translating for me and I’m doing my best to retain my hard-won Deutsch for those rare opportunities when I am able to schedule myself to perform ordinances.

We also enjoyed some of the German ordinance workers, here for the week to serve. Tuesday morning was President Metzner’s  birthday and when we opened our door to join in the celebration across the hall, we found we had also been the recipients of gifts. By our door was a lovely loaf of bread with a little packet of salt attached.

Salt and bread are typical housewarming presents in Germany (and other countries)—the bread so there will be no hunger, the salt to add flavor to life. We were touched with the welcome to us as the newest kids on our block, though for us we feel that we are now well settled in. The Ortliebs, back again from Berlin, had welcomed us with a housewarming gift as the new kids on our missionary block, though by now, we are feeling well settled in.

Our other little event of the week was Friday afternoon when President Metzner sought John out to see if we wanted to go to the bike market and look at used bikes. He often asks John if he wants to go riding with him but John’s energy lags a long ways behind his. We did accept his invitation to just go look. (You’d think we had learned the danger of that kind of “looking”—the last time we went just to “look” we went to a pet shop and came home with Mia and the time after that we bought a time-share to a condo. At least this time we just came home with a red bike—it doesn’t require feeding, walking, or picking up after, nor does it require yearly maintenance fees.  Besides it cheers me in the freedom it provides me to get around on my own. While John has his after-temple nap, I have my after-temple escape and enjoy it very much. I offered to ride it back to the temple, though it was a bit of a distance, but Rolf Metzner said “Na, it will go in the trunk (of his BMW) so together we picked it up and it slipped in just fine. With a blanket beneath protecting the car, and with the front wheel hanging out we returned home with our new purchase. We seem to go through life buying massage tables and bikes wherever we are and leaving them behind to bless others' lives when we leave. We decided, however, that it was a tiny price to pay compared to that of leasing a car here, as other missionaries do.

John asked Rolf if he ever took President Utchdorf bike riding with him. (He is a good friend of his from their joint years in Darmstadt when Pres. Metzner followed President Utchdorf as stake president there.) Rolf said, “Na, he just flew his 747s and I rode my bike!”

We have just returned from the temple president’s apartment. We and the Harper’s (current 2^nd Counselor and wife) had been invited to come for dinner and a visit. We had a lovely time. It was a treat to be in their home. We enjoy working with them very much.

 Our week’s report should not end without wishing congratulations to our granddaughter Brighten for her having won Second Place in her gymnastic sectionals, a remarkable achievement in her first year of the sport.  Her Dad keeps us in the loop on her activities and those of his other four. It means a lot to us to see and hear what is happening at home. Brighten says her accomplishment came from her having set a goal, worked hard, and had the faith she would win. . . but if she didn’t win she was still determined to have fun! A great approach to doing things we want to do.

We miss you all but are happy to be here and to have the opportunity to serve in the kingdom in this way.

Alles Gute!