What a fun week! It started by celebrating a birthday for one of the Sister Missionaries, then Teaching Institute and feeding them crockpot chicken and rice (there were more substitutions than not), then off to Salzburg for a Senior Conference and ended with a wonderful dinner with friends. The conference was filling - spiritually and physically. We got to see lots of Salzburg history - toured a salt mine, toured a castle and saw Mozart's birthplace and home. It was wonderful to be with other Senior Missionaries who share the same concerns.  The Alps are gorgeous no matter the weather. It rained most of the time we were there but we are fast becoming "mudders."

Happy Birthday, Sister Berry

Entrance to the Salt Mine. We had to wear protective clothing, rode
down a chute just as the miners, and rode a boat inside the mine.
Spectacular.



We were treated to Mozart Music while we ate.



Salzburg from the Fortress.

The fortress from the church parking lot. It was beautiful both
directions, even in the rain.





Blue skies appeared on our way home.

 

What fun people these are. We laughed our way through dinner!

Our senior friends! Immediate bond with every one of them. They serve in Germany,
Switzerland, and Austria. Assignments range from Military Relations, Records
Preservation, Young Single Adult Programs and Leadership Support.

Some have asked us what a normal week looks like in the life of a Senior Missionary. Words that come immediately to mind are - diversity, flexibility, and fun mixed in with "work." So far we have discovered that there is no such thing as a normal week. Some things that happen most weeks are -  we teach and cook for Institute, teach and/or help with German/English class, attend meetings with other missionaries, visit non-members and less active members of the church, a couple of times a month we go to Zurich to help with apartment issues and deliver missionary supplies, and we drive the young missionaries when an emergency arises. That doesn't sound like much but somehow our days are filled and the weeks are flying by!



English/German Class

Another very clean apartment!!

Another delicious dessert, oh my!!

We found this darling dorf on our travels.

Can you tell who the cook is? He made us another fabulous meal!

Can't have St. Patrick's Day without green eggs!

I guess they don't celebrate St. Patrick's Day
in Germany. Oh well, they got green
pancakes, green eggs and green milk anyway.

Solar Eclipse - you can see it if you look close.
Added bonus - UFO!!

Spring in Singen!

She made this adorable sweater for our adorable baby.







These are both such loving friends to us and they are hilarious!

Zone Training. The last for 6 of these.

 I wish we could clip the "wings of time." It was a week of friendship, meetings, teaching and learning. We also Spring Cleaned the apartment. Since we check the young missionaries' apartments we decided ours needed a little sprucing up. The sun has been shining, the weather is warming up just like at home.



A great friend.

Opa. First Birthday party of the day.



Second Birthday party of the day with Malaysian food.




Third birthday party of the day! We had to be rolled out.



Learning to knit with 5 needles. I didn't know I was so
uncoordinated.  She was such a patient teacher! She even offered
to ride her bike over to help me.

I've got to get the recipe for this - oh my!!

As we looked back at the pictures from the week we laughed at the fun memories, the delicious food, and the people. We also dejunked the apartment and took the Young Single Adults to play pool. And there were meetings and teaching and making new friends.

We love how the dogs are looking at the camera! We had schnitzel
with them - delish!

A new closet was needed at this apartment,
IKEA stuff is pretty easy to put together!



We knew this young man in Jena! He and his wife make wonderful fondue!

When I started taking this picture at the conference
 there were 6 missionaries




Somebody grabbed my camera!

More and more people gathered around for pictures. FUN!

We rode the bus to Zurich with about 30 people. We were all
happy to go.



One of the newest missionaries in this mission. His family
and our family have known each other for about 70 years!

We are constantly amazed at the things we are able to witness and experience here. Some have said we are on an 18 month vacation - it's one of the best vacations we've ever been on! The young missionaries are always an inspiration to watch as they teach. We get to teach and feel the spirit as others teach us. We have watched people experience miracles in their lives and recognize the source of those blessings. We realize everyone everywhere has these same experiences as we all work our way through our lives. Heavenly Father loves us all!

If you come to visit we'll go to this fabulous restaurant
overlooking the city.

We lost two of these last week. We might be small but
we are strong!

Always working.

I love these babies that treat me like their Oma.

Thursday it was beautiful and sunny

Friday we got more snow.

We get to witness lives changing.

They come with questions and leave with answers.

A wonderful family of 9 invited all 6 of us for Sunday dinner!