The First Week

This was a week of firsts.  The last post talked about our first Sunday in our Branch here. Monday was our first District Meeting.  This is a common occurrence to all missionaries but it was my first time. I enjoyed it thoroughly! The Elders in our district are Elder Darren Quinton, Elder Timotheous Vierbuchen, Elder Riley Hudson and Elder Spencer Williams. They all took different parts and, even though I didn't understand most of what was said because it was in German, I thought they did a great job.

Because transfers are next week, our District Leader decided to have a District outing on Tuesday, which is P Day (Preparation Day).  We took the Ravensburg Elders with us and drove to Bregenz, Austria for miniature golf.  The place we went is right on the Bodensee (Lake Constance) and it is super beautiful.  The weather was perfect!  The Elders are all terrific and we laughed a lot and had a marvelous time.  We stopped afterwards for gelato and ate at tables on the sidewalk.  Bregenz is a touristy kind of place with lots of people walking, roller blading, boating, and just enjoying the beautiful day.

Later, in the evening, Bob and I walked into the old city (Innenstadt) and ate at our first restaurant here.  We stopped at a great Italian place in the heart of the city on the main plaza and ate outside on the cobblestones.  We were surrounded by many classic ancient buildings and beautifully maintained shops and homes.  The streets are narrow and the architecture is fabulous!

Wednesday we traveled to Dornbirn, Austria for our first Institute meeting there.  The meeting is all in German, of course, but I read the lesson in English so I would know what they were talking about.  Bob prepared some material to share.  I fixed fruit and crepes for afterwards.  It was delightful to meet the YSA's and they were very warm and friendly to us.  The Dornbirn Elders also joined us that night.

Thursday was our first Institute in Ravensburg.  We had two men and the Elders.  Elder Hudson taught the lesson. The spirit there was very sweet and we are grateful we are here to support this group.  We had crepes again this night and they really enjoyed them.

Today was a holiday here in Germany.  It is called Christi Himmelfahrt.  It is a Catholic holiday celebrating 40 days after the ascension of Christ.  We found out they have lots of Catholic holidays here.  Quite often they are on a Thursday and then they take Friday off and have a four day weekend.  But on their holidays almost everything is closed and the city is very quiet.

Saturday we were very excited to witness our first baptism on our mission.  A young woman in her 30's, Elizabeth Parso, who is from Spain, was baptized by Elder Quentin.  She doesn't speak German but Elder Vierbuchen speaks Spanish and he taught her.  She was so excited and it was a lovely service.  The Bishop spoke about baptism and Elder Hudson spoke about the Holy Ghost.  Bob and I were surprised to see our names on the program to give the opening and closing prayers but we were thrilled to do it.  Of course I had to do it in English, but she wouldn't have understood it in German either!  The Spirit was so strong at the meeting and during the baptism.  We are so happy this special girl has taken this important step and has become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  She was confirmed on Sunday by Elder Vierbuchen.  They had refreshments afterward and I was happy I could bring a homemade treat.

It was a very full week and we loved it!  It's a challenge to get settled, find our way around, get organized, try to learn to speak German and get over jet lag, but it's coming.  The people have been wonderful and we look forward to meeting many more.