Mon., June 8, 2009
Guten Tag from Nürnberg,
Hope this finds everyone well & happy & enjoying the sunshine. Things are good here & it has been another eventful month. With that preface let me get right to telling you all about it.
On the 6th of May we went bowling at the nearby Brunswick Lanes. It was pretty fun & as you can imagine, Elder Harris started out by wowing the YSA’s with his expertise. He rolled two strikes right off the bat, much to his surprise but at least it got everyone’s attention. After that he was humbled a bit & by his second game he was actually struggling some to stay on top but he managed to squeak out another win. I took the photos so the next day I wasn’t moaning about all my aches & pains.
On Sat., the 9th of May we drove to Coburg to enjoy the sites & buy some more Hummel figurines. I have to admit that I love shopping.
Zone Conference was on May 14. As usual, it was very inspiring & uplifting. It is a treat to see the young elders & sisters participate in discussions about missionary work. They are tops!!! Pres. & Sis. Condie do a wonderful job of teaching. They are truly an example of humility & dedication. I don’t know where they find all their energy.
On the 15th of May we drove to Frankfurt (a 2 ½ hour drive each way) to the temple to see Tatjana Binte & Hauka Hopp married. It was very special. We have been able to see their romance progress almost from the beginning & so it was nice to be a part of the whole event. On the next day we were able to attend their wedding party. It was quite the celebration, starting at 3 P.M. & going past 9 P.M. There was dancing, games, toasting & lots & lots of eating. You gotta be impressed with German weddings.
On Sat., the 23rd we attended two different baptisms. One was here in Nürnberg for a married couple from Grafenwöhr & the other was in Feucht for a Regensburg YSA, Jessica Wright. Both were wonderful, filled with happiness, the Spirit & a number of investigators. I’m always happy to have a little musical talent so we can be involved in such happenings.
We drove to Schweinfurt (about 1 ½ hours one direction) for Church on the 24th. It’s the first time we have visited there. There are only 2 active YSA’s now that one got married to a Utah girl in the SL Temple, the day before. We hope to go to the wedding party here at the end of this month for the Pfisters. Actually it will be in Würzburg on the 27th.
When we returned from Schweinfurt we enjoyed a lovely dinner & visit with Christine & Scott Minert that evening. He is from Boise, ID. She is from Germany but was an exchange student in Idaho during her high school years. That’s where she met Scott. He is a BYU graduate so Gary can talk a lot of sports with him & we all know how much that means to Gary.
For the last two weeks Elder Harris & I have been trying to reach out to the less active YSA’s here in Nürnberg without much success. We have a couple, the Kirzingers, who come here to the Center to sit from 6 to 9 P.M. on Tues. so that we can leave & visit the YSA’s. We hope that this will help to open up the area to more participation at the Center.
Now the biggy for the month……A Seniors Conference for the mission in Salzburg, Austria on Fri. & Sat., May 29 & 30. What an experience!!! We traveled by train (5 hours one way), went sightseeing, had several classes with open discussion, ate wonderful food & had a fast paced two days together. It was really awesome to have this experience & we will cherish it for years to come.
We are waiting to hear the report about Rolf Schultz’s marriage to Anya in the Helsinki, Finland Temple on Thurs., June 4. As of this writing, Rolf is not yet back. This is another courtship that we have seen take shape over the last 10 months & it has been a little shaky at times because of distance. Anya is from Russia. There will still be things that need to be worked out before Anya can legally come to Germany but everything looks positive so in probably a month things will be finalized for her green card.
Today we buried the 2-day old son of the Igbinoba’s. It was a very sad thing to see happen. He came two months early & at first all seemed to be OK but very suddenly he slipped away because of his under-developed lungs. He was their first son after three daughters. What a comfort to know that he is sealed to them because of their previous sealing in the temple. There are so many hard things around us no matter where we are. It’s good to be part of the gospel & to feel the peace that Heavenly Father sends to His children.
May you always be protected & guarded wherever you are. We love you & appreciate your wonderful examples.
Elder & Sister Harris (Gary & Renee), (Dad & Mom), (Gpa & Gma)
Guten Tag from Nürnberg,
Hope this finds everyone well & happy & enjoying the sunshine. Things are good here & it has been another eventful month. With that preface let me get right to telling you all about it.
On the 6th of May we went bowling at the nearby Brunswick Lanes. It was pretty fun & as you can imagine, Elder Harris started out by wowing the YSA’s with his expertise. He rolled two strikes right off the bat, much to his surprise but at least it got everyone’s attention. After that he was humbled a bit & by his second game he was actually struggling some to stay on top but he managed to squeak out another win. I took the photos so the next day I wasn’t moaning about all my aches & pains.
On Sat., the 9th of May we drove to Coburg to enjoy the sites & buy some more Hummel figurines. I have to admit that I love shopping.
Zone Conference was on May 14. As usual, it was very inspiring & uplifting. It is a treat to see the young elders & sisters participate in discussions about missionary work. They are tops!!! Pres. & Sis. Condie do a wonderful job of teaching. They are truly an example of humility & dedication. I don’t know where they find all their energy.
On the 15th of May we drove to Frankfurt (a 2 ½ hour drive each way) to the temple to see Tatjana Binte & Hauka Hopp married. It was very special. We have been able to see their romance progress almost from the beginning & so it was nice to be a part of the whole event. On the next day we were able to attend their wedding party. It was quite the celebration, starting at 3 P.M. & going past 9 P.M. There was dancing, games, toasting & lots & lots of eating. You gotta be impressed with German weddings.
On Sat., the 23rd we attended two different baptisms. One was here in Nürnberg for a married couple from Grafenwöhr & the other was in Feucht for a Regensburg YSA, Jessica Wright. Both were wonderful, filled with happiness, the Spirit & a number of investigators. I’m always happy to have a little musical talent so we can be involved in such happenings.
We drove to Schweinfurt (about 1 ½ hours one direction) for Church on the 24th. It’s the first time we have visited there. There are only 2 active YSA’s now that one got married to a Utah girl in the SL Temple, the day before. We hope to go to the wedding party here at the end of this month for the Pfisters. Actually it will be in Würzburg on the 27th.
When we returned from Schweinfurt we enjoyed a lovely dinner & visit with Christine & Scott Minert that evening. He is from Boise, ID. She is from Germany but was an exchange student in Idaho during her high school years. That’s where she met Scott. He is a BYU graduate so Gary can talk a lot of sports with him & we all know how much that means to Gary.
For the last two weeks Elder Harris & I have been trying to reach out to the less active YSA’s here in Nürnberg without much success. We have a couple, the Kirzingers, who come here to the Center to sit from 6 to 9 P.M. on Tues. so that we can leave & visit the YSA’s. We hope that this will help to open up the area to more participation at the Center.
Now the biggy for the month……A Seniors Conference for the mission in Salzburg, Austria on Fri. & Sat., May 29 & 30. What an experience!!! We traveled by train (5 hours one way), went sightseeing, had several classes with open discussion, ate wonderful food & had a fast paced two days together. It was really awesome to have this experience & we will cherish it for years to come.
We are waiting to hear the report about Rolf Schultz’s marriage to Anya in the Helsinki, Finland Temple on Thurs., June 4. As of this writing, Rolf is not yet back. This is another courtship that we have seen take shape over the last 10 months & it has been a little shaky at times because of distance. Anya is from Russia. There will still be things that need to be worked out before Anya can legally come to Germany but everything looks positive so in probably a month things will be finalized for her green card.
Today we buried the 2-day old son of the Igbinoba’s. It was a very sad thing to see happen. He came two months early & at first all seemed to be OK but very suddenly he slipped away because of his under-developed lungs. He was their first son after three daughters. What a comfort to know that he is sealed to them because of their previous sealing in the temple. There are so many hard things around us no matter where we are. It’s good to be part of the gospel & to feel the peace that Heavenly Father sends to His children.
May you always be protected & guarded wherever you are. We love you & appreciate your wonderful examples.
Elder & Sister Harris (Gary & Renee), (Dad & Mom), (Gpa & Gma)
What is this
Veste 1
Tatjana & Hauke Hopp
Sister Missionaries in Salzburg
Salzburg Skyline with Swiss Alps in background
Salzburg Fortress
Pilgrimage Church at Bad Staffelstein 4
Pilgrimage Church at Bad Staffelstein 3
Pilgrimage Church at Bad Staffelstein 2
Pilgrimage Church at Bad Staffelstein 1 
Maria Plain Pilgrimage Church
Kloster Banz
Homburg Palace Tower
Homburg Palace Entrance
from Homburg Palace
Frankfurt Skyline
Ehrenburg Palace 1
Mozart's Birth House in Salzburg
Mozart was baptized here in Salzburg Church
Church where Mozart was baptized
I loved reading all of this! You are doing a fantastic job!! Keep up the good spirits! Thanks for everything you do!
ReplyDeleteWOW! It sounds like you've been really busy! The pictures are amazing...such beautiful sights. We've been busy trying to reach the end of the school year. And I just realized that I will be at girls camp for little Renee's preschool graduation. UGH! On the positive side, my neighbors are letting their oldest daughter go to girls camp with me. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the other YW make her feel welcome so that it's a positive experience for her. LOVE YOU!
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