Harris Missionaries

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

October 2009

Mon., Oct. 5, 2009

Guten Tag!

Here we are again at the beginning of another month. I will try to be as concise with my writing as I can because I know that some of you are bored out there with all these Harris letters.

The first thing that we want to report is the baptism of Michelle Muse on Sept. 12. It was very special considering that now a grandmother, her daughter, son & 2 grand daughters are now enjoying the gospel together. Michelle beamed all the time including at her confirmation the next day in Fast Mtg.

On Sept. 15 Elder Harris & I gave short thoughts on Patience & Diligence in our District Mtg. It’s most revealing while preparing to speak on certain subjects.

Between Sept. 17 & 23 (actually 18 & 22) we enjoyed the company of Bryan & Alayna. We packed a lot of country seeing & laughing into those 5 days. We were grateful to an understanding Mission President who let us spend this time together. We revisited several places (Würzburg, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Ansbach) but also ventured into the unknown regions of Dachau, Nymphenburg Palace in Munich, Neuschwanstein Castle, Linderhof Castle & Innsbruck. Our pictures will reflect only the new areas. You’re grateful for that, I know.

On Sun., Sept. 20 Elder Harris had to give a High Council message to the Nürnberg Ward & it was good to have family support.

On Sat., Sept. 26 we had the Institute Opening Kick-off. I was priviledged to be able to accompany Christina Männchen who sang “O That I Were An Angel.” I have been trying to get her to learn it for some time. This was that perfect time because the course of study this year is going to be the BofM. She has an amazing voice for a 19 year old & I mean amazing!

President Condie told us during our interviews on Thurs., Oct. 1 that our release date will be Jan. 7, 2010. Can you believe it? We have been here for 15 months. It has been such a rewarding time for us. We have learned to love the people here so very much. It will be hard to leave them. But at the same time, we are looking forward to becoming acquainted with one new grandson & reacquainted with 9 other grandchildren & also hugging lots of other family & friends. So, be prepared Bryce & Michael. Don’t try hiding because Gpa & I have gotten real good at locating people who don’t want to be located.

Love to all, Elder & Sister Harris, Gary & Renee, Dad & Mom, Gpa & Gma

Dachau

Dachau Crematorium

Innsbruck Cathedral

Linderhof Palace

Muse Family

Neuschwanstein Castle

Nunberg Street left untouched by World War II

Nymphenburg Palace

The Alps new Innsbruck

The Golden Porch in Innsbruck

View from Neuschwanstein Castle

View of Hohenschwangua Castle from Neuschwanstein

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Fri., Sept. 4, 2009

Guten Tag, Family & Friends,

I can’t believe that we are again at the first of another month. Things just keep purring along here in Germany. We have spent most of our P-days revisiting areas that we have been to before & our pictures will reflect that but we never cease to be amazed at our beautiful surroundings & what a blessing it has been in our lives to have been able to visit such picturesque places full of tons of history. It has truly been a dream come true for me & I am trying to soak up as much as I can.

Sat., Aug. 8 we returned to Bayreuth & visited the Liszt & Wagner Museums & other famous sites.

Sat., Aug. 15 we went back to Bamberg in hopes that we would be able to identify the Bamberg picture that we took last month & we were successful plus we found tons of other things to visit in the old city.

Sat., Aug. 22 after the Ward BBQ we took a fast trip to Ansbach which produced a desire to return the next Sat. for an organ recital because of all the advertisements than were posted around the town.

Sat., Aug. 29 we made our way back to Ansbach for the organ recital which was awesome. Then we wandered around the countryside hunting old castles & palaces finally ending up in Rothenburg ob der Tauber where we checked out several shops laden with all kinds of wares. It was quite the experience.

We continue to hold FHE every Mon. evening with our newly marrieds & Tues. evenings we try to visit inactive YSA’s. This month we visited Johannis Liewald & Melanie Körmer in their apartments & were able to leave with a prayer. We hope this Outreach effort will eventually return some to activity. Attendance at Summer Institute has been at the short end but we have seen a couple of less actives come & participate, Johanna Hunger & Joshua Grasser. Our weekly Thurs. English class seems to be yielding some good things. Our little Russian gentleman, Valerie, that we thought was a non member turns out to be a member who is now starting to come out every Sunday. We have hopes that he will eventually invite his family to join him. I am still giving Michelle Muse weekly piano lessons on Fridays. She is finally going to be baptized on Sat., Sept. 12. Elder Harris entertains her & her sister, Sydney at the pool table after her lesson. He has won them over with his teasing. They like him a lot.

We said our Good-byes to Richy Dautel on Aug. 25. He has been the YSA President since May. He is going to London to study. His family gave him a send off BBQ with all kinds of wonderful food. We were pleased to be invited. We love the Dautels. Their examples of service are unbelievable. They are a stronghold here in the Nürnberg Ward.

Gary had his turn at speaking on Sun., Aug. 16. His topic was Adversity. He did a good job even though he sweat bullits. He will also be speaking in the Schweinfurt Branch this month & next. Lucky him!

Well, I’ve about reached the end. Hang with me for one more minute. On Sun., Aug. 30 we were invited to Bro. Männchen’s birthday celebration in Erlangen. They have become some of our best friends here. We will have a hard time leaving them in January. They have been by our side in this Outreach Center from the very beginning. They are very caring & generous servants of the Savior & they have certainly served us many times over as well as the YSA’s.

And while we are on the subject of leaving, we have to enter into the record that we lost one of our favorite Sister Missionaries, Sis. Ray from Arizona, on the Wednesday transfer. After being here for 4 transfers (6 mos.), she went to Munich. Her upbeat personality certainly blessed our lives as well as the people of Nürnberg. It was a pleasure to see her so totally involved in the missionary work here. These young elders & sisters are amazing.

Our final note is about the upcoming visit of our daughter, Alayna & her husband, Bryan. We are soooooo excited. They will be getting here on Sept. 17 for a week’s visit. We will be counting down the days, you can be sure. We appreciate having a Mission President who approves of these visits for the senior missionaries here. So hurry home to Germany, Don’t stop until you get here!!!

Love & good wishes to all,
Elder & Sister Harris, Gary & Renee, Dad & Mom, Gpa & Gma