These are some sights we enjoyed on a trip moving a Sr. Sister to Rostock. The weather was beautiful, about 30 minutes from Rostock is the Baltic Sea and we took a quick walk along the water front.
We thought the thatched roofs were interesting.
We visited Halberstadt to check out the possibility of using a former Elders' apartment for a Senior couple. It didn't look very promising but had some potential. It took work from a small army of missionaries, Andre Seidel and his helpers - it is now home to Elder and Sister Russell.
In Halberstadt we visited a church that was built in the year 804. It had been renovated several times over the years, the last renovation taking place in the 1400's. It is still used for worship services, how amazing it was to see something that has exisited so many, many years.
We finished out August by getting an apartment ready for another Senior Couple in Wilhelmshaven. This is a city in the Northern part of Germany, on Jade Bight (Bay), which is part of the North Sea.
Pictures of the Apartment in Wilhelmshaven
Most of the furniture was donated to the church by a friend of some members in the Wilhelmshaven Branch. She was an older women (not a member of the church) who was closing her home. She had very nice, quality furniture, it was old but in great condition, beautiful sets of dishes and lovely table linens. Her home was
about 2 hours from the apartment and it took 2 trips with 2 vans to get the furniture for the apartment. Andre Siedel and his wife Andrea, 2 Elders and some branch members helped with this project It took a couple of trips to an IKEA in a nearby city to finish up with some of the things still needed.
We drove home through some beautiful countrysides and stopped at a delicious bakeri - one of the best we've been to.
The landscaping was beautiful.
A quick stop in the Alt Stadt (old city) of Leer.
They were having some rowing races, which were fun to watch.
We were walking down some of the streets and there were American Flags everywhere. We wondered what the occasion was - we eventually saw a sign about a fair, that had been held that weekend celebrating American cars.
In September we went to Bad Bentheim to close out an apartment. These are pictures of the place we stayed. It was a cold, rainy day, but a beautiful place. We wouldn't mind returning here on a sunny weekend, just for fun!
In October Elder Beesley scheduled the semi-annual tire change. These are the Senior Couples who met in Hamburg. It is always fun to have a chance to see the other couples. We took advantage of the opportunity and went to lunch together.
Beesleys, Porters, Margetts, and Nuttells
We greeted new Missionaries Oct 16th. Six arriving from the Provo MTC and four arriving from the Preston England MTC.
Lunch with the Pumipayup Family
The Pumipayup family in the Lankwitz Ward take great care of the missionaries. We currently have 2 elders, 4 sisters and 2 couples who attend the ward and Panu (the father) wants to feed all of us once a month. He is a chef and makes food from around the world. This day was sushi, chicken and rice. His presentation is beautiful.
The Pumipayup family in the Lankwitz Ward take great care of the missionaries. We currently have 2 elders, 4 sisters and 2 couples who attend the ward and Panu (the father) wants to feed all of us once a month. He is a chef and makes food from around the world. This day was sushi, chicken and rice. His presentation is beautiful.
Eating the red pepper that is in the rice is always the challenge for the missionaries. Elder Taylor gets it done!
They are very missionary minded. Panita, their 18 year old daughter is a ward mission leader. Joshi, their 16 year old son, is in our Sunday School class. We love and appreciate them and recognize the sacrifices they make for the gospel.
Somehow I turned around and ended up with everyone's left over sushi on by plate. I didn't mention that the serving size is gross! (big)
The first of November we enjoyed the fall colors on mattress run up north. We delivered 7 mattresses, 3 beds, 1 bookcase, 2 desks and a variety of smaller items. The van was loaded as we left Berlin. The colors were beautiful and the weather was cold, but clear with no rain.
By the end of the first day we were getting close to the North end of the mission. Cliff was driving along the autobahn when the Flensburg Elders called to say they were going to be about an hour late. Cliff was distracted by the call and missed the exit. First thing you know, guess what?
We didn't stay long, but did find a McDonalds (for the clean rest room) but they wouldn't take our money, so we headed South to finish our work for the day.
The second day we are driving along when the navi said, "in 2.5 km board the ferry" - we looked at each other and laughed, we didn't know we were going to get a ferry ride!
As we got near Hamburg we saw kilometer after kilometer of orchards. We were surprised to see so many fruit trees. We stopped and bought some fresh apples that were delicious.
The Germans love their apples, apfelstrudel, apfelsaft, apfelschorle, and even fresh apples.
