It's Christmas!

Christmas time in Berlin has been fun.  Going to the Weihnactmarkts,  seeing all the people hustle about shopping for last minute gifts (yes we ventured out forgetting it was the last shopping days before Christmas), enjoying the cooking and people.  Christmas Eve is the biggest part of the holiday for German's.  They get together with families and friends, have a big dinner, open gifts, sing together, and read the Christmas story from the bible.  Some of the Geiminde's have a Christmas service.  We were invited to go to one, but had to decline.  We had something more important to do.  You see, we were asked to provide dinner and companionship for members young and old, that didn't have anywhere to go on Christmas Eve.  Elder Johnson and I decorated the rooms in the institue that we used, shopped for items needed for dinner, and cooked.  We peeled carrots and potatoes, cut up onions and celery, and made potato cheese soup.  We also served open faced sandwiches with a cheese ham spread which we broiled in the oven.  We set up for 20, but had 11 lovely people come.  It was an odd assortment of people, yet very nice and friendly.  Most spoke a little English, and we spoke a very little German.  We ate, visited together sharing memories of Christmas traditions, and listened to a reading of Silent Night, Holy Night, the story of soldiers from WW1 and the spontaneous truce they observed on Christmas Eve many years ago.  As we cleaned up after the party, I couldn't help but smile and thank our Heavenly Father for the opportuity to serve thses wonderful people.

Christmas Day dawned about 8:00am.  It was gray and wet outside.  We turned on our Christmas lights and music, read our last scripture for Advent der Wunder and opened gifts from home.  We had a white chocolate covered oreo for breakfast (mmm) and went to church.  Sacrament meeting was great!  Elder Johnson blessed the sacrament in German.  The program proceeded with short talks about what Christmas means, beautifull musical numbers and congregational singing of hymns in German.  There is so much musical talent in our Geiminde.  One lady, Britta is an opera singer.  She sang a duet with another member who accompanied on the guitar.  The Mattias family, ( who are very talented) shared some of their musical talent with us.  Mother, playing the flute, and daughter, playing the harp, gave a beautiful rendition of  a beloved  Christmas carol.  I have never heard a harp sing like this young women made this harp sing.

Dinner at home with the young Elders and Sisters.  We all ate until we were full. (wir sind zot!), and visited for a while.  One of the sisters will be transfered on Tuesday to Western Germany.  Sister Openshaw, we shall miss you.  After the missionaries left, we played a game of Yatze  (which I won), did some reading and made phone calls to home.  It has been a wonderful day, but no SNOW!

A Quiet Week

It has been a quiet week thus far.  Sunday, we had dinner at a members home.  A good American meal of steak fajitas, beans, rice, chicken enchiladas, chips, and guacamole.  It was great!  The Valletta's are originally from Southern California,  Garden Grove and Westminster area.  

Monsday, we had FHE.  We had 5 young adults there, most have gone home for the holidays.  Today, we rode bikes to the store buying supplies for Christmas Eve dinner and our appartment.  We are cooking for those who don't have family in the area to celebrate Christmas with.  We expect 10-12 people.

The weather has gotten colder, snow flurries this morning but not much and it didn't stick.  Tonight, the Sister Missionaries came to dinner and gave us a German grammer lesson.  There is so much to learn.  tomorrow, we have a meeting with the other missionaries in our area.  We also teach english class tomorrow night.  

The pictures are of the old washing machine from our first appartment, the giant Pyramid at the Weihnactmarkt,(typical christmas decoration)  and of our new apartment ( which is pretty small but bigger then our first one).  Also  of us in PotsdamerPlatz standing on pieces of the Berlin wall.

We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Life can be embarrassing

So, as you know, life can be embarrassing.  On tuesday, Deb and I attended a Missionary Zone conference with about 75 other Mormon missionaries including 4 other senior couples, the Mission President and his wife.  Deb and I were asked to speak.  Deb went first and did a fine job.  My talk started well but ended with the sound of cars crashing and ambulances racing.  I was testifying in German and said, "Ich weiss Thomas S. Monson ubersetz das buch Mormon deshalb das Buch Mormon das wort Gottes ist." In English: I believe Thomas S. Monson translated the Book of Mormon thats why the Book of Mormon is the word of God.  The only trouble with all this is Mormons believe Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon in the 1820's about 190 years ago.  Thomas S. Monson, our current Prophet is an old guy but he wasn't around in the 1820's.  And, of course the joke was on me because I didn't know what I said.  So 65 19 to 21 year olds laughed at me and I had no idea why until Deb told me what I said.  Oh well, I guess President Monson could have translated the Book of Mormon but he did't have to because Joseph Smith did it for him.
Tonight we cooked for and attended the young adult Christmas party.  About 50 jungen menchen attended.  It was fun and spiritual.  We sang several songs in German.  The Americans in the crowd were asked to sing Rudolph.  8 of us stood proudly and belted out a rousting chorus including the new in between lyrics.  The German kids loved like a light bub, fudge face and monopoly.
Nadir, who joined the church a little over a year ago received his mission call.  In April, he will serve London, England.  What a great time to be in London with the Olympics that summer.  Nadir is 19 years old, speaks great English, and is a wonderful young man.  He'll make a fine missionary.  He had the letter from President Monson, yes that President Monson. for 2 days but wanted to read it at the party.  He opened the large envelope, pulled out some papers.  He read and read and read but it didn't say where he would serve.  Some of the returned Missionaries knew the first page always tells where the Missionary will be assigned.  One of them grabbed the envelope from Nadir and discovered the missing cover letter with the mission assignment still in the envelope.  He didn't take it out of the envelope.  So this time the joke was on him.  He then proceeded to read his call.
Taking the train on Friday to a smal German town about 2 hours northwest of Berlin with the other missionaries to carol in the town..  It may snow.  I'll let you know how it goes.
Frohe Weihnacten. Dan and Deb

A Good Weekend

What a wonderful weekend.  The good news is no snow.  The better news, we had two tremendous experiences.  On Friday night, we attened the Tiergarten Stake Christmas program.  Several hundred people attended.  The concert lasted about an hour and thirty minutes.  Debbie sang in the choir and the choir was great.  So were the other performances.  I met the Stake President's daughter Flur.  She is about 11 or 12 and plays the fiddle.  The Germans call it a violin.  She played a Christmas solo and nailed it.  She was a joy to watch and hear.  The other perormances were equally as good.  The Germans love Christmas and classical music.  One of the Sisters is a professional singer.  I thought she was going to blow out the building windows.
On Sunday we went to the Barsch home for dinner.They live in a pre WW11 apartment complex located about 500 meters from the Berlin wall in what was East Berlin.  Dinner was great.  (ich bin Zot, I'm full!).  The conversation was better.  Bishop Barsch's famiy have been members of the Mormon Church since the early 1920's.  After WW11, they lived in Dresden a city nearly totally destroyed by an American and British firebomb air raid.  Over 100,000 people died that night and one of Euorpe's prettiest cities was leveled.  Bishop Barsch's father served in the Wermacht (army) during the war.  He fought in France, Russia, and Czechoslovakia.  At the end of the war, he was captured by the Czechs who let him escape as the Russians approached.  He made his way back to Germany only to be trapped behind the iron curtain where he lived for over 30 years.  Bishop Barsch was involved with the building of the Freiberg Temple behind the iron curtain.  The Temple was open and operating during the cold war.
I was touched by both events.  The LDS Germans are a wonderful people whose dedication to their religion during an impossible era of history is admirable...  Dan

We went to the Weihnachtmart!

This week we rode the train and bus by ourselves to the Weihnachtmart.  We did't even get lost!  The Weihnachtmart is a outdoor Christmas market with lots of yummy food, rides for the kids,and Christmas things to buy.  We had fun walking around and looking at and tasting lots of things.  We then went to the biggest department store I've ever seen called Ka De WE.  8 stories of stuff to buy!  Most of it expensive.  They have an American section of food on the 6th floor.  You can get a can of rootbeer that cost $4.00 if you want it bad enough.  We are going to buy a couple of cans for the Missionary Christmas Party as gifts.  I am going to buy some marshmellow cream to make fudge for Christmas.  It cost about $4.00 a jar .  In the store there was a Weihnacht man.  He was a different sort of Santa.  All the hair you see is real. The store is decorated beautifully for Weihnacht.
The Krankenhaus is close to where we will live.  I would have worked in the Krankenhaus if we had lived in Berlin.  Dan loves to call me a Krankenschwester.(nurse/sister)
This weekend was our quarterly YSA weekend.  The dance friday was fun.  There were about 25-30 young adults there.  They ALL danced, talked and laughed together.  The young adults here really know how to dance.  It was very impressive.  Saturday we had breakfast fot the independent study institute students, followed by the Kicker Tournament.  The kids really get into it.  We had 10 teams of two, all with names of countries in Euorpe.  They all play until we get a winner.  This year the winners were the Rakow brothers.  They beat their parents in the final match.  Dan and I are going to have to practice so we can play in the tournament next year. Saturday evening was also the Gemeinde Weihnacht party.  There were games played, entertainment ,and food to eat.  Dan got to play the 4th wiseman and hand out candy to all the children. He had a ball!  Too bad I forgot my camera):  Sunday we had Fast and Testimony meeting.  It was great.  A wonderful sweet spirit filled the room as testimonies were given.  The Rakow's fixed a fantastic dinner for all.  It was then time to go home.
We got to the train station in Zehlandorf just as the rain hit.  Luckily ( or planned?) we had our umbrellas and didn't get too wet.