Elder Lichner came to Tiergarten after Elder Shepard went home awhile ago. He and Elder Hadfield are companions (partners). They quickly became great friends. Elder Lichner is German from Southern Germany. He said he comes from a little "Willage" (dorf) outside of Stuggard where Porsche are made. In German v's are pronounced w so a village would be willage. He sounds cute when he says willage so we only make fun o him a wittle. He keeps a plastic box filled with Gummy bears in his ruck sack (back pack). He will with a little smile on his face cuddle up next to you and say "Would you like some candy?" Most people are completely disarmed by his charm and are glad to take a Gummy Bear. He and Elder Hadfied have become Gummy Bear experts knowing all the different types and how they taste. Germans love Gummy Bears and there are many different kinds to choose as well as a larger selection of cheap imitations. Elder Lichner won't touch the knock off Gummy Bears. He is pure bred German. Also, he is one of the nicest men I have ever met. It is a pleasure to serve with him.
Dan in Berlin
Monday, January 28, 2013
Friday, January 25, 2013
2013
I thought I would catch you up on what is going on here. first, the SUN came out today for 3 hours. That is a record! We haven't seen the sun in about 3 weeks, and then it was only for 10 minutes here and there. Even with the temp at 0*C, it still seemed nice out. We went or a long walk and just enjoyed being out in the "nice weather". The temperature is suppose to warm to 10*C this week. We shall see.
The new year has started slow for us but picks up speed next week. Last week, we had Zone training meeting and interviews with President Kosak. We always enjoy meeting with the other missionaries and with our President and his lovely wife. We are reading the Book of Mormon as a mission. We are looking for ways we can see the Holy Ghost influence people to come unto Christ and influence our lives for good. Already, we have seen how if you are not converted by the spirit, it doesn't matter how many miracles you see, or re part of, Satan is able to convince you that it didn't happen or the miracle was no big deal. It is important that we have faith to bring about miracles first before they occur in our lives.
Next week, we have YSA Sunday. We meet with all the young adults in the stake for our church meetings, have lunch (prepared by us), and then watch the CES broadcast from the week before. We usually have about 75 young adults attend. We look forward to seeing everyone. There are some that can't come to institute because of work, school, or they just live to far away.
We have had 1 engagement in our group. Mathias and Della got engaged over the holidays. They will not get married any time soon. Della also received her mission call to France. They plan to be married as soon as she returns. We have 2 other girls getting ready to turn in their mission papers, and 2 boys that will turn their papers in later this year. There are several other couples that could possibly get engaged this year. I hope so, there haven't been any while we have been here. Oh, I forgot, Thorston and Carolina just got engaged this week and will get married in February in Denmark.
We also have a Valentine's dance and Zone training council meeting on February 15th along with our regularly scheduled meetings. We look forward to the business. It makes the time go faster and is much more fun for us.
In case I didn't mention it to you before, we went to Gorlitz for a couple of days in January. We took the train, and visited with a Senior couple we have gotten to know. Gorlitz is where President Monson met with the Saints behind the wall and promised them that if they would remain faithful, they would receive all the same blessings the Lord gives all his saints in the free world. It took 17 years, but the promises were fulfilled. the Freiburg Temple was built, and the small chapel in Gorlitz was built. When we went to the chapel in Gorlitz, you could feel the spirit there and knew it was a special place. We have also been to the temple in Freiburg several times and marvel each time we go that it was able to be built during the cold war. We also crossed the border into Poland and drove to the Czech Republic border, though we did not go into the Czech Republic. Dan got a little choked up as we stood on the Czech Republic border. His mother's family was from Czechoslovakia. It was place we never thought we would be at.
We are happy doing the Lord's work in this part of the world. We miss all of you and look forward to seeing you when we get home in May. We arrive home on May 18th at 1610. See you soon.....Deb
The new year has started slow for us but picks up speed next week. Last week, we had Zone training meeting and interviews with President Kosak. We always enjoy meeting with the other missionaries and with our President and his lovely wife. We are reading the Book of Mormon as a mission. We are looking for ways we can see the Holy Ghost influence people to come unto Christ and influence our lives for good. Already, we have seen how if you are not converted by the spirit, it doesn't matter how many miracles you see, or re part of, Satan is able to convince you that it didn't happen or the miracle was no big deal. It is important that we have faith to bring about miracles first before they occur in our lives.
Next week, we have YSA Sunday. We meet with all the young adults in the stake for our church meetings, have lunch (prepared by us), and then watch the CES broadcast from the week before. We usually have about 75 young adults attend. We look forward to seeing everyone. There are some that can't come to institute because of work, school, or they just live to far away.
We have had 1 engagement in our group. Mathias and Della got engaged over the holidays. They will not get married any time soon. Della also received her mission call to France. They plan to be married as soon as she returns. We have 2 other girls getting ready to turn in their mission papers, and 2 boys that will turn their papers in later this year. There are several other couples that could possibly get engaged this year. I hope so, there haven't been any while we have been here. Oh, I forgot, Thorston and Carolina just got engaged this week and will get married in February in Denmark.
We also have a Valentine's dance and Zone training council meeting on February 15th along with our regularly scheduled meetings. We look forward to the business. It makes the time go faster and is much more fun for us.
In case I didn't mention it to you before, we went to Gorlitz for a couple of days in January. We took the train, and visited with a Senior couple we have gotten to know. Gorlitz is where President Monson met with the Saints behind the wall and promised them that if they would remain faithful, they would receive all the same blessings the Lord gives all his saints in the free world. It took 17 years, but the promises were fulfilled. the Freiburg Temple was built, and the small chapel in Gorlitz was built. When we went to the chapel in Gorlitz, you could feel the spirit there and knew it was a special place. We have also been to the temple in Freiburg several times and marvel each time we go that it was able to be built during the cold war. We also crossed the border into Poland and drove to the Czech Republic border, though we did not go into the Czech Republic. Dan got a little choked up as we stood on the Czech Republic border. His mother's family was from Czechoslovakia. It was place we never thought we would be at.
We are happy doing the Lord's work in this part of the world. We miss all of you and look forward to seeing you when we get home in May. We arrive home on May 18th at 1610. See you soon.....Deb
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Gorlitz, Germany
We went to Gorlitz on New Year's Day. We have friends assigned as member support there. The Bauman's are from Salt Lake City, Utah. When they first got to Germany, they were assigned to us until their apartment was ready in Gorlitz.
We took the train and arrived about 1415. It was gray and cold, but not raining. The Bauman's met us at the train. We walked to our hotel and checked in. We stayed at the Europa Hotel. It was very nice. We then went on a walking tour of Gorlitz. Gorlitz was built in the 13th Century. Originally, it was part of a country called Chalazia. It is the only city from that old country that is part of modern day Germany. It had a big double wall surrounding the city. If you got over the first wall, you were in a "kill zone". It was about 20 feet wide and had no place to hide. The soldiers on the second wall would shoot you with bows and arrows. There was no place to go and no way to get out. The walls were very high and about 3 meters thick. As we walked around, we saw where the judge passed sentence on criminals and where the executioner lived. He did not live inside the city walls. He was considered an outcast because of his line of work. No one else wanted to get their hands "dirty".
Gorlitz is located in the most eastern part of Germany right on the Polish border. After WWII, the town was literally split at the Naisse River. The polish side was called Zgorzzele. There is a bridge that crosses the river that you can drive or walk across to go to Poland. Because they are both part of the EU, there are no border checks. We walked onto the bridge and drove over to Poland and took a few pictures. Gorlitz has about 60,000 people living it. It use to be twice as big, but much of the industry there has died out and people are moving away to find jobs.
Our second day in Gorlitz we took a drive around the countryside. I imagine it is beautifu in the spring and summer. Right now, winter is in full bloom and it isn't very pretty to look at. We first drove to the Czech Republic border. We aren't suppose to leave the mission boundaries so we stopped at the sign and took a picture and turned back. The border was near a town called Luckendorf. Snow flurries were falling at the border. There was a ski lift near by. Dan's grandparents were from Czechoslovakia, now the Czech Republic. He got a little emotional about being so close to where his grandparents were from.
We continued our drive going to a small village called Obercunnersdorf. There is a upper and lower Obercunnersdorf. We stopped at a little Bacherei (bakery) for a pastry. This little town is well know for its style of buildings. They were very pretty. There was hardly anyone in the town the day after New Years. It was like every one had gone on Urlaube (holiday).
After our drive, we took little nap and then went to the Bauman's for a delicious "Mexican" dinner and games. We had a great time visiting with them.
Our last day in Gorlitz it rained. We changed our plans a little because we didn't want to be out in the rain. We went to their chapel. It was the first church building built in East Germany while the DDR was still in control. President Monson promised the people of Gorlitz 27 years before it was built that if they would be faithful, they would have all the blessings that every active Latter Day Saint would have. It was pretty awesome to walk in the building and feel the sweet spirit there. There is so much history here in Germany. It is neat to experience some it up close and personal.
We had lunch at a little German restaurant and then said our good byes. We caught the trains back to Berlin (we had to change trains in Cottbus), and got home abut 1800. We were tired but happy that we had the opportunity to see a little more of Germany.
Gorlitz is located in the most eastern part of Germany right on the Polish border. After WWII, the town was literally split at the Naisse River. The polish side was called Zgorzzele. There is a bridge that crosses the river that you can drive or walk across to go to Poland. Because they are both part of the EU, there are no border checks. We walked onto the bridge and drove over to Poland and took a few pictures. Gorlitz has about 60,000 people living it. It use to be twice as big, but much of the industry there has died out and people are moving away to find jobs.
Our second day in Gorlitz we took a drive around the countryside. I imagine it is beautifu in the spring and summer. Right now, winter is in full bloom and it isn't very pretty to look at. We first drove to the Czech Republic border. We aren't suppose to leave the mission boundaries so we stopped at the sign and took a picture and turned back. The border was near a town called Luckendorf. Snow flurries were falling at the border. There was a ski lift near by. Dan's grandparents were from Czechoslovakia, now the Czech Republic. He got a little emotional about being so close to where his grandparents were from.
We continued our drive going to a small village called Obercunnersdorf. There is a upper and lower Obercunnersdorf. We stopped at a little Bacherei (bakery) for a pastry. This little town is well know for its style of buildings. They were very pretty. There was hardly anyone in the town the day after New Years. It was like every one had gone on Urlaube (holiday).
After our drive, we took little nap and then went to the Bauman's for a delicious "Mexican" dinner and games. We had a great time visiting with them.
Our last day in Gorlitz it rained. We changed our plans a little because we didn't want to be out in the rain. We went to their chapel. It was the first church building built in East Germany while the DDR was still in control. President Monson promised the people of Gorlitz 27 years before it was built that if they would be faithful, they would have all the blessings that every active Latter Day Saint would have. It was pretty awesome to walk in the building and feel the sweet spirit there. There is so much history here in Germany. It is neat to experience some it up close and personal.
New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve was even wilder than last year if that is possible. We went the the Matthias Family's home for New Year's Eve. We arrived a little late and they were waiting for us to eat. We sat down and had a lovely supper of a potato bar, and salad. After dinner, we played games. We tried to play a German game but soon found out that the words did not translate very well and the game got to hard and complicated. We switched to another game and had a great time. Before we knew it, it was 2330. all of a sudden, fireworks started going off outside our window. On the street below. there were people every where setting off loud fireworks. They shot high into the air and were lovely to look at. By midnight, everywhere you looked, you could see and hear fireworks. We had a great view from the 5th floor balcony. The fireworks went on for over an hour. It was so loud and continous, it gave me a headache. We also had sparkelers and ginger ale to toast the New Year in. We got home about 0100 and went right to bed. You could hear fireworks until about 0300. They either stopped or I finally went to sleep for a little while.
We are so close to Poland that many people go there to buy their fireworks because they are bigger and louder. It is legal here to set off fireworks between 1800-0600. We could hear the occational fireworks being shot off before and after that time. The area around Brandenburg Tor was crowded with about 500,000 people. They had live concerts going on, plenty of food and drink every where, and big screen TVs set up so you could see the shows. People started arriving there in the afternoon. It is Berlin's version of Time Square. It is a giant party!
We are so close to Poland that many people go there to buy their fireworks because they are bigger and louder. It is legal here to set off fireworks between 1800-0600. We could hear the occational fireworks being shot off before and after that time. The area around Brandenburg Tor was crowded with about 500,000 people. They had live concerts going on, plenty of food and drink every where, and big screen TVs set up so you could see the shows. People started arriving there in the afternoon. It is Berlin's version of Time Square. It is a giant party!
Christmas 2012
Christmas was fun! We spent it with the Elders and Sisters. They all came to breakfast on We gave Elders Hadfield and Lichner warm socks and a tie. We gave Sisters Larson and Child hand lotion and scarves. The Sisters gave us matching scarves. We are going to wear them at the same time. The elders gave me some rocks that you heat in water and them place on your shoulders or back to reduce stress and tension. The gave Dan a battery operated back massager. I guess they think we need to relax more. After gifts and much laughing, we decided to play some games. For the next 2 hours, we played and teased one another. After the Elders and Sisters let, we took a nap. The Elders and Sisters came back in the evening to skype their families.
We also were able to talk with Bob and Jenny's family, Kevin and Kim's family, Emily and Brian's family and Paul and Marsha's family. It was great to to talk with and see all of them. We talked to Mom and Dad the next day.
We will miss the Weihnachtsmarkts next year. They are fun to walk around in. We loved getting a hot chocolate and sitting and watching the people. It was really "Christmas" feeling when it snowed lightly. On christmas Eve, we took a bag of candy and went walking around the Weihnachtmarkt t Breitsheidplatz. We gave candy to the bus driver, people at the bus stop, and people working at the market. We even were able to give out a pass a long card to a man on the bus.
We went to a Christmas service at the church in the late afternoon and then to President Kosak's for Christmas Eve dinner. We had a German dish called Roclette. Everyone had a little pan that they put differentt veggies and meats in. We then put this special cheese on top and put it on a grill to cook. Dinner takes quite a while and is quite a social event. We visited after dinner and then read the Christmas Story from Luke. We got home late. Elder and Sister William's took us home. It took forever to get home because for the first 30 minutes we kept going in circles. It seems that the navi was programed to take us to the mission office instead of home. We laughed a lot and finally got it right and got home safe and sound. The William's go home in February. We shall miss them.
We also were able to talk with Bob and Jenny's family, Kevin and Kim's family, Emily and Brian's family and Paul and Marsha's family. It was great to to talk with and see all of them. We talked to Mom and Dad the next day.
We will miss the Weihnachtsmarkts next year. They are fun to walk around in. We loved getting a hot chocolate and sitting and watching the people. It was really "Christmas" feeling when it snowed lightly. On christmas Eve, we took a bag of candy and went walking around the Weihnachtmarkt t Breitsheidplatz. We gave candy to the bus driver, people at the bus stop, and people working at the market. We even were able to give out a pass a long card to a man on the bus.
We went to a Christmas service at the church in the late afternoon and then to President Kosak's for Christmas Eve dinner. We had a German dish called Roclette. Everyone had a little pan that they put differentt veggies and meats in. We then put this special cheese on top and put it on a grill to cook. Dinner takes quite a while and is quite a social event. We visited after dinner and then read the Christmas Story from Luke. We got home late. Elder and Sister William's took us home. It took forever to get home because for the first 30 minutes we kept going in circles. It seems that the navi was programed to take us to the mission office instead of home. We laughed a lot and finally got it right and got home safe and sound. The William's go home in February. We shall miss them.
Friday, December 14, 2012
Walter's Baptism
Christmas Market
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