Don't Go Down There! It's Dark!!

Dearest Family,

Wow, another week has already come and gone and the work goes on! We try and keep a running tally of how many come by our center every week and this week we tied our record with 147.   We think we can still do better than that but it means we don't have as much time to just think up things to do.  (I don't think Sister Parker ever had that problem-she was always pretty busy.)  

We had some plans for pumpkin carving on Halloween but the YSA's came with plenty to do on their own so we delayed it until this week's Waffle Night which is pretty much a game night anyway and got into a pretty good contest between two teams to see who could come up with the best jack o'lantern.  It was pretty much a tie but unfortunately I guess we were asleep at the end and didn't take any pictures of the results (:  Oh well.  Otherwise we introduced some good rounds of Spot It with the real challenge being trying to translate all the little symbols into German. Some are easy like igloo is Iglu and flower is Blume and anchor is Anker, but you have to be on your toes for things like Marienkaefer for ladybug or Klee for clover. Women seem to have a distinct advantage in that game over the men but maybe it was just our poor selection of the men playing, like Elder Parker who was teamed with our member from Hungary who can't speak either German or English really well.  But we had a pretty good time.

This week was also good because we got a little teaching time in.  Two of the elders were teaching a female investigator and asked Elder Parker to sit in on a lesson.  She was really overwhelmed with life.  She feels like she'll be losing her job pretty soon but has two kids who live with her divorced husband in Germany.  She has no visiting rights and the courts won't grant them unless she can prove she has the ability to provide support.  We think she's actually got a pretty good testimony of the gospel but can't make the jump to get baptized until her life clears up a little bit.  At any rate we had a pretty good lesson with her and so we'll see what happens.  The other teaching situation was with our Hungarian member mentioned above.  He's got enough of a foundation in English to be able to teach a little more but we're really focusing on German right now so he can communicate more with those with whom he has daily contact.  We have a billiard table at the center and we found out he's a real ace with a cue stick, able to beat anyone who dares to challenge him so that gave him a pretty good ego boost.  We have two baptisms coming up within a few weeks if all goes well and a third if we can just get a little more leverage.  Our young lady from Kazakhstan has decided to try and finish her university studies in one year less and so has really been loading herself with extra classes. She's pretty smart but really getting overwhelmed and was on the verge of tears the other night with Sister Parker putting her arms around her to buck her up and give her the encouragement she needs to keep going.

Winter seems to be rearing its head a little more and we're all wearing coats around.  The sun is up around 6:40 but sets at 4:30 so it's a pretty short day.  Reminds us of the Warner Bros. character who came running up from the cellar saying "Don't go down there!  It's dark!!"

Well, the branch president of the St. Poelton branch we attended last week was really impressed at Sister Parker's German as she bore her testimony and still hasn't given up on the idea that he wants us to speak the next time we visit.  I think we'll just have to write it out and then translate it before hand and it should go all right.  

Well, not too many pictures today but thought you might enjoy this one of Lieber Augustine who woke up just in time to keep from getting buried alive buy playing on his bagpipe.  You've all heard the phrase, no doubt, "Ach, Du Lieber Augustine.

Our other picture is of a sweet sister who's been a member a little less than a year now who loves to come and help Sister Parker cook waffles.  She's a real stalwart and a regular attender. Our overall treasure trove of pictures is now over a 1000.  Don't know if we'll ever be able to remember which ornate church was which!

  (Sister Parker)There are not a lot of new or exciting things to share this week. The Center, the young adults, investigators, language students, and missionaries keep us well occupied. And we are glad to be there for them. Many a young adult has said what a great place the Center is for comfort and a few moments of relaxation where the spirit makes you feel good. It is sort of like a sanctuary away from the world. Lately, a lot of them seem to be under a lot of stress from various causes. Good company and a few hugs can make anyone feel better. This week's spiritual highlight from District Meeting was on Captain Moroni, the great and faithful leader of the Nephites. Alma 48:11-48. Verse 17  " Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, Behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men."

These are some awesome scriptures and well worth the family reading together.

   Happy Birthday to Daniel and Camisha and Happy Anniversary to Trish and Aaron.

We love you all,dearly.  

Grammy, Grampa, 

Mom, Dad, 

Elder and Sister Parker