Dearest Family,
It seems like we don't ever just have an ordinary week any more although most of the things that are happening have happened many times before. The big events from this week were the ending of Easter Vacation and the return to Institute even though we still had our Monday night off for the official Easter Monday holiday. But Tuesday was the last meeting, once again, for our district prior to transfers.
The elder right in the center is Elder Seamons, our previous esteemed district leader now home again with his family and planning out his next move in higher education. His replacement is Elder Jakobi, right between us both, whose parents we met while we were in Leipzig last Christmas. It's good to have a native German in the district to keep us on our toes and tell us how we really should pronounce Eierschalensollbruchstellenverursacher. After all that's a good 11 letters longer than antidisestablishmentarianism! For those who have forgotten what the word means, you'll have to go back to the Christmas letter and dig it out. Following our district meeting we all headed over to Herb's, our traditional saying goodbye restaurant where the schnitzel is twice as big as anywhere else we've found and they automatically bring us 9 glasses of nice cold Viennese tap water to drink.
You might wonder why the odd number in a group of missionaries but seated between the sisters is Aigerim, our new convert from Kazakhstan who wanted to come say good bye to those who would be leaving. This picture only represents about half of those who were there as we took up two separate tables! Sister Kramer to the left of Aigerim, herself a convert of only a couple of years, and Elder Faux just barely getting squeezed in on the far right are our new piano playing whizzes, both "Goldens" at the beginning of the transfer 6 weeks ago. Elder Jakobi's new companion is another Golden from West Jordan, Elder Seewer who we just met today and whose name will be pronounced Elder Saver by all the Austrians. We went to church for Fast and Testimony meeting today out at St. Poelton, about an hour west of Vienna but a wonderful branch with the only organized choir in the whole stake. It's always fun to get there a little early and join in the choir practice that they always have before church starts.
Otherwise the week was pretty routine but the Friday Waffle Night brought a new twist. Sister Parker has really fancied the waffles these days with fresh fruits like strawberries and blueberries and we've added applesauce and even peaches which has really been a big hit. But this week the YSA's decided they wanted to do something novel, a sushi night. They brought all the stuff and cooked up some of the fixings and then everyone who wanted to participate rolled and cut out their seaweed, applied their cooked rice and a variety of yummy veggies and assembled it all together right in front of our eyes. The only catch was that the waffles have traditionally been free and they needed some reimbursement for all their sushi supplies. So we agreed that all who wanted only waffles could have them without cost and everyone who wanted to experiment with the sushi would pay 1.50 euros. We traditionally are lucky to get more than about 15 to 20 people out, at least half of whom are missionaries but this Friday we ended up with 32 including several invited non-member friends of those who came. It was an interesting lesson on how to get more participation by letting the young adults take some responsibility and lead out. They've got some great new leadership amongst the group now and have a whole list of coming activities, many of which will be on Friday nights to keep us from getting into any ruts.
Yesterday saw the highest temperatures for the year and we debated returning to our walks around Vienna but decided instead to finish up our tour of the Vienna Art Museum with its new exhibition "Realms of Imagination" featuring art from the 1500-1600's. It was really fantastic stuff and amazing how it had been able to be preserved for 500 years. Quite a bit of it was religious art and it was always fun to see depictions of the apostles, Peter always holding the keys, and Jesus baptism, standing up to his waist in the river while John the Baptist poured water over his head but with God the Father looking on from heaven above and the dove flying around seeming to indicate that there really are three separate persons in the Godhead. It was our fourth visit to the museum on our annual ticket we bought and have put to good use and we figure one more visit somewhere along the way will get us into some of the finer details we may have missed here or there.
But what we really enjoyed and were both able to bask in as well as get frustrated over was the great weather. The flowers and trees are all coming out in their glory and it was just lovely to walk around. Sister Parker did have the foresight to go back to one of the department stores where we had seen some lovely Easter decorations, accurately predicting that many of them would now be on sale. 30% off was a pretty good deal and we'll have lots of pretty Viennese reminders for next Easter when we get home. But the frustrating part was that the good weather was wonderful for a weekend of hosting the Vienna Marathon. Everywhere we went on Saturday it seemed they had been running the youth portion of the marathon and there were crowds everywhere with dumpsters full of collected trash and disruption of many of the streetcars that run into the center of the city. Yesterday wasn't really too bad because we didn't have any agenda to meet but it turned out that today was the major marathon run for most everyone else. We left for St. Poelton early in the morning before things got started but upon returning found that the course went right down Radetzkystrasse, about 30 yards from our apartment, completely blocking the two streetcar lines that run right by us and provide us our major transportation routes. Still, we were able to get close enough that it wasn't that bad a walk to get home plus we got to see the marathon going by as we walked. We were right down from one of the drinking stations and the street was piled with plastic drinking cups discarded after the runners had rehydrated themselves but there were plenty of people out cleaning up as the race went on. Somehow in our diverted wanderings we came across a plaza we had never paid attention to before where the offices of the Austrian President were located.
Note all the dumpsters in the foreground.
It was wonderful hearing everyone's testimonies today, especially regarding the responses to General Conference last week as people discussed their favorite talks. Maybe it was just because it was fast day but President Eyring's talk got a lot of mention and we liked the two mentioned last week from Elders Anderson, Wilford and Neil, about hearing the music when you dance and the wonderful outlook toward the last days as exemplified by the three new temples announced.
This being Fast Day we thought you should all know that you are the object of our fast today (and some of you more than others!:)) We liked the following two paragraphs from Elder Renlund's talk: "In His mercy, God promises forgiveness when we repent and turn from wickedness--so much so that our sins will not even be mentioned to us. For us, because of the Atonement of Christ and our repentance, we can look at our past deeds and say, 'Twas I; but 'tis not I.' No matter how wicked, we can say, "That's who I was. But that past wicked self is no longer who I am." God's desire that Latter-day Saints keep on trying also extends beyond overcoming sin. Whether we suffer because of troubled relationships, economic challenges, or illnesses or as a consequence of someone else's sins, the Savior's infinite Atonement can heal even--and perhaps especially--those who have innocently suffered. He understands perfectly what it is like to suffer innocently as a consequence of another's transgressions. As prophesied, the Savior will 'bind up the brokenhearted,...give...beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, [and] the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness." No matter what, with His help, God expects Latter-day Saints to keep on trying."
[Sister Parker] Dad or Grampa seems to have covered our week very nicely. While life is in constant change it seems missionaries and young adults move forward more quickly than at some other times. It is hard to say so many good-byes to those moving on. Also, some of the young adults have become engaged and we will have a few marriages this summer. It's been fun to see some of them fall in love for the first time and to share in their excitement. There are many single young adult conferences all aroung Europe, which last anywhere from a couple of days to a week. These conferences do seem to have some lasting benefits on matching up couples.We just had one in Linz, a couple of hours from Vienna, a few weeks ago that brought one of our young ladies into such a couple. If we work things out just right we may get to go to Frankfurt and witness one of these marriages.
Spring has finally arrived but is coming slowly in with a few flowers and a few more small green leaves on the trees. Interesting how much you notice all the changing seasons and are so tuned into daily weather as a missionary. But there is something theraputic or energizing about being aware of the physical changes in the world around you. Spring is certainly one of those times and I wonder if my gardens at home will still have any flowers that survive our broken sprinkler system. I am also looking forward to taking more walks through the gardens, parks, and woods around Vienna.
Hugs, Prayers and Fasting Remembrances,
Love,
Grammy and Grampa,
Mom and Dad,
Elder and Sister Parker
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