Our Third and Final Senior Conference and a Primary Sacrament Meeting

To All of Our Distant Family (But We Seem to Be Getting Closer Every Week)

     What another incredible week we have had. Five of the seven days were spent getting to, enjoying and then returning from the conference held in the stake center next to the Swiss Temple in Zollikofen.

     A brand new couple, the Kinghorns, have been assigned to work in Graz which is two + hours away by train but is included in the Vienna Stake. We had, as we reported earlier, the opportunity to go and inspect three apartments that are now their responsibility but gave us a chance to see where they work and enjoy more of the beauties of Austria. Because of the continuing huge influx of refugees from the middle East coming into Austria and looking for asylum in the European Union, especially Germany, the borders between Austria and Germany are backed up for hours. Trains were not even running between the two countries so it was recommended that we travel a more southerly route instead of our usual passage through Salzburg. That meant getting off the major autobahn and traveling more directly through the Alps toward an entrance directly into Switzerland. It couldn't have been lovelier as we passed through Innsbruck where the Olympic Winter Games were held many years ago, and over passes that already had 4-5 inches of snow. But it was a long, long drive. 

We got up at 4:15 in the morning in order to catch a train that would get us to where they were going to pick us up by 8 AM.  From there it was supposed to be about a 9 1/2 hour drive to Bern where our hotel was located if we didn't have any traffic problems an didn't stop for gas or food. Although we had all packed a lunch which was helpful, and eaten breakfast before we left, obviously more stops were required. Because we had not anticipated the need to drive, we missed the opportunity which is present only for the first six months of entering Austria to get a valid driver's license with just a simple exchange. After that it takes a full course, training, and passing  a written and practical examination which we didn't feel was profitable. Hence, Elder Kinghorn got the responsibility of driving the entire distance. Elder Parker had the responsibility to be the navigator and although we had maps and a GPS, it was still an interesting experience. More than once we probably lost 30-45 minutes wandering around trying to get back on track and we finally pulled into a spot fenced off and across the freeway from where our hotel was located. It only took us another 45 minutes to figure out how to get to it and we eventually pulled in about 9 PM, only 13 hours from the time we had headed off together!

     On the positive side of all of this, however, was the wonderful opportunity to get to know them well. They have presided over the Albanian Mission many years ago, Elder Kinghorn served a mission as a young elder in Frankfurt along with two other senior elders now serving in our mission and he has also served as a patriarch, Vice President of Ricks College before it became BYU-Idaho, and hence has had close associations with several general authorities. As we compared notes it was fascinating to find out that they have 10 children, only 9 of whom are living as they also lost a daughter when she was only a year and a half old in a drowning accident while Sister Kinghorn was in the hospital delivering another baby. So of course, we bonded quite well together and had a long opportunity to share life experiences. Elder Kinghorn and Elder Parker conversed actively in the front seat while the sisters were carrying on in the back seat. They had been given the opportunity to purchase a new car which was slightly larger than the one we had driven in when we visited two of the elders during the apartment inspections and those elders were happy to get their car back which they had assumed they would lose. But consequently the Kinghorns hadn't had much time to really get adjusted having only arrived a week earlier and then spent a day driving up to the suburbs of Vienna to pick up the new car literally the day before we all departed.

     The conference proper started with a temple devotional and session on Thursday afternoon, giving us Thursday morning to do a little sightseeing. Several of us piled into the mission van driven by the couple who were with us in the MTC who had previously served in Salzburg, then Vienna (living in our apartment), before deciding to return. They had originally served this time in Stuttgart but were then assigned to work in the office after deciding to extend for six more months. So about 8 of us decided to drive up to Interlaken, a beautiful little town situated between two lovely lakes. Here is Grammy and Sister Kinghorn.

The name means "Between the Lakes" and it is simply a beautiful alpine retreat filled with hillside farms high up on the sides of the valleys and cows and sheep grazing in the meadows. It seems that many of the cows wear bells and Sister Parker had the opportunity to purchase a cute little carved wooden cow complete with the bell as our primary souvenir from the trip.

     We got back in time to change into our temple clothes and enjoy a wonderful meeting with President Psota, the temple president and his wife. It was wonderful to attend a session in the temple after nine months and when that was completed we held a meeting of introductions and listened to President and Sister Kohler speak. Each couple was only given a minute or less to tell where they came from and where they were serving but it was great to get oriented to the many new couples who had arrived since our last conference six months ago which had been held in Salzburg. The couple in charge of the conference are both Swiss citizens and hence allowed to serve in Switzerland, even though both live in the USA. Their mission ends this coming week so they really had the responsibilities piled on their heads before being able to focus on their departure. After short introductions, there was really a lot of time to spend talking with everyone at the meals that were prepared by local members. Our hotel was a Best Western and they had a large informal dining area where they provided a good breakfast as part of the stay as well as cakes and goodies in the evening where we tended to gather and talk. We have always felt these seniors to be special as they have all devoted their time and extensive service in the church to further carry on the work. Several times we have likened it to the closest thing we can imagine to being in the celestial kingdom.

     Friday morning was another time devoted to seeing the city of Bern, a world heritage site, never destroyed by the wars that plagued the rest of Europe. We had the privilege of being guided by a couple who live in Bern who had previously served with us in the mission. We spent three hours walking around the city center with lovely buildings, decorative statues at many intersections, and enjoyed the Swiss Parliament building, the ancient clock tower and a very interesting church known as Der Munster with a large sculpted entrance depicting the last judgment. 

Here one sees Christ at the top with Mary to his right and John the Baptist to his left with the twelve apostles lined up below, six to either side. In the arch above are many prophets from the Old Testament and to either side of the flower shaped window are depictions of the just and the unjust. To the Savior's right, our left, you might be able to see the gate leading into heaven with the righteous all clothed in white lined up to enter. On His left are those enduring the suffering of their sins with very interesting depictions of those guilty of murder, unchastity, stealing, pride, being unforgiving, and even one we thought might be guilty of poor parenting. I had a fun time asking the people in our group if they saw the members of the church depicted there. At either side of the door not visible in the picture were the wise virgins to the right and the unwise virgins to the left. Just visible at the bottom in the center is Michael fighting off Satan depicted as a serpent trying to coil around him.

     Friday afternoon was spent in various classes instructing us on the finer points of apartment inspecting, we had the lead with the group talking about supporting the YSA's and working with elder's quorum and relief society presidencies, what kinds of activities we had had success with, how to prepare simple meals and a good discussion on how to reach those who are less or inactive. After dinner we had another wonderful presentation from President and Sister Psota, truly inspiring leaders. 

That evening we had the chance to walk around the temple grounds a bit.  When Elder Parker was last here in 1965 it was fairly isolated. Now it's surrounded by lots of new homes and apartment complexes. They added the statue of the Angel Moroni and did renovate the interior to make 4 endowment rooms instead of just the one they originally started with. Built in 1955 it was just the 9th temple of the church, one of only seven then operating not counting Kirtland and Nauvoo. They were requested not to alter the exterior by the government because it has been named a cultural heritage site and the church complied with the request. Notice the Swiss flag flying at half staff to commemorate the death of Elder Scott just a day or so earlier.

     The conference ended on an extremely high note with a testimony meeting. They had allotted two hours but it ended up going 2 and 1/2 with all of the departing missionaries in the next six months given first priority to bear their testimonies. We joined in with the others in heartfelt expressions of the joys of serving the Lord full-time. We packed up and were on the road by about 1:30 choosing to drive only to Salzburg by that night, there being no problem going from Germany into Austria as there was coming the other direction. Sunday morning we attended the Salzburg Ward where we several times have met for Zone Conferences but never for a worship service. We were delighted to find out that it was the Sunday where the Primary presented the meeting. They have a big but very young Primary with only two or three 11 year olds but a lot between 6 and 9. We'd never had the opportunity previously to witness that and so it was a true delight to see the children sing and give their talks.

     After the meeting where we had a wonderful time talking with the members and a former sister missionary who had worked in Vienna, it was on the road again. This time they dropped us off at the train station halfway home to Vienna and then they drove on home to Graz. We both arrived about two hours later having spent a great five days together. We unpacked and then felt we'd better go over to the center to thaw a few of the meats for our Sloppy Joe's at home evening and while we were there six young adults showed up along with one investigator to finish off some of the food that had been left over from the Institute Opening and Singles Ward which had taken place there on Saturday and Sunday while we were gone. It gave us a great opportunity to find out who had been there and bring the rolls up to date but got us home a little later than we had planned. The summer is gone, fall is here and in just a few more days we can say that we'll be home next month!

      [Sister Parker] It truly was a wonderful week, as Grampa has described. We loved going through the southern Austrian Alps again and then through some of the Swiss Alps. It was impressively beautiful, and awesome how high the houses were on the mountains.

​In the higher alps some of the trees had even started changing color and looked a little more like autumn. We also had the opportunity to see our first snow as we drove higher up on the mountain, where the rain turned to snow. I loved it. Interlaken was also beautiful and much more open with flat areas and meadows.. Everything was so well kept and manicured, even the fields with cows or so it seemed. I was also fascinated with the groups of cows that were all wearing bells, maybe like putting little jingle bells on babies shoes so you will know where they are going. It would be nice to spend a little more time here and enjoy the peacefulness.

      Senior conference and meeting with other couple was also wonderful, enjoyable and inspiring. It is incredible to think of all that these senior couples give and sacrifice in serving the Lord, which of course is the desires of their hearts. Another tender mercy on our way home was to finally hear a Primary sacrament meeting. It was so sweet and tender and made me think on all our wonderful grandchildren. Nothing could touch your hearts more than hearing little children sing, "I Know My Father Lives," (the spirit whispers this to me and tells me it is true.) I hope to hear my grandchildren sing this when we return home.

Enjoy the cool, crisp autumn days and walk through some crispy leaves for me.

HUGS AND PRAYERS, 

Grammy, Grampa, Mom, Dad, Elder and Sister Parker

60 Years of Recognition and the Vienna Boys' Choir!

Greetings to Our Everlasting Dominion Who Without Compulsory Means are Flowing Unto Us Forever and Ever!

     It's been another great week as we approach an exciting coming month.  We keep track of the numbers of people who attend the various activities that are held in our center each week.  The numbers are always a little down during the summer as our young adults are away on vacations or back home while school is out but this past week was our best attendance since June with a total of 98 coming for the week. Our low for the summer was in the 50's but we've been in the 90's about three or four times. This next week will be the last summer institute session prior to the big event that marks the start of the new Institute year. That all occurs on Friday-Sunday and of course, we'll be out of town for the entire event as the mission scheduled its every six months Senior Conference during the same weekend. We'll give you that full report next week and it promises to be full of new experiences and uplifting interactions.

     For this week we're making some progress with one of our members who hails from Nepal, speaks rudimentary English but enough that he's understandable, and he's been fairly regular in his attendance for the past month. It's always interesting to discover how he became a member of the church as our initial questions to him revealed that he didn't know anything about Joseph Smith or the Book of Mormon. He does now, of course. We have another young man who's been very active as an investigator who hails from Nigeria and who claims his first names are Michael Jackson.  He's been present almost every day, speaks reasonable English and is learning some German as the elders and sisters are teaching him. He  has been at most of our activities this week and in fact decided it was too early to attend the English speaking ward this morning so he showed up for the German speaking ward which meets in the same building in the afternoon. That gave Elder Parker the assignment to translate for him in Priesthood meeting, Sunday School and Sacrament Meeting. That appears to be a great way to really pay attention to what is being said if one has to translate it as well. Not sure how well we did as he fell asleep for the last five minutes of Sacrament meeting but Elder Parker has been known to do that a few times himself!

     Last night was very interesting as the stake was celebrating the official 60th year anniversary of the church's recognition in Austria. It apparently actually took place on September 19, 1955 just a few weeks after the reestablishment of the country as an independent and free nation having been occupied for ten years by the allies since the end of the war. Austria considers itself quite fortunate that they weren't included in the occupation by the Soviet Union that took place in the rest of Eastern Europe. So it was a glorious and grand event with lots of pictures and also presentations on the creation of the Vienna Stake that occurred a few years later. Vienna has had five different Stake Presidents, all of whom are still alive and all of whom we know quite well.  Four of them were present with the fifth attending a family function in Norway. He and his wife have been called to the Freiberg Temple Presidency when it reopens next July and there is still an outside chance we may get to repeat the experience of the Thornocks and serve there on our next mission if we can hold it together for that long. Our dear Sister Eva who always does the cooking for Institute on Wednesday evenings baked a special cake that was big enough for the whole stake including the children if they wanted a piece. 

We even got shot of the Stake President cutting the cake for the entire stake surrounded by a few of his young fans. 

Pictures were shown of then Elder Ezra Taft Benson who was present at the time of the original recognition when he was responsible for the Europe Area and also of Elder L. Tom Perry who had the same assignment when the stake was created. We still have a quote from Elder Perry mounted prominently in the center's dining area which a few of you have seen who have visited us here.

Speaking of refugees, one of the outlying cities on the southwestern edge of Vienna proper is a small community known as Traisenkirche. They have become extremely well known for providing help and assistance to the many who have been seeking asylum as they escape the middle east. Much of this happened prior to the huge influx of refugees that have inundated the European Union and its neighbors in the past few weeks. More on that below. But out of gratitude for their help, their was an official musical recognition conducted yesterday afternoon by the government prior to the stake beginning their own recognition ceremonies later in the evening. We happened to read about it in a newspaper that is occasionally delivered free at our door and noted that the Vienna Choir Boys were one of those featured on the program. We have wanted to hear them for the entire time we've been here but their performances are either always on Sunday mornings when we're in church, or on Friday evenings when we're involved with our Waffle Night. So this looked like a heaven-sent opportunity as they were scheduled for a Saturday at 1:30 PM. The only secret was to find out exactly where Traisenkirche was and how we could best get there. It was only two weeks ago that we had finally made a trip to a famous mall the elders like to visit because it contains a department store where suits are extremely inexpensive. It is most easily reached on a commercial cross between a streetcar and a train but is located outside of our usual travel zone for which we have a purchased year's card.  It seemed to us that we had noted Traisenkirche as one of the stops on this line but about 15 miles further down the line from the shopping center. So we checked it out, arrived at the proper stop and walked about three blocks to the big plaza where it was all taking place, arriving at 1:20 and even finding a place to sit down and enjoy the show. 

We even got a few short recordings which we'll share sometime when we get home.  So the Lord has blessed us with getting to hear the Vienna Choir Boys and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra which we got to hear at the beginning of the summer, both completely free of charge!

     Even though we don't spend a lot of time keeping up with current events, it's been hard not to become aware of the thousands of refugees streaming out of the middle east. It seems like Austria is surrounded by many of the countries where people come. Initially they seek asylum in Hungary or Slovenia but most are really trying to get to Germany and although Hungary and Slovenia, Greece and Turkey initially tried to slow them down or stop them, they eventually decided it was easier to just let them head through. The result was a huge influx that hit Austria all at once. 1200 extra policemen were put on duty to regulate them and all seemed essentially headed for the train stations.  The EU is still trying to figure out an equitable way to divide them up between the various member nations but in the meantime it has really created problems for those of us contemplating leaving Austria, as we are when we head to Switzerland the middle of next week. We have the great opportunity of driving with a new couple who were just assigned to Graz where we did apartment inspections a couple of weeks ago. But the word is there may be a 2-4 hour delay if we travel through Salzburg, our initial route. Our transferred elders this week found out they couldn't even get a train from Austria to Germany as they all stop in Salzburg. The mission had to send out a van to pick them up and deliver them on the other side of the border with long waiting times. So we're currently working on a southern route that would take us through Innsbruck on the south and then directly through a brief route in Italy and on into Switzerland which isn't accepting any of the refugees, not being a member of the EU. We think it will still take us longer but the scenery ought to be really beautiful as we head into the Fall colors. Stay tuned for a full report next week.

     [Sister Parker] Every week seems to hold its own adventures and concerns. I was very pleased that we found the little city where the Vienna Boys Choir were singing. It's been on the top of my Vienna list for quite awhile. This was really quite a spur of the moment decision to go out and find it and we were blessed. This week was also Transfer Day and we sent off some long time sweet missionaries and welcomed in some brand new ones. Going to West Bahnhof also took us passed some of the Syrian refugees and my heart goes out to them. There was a family kind of crowded around their bags and belongings, including Grandma, Grampa, the parents and a few children and they all looked so disheartened. Its not like they wanted to be up rooted from their life but here they are as a result of violence and civil war. You just can't help but want to rescue them, but the only way is through the government here. So we pray for them and donate what we can, believing that the Lord has brought them out of their countries for a reason. We are so blessed to already have the gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives. Let us truly live its principles in our families and share them with others, that they my see the inner peace and joy we have.

Loving you always,

HUGS AND PRAYERS,

Grammy, Grampa, Mom, Dad, Elder and Sister Parker

A Baptism for the Entire Vienna Zone

To Our Dear Family,

What another incredible week it has been. It seems like we don't have enough time in the day to get everything done that's waiting for our attention. We had what everyone thought was a quick zone training meeting on Thursday which is when we had planned to travel down to Wiener Neustadt to do some apartment inspections. But because of the zone training they cancelled our district meeting on Tuesday so we decided that was our best day to travel instead. We have two apartments there that used to be about 25-30 minutes apart as the crow walks and he does as their public transportation system is pretty slow. But it must be that we're aging a bit as this time it took us a good 35-40 minutes to make the walk and that was just between the two apartments, not counting the walk to and from the train station before and after the inspections. That left us just one apartment to check out with the other two both undergoing serious repair work at the moment. So we got the last apartment on Wednesday morning and then were able to hit a couple of our favorite hardware and furniture stores and stock up on about 180 Euros of goodies that they all needed. We managed to pack it all up and deliver it to everyone at the zone meeting by Thursday! Boy did we feel like we were efficient. (Plus we have a huge credit on our mission statement with a promise that we'll eventually get it all back.) We think we're already due enough money that we won't need anymore for the next 4 months and that's twice as long as we still have left. It was kind of fun at zone meeting because we had visited the apartment of every single companionship there within the previous two weeks with the exception of the two undergoing repairs and we see those elders a lot anyway.

On the spiritual side of things, last week was our second best week of the entire summer as to how many people appeared at the center for this or that activity. Actually it was our third best but we're not counting one week where we had an extra 24 people for a Visitor's Evening on a Sunday night. We now have a good cadre of about 8-10 YSA's who are regular attenders at several of our activities along with the others who come just for institute. That by the way was really special also this week as the teacher was an ex-bishop, ex-stake president, ex-mission president, ex-member of a temple presidency (we think he may have even been an ex-area Seventy but not completely sure about that) who taught a wonderful lesson on living the gospel in spite of the realities of daily life that confront each of us. Then on Thursday, we made sure language courses ended by 6 PM because there was a very special baptism scheduled for 7 that evening. A sweet sister has been investigating the church for over 10 years and was known to every missionary in Vienna as she tended to fuss over them, giving presents such as ties and frequently goodies. The baptism was scheduled for an unusual Thursday because the Europe Area was holding a three-day mission presidents seminar which began on Tuesday and President Kohler thought it would be nice if he and Sister Kohler could attend the baptism while they were in town. So naturally this sweet sister who is invariably 20 minutes early to all meetings was about 30 minutes late! But she had called to assure the elders that she was still coming so everyone had a good time visiting and waiting. It seemed like every elder in the city was there. It turned out that a bit of her dress floated up during the first try and so she got to do it twice but she handled it well. The attendees (just from the mission):

​ 

Transfers are this coming Thursday and we're getting 4 new Goldens, 2 of whom will be in our district. We usually try and conduct the district meetings in German so that should be interesting.  One of our Zone Leaders is becoming an AP and we'll also be getting a new District Leader so life is never dull.

P day was special as the sisters had told us about a special chapel that had been built up in the Vienna Woods to commemorate the marriage of Franz Joseph II and his 16 year old bride, Elisabeth, commonly known as Sisi. We finally got it located and it looked like the closest approach was directly south of it so we went there to find that although it was closer, it was also straight uphill all the way! We kept wondering why everyone we passed was going the other way, i.e., downhill and came to find out the better way was to take a little bit of a longer walk from a different bus stop but at least make the walk through the forest on the much less strenuous approach. But the chapel was really pretty and actually quite small compared to the usual Catholic edifices. It was located very near a large "Life-Tree Circle" with about 26 different stations, each representing two weeks out of the year with typical astrological pointers indicating how great we were if we were born during that two weeks. Every station was represented by a tree. Elder Parker was a maple and Sister Parker was a cypress which we learned symbolically represents the resurrection! Appropriate pictures are stored for later. Above the Life Circle was a large meadow containing something laid out on a north-south east-west grid that sort of reminded us of Stonehenge. Great home movies awaiting but here are a few items we will use.

The Sisi chapel,  

the Life-Tree-Circle, 

and the kind of sunsets you get to see when you live in a big city surrounded by apartment houses.  

This last was actually pretty spectacular and the picture doesn't do it justice but this is the street right around the corner from our apartment which is to the right of the BIPA building about two doors down.

     Well, the new senior couple comes in on Thursday with whom we'll ride to Switzerland in a couple of weeks, we're still trying to finalize a new apartment for the genealogy records couple that come right after we get back and then two days later is another zone conference in Salzburg which takes place on Aaron's birthday. Never a dull moment around here.

      Times are busy, but good. It seems when you get down to the last couple of months of your mission you have achieved a competence of some sort in your missionary work and language, then time speeds up and you can't get everything done you would like too. We enjoy supporting the missionaries in their training meetings. They are very capable of training and supporting each other and bringing the Holy Spirit to lift them up and sustain them during hard times. This week the Zone Leaders challenged everyone to deep clean their apartments as a sign of recommitment to the work. I liked that part, clean apartments make missionaries feel good and well organized. Their emphasis was on showing the Lord that you were ready to change and be a better missionary. We also enjoy working with the young singles as they seek to prepare to find their place in the world and to remain faithful. Friday, "Waffle Nights" are a way of having fun and being supportive at the same time. Here missionaries and members interact and we enjoy the banter that goes on over who is going to help cook waffles and who can win at "Spot It".

       Also this week I was reminded by a sister missionary's talk that Sacrament meeting is a time to refill our cup after emptying it all week long. If we come prepared to the sacrament table, we can refill our cup spiritually, from the Savior, to take us through to the next week. Of course, we can put a little back in as we pray and have scripture study, but with our emphasis on "Sabbath Day Worship", what a great reason to look forward to Sunday.

        It's a sweet rainy day here, hope you're getting some Autumn weather too. We are going back up to 90 degrees in a couple days, just for a day or two, so I'm enjoying what I can for the minute. Have a great day.

HUGS AND PRAYERS,  

with love 

Grammy, Grampa, Mom, Dad, Elder and Sister Parker

Seeing the Entire Vienna Stake

To All of Our Labor-Day Loving Family (except Aaron who's in India!)

    Lots to talk about this week. We hope you're all enjoying a three day weekend. As for us, we didn't even get a P-day this week as we put in one of our longest days yesterday. But we'll get to that in a bit.

    To start out, we had interviews with President Kohler this past Monday. We mentioned that we had already received our flight plan for our departure home which is still two months away but admittedly the time is getting short. After today we only have two more Fast Sundays and with General Conference, Stake Conference and our Senior Conference in Switzerland at the end of this month, that leaves only six more Sundays to visit the various wards. As we have seven that we routinely attend that means each visit from here on out is a good-bye event (: Much to Sister Parker's chagrin, our sweet sister that has been on the Institute Council and whose husband is in one of the ward bishoprics (previously a Stake President and soon to be in the Freiberg Temple Presidency) nailed us for a farewell address in their ward when we visit on October 25. At least we've got plenty of time to prepare!

     At any rate, President Kohler admitted he didn't have anyone specifically lined up yet as our replacements but said he'd get right on it. We had discussed with the mission travel secretary our desire to perhaps spend a week making a quick visit to both Prague and Budapest before we headed west and so our tickets had been set up for our departure from Vienna on the 18th of November and arrival in Salt Lake City that same evening on United Airlines 5483 at 6:58 PM. Sister Parker emphasizes that one should not make too many plans yet as there appear to be numerous refugees attempting to escape the middle east through Hungary and she's not quite as convinced as she used to be that it would be a good idea to plop ourselves in the middle of that. However, the President called us last night late to inform us that a new couple have just been called and that he could perhaps shift there arrival by a few days either way to help us accommodate them. So he's working on that and there is still obviously plenty of time to finalize all the arrangements.

     So we may have mentioned that a couple of weeks ago we got assigned four new apartments to inspect in the far western region of Vienna Stake. The second largest city in Austria is called Graz and there are also a couple of elders in a small branch along the way called Bruck an der Mur. They lost their senior couple back in April. We knew them quite well and they even gave us a call a few days back to see how we were doing. They were responsible for those four apartments which have perhaps been checked on once by the mission office in the five ensuing months. So adding those to our other nine gave us a nice lucky number of 13 to check on. So we decided that our best day to travel three hours each way could only be Saturday and so yesterday off we went. We managed to secure nice seats in an upper viewing area on one of the regional trains and as Sister Parker has been looking for a good chance to see Graz this was a heaven sent opportunity. Did you all know that Graz is the home town of Arnold Schwarznegger and he has a great museum there! We didn't stop to see that but on the way there was fantastic scenery. Here are just a few shots taken by our master photographess!

Although we had planned on perhaps seeing a little more of the city, it turned out to be raining the entire day. Hey, we'll take rain instead of 99 degree heat any day! One set of elders and another of sisters gave us good directions as to how to get to their apartments and one of the sisters even rewarded us with a CD of her own performance of "Mission Melodies on the Harp." We're listening to it as we write the letter. Altogether it was a good trip and we came up with such needs as a new toaster, new shower curtain rings, two replacement ironing board covers, a bathroom rug to sit next to the tub to keep from slipping on tile and to replace the towel they're using now, a tool that will tighten a loose toilet seat, one set of new bed sheets, some measuring cups and one case of Books of Mormon. Three bathroom ceilings will eventually need to be repainted because they have no ventilation and the humidity is taking its toll. We got three other apartments during the week so we're a little over half done. Five more are scheduled for this next week and then we can rest until October.

Fortunately, a new senior couple is coming to replace the ones who left in April so this will be the only time we have to make such a trip and we'll also be joining them on our trip to Switzerland in 3 weeks as they'll get the car now being driven by the elders in the small branch in Bruck an der Mur. Our other new responsibility was to find a new apartment for a senior couple coming to Vienna to copy genealogical records in the state archives. They'll be here right after we get back from Switzerland and we think we got divine help again as all the pieces finally fell into place after letting us languish for a full month. We found a lovely place right on a street car line that will take them directly to where they'll be working. The mission will be moving some furniture in in the next week or so once we've finished signing the lease and then we may have to purchase a few more items to complete the ensemble.

     One final experience was kind of fun to report. One of the local apartments needed a new wash basin and the plumber really bent over backwards to get it installed quickly once we got the financing all arranged but he could only come last Friday during our Waffle Night. It's our one apartment with two sets of elders and both had appointments during that time so Elder Parker agreed to head out and be present while Sister Parker took care of the food preparations.  He decided to take a new route and a little longer walk than we would normally go to catch the street car that would take him to the apartment and as he walked down the street he heard a voice calling "Herr! Herr!"  Eventually figuring out that it was intended for him, he walked over to a car with the window rolled down and a man asking for directions to a particular street. The man was clearly not a native Austrian but spoke good German and when he heard that I was also a foreigner in town he asked where I came from.  When I told him I was an American he indicated that he was from Italy. As I gave him some directions he asked what I was doing in Vienna and I told him I was a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ, the Mormons. Had he ever heard of us?  A little bit, he said. I asked him if he was a believer and he said yes, showing me a book on his front seat that appeared to be the four gospels in Italian. He then indicated the world was in such bad shape, everyone wanting only money or power that it was difficult to maintain his faith. I explained the principle of free agency that God gives to us all and indicated we should sit down and talk a bit when we both had more time. He told me where he lived, his name was Donatello and gave me his phone number. He's in the district where our Zone Leaders work so we'll pass that contact on to them quickly and offer to participate in a joint teach if appropriate. Always interesting where the Lord puts people when you decide to strike off in a new direction!

     [Sister Parker] Here we go again with signs of the times. Last weekend it was about 99 degrees and this weekend it is 53 degrees. Many of the Austrians keep saying, "it was never like this when I was young. The weather just didn't change over night." But all the missionaries are loving it; it is so much easier now to be outside all day in Autumn weather. Even though it was raining all day Saturday in Graz and Bruck an der Mur, it was beautiful countryside and leaving the big city for the little Dorfs was invigorating. I just loved it. If I had seen it sooner on our mission, I might have pushed for a transfer. Big cities have their beautiful gardens, but give me the woods and mountains anytime.

    This week my thoughts have been on service in the church since we had to teach on that subject at District Meeting. The emphasis here is on helping the new converts understand they have the opportunity to teach and serve one another, and in so doing serve God. When we are baptized we covenant to give such service. I was impressed by these words in Preach My Gospel, "We are to become aware of others' physical and spiritual needs. We then give of our time, talents, and means to help meet those needs. We follow the example of the Savior. We are to do what Jesus did and become like Him". To me that says be "mindful" of those around you, their spiritual and physical needs; giving and helping sometimes before they ask. I think it is something we need practice at doing. The book also says, "The Church is organized to perfect and bless the lives of the members." This week be "mindful" of someone else and share a kindness, or some thoughtful service, bless someone's life.

Love you always, and miss you always,

 HUGS AND PRAYERS, 

Grammy, Grampa, Mom, Dad, Elder and Sister Parker

The Essence of Vienna

To Our Wonderful and Beloved Family,

This is about our latest letter ever but it's been very busy and getting busier.  We had Nancy and Randy here over the weekend as we mentioned in last week's letter. It seems like there is always something to show them that we haven't seen before and this time it was walking into the University of Vienna campus which is celebrating it's 650th anniversary. It's certainly not like a campus we'd see back home considering it's more like a huge courtyard surrounded by buildings but still it's an impressive place. Maybe you remember the race around the building in "The Chariots of Fire."  Pretty much like that. Still it was fun having them here, especially on our P day and we had, probably for about the last time, the opportunity to attend the International (English speaking) ward on Sunday. Many of the things we did we had only done with Brenda, Mindy and Benj and we ate at the same restaurant with the sudden decision to attend another Strauss/Mozart concert in the same hall where Strauss had originally conducted.

Since being assigned a total of 13 total apartments to inspect, up from our original 9, we now have the fulfillment of Sister Parker's desire to see the other two areas in the Vienna Stake we've never visited, namely Graz and Bruck an der Mur. One is about two hours away by train and the other is on the way so it will take us the better part of our P day on Saturday to get to them. One of our concerns is that Elder Parker had committed to teach a part of the missionary preparation course that same Saturday but we just barely got the news that so few had signed up that they're canceling it.  The Lord is in charge and we're happy to avoid the conflict.

  

For the rest of the week, things have gone really well.  Attendance numbers are still down but elementary school starts up this week and next so the kids are all back in town and the universities will not be too far behind. We continue to be the melting pot of Europe with our two best attenders being the young lady from Chili and the young man from Hungary. 100%, beating everybody else out. We have a young man from Spain who's really been showing up a lot because he can speak the same language as our beautiful young Chilean. 

One of our other young men, coming from Pakistan and baptized just last January, has received bad news that his application to remain in Austria has been denied. Apparently he came in illegally and has been skirting a bit around the edges but finally realized he had to make legal applications to stay and get ahead in things. He received word this week that his application has been denied and that they'll be deporting him in two weeks. His bishop actually works at the US embassy but feels the time is too far gone now with the official notice having been sent to intervene in any way. Fortunately, he hasn't told his family with whom he has very infrequent connections, anything about his conversion to Christianity so he may be safe for the time being until he can figure out a way to return here or elsewhere legally. The stake president sent out a notice to all of the wards here and read in sacrament meeting about the crisis with refugees starting to flood the European Union and to be aware of the church's approach to providing them help. We haven't kept up too much with everything that's going on but it sounds like another step in the direction of the Last Days.

    [Sister Parker] As Elder Parker said we don't tune into what's happening in the world too much as we are kept busy with the needs of the mission. But with all of the refugees coming our way and the stake presidents letter it has made us stop and think about the last days. Our mission president also spoke of the storms and natural disasters around the world as well as the flooding in of refugees as being a way for the Lord to reach those people (the lost tribes of Israel) where missionaries can't go and bringing them to Austria where missionaries are waiting for them.

    Along with this my sister Nancy pointed out some scriptures in Revelation 14 that just make so much sense. These verses talk about the Destroying Angels being sent out: one being sent out on the cloud and another having power over fire etc. and reaping the earth. We are all in the midst of these things and the Lord has allowed us to be part of His servants in the "Last Days." It is an exciting time but certainly, we can see the great and the terrible. Surely, it is a blessing to be here on the earth at this time and it is a privilege to be in among the missionaries. May the Lord bless us to do our part.              

Glad September is here. It is still hot but it looks like some rain and lower temperatures are on the way. Loved everyone's back to school pictures. Make sure your food storage is in order.

Hugs and Prayers,

Grammy, Grampa, Mom, Dad, Elder and Sister Parker