Farewells and New Beginnings
As we predicted, our past week has been full of reorganization and change. Even though we had already said goodbye to the Mosses and Bonners as well as the Ashbys on Saturday evening, another dinner was organized on Monday night for the Bonners and Mosses and attended by us and the Linfords.
Then Tuesday night was a very special farewell dinner for President and Sister Erlacher and his counselor, President Wagner with his wife. This event was held at the church and not only the temple missionaries but also all of the local temple workers and staff were invited. A special power point presentation was prepared by Sister Lindsay, seated behind her husband at the left in the second picture which included pictures of the temple workers and their families along with special music and given to the Erlachers as a departing gift. 4 of the 7 couples sat together that night including the Ashbys and Mosses on the right. Included as our third picture are the entire presidency and the six missionary couples as we existed at the beginning of the week, dressed in our whites and ready to serve.
Wednesday, the 31st, was the last day of the old presidency and both Tuesday and Wednesday were very busy at the temple. We felt it was probably a dual response to President Nelson’s encouragement at General Conference to arrange one’s time to spend more of it at the temple, as well as many there to wish the outgoing presidency well and express their love to them. It was also Halloween which we discovered is also celebrated by the Germans. We decided just to take a little walk through our adjoining neighborhood and sure enough, saw many families out with their children doing some trick or treating. We enjoyed the many photos posted by the family showing our grandchildren doing the same thing. We also had the opportunity earlier that day to welcome back our new temple president and matron, the Wadosches, along with the just arrived new first counselor and his wife, President and Sister Bartsch. They live reasonably close, in Berlin, but will be living just down the hall from us. The other counsellor and his wife, President and Sister Dzierzon, are already members of the Freiberg Branch and he has been serving as a sealer for quite some time. They will remain in their own home and not move into the apartments with the rest of us. So it was a big day of anticipation, waiting for the first of the month the next day.
November first saw not only the new presidency take charge, but we also got our new assignments for the next month. We are back in the baptistry again and was it ever busy! Most of the holidays here in Europe originate with religious events and although we tend to think about Halloween, the protestant Germans celebrate Reformation Day and it was a real holiday with all of the stores closed. With no one needing to work, it seems like everyone came to the temple. We were still coordinating the endowment sessions on Wednesday, but we were setting up extra chairs in the rooms and striving to find 12 different brethren to cover all of our veils. That wasn’t always easy as we had to pull them away from their other assignments which were also busy.
One event Wednesday was kind of interesting. It was the last day for the Lindsays in the baptistry and quite some time ago they had purchased tickets to attend a performance of the Messiah in Leipzig. They were doing the whole thing and it started at 5 PM. Sister Lindsay, a previous Tabernacle Choir member, loved the Messiah and was really looking forward to it. It takes about 45 minutes to drive to Leipzig which meant they needed to get away by 3:30 or 4:00 at the latest. Normally the baptistry is finished by around 2:30 or 3 but on Wednesday they had a late session scheduled which started around 2 PM. There was no way they were going to make their scheduled performance but we were done in plenty of time so told them we would take over so they could get out of there. We did, and they got away in plenty of time to make it. They were very gracious and helped us out the next day by arriving for a very early group at 6:30 AM which allowed us to sleep in until our normal prayer meeting at 7 AM and we then took over our normal assignment at 7:30. So it was a very gracious opportunity to help each other out and we all felt rewarded and blessed.
So, again, Thursday the 1st turned out to not only be the first day of the new presidency but it was also a Catholic holiday, celebrated in Austria as All Saints Day and it seemed like we had lots of people celebrating that holiday by also coming to the temple to serve. We had groups out of Stuttgart (which is Germany) but also many familiar faces who were here from Vienna. We loved seeing them all and even though it was busy, it was a wonderful week. The new temple counsellors are being trained in their responsibilities and it will probably take them a while to get a bit of competence and familiarity with all that must take place. We always get pretty comfortable if we are presented with complicated situations by just turning it over to a member of the presidency, but everyone is now in a learning and training mode, so it keeps us all on our toes.
The Mosses took off on Wednesday morning with President Erlacher driving them to the airport as one of the last of his official functions. Saturday, the Bonners left and so we are down four couples which put a little stress on completing all of our assignments. The middle of next week, the Ashbys depart and we’ll be down for about a week until our new couple, the Stapleys, arrive. And then it will be another two weeks before our last couple, the Fiedlers, who live in Berlin, arrive. Hopefully, if all of the holidays are now finished, it won’t be quite as busy until we’re back up to full strength. But we’re absolutely certain that the Lord will provide, and we’ll make it through no matter what! We feel like we had two fast days this week, today being our normal Fast Day but Thursday we were scheduled so tightly between the baptistry sessions that there really wasn’t any time for lunch. We’d finish one group and the next was waiting and ready to go. On the other hand, I only lost 5 pounds this week which really wasn’t that bad!
One final thing to mention. Our day off on Monday, we decided to follow up on a recommendation from the Linfords and check out a cemetery associated with a church near the old city wall that was unique for some really old graves.
We have truly enjoyed our time here in Freiberg and it has been especially significant to us as we say goodbye to old friends and welcome new ones. There is such a great feeling of love and kindness amongst the workers and patrons here that it just can’t compare with our other assignments.
Mom: There just isn’t much to add to this week’s letter. Grampa has really covered the ins and outs of running the temple, of saying goodbyes with we’ll really miss you and looking forward to making new friendships. Needless to say, we were extremely busy and sometimes a bit stressed, but the patrons rarely ever saw it. They come for the peace, comfort and uplifting spirit which they receive. We, however, are like the swan’s gliding gracefully through the water, all the while paddling their feet like crazy. It is so wonderful to be part of the great work of the Lord’s church where ever you serve. It is so fun to see just about every sister sitting in the lobby or foyer reading the Book of Mormon, some even with pencils, if they have their own books. I sense this excitement, and enthusiasm for the new programs and for seeking to be closer to the Lord and the influence of the Spirit. What a great time to be a member of the church. We are like one huge family, here to help each other back to heaven, to our Heavenly Father.
I hope you feel Heavenly Father’s blessings pouring down on you.
Love, prayers and hugs,
Grammy, Grampa,
Mom, Dad,
Elder and Sister Parker
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