Our first week in Graz

We have been here 8 days now and are pretty well settled in and used to our surroundings. We did get connected to the internet and our telephone is working. Now we just need to get a new washing machine (the one here is not working properly and it leaks a little) and that should happen this coming week. We went to Vienna on Sunday for stake conference. The ward here chartered a bus and we rode on that. We are getting used to streetcar and bus riding instead of having our own car, but it is an adjustment. When we go shopping, we are limited to what we can carry onto the streetcar and then what we can carry on the walk to our apartment. Gene carries most of the load. He was hurrying to get to the streetcar that was almost to leave and didn't see a curb and tripped and fell, out flat on his stomach (but with style). He landed on the clothes drying rack we had purchased and didn't get hurt, or even scuff his shoes or pants. He said all that was hurt was his pride. He was a little stiff and sore the next morning, though. We did make it on the streetcar, but we now have a rule that there will be no running to catch a car; we will wait for the next one if it leaves before we get there. It was, again, another witness to us that we are being watched over and cared for. We are enjoying beautiful fall weather here, with a day of rain on the weekend. We go out in our shirtsleeves when other people wear jackets. It is somewhat humid, so even when it is cool outside, the walk uphill to our house keeps us plenty warm. I'm happy that we will have a while to get used to this climate before next summer. Hopefully the heat and humidity then won't do us in. We shall see. That's all for now, folks.

We are here in Graz, Austria

We, and another senior couple going to our mission, arrived in Munich last Friday, late afternoon. We flew from SLC to Paris, and then on to Munich. In Paris we had a good long walk to the terminal to catch our next flight. In that process, they funneled us to an area where they stamped our passports and then sent us out of the secure area. So, we had to go through the security thing again with our stuff (much more than most passengers) and I (Jill) even got the "pat down" treatment! Since we were now officially in the European Union countries, there was nothing to do at the Munich airport except find our bags and go out the door. The mission president and his wife picked us up and took us to the mission office where they instructed us for awhile and then we went to the mission home, had an evening meal (yes, we were hungry) and then we went to bed. On Saturday Pres. and Sis. Condie went to another city for stake conference meetings and we were on our own for the weekend. We took the street car to the city center and walked around the big area where Oktoberfest is held. There were lots and lots of carnival-type rides and booths and food booths and souvenir booths. The beer companies had put up large temporary buildings where beer drinking and partying took place. We didn't look in any of those, though. Elder Jeppson bought a hat (that looks a lot like the Austrian hat that we left at home) so that he wouldn't have a sunburned head. We left that area in the early p.m. before things got too rowdy. Many people wore the German dress (Lederhosen and Dirndel) and it was very colorful. We went from there by subway to "downtown" where the big city hall is and shopped and walked (my feet were getting very tired) and stood and waited until 5:00 p.m. when the Glockenspiel on the tall tower of the city hall did it's thing. (Kind of like a huge cuckoo clock, instead of birds, it plays a tune and figures go around and dance and twirl and horses with riders come out and joust, etc.). It lasted about 10 minutes. Then we went back to the mission home and ate leftovers and went to bed early because we still had jet lag and our feet were sore. We walked to church on Sunday, came home and ate leftovers again, and then had a long nap before Pres. came home. On Monday we boarded our train to Graz at 11:00 a.m. and arrived at 5:00. We were so happy that we didn't have to change trains at all because of the many suitcases we would have to lug off and on. The day was clear and the ride through the mountains was beautiful. We were met by about 15 members in Graz. They took us to our apartment which is a missionary apartment that has been inhabited by elders for 7 years. Two sisters from this ward had been cleaning it since the elders left last Wednesday, and we so appreciate all that they did there. It is smaller and less attractive than the apartment we had in Innsbruck, but we are getting used to it. It is on the third floor and no elevator. We walk from there approximately 1/2 mile (downhill going, uphill coming home) to the street car stop and then ride about 1/2 hour through the city to the ward building on the other side of the city. We are getting our exercise. We haven't yet explored the wooded area near our apartment. We are still getting settled and are without a phone and internet in our apartment. We don't know yet when that will happen. So, we are at the church now and are able to post this. It will probably be sometime next week before we can post again. We are well and doing GREAT! It will get better, too. There are 2 elders here in this city and two sister missionaries in a nearby city. The members here are so excited to have a senior couple here and the young single adults are great. We just learned that one of our young single adults from Innsbruck is coming here to go to school and we are excited to see him again. That's all for now. Oh, yes, we have a cell phone (but it is not working at the moment). Auf Wiedersehen!

We are at the SLC Airport. Here I am with my laptop on my lap (wow) and waiting for our turn to board the quite large Delta plane. A little Delta Connection plane (like the ones that fly from Idaho Falls) came by and it looked like a matchbox plane next to ours. Anyway, we will soon be boarding. Aloha!

We are on our way!

We have had some great training and got to know some wonderful senior couples that were in the training with us. We have had too much to eat, too! We fly out late this afternoon, from SLC to Paris, and then change planes to go on to Munich. We will miss you all, but look forward to the new experiences and adventures that await us. Take care, and we'll post again when we are able to--not sure just when that will be. We don't know how long we will be in Munich before we go on to Austria. Love to all,
Elder and Sister Jeppson

We are at the MTC

We are now getting settled in our small room at the Provo MTC. Our son, Dan, brought us down this afternoon. We spent the weekend with him and his family and our daughter, Angela, and her family. We will be here a few days for training and then we fly to Munich to meet with our mission president and perhaps more training. We are excited to be here and enjoy the spirit here. We met Gwen Woodbury's brother and his wife tonight, they are going to Russia and will be in the same training classes with us tomorrow. We also saw and greeted our neighbor, Nick Mecham, as well as Elder Atwood, the grandson of Gene's cousin, Julia. He doesn't know us, but he saw our last name and stopped us. So many nice young people (and seniors) around here, it is invigorating!

At Home

We had a good laugh while trying out the camera on our new computer at our kitchen table.

September 1st, Still at Home

We have ten more days until we leave home. Our huge Christmas cactus plant is saying farewell to us and is in full bloom. Perhaps it knows that these are its last days and it will soon go to plant heaven. I'll put a photo of it on here if I can figure out how to do that. I am new at this blog stuff, so this will be an adventure for us. When we go abroad, we will post photos and reports on here from time to time.