We're Back!

Perhaps no one even looks at this anymore because it has been so long since we have posted anything. Well, there is a reason for that. We got busy for several weeks in the late spring and then in the summer when I decided to add some photos and text, I couldn't get into it--I forgot the password and wasn't even sure of which email address we used. I hadn't written it down, so it took a long time for me to figure out what I needed to do to get back in. (The instructions we get are in German and it isn't easy to figure out what it all means.) Finally, when I went to try it again, the new computer at the center had a block and wouldn't let me in to Blogspot. So, now I am finally getting around to it at home and I probably won't put more photos on because it uses so much of our highly priced upload/download bytes. You've seen what Graz looks like from the photos already posted, though.

In the spring our group of young adults sponsored a sport weekend here and invited other young adults from German-speaking stakes to come. They stayed overnight with member families here. There was a dance on Friday night. Some of the members of our group have formed their own band and they played for that. They decorated the cultural hall with flags from surrounding countries. The them was "Come all ye Nations". Saturday they rented a high school gym here and had lots of sport activities during the day. Then after a grill meal in the evening we had some workshops and performances (we taught a squaredance workshop, and other workshops were dances from other countries) and then more dancing. On Sunday we held a singles ward, had lunch together, and said farewells. The weekend before we had been with the young adults on a temple trip to the Freiberg Temple. There we met some young adults from Hungary who were there with their families. We invited them to come to our sport weekend and 5 of them did come--their town is only about a two hour drive from here. What a great opportunity that was to help organize and hold this weekend, and meet many young adults from other areas. We recently learned that there are two young men who are dating two young women that they met during this weekend.

We bought a senior summer pass for the Austrian trains that was good for a month. We took several trips to see more of Steiermark and also Kaernten. Then we went for a weekend to Innsbruck and the train route there was mostly through country that we hadn't seen before. Actually, we have come to the conclusion that most of Austria looks much the same. The mountains are higher in some places, but the lower rolling hills where people live are lovely, green and very picturesque. It was so great to see our friends in Innsbruck again. We spent two nights there and stayed at a small hotel in Axams that we had passed everyday when we lived there. Naturally, we took some time to hike the Panoramaweg above Axams--one more time.

We also went to Munich in August for a senior missionary conference. We all went to see a museum with carriages that belonged to the Bavarian royalty of former days. That was more interesting than I thought it would be. Some of those carriages were so extremely elaborate that it seemed just too much.

Our group of young adults has increased in number and we really enjoy working with them. They are terrific group with strong faith and we love them so much. It is such a great opportunity to serve here and gain strength and commitment from their example. Our assignment when we came was to work with them to establish a center for young adults here. That has been accomplished and we now have new furnishings and games in our room in the basement of the church. The young people are enjoying the welcoming atmosphere, the classes, and activities that are held there.

That's a brief account of our doings for the past many months. We are doing great and really enjoying serving here. Autumn is about over. A couple of days ago there was a bit of a breeze and the leaves were falling from the trees like snowflakes. That was a new experience for us.

Can March be here already?

I'm not very good at keeping this blog up-to-date! It has been a month since I posted anything. We had a great month in February, even some warmish weather, but it didn't last long. The woodpeckers, though, are finding bugs to eat in the trees in the woods near our apartment. We hear them a lot and the sound of their drilling echoes through the area. We traveled by train to Vienna twice and to Munich once for zone conference and other conferences in February. The conference in Munich was for all the senior missionaries in the mission (32 of them--that is a lot of seniors in one mission). It was wonderful to meet the others and have that training together. Our group of young adults dwindled in size a little during February because the Fall semester finished at the end of January and then they have the month of Feb. off and start the next semester in March. Some of them went home, or traveled, and some live/work here so we still held FHE and Institute. We are doing well, for the most part. Elder Jeppson fainted on the train on the way to Vienna (while I was visiting the WC) and it really scared the 2 elders. We worked together to get him out flat, the elders gave him a blessing and he was fine by the time we needed to get off the train 40 minutes later. We are being watched over and we are very grateful for that and for the opportunity to serve here.

Can February be here already?

We can't believe the time is slipping by so fast! We had a great month in January and not much snow at all. We even had some spring-like weather in the middle of the month. Lately it has not snowed much, but the sun doesn't shine either. It is just kind of grey, just winter. We look forward to spring. There are a few birds that sing in the trees around our apartment building. The Center for Young Adults here in Graz will soon be an official center as we have completed the 4-month preparation period. We have a good group of young adults here and they are so great to work with. We are really enjoying ourselves! We especially enjoyed ourselves during the tour through a chocolate factory a few weeks ago. We could taste and taste and taste all we wanted. It was great!

Merry Christmas

We are thinking of all our friends and loved ones at home this time of year, but we are happy to be serving here. It is a blessing to celebrate the birth of our Savior with these wonderful people. This Christmas card winter scene is the view from our bedroom window. All it needs is a horse covered with jingle bells pulling a sleigh with Elder Jeppson and I riding in it waving to everyone.

We hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas. We are so grateful for this time of year to remember the birth and life and example of Jesus Christ. His great atoning sacrifice is the greatest gift of all and is available to all who will come unto Him. May you all be blessed with His spirit in your home and lives this week and all during the coming year.











This photo with the Weihnachtsmann was taken at the ward Christmas celebration.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We have both had coughs and congestion. Gene got over his rather quickly, mine has been hanging on for a few weeks. Things are getting better, though. We did have a couple of really nice days last week that felt like Indian Summer. But now it is rainy and foggy, and one of these days it will probably snow here. We keep busy with our missionary assignments and are totally happy to be serving here. The young people that we associate with are super and we really enjoy mingling with them. We have so much to be thankful for at this season of Thanksgiving. The Lord truly blesses us abundantly in so many ways. We are especially grateful for our family and the way they support us. We will surely miss being with family this Thanksgiving. We will be with our fellow missionaries in this zone in Vienna, though on Thanksgiving Day and will enjoy meal there together. We wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Autumn is over!

We have surely enjoyed the autumn season here. There are so many varieties of trees which have turned colors at different times and it has been beautiful. The oak trees near where we walk to get from our apartment to the streetcar dropped thousands of acorns and now all the brown oak leaves are on the ground. Last week there were leaves coming down like snow. It was beautiful, but kind of sad at the same time. There are a few larch trees in the woods next to our apartment building. They look like evergreen trees in the summer with green needle-like leaves, but they turn yellow and then kind of an orange-yellow in the fall before they drop off. We walked through the woods and found a short cut that really turned out to be a longer way to the grocery store, but it was beautiful. The ground was totally covered with yellow and brown leaves.

We have been watching this maple treet outside our balcony gradually turning from green to orange. Now, almost all the leaves have fallen off of it. :(

Below is a photo of the larch trees.

Klagenfurt and Graz

On our P-day last week we went with some of the YSAs on a walking tour of the Graz old city. Clara obtained tourist pamphlets for all of us (our in English--very helpful) and led us through the streets pointing out sites and landmarks. We ended up with a trip up to the top of the Schlossberg (a small mountain in the middle of the city from which the Grazers defended against the French in early 1809 (or thereabouts, I don't have that pamphlet we me right now). The kids took the stairs but we cheated and rode up on the tram. It was a beautiful sunny day, but a little hazy as we looked out over the city. We had a great time together and I'll post a few photos from that excursion.

The clock tower on the Schlossberg from inside the top floor of a big newly-remodeled store in Graz.

Taken from on top of the Schlossberg, looking out over the city to the NW.

We gave talks in church on Sunday and I'm glad to have that over with. I talked a little about an article in the September Ensign entitled Bringing Christ into Our Home. I hope you all read that. If not yet, please do so. I am impressed with how the mother used the document, The Living Christ, Testimony of the Apostles, to teach her children more about Christ. I decided if a 4-year-old can memorize that document in 4 months, surely I can as well. So I have started to memorize it in English. After that I will memorize it in German. I suggest you consider using it in your family as she did, starting in December--Christmastime. What a wonderful gift to give your family. She said how the atmosphere in her home changed, more peace and love and she herself had more patience and love for her family and others.

Elder Jeppson has a cough, but he does not feel sick at all. As we go on other buses, etc., in search of members that are not known, we realize that we have it pretty good when we can get on the streetcar and not have make any transfers to get from our place to the church. We have seen some other parts of the city and I am starting to realize just how big this city is. We had rain on the weekend, but have had several sunny, but cool days in a row. So, here are some photos:



This is the plant (yes it is a living plant) that Pres. and Sis. Husz brought me the day that I prepared lunch for the visitors who came from Stuttgart, Vienna, and Klagenfurt for a training session here for the Senior couples serving in Centers here in our mission.

The view from our apartment balcony, looking to the west. It has been fun to watch the trees gradually turning from green to yellow and orange. These trees lost a lot of leaves during the rain and are not now so lovely as they were the day this photo was taken. Too bad fall can't last as long as summer.

This was taken from the bus on the ride to Klagenfurt last week. This village had a layer of snow from the storm the day before.

Elder Byers, E. Jeppson, E. Phelan, E. Sever in Klagenfurt after the street display contacting session.

The Klagenfurt Dragon