LETTER FROM HOME

A friend back home wrote:

"Just got done reading your blog and seeing your pictures!! Amazing!! Can't wait for the time [we] might go!  I am thankful you are doing the blog as I plan to read it on Sundays.  It is such an uplifting Sabbath day activity!  I love to see how the church is doing in other areas of the world.  Seems wherever you are, the church is indeed true.  I was surprised at how large the branch was.  So that will be a lot of new friends in the gospel. Fun how you already have connections with others you are serving with.  Well, enjoyed your update and look forward to more!! Have a great week."

Enjoy reading missionary blogs on Sunday.

We wrote back:
Thanks for the kind words.  

We had stake conference over the weekend. We are in the Salzburg Stake, but the conference was held in Wels because it has a large hall to meet in. We had the Frankfurt temple president and his wife speak (amazingly inspirational),  the area medical doctor who is responsible for 2000 missionaries in 24 countries, and our mission president and his wife. 

We heard from the Frankfurt temple president and his wife at our Stake Conference.

The stake president and most of the stake leaders come from the ward in Linz.  Linz has an average of 200 active members.  The people we have met have been warm and welcoming. 

We will be speaking in sacrament meeting next Sunday. I am getting used to the Austrian dialect.  If they speak really fast I don't understand a word.  They seem to swallow a lot of their words.  John does great.  He is his usual quiet self, but gets by just fine.


We are still trying to get the lay of the land.  Driving here has it's own challenges.  Our car makes a ding/ ding sound every time you need to shift, but it's an automatic.  We just scratch our heads and hope it won't blow up.


 Who would think that my biggest challenge would be cooking?  We  provide a meal each Monday for Young Single Adults Family Home Evening. 

None of the usual ingredients are the same.  We go to the grocery store and just stare at stuff wondering what it really is.   Spaghetti sauce is not like what we expect at home.  Garlic powder is granules that look like tiny seeds that have no flavor or smell.

We go to the grocery store and just stare at stuff, wondering what it really is.

The  bread and chocolate are great.  You always find something wonderful at the bakeries and the candy aisle.  But that doesn't help my dilemma with cooking.  I don't want to scare away the kids that do show up.  That's the other challenge...we never know how many will show up and we have an  undefined budget and a kitchen with an ancient stove that is almost impossible to  figure out.   There is definitely a learning curve for us.

We love the missionaries in our district.  We have 4 sisters and 5 elders. They take good care of us and call us often to see how we are doing.  They invited us to share P-day with them today.  We walked to a park close by hoping to meet them, but discovered they meant another park...so we walked further.  We watched like proud parents as they played basketball and frisbee.  They have so much energy!

P-day frisbee and basketball in the park--fun to watch.

We truly feel blessed to be here.   We have so much to learn.  My soul is expanding with the love I feel for those I meet.


All my love,   Angie (Sister D.)