Gateway in Konstanz, Germany; Diana and I standing by a modern sculpture at the Schultess Klinik.

SEPTEMBER 16, 2009 WEDNESDAY

We had two appointments for today, one at noon with Norma Bachmann and one at 2:30 with Fabian Streit who was in the hospital after a knee operation. We called Suki to see if she wanted to come to either or both of these appointments, but she said she needed a couple days notice and would call us back if she could arrange it. She called us back and said she couldn’t make it so we’ll give her a little more notice next time.

We got to Norma’s right on time and had a good meeting with her. She mostly needs support because she is a single mother with an eight year old who is struggling financially. She would like to be married, but hasn’t found anyone yet. We stayed there as long as we could and then we had to run to catch the bus in order to get to our next appointment on time. We made arrangements earlier with Charlotte to meet her at our place at 2:00 because she wanted to go with us to visit Fabian.

While we were on our way to Norma’s we received a text message from Fabian who asked us if we could go to his apartment and pick up some house shoes for him before we came to visit him. After we left Norma’s and were on our way back to Schwamendingen, Elder Harris called to see if they could come and use our computer again. We told them we’d be home in a few minutes and to meet us there. Charlotte arrived soon after we got home, but the Elders called and said they had an appointment and would have to come over later. We plotted our course to Fabian’s apartment in Altstetten which required three tram/bus connections to get there and an hours worth of travel time. His apartment manager got his shoes for us and then we tried to find our way back to the bus stop. Somehow we couldn’t find it so we walked to the next main road and caught a tram there. No matter where you are in the city, a bus or tram stop is only few blocks away, but maybe not the one you wanted to ride. But, eventually, you can get anywhere if you have enough time and patience.

We found the clinic Fabian was in, Schultess Klinik, and had a nice visit with him. His knee wasn’t as bad as the doctor thought it was and so he’s doing fine. He’ll still need about three months of physical therapy before he will be back to normal. On the way home from the klinik we stopped at a little bratwurst shop that Charlotte said was the best one in town and bought their signature menu item, a “St. Galler Bratwurst.” It really was pretty good, but we wished it was bigger because we hadn’t had time to stop for lunch today. From there we came on home and continued working on our assignment for tomorrow. Elders Harris & Nilsson came over about 7:00 and worked on their assignment too. Diana, always the good Mission Mom, quickly cooked them a jazzed up minestrone soup and hot chocolate. Banana bread and vanilla ice cream was also available for them to munch on.

The tender mercy for today is the miracle the Lord blessed Fabian with. He received a Priesthood blessing prior to his knee operation and we as well as other people have been praying for him. The doctor said he was surprised when he discovered bone had already started to grow and the knee was healing well from an earlier operation, so this surgery was a lot less extensive than he thought it would be. Recovery time was also going to be a lot shorter. Prayers and blessings do allow the Lord to work miracles in our lives.