If you remember last winter these trees were trimmed so they looked like sticks. Now they look quite pretty lining the streets. M: Robert, Diana, Suwang, Neide and guest of honor, Fabian. Apple torte in the last photo.

NOVEMBER 7, 2009 SATURDAY

Today was our last day to get invitations out for our stake conference, the adult session this afternoon at 5:00 and the main session tomorrow at 10:00. Kofie Bobie-Ansah and Franz Bannwart live within walking distance of our apartment, but in opposite directions. I chose to go to Bobie-Ansah first and on the way dropped all of our collected bottles and cans into the recycle containers that I passed on the way there. It was good to get rid of them; our balcony had started to look like a recycle place. On the way back I stopped at the other COOP to see if I could find the last ingredient for the apple torte. This store didn’t have it either, but I found some candied fruit and bought it for a fruit cake I’ve been wanting to make. I also bought some Bauerbrot (farmer’s bread) because we needed some for dinner tonight. After I left that store I walked around through Schwamendingen to get to Franz Bannwart’s apartment. Then I walked back to our apartment.

We spent the day making and baking two apple torte and then putting together two scalloped ham
and potato casseroles for tonight. We also made a pineapple/jello/cottage cheese/banana fruit salad as well as a green salad. We left the casseroles in the oven ready to bake as soon as we got home from the conference. During the day, we made a few phone calls to try and make some personal invitations over the phone, but no one answered. We left voice mail invitations for those who had recorders. Early afternoon we got a surprise call from Neide. She wanted to use our computer to print some photos and her’s wasn’t working too well. She came over and did that and while she was here, we invited her to come to our little dinner for Fabian tonight. She was happy to be invited because she had bought a book for Fabian and needed an opportunity to give it to him. We tried to call the AP’s, but they didn’t answer. We later found out they were in Germany and, when any missionary goes across the border into Germany, they’ve been instructed not to answer because the cross border calls are very expensive.

Conference started at 5:00 and the theme of the conference was “Covenants.” The first speaker, a recently returned sister missionary, spoke on the covenant of baptism. HC Eric Hansen followed up with the Oath and Covenant of the Melchizedek Priesthood. A member of the temple presidency spoke on temple covenants. Elder Robert Koch, the stake patriarch, spoke about the pre-earth life and that we all shouted for joy when the Plan of Salvation was presented to us and the importance of families on this earth. He talked about the twelve tribes of Isreal and our responsibility in gathering the scattered Israelites in the last days. President Rueckauer spoke on the blessings of keeping our covenants the faithful will receive “all the Father hath.” God cannot and will not break a promise or covenant; if we don’t receive “all that the Father hath,” it is we who will have broken our covenants, not Him. Pres. Bolt summed it all up at the end and then closed the meeting.

We looked around to see who was in the meeting to see if any of our wayward less-actives came, but none of them did. It’s kind of the same here as at home; the Saturday evening session is not the best attended meeting. Mostly the true and faithful members are the ones who come. Suwang was there and we talked with her after the meeting. Diana invited her to come to dinner and she was glad to accept. Neide and Fabian were also there. I hurried home as fast as my little feet would go so I could turn of the oven to bake the casseroles. Then I hurried back toward the Church to walk Diana home, but she was already two thirds on the way walking slowly with Suwang. It was about a half hour before they were all here, but we had to wait another half hour for the casseroles to finish baking. Neide presented her book to Fabian and then we started on the salad. By the time we were done with that, we took the casserole out and started in on it. The potatoes could have stood another fifteen minutes in the oven; they were just a tad undercooked, but nobody complained. Everybody had second helpings so they must of been good (which they were). Everything else was tip top (they say that quite a bit, when they are pleased).

We were informed of our transfer at our last interview and we’re not supposed to tell anyone here in our mission because the missionaries in the area we’re going to will be moved somewhere else. They are not supposed to know. Maybe we shouldn’t have put it on our blog, but no one here reads it, we hope. If they do, we hope they will keep the secret.