24 Hours of Verschlingen

Christmas Eve and Day were a marathon of wonderfully nice people and food.

Melissa, Randall and Luc Bradford invited us, Janice and the young sisters  for Christmas Eve dinner, laughter and relaxing.

They are an amazing couple who raised their four children all over the world.  They have such credentials that Melissa wrote a book and has a blog "Global Mom"

While we stretched out and watched "Polar Express", Melissa and Randall did all the dishes! It felt like being with family since Janice would make us laugh with her one-liners "Eddie has ADD"  "Billy's house looks like mine without the porch" and more. Luc laughed at us and Sisters Parker and Bokker as well.

 And they sent us out the door with gifts of Belgian chocolate and The Body Shop boxes of pampering oils. Are they the nicest?!

Christmas morning the senior missionaries, mission president Stoddards and others had a brunch together.  Diane Hacking arrived on their mission just in time to decorate our tables in high style. Yvonne Bausman always gives us direction.

I was in charge of the program so we just did the Ryser family Christmas program - taking turns reading Luke 2, 3Nephi 1 and singing carols. (Same green sweater - missionary wardrobe only includes one holiday color sweater)

Jim Hacking reading his part: 

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace

After filling up at brunch, we gathered Janice and the sisters and went to Luca, Isabella and Silvia Pelucchi's home for an incredible Italian dinner!  Remember Silvia is the one who made us the best lasagna I've ever eaten last summer.

They prepare the food for days and spread it out all over the house.  This is the tray of homemade ravioli in their bedroom:

Can you tell we're with Italians?

Pandoro di Verona for dessert

Our kind neighbors, the Fafflocks, invited us for dessert and "crackers". It seems that whenever they see something written in English, they buy it for us - so nice!

The "feast" of the day was doing Google Hangout with all the kids - from Utah to Boise to Vancouver, WA.  The best gift besides the Savior is family!

Frohe Weihnachten

German traditions include the Nativity,

advent calendars (chocolate is certainly our preference but they also sell advent calendars with cosmetics, toys and beer that you can enjoy for 24 days)

visits from friends (Ashley Wilkinson and our former student ward member, Megan Hodun),

Frankfurt's Christmas Market, 

including Potato Pancakes, 

 (clever decorations at My Zeil. See the deer jumping into the "inward trumpet formed deformation" - architectural term for a funnel to the sky) 

Ward Christmas Party included sweet Primary Nativity scene. 

 Brother Tom gave us tickets to "Dickens' By Candlelight" at the International Theater.  Wonderful performance including mostly American actors. (we were early for a change)

Rachel and her girls sent us this personalized decoration, including "Love, Bella", "We miss you" etc written on the stars. I put it up for a good 3 months.

One day we were Facetiming with Condies and our neighbors, the Larsens, visited and performed Christmas carols on their instruments.  Wow how they've grown!

Thankfulness

Niece Jenny Nicholas joined us for a few days in November.  We loved visiting Colmar, France's Christmas Market. (Notice who bought things)

There are St Nicholas shops everywhere in Europe - great name! 

(Now look whose arms are the most full)

Lovely temple visit

Experience of a lifetime - the Matterhorn!

The earth's beauty truly glorifies His name 

Thanksgiving traditions of turkey (enchiladas, that is)...

 and a movie. 

1950's dramatized version of climbing the Matterhorn

We parted ways in Geneva.  Jenny is a delightful traveling companion and very patient, as I vowed to make a video of all our photos and haven't begun.

Refugee Report

Last fall I was asked to help with tracking the distribution of of blankets, underwear and hygiene kit items for refugees in the Europe area. There is a lot to be said for organized religion! Here are some UK saints who assembled 2,000 hygiene kits for refugees in Calais.

Missionaries and members assembled kits and entertained children at the Messe in Berlin.

Here's my cryptic fashion of keeping track of orders.

The December 9th Rome East Stake order for 6,000 kits came to fruition as this video portrays. You get the idea even if it's in Italian.

play Italian video

Here is the Kleiderbörse in Oberursel, run by the Catholic Church, where some of us senior sisters helped organize and distribute used clothing to people in centers around Frankfurt. Buses would bring small groups each morning and they would have 10 minutes to choose what they needed. Then another group arrived.

Sisters Johnson and Hacking above.  Sister Bausman and I found a treasure! I almost brought it home to Rand, who would like to wear it whenever he's frustrated with Word.

Unfortunately things have changed here in Hessen so we're praying for another avenue to help.

A sister in our ward brings yarn and needles to give to the Bod Hamburg refugees. 

Better than sitting around while they wait for their registration to be processed.

Another sister teaches German language to this class at a center near her home.

You can listen to

President Uchtdorf's interview 

about being a refugee. I love his attitude - don't be overwhelmed; just help.


Elder Ballard's visit to Europe in November.

Reaching Out To The Poor and Needy