Spring Musings after a Routine Winter

     Noses have been pretty much to the grindstone after the holidays, continuing to feed the Young Adults at the Wednesday night Institute classes, making the rounds around the ward with birthday chocolate and knitted washcloths. 

    Things proceeded pretty much along those lines until March, which was rather eventful. On the first weekend, there was a full mission conference, presided over by Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Twelve. And it was in VIENNA, on the other end of the mission from us, about a nine-hour drive, if we were to take that one on in one go. We didn't.

    In the run-up to the conference, Leesa decided that if we were going to Vienna, we ought to have the opportunity to see a live classical music concert. It didn't take long for me to find one at viennaconcerts.com, an evening of Mozart and Johann Strauss II (the Waltz King), featuring an eight-piece orchestra with two singers, a soprano and a baritone. It also carried the option of a dinner/concert package, of which we and several other senior couples in the mission took advantage.

    To top everything off, the concert was held in the Schönbrunn Palace, one-time seat of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and largest palace in the world (yes, even bigger than Versailles).

    But first, there were other details to which we needed to attend. We decided to break up the drive into two days each way, spending the first and fourth nights in Munich, the second and third being in Vienna. Since we were going to be in Munich, we made the offer to President and Sister Bates to make dinner for them on Thursday, the 29th of February, inviting as many senior couples to dinner as would care to come. The Bates, remembering dinner at our table not long before, were eager to accept, and so there were twelve of us over chicken tacos, Mexican rice, chips, and fresh salsa. Great conversation and great company!

    Next day we were off to Wien (Vienna, pronounced veen), and we were again pleased to have dinner with several senior couples near our hotel. The next morning at 8:30 sharp, the entire mission convened at the Vienna stake center, where we were all uplifted by Elder Christofferson. I realize that I am short on photographs, and that's partly my fault for being forgetful, but also during the conference there is no photography allowed.

    That evening was the Concert At the Palace. The same wayward reprobates making up the Alpine German-speaking mission's senior couples corps made their way to the Tafelspitz restaurant, and on a few steps to the Palace for the concert.

    Sorry for the out-of-focus shot, but the folks to Leesa's right (your left) are Debby and John Dickson, and Greg and Debby Prawitt. We have a lot of Debbys amongst the lot of us roguish seniors, and all of them are terrific people and a whole lot of fun.

    Coming home the next night, we had dinner with (yet another) Debby and Heinz Dickens, who would soon be going home to Utah. We've had such a blast with them the past year, and we miss them a lot. Speaking of which, we ourselves only have seven months left before returning home, which we know will go by in a moment.

    I would like to take a moment here and write about our friendship with Elder Mitchell Maddix. When we first came to Freiburg in March of last year, he was one of the Elders assigned to Bad Säckingen, a town close to the Swiss border, and part of the Freiburg district. They, along with us, two Elders and Sisters here in Freiburg, and the Fuhrimans, a senior couple in Lahr, a few minutes north of us, make up the district.

    Elder Maddix and I formed a close bond very quickly, being able to relate to certain common experiences in each of our lives. He came from the U.S.A. eventually to Bad Säckingen, and there he stayed for a full eight months. He didn't much care for the town at first, but it eventually grew on him, and when it came time for him to leave, he really didn't want to go. But it was time for a new challenge. We'd had him to our home for many meals and saw him weekly at District meeting, and we also hated to see him go, as we do all of the missionaries we've come to know.

(with Mitch Maddix)

    This last month, his family experienced a difficult loss at home, while he was living and working in the city of Heilbronn, about two hours north of us. We texted him immediately as soon as we heard, and he said that he would be going home a few days later, on a Thursday. Leesa and I went up to visit him on Tuesday, and it was a lovely and emotional experience for us all.

    The astounding thing was that not only would he go home, but for only four days, after which he would return and finish out the final four months of his mission in Vienna. Leesa and I are continually in awe of the powerful resolve of this fine young man. We count it a privilege to know him and befriend him.

    Well, Vienna was fun and exciting, and our time with Elder Maddix was deeply moving, but now we come to a different type of episode. Nobody likes to read peoples' writing telling everybody how sick they are, but this is also part of our mission experience, and I will try to keep things brief. 

    In between the Vienna experience and visiting with Elder Maddix, I began feeling flu-like symptoms, marked by fatigue, chills, and sweats, but was without fever or other symptoms. After a few days, I went to the emergency room, where I was diagnosed with a liver infection, and was in fact in sepsis, and my kidneys had virtually shut down. I was admitted to the hospital, and given a course of antibiotics. The infection turned out to be E Coli, and in the aftermath, I've had five different healthcare professionals tell me that I very nearly died. I didn't feel that close to death, but then again, I also didn't have any comparable experience, so what would I know?

    I was released after five days, and was home for about two weeks (during which we visited Elder Maddix), when I felt a return of symptoms, plus a few new ones. I returned to the ER, where the doctor diagnosed me with a new kidney infection. I spent the next several days at home, with a new course of different antibiotics, and now my blood and fluid samples show normality, and I feel much better.

    The biggest reason I'm mentioning all this is that I was amazed at how many good people prayed for me. I missed a zone conference, during which President Bates instructed the entire mission to pray for me. Of course, all of my family at home were doing the same. The entire ward here in Freiburg organized fasting and prayer for me. Bethan Hoggan (our British adopted granddaughter) and her entire family knelt together for the first time as a family, and prayed for me as well.

    Several good people put my name on the prayer rolls in the Swiss Temple. I get the feeling as I write this is that the main reason I am still here is due to the power of prayer. I've always tried to hold on to the idea that the Lord can have me whenever He wants me (as if it would do any good to argue or fight with Him about it), but all the same, I am grateful to Him and to hundreds of people that I am still here.

    

    Last night, the Zürich stake held a dance for all members in the Freiburg building, and it was an opportunity to visit and be with those whom we love here, and the chance for a lot of fun. Now, Yours Truly will never make the world forget Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly, but Leesa and I actually made it out onto the floor for a couple of turns.

    Some months ago, I was asked to go to a Youth Camp for about 40 12-13-year-olds in Switzerland, ostensibly as the Chief Cook and Bottle Washer, and this for late July. Well, today was the day that our friend Erik Herb drove us out to the huge chalet, so we could check out the facility, and see how well the kitchen is stocked. What followed was a breathtaking drive through the Swiss countryside.

(A castle on the drive, NOT where the event will take place😁)

(This is the chalet. Our event will be in the white part; a family lives in the brown part)

    The chalet is undergoing a bit of a facelift before we head up there at the end of July, but the views were beyond gorgeous on this Ferris-Bueller-like day. I took a couple dozen pictures of the kitchen, so I know what I'm getting in the way of facilities, but all I can say is that I plan on blowing these kids' minds away with some real American food.

    That's about it for this entry, except to say that the coming summer will feature a trip to Italy in May, a visit to Amsterdam in July, and a much-anticipated visit to jolly old London in August to be with Bethan and her family. Until next entry, tschüss!