Corrections

There are probably more, but I found two mistakes in my last two entries.  Darn!

Kennedi wrote the letter to us in 2014..... To be opened in 2015.

And I should have referred to Brent Saunders, not Cory, when I suggested they sign up for a medical mission in Frankfurt .

There......I feel better !

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly......

I'll start with the Ugly......my hair!  I will be so glad to get back to Sara in Lehi !  The humidity does crazy things, too.

Now the Bad........

Keith has bursitis in his knee.  It has been sore, red, and hot for 2 weeks now.  The Senior Missionary Doctor/Elder Ryser can advise, but can't prescribe.  He helped us find a doctor here in Friedrichsdorf and she gave Keith a prescription for amoxicillin 10 days ago.  He also keeps off his feet and ices it a lot.  We haven't been able to work at the office very much.  We went in this morning and came home about noon to wait for the doctor to call and tell us to come in.  This socialized medicine is different.....and we miss our dear friend Dr. Hawkins!  I'll keep you posted.

PS...... We are back from our visit.  New prescription and prognosis is good....should be better in 4 or 5 days.

Now for the GOOD.....and it was really good!!

Our dear friends from our home ward are celebrating their 40th anniversary by taking a trip of a lifetime.

Dave and Marianne spent 5 days in London and then flew to Frankfurt to see us!  Well, that was a little side trip, but it really did us good to see them.  They stayed in a hotel just up the street from us.  We spent Friday afternoon going to a little village called Johannesburg visiting a wood carver.  The drive through the fall forest was absolutely beautiful.  

Several years ago some Senior Missionaries discovered this place and the wood carver did some carvings of Moroni burying the plates.  He creates a beautiful piece, but I was interested in the Nativity Scenes he makes.  I was interested because he puts elephants in them.  However, the pieces are priced separately and are very expensive.  So I bought just an elephant to go with my biggest set.  I have had $100 set aside for a special souvenir from Germany.  This is it!  (Thank you, my dear friend....you know who you are!)

We also bought a  Holy  Family piece to add to my collection.  By the time we, and Johnsons, paid for our purchases and made arrangements for shipping them home we felt like we had made new friends!  Dave really enjoyed talking to the wood carver and his cute wife.  It was nice to have our own interpreter!!  I have now decided  l need a little elephant trainer to go with the elephant, so we will have to make another trip up there before we go home.

We had a typical German meal at the Berliner by our apartment and visited into the evening.

We picked them up Saturday morning and made a trip to the Apothacary to get Marianne some cold medicine, then drove them around Friedrichdorf and the Temple.   Then over to the Area Office and our chapel.  Turns out they had gone to our chapel when they picked up their son Eric from his mission.  I think Dave loved all the memories that came flooding back.  We dropped them off at thr train station.....and we hope they got to Baden Baden to meet their tour group for a River Cruise to Paris.  We have looked forward to this visit for many months, and it was a highlight of our mission.

Now I am looking forward to my sister LeAnn and nephew Austin's visit in December!!  They will be here a week, then meet Jim in Paris and fly to Saudi Arabia to spend  Christmas week with their son and his family!

A couple of weeks ago I was rummaging through my stuff and found an envelope addressed to us to be opened in April of 2015.  I had forgotten that Kennedi had given it to us.  I opened it ......just 6 months later than she has intended.  She had written it in April of 2015 on a day when we were at her house.  She told what we had been doing that day......and I could remember Keith helping Chris in his garden and me playing with Austin and Kennedi.  It made me just a bit homesick, but I have recovered and look forward to more "ordinary" days two months after next April.

We have Zone Conference coming up on Thursday, Stake Conference in 2 weeks, and Elder Ballard is coming 2 weeks after that.  There are already plans being made for a Thanksgiving dinner, so time is going by.  I have put our adventure into time periods......Shock......Settling in.......Digging in.....Smooth sailing.......Hitting a wall........Re-dedication.......and now enjoying the ride......we shall happily endure to the end.  We are very glad to have had this experience.  What a great time we are having serving the Lord every day.  We love His gospel and are grateful for the blessings He has given us.  

Love to one and all.

Elder and Sister Saunders

Another PS....Kathryn, I thought of your little dog when I saw this in Frankfurt last Saturday!

 This is the first "Dixi" I have seen......they are usually called "Toi-Toi".  

Another weekend....another castle......

This was a gorgeous one!  It's in Braunfels, about an hour and a half away.

It is so fun to walk up these stairs knowing the castle dates back to 1501.  Think of the thousands of people who lived and worked here.....for centuries!  And people still live in parts of the castle.....

I would have to have an apartment with fewer stairs!!

Through these archways is the town plaza.  Very typical with a a center area surrounded by shops, cafes with tables in front, bakeries, gelato counters, and .........a jewelry store.......

That's right .....and a jewelry store sells what ?........schmuck!!  I tried to get my companion to buy me some schmuck, but he talked me into gelato instead!

 We enjoyed General Conference so much.  Some people were able to get it in real time, but we saw it a day later than you saw it.  The messages were worth waiting for.  What wonderful council delivered by inspired and inspiring individuals.  One benefit of seeing it on a delayed basis is that I knew what many of the speakers' important quotes were because I had already seen them on Facebook!

"We don't marry perfection....we marry potential." "Ponderize......" etc.....

We were taught and felt the Spirit bouy us up to keep on keepin' on.  And we shall.

Elder Hanks found a new restaurant, so we went with 3 other couples to a place called Waldguist, which means Forrest Ghost.  Their claim to fame is gigantic hamburger that ifyou can eat it all by yourself , you get a prize.  We didn't go for any prizes.  The  8 of us ordered one hamburger, one order of ribs, and one order of snitzel and fries......and we each came home with a doggie bag!

It was a lot of food and a lot of fun.  It was quite the experience, and we don't ever have to do it again!

We had a great FHE with The Food Nanny.  Sister Edmunds is quite famous for her books and TV show.  She is a great cook and shares her recipes and her testimony of family dinner time at seminars and programs around the world.  She and her husband are on a Real Estate mission.  They are a great couple.......in a mission full of great couples.

We said good bye to Elder and Sister Greenwood.  She  is in the pink sweater and he is in the light blue suit.  He has been our medical advisor, and she is his "lovely assistant".  They are going home to American Fork.  The Rysers, she's in the blue sweater and he is standing next to her, are the other medical advisor and lovely assistant.  We are in need of a second Doctor, so Cory and Kris get your papers in NOW!

October is here in full color.  It is cooler and beautiful.  We are so excited to see Dave and Marianne for a quick couple of days in about 2 weeks.  Can't tell you what a boost this is giving us!  They are coming at a good time and we will enjoy every minute with them.

Time to close.......think I will ponderize for a little while.  

 Sending love to one and all,

Elder and Sister Saunders