The above photos were taken on our last P-day excursion to Heidelberg and the castle above the town. It was our first solo on the train and despite the 95 degree sweltering heat, it went well. The train is a great way to travel and the cost is reasonable compared to fuel costs.



The thing about life is that some times as it races by so quickly there is hardly time to see and recognize the wonderful things happening around us. Now I also must add that sure, there are hard times and things that try us and test us but, there are also things that happen to tell us we are not alone.

We have been working on this great service project and it has been a wonderful thing to be involved in. It seems like as soon as a challenge pops up there is a solution that follows. This past week we met with the Stake Presidency to talk about the project and report on our progress. One of the things that came up in the discussion was the weather. If the weather is bad the day of the project we could be in real trouble.

There is no doubt that if the Lord wants us to work in good weather we will have good weather. But like any good parent, sometimes the Lord wants us to overcome some challenges and grow a bit. Perhaps He wants us to find a solution and overcome an obstacle like the weather. So in the discussion of the project and what bad weather would do we identified bad weather as almost a "show stopper". And we don't want the show stopped.

The next day we had lunch with one of the presidency and another leader and as we talked about the solutions this other brother decided to jump on a solution. At an earlier meeting another brother had offered military tents to solve the weather concern but that wasn't happening for him. And with the tents weighing 400 pounds each that would take several men to set up. Transporting and setting them up was going to be a problem.

Anyway, after lunch this other brother called around and found some canopy covers we could rent from the military recreation center and reserved them. They are on hold and we are "covered" in case the weather doesn't want to cooperate. So it is amazing to see the doors open and to watch people step forward to help.

Over the years we have seen the right doctor be in an area when someone needed the special skills of that doctor. We have seen the timing of things be just right when something critical was needed or about to happen. And we are sure that we only recognize a few of the miracles that happen around us all the time. Too often we think that our timing was good or that we were in the right place at the right time. We think it is more, much more than that. It is the Lord's hand reaching out and making things happen. It is good to pause and thank the Lord for the miracles that happen in our behalf.

I know that weather is a recurring theme but it is amazing here. Every area has the TV weather man that says "the weather really changes around here - just wait five minutes and it will change". In Germany that is really true. This past week we were in the 90's one day and in the 60's the next. It can rain one minute and five minutes later the sun is shining. Add another five minutes and we are back to rain. Ya' can hardly put the umbrella up and down fast enough to keep up with the current weather. The good news for the weather folks is that they can say about the same forecast for every day. "Today will be partly cloudy with a chance of showers." He has to be on target then!

The work is good, the people we work with are great and the fruit of the labor is sweet. It is almost hard to understand why some folks stay home when they could be out serving others. There are those moments when we know we were there for someone when they needed a friend or when someone needed us specifically, and it makes the whole day a success for us. We often don't know the burdens another is carrying and when we shoulder just a bit of the load for them or give them a word that helps them carry on. But when we do we know that we have done something worthwhile.

We hope all of you are having wonderful days and feeling the aid of those around you, that is the aid of both those seen and those unseen by human eyes. We are not alone. Everyday we feel the love and help of those around us.

Best wishes,
Elder (and Sister) Karn