Photos from a couple of nearby villages we recently discovered: Freinsheim and Neuleiningen (with the castle).
I thought this was a tool of torture but Elder Karn says it was used as a farming implement to harrow the ground before planting. It was one of those "combo" tools I think.
It is one of those weeks we could have been more useful at home than we were here. Some of our family are experiencing crises and concerns. It feels as if we were in another world being so far away. We want so badly to be there for family and almost feel guilty that we are not there. However, what we CAN do we SHALL. We offer our love and interest and concern and fervent prayers.
Our week here has gone well. We had some great attendance at our weekly Monday Family Home Evening where we have an evening meal, a spiritual lesson, and dessert. Sometimes we also play a game. Our lessons are usually taught by the young single adults themselves. We have some great lessons. We also had good attendance at our monthly Pizza & Movie Night on Friday. It is great that the young single adults have a safe place to go to be together with their peers. All we do is love them and make sure they feel welcomed and fed. Some are leaving for college or missions, others leaving for special military training, and others have schedule changes that make it impossible to attend for 6 weeks at a time. We often have a radical change in who we see. Our Institute Outreach Center is unique.
The days are much shorter and the nights much cooler. The autumn season seems to start in August with the leaves even changing color. The few (you can guess who is writing this easily) hot days are gone. It is interesting that in the summer we have more hours of daylight and in the winter we have less hours our daylight than our hometown of Ogden, Utah. I am not excited about the long cold winter ahead but having been through it once, perhaps my blood is a little thicker. I also know how to keep warmer this time (layer, layer, layer and hot food!).
We had a very positive meeting with the new Kaiserslautern Army Garrison chaplain last Thursday. He was honest and straight forward and said he would not treat us any differently than he would any other religious denomination. It was refreshing. We offered our services to help with any community event. He said he may have Elder Karn read some scripture or say a prayer in a non-denominational religious service at Thanksgiving or Christmas. I can always offer to play the piano (with practice first).
We continue to volunteer at the Wounded Warrior Ministry Center and enjoy the other volunteers that fly over from the states to volunteer for a month at a time, all at their own expense. They often work for 7 days a week, for 10 hour days, up to 30 days. They are some of the best people we have ever met and good examples of service to us.
We hope your week will be good.
Much love,
Sister and Elder Karn
