Primary Activity Day

We have been the Activity Day leaders for the past few months and love this great group of kids.  Here the boys and girls meet together because there is no scouting.  We have 12 who attend, ages 8-11.  They are really nice kids--smart and very international.  They come from 5 or 6 different countries and all are so nice and get along quite smart!  This month we made candy leis for their Dads and then we had some competitions - the tallest towers made with marshmallows and spaghetti - paper airplane designing - crabwalk soccer and pic pocket tag.  It was a wild but fun evening.

Last Saturday we had our cultural outing with the other missionary couples.  We went to the Burg Eltz castle which sits down in a wooded are that is one of the most beautiful settings that we have seen.  We had a lovely tour of the castle and walked around the valley and then went to Cochem, a small city on the Rhine river for lunch.  It was a cool but very beautiful day in a lovely part of Germany.

During the summer many of the villages in Germany have summer festivals called Hessentags.  There are many local delicacies and entertainment and interesting markets. 

Exciting Things a Happening

We hosted a conference last weekend here in Frankfurt for our Area Advisors for Centers for Young Adults.  We have 12 couples from the larger countries in Europe who have been called to supervise and support the Centers in their region or country.  Most have 15-20 Centers they are responsible for.  We bring everyone together semi-annually for training and messages from the leaders.  The theme this year was "Ministering to the One".  Elder Teixeira from the Area Presidency spoke as well as Elder Wright, our Area Seventy over the Centers.  They both are so inspiring and great teachers.

We held it at the Airport Holiday Inn where everyone was staying.  The planning was quite intense with making all the flight arrangements from 11 countries and hotel as well as meals, etc. for the Conference.  But everything went very smoothly and everyone seemed to really enjoy being together.  The instruction we received and gave was quite pertinent for carrying out the work at the Centers.

We had a lovely dinner together at an outdoor restaurant.  It is always so interesting to be with these wonderful couples and hear their accents (some needed translation) and speaking in 6 or 7 different languages.  Valentinis are from Italy, Stanks from Germany, Hungers from Switzerland, Lindgrens from Finland, Mocellins from France, Mattssons from Sweden, Carvalhos from Portugal, Serranos from Spain, Gouts from the Netherlands and 2 couples from England.  They are all soooooooo fun!

We love serving with these faithful leaders in all their lands.  They are devoted to the gospel and are so joyful in their service.  They uplift and teach the couples serving in the Centers and the YSA leaders.  We have made friendships that will be in our hearts forever.