BUSY DAYS IN THE FREIBERG TEMPLE

Poland, Russia, Italy, Hungary, Romania, Angola (speaking Portuguese), Czech Republic, Slovakia,  Austria, USA, and of course Germany ..... Freiberg Temple is a place which brings people together from many lands to worship and serve their Heavenly Father and create eternal families.  With the problems in Ukraine and Kiev, our temple saw more Russian Saints two weeks ago than usual.  Many of them speak English as a second language which helps the missionaries quite a bit. Consequently, as we have mentioned in previous posts, there are 4 or 5 languages being spoken quite often.  It is so fun! We love it!

We have not been able to go anywhere very far these past couple of weeks because I have been unable to ride for very long in the car.  My back and neck haven't been too good but I am feeling quite a bit better today.  I hope we can start "touring" again and we will try tomorrow by going to a Castle about 20 minutes from here.  Hopefully we can get some pictures and have some fun experiences.  We went there a few weeks ago but the Castle was already closed for the day.  

Dale does still try to get out even when I can't so he takes bike rides and walks through the city. I also try to walk every day for at least 20 minutes or so. It is always good to get the fresh air. It has really cooled down this past week and we even need a jacket in the evenings. It is beautiful here.

I have to say that I actually have enjoyed cooking again – because I have time to cook! It is also a kind of adventure to cook “American Food with German Ingredients”. We decided to have tacos the other day so Dale was looking for “Salsa” at the store. He couldn't find any so we ended up getting a bottle of “Zigeuner” sauce or “Gypsy” sauce as I found out when I “googled” it. Anyway, it is delicious and has just the right amount of zip to it. It has the texture of tomato sauce/ketchup but smells and tastes awesome. We ended up not having tacos – but sloppy joes!  Another night I made chicken enchiladas with it and some “cream cheese” and it was yummy as well. It appears you can't get it in America – but we shall see. I did find a recipe for it.

I think I will finish this post with pictures and captions.  We enjoy sharing our experiences and pictures with our family and friends!

View from the Top of St. Petri Bell Tower

Balcony on the St. Petri Bell Tower

Dale climbed to the top of this tower in Freiberg and then took a few pictures from the balcony pictured below.  The steps were circular and somewhat like climbing to the top of the Statue of Liberty in New York.  There was only a rope to hold and the wood was very old.   St. Petri Kirche is also next to this tower and I spent time in there while Dale climbed to the top.  We enjoy exploring! 

Inside the Bell Tower

The Jakobus Kirche in Freiberg.  Almost all of the Churches in this area are Lutheran.  They are very old and spectacular.  Most have been destroyed or damaged from fire or war and have been restored.  The statues were removed in the past by those who occupied this area and not taken care of properly.  Many of them are missing hands, ends of feet, and other parts. It is sad but it is also good that they have been returned to their proper places.

A Cemetery by the Church.  There were old and new areas.  This is a picture of some of the headstones in the very old part.  Most of them you can't even read anymore but we saw grave sites from the 1500's.  There was also a memorial from World War I.  It was fascinating to walk through after a rainstorm and enjoy the peace and quiet.

Today after church we were able to finally get our picture taken with President and Sister Husz. They are from Venice, Austria and they will be released on October 31.   It is an extra special picture because she is dressed in her “Dirndl”.  They are so good to us and we will miss them when they leave.