View of the Elbe River from the Koenigstein Fortress

Today we traveled east for a little more than an hour to Koenigstein Fortress.  Wow!  This is one of the almost 100 pictures we took.  It was a little cold today and overcast, so it is hard to imagine how beautiful it would be on a clear day in the spring or fall.  The workers were preparing for big Christmas Market there so the area was full of workers, but we still enjoyed it very much.

This past week at the temple we had patrons from Hungary and Poland, as well as all of our German friends. It is always exciting to have more than two languages.  These Saints are so dedicated and fill the Temple everyday. I have made good friends with a sister from Hungary who is a Temple Worker. She doesn't speak English and I don't speak Hungarian but we can still communicate. It is probably pretty funny to watch us! Occasionally we get a “translator” to help us - I am so grateful for all of the translators who come to the Temple!  Many of them actually work for the Church and they speak excellent English.

A new missionary couple arrived on Friday – Kent and Janice Jones – from Colorado. They are very prepared and have been serving in the Denver Temple for three years. They will be a great asset to the Temple. He was a high school Music Teacher and plays the organ and piano and loves to sing. We are looking forward to getting to know them better.

Last Saturday we decided to go back to Dippoldiswalde and go to the Museum. It was actually a leather-making museum, but it also had great Christmas displays including some things we hadn't seen before. It was interesting and fun. We then decided to go to the town Markt and maybe go to the Castle Museum – but it was going to close in about 45 minutes so we didn't go. However, the Church is right next to it and we began to hear Messiah music – awesome – and went to investigate. Sure enough, there was a full Handel's Messiah performance scheduled that evening. The orchestra was from Dresden and the Choir was the Dippoldiswalde Kirche Choir. They were rehearsing some of the numbers. We were contemplating staying, but it would have been pretty late because it was the complete work – 2.5 hours worth – so we just listened for a minute and then headed home. Maybe next November......

Display in the Dippoldiswalde Museum

Dippoldiswalde Kirche

This past Sunday was the Primary Program for Sacrament Meeting. I cannot explain in words how watching these precious children touches my heart.  All the familiar melodies only sung with big voices by young German saints.  A cute little 3 or 4 year old girl sang the first verse of A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief – Acapella!  It was amazing.  I was blessed to accompany a few of the songs for them.

Speaking of Christmas, it is celebrated here in Germany in a BIG way!  I look forward to posting here on our blog as we enter the Holiday Season!     

Koenigstein Forstress