RECEIVING TRAINING IN BRATISLAVA

Last Sunday we had our monthly testimony meeting where members of the congregation can share their feelings and love for Jesus Christ.  Sister Kearon related a beautiful story about a recent visit she and Elder Kearon had with  Elder Anderson and his wife.  They traveled to a Nordic country and viewed the original Karl Bloch paintings depicting the life of Jesus Christ.  She made the observation that many tourists quickly passed by the paintings to go see an alter which seemed to be the focal part of the room.  I  (Eileen) wondered if perhaps those tourists would have slowed their pace a little bit if they had known they were passing by a modern day Apostle of Jesus Christ.

Yesterday we drove home to Frankfurt from Bratislava, Slovakia, We met and did some training with the Schultz couple in Bratislava.  They will be serving as humanitarian missionaries in the Czech/Slovak Mission and living in the east end of Slovakia.  Usually we do our training in the couple’s apartment.  However, Elder and Sister Schultz were just finishing a mission couple’s conference in Prague and we wanted to meet with an NGO in Bratislava.  It also saved us 300 miles of driving of what would otherwise have been an 800 mile (one-way) journey.

Since we worked the last two Saturdays and Monday was a holiday, we decided to take a day on the way there to stop in Vienna.  We spent two nights in a hotel there (on our own dime) that was a bit nicer than what we stay in when the Church is paying for it.  The hotel was just across the street from the Schonbrunn Castle.  We both greatly enjoyed the opportunity to relax and learn more about the history of Austria.

The part of our mission duties we like best is getting to meet with the humanitarian missionary couples we serve with.  Each has a unique set of life experiences.  We find many times that these experiences have helped prepare them to serve in their various countries and circumstances they are called to. 

It is interesting how God sometimes answers our prayers through other people.  Eileen and I have been concerned for some time about how to best help one of our family members and praying for guidance.  Although the purpose of our trip to Slovakia was to train the Schultz couple in humanitarian/welfare principles, it was Sister Schultz who taught us.  During a relatively brief but very personal discussion over breakfast, I feel I got an answer to my prayers.  I am confident that God loves us more than we can comprehend and that he listens to our prayers.  His answers may not always be what we want to hear or arrive with the immediacy we desire, but he is always right!

Training in the hotel room-not ideal but Elder and Sister Schultz were great about being flexible

Elder and Sister Schultz-could they possibly be old enough to be senior missionaries?

Looking from the old fort across the Danube.  UFO Bridge in the background

Dinner in Bratislava

Beautiful church in Bratislava 

The architecture in Bratislava is very unique.

The homeless shelter we visited is run by a Catholic NGO. They had some beautiful artwork of the Savior's life lining the stairs.

The NGO would like to put a garden in this area for the clients to work in, which would also produce fresh vegetables for their consumption.

Missionaries look with NGO employees at the intended plot for the garden

Elder Trythall and Elder Whitney came with us on our NGO visit and helped with the translation. If the proposed project is passed they will also be doing a lot of manual labor as service.

St Stephens cathedral in Vienna built in 1147 AD.

View of Vienna from St Stephens

We hiked the 343 stairs to get to the top of the tower, and were able to look out over Vienna. There was an AED at the top of the tower, which would serve as a defibrillator when needed. The employee at the top of the tower told me  that a few weeks ago a firefighter ran to the top of the tower trying to see if he could run all of the steps in 3 minutes. He then collapsed at the top, and had to be let down through a panel in the floor which can be lifted out. 

Greenhouse at Schonbrunn palace built in 1882

The gardens were at Schonbrunn palace were lovely. They are open from early in the morning until late at night. We enjoyed going when there were not other tourists and walking the grounds. 

Beautiful fountains with water lilies

It started to rain and the palace grounds cleared out

Eileen in front of the palace at Schonbrunn.  The grounds were started in the 14th century. The historical Hapsburgs family lived here in this palace.

We were able to attend an evening concert with Strauss and Mozart played by the orchestra. Mozart played at Schonbrunn when he was only 6 years old. (photo courtesy of Get your Guide)