Twentyfifth Week in Germany
On Monday morning after dropping the girls off at school, I picked up the drivers licenses as promised without issue. I think we are starting to get the hang of this Germany thing. I was scared to do this by myself but managed through it with my best German. Bryn and I went home to try and get the enormous piles of laundry started so the girls will have some school clothes to wear this week. And, I had to cram in my German homework once again before my lesson. After school, we had to stop at the bakery and get Weckmanner. It was St. Martin's Day on Sunday but Bailey and Avery's school was celebrating it on Monday evening. We apparently had to have the weckmanner for this occasion. It was a bread man with a white pipe. I'm not sure of the significance of this but everyone seemed to enjoy it.
At 5:15pm, we met Greg at the school where we were bundled up like we were going skiing, and the girls picked up the lanterns they had made in school. They lit their lanterns, we paraded around the school grounds following "St. Martin" on his horse. He then ended at a bonfire and we ate our weckmanner. Here is a little history on St. Martin's Day...
St. Martin lived in the 4th Century A.D., in France, and was in his youth a soldier in the Roman Army. One day while out riding, he saw a beggar, this was not an unusual sight for these times. The beggar asked Martin for some food and warmth, and Martin suddenly realized how unfair it was that he should be wearing a warm cloak while this beggar was freezing. So, he stopped, got off his horse and cut his cloak in two giving half of his cloak to the beggar. The following night Jesus appeared to Martin in a dream. After this encounter, Martin decided to lead a religious life as a Christian Missionary. In the year 371, Martin was elected "Bishop of Tours." He did not feel worthy of this honor so he hid himself from the people in a shed with geese. The geese start gabbling so loud that they gave his hiding place away. He was then made Bishop of Tours. When Martin died on November 11, 397, he was hailed a Saint because of his humility . In remembrance of his good deeds, the traditional meal on November 11th, is goose. However, we had something else.
The rest of the week, I was fighting off a sore throat so I really tried to avoid anything we didn't absolutely have to do. Avery had a play date with her friend Ava on Friday after school which was really nice for them I think.
Saturday, we had planned on going to the market downtown but after several meltdowns, we decided to skip the market. The girls and Greg did some yard work. That evening we went to Koln to one of Greg's friends from work. He got the Michigan/Ohio State Game on his TV so a bunch of us went over to watch it. It was quite late when we got home, and Greg was a bit disappointed in the outcome.
Sunday, we went to Church. I had my first Stake Relief Society meeting in German. And, Greg had his first baptism that he had to conduct in German. Greg did a great job, I was told by one of the members of the bishopric. I, on the other hand, had a difficult time understanding what was being said. I guess we can only get better with our German from here but sometimes it seems that the progress is slow or even regressing.
At 5:15pm, we met Greg at the school where we were bundled up like we were going skiing, and the girls picked up the lanterns they had made in school. They lit their lanterns, we paraded around the school grounds following "St. Martin" on his horse. He then ended at a bonfire and we ate our weckmanner. Here is a little history on St. Martin's Day...
St. Martin lived in the 4th Century A.D., in France, and was in his youth a soldier in the Roman Army. One day while out riding, he saw a beggar, this was not an unusual sight for these times. The beggar asked Martin for some food and warmth, and Martin suddenly realized how unfair it was that he should be wearing a warm cloak while this beggar was freezing. So, he stopped, got off his horse and cut his cloak in two giving half of his cloak to the beggar. The following night Jesus appeared to Martin in a dream. After this encounter, Martin decided to lead a religious life as a Christian Missionary. In the year 371, Martin was elected "Bishop of Tours." He did not feel worthy of this honor so he hid himself from the people in a shed with geese. The geese start gabbling so loud that they gave his hiding place away. He was then made Bishop of Tours. When Martin died on November 11, 397, he was hailed a Saint because of his humility . In remembrance of his good deeds, the traditional meal on November 11th, is goose. However, we had something else.
The rest of the week, I was fighting off a sore throat so I really tried to avoid anything we didn't absolutely have to do. Avery had a play date with her friend Ava on Friday after school which was really nice for them I think.
Saturday, we had planned on going to the market downtown but after several meltdowns, we decided to skip the market. The girls and Greg did some yard work. That evening we went to Koln to one of Greg's friends from work. He got the Michigan/Ohio State Game on his TV so a bunch of us went over to watch it. It was quite late when we got home, and Greg was a bit disappointed in the outcome.
Comments
Speaking of the mission, one of my best companions returned to Germany after college to play pro basketball. He had a successful career and now is on the coaching staff for one of the Bundesliga teams. I don't know if Greg has much interest in basketball (sounds like it's mostly soccer and football), but if either of you would like to go to a game, I'm sure I could hook you up with Rick for tickets.
--Dan Richards