Our VERY busy Weekend

YSA Temple Trip

We left early Saturday morning for the Freiberg Temple with a large group of YSA, teachers and leaders.

 The bus left from the Tiergarten Ward building at 7:00 AM and we arrived at the temple about 10:00 AM.  Some of our group did baptisms and others attended endowment, sealing and initiatory sessions.

 This is a picture of Sara (our cute YSA Student Council President) giving instructions and information about the schedule for the day at the temple. 

 Our Group

 Hal and I were able to attend 2 endowment sessions.

After the temple sessions, our group enjoyed lunch together and then boarded the bus to return to Berlin and arrived home at 7:00 PM.  It was a lovely day at temple!

YSA Sunday

The next day was our last YSA Sunday.  We were asked to share our testimonies in the Sacrament Meeting and then we served about 60 - 65 people lunch. 

 Our Menu:

Ham 

German potatoes in cream sauce

Carrot and Cabbage Salad

Garlic Bread

Pumpkin Squares with cream cheese frosting

 The kids and adults all seemed to enjoy the food.

 The Cooks

 Some of the clean up crew working after the lunch!

We love these young people!

 "The Piano Guys" Fireside

Sunday evening we were privileged to have the opportunity to attend a special fireside for missionaries and friends.  "The Piano Guys" were in Berlin on tour and were kind enough to present this fireside.  They each spoke and shared spiritual experiences and testimonies, answered question and performed three beautiful musical numbers:

  O Come, O Come Emanuel

Bring Him Home

Silent Night

They were very humble, spiritual and personable and it was a thrill to hear them as well as to have an opportunity to meet them!

The Fall of the Wall 25th Anniversary

 The city of Berlin had a wonderful celebration of the 25th anniversary of the coming down of the Berlin Wall which was in place from 1961 until November 9, 1989.  They placed 8,000 balloon lanterns over 15 Km (9 miles) marking where the wall had once stood.  This stretch was guarded, barbed wired and divided the city for nearly 3 decades. 138 people lost their lives as they tried to escape from East Berlin into West Berlin.  The balloons were on poles that were 3.6 meters high to match the height of the wall.  Beginning at 7:15 PM at the Brandenburg Gate on Sunday evening, the helium filled balloons were released one by one to float over the city as the Berlin State Orchestra played "Ode To Joy" from Beethoven's 9th Symphony.

A beautiful photo (taken by a professional photographer) of the Brandenburg Gate with the balloon lanterns in place.

 A beautiful aeriel view of the balloons marking where the wall had been.

 Balloon Lanterns showing the location of the wall near Potsdamer Platz.

This map shows how Berlin was divided and the line that the balloon route followed.  

 Hours before the designated release times, crowds gathered all along the route.  We could only observe from a distance.  There were tens of thousands of people throughout the city.

 Excitement filled the air as the time to release the balloons got closer and closer.

To avoid the crowds, we went to our friend Susan's apartment and viewed the release of the balloons from her balcony.

One by one they were released to symbolize the breaching of the wall by the crowds of protesters 25 years ago.

What a wonderful and memorable time to be in Berlin and share in this celebration of freedom and hope!

Our last Fall in Berlin and Festival of Lights

This fall in Berlin will be our last one as we will return home in mid January.  The weather has been beautiful most days with a bit of rain and lots of sunshine.  We wanted to share some of the pictures we have taken of Berlin.

We frequently cross this canal on our way to shop for groceries and other needed items.  The scene is always beautiful - this day Hal captured some punting boats moving on the canal.

We also live just a short walk from the Tiergarten which is Berlin's beautiful and very large park.  It is difficult to capture the beauty of this area but here are a few pictures.

Tiergarten has many interesting statues.

We love the fall foliage as the trees and bushes change from green to gold, yellow, red and brown.

 There are creeks, streams and ponds throughout the park.

There are many benches to stop for a rest and paths to explore.  We really enjoy going for walks in this beautiful area.

The angel that sits on top of the Siegessäule (Berlin's victory column marking Germany's defeat over Napoleon) can be seen through the trees.

Festival of Lights

In mid October each year, Berlin celebrates the Festival of Lights.  I posted pictures and information about this last October.  It was fun to go again this year and see the new laser light displays designed for this year's celebration.

We met our friend Susan at the bus stop near her apartment at Potsdamer Platz.

The sunset was so beautiful we had to take some pictures!

One of our first stops was to see this well lit fountain at Potsdamer Platz which coordinates music with the water much like the Bellagio fountain in Las Vegas.

This display is powered as children pedal bicycles and the lights change in color and intensity.

This is one of the displays at Potsdamer Platz - it reminded me of a kaleidoscope.

Next, we traveled on a very crowded bus to Alexander Platz.  The workers for the S Bahn  - one of Berlin's public transportation train lines - were on strike so the buses were filled to capacity with many who would have been on the train!

These pictures do not do justice to the clever laser display on the Galleria Department Store building.  The lights depicted a Tour around the World with maps and scenes of famous landmarks. 

The TV Tower (built by the Soviets during divided Berlin days) was also well lit with changing colors and patterns. 

After a short U Bahn ride and a short walk, we arrived at the Humboldt University area.

The changing lights on Hotel De Roma

Humboldt University Law School with a blue and yellow light theme

Patty and Susan

Light displays at Humboldt University

We rode another crowded bus to the Brandenburg Gate and enjoyed the beautiful and varied light show there.

The square was filled with hundreds of enthusiastic people enjoying the changing light displays.

Susie's farewell party and Winona's baptism

Susie's Farewell Party

Last Friday a group of the YSA gathered to say goodbye to Susie who is getting married this month to a man from Wisconsin.  She has been active in YSA and we will miss her but we are happy for her and her upcoming marriage. 

Courtney, Susie and Yvonne

We ate dinner and played silly games.

We enjoyed pizza, fresh pineapple, cake and other goodies.

Winona's Baptism

Wan Qian Lin (she goes by Winona) was baptized last Saturday. Winona comes from Taiwan was previously Buddhist and she also was very ready to receive the gospel message.  Elder Mickelsen and I were privileged to have a small part in teaching this sweet, mild mannered young woman.  

Elder Despain, Winona and Elder Wipf

These are the elders that taught her.

We felt honored to be a part of her Baptism Day as we were both asked to speak about the Gift of the Holy Ghost.  Then on Sunday, Elder Mickelsen was asked to confirm her a member of the church and give her the gift of the Holy Ghost.  These two ordinances are of such importance in our eternal progression. Such events make missionary work worth any sacrifice we might make to serve.  This is truly the best part of a mission!