HalloWIEN

We're having Zone Pday today. Sister Downs and I made cow costumes and baked cookies (we're having a Cookie Competition).. DAD - they are a very special flavor...ROOTBEER!! I am for sure bringing the recipe home as they are delicious!! I will send pictures next week

Oh, and my companion slammed my four fingers into the car door. No big deal!! Nothing broken, still there, just bruised, still typing with all 10, Sis Downs is groveling, no big deal! Still alive!!!

The week was CRAZY!! Klagenfurt for District Meeting, Graz for Pday, München for Sister'S COnference.

Morgan\Chelsea\Ashley - Would you please let Travor Hatch know that a Kevin Schäffner from Austria says hello. They were in the same MTC group.

Dad - Thank you for taking care of registration. Not wild about the new password...do not need red influence on blue website. Sis Downs liked the old one better.

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Alles Liebe SISTER CHOCOLATE

Quickie before the Outie

We're heading to Graz today for Pday!!!!!!!!!

Friday, got a letter from Stiegelmeiers and Connie Mann at Interviews with President Miles.

Saturday, I got to go back to Vienna for a baptism. Blessing (Young Nigerian woman who can'T read or write...has cute little girl). Long story short.....Baptism suppose to start at 4:30...she wasn't allowed off work....5:30pm whole ward trying to give the person driving her, directions to the church...5:45pm lost cell phone contact....6:00pm still no contact, Bishop Jovero decides just to reschedule baptism and have everyone leave....6:01pm Blessing walks in. Sis Downs and I had to leave to catch a train at 6:00pm so when I saw her walk in, I started crying knowing that we couldn'T stay or else we'd get home too late. President and Sis Miles were there and he just turned to me and said 'you know, I have the power to let you stay...want to hang around for this baptism?'....bawling at this point. I could've hugged him, BUT I settled with Sis Miles (good substitute). The baptism was BEAUTIFUL! Blessing was SOOOOOOOOOOO happy to see me. I made her a card using pictures so she could 'read'. I drew an eye, a heart, and a little sketch of her and Favor (her 2 yr old). She started crying when she read it at the top of her lungs. We got home at 10:28pm (bedtime is 10:30 so we weren't schwarz). Wonderfully spiritual day. LOVED IT

Sunday, Pres and Sis Miles came to Bruck branch for church. The branch LOVED them and it was good for President to see the branch before we leave because then he can really make the best decision as to what'S going to happen to this place in a month.

We will only be in Bruck one day this week. Here is our schedule.................Mon - Graz Pday and visitng our Graz members, Tues - Klagenfurt for District meeting...half day in Bruck, Wed, in Bruck, Thurs-Sat in München for Sister's Conference, Sunday - in Bruck, Mon - in Vienna, Tues - In Graz for District meeting. CRAZY!!!!!! The trains have become our second home.

Next Monday - ZONE PDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! We'Re going to Vienna for a sport'S\game day. Sis Downs and I are in charge of organizing who does what for food.

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Alles Liebe SISTER CHOCOLATE

Jodeln von den Bergen (Yodels from the mountains)

Jodel-ay-he-whooo (I am determined to learn to Yodel before I come home).

I always think of the Price is Right game with the climber. That's pretty much exactly how it sounds too. We went 'wandern' with a member and she yodeled for us. It was magical!

The snow is threatening to fall. We see it in the mountains almost everyday and the thermometer announces, with a megaphone in the face, that winter is coming. It's on average about -2°C. Hopefully, it can wait till Dec 2nd.
Not too much exciting goin on in Bruck these days. (I feel like Tay when I say that, but really it's true). This week was a plateau of excitement. Nothing out of the ordinary to report. We're just chugging along with out investigators and Less-Actives. We won't be in Bruck much in the next couple of weeks. This Friday, we travel to Vienna for interviews with President. Next Tues, District Meeting is in Klagenfurt (3hr train ride), Thur - Sat we're in München for Sisters' Conference, and Next monday we're going to Graz for Pday and then to meet with the members that live there. (We have many transplanted members from the Graz ward whose calling it is to come to the Branch.)

We got to watch the Sun pm session of General Conference on Sunday. Church was shortened because of it. We had opening song and prayer, the sacrament, and then started the recording.

Mom, I got sick in Ulm (the 7 weeks bed-bound from Outer Darkness). This was my second area on my mission (after München) where I served with Sis Alder (we had a class together at BYU). This is where I sprained my ankle at the church and was emergency transferred to Salzburg.

Dad, I got your letter today and will have the stuff back to you by this evening.

We went up into the Alps to visit the Kaisers (a farm family. She is an inactive member). Saw Zuchinni the size of my arm, pumpkins the size of the car, strawberries the size of baseballs, and REAL dirt dad would covet to have in the garden. And it was all natural...no chemicals. AND....a four year old had me hold all the worms she was collecting out of the dirt we were weeding....I felt like that was my mom training for the week. IT WAS GROSS (and I'm not talking the german word for big). They gave us a zuchini to take home and since Sis Downs and I both don't like zuchini we decided to make Chocolate zuchini bread instead. We both discovered it in Vienna for leadership training and then when we asked for the recipe we found out what was in it. Not tooo shabby.
Pic 1 - The land of my ancestors....so they all say up here in the mountains
Pic 2 - Those are Zuchinni! They are the size of my leg...NO JOKE

Pic 3 - The insoles from my shoes...after my whole mission thus far. Don't worry mom, I got new ones last week.

Pic 4 - Mom, this picture is for you! Remember that picture in my scrapbook of me holding an eggplant or something from our garden in Sioux Falls. I recreated it for you...minus the hair pulled up on top of my head and the patterned pants. This time, I'm holding a mammoth zuchini.

Pic 5 - since I don't have my real flute, I choose the ones in this magical land of Austria where the gnomes and dragons abound. This is my new boyfriend by the way.

Would you send me Sue Miller's address. I was thinking about them two weeks ago and had the thought to send them a little something, but didn't. Now I know why. I'm working on heeding those thoughts more often.

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Alles Liebe SISTER CHOCOLATE

Back in Bruck

Grüßi meine Lieben -

I hope Grandma gets recovered fast or Grandpa is going to have to learn a new cuisine. I didn't know she was getting surgery. Was it planned or emergency? How is Aunt Irene doing? I had a dream the other night where I was home from my mission and Irene handed all the family history work over to me. Then the thought came 'maybe she's still alive so that I can take over her work'. Our family's history and stories have always intrigued me and I love old antiques and stuff. If that'S the reason she's still around, sorry that I'm not home sooner so she can go. I'm working on it. Lucky for me, President changed my release date up a month.

So, I'm back in Bruck and so far, things are going SOOOO well. Working with Sis Downs is so much fun and we are really getting things done. 'Git er done' as we say in the Boro. It's nice to work with an experienced missionary because you don't have to explain what you're doing every two seconds nor do damage control if things don't go according to plans (in their eyes). We just go and if something comes up, we just laugh and find something else to do. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time (since I was with Sis D). It's such a freeing feeling. I can truly be myself again. It'S great! Sunday at church was kind of weird but great at the same time. It was odd to walk in and see and remember everything from what seems like centuries ago. It was great because people were genuinely excited to see me...even people I didn't expect would be. Manuela is still going semi-strong and I got her to commit to stop smoking. Great start! On Saturday, we're going with her to Vienna for the Stake Women'S day! That will be weird too because then I go back and see familiar faces again and yet remain detached from that area. That'S the weirdest part about this transfer, coming back and reattaching after leaving it all behind so suddenly this exact time last year. The branch doesn't know Sis Downs and I are leaving in a month, but with me they should be able to figure it out since I was here a year ago. Sis Downs and I are still trying to figure out what President Miles had in mind putting the two of us here together when we both go home within 2 weeks of each other (she goes home first).

BONUS....I get to end my mission in Austrian Countryside before winter really hits!!!!
What's even odder is that we are spending about half of the transfer out of our area because of the Stake Women's Conference, Interviews with President, Mission Sisters' Conference, District Meetings (which take min 2 1\2 hrs to get there).

I found the land of my ancestors!!! (See pic 1). We had an appointment with an investigator the other day and, of course the first meeting with a new missionary is the same get-to-know-you stuff. He asked where my name came from. Denmark I said. Then he got all wide-eyed and told us about a little village 3 min away named Lind. OF COURSE we HAD to drive there and check it out. I'm convinced I'm Austrian!!!

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Alles Liebe SISTER CHOCOLATE

Back to the Past

Sooo.......Transfer calls......

I'm going back to Bruck an der Mur (where I served this time last year...my 2nd area of my mission...was emergency transferred out) and will serve with Sister Downs. She is 6 weeks older mission-wise, from Peach Tree Georgia, we were trained by the same person, and I'm so excited to work with an experienced Sister. She goes home Nov 17th so I'm pretty sure I'll finish my mission there. I didn't get to finish a full transfer there the last time, so I guess President wants me to make up the time. We'll get a lot done. I attached a picture of us from Zone Conference so you can see who she is. I'm sad to leave Vienna and the 4th ward. They really and truly have become my family. It's the same feelings as when I left Ulm (where I served for 6 1\2 months). It's hard to leave an area where you stay for so long. When I told the Bishop (Paul Jovero), he went home and told his family...his 3 yr old son Noah cried. They're having us over for Dinner and FHE (for the 3rd week in a row). Noah even told me he loves me. Watch out Dad, you might have a son-in-law before you know it.

General Conference was great! We watched Sat AM session Sat night, and then Sunday we watched Sat PM, and Sun AM sessions. I'm excited to get the Ensign and read the sessions we missed. I love Elaine S. Dalton's talk about Dads and their Daughters. My dad is the best that's for sure. In fact, my family is the best! HANDS DOWN!!!

Not too much to report other than that, Sorry.

We Went to the Belvedere last week for Pday in our Dirndls (pic 3). Now you can see mine. Like?!? Inside the Belvedere is an art museum and awesome view of old Vienna. Neat! I even found my favorite painting I've ever seen. It's by Waldmüller and it's called 'Corpus Christi Morning'...or something like that.

Family, meet Parviz and Mani (pic 2). They are from Iran. I found Parviz after dropping something on an UBahn. He got baptized 4 weeks later. He's great! Mani is his friend who studies violin here at the Conservatory. He's been playing the violin for 12yrs...he's 18.

Ran into Ekarin the other day. He was baptized in July and then has gotten SO busy that he's not been able to do anything church-related. (Pic 4)

Happy Birthday to Mom and Molly Peters!!!

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Alles Liebe SISTER CHOCOLATE