More Pictures

Last week we talked about Grosse Garten and forgot to put the pictures on. This garden or park is across the street from the church. We had a wonderful time walking around seeing the little lakes and ponds and Rhododendren bushes. They were breathtaking and beautiful!! The Palace is at the center of the Garden. It's like walking into the movie, "Pride and Prejudice". The whole experience was so much fun. The park was built in 1676 and has been open for public use since 1814. It is almost a square mile. Next is the Schloss Albrechtsberg in Dresden on the hill overlooking the Elbe River. There were three castles right in the same area. They shared a common forest. It was beautiful. This castle is now where they hold special events and weddings. This would be the place to die for a wedding reception.!! The next picture is of the Langner family who live in Bischofswerda where we attended church. Their son Daniel who is one of our YSA is in the middle. Then the next picture is of us with Aaron who is leaving now for BYU. We will really miss him and hope he has a wonderful time. The next picture is of us playing batmitton for FHE. The next is a pic of the YSA. Five of them are the Americans here from Southern Virginia University. Can you tell which ones are the Americans? Probably not. We had alot of fun with them. they leave the end of the week to go back to USA.

The Lord's Work Moves Foward

The two pictures at the top are of a plant called raps. It is used for growing rapseed oil which is used in the manufacturing of biodesiel for powering motor vehicles. Other varieties of raps in Canada are used for Canola Oil. These beautiful yellow fields are everywhere and stand out amongst the green fields and trees. Such a stark contrast. It's beautiful!! The next picture is of Elder Hoggan and Hiep as they prepared the Vietnamese food for Zentrumstag. It was really good food, ...well it was soup. But everyone love it. And as usual there were some who just had to test the cookie dough. :) The volleyball game was really fun and the kids all had a good time.

Easter, Berlin, Baptism, Castle

Top left: Our walk in the Forest for Ostern (Easter) Monday with the ward. The pictures is us with the young missionaries. Next is us with the other missionary couples in front of Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. Next Elder Hoggan is standing down inside the Jewish Monument built for the 6 million Jews who were exterminated by Hilter during WW II. Second Row down Left: Another view of the Jewish monument from the ground level. These represent graves. Next is the piece of the Berlin Wall that is still standing. Next is Yu at his baptism with Sister Swendsen, Sister Hoggan and Aaron our YSA leader. Third Row Left: Transfer dinner with the younger missionaries. Cool kids! Next is the scrapbook page Sister Hoggan made. Our GrandBabies!! Aren't they adorable?! Next is the Festung Konigstein Castle(King's Fortress). That was just PART of the structure. Fourth Row Left: More of the fortress. Next is the fortress on the top of the hill and was built into the rock. This fortress or castle is the largest in Germany; was built in the 1300's and was never conquered by anyone. The kings were always safe there. It has a beautiful view of the surrounding area, including the Elbe River. Last view is the view from the castle.

Walks and Outings

The first picture is of the grave yard we often walk through. Most everyone takes great care of their site. Beautiful isn't it. It's very peaceful to walk through. The next picture is of the Leubnitzer Hohe which is the restuarant and hotel that is 100 years old. The next is one of the streets we often walk down. The next two is postcards of Schloss Pillnitz. That's the best we could do since we forgot the camera. But check out the link to it on our letter. Cool pictures on there. The next is the green valley and hillside we discovered on our walk. We've been there twice now. The second time there was a group of school kids there eating lunch. Thanks for letting us share.

Our Center

This is our center all spruced up for the open house and the posters we made for it. The kids like it so much they want it to stay. Elder Hoggan is helping the guys hang up pictures of the temples in the dark hallway downstairs so it looks more inviting. Our team of the soccer tournament in Meissen is the group in the middle of the picture. Then the last picture is of the youth playing some kind of viking game with wood chunks. It was kind of like chess but not really. We had 3 non-members there. It was really fun.

Dresden Gemeinde

The Dresden ward building is a truly unique building. It is also a stake center so it is quite large. Google maps lists it as a temple.

We like that. One of the great features on the grounds of this building is the bronze larger-than-life statue of Karl G. Maeser, who was the first principle of Brigham Young Academy, later known as BYU. He was born in 1828 in Meissen, a small town just up the road from Dresden, and hebecame the first Branch President of the Dresden Branch in about 1855 or 1860. He was instrumental in building up the church in Eastern Germany. Years later he would heed the prophet's call and move to Utah. This statue was unveiled in 2001 by President Thomas S. Monson. There is a plaque on the wall of Brother Maeser's home in Meissen, where he was born. We have that tour still to make. The statue is a replica of the one on the BYU campus. The building sits on Tiergarten Strasse which is the south end of a very large park called Grosse Garten. It is also very famous and an old palace sits in the center of it. Around the south end of the park are many very large homes which were the residences of the very wealthy. They are beautiful still as they have been kept up, but are used for apartments or businesses. The church picked the best part of the city to build the chapel. We don't as yet know the history behind that. But it was in the days of communist control. So it is really a miracle that it was even built in the first place. Many amazing stories about that, we hear. This is the tree that is just outside our door. The Landlord decorated it. These are plastic colorful eggs. It is a tradition in Germany and maybe Millie or John know more about it. We just think they are so pretty and fun. They represent spring and new life, from what our landlord told us. These can be seen everywhere during the Easter time.