Catching Up With News

This is a little late, but is still big news for us - WE PASSED THE DRIVER'S LICENSE TEST!  We took it on the 3rd of November. For the past three months we've dropped everything we could to study to pass the German driving test.  I did not study German (Diane still did), we didn't go to some missionary activities, we didn't people over to socialize and other things.  We studied during every meal and, during the last few days before the test, we used every free moment we had to study.

There are over 1,000 possible questions.  We had bought an online driver's course which consisted of each of the questions with the correct answers that are on the official test.  You'd think that it would be easy having all the answers.  Well, it isn't.  The English translation didn't always make sense. I'll give you an example.  If they ask for the "braking distance" in one question and "stopping distance" in another, there were two totally different answers.  We did finally come to realized that the stopping distance was the reaction distance plus the braking distance -- all of which had formulas to calculate. We still don't know what the difference between a "registration certificate" and a "registration book" or exactly what they meant by a "clearway."

I'll tell you how nervous I was.  I asked for a priesthood blessing from our missionary Home Teacher.  What a wonderful blessing he gave.  Come the day of the test, I went in feeling somewhat calm and remained that way through the test.  Diane, however, felt okay until the 2nd question on the test.  She was unsure of it.  She became nervous and when she ran into another difficult question, her heart began to pound.  I came out of the test, feeling like I aced it.  She came out not knowing if she passed.  As it turned out, she only missed one question and I missed three,  just barely passing.

However, the bottom line is: We now have our German Driver's License.  WhaaHoo! Photo proof below!

Gabi (center) was our translator and helped us through the process.

Today we had a 2nd missionary discussion in our apartment with Chiru.  He is from India.  The missionary elders are teaching him. He is really well versed in the scriptures.  He has a strong Catholic background.  What is so interesting and unique about him is that he listens very intently on everything that is said.  Also, he commented last week as to why he likes our church so well.  He is surrounded by people who are positive.  He is not bombarded with any negativism.  That makes him comfortable.

Diane went back to the eye doctor this past week.  He doesn't feel it is anything urgent, so he has asked that we get him more information by contacting her eye doctors back home to provide a history.  Before we left his office, I tried to pin him down to tell us what he was thinking it might be.  He refused to convey any thoughts until he gets that information.  

This morning we helped out with members and senior couples at the church.  Starting at 8:00 AM we helped set up for a boxing up of baby supply kits for refugees in Germany.  It consisted of clothes, diapers, wipes, and other supplies.  Putting together the kits was scheduled later in the morning and was supposed to take about an hour.  So many people turned out, everything was done in 30 minutes.

I have to admit, it was a lot of fun. We manned boxes of baby clothes and handed the prescribed number to each person coming through with a box. Each box got three newborn, three 3-month, three 6-month, and three 1-year outfits from our station.

Group picture after the work was done

Everything packaged for shipment.

We tried a unique fruit the other day.  It is called cherimoya.  When you cut it open, it appears milky.  It is the sweetest fruit I think I have ever eaten.  It is nearly impossible to take a full bite without taking in seeds.  Kind of like how it is when you bite into a seedy watermelon, only less meat.  Diane is not crazy about it, but I had some on a peanut butter rice cake and it was fantastic. We never would have tried it, but the proprietor of our favorite fruit and vegetable stand suggested it.

I forgot to mention, last Saturday we went out of town for some seminary training.  While out we decided to visit Wiesbaden.  There we saw the Russian Orthodox Church of St. Elizabeth. Actually it is a memorial built by a member of Russian royalty whose wife died at 19 giving birth to a daughter who also died.  This church became his wife's resting place.  He also purchased a large plot of forest next to the church.

Thanks for all of your prayers and thoughts.  We truly miss you all, our relatives and friends.  God bless you in your lives with good health and the blessings of love.