POST # 18 - SPRING! SPRING! SPRING!

April is THE month to be on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah!  The flowering trees, the tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, poppies, pansies, and dozens of other varieties on the grounds are ever changing and always GORGEOUS!  We will put in a separate blog post with just FLOWERS around Temple Square.  We often have taken walks around Temple Square simply to see and to photograph the flowers.

But let’s begin with the last few days of March.  On March 27, 2016 Sister Dolberg (Bonnie) was able to get a ticket into the Conference Center to see the semi-annual Women’s Conference of the Church. 

 It was fun for her to see and to hear the choir which was made up of women of many different nationalities  who live in the Salt Lake area.  About 20 of the white blouses were loaned to these often poor women by the Elijah Choir which Bonnie directs. 

Easter, the 28^th of March, seemed like the beginning of the Spring season, with warm weather, and the flowers in bloom.  That morning we attended the Tabernacle Choir Music and the Spoken Word broadcast, extra special this Easter morning because all the songs were from “The Messiah” by Handel.  There we met up with Bonnie’s cousin, Bishop Dean Davies, first counselor in the Presiding Bishopric of the Church, and his wife Darla.  

Elder & Sister Dolberg with Bishop & Sister Davies

 Walking on Temple Square we saw this lovely group of Tongan women, dressed in native costumes.  

 People from all over the world enjoy Temple Square as much as we do!

Later we headed off to our special Easter church program here we meet on Temple Square in the chapel of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.  Along the way we couldn’t help but pose with the GORGEOUS flowering trees. 

April 1 was Elder Dolberg's (Glen’s) Berlin Mission reunion. The Berlin mission was only in existence for 5 years from 1961 to 1966. This was during the years that Berlin was a divided city, free West Berlin being separated from Communist East Berlin by the infamous Berlin Wall.  We discovered that our home teacher in our Salt Lake missionary branch, Elder Brent Davis, was in the Berlin Mission at its beginnings, while Glen was there at the end.  They didn’t know each other back then, but we went with them to the reunion.  Here is Elder Dolberg with Elder and Sister Davis.  

Wayne Egan, Elder Dolberg, Elder Davis & Sister Davis

Glen also enjoyed chatting with some of his former mission companions.  

Elder Dolberg, Elder George Domm, and former Elder Lynn Gillette

Bonnie discovered that David Owens, a friend from her childhood ward in Berkeley/El Cerrito, California, was also a Berlin missionary in the early years of the mission.  

Sister Dolberg and David Owens

He gave a great report about how the Berlin Mission was begun amidst the dangers of that era. 

We enjoyed General Conference the weekend of April 2-3, attending both Saturday sessions in the Conference Hall.  During the morning session we sat beside our friend Sister Susan Hopkins, who was in our ward in Stockton for a couple of periods of time.   

Sister Susan Hopkins, Sister Dolberg & Elder Dolberg

She is now also a missionary in our Family and Church History Headquarters Mission.  As you can see, we had pretty good seats on the main floor of this HUGE auditorium that holds 22,000!  For the afternoon session we got there super-early, and ended up on the front row at the VERY end.  There we were just feet away from where the general authorities enter, and right in front of a TV monitor.  

The men standing in front are among the SEVERAL security guards. 

The next day we watched the two Sunday sessions at the Legacy Theater in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building where there is a nearly IMAX-sized screen.  We sat with one of our favorite missionaries on our B-1 International Floor of the Family History Library, Sister Appel.   

Sister Eugenia Appel

As a child, she was first a refugee from Ukraine to Austria, and then during WWII she and her family endured the bombings of Vienna.  So when a couple of speakers spoke about refugees, she would say, “I know just how they felt!” 

Between the Sunday sessions we walked through Temple Square.  Fortunately, the weather was mild and sunny, and many families picnicked on the grounds!   

Some even listened to the conference sessions there, since loud speakers carry the sound all around Temple Square.  It was very beautiful with the blossoming trees mixed with the flowers!  There we saw some of the Young Elders from our mission.

Elder Fitt, Elder Sypherd, Elder Maughn, and Elder Yowell

 After the conference we walked the 3-4 blocks up the hill to the Utah Capitol Building, where the grounds are covered with dozens of cherry trees which were in full bloom.   

 We enjoyed walking along the long pathway that was flanked with these cherry blossoms.  

We walked down through the neighborhoods with the old houses, and enjoyed the spring trees there too.  

 Back at our apartment we enjoyed the view from our balcony of the blossoming trees, mixed with some of the Young Elders who live in our apartment complex, enjoying a little free time in their “casual attire!”  

  What a glorious weekend!

During the week we enjoy our time at the Family History Library.  

This is a picture of SOME of the missionaries who work on our B-1 International Floor.  

Since 2/3 of the missionaries are only part-time (Church Service Missionaries, working 2-3 days/week), not all of them could be there for this Tuesday photo.  You should be able to find us at the far left in the front.  We have truly learned to love these dedicated people who serve with us!

In the next photo a few of us gather to honor Sister Fournis (center front) on her birthday.  

Sister & Elder Wurtz, Elder Dolberg, Elder Bingham, Elder Yowell, Sister & Elder Fournis, Sister Dolberg

She and her husband are from Brittany, France.  Elder Fournis is the one who draws pictures in his personal journal.  Here is one of his pictures, drawn during one of the Monday morning mission devotionals.  Since Bonnie leads the singing at these devotionals, she is often a subject of his drawings!  

Here Sister Dolberg (Bonnie) has her back to the congregation, in the white jacket directing the Elijah Choir. 

On Saturday, April 16, 2016 we were able to attend the baptism of our son Daniel’s youngest daughter, Caryssa Dolberg.  Unfortunately, we didn’t get a picture of her in her beautiful white dress, but her brother Kaleb took this picture of us with her at the luncheon afterwards.   

Sister Dolberg, Caryssa Dolberg, Elder Dolberg

We are so proud of her! Kaleb and Caryssa enjoy each other a lot.  

Caryssa & Kaleb Dolberg

Since their big sister Jessica had her birthday a couple of days later, they also celebrated a bit of her 13^th birthday at the luncheon.  

Jessica Kelli Dolberg

Look what she got for her birthday present!   

A bag of MONEY for Jessica's Birthday Present

One Monday evening we had a special Family Home Evening with our “social group” (the group that arrived in the mission at the same time, and trained together.)  Elder Anthony King, a Church Service Missionary on our floor, spoke of his search to find his ancestors and the ancestral village of his grandfather in Southern China.  

Susan and Anthony King

Elder King was born in the U.S., and learned Chinese at the University.  However he spent several years in China during his career working for the U.S. government.  He now can speak and read Chinese fluently.  Pictures he had of his “village” remind us that not all of China is modern like some of the larger cities! 

One of the things we enjoy on Sundays, after our 3-hour church services, is meeting with a pair of the Young Elders to get a short lesson on a religious theme.  There are about 88 young elders in our mission who for various health reasons are not able to serve a regular proselyting mission, but they are of GREAT service in our mission.  So each week they have the opportunity to teach a lesson to a pair of the senior missionaries. 

Young Elders give short lessons to the Senior Missionaries on Sunday afternoons.

In this photo a few of the Young Elders are presenting their lessons in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building lobby.  

Occasionally we get to attend the Oquirrh Mountain Temple near our Herriman home.  The flowers there are ALMOST as beautiful as those on Temple Square in Salt Lake City.

Spring Flowers around the Oquirrh Mountain Temple 

We have only 3 months left on our mission, but we plan to continue to enjoy EVERY minute of it.  We are so grateful for this opportunity to serve, and to learn so much about genealogical research.  We have loved meeting and helping guests and doing research for our own families.  And of course we love being on Temple Square with its beautiful gardens and the chance to attend the Tabernacle Choir broadcasts.  

The Tabernacle Choir with Guest Choir in Center

In the photo above the Sunday broadcast featured the BYU-Idaho choir as special guests, seen in the center.

Be sure to see blog Posts #19 & #20 which follow this one because they are exclusively dedicated to the SPRING FLOWERS ON TEMPLE SQUARE.  Some people say that these flower gardens are among the most spectacular in the world!  See our Posts #19 & #20 to decide for yourself.