Post #18 - Fall is ending!

October was busy and wonderful.  Near the end of that month our Social Group gathered on a Sunday evening to listen to the stirring story of how our Ensign Branch President escaped from East Germany shortly before the Berlin Wall was erected. 

Back L to R: Elder Sensiba,Elder Aromaa,Elder Kendall,Elder Dolberg,Elder Carlson,Elder Hatch,Elder Sorensen
Middle Row: Elder Young, Sister Sensiba, Sister Young, Sister Aromaa, Sister Kendall, Sister Dolberg, Sister Carlson, Sister Tippetts, Sister Hatch, Sister Sorensen, Elder Henrichsen, Elder Hellwig
Front Row:  Sister Seiter, Elder Seiter, Sister Klopfer - OUR SPEAKER - Pres. Herbert Klopfer, Sister Henrichsen

His father had served as the German Berlin Mission President when the American mission president was forced with all the American missionaries to leave Germany at the outset of World War II.  His stories were exciting and very moving as he related how he and his family witnessed miracle after miracle as they eventually made their way to America.  We report on our November Social Group event later in this narrative.

The Conference Center surrounded by Fall Splendor

See the pansies?

Some of the Autumn colors are quite dazzling.

During the past weeks we have loved seeing the glorious fall colors around Temple Square.  Our apartment is right across the street from the Conference Center so we see it daily as we walk to the Family History Library.  The brilliant colors of the trees and bushes on Temple Square as we walk to church on Sundays have been wonderful! 

It was sad to see the beautiful summer flowers in the flower beds around the temple replaced with pansies, but at least they bring a little color.  

Soon they’ll be covered with snow.   From the window of our Sunday School Class in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building we look out onto the Temple.

Inspirational view from
our Sunday School window

We LOVE being on Temple Square and seeing the beauties of the seasons.

     The grounds keepers began in August to put the Christmas lights on the trees on Temple Square, and each day there are more in place.  It’s not quite Thanksgiving yet, but most of the decorations are already in place, such as this “light tree”,   which will be more beautiful in the dark.  In another week or so the Christmas lights on Temple Square will be switched on. We are looking forward to their beauty.

During the day it's only a tall pole with strings of lights, but at night it's a Christmas Tree!

One Sunday we were coming home from our church services in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and Elder Dolberg stopped to take a picture for a family of tourists. 

Elder Lim's former missionary companion is on the far left.

  When we learned they were from Mongolia, we told them we knew an Elder Glanny Lim served as a missionary in Mongolia.  Amazingly enough one of the young men said he not only knew him but had even served as a companion to Elder Lim.  SMALL WORLD!

       We are enjoying our service in the Family History Library.  We love the people who work with us as missionaries:  the full-time “Senior” missionaries like us, the part-time “Senior” CSMs (Church Service Missionaries), as well as the “Young Elders.”  This is a recent picture of the 100 or so young elders that serve in our mission. 

  We have come to know many of them personally since they sing in the Elijah Choir, in which Elder Dolberg sings and for which Sis. Dolberg is the conductor.  Aren’t they a fine-looking bunch!  It’s hard on us when we have to say good-bye to the missionaries who have finished their “terms ” – 2 years for the young elders, and 12-, 18-, or 23-months for the Senior missionaries. One of the young elders, Elder Eric Olsen, who was both on our floor of the FHL as well as a mainstay in the choir, finished his mission and was released.  His home is in Herriman where we live.  Since we were able to be in Herriman on the weekend of his mission report in church, we attended his ward Sacrament Meeting where he both sang a special piece and also spoke. 

Elder Olsen on the right with former Companion

Elder Olsen (at right) is standing with his first companion, now a student at BYU, who also came to welcome Elder Olsen home. 

We love it when friends and family come to visit.  Our long-time Stockton friends, David and Beth Street, who flew to Utah to celebrate some family birthdays, spent some time with us on B-1 of the FHL learning about how to optimize their family history work.  Here they are enjoying the display of international nativity scenes on display on our “international floor.” 

David & Beth Street from Stockton, CA just at the entrance of B-1 Floor in the FHL

Once a month we have a “recognition luncheon” on our  B-1 floor to honor new and outgoing missionaries, plus those missionaries who have had birthdays, or who have completed their studies in various areas.  Our zone leader’s wife, Sis. Palmer, does a beautiful job of decorating for these luncheons.   It looked even better with all the food on it.  Because so many of our missionaries are from different countries, we usually have quite a variety of international dishes. 

Monthly potluck B-1 Luncheon

Our monthly “social group” outing this month was a Finnish dinner, hosted by one of the couples who are also on our floor, Elder and Sis. Aromaa, who are from Finland.  We got to try some of their favorite dishes, and enjoyed a slide presentation telling about the history and culture of Finland.  Unfortunately we forgot our camera that evening so we can't add any pictures here!

At one of our many meetings we learned some interesting statistics.  So far in 2015 we have had over 340,000 guests come to visit the Family History Library.  The popularity of our FHL makes it the #2 main tourist destination in SLC.  Temple Square, of course, is #1.  Of  the many people who have come to the FHL, over 48,000 were first-timers.  Over 7,000 came in groups.  1,049 tourist buses brought a lot of the groups.  829 genealogical societies are affiliated with our FHL world wide.  Please put our FHL on your to-visit list whenever you make plans to come to SLC, OK?

Now we’re looking forward to the holiday season and hope that you are too!