MEAL MEETING
Our week started off with a two-day MEAL Retreat in a conference room in our office in Frankfurt. (MEAL stands for Measure, Evaluate, Assess, and Learn) It is rare that all four Welfare & Self-Reliance Area couples are in the office at the same time. It is a privilege to serve with the Nelsons, Stokers & Johnsons and with our office staff, Eric, Celia, and Coraline. We took turns leading discussions on best practices in different types of humanitarian projects such as emergency response, refugees, food security, the Roma people, medical equipment donations, and the importance of involving members in service connected with humanitarian donations.
It was nice to be in an informal setting and get to know each other better and to have a break from the daily grind.
MEETING OLD FRIENDS
Our son Joshua served a two-year mission in Germany twenty years ago. He served for many months in Stuttgart where he became very close to the Muller family. We met twenty years ago when we picked Josh up from his mission and they invited us into their home for dinner. When we arrived in Germany last August, we found that the daughter of the Muller family (Esther) attends the same ward (church congregation) that we attend. Last Sunday her parents were visiting. It was wonderful to have a reunion with these good people who took such good care of our son while he served among them.
Our dear friends from Alaska, Dan and Cindy Young, serve in the Hamburg mission office. They were on a road trip furnishing mission apartments and added a temple trip to their itinerary. We met Thursday evening for a temple session and dinner. The reunion was renewing. We consider it such a tender mercy that we are serving in the same country at the same time! We enjoyed sharing Kaiserschmarrn (a Swiss-German Pancake) It was served with plum jelly and applesauce.
CHRISTMAS MARKETS
Europe’s Christmas markets date back to medieval times when German territories covered a wide swath of the continent. Christmas Market roots stretch back to Vienna in 1296 when Duke Albrecht I authorized 14-day fairs in the month of December. In 1384 King Wenceslas granted the town of Bautzen the right to hold a free market on Saturdays from St Michael’s Day (Sept 29) until Christmas. At the time the fairs we not directly connected to Christmas. Over time the tradition of Christkindlmarkts spread throughout the German speaking world.
On Saturday we visited two Christmas Markets – or in German, Weihnachtsmarkts. We enjoyed the festive atmosphere and delicious food.
Aschaffenburg Weihnachtsmarkt
Here we sampled reibekuchen (potato pancakes) and wurst.
Darmstadt Weihnachtsmarkt
Here we sampled pasta, mixed in a giant cheese wheel. They grate the cheese off the edges before they add hot pasta- the result is delicious.
Each market serves hot mulled wine and has its own mug. We started our collection this weekend. The hot kinder punch was just the ticket on a cold day.
The tradition of putting up a tree to celebrate Christmas started in Germany in the 16th century. The first written record of a Christmas tree appears in a 1527 document from the German city of Mainz. We don’t usually put up our tree until after Thanksgiving but visiting the Christmas markets put us in the Christmas spirit.
With love, Elder & Sister Lamb (aka Ed & Debbie, Mom & Dad, Pop Pop & Tu Tu)
Lambs in Central Europe 