Goldfish Crackers Please!

Arrival in Austria

View from the apartment

"So I'm here in Austria, it's a lot of fun! The area I'm in is compared to New York City, so yeah picture that, but I still love it.  My apartment is cool and comfy, it's not as big as others but that's ok for 2 people.  I sent pics of my apartment and my companion. 

My comp is really cool! I'm his 3rd "son" or 3rd person he has trained, so he knows what he is doing.  

Elder Summers first companion

Like we have to take trains and subways to get everywhere so its cool. There is graffiti everywhere too but its the cool kind, not the bad words kind, just like pictures and stuff.  So when we 1st got to Germany there was a train strike and the trains were running super slow so we missed it.  We just had to drive there in the vans so I did not get to place a Book of Mormon.

Sunday was super cool and really confusing, like it gave me a headache because I could not understand anything!  Elder Barnhart, my comp, told me that it's normal for that to happen the 1st month or so. Dinner appointments, we have had only one, Sunday and they could speak English.  A lot of people here can more than I expected!  Transfer weeks are really bad for getting lessons taught I have been told, but tomorrow we teach people so yeah.  

 I want Goldfish!! They don't have them here in Europe, so i would like some if you could. I hate this keyboard because the z and y are in different spots and it's throwing me off!  Oh my comps name is Elder Barnhart from California.  I live in Floridsdorf, it's a nice ish place. 

No, I didn't bring my flag,it was already in the apartment for a while and no we don't have a dryer so yeah.

I'll write you more next week. Yeah, I really want Goldfish, can you get me some? Hope all is well.

 Love,

 Elder Summers"

My Golden

"Dear Family of Elder Summers-

     

     We are delighted to tell you that Elder Summers arrived safely in Munich this morning!  He has been fed and trained, and is now in bed after a long day of orientation. We thought you might enjoy this picture from our meeting this evening. His new companion will be Elder Barnhart, and they will serve together in Vienna Austria. We are thrilled that he is here and we are grateful for his preparation and enthusiasm.  He will be a wonderful missionary.  We love him already, and will do all we can to help him have a successful mission.  Your son’s preparation day is on Mondays, and that is when he will be e-mailing you each week.  We also have a mission blog if you would like to see occasional pictures of what is occurring in the mission.  The address is:  alpinegermanspeakingmission.blogspot.de

If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact us.  We know that the Lord will bless you and your family during the next two years as you support your missionary in his service. 

Sincerely,

President and Sister Kohler

Alpine German-Speaking Mission"

My heart is so full to know Elder Summers is well cared for and loved.  He will be a servant for good, with a smile that warms your heart.  Heavenly Father placed my son where he truly needs to be.  During the paperwork process for Ben's visa for Austria, I made two mistakes that set us back almost 2 weeks.  I was so upset with myself, thinking I might have caused Ben to not enter Austria.  Heavenly Father is so aware of us, He knows our concerns, our worries, He loves us and listens to our prayers.  I have a firm testimony of this fact; Ben is a wonderful example of this knowledge.  Next week, pday brought to you from VIENNA!!!!  

Elder Summers with President and Sister Kohler

Alpine German-Speaking mission Ward map.  Elder Summers is currently serving in Wien 5th ward.

Belvedere Palace

Shenanigans and the Return of the White Raptor

Mothers Day came and went and my heart was filled to the brim.  Ben sounded so incredibly happy, no homesick sounds in his voice, no concerns or hardships, just happiness.  I couldn't ask for anything more than to know my son is happy.  As a special surprise Ben had downloaded a Mothers Day song into my Dropbox.  I cried, of course.  As I was watching, I noticed the knee brace on Elder Johnson and the foot brace and crutches for Elder Sorenson; even though they aren't my sons I was really concerned!  Fortunately both those goofy elders happened to be with Ben when he called home and I was able to speak to both.  Naturally that was one of the first things I asked them, "What Happened?"  Boys....  It was a prank for their mommas, oh for goodness sakes, yep, that's a boy for ya.  This weeks letter home from Ben was read with a tad bit of skepticism when the first line that grabbed my attention was "I dislocated my left pinkie", I was like, yeah, right.  Ok, proof is in the pudding, right?  Well, he sent pictures home, gross, gross pictures of his funky pinkie.  Ouch!  It didn't even phase him, he's such a bruiser.   Even though he's not the best at writing detailed letters, his goofy pictures tell stories all on their own.  

"Hey!  So I sent pictures this week.  Yesterday I dislocated my left pinkie playing volleyball; its ok now.  I just went to the hospital and they reset it; its fine, just a little bruised and swollen so that's the pictures i sent home.  My German skillz are well; I wish they could be better though, like I know how to say words but when I try to explain things or try and talk I forget a lot of things, but that's ok.  When I get to Germany I will have to speak the language in order to communicate so it will get better. Tell Jessie that I'm so proud of her for graduating.  I'm super excited and nervous to go into the field but it will pass. Tomorrow
We get 12 new Elders and Sisters, 2 new German speaking sisters, 3 ESL(English Second Language) and the rest are speaking English.  It was really, really nice to be able to talk to everyone and see how everyone has been doing.  Love, Elder Summers"

 Shenanigans part 1: "My lower back hurt so Elder Johnson was rubbing it and it grew from there, We have been playing hide and seek in the rooms and in the halls at night; its a lot of fun, so yeah" 

  Shenanigans part 2: "Yeah me and my companions have been dropping mix tapes. so its a lot of fun."  What's a mix tape? 

Shenanigans part 3:  Dislocated pinkie fingers

"I was trying to hit the ball and it caught my finger wrong so yeah.  I met some nice people in the Chorley hospital; talked with a dad and his son who had broken his pinkie. I talked with the dad about all the breaks we had, so that was fun."

Here's a snippet of Ben's companion's take on the dislocation, literally cried with laughter...

"It was a freak accident, I've never heard about this happening in volleyball, I've always thought of it as the easy, gentle sport. Anyway, he hit the ball with a bad hand, and it pushed his pinky out of alignment, pics included, more on dropbox. We went to the hospital, and got some x-rays, and finally, we went into the doctors room, where she told us that there were three options: pull it back in, give him some laughing gas and put it back in, or give him three shots to numb the finger, and then pull it back in. Naturally he chose the laughing gas. She sat him down, gave him the respirator, and had him breathe. He was a little impatient, but eventually he started talking a little funny and saying to the nurse "Ok, you do you." She sat down next to him, and started touching his finger gently, and he took out the respirator and said "I don't know if I'll be able to handle the pain." She pulled his finger into place and he right afterward took of the respirator again, and again said: "I don't know if I'll be able to handle the pain." He hadn't realized she had already done it, and when she told him, and took the respirator away, he burst out laughing in the craziest laugh you could imagine! He was sticking out his tongue and laughing, it was that crazy! I guess that's why they call it laughing gas! It was hillarious, and after we walked back to the MTC (we got a ride to the hospital from president preston fyi), everybody couldn't get enough of hearing the story! It was one of the funniest things I've ever seen. That was monday BTW, and he's fine now, has a little bruise on his finger." -Elder Lingen

   

"The sister in the last few pictures is one of my teachers, Sister Frelichkson.  I don't know how to spell her name, anyways, that was the last day she was our teacher so that's who that is."

Shenanigans part 4, The White Raptor Lives!:  These next few pictures are a shout out to all "The Squad" members that Elder Summers left behind in Oklahoma.  When Ben told me he had purchased the White Raptor at the local market for a pound, I wasn't surprised.  The pictures sent home with the journeys of the White Raptor DID surprise me and make me laugh that wonderful belly laugh.  I love that kids sense of humor.  I have a feeling The White Raptor will be making a few appearances throughout Ben's 2 year mission.  Enjoy!

Creepin' in the flowers.

The White Raptor storms the temple grounds

Feeling right at home in the Cretaceous period looking planter

All I can think about is the movie Meet the Robinson's where the T-Rex says "I have a big head and little arms. I'm just not sure how well this plan was thought through."  White Raptor marking Elder Summers scriptures.

Looks like Elder Raptor wants a name tag too!

Pday and Church History

Elder Summers touring the English church history sights

What a blessing to live in this digital era, where a mom can see her sweet boy looking so happy and hear all about his learning experiences while he's preparing to serve the Lord.  I feel so blessed each week to read and witness his progression, feel so blessed to know that the gifts of the spirit are real and present in Ben's life.  I may just be on a euphoric high knowing that in 4 short days I get to speak to Ben for our Mother's day chat, but this weeks long, run on sentence was especially sweet.  4 weeks in and Ben's doing fine, maybe a little frustrated but happy.  

*When he talks about the pictures "will tell me everything that I saw", I literally laughed out loud.  I haven't the foggiest what the scary looking alleyway is, or the beautiful stained glass window is apart of, or where the Monet looking Water Lilly Pond looking bridge is located.  He cracks me up.  I guess I'm going to have to do some early English church history research now.  Another positive side effect of a child serving a mission, you learn right along side your child.   Enjoy this weeks letter.

Tour bus fun.

"So yeah, I've been in here for a month now.  We went on a church history tour today, which was super amazing! We got to see a lot of the early English church history. I took a lot of pictures so that will tell you everything about what I *saw. German is going pretty swell. I'm getting the hang of it better than I thought I would honestly. I can bear my testimony, pray and have simple conversations with people, so its really fun. So there are also only 16 people in the MTC right now. The Germans, Greeks and the English 2nd language, for the rest of the week it will be that way because of maintenance and wanting to keep the numbers down. I love all the pictures you send me it makes me feel at home and I love pug.  I also told my district about Oklahoma and some of them want to come visit when we are done, hahaha. But yeah, other than that the days here are pretty much the same; wake up at 630, personal study, companion study, language study, lunch, and a lot of teaching.  The teaching is going OK for me but when I get into the lesson I forget all the German I have learned so that's fun.  Other than that, that's it! I miss you guys and hope you feel good.  Keep up the scripture reading .....Elder Summers"

"Scary?" alley, anyone, anyone?

English countryside

Natures pop of color, red tulips

Like a scene from one of Monet's paintings

Tut Tut, looks like rain (and an adorable Elder)

Saluting on the "Monet" bridge

I'll pay in cookies if anyone can enlighten me about the river.
Mystery solved!!  Thanks to another Alpine momma and a close family friend, it's the River Ribble Baptismal Sight, the first baptisms in England.  

Beautiful, but where are those steps leading?

So green, so lovely

"Don't they know how to park their cars?" -Little sister wonders

Portal to the Ministry of Magic?

Inquiring minds have to know the history behind such a beautiful window.

Who doesn't like a picture of an old cemetery?

He's picked up the missionary "gang" sign!

Here's a snippet of the early LDS history in England.  River Ribble Baptismal Sight