Freiberg in the Heart of Saxony A Free - "Frei" - and Beautiful City

Great Welcome Home for Missionary on the Left

We had a great time meeting with the returning missionary son, Kevin, at the home of Angela and Rene Fröbel for a Welcome Home Barbecue with many of the missionaries - here with Bill Moss. Kevin is the grandson of Frank Apel. Brother Apel, with picture below, is one of the original men who worked carefully with other faithful Saints here in Freiberg with Elder (President) Monson as the Freiberg Temple was brought about. The miracle of having a temple built and dedicated within the Communist-controlled country  came about with amazing cooperation and respect from otherwise atheistic leaders. 

Brother and Sister Frank and Helga Apel

It is a wonderful experience to walk into our Branch on Sundays and meet with so many people who have had such faith during DDR times in Freiberg. President Monson's book, Faith Rewarded, was a wonderful read before we came - and now to see and converse with brave participants from that time is an amazing part of our regular Sunday activities. This couple was one of those cited often by then Elder Monson, Brother and Sister Frank Apel. He speaks with a distinct accent from Saxony - sometimes indistinguishable from a conversation with someone with a very full mouth. She, however, speaks a beautiful "high" German dialect. They met so many years ago when he was on a mission to the north and east of his own Saxony. She brings a very understandable as well as intelligent and faithful insight to every Sunday School lesson! I have the blessing often on Friday night temple sessions to work with her in the initiatory blessings. Such a blessing for me, too.

The Spring beauty we have seen all around us has turned into a Super "Zuper" Summer. Our continued walks uphill and down and all around our Temple area have continually reminded us of our own California and Utah gardens and manicured landscaping!

Fauna and flora in abundance

As the days have become continually longer and the nights considerably shorter, I have double-checked what I thought was a similar latitude with our home cities. However, the lines indicate more of a similarity with southern Canada. We will expect many more delightful early mornings - we are up almost together with the 5:30 am sun dawning - and long, bright evenings into late-coming nights.

Rhododendrons, azaleas, roses and fruit gardens with their trees and berries

are everywhere visible! (Definitely gives me "heimweh" "homesickness" for all of our flowers as well as our raspberries, apples, peaches, plums, and grapes!)

Private Yet Shared Gardening "Sheds" and Grounds

We have walked past so many personal garden areas which are maintained through the summer. Individuals who have smaller private gardens are able to rent spaces for extensive planting areas. There are small cottages which are part of many of them. It looks like many people are 
interested in maintaining  plots full of all kinds of garden growing.There are people who are appointed to be in charge of communal areas even though they are privately owned. Fun to see so much collective interest so near to many of the very large buildings full of apartment dwellers.

It is fascinating to see the pruned branches so carefully cut back from last year's growth on pear, apple, apricot, plum and cherry. As in Utah, we don't see any citrus trees, but there is an abundance of all the above-mentioned fruit trees.                     

In our short time here, we have met Senior Missionary Couples from Utah but with a couple from Idaho, and Oregon. It is great to see their dedication in their temple service. They come and learn and pray and return home to their families every 12 or 18 months or so.

This darling couple seated downstairs in the missionary room at dinner, was here before us, and they have since returned. Kent and Marlies Freeman returned to Utah. She is actually German and was so helpful when I first came helping me to learn how to best pronounce blessings in the Temple. They first met on his mission, but after he returned home, he decided he would have to go back and propose and bring a special part of Germany back with him to his home!

Bill and Ann Moss are here from Idaho - Sugar City - as Bill always proudly interjects! They arrived just a month before we did. They were amazingly helpful in showing us all kinds of important places - grocery stores, places to go to become registered as permitted-to-stay foreigners, and all kinds of vital information! She is a wonderful pianist and organist, and she is definitely one of the most delightful missionaries with whom to work! It is so great to conduct with her at "organ" in our 7 AM Preparation Meetings! She is always enthusiastic and prepared!! More Senior Missionaries later - ooh, I don't know if I like that "Senior" name very much!!

Sisters Darton and Wacker

At the same time we have met and and been so inspired by wonderful Sister and Elder Full-Time Missionaries. Sister Darton and Sister Wacker have been such amazing examples of service - and both are speaking outstanding German as models for us and in great communication with our German brothers and sisters. Since this early photo, Sister Darton has returned to school AND to becoming a beautiful bride. Sister Wacker has just returned to school. She is a viola player par excellence. We surely have learned to love these dedicated missionaries!

Middle Saxony Orchestra featured at the Outdoor City Festival

In addition to working at the Temple compound, we have also been able to walk into and all around this beautiful city of Freiberg. Its origins were very early in German actually Saxon history. Germany didn't actually become a country until very late. All of these different people were "citizens" of many individual states or duchies, depending on the ruler of an area. We were able to attend festivals and concerts downtown many times. The final concert part of the "City Festival" held every year featured the famous Middle Saxony orchestra. The festival had been a wonderful time with booths for handicrafts, foods, and talent evenings. (The orchestra was set up under a tarp cover - the week had promised storms and pouring rain.) Because of the nearness of Freiberg to those beautiful mountains of wealth, we have here so many sudden bursts of gusty wind, downpours, thunder and lightning, "Gewitter" in German, throughout several seasons of the year. Most of the land is covered in  deep, rich greens as a result. It's hard for me to imagine these beautiful lush lands being trampled over by one empire's troops in pursuit of another one's throughout all of these European countries' histories!) Of course one of those storms was to rage in and finally chase the wonderful musicians with all their fine instrument under and behind cover. When this beautiful photo was taken, there was no idea of such a thunderstorm to match one of Beethoven's compositions. Ilona Harzt and her husband had invited us to several concerts previously as the orchestra was playing in their resident cathedral. I know the roof and windows are wonderfully appreciated there! There's a fun photo of us with the Harzt' outside the cathedral before the concert previously written up.

Flaming Schwiboggen

Twirling Pyramids

One larger area south of Freiberg is just at the edge of what is known as the Erzgebirge - Ore Mountains. Hundreds of years ago these mountains contained great mines full of veins of pure silver. There were many men brought in by the Saxon rulers just to mine it. It didn't need to be smelted. Of course, those rulers who "owned" the mountains were wealthy beyond belief. We learned that the citizens had counted on the earth - ores - for their livings. After the most wonderful ores had been mined from the earth, the Germans in this area, Seiffen, one of the central villages, later towns, moved to using other natural resources surrounding them. Their mountains are forested with beautiful evergreens The locals began that wonderful woodcarving and lace handwork for which they are now famous throughout the world. The townspeople work all year round carving wooden decorations by hand and with fine German machinery. Originally there was a focus on the Christmas season with nativities, angels, Santas, etc. Now all holidays throughout the year are celebrated - Valentine characters with hearts; Easter bunnies, eggs and flowers; even unusual characters riding motorcycles have joined the windows advertising specialities. Beautiful carved Also, today the work is not just done in factories. As we drove into Seiffen and other nearby vilages, we found most of the streets with individual homes advertising one sort of woodcarving specialty or another.