Sunday, September 14, 2008 ~ Mannheim

Sunday morning was an early one since we wanted to attend Seth’s ward in Mannheim and that was about 2 hours away. But, we did it.. We were up, fed, ready and out the door by 7:00. The sun was just coming up and the views of Leiwen and the river were very beautiful, so we took a few minutes to get pictures before we headed off to Church.
I can’t tell you much about the ride since I slept most of the way, but I did wake up driving into Manheim. Seth drove us straight there to find out that we were actually a little early or really, just on time. We thought Church started at 9:00 but it really started at 9:30. We had a few minutes before the meetings started to meet several of his former missionary families and some even spoke English for us. I was a bit embarrassed that I couldn‘t speak German to show respect for them, but maybe in the next life???
They were very enjoyable meetings even though I had no idea what was being said. However, it was fun to watch the people. They acknowledged Elder Thomas from the stand and introduced his family to the ward at the beginning of the Sacrament Meeting. The Bishopric member who conducted spoke in English so we could understand his love and respect for Elder Thomas. At the end of the meeting, they again acknowledged Elder Thomas and all that he had done for their ward. He said they hoped that we would come to understand why Elder Thomas loves the German people as he does and hoped that we would enjoy our time there. They were very gracious people and you could tell that they admired “Elder Thomas”. They asked him to close their meetings with prayer. Again, I didn’t understand the words, but I could feel the power of the Spirit.
After church we changed our clothes and headed to the city center of Mannheim. Wow!! It is soooo beautifu!!! You can see that the Germans appreciate their heritage because they have made some of their historical sites amazingly beautiful places to be, with flower beds everywhere with arches and climbing vines covering the walkways. We ate a picnic lunch on a bench across from the Manheim Water tower which was built in 1888 and updated in 1988. The grounds surrounding it were a sight in themselves. We walked the streets that Elder Thomas walked while serving in Mannheim and saw the sites he enjoyed for several months. We headed back to our resort later in the day but still in time for Seth and James to fix us a wonderful dinner of brats and knoedel, which is like a dumpling. It was the first time that we had sat together for a family meal and it was just perfect. After dinner, Seth and James went hiking the trails around our little house and the girls watched a movie and relaxed. Dad went to bed early and took a nice nap. The others have gone on to bed now and I’m just finishing writing this account. It’s now 12:10 AM and we are getting up at 4:00 AM to take off for Paris. Till tomorrow…