THE NEW YEAR 2010

January is not our favorite month because it is so cold. But the coldest day we have had was in December -- a freezing minus 17 C and that was the day we were walking around Old Innsbruck with another senior couple. We wanted to
see the Christmas lights, etc. but the only good part was when we were inside a restaurant trying to get warm.

One of our young adults was married in the Swiss Temple in December and had their reception here in Innsbruck. They served a full, delicious dinner (some of us brought a salad) and the program was delightful. Then they danced. I was glad to see that the groom had two left feet, just like me! (Rosalyn) Jerry and I also danced and it was a fun, fun evening. They will make their home in Italy and we will certainly miss them. Rosalyn and Kristin, a young adult leader (at the wedding)

We also had a baptism of a special young man. He is the only member in his family, but is so happy to be a member of the church.

Another baptism is planned in February. A young girl has been attending our branch for a long time. She wanted to be baptized but her parents said that she must wait until she is 18. She is now 16 and her mother said -- "OK, but maybe I will be baptized with you." This was a surprise, but the mother has been taking missionary lessons now too and a baptism date is set for February 14th. YEA Us with the cute mother of the 16-year-old girl.

We continue our busy schedule working with the young adults. They did two service projects last week -- one was helping another single adult move to another student apartment. We took our car and loaded it up and helped with the move. Then a few of them also helped a family in our branch do some painting at their new apartment. The apartment is one of the largest we have seen around here and is very lovely -- they have a pink room, an orange room and a green room (the one the young adults painted, plus other room colors and designs on the wall. The painting gang.

We are also cooking a full meal after Institute every Thursday evening. Each week we prepare a different menu. Most things are cooked at home and then transported to the church, then I can do other things while something is in the oven, etc. Then we finish it all up at the church -- cooking, warming, setting up tables etc. We prepare a lot of food for a lot of hungry kids. Sometimes I think that we have prepared too much -- but then every single crumb is eaten. #1 Chief - My favority, happy cook -- cooking at the church

January has been a wonderful month. Last year we had tons of snow, but very little this year -- we are always grateful to drive up and down these narrow, winding roads on dry pavement. (On one side of the road is the mountain, and on the other side is a very steep drop-off !)

We are always truly amazed to be in the midst of all this wonder. We are happy, healthy and feel truly blessed.