MCO God and Country Tour

I'm not even sure where to start with all these DC posts, so I'm just going to start with the whole reason we even planned a DC trip in the first place...the MCO God and Country Tour.  

This trip was announced last year during that season when I cancelled my whole life because I thought I was moving to Alabama.  Last December, when I realized the relocation thing wasn't as imminent as I thought, I decided to re-join MCO and also to go on the DC tour.  There were a few conditions to be able to go on the DC tour, though:  

1.  You had to have been in MCO for the entire year, both Fall 2015 and Spring 2016.
2.  You had to have been in MCO for the To Be American season.  
3.  You had to attend the mandatory rehearsals in May or June after the regular spring season ended.
4.  You had to get yourself to Washington DC.  

I could only meet two of those requirements, so I assumed DC was not an option.  But, the great thing about being friends with the right people and asking a lot of questions is that you get to do stuff that you probably aren't entirely qualified to do...

...so a DC plan started to come together for this summer.  

Craig and I had been to DC in 2007 and it was on our list of places to take the kids, so the adventurous people in my house were super excited to plan this trip.  We started early making reservations with the Capitol and the White House and all the other places we knew we wanted to secure appointments with.  (Those pictures will be coming in the next day or so...)

The (funny, frustrating, endearing...) thing about me is that stuff that sounds like an awesome opportunity in January often turns into stuff I'm dreading by the time May rolls around.  (But in my defense, I'd like to also point out that I moved a house, lived in a hotel for 14 days with three kids, drove 12 hours across the lower half of the country, survived torrential rainstorms, and was a single parent during a big chunk of that time.  So I think I've earned a little extra compassion for having to do everything all at once.)

After much dread, worry, panic and procrastination for two whole weeks, and a LOT of waffling about whether I even wanted to go on this tour anymore, I finally resigned myself to this giant thing I had committed not just myself to but also Emma.  So I packed my bags and dragged myself into the van.  And if you think there was anything delightful about traveling with me last week you would be totally mistaken.  

We had 2 1/2 days in DC before any of the MCO stuff started, and then it was a little insane after that.  Here's what our schedule looked like:

After a long day of driving on Sunday and two straight days of touring DC in the summer heat and humidity for more miles than my poor little FitBit has ever counted in it's life, I was a mess by Wednesday, physically and emotionally.  The meltdown started on Monday night, actually, and lasted until Wednesday morning when I got to the Strathmore.  I don't know why crowds and unfamiliar experiences freak me out so much lately, but they do.  By Wednesday afternoon when Craig and the kids dropped me off at the concert hall and left to go explore more Smithsonians, I was so nervous that I thought I might be sick a few times.  But I managed to keep it together.  The familiar Dallas faces helped a little, but I mostly didn't talk to anyone all during that rehearsal and recording session. I just followed all the other sheep to the places we were supposed to be, and sang when they told me to sing.  

They voiced us immediately and put us into rows with core singers in the center of the section.  This group is just Altos.  #eek

Right after we were voiced, we went up to the choir loft.  Because there were so many of us, the two tallest rows of Altos and Baritones in the back had to stand on the floor behind the orchestra. 

Thankfully I'm not one of those tall girls, so I got to stand in the front row of the loft.  #hallelujah  This was my perfect, unimpeded view, which is awesome if you have to be packed in a choir loft for three days like a sardine, but not so great if you want to meet any of the other 468 people singing with you in the choir.  (I was ok with not meeting anyone on Wednesday.)  

I opted not to spend my dinner break with food or people and just found a secluded little corner with a pretty view where I could just be quiet for an hour or so.  I watched people mingling and socializing and reuniting and wondered how in the heck they weren't having the same sensory overload I was having.  

By 10:00 when we were finished for the night, we had recorded only two songs.  

On Thursday morning, our call time was bumped from 9:00am to 10:00am so I slept in a little and Craig and I had time for breakfast before he dropped me off at the Strathmore.  The kids all slept in until he got back to the hotel.

We recorded all morning.  Two more songs done before lunch.  That's me in the front row right in the center making absolutely no attempt to talk to anyone.  I was just concentrating.  At our break, Craig and the kids picked me up and we had lunch together before Emma had to check in at 1:30 with all the youth choirs.  By 3:00 when the kids all came in to join us, they looked like an ocean out there filling all the front row audience seats and also several of those little "boats" in the balconies.  It was truly an awesome thing to see them come in.  There were twice as many children as adults!

We recorded for 3 hours before our dinner break which was slightly more crowded than mine had been the night before.  Emma and I found a table in the lobby and ate the dinner we had brought with us.  Singing that beautiful music all day was starting to help me feel a little more calm than I had been on Wednesday, even with the crowds.  And a little walk around that beautiful pond outside helped, too.  Maryland is gorgeous!  

We finished recording Amazing Grace at 9:45pm and then we started I Stand All Amazed.  That's a HUGE song (which you'll be able to hear when it's released in the fall!) and at that hour, after two grueling days, it's next to impossible to muster up enough energy to sing it well.  But...when you have limited time in a recording session, and you know everyone including the directors are as exhausted as you are, somehow you gather what you need and make it work.  We did it in four takes.  #shocking #miraculous  It might be the best song on the whole CD.  We finished at 11:00pm and went back to the hotel.  That was the night the fire alarms went off and we had to make an emergency evacuation down nine flights of stairs and then wait for the fire department to tell us we could go back to bed.  It was about 1:00am when we finally got to sleep.  #zombiesthenextmorning 

And then Friday...

I was tired.  Logistically it just made sense for me to be the driver that day to get Emma and me where we needed to be, and for Craig to take the other two on the Metro into DC for the day.  I'm not great with navigating in unfamiliar areas.  I'm not very patient after only a few hours of sleep.  And I'm not at my best when I have to rush around.  

Emma had to be at the church for a youth activity at 9:00am and my call time at the Strathmore was at 9:30am.  They're only a few miles apart, but traffic in Bethesda, MD is not speedy at that hour.  And I think DC must be the location of the world's most traffic lights and intersections!  

I got Emma to her activity right on time...but then it took me 25 minutes to drive 6 miles.  :(  

And then I had to find a parking place in the Metro station across the street.  :(

I was about 15 minutes late for my call time.  For a second, as I was shuffling through 400 people to make my way into my front row center seat in the loft, it occurred to me that if I had made any friends, probably all the people around me would have known that I had had to evacuate my hotel room at midnight the night before and also drive my youth to her activity that morning, and they might have been a little patient and understanding.  But I hadn't.  And they weren't.  

When we got out of our recording 30 minutes late, and I realized I still had to stand in a mile long line in the lobby to get the newly issued and mandatory jewelry for the concert that night, get to my car across the street, and pick up Emma from the church 5 minutes ago, I was done.  I decided I was just not coming back.  I didn't stand in the jewelry line.  I wasn't calm driving to pick up Emma.  I tried to call Craig but he was unavailable.  And so I just drove and cried.  And halfway there, I decided I was done with this whole ridiculous tour.  It was too much and I didn't have anything left to contribute anyway.  

It turns out, Emma wasn't the only youth left in the parking lot like I had envisioned.  Of course she wasn't because most of their parents are in the Grand Chorus, too, and we were all stuck there in that same recording session that got out 30 minutes late.  Emma wasn't mad at me for leaving her stranded, and they had arranged for a Kona Ice truck to be in the parking lot for the kids so not only were they not mad, they were totally happy to be hanging out there for a little longer.  

So that little relief made me realize I might not be able to do the concert, but I could at least go back to the hotel and put on my dress.  

There were some other little frustrations during our two hour break... 
Like Emma forgot her black shoes, and the Target that was 2.2 miles away from the Strathmore took us 18 minutes to drive to.  ugh...
And the Dallas Alto II's sent a group text that we were all to meet 5 minutes before call time to take a group picture.  also ugh...
And that blasted parking garage across the street...this time in a floor length gown with hair and eyelashes that needed to stay pretty for 8 more hours!  
And I still didn't have my mandatory jewelry.

We made it.  I wasn't happy or pretty, but we made it.  

We sang and sang for 2 1/2 hours for the video recording and a little rehearsal for the concert and then they let us break for dinner.  # exhausted #hangingonbyathread 

Emma and I found each other in the lobby and by some miraculous chance the little cafe that had been closed all week was open and making food!  And I realized that I hadn't eaten anything since dinner the night before.  After a really good dinner and two giant bottles of water, my disposition improved significantly.  I even talked to some new people and made a couple of friends! :)  (I'm not sure why eating is always last on my list of survival essentials when I'm miserable.)  

I worked out the jewelry thing right before the break.  I had eaten food and drank water.  I took a selfie with my cute daughter.  I connected with people who also felt like they couldn't sing one more note, but showed up in their dresses anyway.  I reapplied more red lipstick.  And I got back into that choir loft. 

And just like I anticipated before I left, it was in the last few hours that all the effort was finally worth it.  I saw the familiar face I always see in the audience when I can't take one more step or sing one more note.  We sang all the songs that breathe life into me.  And I had what I needed.  

The concert was absolutely amazing, and it was so worth it.  

And this concert Saturday morning...holy cow! It was the most amazing thing ever to be standing on the steps of the Jefferson Memorial singing Amazing Grace and God Bless America while tourists walked by and Secret Service helicopters flew around in the air.  

There were really difficult things about last week and parts of it that I wish I could do over again with a better attitude.  But that moment when How Great Thou Art ended and the audience loved it so much that we had to do an encore in the Strathmore, and that other moment when we sang patriotic songs in the National Mall totally made up for any tears, frustration, discouragement, exhaustion and chaos that existed before.

My voice is on a CD.

I sang with a magnificent and enormous choir under the direction of not one or two, but 5 musical geniuses.

I'm in a music video with Jenny Oaks Baker.

I survived all those things I thought I couldn't do before we left.  

Sometimes I can do hard (and amazing) things.  

"Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." - Philippians 1:6

SaveSave
SaveSave

I. GOT. A. NUN. SELFIE.

SO THIS WAS THE BEST WEEK OF MY MISSION!!

On Tuesday morning we met Victor at a little water fountain in the middle of the city and we taught him the Plan of Salvation. 

It turned out to be one of the most spiritual experiences of my life because as I was testifying to him and teaching him how he is a child of God, and that there is more to this life than just being on the earth and then dying, I felt the spirit SO STRONGLY!  I KNOW that we are ALL children of our Heavenly Father! I looked around to the bustling streets of Graz, Austria and I couldn't help but feel so much love for everyone around me, and know that this gospel that I was testifying of right then was exactly what everyone around me needs! I can't really explain exactly what I felt, but I just know that it was a tiny bit of what God feels for all of us :) 

Then we went to a member's house for lunch and her home was HUGE (for Europe) and a combination of something from Pride and Prejudice and Pier One...so basically my dream home :) She was so kind and so lovely, so it was a great appointment! 

Then we welcomed the Wien 1 sisters to the beautiful city of Graz and started our ultimate tausch! I worked with Sister Price, the best sister missionary ever, and as usual we had a lot of fun together! Just love that girl!! Best part of our tausch: WE GOT A SELFIE WITH A NUN. A WHITE NUN. (Dress color, not skin color...but actually her skin was also white.) Graz goal: check! 

On Wednesday around 12:00 Wien 3 arrived in Graz, and we were going to start our second ultimate tausch of the week, but before Wien 1 left we decided to all have lunch together on the top of Schloßberg! I don't think Graz has ever had 6 sister missionaries in the city at one time, so it was super fun! Hamburgers on top of my favorite mountain, can life get much better? Yes it can.

We said goodbye to Wien 1, and then I got to work with Sister Gunderson from Wien 3 for the next ultimate tausch! She is brand new in the mission, but man she is a fireball! It's good to have some golden fire around every once in a while to keep your motivation burning :) we also had a lot of fun together! 

Wednesday night Schwester Ollendorf took us to the holy well with holy spring water, and we got to see nuns singing around the well! It was like the Sound of Music! I think this week was so good because I had so many nun interactions, mensch! And then she took us on the ultimate drive through the mountains and we got the BEST views of the whole city, and found some pretty cool things up in those hidden mountain fields and forests :) 

We got a selfie with some Austrian hunters wearing traditional Austrian hunting clothing (didn't know that was a thing), and I even got a selfie with a llama! Who knew you could find llamas in the mountains of Austria!! Wednesday was probably the best day of my whole mission! And I spent it with the cutest new missionary ever :) 

Thursday we had a couple other appointments, and then the four of us sisters helped Najla decorate the church for the YSA dance this weekend for like 5 hours! We hung streamers, blew up balloons, painted posters, made a photo booth, cut out pictures, set out food... it was so much fun!! But it was pretty exhausting! After decorating we said goodbye to Wien 3, and finally Sister Brinkerhoff and I were back together again! I missed her during our four days of tausching! Even though we still were in the same area haha. But it was nice to get back into our normal routine! Friday we did weekly planning all day, and popped into the YSA dance to check on some of our investigators we had invited (but really it was so we could listen to the cool new music that isn't missionary appropriate and bob our heads a little).

Saturday was Sister Brinkerhoff's year mark! We celebrated by helping Gina move and carrying lots more heavy things down a lot more stairs, and then we had a couple lessons at the church with some investigators! Sunday we went to the Sander's for dinner, and because we don't have elders here anymore, Sister Brinkerhoff and I had to be the ones to entertain the little boys. So we happily let them capture us and beat us up and tie us to the couch and shoot their nerf darts at our heads. All part of a missionary's job! 

This week I finished the Book of Mormon for the second time on my mission! I read it with the question of how I can be a better disciple of Christ, and I learned so much! I just love the Book of Mormon! I'm now reading it in German for the first time all the way through! It is going a little slower, but I can finally understand everything, so that's awesome! 

So yes, that was my wonderful week! Transfer calls are on Saturday!! So we will see what the future brings for me :) 

Love you all, have a great week!

Liebe Grüße,

Sister Thunell

Home

We're home...  

It's been a super long, crazy exhausting, and mostly great week.  We turned a 12 hour drive home into 15 hours so Craig could drive us through Shenandoah National Park, which was totally worth it, and so we could drive some back roads and look for a few barns.  They have awesome ones in Virginia!  I have a million pictures to download and edit and about 3 blog posts to write before you'll be sufficiently caught up on all of our adventures.  

But for tonight, I'm just going to unpack, start a load of laundry and go to sleep.  I feel like I could sleep for three straight days and it still might not be enough.  

I'm so grateful for a safe, uneventful trip home today. for my own bed to sleep in with all 5 of my favorite pillows, and for the rest of the summer to finish getting settled into this house.

Goodnight. ❤️

Faith is Like a Little Seed

Guten Tag!! Time for the weekly recap! 

So this week we found two new investigators!  That makes for a grand total of 12, which is so awesome!!  Our week was full of a bazillion appointments, but I will just highlight some of my favorites.  On Wednesday we went to the Trieb's house, they're an older couple in the ward, and it was the most fun I've had at a member appointment in a long time! We were just talking and laughing the whole time and it was awesome!  Bruder Trieb showed us super old pictures of people in the ward, and pictures of their children and all the fun trips they've taken to America.  It was just really fun to be with them and get to know them :)  Then that night we had an appointment with Victor!  He was one of the elder's investigators, but I taught him a couple times while they were still here.  He's from Spain and he is just the nicest guy!  Like the big brother I never had :)  He asked some pretty tough questions, and I think he is struggling getting started with a testimony about the church, but it was a great lesson in the end.  And he taught us a little Spanish so that was fun :) I tried reading a couple verses in the Spanish Book of Mormon, and I was just pronouncing everything like a German!  It was so embarrassing!  I've lost all of my Spanish!

This week we also got to meet two brand new babies!!  Ketty, our less active from Peru, had her cute little girl, and the Hirschmann's had their little boy! I love babies!! Unfortunately as missionaries we can't hold babies, so I had to be content with just patting their tiny little tummies and watching them sleep. 

On Saturday we had Zone Conference in Salzburg!  President Kohler and his family came, and it was literally the BEST Zone Conference ever!!  I loved it so much!! We learned about the 12 tribes of Israel, and the duties of the descendants from those tribes, and also about being the first-born in a covenant and having a double portion of the birthright.  It was just so enlightening, and he connected it all back to why we are here as missionaries, and why this is our job to share the gospel, and why we even care about helping people.  We talked a lot about being a successful missionary, a motivated missionary, and an obedient missionary, and those were all things I needed to hear!!  

We also have some exciting news in our mission: we are getting the mobile area book! That will make things sooo much easier for all of us and I'm so excited!  Because of the European privacy laws, we haven't been able to have it on our iPads till now, so it will be so great to finally have it!

Yesterday we had a goal of having 9 investigators at church.  We invited 12 so we were thinking that it would be no problem to have 9!  In Preach My Gospel we are taught to make goals with faith, and expect the Lord to fulfill His promises to us, so I literally had SO MUCH FAITH that 9 people would come to Sacrament.  Well, church starts at 9:00, and when I looked around at 8:56 we only had three investigators!  Which is still amazing and so wonderful, but I thought I had enough faith that we would have 9!  As Sacrament Meeting started, I realized that we would not reach our goal, in fact we would miss it by a long shot.  I was a little disappointed and wondered what more I could have done, how much more faith I needed to have to move these mountains in my life, and why these people had chosen not to come.  It's hard for me to have faith that things will happen because I've kind of programmed myself in life to not be disappointed if things don't work out, and even expect them to sometimes not work out!  And now that I finally put that aside and had a ton of faith, I thought things would work out.  But they didn't. 

BUT...I learned a really important lesson :) Wie immer. Faith is not only to hope for things to work out exactly the way you want them to.  Faith is to trust in God's plan, to trust that He knows better than we do, that He can see further ahead than we can, and that He is in complete control!  Faith means that you know who you are, a child of God, and that you love and trust Him above anything else!  To quote the primary song: "Faith is trust in God above. In Christ, who showed the way." Faith isn't just hoping things will happen, and having your wish come to pass.  It's being okay when things don't go according to your own plan, but instead according to the way of the Father's plan.  It was a great lesson to learn, and one that I will probably continue learning over and over throughout my mission and throughout life. 

Okay I can't English anymore, but I love you all and I hope you have a wonderful week!

Liebe Grüße,Sister Thunell

Updates from the Week...and a Road Trip

Emma likes to make me venture out of this house.  It's probably a good thing I have people like her in my life otherwise I would never go anywhere or see anything.  

We found the grocery store...

Which means that we've made dinner every night since we've been here.  I can't even tell you how happy that makes me.  Even in this not-quite-settled, slightly dysfunctional, left handed kitchen,  having dinner ready at the same time every night and eating it all together is absolutely one of the greatest blessings of being in this new house.

Speaking of eating together...I found this awesome round table on Craigslist last week and dragged Craig, three kids and both of our vehicles 20 miles away to help me pick it up from the nicest woman who is relocating to Oregon with her dog,  We gave our giant white kitchen table to one of my friends before we moved, so we've been without one for a little while and eating in the dining  room which is a little too formal for dinner at night.  And I kind of like all that light in the kitchen.  It has a leaf so it can extend when we need it to, and I also need to find two additional chairs, but we've totally loved this treasure and it fits perfectly in the space.  

And speaking of adventures...the girls and I had a night by ourselves while Craig was at Scout Camp with McKay, so we (mostly Emma) decided we should explore a little.  She was thrilled with the giant shopping center we found and I was pretty excited about the sunset behind it. 

We drove home after a really fun evening out, put on jammies, and piled in my bed to catch up on all the YouTube happenings I've missed in my life (also according to Emma.) The girls just slept in my room that night.  

On Friday night the girls went to a stake dance in Huntsville.  That's two hours away from us!  The YM president happens to live in our neighborhood, so he and his son picked the girls up at 4:30, met the rest of the youth and leaders at the church at 5:00, and then drove them to Huntsville for a 7:00 dance. Holy cow!  What a long night!  I think they only have dances once a quarter here because it's quite a commitment to get the kids to them.  Since McKay still had one more night of scout camp and Craig and I had a free night, we decided to go to the temple and out for dinner.

Birmingham is a limited use temple which means they only have a handful of sessions scheduled each week and everything else is by appointment only.  That's such a huge change from Dallas where I could just wake up and decide I wanted to go to the temple that day and then drive to the temple.  I'll have to be more intentional with my temple attendance here.  But it was so nice to be there and with a smaller temple, you certainly get tons of attention!  I think we talked to just about everyone in that building.  :)

After the temple, we drove to Craig's favorite restaurant, Rock and Roll Sushi, which is kind of the antithesis of the temple atmosphere where we had just been, but it was so good...and the music was really good...and the menus are on album covers!  #love

We leave tomorrow right after church for our Washington DC road trip where Emma and I will be singing with 1300 other people and recording an MCO CD.  

I got the detailed schedule yesterday morning and honestly had to curl up into a heap in the closet for awhile and regroup before I could even muster the desire to go on this tour.  I know I'll be so happy for the experience once it's over, but right now, all I can see is a lot of orchestrating in a place I'm not familiar with, and a lot of really really big personalities all squished together for three days with two directors who are perfectionists!  hmmm...

It'll be 9:45 on Friday night when we end with How Great Thou Art in that concert hall in Bethesda with all 1300 of us and the orchestra and Jenny Oaks Baker that I'll realize it was all worth it.  

Right now, I need to just stop procrastinating and stop rehearsing all the possible horrific and frustrating things that might happen and just pack all this stuff...

I'm bringing my camera and my iPad so I can take tons of pictures and hopefully post a few of them here, but I really have no idea what to expect this week.  Wish me luck...and wish the rest of my family luck dealing with me in the next 24 hours, and if I happen to be inactive for awhile, have a great week!

Choosing JOY

Guess what?  Yesterday was crappy.  Just one of those grey, lifeless days.  And I wrote a whole blog post about it that was equally grey and lifeless.  And then when I got up this morning, I realized I never hit the PUBLISH button.  I took that as a sign that not only did I not need to write about that stuff yesterday, but I also don't need to sit in days like that.  

They come, and I never like them, but they always leave.  

This is what the world looked like from my kitchen window this morning...

...there was not one sign of distress anywhere, and for a second I didn't think about terrorist activities, or the frustratingly hopeless election coming up, or alligators eating people's babies.  I didn't worry about my missionary in Germany or my 12-yr-old at Scout Camp or my girls having to travel two hours to a youth dance tonight.  I didn't think about all the people who are too far away form me most days whose voices are starting to fade a little too much in my head already.  I didn't worry about future callings or making friends or this upcoming trip to DC that I'm SO not prepared for.  I just enjoyed watching the sun come in through all those windows and I looked forward to the day.  And I wondered why I don't get up that way every morning.  

I always see those quotes everywhere on social media that say, "Choose JOY" 

I even have it on my phone case.  You'd think I'd be better at remembering it every day.  

But honestly, most days I feel like I'm pretty much a slave to whatever mood I happen to wake up in.  And a lot of times it's based on the weather.  

Yesterday looked like this...

Some people like rain, but I don't happen to be one of them.  Looking out the window and seeing this says, "Choose Miserable" to me.  

Choosing JOY, like writing a blog post, is a privilege and a responsibility, which means it requires some effort.  I don't want to just come here casually every day and leave miserable footprints all over this blog.  I'd rather have it be filled with light, love, gratitude and joy.  

During these interim days when there is no real reason or urgency to get up and DO anything, I could easily stay in bed and do absolutely nothing.  Or I could wander around the house all day in jammies moving things around and cleaning things and call it productivity.  Or I could be at the mercy of my teenagers and spend the day running them around.  Why do they love to be in constant motion?  On days like this when there is no schedule it is so much harder, but just as important to make an intentional decision to CHOOSE JOY.  I have to set my day up for JOY instead of letting the weather and whatever other loud variable dictate my mood and my pace.  Because if I don't, the days suddenly all seem grey and lifeless.  

A joyous day for me is one where I have heard the Spirit whisper things in my head.  It's one where I have acted on promptings or done things I didn't wake up thinking I would do.

Creativity = JOY
Purpose = JOY
Connecting with other humans = JOY
Spiritual increase = JOY

And if I want to have a day sprinkled with at least a little bit of that stuff, then I have to choose that

...by actually getting ready in the morning...like with my hair brushed and a little lipgloss on and wearing clothes I didn't sleep in the night before.

...by taking the time first thing in the morning to pray and read my scriptures, 

...and by making sure there are moments of quiet somewhere in the 16-18 hours that I'm awake.  Sometimes they're tiny, but if I look for them and capitalize on them, I can do amazing things with 5 minutes.     

"The struggle of life is one of our greatest blessings.  It makes us patient, sensitive, and Godlike.  It teaches us that although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it."  - Helen Keller

I could spend my days being productive and my nights worrying about everything that's not going well in the world and in my life.  Or, I can do something better with my days.  

Today I chose JOY.  

Scout Camp

McKay left for Scout Camp on Monday morning at 4:30am.  I kept thinking as Craig was driving him to the church, what an unusual blessing it is to move into a brand new ward in a city where we know absolutely no one, and yet feel entirely comfortable sending our 12-yr-old off to Scout Camp 90 miles away with boys and adults we barely know.  (Let me just clarify that I don't actually know any of the boys or the adults at all...like I wouldn't recognize them if I passed them in the grocery store, which hopefully I won't this week because they should all be at Scout Camp.  Craig is the entirely comfortable one.  I had to pray some mighty prayers on Sunday night and Monday morning to even pretend to be comfortable and happy as they walked out the door.)  

This tiny little Boy Scout troop is a far cry from the one McKay went to Scout Camp with last year when his dad was the Scout Master and he texted me a report every night and I worried a whole lot less.  

The leaders here asked Craig to help chaperone at the camp overnight on Tuesday which I was totally relieved about.  He came home with at least a few details and a pretty good, experienced point of view about the camp and the leaders so I wouldn't worry as much.  I've still been worried anyway.  McKay is apparently having the time of his life.  He talked the leaders into letting him sleep in his hammock instead of his tent.  He decided in his free time to make a super thick rope out of the little stringy things he pulled off a a dead tree trunk.  He's doing the mile swim and the wilderness survival night (I'm not super excited about that one...) and apparently at dinner on Tuesday night, he made a beeline for the salad bar and filled a giant plate with a mountain of salad.  That's not surprising.  He would pick vegetables and fruit over any other food most days. 

Hundreds of other boys are at this scout camp.  Hundreds of other 12-yr-olds have gone to Scout Camp in the history of scouting.  McKay's Scout Master used to work at this particular camp for 5 years before he became the Scout Master for this little troop.  He's a knowledgeable and an attentive leader.  And a small troop means more individual attention and fewer opportunities to wander off or get in trouble...my friend, Amy, had to remind me of that little benefit.  There are tons of reasons to be thrilled about this opportunity for McKay and to be grateful that we moved here in time for him to participate in it.  

But for the next 2 1/2 days, I might be wandering off into my room to have a few more of those hearty prayers and I might be the most excited mom to see that scout van pull into the parking lot on Saturday morning.  I kind of don't even mind one bit that they're planning to pack up and leave before breakfast and be back early on Saturday morning.  A whole week is a long time to be away from your 12-yr-old...  

The Piano of My Dreams

I started playing the piano when I was 8 or somewhere close to that.  We had a little electronic organ in the house that I figured out how to play and because of that my parents thought there was some kind of musical genius housed in me so they scrambled around and found a used upright piano for $600 and then a teacher from...I have no idea where.  Looking back on both of those things, they were the most amazing finds EVER considering that my parents had very little formal musical training and even fewer music connections.  That little piano moved with us to Houston a few years later, and then to Austin with me when I left my dorm but absolutely had to have a piano in my apartment, and then to Atlanta, Seattle, and back to Atlanta after I got married.  The best $600 uninformed investment my parents ever made! 

My piano teacher's name was Charlotte Atkinson and she had the most beautiful shiny black grand piano I had ever seen.  She also had about 120 cats.  While I waited for my lessons to start each week, her sitting room would gradually become filled with cats as they revealed themselves from behind curtains and underneath couches and eventually ended up somewhere near or on top of me within 5 minutes.  Something about me has always been a cat magnet, but I was too painfully shy at that age to tell them to go away or to tell Mrs. Atkinson that I was allergic to them.   

Oh, how I admired that brilliant, eccentric woman.  She was extremely stern about the piano.  She almost never played anything for me because she wanted me to learn to count and not play just by copying what I heard.  But every now and then, when I had mastered some piece of music as much as I was capable, she would sit down next to me on the bench and play it the way it was supposed to be played.  I never felt like she was being showy, just trying to inspire me to greatness.  She gave very few compliments and pushed me HARD to play things before I was ready and to learn THEORY above all else!  I was extremely intimidated by her, and I'm pretty sure I never spoke a word to her or looked at her in the entire 6 years I took lessons from her.  Between my constant sniffing and frustrating lack of response to every question, she must have thought I was such a odd little girl.  She entered all of her students in state and national piano and sight reading competitions and held group lessons and recitals in grand concert halls so we would have the experience of playing on a stage.  I wanted so much to do everything she thought I could do, so I worked hard every week and practiced and practiced and practiced every single day.  My goal was always to get one of those rare compliments, or better yet...a smiley face drawn on my lesson book with her red pen!  Those were the ultimate measure of accomplishment with that woman.  I only got a handful of each in 6 years, but they were well worth all the work.    

I continued taking piano lessons after we left California and even minored in music in college, but there really has never been anyone as inspiring as Mrs. Atkinson.  I've only ever played casually since I left her and never at the level she would have preferred, but she definitely unleashed in me a desire to always have a piano within reach.  Unfortunately that doesn't always ensure its use.  Something about knowing there is one available and that some level of ability still exists in these fingers has always been comforting, though.  

Last summer, when we realized a relocation was happening, Craig and I decided our very old, hand-me-down piano would not be making the trip to Birmingham with us.  We had given that beautiful upright from my childhood to a friend before moving from Atlanta to Utah, and after a miserable year or so of living without one in my in-laws' basement, my sister-in-law let us "permanently borrow" hers when she upgraded to a shiny, black baby grand.  It was a great temporary piano for those years in Utah and Allen, but it was too old and tired to make another move, so it moved to a neighbor's house a few months before we left Allen.

I hadn't really thought that a piano would be at the top of the priority list when we got here because I knew this one wouldn't be a hand-me-down.  When Craig's grandmother passed away in 2010, all the grandchildren received a small inheritance.  Craig and I had tagged that money six years ago for the piano of my dreams, but never got around to purchasing it for our house in Allen.  Somehow it managed to make the priority list when we moved here, though, for which I am immensely grateful.  

I happened to be looking for something else on Craigslist last week and saw an ad that said a couple near us was selling their piano studio and that all their inventory needed to be moved out by the end of the month.  We called and made an appointment for Saturday afternoon and this was one of three baby grands they had left.  We had a definite price range, limited space, and I knew I did not want a shiny black grand piano. (Those are too fussy and formal for my personality, I think.)  So we went without high hopes or expectations, just to look.  

We left there with a bill of sale and a delivery date for this beautiful thing...  

The man we talked to on Saturday is also a pastor at a local church and he was so nice.  He asked us, like nearly everyone else here, if we had already found a church home yet.  We assured him that that was the first thing we had found when we moved here.  And then I fumbled through about four or five hymns out of my giant green Hymnbook while he asked  about our lives and told us a little more about his, and then we secured a time and date for delivery for the piano.  

And then I spent the whole weekend wondering if we had been too impulsive? wondering if we should have shopped around more? wondering if Craigslist is a reputable place to find a baby grand piano?  wondering if it was really as mustard-y yellowish as my head was remembering it?  wondering if it would fit in the only space we had planned for it?  wondering how they would get it through the door?  wondering what the heck I was going to do if I didn't actually love it when it got here?  (you know...the usual rehearsing tragedy...)

Three days later, when it arrived, that same man and a much larger one, brought it into my house.  They were so careful and laid rugs down everywhere to make sure not to leave a single scratch on the floor.  The legs and pedals had been taken off for the ride in the giant truck and each piece was wrapped in black padding.  It took about 30 minutes for them to get the piano off the truck and in the door, and then situate all the pieces back together.  And then finally, finally when they took the black padding off of everything and stepped away from it, I loved it even more than I had on Saturday.  

Holy cow!  It looks like it was made for this house, doesn't it?  

I haven't really stopped playing it since it got here, which means all unpacking and organizing have come to a screeching halt for a time.  I'm sure I'll get back to that again later.  But for now, I'm thoroughly enjoying the piano of my dreams and trying to rediscover the talent that I'm pretty sure I used to have.  Mrs. Atkinson would be so happy.

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Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Liebe Familie und Freunde,

Oh boy what a week it has been! 

Last Monday we did the traditional hike up Schlossberg, my favorite little mountain, and then we had an awesome FHE lesson with a few of our new investigators!  

Tuesday we had an awesome district meeting, NAVAJO TACOS for lunch (I've been in a Navajo taco famine lately), and then the Bruck Elders helped us lug all of our worldly possessions up five flights of twisty stairs to our new apartment! We are finally all moved in! This apartment is the cutest thing ever, like the DREAM European apartment!! Why have we been living in a creepy, moth-filled apartment this whole time while the elders were living in paradise up there?! 

Wednesday we did some visa stuff for Sister Brinkerhoff, organized a little bit more, and had an awesome appointment with Schwester Mielacher! She's a member in our ward, and she's super cute! As we were leaving her house, an hour or so later, we looked outside and noticed that it was POURING rain. We're talking gallons of cats and dogs here. And we looked at each other and realized we didn't have an umbrella or jackets, because it had been such a hot and sunny day until then! Fortunately Schwester Mielacher let us borrow one of her umbrellas, but as we started the loongggg trek back to the bus station we quickly realized that 1. the umbrella had holes in it, 2. it was too windy to hold it steady, and 3. it was raining sideways so we were getting soaking wet anyway! So, down it went with the umbrella!! As we were strolling along enjoying our free shower, I remembered a Mormon Message that I've just recently watched called, "A Shower of Heavenly Blessings." In it, President Uchtdorf talks about how we need to get rid of the umbrellas in our lives—sin, fear, doubt, sadness—and allow Heavenly Father to more fully pour His blessings upon us! So, this week I challenge all of you to enjoy the rain a little more in your lives!!

Thursday we were on a train all day long on the way to MLC in Munich! AND A MIRACLE HAPPENED!  Man, I really love miracles so much. Heavenly Father is so generous to His missionaries with the tender mercies! We were just sitting on the train and all of a sudden I notice that this guy sitting close to us is like staring at me and smiling a big cheesy grin! So I was like "come sit by us!" and he did, and we got talking, and apparently he LOVES the Mormon Tabernacle Choir! And he's never talked to missionaries before, or anyone that's Mormon, but he reads on lds.org every day (that's how he recognized our name tags) and watches "Music and the Spoken Word" every Sunday, and he watched the last General Conference, he has read almost all of 1 Nephi in the Book of Mormon in both English and German, he read the entire "Prepare Yourself" 72-hour kit handbook, and he has 5 different LDS apps on his tablet! We had a nice long conversation for about an hour and a half before he had to get off the train, and by the end he told me he was gonna come visit me in Texas someday haha (only problem is that now I live in Alabama...). We exchanged phone numbers and he said he was so excited to come to church someday soon!  Heavenly Father is so aware of ALL of His children! He knows who is prepared, and somehow He always seems to help us cross paths with them :) it was so awesome. MLC in Munich was awesome too! I got to see Sister Fast again!!! Best friends reunited :) it was a great spiritually uplifting weekend, and a lot of trying to cram all this missionary stuff into my brain to help these sisters in my Zone!

We had a few investigators come to church on Sunday, and that made me so happy! After church we went to the Kinghorn's for dinner, because they usually feed us if we don't have an appointment!  It's so kind of them :) and Sunday was Father's Day here in Austria!! Confusing because I'm pretty sure next Sunday is Father's Day in America, but that just means I get to celebrate it twice!! I'm soooo grateful for fathers. Especially for my own! Love you, Daddy :) 

Today for pday we hiked a replica of Calvary Hill, and then at the top Sister Brinkerhoff and I decided to sing "Upon the Cross of Calvary." It was actually a pretty cool spiritual moment for us both!  Pday activities can be spiritual!! :) 

Well, that is my week, and I love you all and thanks for everything and all the letters and packages! I'm sending letters back soon, don't worry! :)  Alles Güte! (all the best!)
Liebe Grüße,Sister Thunell


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Reflections on a New Ward

Well, this little ward might be growing on me a tiny bit more after today.  

The two people I met last week came running up to talk to us when we walked into the building...15 minutes early!!  They seem to want to tell us more than they want to ask questions yet, which is fine.  I'm not sure exactly what I want them to know yet.  And I'd rather just listen to them talk about all the things they love about Birmingham and the Leeds Ward.  They're pretty proud of this part of the world they live in.  Also a good thing.  

We decided that our new permanent bench would be on the second row.  Even at 9:45 most of the rows in that little chapel were already reserved with people or their stuff.  The thing about being new in a ward is that some of us are creatures of habit, especially with the places we like to sit at church.  The four of us (McKay was with the other deacons preparing the Sacrament) had just gotten settled in our row and an older couple came and stood next to Craig's shoulder and just waited for awhile.  He stood up and introduced himself and they politely, but very directly, said, "Oh we were out of town last week so you must not have realized, but this is where we always sit."  We asked if the other end of the row was available and they said, "Absolutely!" and I think we could actually hear them breathe a sigh of relief when we didn't put up a fight about shifting to the other side.  :)

The Bishop in this ward looks like he's about 15 years old.  I'm assuming he's in his 30s because he has 4 kids and he's been through grad school, but holy cow, he could pass for one of the priests.   His wife and family sat behind us in Sacrament and she told me later that she had a hard time keeping her kids from petting my hair.  :)

The older couple in front of us who apparently permanently resides in that row which we made a mental note of as well, was very excited to meet us (mostly they were excited about Craig.)  They are both converts to the Church (nearly everyone in the ward is) and told Craig all about their lives and their interests and hobbies and how they have had to tone down their lifestyle a little for church.  They're probably in their 70s and he has a long ponytail that he tucks into his jacket every week and he used to ride a motorcycle but doesn't now for some reason, hopefully not because he joined the church, but I couldn't quite get everything he was saying because he was mostly talking to Craig.  About five minutes into the meeting, he turned around and handed Craig two pictures of a beautiful, hand made chess set that is his pride and joy that he worked on for years.  His wife teaches Gospel Doctrine every week and he sits in the front row and says encouraging things while she teaches.  They're pretty cute.  

One of the counselors in the Bishopric forgot to set up speaking assignments in advance for Sacrament meeting so he and his wife just spoke yesterday.  She is a math teacher (or used to be) and he adores her.  They both gave awesome talks and I instantly loved them.

There was an amazing musical number by a woman who was about 8 1/2 months pregnant and totally sang the heck out of the song despite the fact that she was 8 1/2 months pregnant!  I have no idea how she did that.  She was accompanied by that same First Counselor's wife who had just given the talk a few minutes earlier.  Their daughter is the chorister for Sacrament and also the 2nd counselor in the RS Presidency.  

Many more people came up to talk to me today than last week.  They all had something to tell me about their lives or this place or some experience they've had with Germany (because they've all discovered that we have a missionary serving there.)  I realized I need to be patient about wanting to tell them things, and I also need to learn how to ask more questions.  

This place is not for me.  It's for something else.  I have no idea what, but I have a feeling these people are going to help me find out.  

"And no one can assist in this work except he shall be humble and full of love, having faith, hope and charity, being temperate in all things, whatsoever shall be entrusted to his care." - D&C 12:8