Monday, April 21, 2014

April Events

 When the young missionaries in our District invite us to come enjoy an activity with them, we try to be available.  This was one of those times. This also was the last P-day we would spend with our Elder Christensen and Sister Regnier as they were being transferred. They are the ones in the middle. Elder C. has the glasses. He has always reminded us of Brady. We will miss them. We met in the village of Mixnitz which is still in the Province of Steiermark where Graz is the capital.  There is a hike called "Bärenschützklamm" that they had heard of and so we began at the trail head there in Mixnitz. Elder Tew and I had no idea what to expect.
 Once we got up a ways, we found this beautiful area.

 They are much younger than us. Need I say more? This was quite a hike! Straight up, I thought we would never get to the top.
 Then came the wooden trails off and on.

 From here on it was all wooden steps and hand rails.
 It was quite amazing how this was built.
 Sadly (and gratefully) we were running out of time before the very top and had to turn back. We were pretty exhausted and I only fell once coming down the muddy trail trying to go faster than I should have. This was a great outing and glad we did it. The young ones were impressed that these old people could do it!
 I had to snap this pic at the end where we had been. We can say now that we went hiking in the great Austrian Alps!



 We had the opportunity to attend a wonderful Austrian band concert in the village of Gratwein about 25 minutes away from us. This group was part of it and played several traditional tunes. It was so fun.


 We met Sister Prantle there and some of her family. Her grandson, Gerald (who is not a member of our church, lives with her, and we have visited him a couple of times) is the main conductor of the entire Band and we wanted to come and support him. Glad we did! He is an awesome 25 year old young man.
 As we drive around trying to find lost church members, we find things to stop and see for a few minutes. This is the inside of a Catholic cathedral called "Mariatrost". Dedicated to the virgin Mary.
 4/14/14 was a great birthday for Elder Tew here in Graz, Austria!!  We went to lunch, had treats, and were able to find this fabulous brand new Steirisch traditional suit at a resale store for a steal of a deal! We had the help of the Elders to find this store. It made their day also.
 Then later for FHE, the missionaries and JAEs threw a fun surprize birthday party for Elder Tew!!

 Bro.and Sis. Pail gave him this tee shirt.  Happy 63 years old Elder Tew!
And lastly on this post, I just have to say how grateful we are for email and skype so we can see and keep in touch with our family and especially our sweet, adorable, wonderful, grandkids, all of them!! I had to snap this pic of the computer screen because little Reagan was so cute watching us.  We are the grandparents in the computer! Notice our faces in the left corner. Thanks Lindsey!

2 comments:

Lindsey said...

I loved that post! That hike looked pretty cool with those beautiful waterfalls and cool wooden staircases. Loved the band music an of course dad's b-day and new suit. Spiffy! The last picture might be my favorite though...not that I'm biased or anything.

Suzanne Gange said...

Happy Belated Birthday Elder Tew! Love you guys!