Letter from the Snows

Dear Parleys 5th Ward,

 We are home from our mission.  We are sad we had to leave our mission early, but we are grateful to have arrived safely and well.  We are in self-isolation for a few more days, but so far no indication of any illness.

We had booked a trip, in January, for the time the temple would be closed for maintenance and cleaning in March.  The trip was a bus tour that would take us through England and Scotland.  As the news about the COVID-19 became more intense, we debated whether or not we should go.  It had all been approved by the Temple Department and our Temple President and on March 6 we received notice that everything was a go.  So on Wednesday, March 11 we flew to Manchester to meet up with the tour on Thursday, March 12.  We never felt like people around us were sick or coughing and we took all the prescribed precautions.  

The full-size bus had been downgraded to a 16-person van, because so many people had cancelled.  We traveled to Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare’s birthplace, and saw all the sites there.  It was cold and windy, but no rain. Then we drove to London for the night prepared to go to Stonehenge and Bath the next day.  When we got to the hotel and signed-in to WiFi, there were many messages from people trying to find us.  The message was:  Return to Freiberg immediately, prepare to be evacuated on Saturday.  So we booked a flight back to Dresden for Friday morning.  Pres. and Sis. Wadosch picked us up at the airport and drove us to Freiberg.  We had a few hours to pack, had a farewell meeting, and packed again, and left at 6:00 am for the Dresden Airport.

All was going well, until we arrived in Chicago.  You may have seen us on the news.  We were in the mass of people waiting for Immigration Services, Customs, and CDC screening.  Five hours of standing backside to bellybutton in lines that snaked back and forth across a big room, (not very wise considering the circumstances), a missed flight, a night of sitting in the airport, and a total of 46 hours from sleeping in a bed to sleeping in a bed, we were exhausted.

With our son Scott and his family living in our house, and with their house being rented out until the end of April, we decided to self-isolate with Elder and Sister Gill, fellow Freiberg Temple missionaries, in their house in

Taylorsville.  We had been with them every step of the way, so we figured we had equal opportunity exposure.  So far, we are all well and healthy.  We are grateful for the Gills and their goodness and kindness to us.  Their children had a bunch of food and supplies set out on their table and our kids brought food and supplies, so we are well taken care of.

The Freiberg Temple holds a very special place in our hearts.  We loved our service there.  We loved the people we met and served with.  We loved our temple presidency and their wives.  We loved our tiny apartment where we looked out at the temple every day.  We saw the Angel Moroni bathed in sunlight, rain, snow, and the most beautiful rainbows we have ever seen.  We love the peace in the temple.  We love the love that is felt in the temple.  We were surrounded with the best of the best.  We know that in the temple we receive knowledge, power, and promises to prepare us for the greatest gift of God, the gift of eternal life.  We will be forever grateful for this experience.

Much love,

Gary and Margaret Snow

Freiberg Germany Temple [email protected] [email protected]