Christmas was wonderful for us this year. There was so much more focus on Christ. The beautiful music depicting our Savior's birth, the stories shared of lives changed or touched by the love and kindness of others, Sister van Hoff and I reaching out to others who are struggling or alone. What a difference that makes during a holiday celebration.
Christmas eve we went downtown to listen to the church bells in Frankfurt.
We were blessed with the ability to video chat with almost all of our family members. That's not easy considering the time zone difference and their busy schedules. Family is truly a treasured possession. We love each family member and were grateful to have a few moments to spend with each one.
The highlight of this season was attending a baptism of young couple from China. They have two young boys - 2 and 4 years old. For weeks now they have been excitedly waiting for that day so that they could step into the waters of baptism and acknowledge to Heavenly Father their desire to covenant with Him. The Spirit bore witness of how special this family is. I have attended quite a number of baptisms and felt the Spirit strongly, but when they entered the water and as the ordinance of baptism was performed for each of them, the Spirit was so powerfully felt. I heard that others in the room felt the same way.
We are so blessed to have a wonderful relationship with Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. It is edifying and so uplifting to see others start on their journey to develop their relationship with them. Still our hearts and prayers always have and always will go out to those we know who do not have that special relationship. It is by hope through the very tender mercies of the Lord that we feel strengthened to continue to pray for those we love.
Saturday, December 30, 2017
Sunday, December 24, 2017
The Week Before Christmas, And All Through Our Lives...
At work this past week some things seemed to have slowed down which was great, because outside of work, we did so much more than usual.
Tuesday afternoon for our German Culture class, we met at Sister Enger’s apartment. This sister lives 55 stairs up and there is no elevator. She is close to our age, but in the next 10 to 20 years from now, I wonder how hard it might be for her.
About 13 of us senior missionaries attended. All were Sisters, except two of us. Near the beginning of the meeting, as per Sister Enger's request, Diane and I played our recorders. Diane did one German Christmas song, "Morgen, Kinder, wird's was geben" ("Tomorrow, Children, You Will Receive Something") with a lead into another which you would be familiar with, "O Tannenbaum" (“Oh, Christmas Tree”). We were no more than 15 minutes into the class when the doorbell rang. It was der Weihnachtsmann. He came in with a large but thin book and a sack. In German he read each of our names and told a little something about us. He then asked us to do something and gave us a small gift. For me he talked about how I make great chocolate zucchini bread and share it with others. He asked Sister van Hoff and I to play a song with the recorders. We redid the “Oh Christmas Tree” song. For Sister van Hoff, he said how well she speaks German and knows computers. Because she played the recorder with me she didn’t have to do anything else special.
It was so cool hearing him describe the different things about each of us. The other people were asked to recite poems or sing songs. We all helped with all of those. He surprised Sister Enger by presenting her with a gift, also. What a wonderful evening.
Wednesday afternoon we left work early. We had invited the sister missionaries over to our place to teach a man from Ghana. It turns out that he was not able to come, but we still were able to meet with him and teach him--using FaceTime. What was notably interesting to me were the impressions I felt during our meeting.
When we first connected, we could hear a lot of noise in the background; talking, clattering. It was hard for him to hear. The sisters and Diane and I were in the same room, each couple with their own IPad monitor. The impression I felt was like we were in a peaceful, spiritual atmosphere projecting out to Daniel, but much of it was being lost. It was when he decided to put on earbuds that everything changed. I could feel that suddenly he was within our
circle of protection and able to feel the peace and comfort of the Spirit, bringing all of us into one large extended room. It was as if the world was shut out. He was more focused and engaged. Quite an unusual experience.
That night after seminary, we helped the Young Women deliver secret Santa gifts to each of the missionary couples in the apartment complex. As they prepared their deliveries, I went over to the apartment complex to mark the doors of the missionaries. Diane accompanied the leaders and helped the girls make their anonymous deliveries. I was home baking when the doorbell rang. I opened the door to find a small gift basket of cookies and candy and the door covered from top to bottom with paper hearts taped to it.
The next day one of the missionaries said, “We were heart attacked last night.”
There was a wonderful baptism today--a family from China. They were so excited to be baptized. I’ve been to many baptisms, but the Spirit that was there while they were being baptized was so strong. What a wonderful addition to the ward they will be. During the baptism the member of the bishopric who was conducting told the father to write down how it felt today. After the baptism Diane and I were talking to him and he told us how the Mission President called him last night. The Mission President told the father that he should not be baptized because of his relationship with the missionaries. He assured the Mission President that he was solely doing it for himself and his family. I told him that he should write that down, also. I told him his kids would want to read that. I told him that his grandkids would also want to read it. He looked as if he went into a deep thought and then said, “Yea, I never would have thought of that.” His kids are still very young--2 and 4.
We bought a Schwibbogen. It was made in the Erzgebirge region of eastern Germany. When we went to the temple (in this region) the other week, we saw that nearly every window had one. The first Schwibbogen was made in the mid 1700s by miners. It was made for Christmas. The original Schwibbogen had 11 lights as does ours. (It varies nowadays.) The lights signify what the miners missed during this time of year. Working underground during the day, and with extremely short days, they almost never saw sunlight. Typically it was made out of one solid piece of ore or wood.
Tuesday afternoon for our German Culture class, we met at Sister Enger’s apartment. This sister lives 55 stairs up and there is no elevator. She is close to our age, but in the next 10 to 20 years from now, I wonder how hard it might be for her.
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| Weihnachtmann |
It was so cool hearing him describe the different things about each of us. The other people were asked to recite poems or sing songs. We all helped with all of those. He surprised Sister Enger by presenting her with a gift, also. What a wonderful evening.
Wednesday afternoon we left work early. We had invited the sister missionaries over to our place to teach a man from Ghana. It turns out that he was not able to come, but we still were able to meet with him and teach him--using FaceTime. What was notably interesting to me were the impressions I felt during our meeting.
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| Heart Attack (ours is the right door.) |
That night after seminary, we helped the Young Women deliver secret Santa gifts to each of the missionary couples in the apartment complex. As they prepared their deliveries, I went over to the apartment complex to mark the doors of the missionaries. Diane accompanied the leaders and helped the girls make their anonymous deliveries. I was home baking when the doorbell rang. I opened the door to find a small gift basket of cookies and candy and the door covered from top to bottom with paper hearts taped to it.
The next day one of the missionaries said, “We were heart attacked last night.”
There was a wonderful baptism today--a family from China. They were so excited to be baptized. I’ve been to many baptisms, but the Spirit that was there while they were being baptized was so strong. What a wonderful addition to the ward they will be. During the baptism the member of the bishopric who was conducting told the father to write down how it felt today. After the baptism Diane and I were talking to him and he told us how the Mission President called him last night. The Mission President told the father that he should not be baptized because of his relationship with the missionaries. He assured the Mission President that he was solely doing it for himself and his family. I told him that he should write that down, also. I told him his kids would want to read that. I told him that his grandkids would also want to read it. He looked as if he went into a deep thought and then said, “Yea, I never would have thought of that.” His kids are still very young--2 and 4.
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| Our Schwibbogen |
We bought a Schwibbogen. It was made in the Erzgebirge region of eastern Germany. When we went to the temple (in this region) the other week, we saw that nearly every window had one. The first Schwibbogen was made in the mid 1700s by miners. It was made for Christmas. The original Schwibbogen had 11 lights as does ours. (It varies nowadays.) The lights signify what the miners missed during this time of year. Working underground during the day, and with extremely short days, they almost never saw sunlight. Typically it was made out of one solid piece of ore or wood.
Friday, December 15, 2017
Christmas on the Zeil and in France
We are a little behind getting this blog out this week. It has been a pretty full week.
Sunday was our first snow here in Germany. We invited Jan over for more After-Baptism-Discussions with the sister missionaries and then he stayed for lunch. It was an enjoyable relaxful afternoon. We didn’t learn until later in the week that he slipped on the snow the next morning and tore a ligament and is now laid up for six weeks. On Thursday we went over to help him out. His wife went on a trip to Rome and he was worried about cleaning up his place. Sister van Hoff and I had his apartment done in less than an hour. It felt good to give service to someone.
Wednesday evening we had a great time going with the youth, ward members, and young missionaries to sing English Christmas hymns on the Zeil in Frankfurt -- an annual event for our ward. We arranged ourselves on some steps around a fountain in the middle of town and sang for about 30 minutes. here were thousands of people there. Many would stop to listen, some took pictures, some took videos, and some sang along. The young missionaries talked to a lot of them while we sang.
After we finished, one young sister, a church employee, originally from Spain, took us around the corner to see the Christmas market. As we understand, Europe is famous for their Christmas markets. It is where you can buy local items and all sorts of food. The decoration of Christmas lights is spectacular.
Another missionary couple we have really grown to like, Elder and Sister Skoubye, invited us to go to Strasbourg, France, with them on Saturday. We haven’t done much traveling outside of the immediate area like most of the couples have, so we decided to take them up on it. Also, we had heard that Strasbourg was the Christmas capital of Europe.
Strasbourg is 2-1/2 hours away by car. When we crossed over the Rhein and entered into France, a sudden change came over me. I felt relaxed and comfortable. Living in Germany is a bit stressful for me. Customs, rules, and language are so different from that in America. We have been in Germany long enough now to feel more at home. Now, here we enter a different country where I would expect to find more more differences and totally don’t know the language, but instead I feel these liberating feelings. The other sister in the car exclaimed that she felt the same way.
When we finally arrived in Strasbourg and started getting out among the people, those feelings increased. It was so different from Germany. People actually made eye contact with each other. You often see couples holding hands in Germany, but here they passionately hug each other and kiss. So many more people have smiles on their faces. Then I was struck by the language. It sounded so smooth and full of wonder and emotion.
Along with the beauty of this French city and the spectacular Christmas lighting, it was a day of wonder and beauty. In the evening it was even more wonderful. I think we would have stayed longer into the evening had we not been so cold.
We saw the Christmas market, the huge cathedral, and some shops we patronized just to get out of the cold. It was quite an enjoyable day. The only thing that seemed out of place were the soldiers. As we walked down the street we saw some who were carrying semi-automatics patrolling the streets or positioned at specific places.
With all that said, I believe we finally feel settled here in Frankfurt. You see, when we got back in town, we all thought, it is good to be back home. We hope some day we might be able to say that after this life is over and we have been resurrected and judged, “It is good to be back home.”
We love you all and hope and pray that you, too, will be able to say the same.
An added note, last Sunday evening our doorbell rang. I opened the door, but didn't see anyone; however, there was some commotion going on down the hall near the elevator doors. There stood a gathering of young missionaries. They started to sing hymns. Other senior missionary couples came out of their doors to listen. These missionaries are wonderful.
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| View from our balcony |
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| Caroling on the Zeil |
After we finished, one young sister, a church employee, originally from Spain, took us around the corner to see the Christmas market. As we understand, Europe is famous for their Christmas markets. It is where you can buy local items and all sorts of food. The decoration of Christmas lights is spectacular.
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| In Strasbourg with the Skoubyes |
Strasbourg is 2-1/2 hours away by car. When we crossed over the Rhein and entered into France, a sudden change came over me. I felt relaxed and comfortable. Living in Germany is a bit stressful for me. Customs, rules, and language are so different from that in America. We have been in Germany long enough now to feel more at home. Now, here we enter a different country where I would expect to find more more differences and totally don’t know the language, but instead I feel these liberating feelings. The other sister in the car exclaimed that she felt the same way.
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| At the Strasbourg Christmas market |
Along with the beauty of this French city and the spectacular Christmas lighting, it was a day of wonder and beauty. In the evening it was even more wonderful. I think we would have stayed longer into the evening had we not been so cold.
We saw the Christmas market, the huge cathedral, and some shops we patronized just to get out of the cold. It was quite an enjoyable day. The only thing that seemed out of place were the soldiers. As we walked down the street we saw some who were carrying semi-automatics patrolling the streets or positioned at specific places.
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| Inside the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg |
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| Outside amidst the Christmas shoppers and lights |
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| Enjoying being "caroled" by the young missionaries |
We love you all and hope and pray that you, too, will be able to say the same.
An added note, last Sunday evening our doorbell rang. I opened the door, but didn't see anyone; however, there was some commotion going on down the hall near the elevator doors. There stood a gathering of young missionaries. They started to sing hymns. Other senior missionary couples came out of their doors to listen. These missionaries are wonderful.
Saturday, December 2, 2017
The Advent of Advent
Last Saturday evening the senior missionaries were asked to sing at the adult session of stake conference. Sister van Hoff played the piano for our song. I was one of the singers and not part of the audience, but from my perspective, I think the choir sounded pretty good.
I guess we actually did, because on Monday we all received an email asking us to sing at the Europe Area Christmas Devotional broadcast to all employees in Europe. Maybe we should go on tour.
Last week we experienced a mold problem. Upon arriving on our mission, we were instructed to open our windows at least twice a day for ten minutes each. Until the cold weather came, we had our windows open all day.
It is very humid here - most days 80-90%! Sometimes when you get in bed, it feels slightly damp under the covers.
We discovered the mold early one morning. I guess it could have been there for a couple of days unnoticed. It seemed like it just suddenly was there--up one corner of the wall and spreading out onto the ceiling and along the wall behind the headboard. The maintenance guys at work gave us some chlorine spray. I took it home to clean the wall. In the process, we found mold starting to develop in each of our four rooms. The smell of chlorine was so bad I had to do one section of the apartment at a time. We slept for five nights with our mattresses on the living room floor. As we cleaned the bed frame and under the box springs before bringing the mattresses back in, we discovered wonderful storage areas under each side of the bed. We put a bunch of rarely used things in there and now have more closet space.
Last weekend we went out and bought a dehumidifier. It isn’t large, but it seems to be doing the job. We no longer see condensation on our windows.
Since that incident, we have heard of other missionaries having mold problems. Some just leave their windows open all the time with their radiator heater running.
December is full of holiday celebrations here in Germany. Advent starts on the 3rd of December this year. Advent begins on the 4th Sunday before Christmas. An evergreen wreath (Adventskranz) is placed on the table with four candles. Each Sunday a candle is lit while a song and/or a prayer is offered. The wreath symbolizes the Crown of Christ and also the fulfillment of time when Christ returns. The candles represent the prophets who prepared the way for Christ.
A more recent development in the celebration for Advent is the Adventskalendar (Advent calendar). It is typically a sheet of cardboard or a card with little window doors numbered from 1 to 24. Each day, beginning on December 1st, a door is opened. Inside there are words or pictures symbolizing the coming of Christmas. We've seen some very elaborate and large Advent calendars with candies or gifts behind the doors. We also saw some that were postcards that could be mailed.
Earlier this week we visited Sister Enger, our German Culture teacher, at her home. We helped her with some family history work she was involved with. She is truly a German pioneer. She and her husband worked very hard and sacrificed a lot for the Church here in Germany. About two years ago she lost her husband to cancer. We knew her to be very humble and dedicated to her Savior, but until we visited her apartment, we didn't realize the magnitude of that spiritual strength. You know how when you walk into a home
you can feel the power or weakness of peace and comfort that abides there? I think the feelings we felt while in her home were the feelings one would feel in the temple. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit with her.
Before we left, she gave us an Adventskalendar she personally made for us. She gathered fir branches and attached small slips of paper with beautiful quotes tied with a red ribbon. Each quote is numbered from 1 to 24. I will be sharing those each day on Facebook.
We love Christmas season here in Germany, especially while on a mission. We are more focused and involved with the recognition and worship of Christ this year than in years past. With December being filled with the Advent, Christmas markets, beautiful lights, and two days of Christmas (25th and 26th), the whole month is full of reminders of Christ and His love for us.
We love you all and pray that you will be surrounded by family and friends and enjoy the peace and beauty of this special time of year.
We deeply love the Savior and are so happy to be here serving Heavenly Father in what ever way we can..
I guess we actually did, because on Monday we all received an email asking us to sing at the Europe Area Christmas Devotional broadcast to all employees in Europe. Maybe we should go on tour.
Last week we experienced a mold problem. Upon arriving on our mission, we were instructed to open our windows at least twice a day for ten minutes each. Until the cold weather came, we had our windows open all day.
It is very humid here - most days 80-90%! Sometimes when you get in bed, it feels slightly damp under the covers.
We discovered the mold early one morning. I guess it could have been there for a couple of days unnoticed. It seemed like it just suddenly was there--up one corner of the wall and spreading out onto the ceiling and along the wall behind the headboard. The maintenance guys at work gave us some chlorine spray. I took it home to clean the wall. In the process, we found mold starting to develop in each of our four rooms. The smell of chlorine was so bad I had to do one section of the apartment at a time. We slept for five nights with our mattresses on the living room floor. As we cleaned the bed frame and under the box springs before bringing the mattresses back in, we discovered wonderful storage areas under each side of the bed. We put a bunch of rarely used things in there and now have more closet space.
 |
| It even went behind our bed. |
Last weekend we went out and bought a dehumidifier. It isn’t large, but it seems to be doing the job. We no longer see condensation on our windows.
Since that incident, we have heard of other missionaries having mold problems. Some just leave their windows open all the time with their radiator heater running.
December is full of holiday celebrations here in Germany. Advent starts on the 3rd of December this year. Advent begins on the 4th Sunday before Christmas. An evergreen wreath (Adventskranz) is placed on the table with four candles. Each Sunday a candle is lit while a song and/or a prayer is offered. The wreath symbolizes the Crown of Christ and also the fulfillment of time when Christ returns. The candles represent the prophets who prepared the way for Christ.
A more recent development in the celebration for Advent is the Adventskalendar (Advent calendar). It is typically a sheet of cardboard or a card with little window doors numbered from 1 to 24. Each day, beginning on December 1st, a door is opened. Inside there are words or pictures symbolizing the coming of Christmas. We've seen some very elaborate and large Advent calendars with candies or gifts behind the doors. We also saw some that were postcards that could be mailed.
Earlier this week we visited Sister Enger, our German Culture teacher, at her home. We helped her with some family history work she was involved with. She is truly a German pioneer. She and her husband worked very hard and sacrificed a lot for the Church here in Germany. About two years ago she lost her husband to cancer. We knew her to be very humble and dedicated to her Savior, but until we visited her apartment, we didn't realize the magnitude of that spiritual strength. You know how when you walk into a home
you can feel the power or weakness of peace and comfort that abides there? I think the feelings we felt while in her home were the feelings one would feel in the temple. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit with her. Before we left, she gave us an Adventskalendar she personally made for us. She gathered fir branches and attached small slips of paper with beautiful quotes tied with a red ribbon. Each quote is numbered from 1 to 24. I will be sharing those each day on Facebook.
We love Christmas season here in Germany, especially while on a mission. We are more focused and involved with the recognition and worship of Christ this year than in years past. With December being filled with the Advent, Christmas markets, beautiful lights, and two days of Christmas (25th and 26th), the whole month is full of reminders of Christ and His love for us.
We love you all and pray that you will be surrounded by family and friends and enjoy the peace and beauty of this special time of year.
We deeply love the Savior and are so happy to be here serving Heavenly Father in what ever way we can..
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