Day In and Day Out

Earlier this week we read the blog of our good friends, Elder and Sister Skoubye. What they had written up is something we haven't done yet. They described what their assignments were and what they do each day and each week. Though we've written a little here and a little there of what we do, we thought it would be nice to consolidate it.

We work in the IT department, but our only real responsibility is being a support and assistance to the Stake and District Technology Specialists for Europe. This means that we need to know about all the technology used by the stakes and members. This includes everything from setting up, transmitting, and receiving webcasts to maintaining firewalls, from being familiar with the Church's mobile apps to helping to solving technical issues. Unofficially, we help the other senior missionaries and the Church employees that come to us with computer or software problems.

Not every day is exactly the same, but typically we get up at 05:00 hours and take a walk. Unless it is extremely bad outside, we still go. We don't have a lot of time before we are out the door to travel to the European school to teach seminary to 8 wonderful kids.

Our work in the Europe Area Office is like any weekday job, Monday through Friday; however, every Monday morning there is a devotional for all office personnel. It's held in the Church's chapel, which is next door to our office building. What a wonderful spiritual way to start the work week.

Other things occur during the week to break up the office work. On Wednesdays all the senior missionaries meet at the church and have an hour long Book of Mormon class. This is another spiritually enlightening period. With many seasoned couples who have a vast knowledge of the scriptures and the doctrine, the discussion is exciting.

Peppered into the weeks are things like family home evening planned by one of the senior couples on a rotating basis and getting together for lunch to honor those couples who are returning home having finished they missionary service. Sometimes we will have someone taught in our tiny apartment or go with the younger missionaries to an appointment.

Most evenings are busy with some meeting or activity. Obviously, there is Family Home Evening every Monday. Tuesday night is our German Culture class with Sister Enger, native German.  Wednesday evening is a combined Seminary class - both our students and the students from the Frankfurt International School - of about 20 students. Twice a month on Thursdays we invite two companionships of junior missionaries (elders on one night and sisters on the other.)  Last Thursday we had the sisters. On Sunday before church we go to Missionary Coordination meeting.

Most of the rest of our time is spent preparing our lessons for Seminary and doing all those things necessary to keep going - shopping, laundry, cooking, cleaning. We try to get out and see a part of our area around us a couple of times a month and we try to get to a temple once every couple of months. The temples we can travel to are Freiberg, Germany; Bern, Switzerland; the Hague, Netherlands; and Paris, France. Maybe before we leave the Frankfurt temple will be reopened!

We have learned so much since we have been here and we've gotten to know some very special people, members and non-members alike. The Lord has blessed us in so many different ways and we have seen blessings come to our family members, also.  Most of all, it has been a blessing to strengthen our relationship with each other and with our Savior.  How wonderful that truly is.

Feelings Of Appreciation

This week started by a visit from two brethren from Church HQ in Salt Lake City. They oversee Church technology areas that our department handle. They came to review how operations were going here in Europe and to see firsthand what our unique challenges are and how they differ from those in the States.

Our supervisor introduced them to Sister van Hoff and me. It turned out to be more that an introduction. It became a small informal meeting. We were a little surprised at the genuine interest they had in us, so we told them a lot of what we are doing. At one point our supervisor complimented us and told them how our predecessors (the senior couples we replaced) did such a great job working with meetinghouses, but we have taken it to the next level.  The two visitors didn't appear to be surprised.They then told us that before they came on this trip they had already heard great things about us.

This surprised us. We had no idea that we have been talked about, let alone that we were doing anything special. It isn't like we are the only ones called as Area Technology Specialists. There are 16 other couples and individuals throughout the world doing what we are doing.

They were here the entire week. On Tuesday they and our entire department (minus 2) were taken out to a luncheon. Diane and I never go out to eat because of our diet restrictions, but fortunately we were able to find something on the menu. This picture shows my plate. Actually it wasn’t a plate.  If you look carefully, you will notice it is a real wooden shovel with a short handle.

The Shovel

On another occasion this week, we had a private conversation with another senior missionary. At the end of our conversation, he told us that he has been watching us and that we are a great example for him. He said that other senior couples have taken notice of us because of the extra missionary work we do. He had been told that this has motivated them to do more.

Again, we were surprised because we don't see ourselves doing more than we ever did before. In fact, we had been talking about how much more we would like to do when seminary is over and we have more time.

It is the one on the left.  The other is a eating knife.

Speaking of seminary, we received a visit and review by the Area Seminary Director, Brother Sven Apel. He attended our class on Thursday morning. We had a fun time in class. We discussed chapters 46-50 of Alma in the Book of Mormon. The kids acted out the scenes as Sister van Hoff read the narration. They were quotes, but were a condensed version of the actual scriptures.

There was one point were a servant of Amalickiah was to kill the Lamanite king with a knife. I had made one out of cardboard. The king was played by one of the young women. Amalickiah's servants were being played by two young men. One of the young men normally doesn’t like to role play, but asked to do this part with stabbing the king. I agreed to let him do it and then realized it was the brother of the young woman playing the king. Siblings, what are you going to do with them. By the way, she did a great acting job in dying.

Brother Apel

After class when the kids were gone, Brother Apel sat us down to listen and shared his evaluation of our teaching. Expecting to hear some suggestions on how to improve, he told us how he made notes on the different teaching techniques we used in class. He said most teachers use a few techniques, but he was surprised to find that we used nearly all the techniques known in the manual “Teaching No Greater Call” in just the one class. He seemed very excited to find teachers like us and even commented that he sees us as being an example for his other teachers. (Note from Sister van Hoff - it was Brother van Hoff who planned and taught this lesson!)

Here, again we were surprised. In fact on the way to seminary class, Sister van Hoff and I were discussing whether we were teaching effectively or not. We wondered if there was something more we should be doing. Evidently we are doing alright.

To finish off the week we invited the senior missionary couple we talked about in our last blog posting and we all went to the Freiberg Temple.

This temple was built in East Germany while the wall was still up and the country was divided. How the Church was granted permission to build it is an amazing story.

Our room at that temple hostel

Anyway, we arrived Thursday evening (4 hour trip) and stayed overnight in the hostel adjoining the temple. What a great experience that was. There is a tunnel from the hostel to the temple interior. We were able to change into our white clothes in our room and walk through the tunnel and into the temple. How nice that was since it was below freezing and with the wind chill it was almost 0 degrees Fahrenheit.

We spent the entire morning there in the temple and left back home around 2:00 PM. Most all of it was in German, but we were given headsets for English translations and for other ordinances we were given written translations. Sister van Hoff  understood enough German to not need the verbal or written translations. I did without for some things and used it for more difficult things.

Kitchen

Dinning area.  From the windows we could see the back of the temple.

All in all, the Spirit was so prevalent there in the temple that that is all I could think about on the way home and even as I write this now on Saturday. All this week we have had uplifting comments given to us expressing gratitude and appreciation for what we do, yet the greatest of all was when I was in the Celestial Room and praying. Heavenly Father clearly revealed to me His appreciation of the work we are doing. I was so overcome, that tears welled up in my eyes.

Whether we please other people or not means little compared to how God thinks of us.To know He is pleased gives us the motivation to work even harder.

We know we have expressed this before, but those of you who are retired or getting close to retirement, please consider going on a mission. The need for senior couples is so overwhelming and the blessings of going on a mission are unbelievable.

By the way, I have been given permission to return home in October to be there for my son’s wedding. I will only be there a short while, but this is something I truly do not want to miss.

God bless you all.