Eventful Events

This past week has been flurry of a variety of events.

Starting with Sunday, we went to visit a family we were assigned to minister to. He is German, she is from the Ukraine, and they have little children who speak, Russian, German, and English. We were told that English is used for everyone to understand what is being said. What a wonderful family they are and, guess what? They live within walking distance for us. You can't beat that.

Monday morning being Zone Leaders became a reality. We had a 2-hour orientation from the previous Zone Leaders that took 3 hours. It would have lasted longer and covered more, but after 3 hours we felt overwhelmed with all we need to do.

That afternoon, a senior elder approached us and informed us that there was something posted in the apartment elevators and it had to do with water. It turned out to be a notification that Legionella bacteria was detected at moderate levels when a routine analysis of the water was performed.

Doing some research and informing our Area Medical Advisor (senior missionary) we scurried to inform all those who should know. Not all of the senior couples live in our apartment building and then there are senior couples and young missionaries in the building that are not in our zone. Our Medial Advisor did a great job in not only informing us what the risk factors were but also advised what precautions we needed to take. Evidently the bacteria thrives in warm water and if moisture is breathed in it can cause respiratory illnesses like Legionnaires Disease.

All week, we had to inform others as more information became available. In short, the building owners treated the water later in the week by raising the temperature to extremely hot levels (158 degrees F). Another test was done but the bacteria was still found on the 12th (top) floor. We are sure that we will be still involved with this for a little longer.

Wednesday evening, I got involved with a member service project. A member moving here from Italy needed his rental home painted. Most of the painting was done on previous days. When I got there, only the member and I painted for about an hour until one other person showed. Obviously there weren't enough people to do much talking and it didn't help when the other member showed and they spoke Italian to each other. Still it felt great to be of service and have a change of the normal routine.

Friday evening we held a cottage meeting at our apartment for an investigator. Again, language was a small barrier. He speaks fluent French and Arabic, some German, and less English. However, he seemed to enjoy himself. In fact, I invited him out to the ward cookout that next day.

Originally he said he couldn't make it because he had another appointment, but he wound up coming out. The appointment was changed.

We are the International Ward.  Just in this

picture I see members born in America, China, England, Portugal, and Spain

Master Grillers

We really enjoyed the cookout. Maybe me more than Sister van Hoff. With her eating restrictions it is difficult to find something to eat. I enjoyed the food, but more than that, I enjoyed talking to the members. Having taught seminary and being involved with other members because of missionary work, we have gotten to know a lot of the members of this ward.

We are truly blessed to be here. By the way, I wrote an article for our senior missionary newsletter. It was a message from the Zone Leaders. In essence, I encouraged the missionaries to extend themselves beyond their missionary assignment and create their own missionary experiences. In other words, "Make your own mission."

We have been doing just that and loving it.

Opportunities

We started a Book of Mormon Reading Group with a member who was baptized about a year ago. Some weeks ago we had been talking with him about reading the entire Book of Mormon. We discussed several ways to do it, and decided to start at the beginning and read a chapter a day.  We decided to use Messenger and create a group; him, Sister van Hoff, and me. (He has a friend who had introduced him to the Church who might join us.)  Anyway, we all read the same chapter and each of us comment on something that stands out to us or that we learn from that chapter.

It has been great. We have all come up with comments and thoughts that we probably wouldn't have noticed or recognized before. For me, reading with the understanding that I need to find something in the chapter has opened a new way of understanding.

The 12th of June was an emotional rollercoaster ride. Early that morning, we went to the international school to have our very last seminary class. Most of the students had taken the assessment test, but we still had three more who hadn't. They were nearly finished with their tests when another student walked into the room. She hadn't yet had the opportunity to go over the assessment after it was graded. Her being there was not a surprise, but was welcome. You see, it was emotionally painful for us to realize that our seminary classes and the personal time we had with these kids was coming to an end.

The kids finished their tests and another student who didn't need to be there any longer walked in. It appeared that she came to get some of the students who had finished up and they left the room.  Sister van Hoff and I said our goodbyes as they left, but they didn't seem to hear us.

Five minutes later, they all came back into the room and handed us roses and an envelope. In the envelope was a handmade card. Every student had written little something in it. It was so hard to hold back the tears. They have been our children for a short season. All eight of them. They will be etched on our hearts.

The roses we received.

Our feeling of being free from that extra responsibility was short -lived. That same afternoon we went to our appointment with Elder Sabin, 1st Counselor to the Europe Area Presidency. He was very short and brief because he didn't have much time. He was in the middle of an important meeting and had left it to talk to us. He asked us to be the new Zone Leaders. I'm sure we must have been a funny sight to him when both of our jaws dropped.

I was completely speechless, but Sister van Hoff immediately spoke and told him we are not accustomed to turning down assignments, so we accepted.

This new assignment will drastically change the rest of our mission. There are, right now, 22 senior missionary couples in our zone. Our responsibilities have nearly doubled. We will be responsible for new missionaries coming in; other missionaries going home; assigning the vehicles they are using; apartment issues; any traffic violation, passport, or travel issues; and the list goes on. Since most of the couples are here for 18 months, the turnover is quick. In the year we've been here, 20 couples have either arrived or left. Fortunately, senior missionaries are a unique in that they are self-motivators, hard workers, and carry stronger than normal testimonies. There are many of them who do so much behind the scenes to help out with projects or help each other. Each is so special in their own way.

The Lord has blessed us in calling the Skoubyes as Assistant Zone Leaders. We have been great friends ever since they arrived and I, for one, have looked up to them for their spiritual strength. We had no input in recommending that they be called. Hearing about it was just as much as a surprise as us being asked by Elder Sabin.

The past few days, our department held a seminar in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany. What a beautiful city it is. We stayed in a hotel right in the middle of the old walled section of town .

The time there was well spent. Everyone from our IT department was there, except one who was ill. We even had two representatives from Church headquarters. All the presentations were great and led to meaningful discussions. We, ourselves, gave a presentation on listening.

We all came away with great information and learned of upcoming changes regarding technology that the Church will soon implement. I think the highlight of the seminar for me was the spiritual content of the meeting. In one session, Brother Santos, our department manager, asked that everyone take five minutes each and, using a timeline, tell about important moments in our lives. Times that changed our lives and times that influenced our life decisions. Many talked about their conversions, struggles, and important events in their lives. What a powerful spirit was present in that room. Not only did we learn more about each other, but we could feel the power of each others testimonies.

In the mornings and in the evenings the weather was great and we got to see a lot of the city. We were able to walk nearly all the way around the town on the wall. The first evening we had a city tour guided by a "nightwatchman" from the old days.

As you can tell, the Lord continues to bless us with opportunities. Opportunities to learn and grow, opportunities to see the beauty around us, and opportunities to be spiritually fed.

The following link shows you what it is like entering one of the gates into the city.

https://youtu.be/xTfcu4MZOEk

Below are several pictures of Rothenburg, Germany.

A cute, colorful house near the city wall.

Down a side street.

The inner city wall.  There is also an outer city wall.

Walking on the wall.

A city gate.

Part of the city wall.

Fountain near town square

Along the wall (right) looking outside of town (left) and a section of town. (top)

Blessings, Birthdays, and Happiness

For a long time now we have been privately recognizing some tender mercies the Lord has shown us. They have been increasing exponentially lately. We'd like to share them with you. Some unexpected expenses have put a little stress on us, but the Lord has helped out in small ways to make it more bearable.

Since the beginning of our mission we have been assigned to manage the missionary library in the basement of the office building. A few months in we were asked to also maintain the missionary trading post -- a group of shelves where senior missionaries can place usable items they do not want or want to leave behind when they go home.

Several months ago, I was interested in cutting my own hair instead of having to pay a barber. Within a couple of weeks, a complete hair cutting kit appeared on the shelves. Later on, we discussed how we needed to buy some new dish drying towels. Again with in a couple of weeks, a large set of towels in excellent condition appeared. There are other items we planned to buy that suddenly appeared soon after we discussed them: plant vases, and rollers for them, eye drops for dry eyes, OTC medicine, etc. And there have been unexpected items that we found valuable. One was a heavy mixer. Now that I'm off the gluten-free, sugar-free diet, I'm able to make bread with the mixer.

Lately, the tender mercies have increased in frequency and value. I was noticing that my shoes were probably not going to make it the rest of my mission. Suddenly, there they were, thanks to Elder Orlowski getting ready to go home. Because I have lost so much weight, my suits are looking big. Again, Elder Orlowski left two suits and one fits perfectly.

I've been wanting to ride a bike, but was unsure if my back could handle it. Elder Skoubye approached me the other day. He had bought two bikes and had an extra for me to use. It needs some work and repair, but that cost will be minimal. I've only been out with it twice, but so far my back is holding up fine.

Tons of flour and spices

So, all of this has been going on for months now and just a couple of days ago, we got a call from the sister missionaries. They learned that I had been a baker years ago and asked if we were interested in getting a lot of baking ingredients and spices. They were given them by a member they helped to move. Some of the flours were too old to use, but there was enough for me to have fun and for Diane to spice up our meals.

These have truly been unexpected blessings.

We were invited over to the Fu's for breakfast and to celebrate Elder Larson's birthday. Brother and Sister Fu are recent converts. They have two wonderful little boys. What a beautiful and loving family they are.

This is a lot but more was put on after the photo.

The breakfast was delicious with all sorts of variety of things to choose from. It was impossible to try everything, there was so much. Sister Fu asked if I could bake a birthday cake for Elder Larson and explained that she had never baked a cake before. We found out that most Chinese homes do not have an oven. All their cooking is done on the stovetop. A recent development in China is that of the cake shop where birthday cakes can be purchased. Typically, birthdays are celebrated with noodles for good luck in the coming year.

We so much enjoyed the breakfast and then, from their earlier request, the younger missionaries gave a lesson on what the Book of Mormon is all about. Having taught the Book of Mormon in seminary this year, the stories and lessons from the book are still fresh in our minds and we were able to share some of that information.

During our visit, Sister Fu shared an experience from early in their married life. As a family, they had been looking for a religion that could bring them spiritual strength and enlightenment. She showed us a picture of Brother Fu with a large group of men. He had gone on a retreat to a Buddhist monk temple. In the picture, everyone was dressed in Buddhist robes. I commented that he did not look happy. She then told us that he wasn't supposed to be. They are taught that there is no happiness in this life. It is all a trial to prepare for the next.

She told us that she struggled during this time. They already had their one child. If her husband decided to remain there and become a Buddhist monk, they would have to live apart and he could not remain part of the family unit. Families are not considered essential. People become parents as a way to pay back to for what they did to them (now their children) in a previous life.

Her struggle was in that she loved her husband and didn't want to stand in the way of his desire to become a monk. She was willing to support him and allow him to find his spiritual enlightenment. This speaks highly of Sister Fu. She was willing to sacrifice her own happiness for that of her husband's. Fortunately, Brother Fu's love for her and his son was strong, also. He gave up the idea of living a Buddhist monk's life, because he wanted to be with them.

Eventually, they were approached on a German street by the missionaries and introduced to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are so happy to not only have found the truth, but to learn that they can be a family for eternity.

What a wonderful story. Oh, how we wish that more people could come to understand that these and other blessings are all available to them, also. How wonderful it is to know all these truths and to know God and Jesus Christ so personally.

One last comment. I spent yesterday making costumes for our characters for the next Oma and Opa Show. For those unfamiliar with our show, it is an hour long show with a major story, activities, music and other things. We create the show for our grandkids each year. A little hint on this year's show is that we will be using castles in the background of the story. Something that we couldn't do if we were in the States.

We love you all.