A Hodge-Podge of Mixed Emotions

This is an interesting time in our mission. Things are supposed to be winding down in preparation to leave, but there has been in increase in activities and spiritual experiences.

We just went over calendars and they have never been so full. Literally, there is no more time to fit one more thing into our schedule.

The last two weeks demonstrate how busy we've been.  

Last weekend, we attended the baptism of Kris Sun who is from China. What a wonderful young man he is. I remember the first time he came over to our place for one of the missionary discussions. He expressed a strong desire to be baptized into the church and become a member. He wanted it so much that he would have agreed to be baptized that very day if allowed. However, I knew what the missionaries were thinking; "It's too early. We need to teach him more so that he can know for certain that he is making the right choice."  

Kris and Elder Graf (he is a German missionary)

Weeks later, his dream was fulfilled. I was invited to speak during his baptism. I  talked about the Gift of the Holy Ghost which he would receive in Church the next day. President Boyer, the mission president, also spoke during the baptismal service. The Spirit was certainly there the entire meeting. Sister van Hoff was the piano player. What a spiritual way to begin a Saturday.    

Later that afternoon, I took a bike ride. True, I reported a few months back that I was giving my bike away to someone who needed it more than I. After making several attempts to give it to him, he told me he had no where to park it where he was living. Now he no longer needs a bike. Anyway, I decided to visit a small nearby town, Nieder Eschbach.  At the beginning of our mission I remembered having visited that town. Sister van Hoff and I enjoyed walking through it. At that time we took a tram to get to that there. I just wanted to see it one more time.  

It was great visiting the places we walked on that summer day two years ago. Being on bike I was able to see other sites we didn't see before.  Here are some pictures of the town.

On the way home, I got a little lost coming out of the town and getting back to the Grüngürtel (a bike path that goes all the way around the city of Frankfurt). Surprisingly, just as I turned a corner to entered the Grüngürtel, I heard someone call out my name, "Elder van Hoff!"  It was Elder and Sister Conlin and Brother and Sister Maynes (he is the Director of Temporal Affairs of the Europe Area).  I was amazed at meeting anyone so far out of town. Had I been 30 seconds later, that meeting would not have occurred. It was wonderful to see a familiar face. A small tender mercy.

We ended the day by going to another missionary couple's apartment for dinner. They did such a good job preparing a meal that Diane could eat. The dinner discussions were enlightening and uplifting. It made for an enjoyable evening.

This past week we had an appointment to present a follow-up report to the Area Presidency. They were very pleased with the results of our work with the Technology Group rollout. Diane did the presentation.  She even mentioned some of the challenges we have had to deal with while forming the groups, yet the Area Presidency were not discouraged in the least by those problems.  

Interestingly, they made it a point to tell us that they didn't want us to go. We recognized that as being cordially polite with a hint of humor. But then, they surprised us when they told us that they were aware of our heavy involvement with the ward and other things not related to our assignment and thanked us in true sincerity. How did they know what we did? It isn't like we advertised what we did. They were right, we have done a lot, but it isn't anything more than what we would normally do anywhere else. We left the meeting expressing our appreciation for their support and thanks.

We had our exit interview with Elder Sabin. Walking out of that office made the thought of leaving here more of a reality. This has become our home. This life has become our life. It is a little scary not being familiar with our near future.

Thursday morning we had another wonderful experience, yet not for any reason we would like to repeat. Last weekend we got a phone call from a missionary couple. They asked us to come over to their apartment. We did and were surprised to learn what they told us. 

They had recently found out that the sister had a serious heath issue and was expected to return home for an operation. Recovery could take up to 3-6 months. Then they told us that they would be leaving for the U.S. this Thursday morning. They needed to talk to someone because they were concerned about the fight home. She was in extreme pain and didn't know how they could make it for the long flight and with a layover in the Netherlands.  

We weren't quite sure why we specifically picked us out from all the other missionary couples to share with us this information. We spent the next hour trying to give them comfort and told them that we would honor their request to keep this information confidential for a couple of days.  

Later in the week the other couples were notified and a fast was organized to pray that she could make the flight in comfort and have a successful surgery. I was asked to be the spokesperson. As the senior couples knelt on the floor of the church chapel for prayer to begin the fast the Spirit manifested itself in a major way and I was sure that the faith of the missionaries was felt in Heaven above.

Yesterday was another packed day.  

In the morning, Elder Conlin, Elder Peshell, and I drove together to help with a member move. We had so much fun working shoulder to shoulder with members of the ward.  I think the other two elders were tired like me, but we all had a great time.

Me demonstrating to the guys how to lift heavy objects.

Next up: we were invited to lunch at a member's home, the Fu family. This beautiful couple both came from China. They have 2 adorable boys, 5 and 3. They are the ones who joined the church a year ago and were just recently sealed in the temple with their two boys.

 

After lunch we opened up the new manual, Come Follow Me. We taught them how we have been studying it. We covered only two paragraphs, yet discussed things from those two paragraphs over the next 45 minutes. As much as they learned from us, we also learned from them.  

And still more: that evening we had been invited to dinner with the Jacobe family. They are from the Philippines. The young missionary elders were also invited along with a young couple, Brother and Sister Crucy. 

Sister Jacobe loves to cook and entertain. When it came time to eat, the entire table was filled with bowls, pans, and plates of food. There wasn't even enough room for us to eat at the table. There were only nine of us, yet there was enough food to generously fill 20-25 people. Large portions and trying everything was encouraged!

After dinner I was feeling full and was glad that the table was being cleared. But then, they began to fill up the table again with all sorts of desserts. I had planned to eat just a tiny portion of each one but Sister Jacobe grabbed my plate and piled on heaping portions of each dessert. "You've got to try this, and this, and you have to have this and this." The plate was filled full. 

I have to admit that all the food was wonderful, but I was in pain for having eaten so much.

The conversation changed from cultures, to personal life experiences from the past, to politics, to missionary work. Just before we had to leave, I asked each family to share how it was going with their study of Come Follow Me. It was heart warming to hear their experiences with their studies. They bore testimony of how it was changing them and how much they have gotten out of study with their respective families.  

Somewhere in the week we managed to almost finish our income taxes. Just a few more bits and pieces of information to gather up.

Today, Sunday, we went over calendars. There is so much going on between now and when we leave. I hope to have time to write another post in this blog, but can't guarantee it.  

We love you all.  Thank you for your prayers.  Rest assured that you are in ours.