Week 4

This week has flown by as we have settled into the rhythm of our routine. We have had a few important events we wanted to report on.

The first item of interest is a followup to the recent visit of my Chinese student, Tong Chongyang (Phoebe). After receiving a very positive response to my email asking if she would like to receive a copy of the Book of Mormon in Chinese or English, John contacted the missionaries in Bamberg and asked them to deliver a copy in English (her choice).

We were delighted to have them call us to report that not only had they done so but had had a wonderful visit with her and a member they took with them. She had asked them how to go about coming to know if the book were true--we had told her such knowledge was available to her and all who read with real intent. Before they left they invited her to give a prayer and she did so! (I think her only experience with prayer had been with us in Church and when John had blessed the food.) The elders are planning to get together with her again as soon as she returns from Salzburg where she was heading this week. We pray that in the short months before she returns to China on March 1 she will gain that most important knowledge and will have the courage to act on that knowledge. It is exciting for us to contemplate that possibility.

We found it interesting that our bishop gave what seemed a wonderful power point presentation on this fifth Sunday about the blessings of the Book of Mormon in our lives, based on Elder Neil L. Andersen's talk in the October Liahona and Ensign, called "The Book of Mormon: Strengthening our Faith in Jesus Christ." I don't understand a lot of his German but I could certainly feel the spirit he had and that of the Saints who were quick to jump in with their comments and testimonies.

A second highlight of our week was another testimony of the kindness of those we are surrounded with. After a month John and I were both in need to haircuts and were a little at a loss as to how to find where to go to get some. Our neighboring missionary couple, just happened to be going to a member's saloon close to Chemnitz--an hour's drive--and offered to take us along. The wonderful couple, Elka and Knut Meyer, both temple workers on Wednesdays, when they have for years closed up shop to so serve, willingly provide the service of cutting our neighbors' (and now our) hair without charge--after all we are missionaries, they say! We would have been happy to have paid, being relieved to know where to go, but they won't accept. (In appreciation, we did manage to cram a 20 euro note into their tip jar).

We left early in the morning and enjoyed the beautiful fall drive through the hills to Chemnitz and our visit with the Meyers before Elka's doing each of our heads with her flashing scissors. We also meet one of their handsome sons who is following suit in his parents' profession. He is a returned missionary having served in New Zealand, who, not surprisingly, spoke very good English.

Elka and Knut have hanging on their wall their temple certificate showing that they were married in 1976 but sealed in the Freiberg temple the first week it was opened--in July 1985. Theirs was one of some 300 sealings performed that first glorious week (this was, as you may remember, before the Berlin Wall came down and members were not allowed to leave to be sealed in the Swiss Temple, or any other, for that matter).

Following our visit and much less shaggy, we headed back to Freiberg, stopping to visit an interesting pottery shop where we enjoyed seeing their wares and watching the potters at work.

Later we stopped at a delightful Gasthaus along our way home and enjoyed a yummy lunch of pumpkin soup and salad. We love these little discoveries as we are out and about.

Our activities seem to often revolve around food, but it does seem to be the best way to socialize with others. We enjoyed having Bruce and Jean Harper for dinner last Sunday, my first foray into trying to entertain. It worked out fine.

Bruce formerly worked in the missionary department of the Church and served with his wife as mission president in Munich some 20 years ago. Even before that he was a missionary companion of my brother, George. It is a small world in the Church.

We enjoy the couples serving here. We are a pretty close-knit group since our numbers are small and we are together every day.

I guess if I had to choose the most significant event of the week it would have to be our being part of our wonderful temple president and matron's last week of service. The previous three years have been the highlight for them of their many, many opportunities to serve in the Church. President Frank and his wife, Helga, Apel have been marvelous to be with. We are so glad to have had this month with them before our new president and matron, the Huszes from Austria, begin this Tuesday. They were in attendance at our church meetings today and we enjoyed meeting them as we came from our apartment. (The temple president lives just off our own apartments.) I have no doubt but what they will be wonderful to serve with as well. But that said, it is difficult to bid farewell to the Apels. He and Sis Apel have filled our lives with sunshine this last month.

John and I have recently been reading President Monson's book Faith Rewarded, about his some 27 years of service with the eastern European saints, many of those years from those bleak years behind the Berlin Wall. We have been thrilled to read repeatedly the names of those we have meet in the temple. Few are mentioned more often than has been that of Frank Apel, a third-generation member who simply views the Church as his life! And so it has been.  President Apel, who spoke in Church today and who has just been called as Gospel Doctrine teacher, said he feels he has come full-circle to now be asked to teach in the Church. It has been many years since he had that opportunity. He didn't mention it but he served as the first stake president behind the Iron Curtain, as mission president, and now as temple president. Isn't it marvelous how the Church leadership works as one is called, then released to go on to serve elsewhere in the vineyard. We are grateful to be among the workers.

I keep trying to show their signatures--Frank and Helga Apel--but the dumb thing keeps cutting them off.
Oh well, it may be me that is the dumb thing!

Week 3

This has been a very different week from the last two. For one thing it has been a slow one in the temple. It was Dresden's week--each stake and district have an assigned week, though members can, of course, attend whenever they choose--but the numbers of those who made the short trip were very few. Perhaps that illustrates a principle that when things are close at hand and easily accessible we don't prize them as highly as when we sacrifice to have them. Dresden is only 30K away. Friday is usually our busiest day but it was dead until the evening session and throughout the week things were likewise pretty slim. Saturday we had a lot of missionaries show up and two large youth groups from the Czech Republic and Slovakia so that made it a humming day.

I was pleased to have finally managed to complete my learning of all of the ordinances in German and have had the opportunity to perform them as well. One afternoon I worked doing English with one patron and German with the next, back and forth for an hour. It was great to have set the words in my brain more firmly in both languages. In the future I'll have to tackle Hungarian but for now, I am going to savor getting this far.

The weather has been crisp and cold with frost on the grass in the morning, but it has still been lovely during the day.  On Monday John and I went to town and did a little shopping, bought our first Italianisch ice-cream cones and enjoyed a stop at a bakery for our indulgence for the week. It was fun to enjoy just being together and exploring. We love this little town with its old churches and flower shops, its cobblestone and parks.

We took the bus down and had fun finding our way around with the help of the map we had acquired. The buses here are a real step up from those we rode in China. For one thing they are all Mercedes buses and all look brand new. And they are never crowded and all have wonderful shocks! Those are all the pluses. On the downside, they don't cost just 7 cents as they did in Xi'an.

We have been noting things that we find interesting since we have been here. One is that the Germans have a clever way to avoid the challenge of grocery carts left helter skelter in grocery store parking lots as they are in America, even when collection points are readily available. (This idea is worth marketing!) The German baskets each have a little chain connecting them. To get a basket you must insert one Euro into a slot for the chain to release. You then take the cart and go do your shopping. When you are finished, you must return the card, reinsert the chain from the adjacent cart into yours. When you do so  your Euro is returned to you. Pretty cool. Each euro is worth about $1.40 so it is worth reclaiming. The result is no stray carts left in the parking lot, down the street, or in front of a junky apartment house (actually there are no junky apartment houses either).

Another thing we like is my German oven. It is such a treat to have an oven at all after my little Chinese toaster oven, but this one in our apartment is really neat. It has a built in roasting tray which slides in and out on ball bearing runner. It is great for roasting potatoes, making granola--all kinds of useful applications. It got good use this week.

 Since we arrived I have been unsuccessfully searching the local shops trying to find a covered pottery dish that would allow me to make my 18-hour-no-knead bread; then while we were cleaning out our cupboards Monday we found an oval shaped, pyrex-type casserole with a glass lid that looked promising.

I tried it out and it worked just fine. The loaf turns out oval instead of round but it tastes just as good. Germany has good breads but being able to make our own is just one more step to our settling in.

Saturday night we enjoyed going out to dinner with our next door neighbors who are back for their second stint here at the temple. Because they are renting a car we went to a little restaurant out of town for schnitzel.

It was yummy. Each couple ordered one dinner and split it. Good thing--they were huge. We ended with one apple strudel and four forks! It was a delightful outing after our slow week.

We hope life is as good for you in your corner of the world as it is here in sleepy Freiberg.

Week 2

Another week has flown by and we are in a little better shape than we were last week. I think my brain is getting more used to the demands of German and of constant memorizing. . . besides it is impossible to be anything but happy to be in the temple every day.

Physically we are generally holding up, though Wednesday morning I wasn't sure John was going to make it. It was one of what I call his "Donkey Days"--when his legs buckle on him without warning. We wondered if he could even get dressed and walk through the tunnel to the temple, let alone serve through the whole day. He is marvelous though; with a little help from me to get his socks and shoes on, he went forward in faith. He tells me that he often thinks of my Aunt Alice, who, well in her 70s and in constant pain from severe arthritis and a deformed hip, was called as Young Women president in her ward and accepted the calling in faith. I remember her experiencing a weekly miracle as she went to the church, it was as though she took her pain off like a coat at the door, and picked it up again as she left. John said that his memory of her going forward in faith shores up his own. He not only got through that day, but each day throughout the week.

We both have, really; my memorization is coming along and, by the end of the week, I had done all but one of the segments in which women are able to serve. It is still pretty scary for me to open my mouth and let sacred words come out of it in German! I'm sure it will be a while yet before they come forth naturally and comfortably, but they are coming, and not as slowly as at first. I am grateful for the Lord's sustaining help in all we are doing. It is a privilege to serve.

We thoroughly enjoyed our Monday P-day, cleaning the apartment, doing laundry and cooking--the mundane things that are a perfect unwind from the week before. I made veggie pizza crusts, split pea soup, and stocked up on things we needed for the week. We felt we were now ready to face Tuesday when we had "Frühdienst." That means that we went early to open the temple for the day. Every eight days we will have the chance to close the temple at night and open again the next morning. If our turn comes up on Tuesday it means we also go in on Monday evening and put away the clothing the laundry has prepared for the next day. It was fun to participate in that activity.

Monday night several cars drove into the temple parking lot and out spilled nearly 50 Hungarian saints who had come for a scheduled week at the temple. We met them Tuesday morning as the temple opened for the 8:00 am session. They were there, and stayed throughout that day and every session through the week. The temple was full to the brim with their joy at being there. Older couples, singles, young couples (some who began their week by being sealed, having first been married civilly, as required). Many of the saints who came served also as workers, leading the sessions in Hungarian all day (while the Germans, who came and joined them, willingly put on headphones to participate in Deutsch). With them was a wonderful group of youth who came to participate in baptisms for the dead. They too were there all day.

Interestingly many of the Hungarians spoke a little English but no German so i had the chance to talk with them in the lunch room or as they waited for the next session. Friday afternoon, knowing they faced long drives of 8 to 12 hours home the following morning, I wondered if they would stay for the Friday evening session. Each one asked said "Oh YES! We wouldn't miss it!" And so they joyously came. As they left Friday night late they hugged everyone, assuring us they would be back the end of November--they could hardly wait! I loved working with them--all but trying to pronounce their names. Goodness. What a language!

Though most of the patrons this week were Hungarian we also welcomed the Germans and even one young woman from Russia who, I learned, comes every few months by herself. Her husband is not a member and she has one young son. It seemed to me that she was recharging her internal batteries as she soaked in the spirit of the temple each hour throughout the day. I look forward to seeing her again.

Thursday evening we had planned to get together with a German couple from Dresden we had met in St. Petersburg, Russia, at a production of Swan Lake.. We had arranged to meet them for dinner and an organ concert at the Dom cathedral in Freiberg. We were sorry to learn on Wednesday evening that the wife had become ill and they would be unable to come. We had already purchased tickets for the event so John gave them to another couple we met in the temple from Münster. They were excited to join us and we had fun at dinner at an old German pub before a wonderful concert on the two Silbermann organs by Albrecht Koch, the principal organist at the Dom.

Through the week in our evening hours we prepared to speak in Church Sunday with the only other new couple serving here for six months. They came from northern Germany. John translated my remarks into German and patiently coached me on my pronunciation. We gave them today--another hurdle now over. John did a great job on his talk on the Mission of the Church. I introduced ourselves, told of our love serving in the temple, and bore my testimony. Five minutes of speaking German about did me in but it is over! Hurrah!

Saturday the temple was pretty thin of company with the Hungarians back in their cars headed home. We had been warned that that would be the case when the groups leave. The third session for the day was canceled and instead we had a sealing session for the few patrons and a bunch of the missionaries who were there. John and I participated and it was a joy. On our session was a charming little elderly lady visiting for seven weeks from Potsdam, near Berlin. John and I were serving as proxies for the parents and Sis Adam as our daughter. We have never observed such sparkle in an individual participating, even after our really remarkable week with the Hungarians. As each ordinance was performed she, looking upward, said "do you see their joy and happiness in being sealed!" "They are all here and are so happy!" Though we ourselves saw nothing, we felt of the happiness and were grateful to be with her.

Saturday evening we had another event in an already full week. One of my Chinese students from Xi'an, here in Germany studying in Bamberg for six months, came to see us to spend Sunday. On her own she had traveled to Prague and Dresdan. We were her last stop on her way back to Bamberg. We took a bus to the train station to meet her coming in, went to dinner and then took her to a guest house very close by the temple. Sunday morning she came for breakfast, then joined us for our Church meetings. With the help of the sister missionaries serving in Freiberg she willingly sat through all three hours.

It was such fun to talk openly with her about the Church, something we could not do in China. She knows next to nothing about Christianity or the Savior, but has been gathering with other Chinese students at her school each Wednesday evening while they read the Bible in Chinese. She was full of questions and it was fun to share with her our beliefs. We don't know where things will go from here but we tried to at least be a good first contact for her.

We ate lunch together at our apartment and then saw her photos from her trip. In the evening I walked with her around sleepy Freiberg--everything is locked up tight on a Sunday evening--before walking together back to the train station to send her off on her journey while I caught a taxi home.

German calendars show the first day of the week to be Monday and the last to be Sunday. I like that. It feels like the week has drawn to a close. I am ready for bed and look forward to beginning the new week ahead. I hope it is a good one for each of you too!

First Week--We survived!

We have come to the end of our first full week of our temple mission service. It has been wonderful, challenging, overwhelming, and well worth writing home about.

We are so grateful that it is here to this temple that we have been called to serve. The only downside we have thus far found (other than my not speaking German, of course) is that Sachsen German is very different than the German John is fluent in. (Actually, I think it is good that he has to struggle a little too. It makes him more empathetic with my challenges.)

This week I began memorizing the ordinances in German with John, during our rare study times (President Apel believes strongly in OJT), prompting me with correct pronunciation--a huge challenge for my American tongue. By the end of the week, however, I had learned two of five segments of dialog and had actually been on the firing line twice with one of them. That I got through it at all I find to be a miracle. I am ever grateful that I already knew these sacred words in English so that at least I had that orientation to try to make sense of the phrasing in German. I walk by faith that step by step it will come. I find it is much more difficult to memorize by rote, as am having to do, than to just memorize words in English, though memorizing anything for our old brains is tough.

When the temple is open the eight missionary couples (two who are German and the others from the USA) are there. Each day we have three sessions: 8:00, 10:30, and 1:00 as well as other work going forward. On Friday we go home, eat dinner, before returning for a 7:00 session. It is truly a joy to be there so much. We have loved our temple service in Washington DC and in the Salt Lake Temple but I have never been like Anna of the New Testament, who "dwelt" in the temple and had been serving there all the day long for many years when she, with Simeon, was privileged to behold the newborn Savior with his mother.

One thing we were trained on both Friday and Saturday was spät and früh Dienst--late and early service--where we opened and closed the temple, putting all in order for the following day. Normally we are in the temple at 10 minutes to 7:00 in the morning but for these assignments we go at 6:00 and stay until the last patron has left the temple and we have handled all the remaining tasks we are assigned in tidying up, turning off the lights, and locking up prior to the custodian's later arrival.

It occurred to me today that with the arrangement of our apartment, with the tunnel connecting the temple to the Herberge,where we live, that we could--and did--go for days and never set foot outside! That is sure to be a very convenient thing as East German snow piles deep in winter. Last year, we are told, the snow was shoulder deep! I told John that we better stock in food so we never have to go out in it, even for shopping. For now though the weather is beautiful, sunny with clear blue skies, the kind we never saw while in China.

The days have been crisp and lovely with the bite of fall in the air. Saturday, however, was more than crisp. It was downright cold, as it is today. And we still have winter to look forward to. However, as I compare our weather here with that at home in Utah, it appears that winter has arrived early there too with the first snow of the year.

Though we didn't do much outside the temple this week, we did go to "anmeld" downtown by registering at the police station, a requirement of everyone who lives anywhere in Germany (and in China, for that matter) a few days after arrival. Though we have not taken a single picture this week we appreciate some from Trip Advisor that probably show our little city better than pictures I could have taken. It is a charming old town which will celebrate its 850-year-old birthday in 2012.

We love the narrow streets and charming vistas every which way one looks. One of our fellow missionary couples who have rented a car while here, provided us with a tour of the town. These photos may help you visualize our Sachsen (Saxony) Germany world.




I think all these towns around have what are called "Christmas Markets" in their market places in the season. Meanwhile these open areas are apparently used for Farmer's Markets each Saturday. One of these days we may even be able to see them--if there isn't a late sealing and we don't need to lock up the temple.

But, for now, we aren't here for the charm of the old town or for the beauty of the surrounding setting, but for the light and joy of serving the wonderful East Germans, Hungarians (some 50 are to arrive next week!), Czechs, Poles, and the stray American and Russian who are drawn here.

I suppose if I had to choose just one impression to hold onto from this first week it would have to be the overwhelming love that these dear people have for their temple and the blessings it provides them.

We are currently reading President Monson's book, Faith Rewarded, which is simply his entries from his journal about East Germany and its people, from 1968 when he first became a General Authority and was assigned to this area, until the last entry included, from 1995. It is a story of devotion and commitment to the Lord that is there in everything we see and feel here.

These dear saints come to their temple, not just for a session, or even for a day, they come again and again, day after day. Some come from distances and stay in temple housing from Tuesday until Saturday, drinking in the spirit of the temple. They are there when it opens at 7:30 and never leave until it closes late afternoon. Friday they come again for the whole day and evening. We have never been in a temple that is more reverent or full of the lovingkindness that is so much a part of the Lord's own character--we have never heard a word in this whole week that was not whispered. One cute young Russian sister, Sis Semmenkova, had driven 14 hours to come to the temple for this whole week, leaving her non-member husband and her son home as she recharged her batteries for a few months. She assured us she would be back in February, if not December.

In many ways, I envy them their years of hardship and sacrifice for what it has made of them. They love one another in the way I imagine the early pioneers loved one another, who had paid such a price for the gospel. Unusual for the German temperament, they hug and kiss one another (and anyone else who is lucky enough to be around them), greeting each with their joy in being there. In our church meeting today we recognized face after face of local members who had been in the temple repeatedly throughout the week, often bringing with them their own family name cards--it is apparently the #1 temple in the Church for people participating in behalf of their own ancestors.

Our temple president, President Frank Apel and his wife Helga, are third generation members. He was the first stake president behind the Iron Curtain, and prior to that was the last missionary called within East Germany before serving was prevented, he was mission president in Dusseldorf, and now is completing his service in this temple at the end of this month.

The Apels have four children who are all active members of the Church and all live in Freiberg on the same block, and who were all in the temple with their parents for a Friday evening sealing session. Their son-in-law is the recorder and our newly called bishop. Another son-in-law is a counselor to the bishop. Today our fast and testimony meeting rang with other family members' fervent testimonies among the others born. Though I could not understand their German, I felt their spirit of love for the Lord and his gospel. It is not surprising that President Apel could say with a huge smile "The Church is my life." And so it has been. I have so much to learn (and more than just German!) from these dear people that I might become more as they are in love, devotion, and reverence.

2 Laings in Freiberg

On September 26th John and I left for our 12-month mission to the Freiberg Germany Temple, in former East Germany. Kathy and Brent kindly hauled us and our luggage to the airport and sent us off again into the wild blue yonder. We arrived in Newark NJ without mishap, collected our luggage and went to Iceland Express to check in for our next flights--to Reykjavik and on to London. We had carefully packed and weighed our big bags and both were exactly the maximum of 44 pounds. So far so good. Our hand luggage was, however, another matter. It was too heavy and we were required to check it, and pay for it too. $180 later we were on our way to our gate feeling relieved at not having to pull so much weight. Our flights to Iceland then London were smooth and we cheerfully went to baggage claim to collect our four bags. There we waited and waited until a fellow passenger came to tell us that all the bags in Newark had been overlooked and had not been loaded!

We filled out the requisite paperwork to have them forwarded to us in Germany and then took a bus from Gatwick to Heathrow and another to our lodge, where we had arranged to spend the night, prior to our flight to Dresden the next day. John, always so careful not to neglect having extra garments, toiletries, and meds along, had a hard time believing that in the rush to meet the airline's demands to check our hand luggage he had not bothered to pull even so much as a toothbrush from his suitcase, let alone his meds. It was an interesting experience in having absolutely nothing!

We enjoyed our dinner at an English pub as well as our stay at Heathrow Lodge before our flight the next day on Lufthansa. We did call the Temple President and his wife, President and Sister Apel, and the recorder, the Apels' son-in-law, Bishop Schönherr (brand newly called as our bishop) to alert them that we would have no luggage to wait for in Dresden. They laughed and said they would not need to bring the big car then. They were there with welcoming smiles and hugs as we came through the gate and we enjoyed our ride "home" to Freiberg, some 30K away.

When we arrived on Wednesday we were introduced to our new home--apartment #6 at the Temple Mission Housing--die Tempelherberge. Sis Apel had outfitted us with an orchid plant on our table, groceries in our fridge, and a fruit bowl and German chocolates on our table.

Over the next several days we spent our time emailing back and forth with family, shopping to get accustomed to the grocery stores available, and trying to get stocked up so we would feel like I could actually cook here. It is a challenge but less so than in China. I at least have John to ask things of. One of our fellow missionary couples is Bruce and Jean Harper (He is a former missionary companion of my brother George's), and they offered sweats so we wouldn't have to live in the missionary attire we wore on our journey.

We did find that our boxes from China that we had sent with our winter clothes had arrived and I spent Thursday pressing and putting those things away. It was also lovely to be reunited with my stick blender and pressure cooker we had sent on ahead. I also did a little cooking to warm up to my kitchenette. It is going to work out fine, I think. We actually love our little apartment. It is wonderfully efficient and charming.






Our apartment is part of "temple square," so to speak, with a tunnel for us to enter the temple, and our chapel, just off from our apartments. It is so convenient.

Thursday evening another mission couple, Carl and Margaret Larson, invited us to go to the cathedral in Freiberg to attend an organ concert. We willingly did so and it was marvelous. A young organist from Holland who had determined at age five that he would be an organist.

It wasn't until Saturday midday before our luggage was finally delivered. When it came I was out for a walk and another shopping expedition to try to see if I could manage without John. He hauled it all in one piece at a time and then I spent the afternoon before our first session of conference (at 6:00 pm) ironing and putting away all our clothes and other things--so nice to finally have all our supplements, toiletries, books, clothing, and--most important--our temple clothes! We went to the chapel for the conference session, came home had dinner and I began ironing again--right through the second session. It was from 10 to 12:00 midnight. Wonderful way to plow through our ironing. We finally turned in after the session with everything stored away in the commodious cupboard space that our tiny apartment is outfitted with. We are very happy with our setting.

Sunday we slept in but then had brunch and John went to priesthood at 11:00 and we both went to Sunday "morning" session at 6:00 pm before coming home to try to turn in early to get ourselves back on sync with our internal clock. I did fine but John had a rough night with little sleep.

October 3, Monday, was a holiday for the Germans--it is unification day in 1990 when East and West Germany were reunited after all those years of separation by the Berlin Wall. I have been reading Garold and Norma Davis's book Behind the Iron Curtain: Recollections of Latter-day Saints in East Germany, 1945-1989. It has been wonderful to get a sense of all that the early saints in this area endured for all those years. It has been fun too to read of Uncle Joel Tate's service as mission president in Berlin during the early 1960s, just as the wall went up. Uncle Burtis Robbins and Aunt Edythe were here before that as well. I felt a personal connection because of their service.

Tomorrow we begin what we came here to do: to serve the Lord in one of His beautiful houses. We are grateful for the opportunity to serve a mission in this way.