WHAT DO WE ACTUALLY DO IN OUR ROLE HERE?

This last week, I (Russell) presented in our weekly Monday morning devotional.The subject matter was assigned to us and the audience was the employees and missionaries of the Area’s Welfare and Self-reliance Department (“WSR”).  Over a hundred individuals are invited to attend the weekly on-line meeting, but usually less than that actually make it.  

The assigned topic was Priority 3 of the WSR 5-year strategic focus, “Increase the impact of Church humanitarian priorities and promote community service.”  The previous two priorities, covered in prior weeks, focused on self-reliance principles and services for Church members.  As Priority 3 and my presentation dealt specifically with what Eileen and I work on in our missionary service, I thought including it here might be appropriate. Since much of the presentation focused on the “how to do” part of the work, I thought it important to start and end it with the “why,” on the purpose of why we are doing what we are doing.  It is easy to get caught up in the mechanics of the process and lose track of why we are serving. We serve our Savior, Jesus Christ, and seek to follow His example of serving others, particularly those most in need. 

The Church’s humanitarian work in the Europe Central Area is organized in a more complex way that it was 10 years ago when we previously served here.  We now have six managers/employees that we work with, three in Frankfurt and three located in the countries that we serve.  The humanitarian project work is divided into roles filled by employees, Area humanitarian missionaries (like us), and the WSR field couple missionaries.  To coordinate that process of who does what, a chart has been created by the Area humanitarian employees to clarify that.  I refer to it as the “Chart of Many Colors.”  A copy of it and my PowerPoint presentation are attached at the end of the week’s pictures below.

Each Sunday we try and invite another couple to come and have dinner with us.Since my cooking skills are limited, we have a consistent menu of roast beef, potatoes and vegetables.  It reminds me of what my grandmothers would cook when they had us over for Sunday dinners.  So far, we have had over a dozen couples come and share a meal with us.  Getting to know the other senior missionaries is one of the best things about serving here in Frankfurt. 

                                         

It is pretty remarkable that with modern technology we can have a meeting with others from around the world. Joining our Monday meeting are missionaries and employees from Spain to Turkey.

Russell makes dinner each Sunday and we invite other senior missionaries over.

Russell wanted some nicer dress shirts. I ordered these over a month ago. DHL tried to deliver them twice previously on a Saturday and returned to the sender since the office and mail room is closed on Saturday. I thought surely it can't be that difficult when I have requested that they be delivered on a weekday to notice that the office is closed.  We finally received 6 out of the 10 which were ordered.  I guess it shows it is worth being persistent. Hopefully we can still get the other 4.

My daughter gives me a waxed amaryllis every year for Christmas. When I saw these in the Netherlands I thought they would be so nice to have in the office. Russell knows that flowers make me happy. 

We have a small balcony which Russell has put a lot of flowers on, some are planted and some are grown in pots.

Friday was a holiday in Frankfurt and the office was closed. Almost all the senior missionaries took off on a trip. It wasn't our weekend for the car so we figured we would stay home. Elder and Sister Nelson heard we didn't have a car and loaned us theirs since they were going out of town. We went to Wurzburg and saw some of the sites there. The Wurzburg residence was originally built in the mid 1700s.  It was mostly ruined in a 17 minute British air raid in WWII. An American art historian who was in the army, recognized the value of the building and the frescos and took emergency measures to protect what was left of the building. It is now a UNESCO hertitage building. 

                                                         Beautiful parquet floors.

                                           

                                             

                                            

                                        

                                                                   Hall of mirrors

                                        

We took a wonderful tour of this fortress at the top of the hill. overlooking the city.

Saturday we went to the Palmengarten-a botanical garden in the middle of Frankfurt

                                                         

My first ever speeding ticket.  It was taken by an electronic camera. $38 for going 3 miles over the speed    limit. 

We went out with Elder and Sister Parks to a Mexican restaurant. We were surprised when we were brought some nonalcoholic shots at the end of meal. Basically it was just OJ in a shot glass.

                                                            The chart of many colors gets confusing at times

WHO'S GOOD IDEA WAS THAT?

 For most of our time here we have been very busy.  Rare have been the times when for a few minutes I (Russell) have been looking for things to do.  But on Wednesday I had such a morning.  Thinking we were caught up with what we could do on our various projects, I spent some time cleaning up my electronic and paper files.  Only after that, bored, did I turned to two potential projects, each of which was “on hold” after our having met with them just once.  Knowing that both of potential projects had advocates among the employees, I read through their files again.  One with a large municipality would have had us partnering with an NGO representative of the municipality.  Government units in this country cannot legally take donations, as a precautionary measure against corruption.  I decided to learn what I could about the NGO, a group I was unfamiliar with.  The internet is a great resource of information but the quality of which is sometimes questionable.  My search found an article from 2024, it gave a brief history of the group, including its fast growth rate in recent years, and its rumored possible past ties to organized crime. An email to a fellow senior missionary, who prior to retirement from law enforcement from the country, was within a few hours returned with a warning to not be associated with that NGO.  

Both Eileen and I were very grateful that we had learned so early in the process not to proceed further.  It would have been very embarrassing for all if we had helped develop the project with the municipality only to have to back out at the last minute.  Reflecting on it that evening, we both realized that we had not only been blessed to find out about the problem so early in the process, but we were both aware that the way we found the issue was not due to our own diligence.  Rather, it was one of these “minor miracles,” one where you know it was not your own good idea.  Interestingly, on Thursday and Friday we were swamped with work again.

                   

                                Another rapeseed photo-it really makes the area look beautiful. 

                                               

I    I (Eileen) received these flowers from Sister Johnson  who knew it had been a difficult week.

We went to a garden show at a castle. Basically it was an outdoor market. This is as close as we could get to the castle. 

This plaque was on the outside wall of the castle.  Built in 1475. 

On the way home we stopped to get some flowers to plant on our outdoor balcony.  We don't know if there will be enough sun for them to grow, but they look nice for today. 

Russell thought the best part of the outdoor market was the bratwurst. 

Watching Saturday night conference over zoom. We couldn't get the translation to work through             the earphones, so we had to read the translation.

We had written translation of conference on our phone.  Russell and I both were laughing at the particular translation with the sustaining of officers. See translation circled in yellow.

TOO OLD TO GIVE BLOOD

This last week took us to Zollikofen, Switzerland.  It is the small city where the Bern Temple resides.  The purpose of our visit was to meet with an NGO which is working on several efforts to try and help those in the neighborhood beside the temple, most of whom are recent immigrants from many different places outside Europe.  Among the non-Swiss population living there, they have a 50% unemployment rate.  Projects to tutor the children after school, provide playground equipment, and build a sense of community within the diverse population are fostered by this NGO.  On Tuesday afternoon we went to see a blood drive they were sponsoring. Having given blood many times I thought I (Russell) would participate.  To my great surprise, I was told that potential donors aged 70 and older, who have not given blood before in Switzerland, could only give after having been cleared by a Swiss doctor.  A doctor was not present who could sign-off on my health.  The fact that I had given blood just last fall in Centerville was of no help.

Not being allowed to give blood because of my age was a bit of a shock to me.  While I don’t see myself as old, perhaps my perspective is just my wishful thinking.  During our first few missions, Eileen and I were clearly the youngest or among the youngest senior missionaries serving there.  Only on our last mission in Missouri would I say that we were at the average age among the other seniors.  Now in Frankfurt, I must admit that I am in the older half of the senior missionaries, but nowhere near the oldest, we have several who are between 75 and 80.

Perhaps because I was reflecting a lot on my age during our trip, when we attended a sealing session in the Bern Temple I thought, “this may be the last time I am here.”  It reminded me of a phrase from a song that was popular when I was a senior in high school, “We may never pass this way again.”  The song by Seals and Crofts, encourages cherishing the moment and taking the opportunity to appreciate people because life moves on and circumstances change. Opportunities may possibly be lost if not taken now.

During April 2022 General Conference, President Russell M. Nelson gave a talk titled Now Is the Time.  In it he said, “The future is always uncertain.  Weather changes. Economic cycles are unpredictable.  Disasters, accidents, and illness can change life quickly.  These actions are largely beyond our control.  But there are some things we can control, including how we spend our time each day.”

President Nelson continued, “Yes, we should learn from the past, and yes, we should prepare for the future.  But only now can we do.  Now is the time we can learn. Now is the time we can repent. Now is the time we can bless others and ‘lift up the hands which hang down.’”

I’ll take my experience of being turned down to give blood this week as a gentle reminder that I need to do a better job of using what time I have left to appreciate and help those around me, both at home and here on the mission.

We had the opportunity to do sealings in the Bern Temple. This temple was dedicated the day Russell was born.  It was the first European temple built and was a blessing to the Saints as it meant they no longer had to travel to North America to attend the temple. 

Markus and his NGO organized a blood drive at the church which the Red Cross implemented. The turnout was remarkable.  Fifty two donors participated, including 22 first time donors.  Sixteen donors had to be turned away due to medical reasons. The Red Cross sent an email stating that with the 34 blood donations up to 102 lives could be saved. 

Blood drive notifications. 

Elder and Sister Lex drove from Salzburg to meet us for this trip. Both happily donated blood. 

In Switzerland you get Lindt heart shaped chocolates as a reward after donating blood.

We had non stop meetings trying to plan this future project. Elder and Sister Lex participated, coordinating the possibility of YSA service participation with Brother Hanni, the YSA leader. 

The YSA having a meeting in the chapel. Their singing was great. 

After a toast of non - alcoholic drinks, Markus gave us each a beautiful bottle of sparkly apple juice. I (Eileen) told him I would leave it on my desk and break it out when/if the project passes. 

Brother and Sister Gappmeir (Markus) prepared a wonderful plant based luncheon which they shared with us. 

Overlooking Bern

Cobblestone street in Bern.  The water fountain in the lower left corner was where individuals were filling up their water bottles.  Obviously the locals thought the water was safe to drink. 

         Several senior missionaries took a walk through the blossoming  cherry trees in Oakstadt. 

Our view of Oakstadt while on our hike. 

The old walls of Oakstadt

The rapeseed fields are plentiful along the side of the roads here. Rapeseed is used to make canola oil. 

                                                         

Eileen with Sister Muelleck and Sister Ezard.  We all have a common friend-Fran Moulton.  Sister Muelleck is here with her husband doing humanitarian work. Sister Ezard is a single sister and on her 5th mission. 

It is spargel season! We walked to a nearby farm to purchase white aspargus. It is served in Germany with Hollandaise sauce. 

The outside of the spargel is pretty tough. This is the machine they use to shave the tough outer edges off 

The Browns loaned us their car while they were gone this weekend. Russell sort of had to be a pretzel to get out of the car. It has yet to be seen how he is going to get in for church today.