ROMANS AND REFUGEES

In some ways this week reminded me (Russell) of when we served here before, in that while our apartment and office are in Germany, most of our work is elsewhere.This week my time was spent on setting up a project to provide funding for an emergency relief project for victims of the floods in Southern Spain, arranging payment for purchasing a refrigerated truck in Vienna, seeking approval to build a fence in Sicily, and a trip to Rome to look for future projects. 

Elder and Sister Vardeu, a local church service missionary couple, set up appointments for the four of us to meet with leaders of the Rome Municipality and with an NGO associated with the Catholic Church known as the  Scalabrinians.  This NGO has as its mission to care for the needs of migrants, refugees, and displaced people. They take seriously, as do we, Jesus’ parable of the sheep and goats wherein he said, “I was a stranger, and ye took me in” and “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matt. 25: 31-46). Our church has worked with this NGO on projects before and I am sure we will continue to do so in the future. 

As we were waiting in the hallway prior to our meeting with two city officials who deal with social welfare matters, a half dozen other people joined us.  While most did not know each other previously, I was surprised at how quickly they were engaged in multiple simultaneous conversations, which were joyful, fast paced, and loud.  I came away from our meetings in Rome and our time with the Elder and Sister Vardeu, impressed by the pleasure they find in associating with one another and from life in general.  I need to learn from them to do more of that.

While we did not have time in Rome to do much other than make our visits and work remotely on projects from our hotel, we did find time to attend the temple. This was our first time in the Rome temple.  Ten years ago we saw it while under construction.  It felt good to be in the temple again, away from the cares of the world outside. 

The sunset as we flew to Rome was spectacular.  The clouds were a shade of purple. We were flying on Lufthansa which of course made me think of Elder Uchdorft flying and his pilot stories. 

"Breaking bread" together seems to be an integral part of relationships in Italy.  The Vardeus introduced us to new kinds of pasta dishes.  In the photo below Elder Vardeu is eating a fried artichoke for dessert.

Our hotel had 3 olive trees out front and a lemon tree in the back

This scooter was in the foyer of our hotel. I told Russell that I wanted one for Mother's Day

There were huge trees in Rome with beautiful, yellow blossoms called Mimosa trees. When I (Eileen) commented on how beautiful the trees were, Elder Vardeu stopped the car and cut some blossoms off for both Sister Vardeu and me. 

We stopped by the Rome Temple to pick up our translator.  Elder Vardeu served in the Rome Temple Presidency and also found the land for the temple.  He seems to know everyone and everything about Italy.  Here he is explaining to us about some of the New Testament stories depicted in this beautiful stained glass mural at the Rome Visitor Center.    Apparently there are a great number of stories in this single mural. 

Salvo serves as security for the Temple, our translator and also played the piano for the Giving Machines closing event.  During our visit to the Rome Municipality there were 13 Italians and then Russell and I. It seemed that there were multiple conversations going on at a time.  The more excited individuals got, the louder and faster they spoke.  Salvo said it was pretty difficult to translate because he didn't know which conversation to follow.  However, when Russell asked a question of Elder Vardeu every single person in that room became quiet and listened to him.

We had a wonderful visit with these representatives of the NGO Scalabrini. Marianna and Father Gabriela told us about many of the services their volunteers perform. I (Eileen) enjoyed hearing about their efforts with refugees. I was surprised when Father Gabriela kissed my hand as we were leaving and told me what a pleasure it was to have met me. He seemed particularly impressed that we had adopted three children.  That is definitely something you don't see being done in American culture.

The Scalabrini NGO feeds 100-120 needy people every day, utilizing the services of 60 volunteers.

Parking is at a premium in Rome. If you can't fit in the spot I guess the solution is to park sideways.

This painting of the Rome temple is in the Visitor Center.

We attended a closing ceremony of the Giving Machines on Wednesday evening at the Visitor Center. The temple can be seen through the big glass windows facing the temple.

Russell and Eileen with Elder and Sister Vardeu in front of the Christus in the Visitor Center

There are statues representing the apostles situated behind the Christus

When we returned home we were badly in need of some groceries. We went to a Costco-like store called Metro.  It was a little tricky figuring out what kind of meat was there.  The cheese wheel pictured below was 40 pounds

GROWING OLD TOGETHER

Each week we are in town we try do things with the other couples on the weekend, going out to dinner on Friday or Saturday night and having people over for dinner on Sundays.  Getting to know the other senior missionaries is one of the best things about serving here.  One thing that has surprised me is the number of couples for whom this is their second marriage, with the husband’s first wife having passed away.  It has not only reminded me of my mother’s passing over 46 years ago but has also helped me recognize just how fortunate I am to have Eileen still with me and being able to serve this mission together.  

This last week I had a cultural experience that I will try not to repeat.  I needed to get my hair cut and went with one of the other elders to a barber shop he has been going to.  I was surprised that the elder was having his hair cut as it was not very long.  My barber did not speak much English, so I showed him on my phone the length I wanted my hair cut in centimeters.  The first thing he did was run the clippers up the side of my head giving me the shortest cut I’ve ever had!  I came out looking like a white haired TinTin cartoon character, complete with the rooster top on my forehead.  After going home, Eileen took the kitchen shears and removed the fluff of hair on my forehead and then tried to even out the top.  As I look around, a lot of German men have their hair cut this way.  Eileen’s hairdresser calls it “the army cut.”  We ordered a haircutting kit on Amazon.

In addition to each of the Area humanitarian couples being assigned to cover certain countries, we each have a function or specialist assignment.  Ours is Emergency Preparedness/Response.  This past week we have started working part-time on Area satellite phone systems and the flooding in Spain.  That assignment, along with our projects in Austria, Germany, and Italy are keeping us quite busy. 

Russell's hair looked kind of similar to TinTins.  We called it the Rooster Cut.  Definitely the worst cut he has ever had. 

After a very heavy snowstorm on Monday, it felt wonderful to get out and walk. There are beautiful walking and bike trails near our apartment.

Elder and Sister Moore (lower right hand photo) were originally called to be the welfare/self-reliance couple in Sicily.  They were asked just a couple of weeks ago while in the MTC,  to spend 3 months in Turkey as MLS (Member Leader Support) and then 3 months in Sicily, alternating in this pattern throughout their mission.  They flew from the MTC to Italy and then went on to Turkey. It requires a great deal of faith to have that much flexibility.  We are grateful for the technology which allows us to talk with them, along with Davide who is the area manager in Italy.  We were able to discuss future projects in Sicily from 3 different countries and the sound was loud and clear. 

We go to church at the International Ward on Porthstrasse. It is right next to where we used to live.  Our apartment was on the far left, 7 floors up.

Parking spots are extremely rare and tight in Germany.  If you had a Mercedes would you park it this close to the pole? We parked in this lot in order to go to the city offices and continue the registration process. It will require several visits with lots of paperwork in order to become official in Germany.

                               

Recycling is a big thing here. Our garbage can has 4 different slots for different sorts of recycling. Here     is   a photo of how you are supposed to recycle glass according to the color - white, green or brown                                                                                                 glass.

   

Our dryer doesn't have a vent to the outside. This water container is full of water after each batch of clothes is dried.  We need to empty the water for the dryer to work. 

It is a mystery to us which of these cycles to use on the washer and dryer.  We usually scroll through the cycles until we find one that takes less than an hour.  Some of the cycles are as long as 4.25 hours for the wash and 4 hours to dry clothes.  

 

GRATITUDE

Yesterday when we were starting our fast, Eileen suggested that we do so expressing to God our thanks for the wonderful week we have experienced.  We are both very grateful not to just be feeling well, being over our illnesses and jet-lag, but to have been able to participate in several meetings/interactions/events.

On Tuesday evening we had the opportunity to attend the Frankfurt temple.  When we lived in Belgium over 25 years ago, it was the temple we attended.  When we served our prior mission to Germany 10 years ago, the temple was closed for renovation (which became a complete rebuild).  Even though we had attended the temple in Frankfurt several times before, many years ago, it was the first time we had been in this buiding/temple since the rebuild.  It felt good to be back in the Lord’s house again.  In addition to several other senior missionaries on our session, there were half a dozen young elders who serve in the Europe Central Turkic and Persian-Speaking mission. The headquarters for that mission is here in Frankfurt and covers congregations in Germany speaking either of those two languages, in addition to Turkey and four countries to the east of it where Church humanitarian efforts are ongoing.

On Thursday morning we attended zone conference for the senior missionaries serving in the Europe Central Area office.  Unlike Zone Conference for young missionaries which occur every six weeks, ours happen only a few of times a year.  It was one of the most spiritual meetings I have ever attended.  For me (Russell) it ranks right up there with the funeral for Elder Packer’s grandson and the meeting when we knelt as a ward and prayed for the recovery of President Wadley after his heart attack in Puerto Rico.  Both Elder and Sister Gerard spoke to us in our Zone Conference, Sister Gerard’s theme was about 1 Nephi 4:6 and being led by The Spirit.  She gave several examples of her and her familie's life, one of which was during WWII when her father was a naval intelligence officer serving in London.  While sitting on a park bench, her father was told twice to "move" by the Spirit.  He did so, only to witness from a distance a bomb which hit near the park bench, killing many around it.  Elder Gerard spoke about the hastening of the work in the Area and how baptisms are up dramatically over the last two years.  As I sat in the meeting, I was overwhelmed by the contrast of being surrounded by so many senior missionaries and the isolation we have felt at times in prior missions.  Just after the meeting, one couple was leaving to spend the next 18 months serving in Uzbekistan.  I’m sure their mission experience will be much different than mine will be, both potentially very good but theirs much harder.  

Shortly after Zone Conference we had our first mission interview with Elder Gerard.  As a member of the Area Presidency, he is our ecclesiastical leader during our mission.  Due to both of us having worked in the petroleum & chemical industry, we knew several of the same people.  His son had also served with us in Missouri where Eileen interacted with him as the mission nurse.

Late on Thursday afternoon Eileen was able to pull off a minor miracle.  She was able to arrange a video call for us with two Church employees, a member in the Hamburg area, and members of the Carritas-im-Nordan office.  Finding a time when all could do it was almost impossible. If it hadn’t happened this week, it would only have gotten harder in the future due to everyone’s various travel schedules.

On Friday we each received a text from our granddaughter Bree, Shefali’s daughter.  She shared with us a 14-page document she had created for a community service blood drive she was organizing.  We were both impressed with the detailed planning that she has gone to.  I told her that what she was doing was in many ways like our work here as humanitarian missionaries. 

                              

Monday morning we woke up to a snowstorm, our first of the year.  Traffic was very slow. What would normally take us 10 minutes to get to the office took 45 minutes.  It is ironic that the east coast of the US is being pounded by snow, while our church leaders in Utah have asked us to pray for moisture because it has been a very dry winter.         

                             

Russell braved a rainstorm to get this photo of the Frankfurt temple during a rainstorm.                                                                                      

                                   

Elder and Sister Busath are going to Uzbekistan to do humanitarian work. There are only two other couples who are members of the church in the whole country. The other two couples are teaching English.  We will be excited to hear their report

This was a photo of the remote meeting with Caritas. It was fairly difficult to arrange, but we were so glad 

it happened. 

This senior missionary, Sister Margit Ezard, has been on a number of missions. We have communicated with her by email over the years but never met her in person until we arrived in Frankfurt. She just came here from the Church Headquarters mission and knows many of the same people that we do.

Our Zone Leaders (Elder and Sister Sylvester), Assistant Zone Leader (Elder Smith) and Elder and Sister Gerard (2nd and third over from the left)

Sister Gerard gave an excellent talk on following the spirt and related several stories on how following the promptings of the Spirt has blessed her and her family members

Our zone of senior missionaries with Elder and Sister Gerard

Afterwards  there was a nice luncheon. We all received a treat bag complete with hand sanitizer to keep us healthy and a midget jar of Nutella along with other goodies

Sister Muhlman talking with the Southwicks through their "prison bars,"  there are little slats so that you can talk with them if you don't want to go around to their desks

                                                  I have never seen cut daffodils in January

FROM HOMBORG TO HAMBURG

Almost all the senior missionaries serving in the area office live in an apartment complex just outside Frankfurt in a town named Bad Homburg.  By going through the large underground parking lot, we can reach all the other missionaries’ apartments without ever going outdoors.   After serving in Missouri, I really appreciate having a garage to park in.  Many of the parking spots are elevated so that two cars can occupy one space.

On Monday evening we boarded a train that took us to Hamburg, on the north coast.  Hamburg is Germany’s largest port city.  We took an express train, which traveled at speeds over 150 mph.  

Our meeting on Tuesday was with Caritas im Norden.  Caritas is a global confederation of over 160 Catholic charity organizations working in more than 200 countries; the group we met with is their charity in northern Germany.  We were referred to this group by the Caritas people we are doing another project with from Vienna.  In the Europe Central Area, our humanitarian efforts are focused on doing larger projects and partnering with other NGOs, rather than doing many smaller projects directly with beneficiaries.  The hope is that by doing this, our Church’s humanitarian efforts can reach and benefit more people.

The Caritas representatives we met with were both very professional and delightful. They showed us three projects that they are working on that we could possibly partner on.  One focused on volunteers providing services to migrants and impoverished individuals that need help in a variety of ways.  The second, focused on giving aid to the refugees from the war in Ukraine.  And the third involves creating a center where homeless women will be housed, receive counseling and be taught life skills. 

We said goodbye to Elder and Sister Lamb on Wednesday.  We appreciate very much the efforts that they have taken to teach us.  Now we are on our own.  The first thing we did in the office on Friday morning was make up a list of things we knew needed to be done and divided the tasks between us.  It seemed to work well, so we will possibly continue the practice until we figure out a better way to apportion the work between us.   It feels good to me (Russell) to once again be working closely with Eileen in a common assignment after our last two missions where we had different assignments.

This is our apartment building.  There are several buildings with a common garage where the senior missionaries live.  We go to each others apartments through the garage. 

The cars in the garage are stacked on top of each other. Ours is the top car.  Russell has to turn on the elevator which takes the car on the bottom down so that we can drive our car off the ramp.

                           

We used the 4 hour train trip (each way) to work. Sister Lamb taught each of us to write up projects during the trip. 

                                         

The ICE train (Inner City Express) was extremely smooth. We couldn't even tell we were moving, despite going 246 km per hour as indicated on this sign.

                                                     

We didn't want to haul our luggage around on visits. We fit our computer, toiletries and clean clothes for the next day in Russell's briefcase. That was a first for Eileen to pack so lightly.

Despite being very cold, there were several flower shops displaying bouquets outside.

Elder and Sister Lamb, Healy and Waldal spent the day with representatives from Caritas.  The Waldals are a couple who serve between two German missions (Hamburg and Berlin).

                               

We were taken to a project where Ukrainian refugees are allowed to come and choose free clothes.  The clothes are all donated, washed and sorted by size.  It was extremely well organized.. This project is operated by a number of volunteers, most of which speak Ukrainian. 

                                        

                                                 

These two girls have organized the project.  They were delightful, both are Ukrainian. 

On our return to the train station there was a very large peaceful protest taking place.  We couldn't figure out what they were protesting. There was a very large police presence there.

In the mall where we went to get registered to live in Germany, there were surprise Amazon boxes in a vending machine.  Each box cost 12 Euros. I (Eileen) thought it would be really fun to buy one.  It is a good thing I am not a gambler.  

  There is a designated parking place to tie up your dog while shopping.