BEING A MISSIONARY

Last Thursday, May 14^th was a holiday in Germany and many other European nations.Ascension Day is the 40^th day after Easter and celebrates the ascension of Jesus into heaven as described in Luke 24:51. When a holiday falls on a Thursday, you can be sure the office will be a ghost town on Friday, as almost all the employees will take the day off and have a long weekend.

We took the opportunity to go see Elder and Sister Herway (who we work with on humanitarian projects in Milan and northern Italy), where they are temporarily serving for a couple of months, in Istanbul.  We enjoyed seeing them very much and it was a nice change of pace for a few days.  But the most important thing that happened on the trip was probably a 30-minute period on our way over when I was able to talk to a young man from Brazil about the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, His restored church, and the Book of Mormon. Alex was sitting next to me on the plane and working on his computer for most of the flight.  We started talking about what brought each of us on the flight, he is an architecture student in Sao Paulo and attending a seminar.  I explained that we lived in Frankfurt, where we did humanitarian projects around Europe and that we were going to see some fellow missionaries. He asked which church we were affiliated with.  It turned out that he had a friend named Moroni back in Sao Paulo who he thought might be “Mormon.” I showed him on my phone the Book of Mormon and Moroni 10:3-5.  I told him, I think this is who your friend was named after. Following our talk about the Church, I gave him one of our name cards and told him he should ask his friend to have the missionaries come teach him about the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.  He asked me to sign my name card that I had given him and to write a short message, which I did.

I will likely never know if anything comes of our encounter and discussion regarding the Church, but it did feel good to be a missionary for a few minutes.  Just as it did prior to my retirement, most of my time now is consumed working and associating with those who are already members of the Church. I need to do a better job of looking for opportunities to share the Gospel with those I happen to encounter.  My guess is that it was not just a coincidence that Alex was seated beside me on the plane last Thursday.

We attended church at a small branch of about 30 people on Sunday morning. Elder Herway conducted, Sister Herway played the piano and they both spoke.  There was a young woman sitting in front of us. She was originally from Sudan, and then her family moved to Uganda.  She is attending school in Istanbul and was quite lonely without friends or family.   She reached out through social media with the sister missionaries and has been attending church.   She will be baptized in two weeks. 

This young sister missionary played a beautiful violin solo as part of Sister Herway's talk. The young elders and sister missionaries live in Frankfurt and commute into Turkey every other weekend to attend church. They can only teach those who reach out to them on social media requesting more information. 

It seems like there are mosques every couple of blocks in Istanbul. We visited the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sofia. 

 

We could not wear our missionary badges while in Istanbul except while attending church and had to wear head coverings while in the mosques.   The girl in the photo with the yellow scarf is our tour guide Yagmur.    As we weren't supposed to talk religion we tried to be discreet when she asked us where we were from, and we said were living in Frankfurt. Eventually she found out that we were from the U.S. and specifically Utah.  She said she has several families that she is very close to that belong to the "LDS community".  She was very surprised to learn that we are missionaries. She commented several times during our tour about how she is still thinking about our faith and beliefs. 

Originally built in 537 AD as a Byzantine Christian cathedral, the Hagia Sophia served as the largest church in the world for nearly a millennium before being converted into a mosque, a museum and ultimately an active mosque once again. Most of the Christian themed mosaics were covered up by the Muslims, but were eventually uncovered once it was turned into a museum. 

 

I (Eileen) finally had to tell the guide I couldn't walk any further. We walked over 23,000 steps in 9&1/2 hours.  

This aqueduct is from the 4th century.  Pretty remarkable.  

 

Men carry huge loads of garbage up and down the steep hills of Istanbul. When walking they flip the trolley so that the weight of the garbage is on their back. 

Sister Herway with her favorite street vendors-the doner vendors.  

The Para Palace is a hotel that Elder Herway HAD to visit to get a club sandwich. It was built in 1892 for travelers of the Orient Express. Sister Herway said the first time she visited there she said "doesn't this just make you feel like you are better than everyone sitting in this decadence?  One club sandwich, 3 cokes and a water came up to $40.  

 

Bosphorus River Cruise

The Galeta tour was built in 1348. 

Turkish delight comes in all different colors and flavors-some taste better than others

Not much room for error between the roof of this boat and the bridge. 

 A visit to the spice market

Overlooking the Bosphorous River

Sister Herway and I spent a girls evening at the spa at our hotel. Unfortunately, the water was freezing-including in the jacuzzi.

CELBRATING MOTHERHOOD AND THE WOMEN IN OUR LIVES

 In the entryway of our home in Utah hangs a portrait of my (Russell’s) mother as a young woman.  Although she died almost 47 years ago, the love she showed me and the lessons she taught me largely shaped who I am today.  I have had the blessing of other wonderful women in my life: two grandmothers who helped raise me; a mother-in-law who treated me like one of her sons; my wife, the love of my life and best friend of over 48 years; a sister and sister-in-law, both of whom have befriended me and my family over many years; plus four daughters, a daughter-in-law and eight granddaughters who have brought me great joy.  My life is much richer due to their love and influence.

President Hinkley has told us, “Woman is God’s supreme creation.  Only after the earth had been formed, after the day had been separated from the night, after the waters had been divided from the land, after vegetation and animal life had been created, and after man had been placed on the earth, was woman created; and only then was the work pronounced complete and good.  Of all the creations of the Almighty, there is none more beautiful, none more inspiring than a lovely daughter of God.” (Ensign, Sept. 1988)

In the poem, “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle,” William Wallace notes the profound influence of mothers in shaping society through their role in raising children, asserting that the domestic power of motherhood is the ultimate source of global power.  The poem emphasizes that a mother’s guidance in infancy sets the moral and spiritual foundation for a person, thereby influencing the future of the world, regardless of a woman’s social status.  In the poem’s most famous line it reads, “For the hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world.”

I look forward to the day that I will be able to see my mother, mother-in-law, and grandmothers again and thank them for their love and tireless efforts to help me.  I recognize all too well that in my youth I did not fully appreciate how much greater their love for me was than the love and appreciation I showed them back. 

With Mother’s Day approaching, it seemed quite timely that we had a visit on Friday from Elder and Sister Golden, prior to their going to Romania to conduct Maternal and Newborn Care (“MNC”) training courses for local doctors and nurses.  The Goldens are Church service missionaries from Washington state.  Elder Golden is a neonatologist, and Sister Gordon is a retired pediatric nurse.  They go out a few times each year for a week or two at a time to teach classes such as Helping Babies Breath and Neonatal Resuscitation Training.  While were serving in Indonesia we participated in several MNC projects; and when we served here 10 years ago, the MNC specialist from Utah had Eileen go to Moldova to scout out hospitals where they might possibly conduct courses.  Eileen took several of the training courses and was actually certified, not too many years ago, to go on trips like the Golden’s are doing and help teach.  Eileen loved her time working as a pediatric nurse, particularly her time going on Operation Smile missions around the world.  As we were talking to the Golden’s, I could see in Eileen an enthusiasm for their work and a wish that she could be going with them to Romania – or anywhere else that kind of work is to be performed!

Last week I failed to attach the presentation I made in our Monday morning devotional for the Welfare Department.  It is on the blog entry just prior to this one.

Photo of Eileen's mother Elsie. She was an assistant matron of the Provo Temple.

Russell's mother Joyce and Russell as a child. She died just one year after we were married. 

This past Monday we had a workforce devotional.  The message is broadcast across the Europe Central Area.  Our opening song was It is Well with my Soul. It touched my heart (Eileen). I love the story behind the song and hearing so many fellow missionaries and employees singing it was quite powerful.  Two years ago when we were serving  a mission in Missouri, my sister Christine was very sick and in a coma for 10 days.  I wanted to be there so badly with her.  My other two sisters stayed by her bedside in the ICU and played this song repeatedly for her. I am grateful for the wonderful miracle which took place when Chris recovered.  She doesn't have any children (yet), but has been a wonderful aunt/mother-like figure to  my children and grandchildren. 

The garage door to our indoor parking spot was broken for several days this week. We all had to scramble to find a ride to work. Russell drove missionaries in the fleet van a couple of days.

I (Eileen) took the train for the first time into a dr's appointment this past week to have a shot in my knee. I was surprised to see two other missionary couples at the same doctor.  Since the doctor only takes private pay, he is probably appreciating all the business he is getting from senior missionaries who are still trying to exercise but aren't holding up so good.  This sign was very near the office. I think I will pass on the marijuana festival. 

Dr Golden taught us in person and a group remotely about the work he does with his MNC service.

                  Sister Sutterfield, Eileen and Russell checking out the jar of US chocolate candy bars. 

The Muellecks, Goldens and Healys having dinner together.  Elder and Sister Golden moved with their children to Liberia for 4 months to help with medical care there. I was fascinated by all their stories. 

                                                      

Elders Healy and Muelleck walking down Louisenstrasse - a beautiful walking street in Bad Homburg.

Our group working on Saturday.  Dress was casual.  All of our projects to utilize the 2026 budget need to be in by May 15th.  There were 3 humanitarian couples working on Saturday.

Devotional Presentation