Russell and Eileen's Church Missions: CAPE VERDE, POLAND, FREIBERG TEMPLE

This past Thursday we had our monthly couple’s video conferencing call. Shortly after our arrival Russell and I determined that this might be something that would be beneficial for the couples serving in the field. It allows us to train 12 couples at a time. We try to hit relevant subjects each month. We also have one of the couples discuss one of their projects. It allows the couples to interact in a small degree with each other. We are hoping also that as they see others who are in similar situations, it might help them feel a little less isolated.

This month we had Elder and Sister Carnell who are serving in Cape Verde, talk about one of their projects. The project they discussed involved a school in Mindelo. Efforts have been made by the school to establish a dental health program, and training in dental hygiene for the teachers. Local dentists monitor the oral health of the students. The students are being taught how to brush and rinse their teeth. There are 600 students in the school. LDS Charities provided the necessary plumbing materials to have a sink in each of the 12 classrooms. Sinks were installed and a cute video was made teaching the children how to brush their teeth. Cabinets were placed for dental hygiene items labeled with the children’s names. Each day after lunch all 600 students go back to their classrooms and perform personal dental care.

During our call we also had Elder Matheson speak to the couples on two subjects. First was the role and resources of LDS Family Services within the Europe Area. Secondly, he spoke on communication and ways to strengthen a missionary couples’ marriage while on a mission. Elder Matheson recently spoke to the couples in the Area Office and we have described some of his suggestions in a prior blog posting.

It is a blessing to have the technology to do a conference call like this. Although there are technical challenges each month, the reality is that we have people from Eastern Europe all the way to Cape Verde on the west coast of Africa linking in to a video call simultaneously. How amazing is that! Each couple can see the other couples in a small viewing box on their screen. They can even see PowerPoint presentations including video, which we run from Frankfurt. It is at times frustrating when things don't work as we would like, but at the same time extremely remarkable.

On Friday and Saturday we traveled (along with Sister Lovell, a senior sister missionary) to the Freiberg temple in the eastern part of Germany near the Czech and Polish borders. The drive was beautiful as many of the leaves were changing color. We crossed into Poland and made a brief visit to a city that is known for their ceramic pottery. When we lived in Belgium 15 years ago I (Eileen) traveled to this same city on a few occasions. I was impressed at the change that has come to the area. The roads were excellent and the city clean. Fifteen years ago the buildings seemed to be riddled with bullet holes and we had to be cautious about leaving our car unsupervised. We didn't see any of these issues during our short visit. Perhaps with time, the challenges of the past are being overcome.

The Freiberg temple has been recently renovated and was rededicated in September of 2016. The temple was built during the 1980s and was originally dedicated on June 29, 1985. The Freiberg temple was the first LDS temple to be built in a communist country. This temple serves members in eastern Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Moldova.

Many of the LDS temples throughout the world are built on hills or in a place where they are highly visible for all to see. Freiberg is a little different. The temple is on a small street in a quiet neighborhood. You wouldn't even know there was a temple there, until you actually drove up to it. Yet the spirit and the graciousness of the people serving there was exceptional. Russell and I both agreed that this would be a temple that we would want to return to as often as possible.

There were very few people attending the temple on Saturday. The endowment session we attended was conducted in German. Headphones were available with a translation in English. I (Eileen) initially tried to listen in straight German. Then I determined that what was really beneficial was to have a headset with one ear in English while I was listening with the other ear in German. I found that I was picking up many words in German that I was unfamiliar with previously. In an earlier blog posting I mentioned how my grandparents had served as mission presidents in Germany in the early 1900s. My grandmother struggled with the language and was very pleased when she was finally able to give a talk in German. I had the distinct impression yesterday that Grandma was aware of my desire to learn German and was proud of me for my efforts. I was grateful for this tender mercy from God. Grandma died at the age of 98 in 1988. I was very close to my Grandmother Cannon. I hope my actions are such that indeed my ancestors will be proud of me.