This past week the Area office was host to two apostles, Dale G. Renlund and Gerald Causse. They along with S. Mark Palmer, of the Presidency of the Seventy, came to do a review of the Europe Central Area. On Wednesday morning we had the privilege of hearing them speak to the employees and senior missionaries. We (both Eileen and I, and The Church) sustain these two men, along with the other apostles as modern day prophets, seers and revelators.
I (Russell) would like to share one point from each of their talks that stood out to me. Elder Renlund reminded us that although the world is in turmoil, that we need not fear because we know that ultimately God will prevail, Christ will return and usher in the millennium, and our place in His kingdom can be certain by keeping our temple covenants. That does not mean the road between now and that certain future may not be difficult, but we can be assured that right will, in the end, prevail. Elder Causse spoke on stiving for unity with those with whom serve, and how receiving revelation is usually dependent upon our doing so. I believe this is true in many aspects of our lives. Nothing leads the Spirit to depart from us as quickly as contention does. Elder Palmer talked about the growth of the Church in Europe and how it has been accelerating in recent years. It caused me to wonder if this was not just due to the missionaries going out and gathering God’s children into the Church, but perhaps because God’s non-member children are also coming to where the Church is and finding it. Like in North America, many immigrants are coming to Western Europe for a variety of reasons: to escape war and political turmoil, to find religious tolerance, and to seek economic opportunity, to name just a few. While they may come for a variety of reasons, all can benefit from finding the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His church.
Yesterday we decided to take our day off to go see the country. We drove to Nuremberg, about 140 miles southeast of Frankfurt. While it was good to get out and do something different, my lack of preparation made it plain to me that what was once second nature to me has been neglected as of late. It did not occur to me to check for road closures. That cost us about two hours. Nor did I plan out exactly what we wanted to visit and the closing times. We arrived at the castle ticket booth at 3 pm. The castle closes each day at 4 pm and the last admittance is at 3 pm. We watched as the small group just in front of us in line were the last ones admitted in. But the brats were great!
Temple night with our zone at the Frankfurt temple. We could only get part of the group in the photo because others had obligations right after the session and left quickly.
Saying goodbye to the Eddys and Ginghams with Elder Pixton playing the guitar. We served our second mission with the Bingham's when we were in the missionary department. He is an orthopedic surgeon who is now the Area Medical Advisor. He and his wife have served in the missionary department, Ukraine, Nauvoo, Frankfurt and will leave for New Zealand in 2027.
Twenty eight of the senior sister missionaries had lunch at Sunflower Garden restaurant organized by Sister Denny who is a master party organizer.
What a privilege to have two apostles visit the Europe Central Area. Elder Renlund and Elder Causse shook every individuals hand. We actually were able to shake their hands on Tuesday when they came by our department and also at the devotional. There was a photographer taking photos of each one of us which we hope to get at some point.
Sister Denny took me to the pools in Bad Homburg Friday morning so we could swim laps. There were at least 8 pools to swim in. We swam outside for a while with the fog hanging over the pool it was really magical.
While the Sisters went out to eat on Friday the Elders went for brats. It was during the Elders adventure that Russell found out that the Hills were going to Nuremberg on Saturday also. We decided to join forces and go together. Unfortunately the museum documenting the trials in Nuremberg was being renovated so there wasn't much to see there. We ate lunch at this restaurant which first opened in 1492. Afterwards we walked to the castle, which closed to any new visitors 3 minutes prior to us getting there. We wandered the town and ended at Albrecht Durer's home. Durer is a famous painter in Germany who lived in the house below starting in the 1490s. It is now a museum.
The Durer house constructed in about 1420.
Albrecth Durer's self portrait and praying hands.
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