Gelnhausen

 We headed east to the little town of Gelnhausen on our Saturday adventure.
The cathedral in the center of town was definitely the highlight on a gorgeous day.

As we walked along the trail at the top edge of the city, we came across this war memorial where the names of the fallen from WWI and WWII were displayed.
It was a somber area where we took time to reflect on their sacrifice.

This guy obviously needed some help with the lantern lighting.

Once inside the cathedral, we followed the sign into this small air conditioned room where there were some beautiful tapestries. I was able to translate the information:

This cute little playhouse really caught our eye. Someone was a very clever craftsman.

On our drive home we saw this tiny little church out in the middle of a rural area. 
Oh, the stories it could tell.

We saw several COVID-19 Immunization signs on our travels home. A real sign of the times!
Too bad that the vaccine is rolling out so slowly in Germany. They are still working on giving the "jab" to those over 80.  In the US, most anyone who wants to be immunized can get the shot.

COVID-19 Farewell to Selvages

The Zone usually gets together with a FHE and a potluck dinner to say goodbye to missionary couples at the end of their mission. Because of the restrictions, we couldn't get together in a formal gathering, so we did the next best thing. We met at the chapel in Friedrichsdorf near the temple and did a drive-by farewell. As we drove by the Selvages gave each couple a Magnum ice cream bar and then the Andersons passed out the Grab-Go-Grill bags with brats and brötchen to cook at home.

The red car in this picture is Joanne and I.

When we had taken our turn to say goodbye, we headed over to the temple and visited with a few couples who had the same idea. Before we knew it, the Selvages joined us.

Robyn Ballard showed us that we were here just at the right time when the reflection of Angel Moroni could be seen in the glass of the steeple. Only on certain sunny days will that happen.

We are hoping that the Frankfurt Temple will open up again before we head home. It has been over a year since we have had the opportunity to be inside the temple. We miss it terribly.

Bamberg 2.0

The first time we visited Bamberg was in December 2019 as part of a Christmas Market tour.
We didn't get as much time to explore as we would have liked, so we thought it was a perfect day for a two-hour drive eastward. We love this Rathouse (city hall) in the middle of the river. So unique.

The Bamberg Cathedral was completed in the 13th century and was being repaired on the inside.

 

  

Church Communication Department

Officially I was called to be Dave's assistant as an Area Mental Health Adviser, but I really don't have any specific responsibilities. Within a few weeks of arriving I was asked to join the
Church Communication Department. There was even a desk available where I could hang out.
It has been great to be part of a team and help with projects. 

Gabi Sirtl was the director and would soon be retiring after 30 years.
This picture was taken in December 2019 on the day we had her farewell luncheon.

Ralf Grünke (asst. director), Abby Madison (BYU intern), Gabi, Karen and Ward Anderson, and me.

Dinis Adriano (asst. director) was off that day.

Abby and I shared the office space. She was busy working on projects and was supervised by Ralf.

One of her duties was to put interesting articles on the Exhibit Board in the front hall for all to see.

She really enjoyed her time in Germany as she served her mission here just a few years prior.

Samantha Edwards was our intern for Winter Semester. Abby and Sam had very different personalities. Sam was quite spunky and kept us on our toes.

There was a Communication Seminar scheduled for March 2020, put it was cancelled because of the pandemic. Samantha helped me put together the PowerPoint for my presentation, but it turned out it was just for practice. We were so disappointed that we didn't get to Rome for the seminar.

Samantha's internship was cut short when the Church called all the interns home.

Almost a year passed before BYU and our department worked out a way for interns to work remotely. Cami Buckley is a great asset to the department. She and I worked on an article about sister missionaries being pioneers, from the late 1800s to today. It will be published on several Church Newsrooms.

Dinis Adriano was hired as the new director of the Communication Department in December 2019. It has been interesting to see the two different styles of leadership between Gabi and Dinis.
We meet weekly with the UK team and this was the last meeting with the Bodines. They live in Mesa, Arizona and know Stan and Shelley Stradling. Such a small world.

This is our most recent meeting with the Bodine's replacements, Elder and Sister McGuire and a intern serving the UK office (remotely) Ellie Hughes. I am mostly a fly on the wall these days as I don't have much responsibility. I do enjoy knowing what's going on and the friendships that I have made.

Valentine's Day 2021- A Day of Happiness and Remembrance

 48 years ago today, I had known Joanne for a month having met in St. George, Utah where we were both attending Dixie College.  I can't recall what gift I gave her for Valentine's Day back then but I am quite sure it involved flowers and probably chocolates.  

To me, she was a shining light in the midst of a time of doubt and uncertainty in my life.  We loved spending lots of time together and she helped rescue my academic troubles with her patient help. She encouraged me to make a stronger commitment to my spiritual life, which I wisely did.  

The discovery I made about my relationship to God and that somehow He loved me despite my many flaws, changed the course of my life. That change of course led to me desiring to serve a mission. Shown below is a picture of Joanne and me outside the mission training center and church office building in Salt Lake City, Utah in September 1973 as I left to serve as a missionary in England for two years.

For Valentine's Day 1974, I sent her a gift of a heart-shaped Wedgewood piece.  By Valentine's Day 1975, I was serving in the Liverpool area and was thoroughly enjoying my missionary experience having been stretched, challenged and taught by the Lord in the preceding months.

After arriving home in September of 1975, Joanne and I were engaged to be married by Valentine's Day 1976 and were married on March 5th of the same year.  By Valentine's Day 1977, Joanne and I were parents of our first child, Alison having been born less that a week before.  Despite being poor college students attending Brigham Young University, I only remember how happy we were.

Many Valentine's Days have come and gone since those early years.  For over three decades I was often in New York City for the International Toy Fair on Valentine's Day.  Many times over the years, Joanne would come back to New York City and we would spend Valentine's Day together often catching the latest Broadway show.  At times we would have one of our wonderful five children come join us in New York over Valentine's Day.

Now 48 years later, Joanne and I are together as companions, 17 months into our mission serving in the Europe Area Office, and living in Frankfurt, Germany.  The picture above is the moment we opened our long-awaited mission calls sent by email, to serve together.  It has been wonderful spending this time together with Joanne in Europe, what an adventure it has been with the worldwide pandemic in the background.

Valentine's Day 2020, Joanne and I were not together.  I had been assigned to escort a young missionary home to the United States from Germany who needed urgent medical attention on February 11th. I had planned on returning to Germany in time for Valentine's Day, but that was not to be.

As I have outlined in a previous blog post, unknown to me at the time, God had other plans before I returned to Germany.  My sweet mother was in the hospital in St. George for what we thought was routine care.  She was in the best health she had enjoyed for years it seemed.  What I didn't know was that Mom was praying that I would come to St. George to be with her.  Through a miraculous series of events that truly manifested God's love for my mother and me, I was by her beside in the hospital on Valentine's Day, when she went home to God that gave her life.  She was reunited with her loving family and her husband Duane that adored her.  As she gently and peacefully took her last mortal breath, I was granted the privilege of being there with her.  Thanks be to God for that blessing.

This picture was taken in late August of 2019 on our way to the MTC in Provo, Utah before we formally began our mission.  A tender, emotional embrace.

Due to the pandemic travel restrictions, the only people who could attend Mom's internment in 

St. George were her dear friends, John and Susan Gordon.

You see for me, Valentine's Day is all about love and connection. This day has sweet, warm and tender memories.  Today, on Valentine's Day 2021, it is a Sunday and my sweetheart and I were able to spend it together worshipping God and renewing our sacred baptismal covenants as we sat in our Frankfurt apartment and attended church over video conferencing in the midst of this pandemic.

I love my Valentine with all my heart.