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.