Esslingen Christmas Market

Mom and Dad went to meet up with another missionary couple in Esslingen.  They visited the Christmas Market there.  There were a lot of videos, too, but they were too big to add them here.  You can click on their Mission Album to the left to see more pictures and videos.

Weihnachtsmarkt

Mom and Dad went to the famous outdoor Christmas Market 

in Stuttgart on Saturday.  Here are some pictures of their outing.

18 November 2012

The Lord is Merciful to His Missionaries

In order to legally stay in Germany for more than 90 days, one must have registered with the municipality during the first 30 days of the stay and must have applied for and been approved for a German Visa within 90 days of arrival.  Louise & I registered as required, and called to set an appointment with the Stuttgart City authorities as outlined in a sheet of instructions provided by the City.  Appointments are set with several teams alphabetically by last name.  I kept trying to reach the published phone number for the person with responsibility for last names beginning with “B.”  Although I continued trying to reach the person during the hours posted, I could not get anyone to answer.  Finally, in desperation, I called a random number from the list and got someone to answer.  She set up an appointment for us to come in the following Monday with the required documents.

We showed up on Monday with all the documents we believed we would need.  She and a co-worker looked at our documents and said they did not think we could get a visa to represent our Church because we did not fit the description of single men under 25 years of age, required by the local statutes.  Apparently there is a specific provision in the code that refers to our young single missionaries.  It was obvious they were misapplying a specific, but irrelevant, section of their laws.  Finally, after much discussion they agreed to get another, more official opinion.  One of the women came back after making a phone call to a superior to report that we could, in fact, qualify for a visa if we returned with several documents which we did not have.  They told us we would need a copy of our rental agreement and a statement that we could support ourselves.  Our insurer DMBA had supplied us with an insurance statement signed by an officer of DMBA in  SLC who certified that we would have coverage for any and every conceivable illness or accident known to man.  The problem for the City was that the certificate was in English, and they needed it in German.  She gave us two application forms (ten pages each) that we needed to bring back when we had all the required forms.

The unfortunate thing at this point was that they told us we would NOT be permitted to wear our missionary name tags until such time as the visas were approved, which could be 4-6 weeks.  If it went any longer than that, we would not be approved within the 90 day deadline and would be required to apply for an extension.  They said they are usually granted.

So off we went to complete the task given us, without our missionary nametags.  We almost felt naked without them.  The senior elder in the Munich mission office really came through for us.  We had the documents in our hands in two days.  We called and made another appointment to meet with our newfound friends in the City.   When we handed the woman our documents, she looked at us with a frown on her face and said, in German of course, “This insurance document is obviously in German, but it is not on the letterhead of the insurance company.”  The office had simply had the English document translated into German, and the mission president had signed it.  I explained until I was blue in the face that the insurance company and the Church were one and the same, and that President Miles was legally authorized to sign for the Church. 

The woman asked us to take our seats outside the office while she took our documents to a superior authority.  After about 20 minutes, she returned with the comment that the insurance document would not be a problem.  She then asked us to “go get a cup of coffee” or something and to come back in about 30-45 minutes.  When we returned (Sister Benson wouldn’t let me have a cup of coffee, by the way), the city official said, “Now I just need your money!”  Then she handed us our passports with the fully approved and completed visas inside.  We were flabbergasted!  The process that should have taken 4-6 weeks to complete had been completed in a matter of minutes!  Does the Lord move in mysterious ways to advance the cause of His missionaries, which in all reality is His cause?  It is unlikely that we will ever know exactly what happened before our very eyes.  However we know for certain that the Lord intervened on behalf of two old senior missionaries, who needed his help in a big way!

We would like to mention another scenario where the Lord extended his tender mercies.  There is a young single woman in our stake who was pregnant out of wedlock.  I believe she is either 18 or 19 years of age.  She is quite overweight and wears heavy, heavy makeup and gaudy nails.  Whenever she attends a family home evening or other YSA function, she tries to be the center of attention and has turned a number of the YSA’s off due to her somewhat outrageous appearance and needy attitude.  Two weeks ago she gave birth to a gorgeous baby boy with long black hair.  The baby was born by Caesarean section.  We got all the information about her hospital location from her mother and planned to visit her following Thursday.  We tried our best to get things together so we could visit her early in the day.  But things kept delaying us, and I was worried we would not get there before visiting hours were over at 7:30 p.m.  Finally we rushed into the hospital just before visiting was over.  We asked for her and were told at the nurse’s station that she was just finishing up feeding the baby.  We were directed to the door where she was.  The door opened and she walked out pushing the baby cart accompanied by a nurse back toward her room.  Her mother had just barely arrived as well.  She tearfully explained to us that she was feeding the baby and the baby had slipped from her grasp and had fallen onto the hard floor.  The attending nurse had rushed him to have a brain scan, etc., and was just returning mother and babe to her room.  We sat in the room with mother, child, grandmother and the attending nurse while she explained to the young mother that she would not be able to take the baby home for another 72 hours while he was under required observation for possible serious injury.  The mother was very emotional during the entire episode, and the baby was obviously upset as well.  The mother asked me if I could give the baby a blessing, which I was grateful and honored to do.  After the blessing, Louise (perceptive companion that she always is) suggested that I ask the mother if she would like a priesthood blessing, which she and her mother gratefully responded in the positive.  I then gave the mom a blessing.  We felt the Spirit so strongly throughout both blessings.  I could feel that the attending nurse was positively affected by the blessing as well.  We left with the distinct impression that the Lord knew exactly when we should arrive at that hospital that day.  We needed to be there at the precise moment after the accident in order to represent Him on behalf of mom, baby, grandmother, and possibly even the attending nurse.

I believe Mom (Louise) has already related the incident of us driving by the Institute our first Monday in Stuttgart to make sure no one had failed to get the message that no family home evening would be held that night.   Three YSA’s were waiting for us on the steps of the institute building.  That night I was able to give a healing blessing to a non-member who was suffering severe abdominal pains.  The medical profession could not tell her what was wrong, but the Lord knew that it could be cured by His Priesthood power.  We have developed a great relationship with this wonderful non-member young woman.  We’ve had some terrific heart to heart gospel discussions.  One of these days we expect to have the honor of attending her baptism.  

What a privilege it is to be here to represent the Savior in loving and reaching out to these great YSA’s.  We’re constantly amazed at the commitment of most of them.  One night one young man rode his bicycle two hours in a downpour to get to Institute.  And the story goes on and on.

Thanks to all of you who support us and pray for us.  We could not do this without your willingness to get along without Grandma & Grandpa for a while.  We love your emails, pictures, and all the news about what you are doing and how you are learning to be missionaries yourselves.  We pray for you too, and we love you so very much.

Also to you, our beloved neighbors and fellow ward members:  We feel your love and support as well.  We miss all of you.  We know we’ll be very surprised to come back home and find that our extended back yard is full of new houses and new families.  This time of Thanksgiving gives us pause to consider how blessed we are.  Tomorrow Sister Benson is showing her love to the missionaries in our Zone by preparing a Thanksgiving Dinner with all the American trimmings as only she can put together.  Thanks to a few well-placed friends in the military ward, she has managed to get her hands on American Thanksgiving Dinner commodities that these 24 wonderful missionaries have not seen here in Germany.  We’re serving them tomorrow (Monday) because Thursday is transfer day.

God bless you all.  Happy Thanksgiving Day!!  We love you.

Elder & Sister Benson

17 November 2012

Dear Family and Friends,  

I told Elder Benson some time ago that it was his turn to check in with everyone, but he has been very busy. This is just a little update from me until his gets posted.  We may have told you that the Zone leaders asked if we would prepare Thanksgiving dinner for the 24 missionaries in our zone on Monday, Nov 19. Thanksgiving Day is transfer day and will undoubtedly be the last time some of the Elders will have a chance to work so closely together. So we are going to party, eat and give thanks together on Monday.

We have been busy for the last few weeks trying to find American products or reasonable substitutes for the feast. I have to admitt that I have felt a lot of pressure to be a substitute for 24 mothers and the missionaries own fond memories of their mothers' great cooking.  But I am going to give it my best shot.Some things have been generously donated by members of the International Ward who have access to the commissary on base, including 2 butterball turkeys.  You can buy turkey pieces locally but whole ones are not available until around Christmas. We found a Metzger( butcher) at the local farmers market and I was excited about being able to order a fresh whole turkey from him. He told us to order it on Friday and he woulld have it the next week. So last week we went to place our order. We figured the weight of a 16 or 17 pound bird and decided to ask how much it would cost per kilo. With the exchange rate of dollars to Euros it came out to about $80.00. Needless to say we quickly abandoned that idea. But the sisters donated canned pumpkin for the pies(so I don"t have to cook my own fresh ones) and we have found sweet potatoes and marshmellows. Pie plates are a problem since they don't exist here. I had one of the young adults bring me disposable ones from the base but they turned out to be cake pans. So we are making adjustments as we need to. We have begged, borrowed and bought to make this as "American" a Thanksgiving as possible, which were my only instructions from the Zone leaders. The ovens are tiny but fortunately big enough to get the turkeys in. I'm glad someone got us disposable roasting pans on base that we can bend a little to make them fit the ovens. I'm not sure how everything will work out, but with a lot of prayers, I'm sure they will. 

Well, we are off to start the bread for the stuffing. We bought the wrong kind yesterday so we had to start over this morning. We had to make our own turkey stock because it costs about $3.00 for a Campbell Soup size can of stock and it took us days to even find it. Flour came from the base because we have heard that the flour is even different. There aren't any Idaho potatoes to mash. Most potatoes cook up hard for things like potato salad. There is no brown sugar(we got ours from the base) and no vanilla extract( you have to use a vanilla bean). No heavy whipping cream(where is Costco when you need it) and fresh cranberries were very difficult to find and cost a lot.  We'll take some pictures Monday so you can see how it all turns out. 

Love to you all and have a very Happy Thanksgiving!  We have so much to be grateful for.  We love the Saints here, especially the young adults we are working with. They are so dedicated to the gospel. The missionaries are amazing with firm testimonies and a dedication that I am hard pressed to match. They are so committed to the Savior. And that is why we are here.

 Love, 
Sister Benson

27 October 2012

Hi,

This morning we woke up to snow (not much yet) on the ground!  And it's still coming down.  It's likely to keep snowing thru the weekend.  We have a big YSA weekend at the center.  Last night we had a movie night with the film, The Ultimate Gift.  Had a great message, which we discussed in groups afterwards and then reported to the main group.  Today is a service project, plus your Mom is making chicken carbonara for about 35-40 people.  Tomorrow, Sunday, rather than attending their own home wards, the singles will gather at the institute for their own singles ward.  Mom will be teaching Rel. Sociey in English, and I will be teaching priesthood, in German.  That should be interesting.

We are hurrying to get over to the institute this a.m. to put finishing touches on our lessons and to cut up the chicken, wash the lettuce, and get the linguini cooked ahead of time.  Dinner is at 6 pm, but there's a lot to do beforehand, such as decorating the tables with gourds, pumpkins, and fall leaves, which your mom has been collecting the past weeks.  Should be just like home.  Also she has committed to prepare Thanksgiving dinner for 24 single young missionaries on the Monday before Thanksgiving, their P-day.  Transfers occur on Thanksgiving Day, so an earlier date is necessary.  She has already been advised that one of the YSA gals from the millitary ward has purchased 2 frozen turkeys from the Commissary for her to use that day.  Your mom is really finding her niche here at the Center.  Everyone loves her and her cooking.  It's a job to try to keep up with her.

We send our love and hope you are happy and working hard to make life wonderful for you and yours.  We miss you terribly and can't wait to see you whenever it is possible.  Now that we have internet in the apartment, we'll soon be able to skype and use our Vonage account.  We still need to get wi-fi working to be able to use Vonage.  That will have to wait until after this big weekend.

Lots of love,

Mom & Dad

24 October, 2012

Here are some photos from Germany:


Mom and Dad with Dad's sister, Becky



Ate apple strudel and watched the Glockenspiel

Famous Glockenspiel

Old and New Council Chambers

Old Rauthaus (council chamber) with famous Glockenspiel



Ceiling of a famous Hofbrauhaus (beer hall)





Family in Munchen to hear President Monson's speech

More photos to come from Becky and Steve's visit with Mom and Dad.

18-19 October 2012

Dear Family and All,

The weather here is amazing right now!  We had a few extra minutes yesterday before we met with the Elders and Stefan, so I said let's just drive and see where we end up. We got clear to the top of one of the hills surrounding Stuttgart and it turned out to be quite an exclusive area with beautiful homes and views of the city. It is called Killesberg. We even toured the home of Theodor Heuss, the first National President of Germany. He was elected in the early 1960's.  It is a very simple home and has been turned into a museum. 

Monument in Killesberg

We drove a little further and came to an area of parks, jogging trails and a massive tower made of stone all looking out over the city. The fall colors were beautiful so we took some pictures before heading back to the Institute. 



Fall in Stuttgart



We had another great meeting with Stefan and he shared a little of the process he had gone through for a number of years investigating many different churches.  He told of how he had an experience feeling the influence of the Holy Ghost some time before but he didn't know what it was. He said that now he knows that it was the Holy Ghost.  He just soaks up everything the missionaries tell him.  There is usually another member at these meetings as well. This time it was Danny Breuer.  He also happens to be the president of the YSA Council.  He is 27, a returned missionary from England and a great young man.  He needs an amazing wife.  Anyway, he challenged Stefan to read the Book of Mormon from cover to cover.  Then we all bore testimony about reading the Book of Mormon everyday.  We even pulled up Pres. Benson's talk in 1988 about flooding the earth with the Book of Mormon.  It was. A great meeting! 



Stefan at his baptism with his mother and sister



Today we revisited a missionary apartment and measured for a new oven.  Then we had to go back home because I forgot my missionary badge and Dad forgot some papers we needed. Then it was off to another city to visit another missionary apartment. We ended up being 15 min late because we couldn't find a place to park. Then we went to the apartment with their number but it was the wrong one. There just happen to be 2 apartments next door to each other with the same address. Things are numbered really weird here!  Anyway, the Elders had fixed lunch for us. So we ate before we did the inspection. It was the cleanest apartment yet.  Good job Elder Strickland and Elder Hustead( who happens to be from St. George).

We had a little break and then on to meet Sr. Moser, our new home teaching assignment from our Bishop. She is about 53 and has many serious health problems. She has been less active for many years and the Bishop wants us to teach her the missionary lessons.  Her mother is an active member of our ward and was there to let us in today.  Sabina has seizures , diabetes and a number of other problems. We had a nice visit and will probably try to see her every week. 

Tomorrow we are off to Ulm to visit another apartment.  



Italian Restaurant in Ulm



Then we will drive on to Munich and do a little sightseeing for the rest of the day. Saturday, President Monson will be there to speak to the Saints of the area. The tickets were very hard for the mission president to get for all the missionaries. Ours are for standing room only unless there end up being a few empty seats somewhere.  One bishop in our stake is sending all the Primary children ages 8 to 12.  The parents can't even go, only the primary teachers. I feel a little guilty taking the room that someone else could use since I have seen Pres. Monson a number of times.  He even came to our ward building once for Marge Christensen's funeral and since Dad was the Bishop, he got to sit right next to him.  Anyway, the tickets for the meeting were very hard to get because they couldn't find a bigger building for the meeting. Everyone is very excited that Pres.Monson is coming to Germany.  He will be speaking in Frankfurt on Sunday and that meeting will be broadcast to several ward buildings in our stake. In fact the broadcast will be the only meeting in our stake on Sunday morning.  So we will get to. Hear the prophet speak twice.

Well, I had better sign off and get home to pack. We have to be up early in the morning and be on our way. 

We love and miss you all,

Elder and Sister Benson

10 October 2012

Dear Y'all,
Greetings from Stuttgart.  Yesterday was a crazy day.  I decided to make cinnamon twists for all the elders in our zone.  We had a three hour zone training meeting scheduled for 1-4:00.  I knew we would have to get an early start so we got to the institute about 11:30. It's hard cooking in a new kitchen when you don't know where things are or if they even have what you need.  But I got the dough mixed by 12:45 and set it out to rise. The building was cold so I knew it would take a long time. Then I was asked to play the piano for the meeting. I had to make sure I could play the songs they chose and then practice them a few times. When we took a break about 2:15 the dough was ready to roll out.

 Their cookie sheets here are sort of like broiler pans in our ovens without the top portion. They actually slide in the oven as a rack would. By the time I got 50 cinnamon twists set to rise I decided to make the glaze so it would be ready. My intentions of getting back up to the meeting never worked out. By 3:15 or so I had to start baking the rolls and even with 2 ovens, it took till 4:00 to get them all baked.  In fact I left the last pan cooking while I raced up to play the closing song(this is a three story chapel and the meetings were on the third floor) . Anyway, 24 missionaries devoured those rolls in about 5 min.  Then we took pictures of our district because tomorrow(Thurs.) is transfer day.



Elders in our district



Sisters in thour zone

By 4:30 we were in a meeting with Stefan and at 5:30 the JAEs started to arrive for institute. We had purchased food earlier in the morning for them to make sandwiches in an electric sandwich maker.    The ward Relief Societies used to cook for them on institute night, but it is hard to cook for 5-35 people. They never knew how many would. Be there to eat. Then we had institute from 7-8:45.   And then more of the young adults came to the kitchen to eat. By 10:30 we finally had the kitchen clean and were on our way home.   Tuesday's are just a marathon. It's a little busier than I like to be but so far our bodies haven't given out.

Anyway, all Is good in Stuttgart.  Becky and Steve will be here tomorrow night and leave on Friday afternoon. It will be great to see them.  Andrew left today for the US and Miriam flies out tonight or tomorrow with the children on "space available" on a military transport plane. Andrew must fly on a commercial plane. Military regulations! 

President Monson Will be in Munich the end of this month.  Pres. Miles really had to fight for them but he got tickets for all the missionaries in the Munich, Stuttgart and one other zone for the meeting. We will probably be required to take the train.  It would be nice if we could have driven the car and we could have seen some sights along the way. I'm sure we will have time to see Munich at another time, though. The missionary work goes on! 

Stefan's baptism will be on Saturday morning. Dad has been asked to speak. We have to leave right after and race back to the institute for some training for the Young Adults. 

We miss you all.  We hope Kate got our birthday message we sent her. If not then HAPPY BIRTHDAY to little Miss Kate Marie. 

Our love, 
Grandma and Grandpa Benson

08 October, 2012

Dear family and friends,

One of our best friends since we arrived in Stuttgart has become our GPS system. We bought it from our predecessors and it has been a life saver.  However, the other day we were on our way to a new area and we lost our satellite signal for about 4 min.  We had no idea where we were supposed to be going.  It was a little scary. There are also a lot of tunnels here through the mountains. We don't get signals in the tunnels either but it's hard to get lost in a tunnel. There are also lots of cameras to catch speeders, no right turns on red lights, and yellow lights before the light turns green as well as before it turns red.  They do drive fast on the autobahn but we don't even try to keep up with the fast lane.  We decided before we got to Germany that we would not travel in that lane.  Our little Opel would never be able to keep up with all Mercedes. By the way,  Stuttgart is the home of the Mercedes.  It is also where Mr. Bosch (Bosch mixers and other appliances) is from.  There are Bosch buildings everywhere. 

We enjoyed Conference this weekend, even though the sessions were at odd hours. Sat. at 3:30pm. was the rebroadcast of the Relief Society meeting.  Then from 6-8:00 in the evening we watched the live broadcast of the Sat. Morning session.  Sunday morning at 11:00 was the rebroadcast of Priesthood meeting.  Miriam and I watched it in the Relief Society room.  At  1:00 we ate lunch that we brought in the kitchen of the stake center. Then from 2-4:00 we watched the Sat. Afternoon session.  From 5:30 to6:00 we saw the Choir broadcast live, followed by the Sunday morning session live.  We finally got to go home at 8:00PM. With travel time we had been at church for 10 hours. It was quite a day.  A lot of people watch on the Internet but we decided to go to the stake center.  The other full time missionaries were all there as well. English was in the chapel, German in the cultural hall and Spanish in another room.  

In front of the church

Dad is falling asleep. It is 11:20 here. I guess we will go home.  We wanted to Skype Kate for her birthday but we couldn't get it to work. 

We love you all! 

 Love, Elder and Sister Benson

05 October 2012

Hello from Stuttgart! 

The weather has been beautiful here. We had one chilly, rainy day this week but today was really beautiful. Andrew and Miriam are leaving Germany next week.  Miriam has offered to give us all kinds of things. Today she and Andrew showed up with a couch that someone gave them when they came here 6 months ago. The sectional sofa in our apartment was pretty old.  One of our newly adopted Young Adults had told the Blodgetts to trash everything in the old apartment and get new things for the new apartment. They did get rid of some things but not the sofa. Dad found 2 families in our building who wanted the sofa. I felt bad we didn't have something for each of them. Patrick had volunteered to help us any time we needed anything.  He served a mission in the States and comes from a great family here. He asked a nonmember friend from school if he would like to help do a service for some people from his church.  The friend agreed and they moved the old couch last night.  We gave them each a copy of Natalie and Paul's CD for helping us out. Andrew didn't think they could get their big sofa up the 5 flights of stairs to our apartment, but Miriam is very persistent.  They were soaked with perspiration by the time they got up the stairs but we almost didn't make the corner into our apartment.  Where we're all our sons who know how to move furniture when we needed them!  Anyway, with much patience and a little hole in the upholstery( it won't show) we made it. It is really comfy.  We will be able to curl up on that big red couch in the evenings when we are worn out from partying with the Young Adults.  Thanks again Andrew and Miriam! 

At church with Andrew and Miriam and their family.

We took them out to lunch for some real Schwabian food.  Dad had a string of little bratwurst and sauerkraut.  I had Schwabian stew with spaetzele.  Andrew had roast pork with some different spaetzele.  And I don't even know what Miriam's was called. Anyway, we were really full by the time we finished. We had walked down about 70 stairs from the institute building where we parked and maybe a mile total to the restaurant.

Stuttgart is built in a little valley and on the sides of the hills all around. Dad read in a article that there are over 600 sets of stairs in the city. There aren't so many bicycles here because it is too hilly.  Most of the streets are very steep and narrow and winding. I'm glad Dad is doing all the driving. Some of the streets would be pretty wide if they didn't have streetcar or train tracks down the middle. They are everywhere and with the trains and buses they can get you pretty much everywhere you need to go.

Tonight we went back over to the area that the Blodgetts lived in. There were people everywhere, shopping, waiting for buses, eating out in the little cafes and restaurants. There were lots of Turkish Muslims, women with their heads covered,some pushing strollers with babies. I think there are some Italians and even some Greeks as well. Dad dropped me off at a little outdoor market area while he went to park the car.  As I was looking at some fruit, the proprietor asked me a question- in German of course. It was sink or swim. I asked him in German if he spoke English and he said no. So I asked him how much the watermelon was- in German, mind you.  I understood his answer, but I didn't know how to ask the next question.  So I just looked around and finally Dad got there.  I even went into the banhof yesterday by myself while Dad waited in the car. We needed some cash out of the cash machine and that was a little scary for me.  But I think I am getting less apprehensive about being by myself for a few minutes. I am realizing that I can communicate a little bit in German or a mix of English and German. Most of the Institute kids speak English, but a lot of the shop keepers are foreigners and they may speak German but no English.  

Well, I haven't told you about checking out the missionaries apartments.  We have 5 apartments that we are to keep track of and visit every 6 weeks, hopefully before transfer day.  We have done three this week.  It has made me even more grateful for our nice apartment. The mission is trying to update the apartments a little bit.  Some of these places have been lived in by missionaries for over 30 years. Two of them don't have working ovens.  There are a few other problems, but we are going to try to help facilitate getting some things fixed.    

Stefan is on track for his baptism.  We met with him and the missionaries again this week. After, he wanted to know about how to get online to do family history.  He thought you had to have a member ID number to guest to the information online. I showed him how he could access a lot of things without a number and he was excited!  I read him the scripture in Malachi about turning the hearts of the children to their fathers and explained that what he was feeling was a fulfillment of that prophecy. I think the Elders are going to tell him more about temple work this week.

 Dad gave a pass-a-long card to the fellow that helped move our couch yesterday.  Tonight a Muslim fellow who was sitting close to us as we ate at an outdoor fast food place asked what church we belonged to.  Dad talked to him for 5 min or so  and gave him a card as well.  We are going to go back there next Friday and take  Book of Mormon for him.  He has a cousin who is a Jehovah Witness and he thought we might belong to that church.  Anyway, we will try to find him again.  His relative owns the "Doener" hole in the wall place where we were eating.  I have to go now.  It is after 10:00 and we are still at the institute.  Tomorrow is Conference.  We will be going to the stake center to watch some of the sessions.

 Love to you all!

 Mom and Dad

29 September, 2012

Here is a photo of the missionary couples serving in the Alpine German-Speaking Mission.  It was taken, obviously, in front of the Swiss Temple while we were there attending our semi-annual seniors' conference.  Can't wait until the next conference in Munich in March.  We met some mighty powerful and enthusiastic couples there and got some wonderful information and suggestions for improving our work here in this mission.  As you can tell from the photo, it was a sunshiny day in Zollikofen, Switzerland.  And the session we attended was one of the most spiritual temple experiences I can remember having.  The Gospel is true, and there are millions on the earth who would join this Church if only they knew where to find the truth.  It's your job and ours to bring it to them.

Our love to you all.

Dad & Mom



Dear family and friends,
We still don't have Internet in our apartment so we only have a few minutes to use it when we are at the institute building. The JAE(Junge Alleinstehende Erwachsene)'s (Young Single Adults) here are quite amazing.Tuesday evening was the opening social for the institute here.  There were probably 30-35 JAEs in attendance. Very few of them have cars. They usually take public transportation and sometimes from quite a distance. Friday night was a party here and one of the boys rode his bicycle for two hours so he could attend. He said if he had known exactly how to get here he could have made it in 1 1/2 hrs.  His legs were spattered with mud and he didn't arrive until 8:00, but he didn't seem to mind.  There are quite a few returned missionaries(including sisters) and several more who already have their calls. They are warm and very friendly,  greeting each other with hugs when they arrive. Many of them bring non-member friends to the activities. Elder Benson was able to give a Priesthood blessing ( at her request) to a young non-member woman on Monday night.  They seem to rally around each other.  In fact it almost seems like a big family.  They are wonderful!  They speak in English for me when I ask,  but for the most part I have to guess at what is going on. I really need to study my German so I can be more a part of things.  Last night was our first night sleeping on our new IKEA bedding......new pillows and a new duvet.   Happy Birthday Elder Benson!  It was almost as good as our Bedding at home.   We are on our way to a baptism in a few minutes.  Thank goodness for our GPS!  We would be lost without it.  

Love to you all, 
Elder and Sister Benson

27 September 2012

Dear family, 

Thanks to you all for your love and prayers.  And a big thank you to Aunt Kathy for organizing putting our names on the prayer rolls in so many temples. I was so overcome when I was reading the email to Dad that I just had to stop until I could get my emotions under control.  We feel your prayers helping us each day. 

We still don't have Internet in our apartment but it should be hooked up sometime tomorrow.  That means that we will have to stay home all afternoon or at least until they come.  Today we were able to find the bank the Blodgetts used and get a local account set up.    Yesterday we went somewhere to register. You have to register when you move to a new town and unregister when you leave.  We are starting to be able to find our way from our apartment to the Institute.

Monday afternoon I found some great treasures on the curb put there for the trash pick up.  We needed a full length mirror and found one on an old door they were throwing away. I wish I could bring it home with me.  That would have been OK but then I found three other doors with arches on them to make a room divider,  two wooden drawers to use for something(I haven't figured out what),and various other treasures.

We had a few little tender mercies on Monday. A neighbor kept appearing during the day every time we were frustrated and didn't know what to do. We couldn't get a patio door to close and he showed up at our door and showed us how.  Then we couldn't remember where our storage locker was. We looked for 15 min or so. We went to every floor we could and tried our key in 8 or so doors.  Just then the elevator door opened and there was the neighbor again. He took us to the right floor and through the right door and there it was.

We were on our way to get some dinner and I suggested we go by the Institute to see if some of the Young Adults had shown up for FHE. We were told on Sunday that it had been canceled but as we drove up there were three JAE's standing in the parking lot waiting for us to get there. One had spaghetti makings so we went in , had dinner and then a quick activity. As we were finishing,  Ruben asked Dad if he would give him a blessing which he did.  The spirit was really strong. Then a non-member girl asked for a Priesthood blessing.  What a night!  We didn't get home until 11:00. 

Tuesday was the Institute opening social and another late night.  It's a good thing we don't have to keep the same time schedule as the young missionaries.  Today we drove out to IKEA and got some new bedding and pillows.  Then we had a discussion with a young man who is scheduled for baptism the week after conference.  Please keep Stefan in your prayers. He is trying to stop smoking. 

Dad is anxious to get home so I need to close.  We love you.  Thanks for your emails and updates. 

Love,  Mom

25 September 2012

Dear family and friends,  

We haven't had Internet access for a few days so we just read your recent emails.  Things have been really busy since we got back from Switzerland on Saturday evening.  We bought a little food in the train station because we hadn't had a chance to do any grocery shopping.  The Blodgetts accidentally took our phone chargers with them and our battery was dead, so we were pretty much on our oun. 

We took the bus from the train station up a huge hill to the institute where the car was left while we were in Switzerland. With the GPS we were able to find our apartment and after driving around the block a few times, we found the entrance to the parking garage.  Then we looked at each other because neither one of us could remember where the assigned parking place was. The Blodgetts took us every place one time only and we didn't write anything down. We have had guardian angels watching over us, helping us find our way on more than one occasion.  After numerous trials we finally found the right key and the right door that got us in the building and took the elevator up to our apartment. 

We decided that we should just stay put for the evening instead of trying to navigate the area in the dark without knowing where anything was. So we ate some of the chicken we had purchased in the train station and some yummy pastries we had bought there also and that was our dinner.  We then proceeded to try to unpack a little.  But there are no closets in their apartments. You have to purchase a wardrobe closet which the Blodgetts did for us,  but it took 2 or 3 weeks to have it delivered And we still don't have one yet. We hung a few things on a coat tree and finally got to bed about midnight. 

Church was at 9 on Sunday morning. A dear sister translated in Relief Society for me but SS was all in German.  At least I could look up the scriptures and read along in English.  Sacrament meeting was last.  We were asked to sit on the stand and bear our testimonies at the first of the program. I'm glad I could sing the hymns in German since we were sitting on the stand. I had a few minutes to jot down some of my testimony in German and I was able to bear a short and simple one all by myself.  Thank you Sister Jensen at the MTC for working on that with me for about 4 months!  Church was over at noon but Andrew and Miriam's meeting started at 1:00. They attend the International Ward which is in English. Their oldest son Jamison just turned 14 and was ordained a teacher. Elder Benson got to stand in the circle. It was great to be there.  

We left a little early after the ordination because we needed to get home and eat before going to a members house for cheese cake. Unfortunately the car wouldn't start. After Andrew was able to find jumper cables, they couldn't get the car in gear to push it out of the parking place so they could get his car close enough to jump it. After numerous tries, someone else got in the drivers seat and was fiddling around and voila!  the car started. It must not have been in the right gear.  We drove to Christophe and Anna Marie's house in a quaint town half an hour away.  He served a mission in SLC and has great English.  They have 2 beautiful little boys about 1 1/2 and 4.  Monday, Miriam took us on base to shop, etc.  She has been wonderful!  I'll have to tell you the rest later.  

Love, Mom



This week has been great!  And what great young singles we are blessed to work with!  We feel such a love for all of them as we meet them.  We feel the same about the missionaries.  This is truly a work of love.  Our love for our family grows each day too.  We miss you all.  Last evening I was asked by one of the young single men for a priesthood blessing.  Following his blessing, a young  non-member woman who was present for the first blessing asked if it would be possible for her to have a blessing too.  She had some terrific pain in her abdomen that the doctors at the hospital could not identify and could only suggest antibiotics as a hopeful cure.  I felt a powerful spirit during both blessings, and both young folks gave me a big hug afterward.  So much for the "arms length" policy!  The Love of Christ was truly there, and Mom said it was a spirituall hug resulting from that type of love.  Mom will likely explain that we stopped at the Institute last night on her "feeling" that we should drive up there.  There we met three young singles who missed the news that family home evening had been cancelled for last night.

Well, gotta run!

Dad

20 September 2012

Greetings from Switzerland! We have had a whirlwind of a time since we left SLC on Monday morning. Thanks again to Margo and Ray for taking us to the airport and helping with all of our luggage. We had four 50 lbs suitcases and 2 roller carry on bags plus Dad's briefcase and a heavy tote for me that had my purse, iPad and everything that we couldn't fit anywhere else.  On top of that I was carrying my heavy winter coat so I didn't have to pack it. We left shortly after 11:00 and had a short trip to Seattle, Wash.  We had about a 15:00 min. walk to the next gate.  Dad's suitcases he was pulling tipped over on one of the moving sidewalks and he almost went down.  He was afraid we were going to miss our connecting flight so we half ran the whole way. It wasn't a marathon,Natalie but it sure felt like it.  We got to the next gate with 10 or 15 min to spare.  We paid extra to upgrade so we could sit by each other( the church doesn't get seat assignments for you when they purchase your tickets).  I thought the extra room would make a lot  of difference for us but not so.  A fairly large Irish mother with a 3 month old baby was sitting next to me. Behind me was a little girl who spent half the flight sticking her feet in my back and jiggling everything around.  I also forgot to take my pill to help me sleep until it was too late to take it.  I was afraid I would still be groggy when we got to Amsterdam.

Change of story.  The marathon was in Amsterdam running to catch our plane to Munich.  By the way, our connection was so tight that our luggage didn't make it on our plane and we had to wait for 2 hours at the airport in Munich for our luggage. Pres. Miles. requested the route through Seattle for his missionaries because it is a convent time for them to arrive in Munich.  But by now, too many of the missionaries are not getting their luggage because the transfer time is just too tight. I really hope he changes the itinerary.  Anyway, we got to Munich, had lunch with the mission president and his wife and they drove us to the banhof( train station).  They helped us get our luggage on the train and we were very grateful.  I slept most of the way to Stuttgart and when we arrived Miriam and Andrew and there two youngest children were there to pick us up.  Again, it was an adventure getting all the bags off of the train.  You have to get them all to an open area by the door so when the train stops and the door opens you can get everything off before the doors close and the train takes off again. 

Miriam and Andrew have been great!  They have quite a large home by German standards. They came to Germany about 5 months ago because Andrew had a 6 month deployment here. The military didn't authorize the family to come so they have been on there own as far as housing and school are concerned. They will be going back to Colorado in about 3 1/2 weeks. Andrew will be teaching at the Air Force Academy and I think he will retire as a Major after his assignment in Colorado Springs. 

This is getting too long. Actually, typing is quite easy for me on my iPad. 

Today we came to Switzerland for a senior missionary conference.  It was another adventure taking the train.  The Blodgetts( who we are replacing in Stuttgart) had quite a morning trying to get to the institute to meet us so Andrew could take us to the train.  Our train left at 9:58. They didn't get to the institute until about 9:45.  We raced to the station, Andrew dropped us off and we ran about a block with all of our luggage to the station. The Blodgetts are leaving directly from Switzerland to tour and then go home. So they each have a large suitcase and laptop,etc. I'm sure we were a sight in our dresses, suits dragging all these suitcases down the hill and through the banhof. The train was literally starting to roll by the time we all got on. Dad almost lost his arm when he stuck it in one of the doors to keep it open. The rest of the train experience was all down hill from there. Missed connections, sitting in first class when we had second class tickets,having to move all our luggage, running through at least one more train station, Dad trying to flush the potty on the train.....and then finally getting to Zollikoffen  and having a wonderful session at the temple, a raclette dinner with all the missionaries and now time to go to bed. 

We'll be up early to get to our meetings.  Actually we hope we get up early.  There is no clock in the room, we have no cell phones which we usually use as an alarm, and Dad says his new watch doesn't have an alarm. I'll try to figure out how to do it on my iPad, but I'm not sure the battery will last and we don't have another converter so I can plug it in. C'est la vie.   Love to you all. 

Willkommen in Stuttgart!

Well, it looks like they made it safely.  A big "Thank You" to Andrew and Miriam for meeting my parents in Stuttgart at the train station.  It's always nice to see a familiar face (or two) when you are so far from home.

up, Up and AWAY...

Well, the time finally came and Elder and Sister Benson are on their way to Stuttgart, Germany.  With all the bags they had to take I wasn't sure they would  make it.  But my mom called me from Seattle and said that they did actually get on the flight:)

I will post more about their MTC experiences and their arrival in Germany once they have settled in. 

auf wiedersehn

First Week @ MTC

We had a great time visiting with my parents this weekend.  They spent the week at the MTC doing "Preach My Gospel" training.  We received some texts last week while they were gone.  They said that they were loving the Spirit at the MTC. 

We did a practice web chat yesterday with many members of our immediate family so we could all chat with my parents while they were in Germany.  It was a little crazy with so many people trying to talk all at once.  We probably won't do such a big chat very often.  But it was fun to hear about some of their experiences at the MTC.  One thing they learned was K.I.S.S...whick means Keep It Simple...Seniors;)  That's probably a good lesson for all of us when sharing the Gospel.  We don't have to get into all the really deep doctrine.  Just share the simple truths and let the Spirit do the teaching.

Well, they are back at the MTC today for their CES training for the next few days.  Looking forward to hearing all about it. 
Just 7 more days to go until they leave for Germany.  But who's counting:)

Grandma & Grandpa are going away on a mission...

Well, the time has finally come.  They are really going.  Tonight, Ralph & Louise Benson became Elder and Sister Benson when they were set apart as full-time missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  Tomorrow they leave for the MTC (Missionary Training Center) in Provo, Utah.  Then they are off to Stuttgart.  We will miss them a lot, but we are very excited for them and can't wait to hear about all the amazing experiences they will have.

Here are a few photos from tonight.