Frohe Weihnachten from Germany!

My family and I had a wonderful opportunity to visit my parents in Germany earlier this month.  We had the best time celebrating Christmas Germany-Style!  Here are some highlights and photos of our time together.

When we first arrived in Germany, my Dad took our luggage in their little car and my Mom went with us on the train to their apartment.  They live right by a train stop, so we took the train a lot.  We actually got pretty good at getting around.

That first evening we were there, we went to my parent's Ward Christmas Party.  We got to meet several of the ward members and the missionaries serving in that ward.  In fact, the missionaries were asked to perform an American Christmas song.  The program organizer suggested this familiar tune.

The next day was Sunday.  When we were finally able to wake up and get dressed, we met my parents at church. They often attend the Germany Ward and the International Ward which is comprised of many military families.  Sundays are busy day for my parents.  In addition to often times attending both wards, my Dad also serves on the High Council for their Stake.  He is over the YM/YW organization.  So there are many meetings.

After church we headed back to the apartment.  In Germany, they celebrate the 4 Sundays of Advent.  Beginning 4 Sundays before Christmas, they light one of 4 candles to countdown the days til the Christ child is born.  So, each Sunday they add another candle until Christmas.  Since we weren't there for the first Sunday, we lit the first 2 candles on the second night of Advent.  Then my parents sang "Silent Night" in German, the language this beloved song was originally written in.  I hope to continue this tradition each year with my little family.

The next day we went to our first Weinachtsmarkt (Christmas Market).  It was amazing!  There were little outdoor shops everywhere.  it went on for blocks and blocks.  There were Christmas ornaments, nutcrackers, Christmas pyramids and lots of food and sweets.

We had some yummy fish cooked over hot coals.  My Dad was gracious enough to pose with the fish after we had cleaned all the good stuff off the bones.  (He didn't actually eat the head.)  The kids weren't impressed with the fish so they had authentic Italian pizza and French crepes.

The Weihnachtsmarkts are even more amazing at night.  Everything is covered in Christmas lights.  It was beautiful!

My mom took us ice skating one night.  The kids had a blast!  My feet didn't:-)  But we all had fun anyway.

My mom and dad have won their way into the hearts of all the missionaries and the young single adults in Stuttgart.  We met many of the missionaries at FHE and then later at their Christmas Zone Conference.  We also met some of the YSAs that have adopted my parents.  One in particular is Johann.  He calls my parents Grandma and Grandpa (omi and opi).  He showed us around Ludwigsburg one day and held out his hand to Phoenix.  He took Johann's hand and they walked through the farmer's market and the Weihnachtsmarkt together.

We also toured the Ludwigsburg castle while we were there.  It was SO foggy and SO cold that day.  My mom spent quite a bit of time rubbing my kids' cold feet and hands.

My parents took us to a beautiful spot that overlooked Stuttgart.  It's really a neat city.  It was unlike anything I have ever seen before here in America.  There is just so much history everywhere you look.

The last Weihnachtsmarkt we visited was in Esslingen.  It was by far the most beautiful.  The city was so charming and so very European.  I loved all the old buildings.  I took WAY too many photos while we were there.

There were so many people standing around drinking at these markets.  There were little bars everywhere.  We got the kinder punch.  It was good because it was so warm (and non-alcoholic) and it was SO cold outside.

My dad took Ray and me out for authentic schnitzel.  It was SO good.  I had looked forward to this since we arrived, and I was not disappointed.  Mine was the kinder portion. Ray's and my dad's were bigger than theie plates.  None of us finished, but it made great left overs the next day.

Your next Sunday there, we were scheduled to fly back home.  Well, we were going standby and didn't get on the flight.  The kids were not disappointedt all!  This meant two more days with Grandma and Grandpa.  And I can think of worse places to be stranded for a couple of extra days!

We are so grateful for the time that we were able to spend with my parents in such a beautiful place at such a wonderful time of the year.  Frohe Weihnachten from our family to yours!

Nov 5th Letter from Sister Benson

Dear Family,  

We have had some amazing experiences the past few weeks! First, thank you for your prayers and fasting for us. We have definitely felt that extra support from you and from our Heavenly Father. You may remember that Dad was called to the High Council several months after we arrived in Germany. His assignment has been over the Young Men.  Last week because of this assignment we were able to attend a temple week in Frankfurt with all the youth from our stake. We didn't have to rent a car to drive or pay for a train ticket because the mother of one of our young single adults offered to drive us in her car. Her daughter is serving a mission at the St. George visitor's center right now. She also speaks great English because she served a mission in England ( one of the tender mercies I experienced so I could participate in the conversation on the way up and back). We stayed in a youth hostel up in the mountains about a 45 min drive from the temple. We even had a room to ourselves, although we slept on 2 bottom bunks. We arrived on Tuesday evening and were glad we had thrown our coats in at the last minute because it was much colder up in the mountains. There were about 55 youth and quite a number of leaders there. The temple can only handle about 20 youth at a time for baptisms and confirmations. Each session lasts about 2 hours plus 45 min. ahead to get clothes and instructions. We were scheduled for 3 sessions each day so each young person could do 2 sessions during the two days we were there. The rest of the day they had classes they attended at the ward building next to the temple. Some of the classes were on using the computer to do family history. All of the classes were spiritual in nature. Dad and I were able to spend all of our time in temple. We didn't have assignments until the afternoon on Tuesday so we decided to do a session in the morning. Two stakes from Paris were also having their temple week so many of the sessions were in French. Our session was too full so they asked for volunteers to go on a different session. A few people volunteered but we ended up being the only couple on the session. So we were the witness couple wearing head sets. The session was in French, I was listening in English, Dad in German and I think the officiators were originally from Africa. I actually turned the volume down on my head set and listened to much of the session in French. I was surprised how much I could understand. Head sets didn't help in the prayer circle and the rest of the temple workers that helped us spoke German. So I spoke English and they spoke German. It was an unique experience. Later, while Dad was helping in the baptistery I asked if I could do some initiatory. Most of the workers there were French speaking so they found some people who were willing to help me in English. But I started out with some French workers. I had the most spiritual experience of the week as I listened in French and realized I could understand most of what was being said. I had the overwhelming feeling that Heavenly Father was mindful of me and that He loves me. After being in Germany for over a year now and still having to have most things translated for me, I felt like it was another tender mercy being able to understand the ceremony in French. We had other wonderful experiences working in the baptistery and mingling with the saints who had come with their entire family to spend a week at the temple. The patron apartments on the temple grounds were full of French families including their little children. The older children take care of the little ones while the parents are in the temple. There is a big kitchen where they can cook and little refrigerated lockers where they keep their own food. A big dining area is full of families eating together. Some of the people are dressed in white
because there is a tunnel that connects to the temple. They can dress in their own rooms, go through the tunnel to the temple, come back for lunch and then return to the temple and never have to change out of their temple dresses. This is already too long so I will just say we had a wonderful time at the temple! This week we had interviews with the mission president, zone conference all day yesterday and institute and FHE. It is a busy life but we are loving it all. Our time here continues to tick away. We have just 4 months left now and have to start thinking about life after our mission. I have to apply for Medicare 3 months before we return. We have to start getting things ready here for our replacements. And we still have many projects left to complete. We will be spending a lot of time redoing another missionary apartment soon. Hopefully it will be ready by Christmas. We love and miss you all! Thank you for watching out for each other. And thank you all for your prayers for us. 

Love,
Mom and Dad

Still alive and kicking...

YOUNG SINGLE ADULT CONFERENCE and Such

In the middle of May 2013 we had the opportunity of hosting Stuttgart Stake’s  “All-Star” Young Single Adult Conference,  a Young Single Adult (YSA) gathering of 130+ YSA’s from the Stuttgart Stake and the surrounding stakes.  Our faithful YSA’s had spent months preparing the details for this all-important gathering lasting four days.   Such conferences play a vital role in getting these great young people acquainted with each other.  Without such events, it would be nearly impossible to get worthy YSA’s together so that they can marry in the temple.  As a result of such gatherings, at least five, possibly more, couples either have already gone to the temple while we have been here, or will go in the next year.  We have been blessed so far to accompany two such couples to the Frankfurt Temple for their eternal marriages.  We missed one of these marriages because we were in Bountiful on that date for Louise’s mother’s funeral.  We shout for joy when these wonderful young people find their eternal partners.  Our mission president has cleared the way for us to participate in these temple weddings, even though there is no temple within our mission here in Germany.  We go to the Frankfurt Temple, which is in the Germany Frankfurt Mission.  The other German temple, the Freiberg Temple, is in the Germany Berlin Mission.  Only the Swiss Temple is within our mission boundaries, but it is too far for us to travel.  The Area Presidency originally refused permission for our senior couples to attend the temple marriages of their YSA’s until Pres. Miles convinced them in Frankfurt that the temple marriages are the crowning event for senior missionaries who serve with YSA’s marrying in the temple.  Why deny them (us) the fruits of their (our) labor?  To get permission to attend, we simply call Pres. Miles or email him so that he is aware when the senior missionaries leave the mission for this purpose.  We have a great mission president!

Now a bit more about the YSA Tagung (Conference) in May. Sigi Lieven, the Stuttgart Institute director, was supposed to supervise the food for the four-day event.  Then she got word that her six-week rehab at a spa for her back issues had been approved by the insurance company.  She would not be available to help at the Tagung.  That meant that the major responsibility for the food would have to be assumed by Sister Benson.  And who is better prepared for such an assignment than Sister Benson?  Why no one  --  of course!  And Elder Benson, by marriage, received the major responsibility for translating the fine print on the German food packaging and transporting the food from the stores.  This would be an appropriate place to explain that a lot of Sister Benson’s favorite food ingredients simply are not available in Germany, unless one has access to U.S. Military commissaries.  Unfortunately, we do not have such access, although some of the American Military Saints help us out occasionally.  But for this activity we scoured the major food suppliers, including Metro, Lidl, Real, and other super markets to find the specifics we would need for the quantity these 130+ famished young people would devour in four days.  It did not take me long after arriving here in Germany to notice that these great young people simply adore Sister Benson and love her cooking.  We provide a Family Home Evening meal every Monday eve for a bunch of cool folks who do not have FHE at home.  She instantly achieved “Heroin” status among YSA’s and missionaries alike for her culinary delights.  On Monday, Nov. 25 (P-day) we will provide our second annual Thanksgiving feast for our zone of nearly 40 Elders and Sisters at the Institute Building.  Thanksgiving Day is transfer day, so we cannot have it then.

Back to the food for the Tagung.  The coup de gras was the Monday a.m. brunch prior to the final dance event.  We had three dances in four days  --  they love to dance!  We chose to serve an American Breakfast with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and of course, Louise’s legendary griddle cakes with her homemade raspberry freezer jam.  We also served cut up melons and fruit.  The kids (ages 18-30) went wild over the breakfast!  They kept coming, and coming, and coming back for more.  We prepared a ton of food, and they grazed all morning until the afternoon when things came to an end.  To express their appreciation for our help we received chef’s aprons with a large group photo that had been transferred to the apron.  And we got hugs all around.  Hugging is a big thing here in Germany.  At first it was a bit of a surprise, but we caught on quickly.  Because we are senior missionaries, it is legal, so long as we do not hug young Elder and Sister missionaries of the opposite gender.  That way the young missionaries can keep their mission rules about “arm’s length.”  But the YSA’s expect to give and receive hugs, and we think the practice is endearing.  And very natural.

Since I am a member of the Stake High Council, with responsibility for the Young Men, we often have the opportunity to help the Young Women and Young Men, as well as the younger YSA’s, prepare for missions.  In May and July we helped with a Mini-MTC for all the youth of the Stake, which included workshops on scripture study, ironing shirts, sewing on buttons, contacting non-members, and other typical missionary activities.  We were quite amazed to discover that for the most part the German youth in the Church are well-versed in the scriptures and gospel doctrine.  Their parents are doing a great job teaching them the principles of the Gospel.  We were also amazed by the number of returned missionaries we meet in the various wards/branches of the Stake.  As I served in Austria nearly 50 years ago, I met only a handful of returned missionaries in Austrian branches.  There were no wards or a stake in Austria at that time.  Now Austria has two or three stakes, and Germany has many more. 

For one of the youth activities, Sister Benson made cinnamon twists, also legendary.  We borrowed a crank ice cream freezer from members in the Military Ward and also made homemade strawberry ice cream for everyone.  Wow!  It seemed no one had seen ice cream made in that way.  Everyone stood around totally fascinated, and each wanted to take a turn cranking the freezer.  Some were worried that the salt that we added to the ice was actually going into the ice cream canister.   We made at least a dozen batches of ice cream this past summer.

This past Fourth of July, we hosted a zone P-day, where we served American hamburgers with all the trimmings, incl. oven fried potatoes, a ginormous spinach salad, and Louise’s delectable white sheet cake with cream cheese/whipped cream icing, with a fresh strawberry/raspberry topping.  Quite frankly, I would not want to be a senior couple following Sister Benson in the kitchen.  She has set such a high standard of quality and quantity, she will be a tough act to follow.  The high standard applies not only to her cooking, but also to her caring for the individual.  She is everyone’s best friend, and it is amazing to observe her in action.  I might add she gets frequent calls from missionary and member alike for one or more of her impressive recipes.  If she would just start up a cooking show for TV here, we might be able to stay longer.

Elder Benson

Good Friday, March 29, 2013

Sister Benson and I had the most spiritually satisfying experience this week attending the Frankfurt Temple with Sister Sabine Moser (age 53), her sister Regina, and her mother, Sister Rügner.  Sister Moser had been a totally inactive Church member since her early teens.  She had a very difficult life, having been a heavy smoker since and ending up with numerous illnesses and multiple health problems, including diabetes, frequent seizures, near blindness, allergies to numerous foods, and confinement to a wheelchair when she leaves her small apartment.  She cannot leave home without someone to help her with her wheelchair.  And she is constantly tethered to a urinary catheter, which causes nearly constant pain.  Of all the people we have known with health problems, she seems to be right at the top of the list of sufferers.  A real “Job” (from the Old Testament) in our day!

About our second or third Sunday in Church in our Stuttgart German Ward, our bishop said there was a totally inactive sister in the ward, who had numerous health problems resulting in learning disabilities, who needed to be taught the Gospel.  Would we please teach her the missionary discussions?  He told us we would have to go very slowly due to her multiple health issues.  We agreed to teach her.  When we first met with her in her tiny apartment, things were pretty much the way the bishop had described.  We needed to go very slowly, and we were not always sure she was understanding what we were teaching her.  We often needed to stop and let her change positions on her couch to help alleviate her pain.  On a couple visits, she literally started to have one of her seizures, and we had to almost carry her to her couch before she hit the floor.  Sister Benson, in her inimitable way, found something that really soothed Sis. Moser’s nerves and helped her relax:  Spiritual music.  Louise always had a primary song or hymn that she played her from her iPad or that we sang to her.  (That’s why she put so much pressure on me to get her an iPad before we left home.)  Spiritual music has been Sister Moser’s medicine whenever she felt extraordinary pain or difficulty.   

After we had visited her weekly several times and taught her more of the missionary lessons, we challenged her to give the closing prayer.  Although somewhat fearful, she gave one of the sweetest, most childlike prayers, we had ever heard.  We could see her begin to awaken to the truths of the gospel.  It was like a veil was being removed from her eyes, and she could see the love of the Savior for her and her faith began to grow stronger.  We discussed Alma 32, where he taught us about faith as a small seed that we need to give room to grow, and that we must water and nourish.  Again, Louise, in her wonderful way, bought a small home garden kit and helped her plant basil seeds, which Sis. Moser lovingly watered and cared for.  She told us she loved fresh basil, and that Sister Benson knew just exactly what she would like. 

By this time, our visits became longer and longer each time, and her mind opened to many questions she wanted us to answer, questions she had not thought about since she was a child.  She did remember the melody of several primary songs that we either sang or played for her.  The Spirit had entered her heart, and she wanted to know everything.  She began to attend sacrament meeting whenever she could get someone to drive her with the wheelchair to the church building.  Her mother did not have a car, and we were not allowed to take anyone in the mission car except for fulltime missionaries.  An auto insurance thing!  Sabine lived about a 15-minute drive from the chapel and was able to attend only sacrament meeting a number of times.  On one Sunday, Sabine had a violent reaction to the sacrament bread of all things.  It turned out that it contained a bit of soy, to which she is allergic.  She needed to be wheeled out of sacrament meeting to take something to counteract the soy.

During this past winter, Sabine became quite ill with pneumonia.  She spent a week in the hospital and had x-rays and scans done to determine the condition of her lungs.  It was learned that she had three mysterious spots on one lung, and the other one was partially collapsed.  Lung cancer was the suspected culprit, combined with a very weak system!  However, her doctor said she would probably not survive surgery or even a biopsy.  It was determined that three months after the original x-rays, she was to come back for more x-rays to see if the spots had grown.  We understand that our dear friend Sabine believes she is not a candidate for a long life on earth.  In fact she told us she thought she would not be alive a year from now, and would we please help her get her affairs in order.

Due to Sabine’s condition, it was necessary to have a special, private temple session for her.  There were only seven people in our ordinance room this past Tuesday.  The temple officiators were Bro. and Sister Löscher from our Stuttgart Ward, who had taught her the temple prep lessons.   Sister Benson and I served as the witness couple, and Sister Moser was there with her sister and mother.  It was a glorious, once-in-a-lifetime experience.  Sister Moser wanted to get as close to the film screen as possible so that she could see the film better, given her poor eyesight.  It was a very small ordinance room, and the front of her wheelchair almost touched the kneeling cushion of the altar.  We were all sitting in the Celestial Room when Sabine was wheeled into the room.  There were tears and hugs of love and gratitude all around.  It seemed like heaven!  No, it was heaven!  And we had the most unusual privilege of sharing it with sweet Sabine Moser and her family.  

March 9, 2013

This will explain a bit about the impact the lowering of the missionary age has on the missionary work.  In our case, it will result in the total number of missionaries in this mission alone increasing by about 90 missionaries in the next year.  As you know, besides working directly with the Young Single Adults, (which in and of itself could be a full-time job,) we have been asked to oversee the 11 missionary apartments in the Stuttgart Stake, which is the Stuttgart Zone.  We have been asked wherever practicable to double up missionary companionships in the same apartment to help accommodate the increase the number of missionaries coming.  We just recently finished cleaning up and repairing the first apartment and acquiring additional furniture to accommodate a second companionship.  We have been shopping online for used, inexpensive furniture to turn the first apartment into a foursome.  This was done so that a new sister companionship could be sent to the second apartment in the next two weeks.  The second apartment is in such poor condition, that we have been working like crazy to strip floor coverings and get the walls and ceiling painted so that we could get a young recently-baptized member (a carpenter out of work) to step in and replace the kitchen counters, cupboards, and appliances and replace floor coverings to get it ready for the sisters.  There is such a high humidity level in the Stuttgart area that mold is a constant problem in these apartments, especially since they are occupied by youngsters who aren't used to caring for an apartment, or even making their bed or washing their dishes.  (Parents:  Please see that your missionary sons and daughters learn these basic skills before the responsibility of a missionary apartment is turned over to them and another inexperienced youngster!!!!!) 

Today, mission-wide, we participated in an apartment cleanup day to get rid of old abandoned junk in every apartment and get them cleaned, finally!  It will take a few small miracles to get the second apartment ready for the sisters to move into in less than two weeks.

We have one more apartment currently occupied by one companionship in another city that we must prepare for a second companionship to occupy the following transfer around the 1st of May.  And so it goes missionwide.  Fortunately we have a military ward in our stake with a number of American families transfering in and our of the area who are looking to unload a lot of their furniture that they must leave behind.  Your mom is getting pretty good at finding great deals on an online yard sale site, where we have picked up much of the needed additional beds, desks, closets, etc., that we need to turn a twosome into a foursome.  Most of the ward members will not know that renters here are typically required to supply their own kitchens as well as clothing closets, etc.  Closets are not built-in here as they are in the U.S.  And maintenance of kitchens, and appliances and fixtures in the rooms is usually the responsibility of the tenants.  In fact, housing rental agreements in Germany are generally weighted heavily in favor of the landlord/owner and against the tenant (us).

The good news is that we are seeing the hearts of people softening and changing for the better.  Early upon our arrival in the Stuttgart German-speaking ward, which we attend normally, our bishop assigned us to teach a long-time less active member lady, Sister Moser, who is 53 years old.  The bishop explained that she came from a family with a very active mother and an active sister.  She has a son and a daughter who are both inactive.  Since her early teens, she has pulled herself away from the Church and has gone through some pretty hard times.  She smoked and drank regularly most of her adult life until about two years ago, when she decided to stop.  She has about every health issue in the book.  She is diabetic, has failing kidneys, has frequent seizures, is nearly wheelchair-bound, and cannot care for herself.  She takes a bucket load of prescribed meds several times a day, along with a number of injections.  She is on permanent home health care.  All of these ailments, with the plethora of meds and side-effects, have taken a serious toll on Sister Moser.  She recently learned that she likely has cancer spots on one of her lungs, but she is not strong enough to undergo a biopsy.  Our calling with her is to simply teach her the gospel each week.  But in addition to that, we have simply fallen in love with Sister Moser.  And she is undergoing the most miraculous new awakening and childlike curiousity about things spiritual.  It has been so delightful to see this miracle develop in her life.  A few weeks ago, when we arrived for our weekly meeting with her, she was so excited to announce to us that she had visited with the bishop and had asked him if she could go to the temple to receive her endowment.  He outlined the things she needed to do to be prepared for the temple, and we have been working on those matters.  She has tried to attend sacrament meeting as often as her health permits.  Since her mother has no car, someone from the ward must pick her and her wheelchair up.  She is allergic to nearly everything.  One Sunday, the sacrament bread contained soy along with other ingredients.  She had such a violent reaction, she needed to take something immediately to counteract the reaction and needed to be driven home.

Your wonderful mom has found her way very deeply into Sister Moser's heart.  Mom always brings her iPad to our discussions and plays something musical to enhance the Spirit.  Or we sing her a hymn duet.  She loves the music of the Church!  And spiritual music has played a significant role in her spiritual awakening.    I wish every missionary could have a companion as insightful and close to the spirit as your mom is.  I really have to hustle to try to keep up with her.  Undoubtedly a major highlight so far in our mission has been the 6 months we have spent with Sister Moser. Although Frankfurt is outsite our mission, Pres. Miles has authorized us to travel to Frankfurt to be with her in the Temple on March 26, when she receives her endowment.  Please pray for her that her health will permit her to keep her appointment.  Her sister is flying here from the U.S. to join their mother and her grateful missionaries, and possibly others, as we celebrate the glorious occasion with her in the Frankfurt Temple.

20 January 2013

Dear Everyone,

Today, all church meetings were canceled in our building for everyone except the few people like us who managed to get to the church building before they sent the word out. Apparently it rained last night and then froze as it hit the cold ground. It wasn't as bad as the St. Louis ice storms that I remember but there was a layer of ice on all the streets and sidewalks. We had about 8 or 9 people in Relief Society and maybe 24-30 people in a shortened sacrament meeting. Later we had dinner with a great member couple and then a wonderful missionary meeting with another family.

07 January 2013

We have been less than diligent in emailing since Thanksgiving.  That has been made clear to us by several family members.  We are guilty as charged.  So we hope this update may help redeem us from purgatory, i.e., family wrath.  So much has happened since we last updated you, it's hard to know where to start.  Christmas in Stuttgart is a beautiful time of year.  We have sent photos of Stuttgart and Esslingen's Weihnachtsmarkt.  They were beautifully done and very fascinating, especially Esslingen's with its medieval section.  Those photos did not come out very clear since the medieval portion was deliberately dark since it was mostly lit by candle or fire.  And the food available at Weihnachtsmarkt was incredible.  We tried everything, except, of course, the Glühwein, a specially heated wine that makes you "glow."  We opted, instead, for the Kinderpunsch, a tasty hot spiced non-alcoholic fruity drink.  While everyone else glowed, we had a great time getting into the Christmas Spirit.  Your hand carved nativities were found at the Weihnachtsmarkt.  We enjoyed looking at all the genuine hand carved items that are available only in Germany.  Knock offs can be found any where. 

We were fortunate enough to be able to respond positively to a request from Perry Frandsen, our daughter-in-law Janalee's dad, concerning a couple he had baptized many years ago while serving in North Germany.  He told us this couple were his only baptisms as a missionary, and he had lost track of them for the past 30 years.  They had gone inactive not very long after their baptism, but he dearly wished to reestablish communication with them.  Through a series of small miracles, we obtained a home address for them.  They had moved to two different locations since their baptism.  Perry had told us he had found an business address for them, as it turns out, in a small city in the extreme northwestern part of our Stake.  Our Stake boundaries constitute our permissible travel area.  We have Elders in that small city, so we decided to give them a call.  As good fortune would have it, the Elders were scheduled to be at a baptism the next morning in their branch and they had some information about this inactive couple.  We drove up to the baptism.  The Elders had the exact home address for the couple, so after the baptism we drove (thanks to our trusty GPS system) directly to their front door.  After an earnest prayer and holding our breath, we knocked on their door, knowing that we had placed the outcome of our visit completely in the Lord's hands.  The wife answered the door, and we introduced ourselves as friends of Elder Perry Frandsen of long ago.  We had with us a box of Christmas chocolates and a letter to them that Perry had emailed to us that morning.  At first the wife was very tentative and did not quite know how to respond.  Fortunately her husband came to the rescue and upon understanding whom we were representing (Perry), he invited us to come in.  From that awkward introduction began a wonderful hour-long visit where we discussed Perry and his family, looked at scrapbook pictures of "their" missionaries, and had a great talk.  They showed us the Frandsen's wedding announcement they had saved in their scrapbook.  They made us feel very much at home and part of the family.  We told them we would be back in their small city to assist the Elders with issues with their apartment and would like to visit them again, even take them to dinner.  They graciously accepted and wished us well.  We left feeling that the Lord had led us by the hand to this great couple for a specific reason.  We plan to have additional sweet contacts with them.  In response to our happy news, Perry wrote that this was the best Christmas present he could possibly receive.  We felt honored and blessed to be a part of it.

We have probably told you about our dear friend, Sabine Moser.  One Sunday, Bishop Tewes of the Stuttgart German Ward, asked us to visit her regularly and teach her the Gospel.  He told us she has been inactive since she was a teen, but she is the 53 year-old daughter of an active sister in the ward.  We gladly accepted the assignment.  Sabine's cousin Ralf is also active in the ward.  Sabine has endless health problems:  she is diabetic, has frequent seizures, is in tremendous pain, and is allergic to almost everything.  She gets around with extreme difficulty, requiring crutches in her small, crowded apartment, and a wheelchair when she leaves the apartment.  We were told she can concentrate only for a short time, and then gets confused.  We have visited Sabine each week for the past 6 or 7 weeks and are witnessing a reawakening of her spirit.  She tells us her mind is opening gradually and she is becoming curious about spiritual things for the first time.  She is nearly blind on top of everything else she suffers from.  When she tried to make notes, the letters have to about an inch high so she can read them.  She cannot read the scriptures, so we have arranged through her cousin Ralf to get Book of Mormon CD's to her so she can listen to the scriptures.  Sister Benson has discovered a love Sabine has and has been able to use music to bring the Spirit to our discussions.  We either sing to her each visit, or Louise plays her a special number or two from her iPad, and I translate the words into German.  It seems to calm her each time.  Your mom is such an insightful missionary companion.  It's a great blessing to work with her. 

Several visits ago, Sabine said she had a surprise for us.  She happily announced that in May she plans to go to the temple for the first time with her mother and her sister, who is coming to visit from America.  She had already spoken with the bishop, who agreed that if all things were in order and she understood the gospel sufficiently, it would be possible for her to go.  She manages to get a ride to Sacrament Meeting as often as her health permits.  On a recent Sunday, she came to a combined Christmas Sacrament meeting of the German and International Ward in our building, and the sacrament bread had some soy in it, and she had a reaction to the bread.  She immediately needed to be rolled out of the meeting and take something to counteract the allergy.  She really walks 24/7 on egg shells.  On evening while we were at her home, she began to go into one of her seizures.  We literally had to grab her and drag her to her couch so that she would not fall to the ground.  This past week she nearly passed out with pain.  We had to help her find her narcotic pain meds, and your sweet mom literally had to hold her and comfort her, caressing her head, until the pain began to subside.   Afterward Sabine apologized that she wet your mom's hand and arm with her tears of pain.

We have experienced so many evidences of the Lord's love for His children.  We see small miracles each day.  This week we start up again with our weekly home evening with the singles, who do not have regular home evening with their own families.  We usually have 5-8 singles meet with us.  Then a week from tomorrow, regular weekly Institute classes resume for the New Year.  We are excited to get back in the routine with our great young single adults.  There are issues and problems we are called upon to deal with among the singles, but for the most part, they are our pride and joy.  We feel such a love and concern for them all.  Especially now that we have gotten to know them personally, and they have grown to expect your mom's wonderful cooking.  Her delicious cuisine truly found its way instantly into these singles' hearts.  We are so grateful for our mission.  We are always running into interesting people to meet with.  For example, we have an appointment this week to meet a mature gentleman we met at Weihnachtsmarkt for dinner at a local restaurant.  He has a non-member sister who lives in Kirtland, Ohio.  He knows quite a bit about the Church at Kirtland, and your mom has found a new book on the Saints in Kirtland that we will share with him.  He also gives tours in Latin of one of the oldest churches in Germany.  He has agreed to take us through in English some day.  And one day, while shopping in a grocery store, a mature woman approaches your mom to read her name tag more clearly.  She asked if it was the Mormon Church.  She said she knows where the chapel is in Stuttgart and would like to attend some day.  She has since been in touch with the Elders in our ward.  We want to call her again and see if she would like to attend next Sunday.

We are having such a great time here.  We were invited to dinner by no less than five families during the holidays.  And each day that we drive back into our secure underground parking garage with our reserved parking spot, and ride to our top floor apartment in our elevator, we thank our predecessor couple who found this convenient and loverly apartment only several weeks before they were released to depart from their mission.  They lived in it only two weeks.  They moved out of their previous apartment with no parking garage and no eleator to their 5th floor apartment in a not so convenient part of town.  We live just 5 minutes (with normal traffic) from the Institute building.  We feel blessed in so many ways.  We are so grateful for our children's support and prayers.  We have observed a great cooperative spirit among our children and grandchildren.  We have been so proud of the way you have joined together at times of specific need for anyone in the family.  We are convinced that because of this mission assignment our children are actually doing better and growing more in faithfulness and love while we are serving here in Stuttgart that if we had remained at home.  Isn't it amazing how much the Lord blesses all of us when we follow him??!  

We give you our solemn witness that this is the work of the Lord and that we can draw closer to the Lord when we sacrifice for others.  King Benjamin gave us the secret to loving and serving the Lord:  by serving our fellow man.  There is nothing sweeter or more divine than this.  May each of us grow in our effort to serve each other.  May we pray daily that the Lord will place in our path someone whose prayers we can help answer.  We love you so much and pray for you constantly.  God's promises are true.  We simply need to keep our covenants.