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.
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