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.