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