Your Foreign Correspondents in Germany

We are delighted to give you an update of some of the miracles in the past month. They have been amazing. We have done quite a bit of travelling for one reason or another, i.e. to attend church services, attend baptisms, speaking assignments, interviews and zone conferences. As we travel we realize what a beautiful country we serve in and how many wonderful people we serve with. For example:

• A sister with grown children took two weeks off work in order to serve a mini-mission with the full time sisters. She lived and worked with them. It was helpful to the sisters and she came away with new excitement for missionary service.
• Attending meetings with the missionaries and hearing them teach increases our testimony. They are insightful and bear strong testimony of the Savior and the restored gospel. The Church is in good hands with these young people. Several young Elders are serving in small branches as counselors to the Branch President.
• We attended the Bischofswerda Branch one Sunday morning. The branch is made up of Polish refugees from years ago. When they had to leave their homes they had limited space for their belongings but brought their beautiful sacrament trays. The trays are round, three tiers, like a wedding cake. The small glass cups have a place to nest in. It is beautiful and still in use. Also, the church building was built on member’s property behind their home. It was built by the members. Colleen learned again that a little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing. The stake president was also visiting the branch on that day and Colleen thought he was asking (in German) how her language skills were coming along when in fact he was asking her if she wanted to speak in the upcoming sacrament meeting. She found out when the meeting started what had happened. She bore her testimony in Germany - did a great job - and then sat down.
• We have been privileged to attend several baptisms, each with their own story. Young people who had many obstacles to overcome, people from other countries (Thailand, China, Bulgaria) who are so excited to share what they have learned. What a refreshing experience it is to witness. Many of our church buildings do not have a baptismal font so they opt for the lake! See the picture.
• Heavenly Father blesses the missionaries in so many ways: healing from illness and “broken bones”, protection on other occasions, people in the right place at the right time to help (A couple of sisters took a wrong turn on the freeway, ended up in the Czech Republic and their car broke down. Someone fixed their car, turned them around and sent them on their way again.)
• There are struggles along the way as well. In the past month two missionaries have had their fathers die unexpectedly and another couple have had grandparents who were very close pass away as well. We surround them with loving companions and they carry on.
• While visiting one of the wards in the mission, we were surprised to see one of my former mission presidents there - BYU Professor Hans-Wilhelm Kelling. See the picture. He has brought a group of BYU German students to spend two months in Berlin studying. We had a great time reminiscing.

This next week we have a mission tour with Elder Weidmann, Q of the 70, and his wife. We will have a full schedule. That is all for now. We love serving the Lord full time. We know that it is His work that we do. We know it is true. We are blessed beyond measure. Our love and prayers are with you.