THE MORMONS ARE COMING

Next Monday in London (8 April 2013) starts a Church-sponsored high profile “I’m a Mormon” advertising blitz, similar to what was done in New York, to leverage off publicity for the “Book of Mormon Musical” in London's West End theater district.

We got to do our part in Frankfurt by designing, and selecting content for a “video flyer” to be sent to journalists to entice them to report the real story of who the Mormons are. The project resulted in this DVD case-sized box, that will be delivered to journalists in the London area.  When you open it, there's a message on the left inside and on the right side is a small video screen where 3 short videos encourage journalists to call for more information and to set interviews with Public Affairs folks.  The members are excited and are being trained to know how to respond and be more better missionaries with their neighbors during this period of heightened interest.

Our area office was closed 2 days around the Easter weekend so we took a trip to Paris (about the same distance as SLC to St George) and did all the tourist things with our good friends the Brandes and Derrs.  Sure fun to understand the people and signs again and to speak a little French.

Ugly American at the sidewalk cafe eating delicious crepes

Leaning tower of Eiffel (who took this picture?)

Cold friends at the Tuilleries

The scene, sounds and aroma of market day was a highlight

Seemed funny at the time

ROME 1ST WARD

 The last of this series of Newsroom Video filming was scheduled this week at the Italy, Rome 1^st Ward.  Our assistant director is from Rome and was supposed to go to help train and film the members, but he got injured playing soccer late last week.  Our director was going to go in his place, but she got the flu and had to cancel.  So they sent in the 3^rd string.  We whipped together a Powerpoint training presentation and jumped on the plane to Rome Wednesday.  After training brother Raimondo Castellani, who would be conducting the interviews, we had the rest of the day Thursday to see Rome as the filming was scheduled for Friday and Saturday.  We walked our legs off in brilliant shirt-sleeve sunshine and  managed to see just about every major must-see sight in the downtown area, including a tasty gelato outside the Vatican and pasta at a sidewalk cafe.  The filming was a highly successful and spiritual experience – wonderful, enthusiastic members did a great job.  While we were there on Friday evening, two just-returned missionaries came to be released and were hugged and squeezed to death by all the members there for the filming.  Then Saturday night there was a baptism so we got to see all the Elders and Sisters in the zone with their brand new, bright eyed, enthusiastic companions, and all the beautiful members supporting the baptism. We could tell they love each other very much and how much the church means to them.  We’re back home now - 0 degrees centigrade as we landed, but at least the sun is shining.

Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum

We figured out how to use the subway!!

With Brother Raimondo Castellani, a man who has the characteristics of our Savior

Four River Fountain - Piazza Navona

Gelato!

New Sister Missionaries - Abby Pace from the Oly 1st Ward in the middle

A HISTORY OF MIRACLES

Last Sunday night Brother and Sister Wondra, Church History Advisors, spoke at the senior missionary fireside.  They spoke of the beginnings of the Church in former communist countries.  Brother Wondra never imagined the wall coming down without bloodshed.  This miracle happened because of faith.  President Kimball knew everything is possible to God and asked members to pray for a breakdown of barriers and asked the Saints to make friends with communist governments. 

Sister Wondra told us that the Lord can take better care of our families while we are away on missions than we could if we were home with them.  After the fireside we visited and I learned that she was formerly Ursula Tischhauser who dated Paul after he was released from his mission in Stuttgart.  He had told me to watch out for her but I thought the chances of our meeting were slim so this was a fun surprise.

The Brandes worked in Solihull all week so things were really quiet in the office.  Ralf had knee surgery Tuesday.  Francesco had emergency knee surgery Monday with another to follow tomorrow.  Gabi became ill and was out most of the week.  So it was just us and Taylor.

Elaine prepares members to be interviewed

Martin said this week at the office reminded him of the stress level at Questar.  We had emails flying back and forth to the production manager of the UK VideoFlyer to finalize the graphics and the video content.  We also finalized the schedule for the video shoot for the German Newsroom.  Because Gabi was out sick Ralf was asked to direct the interview training and the interviews.  We took Taylor Street along, picked Ralf up early Friday morning, drove a large van through mad traffic over dozens of “talbrücke” (bridges spanning across deep valleys) for 3 hours to reach Düsseldorf by 9:00, pick up Peter and his cameraman and their equipment, then dash another half hour to the church for the filming.  Groups of three were trained by Ralf after they checked in with us and signed permission slips.  Then each was filmed in half hour sessions on often misunderstood Church doctrine.  We took care of keeping people happy and feeding the crew.  

Filming in Dusseldorf

While interviewees waited I visited these good people and learned some of their stories.  Sister Klein’s husband left her and their three children for another woman when he was bishop.  Last year she lost her 35 year old daughter to breast cancer.  Despite these heartaches she remains faithful.

We sat in on the training and some of the filming as Gabi wants us to assist for this same project in Rome next weekend.  We’ll propose making a Power Point presentation and sending it via email instead.  We’ll see what she says.

Had a huge snowstorm Tuesday.  German class was canceled but our Relief Society birthday celebration went ahead as planned. We're praying for spring!

Elaine's English class students

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TENDER MERCY AT THE TEMPLE

10 March, 2013

We are about ready to upload the filmed interviews of the UK saints to their newsroom site.  The Deseret News found the interviews on an unprotected U-Tube site and wants to do a story on this innovation in sharing the gospel.  Filming of French members occurred in Paris this weekend and Elaine and I will go Düsseldorf this next weekend for the German filming session. In the meantime the British Saints are getting ready for a big "I’m A Mormon" ad campaign to coincide with the opening of the Book of Mormon musical in April.  They are being prepped to be missionaries when their neighbors start asking questions about who the Mormons really are. Satan seems to have got it wrong as to its effect on missionary work.

Senior Missionary Zone Conference

Elaine and I had a tender mercy this week. Our November 12, 2012 blog speaks of Christian Terreaux, a young man I taught on my mission in Montpelier France in 1972.  I emailed the Bishop of the Nimes France Ward where Christian had been filmed as the Family History director back in about 2009, and I asked for Christian’s address - if he was still in the ward.  Two days later I received an email from Christian who had since moved to Rhoane just outside Paris.  He had actually been in the temple with the French Saints the day we were there and when I was thinking of him.  He wrote that he would be back in Frankfurt for French week the first week of March and we agreed to get together for dinner on Thursday evening of the week.  Well Wednesday we had our zone conference at the chapel by the temple and went to the temple as a group afterward.  As Elaine and I walked in, there was Christian, waiting in line to go on a session with the other French Saints.  I walked up and introduced myself and gave him a hug and introduced Elaine.  We visited for a minute in the temple then met for dinner the next night.  Christian is 65, retired from IBM and serving a Family History Mission in Paris.  His wife was not well and did not accompany him to the temple.  They have 6 children, two boys and 4 girls, all grown now of course. His sons served missions to Italy and to Germany.  He has been a branch president three times, and was a sealer in the Swiss Temple until the Fredrichsdorf temple was built and became the temple for their district.  He spoke slowly so I could translate his experience of being called and set apart in the Swiss Temple by Gordon Hinckley, then counselor to President Benson.  Well, don’t we sometimes wonder if our missions were worth it?  I am sure Christian would have joined the church and been a faithful servant no matter who taught him, but I am comforted have had some small part in helping him onto the Gospel path.  Also made me wish I had kept my French up. I understood him well enough but I must have sounded like an aborigine to him.  He was a good sport though and we had a wonderful evening together, reminiscing about the Saints in the early days of the Church in France and how it has changed so much now, with real chapels and wards and third generation members getting ready to enjoy the blessing of a temple.

A tender mercy to finally meet up with Christian after 40 years and have him meet my dear Elaine

From the home of the BMW and other precision engineering marvels
Surprisingly these brooms of sticks work very well.

Our cute and powerful sister missionaries - key to fulfillment of prophecy
Sister Heindel, Sister Tuschling and Taylor Street, BYU intern

CHOCOLATE?

This place had something for everyone

We continue assisting with a newsroom video project to film members in four countries as they explain doctrine. Peter Middleton from England filmed in Madrid this last weekend, will be in France next weekend, then Düsseldorf the next and finally Rome.  We have been asked to assist on site for the filming in Düsseldorf.  We had a panic Friday when only a couple people showed up to be interviewed in Madrid.  Some calling on the phone with the help of a native speaker helped us clarify they needed to round up some more talking heads.When Peter arrived at the filming location no one he was interviewing spoke any English and he speaks no Spanish.  One sees how difficult situations can be here where so many languages are spoken.

Last Wednesday we substituted in seminary.  There were six kids from the international ward there.  What challenges they have in their lives trying to stand up for what they believe with no support from friends.

Saturday the Brandes drove us to Cologne to see the magnificent cathedral there.  We hopped on a little train that took us to a chocolate museum/factory, which was fascinating.  The museum takes you through the entire process from growing the cocoa bean, to transportation then processing.  We viewed a worker making hollow chocolate bunnies (we now know the secret) then watched as a machine poured chocolate into molds, cooled them, picked them up in rows with a vacuum head, placed them on a conveyor belt and wrapped them. The smell was divine!  After a great Mexican lunch in the old city we strolled by the river back to the car and headed home.  Was nice to have a Saturday without rain but it was still bitter cold.  We understand this has been the grayest winter in Germany for over forty years and we believe it.

We arrive at the Tree of (chocolate) Life

I never would have guessed how hollow chocolate toys are made

Impressive Cologne Cathedral with tourist mobs in freezing March

We admired these hardy Germans who's bums were surely frozen onto the metal chairs - but there was sun!

Vana displaying her neat and tidy storage room

The public affairs crew at the Open Basement celebration

NEAT AND TIDY

 This week, Sisters Craven and Brande pretty much turned the Public Affairs storage space in the basement into a work of art.  The shelves and file cabinets are completely alphabetized with all the old stuff tossed out and everything spic span and tidy. She has also gone completely through all the file cabinets in our office, throwing old stuff out, relabeling files and folders and making everything logical and orderly.  Tis a site to behold. I will take pictures.  They are planning an open house this week for the other members of our staff.  For my week, I did more Slovak Community Oral History indexing and have been reading President Hinckley’s book, Stand for Something.  The book has inspired me to be more diligent in honesty, civility, charity and forgiveness.  We stayed home yesterday (Saturday) as it was snowing and blowing, though we did trudge through the blizzard with our bags  to go grocery shopping.  The afternoon found me reading “The Deerslayer” by James Fenimore Cooper to Elaine, while she mended my pants.  Last night we helped with games at a stake YSA Valentines party (cute German kids!).  Not sure what we will find to do in the office this next week, but the weather appears headed for improvement which should be a great lift to our spirits.

Monster pretzels at the market

The old and the new in Frankfurt

When I get home I want to make a nifty tight German wood pile

Which village person is not like the others?

HAPPY VALENTINES!

Another week passes in Frankfurt.  There were a few days last week when Martin was pretty sure time had stopped, but low and behold it is Sunday again. Thank you daughters and grandchildren for the wonderful Valentines surprise.  Your heart attack made us cry and then when we went looking for you, it was clear you had gotten away and gone home again. The highlight of the week was Elaine as our gospel doctrine teacher today. She taught us an inspired lesson on the Holy Ghost.  We filed our tax return this weekend and will put the expected refund on our list of Tender Mercies - we must be desperate!

Hearts with hands, from the Wilson boys!

A dozen red roses from my sweetheart!

No, we really weren't in Rome this week.  However we saw an exhibit of architectural models made of cork - very realistic.

The Johannisburg Palace in Ashaffenburg - still in our winter uniforms, rain, rain and more rain!

Martin gets a kick out of the strange German signage.

IT'S FEBRUARY

View of the Neckar River from above the Heidelberg fortress.

With the Coppins, our counterparts in Solihull, England, on the road to Heidelberg fortress

On the old city wall in Rothenburg with our new intern from BYU, Taylor Street

Elder Pat and Sister Ann Coppin were here from the England Public Affairs Office this week to be trained in their public affairs duties.  They have been in England since late last year but this is the first they could come for training.  Our supervisor allowed them a “cultural day” at the end of the week so we took them to see Heidelberg and Rothenburg on Friday.  It was cold and snowy, but they enjoyed it and gave us a chance to practice getting around for when our children come for visits.  We had them to dinner today with the Brandes, along with our new BYU intern, Taylor Street and a recent young convert Alejandra Diaz.  Still cold here but the sun has shone pretty steadily the last 2 days and we have enjoyed that greatly.

The three Church employees for whom we work are all in Salt Lake this week at their annual training.  Gabi will present a workshop tomorrow to all the Area Directors of Public Affairs from around the world.  She will also present our 2012 Media Book to the Church's Public Affairs team in Salt Lake.  We're quite sure a copy will end up on the desk of President Monson.

TO SHOUT WITH THE TRUMP OF GOD

Hey just think next month is spring!  This week Martin spent time listening to recordings of members in Sheffield England who came from Slovakia and are joining the Church there in large numbers.  These recordings are part of the Family History’s Oral History project to capture voice records of members of the Church.  Before they are submitted, the recordings need to be indexed so researchers of the future will know what is on the recording and where on the recording key topics were shared.  Fun to hear the conversion stories as they are translated from Slovak to English by a young Czech missionary serving in England. Elaine distributed her first Europe Area Public Affairs Newsletter last week.  It was a work of art.  Let us know and we’ll send you a copy.  Yesterday we attended the baptism of Huifeng Li in the morning and in the afternoon went to Mainz to the Gutenberg printing museum. We learned all about the history of the famous bible and got to see one of the 42 remaining in existence.  There were 180 2-volume sets printed in the day circa 1450-ish.  

Startled tourists at Cathedral in Mainz

Huifeng Li, studying business in Frankfurt, finds the  Church  from  a street contact

City skyline from our balcony

Taunus "mountains" from our balcony in the 10 minutes of sunshine we've had in a month.

Jewish cemetery - also from our balcony