BAVARIA

Rich and Natalie arrived to visit on the 15th. We picked them up at the airport and headed south to Bavaria for a little site seeing and family visiting.  Beautiful country and fun to be with our kids.

Headed to King Ludwigs place on Herren Cheimsea

First real German food

Wiener Snitchel!

Koenigsea at Bertchegaden

Heidi

Heidi's grandfather minus the beard

THE LONGEST DAY

Jurgen and Claudia Sauenwald, Dieter and Liona,
Katerin and Max, Armin Frass on end

Another midweek holiday this week – Christi Himmelfahrt, which, if you ask the average German, is translated as “yes!.. another day off work!” Its Christian origin actually celebrates Christ’s ascension to heaven 40 days after his resurrection.  After 2 failed attempts earlier in our mission, we took the opportunity to visit Elaine’s Buttler relatives in a little town just outside Hannover 3 ½ hours north of here.  We were treated like royalty by Dieter and Liona Ebeling.  Liona’s grandmother was Elaine’s grandma Bertha Buttler’s sister. We spent the day with them and distant cousin Armin Frass (Liona’s cousin) and his two children and their partners, Jurgen and Claudia Sauerwald and Max Frass and his girl friend Katerin.  They were so kind to us and treated us to a wonderful restaurant dinner, then cakes and drinks at home afterward.  We had a pleasant time and they were so good to treat us as true relatives.  Martin says it was also the longest day ever.  Elaine had full responsibility to keep up our side of the conversation and Martin had to look interested and engaged despite not being able to say anything much.  Luckily the children spoke some English, so could converse a bit with him.  It did make him wish he had tried harder to learn German.  He heard more German in two days than in his whole life time and was actually starting to pick up some stuff by the time we left.  Max Sauerwald, Armin’s grandson, is currently working at the ranch with John and Barbara Winch and, according to his parents, loving every minute of it – okay maybe not three-hour church.  They showed us photos of him with his horse, Casper and of him holding a calf.  The Ebelings graciously showed us around Hannover and its gardens and Marienburg Castle the next day.  Liona sets a beautiful table with fresh flowers from the garden and fresh rolls right from the bakery. 

Breakfast at the Ebelings

Beautiful breakfast (eggs under the chickies)

Christi Himmelfahrt lunch with our German family

Hannover gardens

Hannover garden tulips

THE BURG BERG

This week we followed up on to-do items from the Brussels Seminar, prepared for our next assignment and made final plans for Nat and Rich Busath’s visit next week.  Midweek we also enjoyed the European holiday of May Day.  This originally was a holiday to celebrate spring and tall poles with ribbons on them.  Since then it has degenerated into a labor protest day across Europe.  Seems the first revelers decided they needed time off with pay to dance around the pole and made some political statements at the party, causing management-labor problems ever since that have overshadowed the original idea. Since our office was closed, we took the “holiday” opportunity to visit Weinsberg, a town known in folklore for its creative response when the town was laid siege to in the middle ages. The wives and children of the town defenders were holed up in the town’s hilltop fortress. (They call it the “Burgberg”  which means mountain fortress) In a moment of compassion the sieging barbarians told the women they could depart with whatever they could carry.  These hearty German women were no fools and hoisted their husbands on their backs for the trek down the hill and thus saved their lives.  This statue commemorates the event and Elaine was up to prove she was an inheritor of that mighty German gene pool of brawn and brains!

We treated ourselves to a tiny table and 2 folding chairs, so now we can eat on our  balcony!

Fab 5 sing "Come thou Fount" for the Spring Concert in Frankfurt

We stopped at the park on the way home.  Elaine gets the Good Sport award for a scary ride down the hill and into the water

D&C 23:1

That the fullness of my gospel may be proclaimed ...before kings and rulers.

Our group at the EU Commission 

This weekend we held our annual training seminar for the National Public Affairs Directors from each of the 27 countries in the Europe Area.  We met in Brussels Belgium.  The event included a visit to the European Union Commission where we were hosted by the commission advisor on Religious Affairs.  For 2 days the PA full-time staff trained on how to reach out and develop relationships with government and community opinion leaders.  We also were treated to a Brussels bus tour and a fun dinner in the old part of town Saturday evening. Of course we chose a Belgium waffle for desert.  It was good but I think they could double sales with a little maple syrup. My birthday was Saturday and this one will be memorable for location and for being sung to by the largest group of friends ever and from 27 different countries.  The seminar will also be a highlight of our mission as we were finally able to meet and get to know these wonderful people we have been conversing with by email for 8 months now. We have a greater appreciation too for the challenges they face in bringing the church out of obscurity in their countries.

We felt like real bureaucrats

Seminar name tags and flags

My 61st birthday will be remembered

Yummy food

This iron atom is a famous landmark from the Belgian Exhibition

Over-the-top Belgian waffles 

Our group loved being together and could get pretty lively.

A FETZER IN GERMANY

This week we helped with final preparations for the annual Europe Area public affairs director seminar, to be held this year in Brussels Belgium starting next Friday.  Martin gets to give a ½ hour presentation on planning, budgeting, reporting and evaluating local public affairs activities.  We also worked on preparing Country Fact Sheets . These one-page summaries  describe the Church’s size, activity and history within each country and are to be used in meetings with government officials and media people.  On Saturday we went with the Elder and Sister Eyre and Taylor Street to Wurzberg.  There we were hosted by Tony Fetzer, an information technology student who we originally met in Rothenburg where he lives when not in school.

He was gracious to give us a tour of the city’s cathedrals, Residence Palace and Fortress.  He also got us reservations for great pizza at noon.  He is an intelligent and upright young man with plenty of strong opinions that he shared freely, so we are absolutely sure we are related.

Taylor, Tony, Cravens, and Eyres (Danny and Ann, our MTC buddies)

1700's depiction of America on the Residence ceiling - We were cannibalistic  Indians riding crocodiles under a cloud of uneducated darkness 

It's good to be king- try getting some sleep in this Prince-Bishop bedroom in the Residence

DO I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION?

This past week was busy for the Public Affairs staff in England as media requests for interviews of members and Church spokespersons started coming fast and furious in as a result of the Church’s ad campaign. We were thrilled to see eye-catching “I’m A  Mormon” and "Ask a Mormon" ads on the sides of the double-decker buses in London and plastered all over Charing Cross subway station. Church at the Hyde Park chapel on Sunday was fast meeting. Interesting that we only heard British accents maybe twice, including a baby blessing, sacrament, opening/closing prayers and the Bishop (an American).  The ward was very large and I think quite transient as several members stood to say goodbye as they were moving.  The Church in England has seen only nominal growth over the past decade and we hope this effort to raise awareness and let people know we are just normal people will result in more opportunities for people to hear the gospel. We enjoyed our visit to England and hope we were able to help in a small way.

Charring Cross Tube Station

Even on the floor

In the Solihull Public Affairs Office

A dragon made out of weapons in the London Tower Arms museum - we wished Andy and Charlie could see it

What everyone calls the London Bridge

SOLIHULL ENGLAND

We liked this droopy building in Stratford upon Avon

 We are grateful for internet technology that lets us watch some conference live and all eventually. Tomorrow starts the Church’s “I’m a Mormon” ad campaign in London’s main transportation areas.  We are in Solihull England to hold down the Public Affairs office while Elder and Sister Pat and Ann Coppin, assigned here, field media inquiries and train members on responding to questions and how to be missionaries.   They were gracious to have us to dinner and to enjoy a conference session with them. This weekend we had nice spring weather and took the opportunity to visit Stratford-on-Avon and Warwick Castle, not too far away.  We like the grocery store here, everything is in English and the people speak something very close to English.  They do spell differently though, mixing up vowels and adding vowels and they have added words like nappies, lorries and trolleys, that sound like they are English words but will not be in any real English dictionary.  Actually it is surprising how difficult it is to understand the waitress. Elaine’s a nervous wreck while Martin drives on the wrong side of the road but he has only hit the curb once as the tendency is to stay as far left as possible to avoid all those cars coming at you in the wrong lane.

The Dutchess of Warwick

Ran into my cousin at the castle

Warwick Castle and the Midlands

Shakespeare's house next to a Subway sandwich shop

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