Gentz's perspective

January 11, 2018

This one is coming from Gentz as Jeri suggested that I should give you my perspective for a change. I recently wrote my old MTC companion from 40 years ago on my first mission on our progress on our mission up to this point. He is interested in serving a mission at some juncture in the near future himself and so I have been giving him my perspective at 3, 6  and 12 months. It has truly been interesting how our lives on a mission have unfolded. We started last year at this time somewhat afraid, inhibited and unsure of what our purpose was here in Rostock.

It was clear from the standpoint of being a branch president which was nice since it did give us that much direction anyway, but we had to learn what it means to be a senior missionary. My only perspective  was from having served as a young elder  with other young elders 40 years ago. This of course is not the baseline for a senior mission. But it is all I had. 

So, we've done some learning that has brought us to a very positive place at this point in our mission. We feel more confident in what we are doing, more purposeful, more at ease and I think I can say happier. Being homesick has been a particular challenge for us. We have missed our home, our bed, our family, our friends, our lives as we knew them in Jacksonville. I remember this was particularly hard for me on my first mission. We have been at the point of tears over this issue at times and have had to importune the Lord for strength to continue. Not that we ever thought about coming home in any serious way, but home is where we wanted to be.

And please understand, Rostock is a WONDERFUL place! I am not sure we could have asked for a more perfect place for us. The members here love us, treat us with respect, kindness and make it very enjoyable to work among them. The town of Rostock is really quite beautiful in many ways..even the weather is very moderate here. Now, I don't like living in a city and I would not choose to do so. But, this is the reality of a mission...you don't normally live in small towns. And so, being forced to live in a city (200,000 people) this is the best city we could live in. 

German has not come as easily as it did the first time around for me. Yes, I am more fluent than I was a year ago; my vocabulary has increased and I still very much enjoy speaking German but  pulling words out of my head is more laborious than before. But I can always make my needs known, carry on a conversation and have a good laugh with these dear people. So, this is not a bad experience relearning German, just a challenging one requiring a little bit of work and effort on my part.  I am including a bit of the email that I sent to my old companion who I spoke of earlier: 

We see the Lord’s awareness and His hand regarding our needs and feelings.Germany is still Germany though and East Germany had a devastating effect on spirituality and religious affiliation in general so engendering interest requires patience and endurance. There have been so many wonderful promises given to the German members over the years that hope is always there.I have seen my dear wife receive so much inspiration. She was good before but she is even better now on the mission. It simply amazes me what comes out of her mouth and the keyboard. Our children are doing well. Our finances have been amazingly healthy despite the occasional  retail therapy. We have made many friends in and outside the church . These relationships are deep and precious to us. We have also done a fair amount of touristing when we have P (preparation) days or when friends and or family have come to visit. There is so much to see just within our area.We have been able to go to the temple in Freiberg about six times which is great since we didn’t think we were going to be able to go at all.

We go to Berlin every six weeks for a big zone conference so we have been liberally exposed to that place.How we have enjoyed meeting all the other missionaries, young and senior who serve here as well as learn from our wonderful Mission president President Fingerle and his wife.

                     We have also been to Hamburg and Lübeck among a few other places nearby. By the way, the other blonde is my sister in law Julie who visited in October. 

The Baltic coast is about ten kilometers away so anytime we want to get away for a couple of hours we have at our disposal some of the most popular coastline in Germany. 

The mission takes good care of us. The bottom line is that we are very happy we came. Life is not always easy on a mission but we knew that.We didn’t know exactly what the challenges would be but the Lord raised us to them,qualified us or got us through them. A foreign mission has its own set of extra issues that we would not have encountered in the states. But then there is a richness to be found here that we could in no way have experienced if we had not come to Germany. I wouldn’t say a foreign mission is for everyone nor would I say a mission is for every couple, but I think I could safely say it is for most couples who are active and able, love the Lord and people and want to serve.

It has been an interesting experience for Jeri and me spending so much time together. We do have the opportunity to have alone time when we need it; I take a daily walk of at least an hour and we don't necessarily have to do everything together. In fact, Jeri went on the mass transit tonight with the elders and another member to visit a sister since I needed to be at English class!

The majority of our days though are spent together and we have come to a deeper appreciation of one another. I truly think without exaggeration that our relationship has reached another level which I really didn't anticipate, but I will tell you truly, I love Jeri more now than ever. 

Above all of these wonderful challenges and blessings however, one thing is certain. Our testimony of Jesus Christ is ever firmer. When I gave my farewell talk at home before coming here, I was hopeful that I would come back just a little stronger in my testimony and more apt to share that testimony. I think that I am realizing that and for that I am ever so grateful. I definitely recognize a deeper appreciation for and my dependence upon my Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ and upon my dear Jeri. It's been hard but wonderful and isn't that how life truly is? 

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"The Pearl of the North"

Oct. 11, 2017

Rostock has been referred to as the "Pearl of Northern Germany". When the cruise ships  disembark from their Baltic Sea Tour at Warnemunde, the passengers are encouraged to come to Rostock and see the various sites: St. Marienkirche (kirche means church in German) with the 13th century clock and the apostles that go around Jesus at the count of 12 as well as Petrikirche which is even older and you can go up in the tower and see the whole town. 

                                  The tower of Petrikirche can be seen along the Rostock skyline.

It is so funny to see this old church which has stood here for centuries and now see modern cars. What did this street look like in 1400? Lined with carriages? Horses? And the church has seen it all.

                                                 
                         
                                                          The clock at St. Marienkirche

See the apostles going around at the top? They all get Christ's blessing except for Judas:)

 It is interesting as one goes through all of these old churches that many of the nobility

 are entombed within the walls of the church. This is a duke, duchess and their child.

I just cannot get enough of these beautiful stained glass windows!!

Not only is there a lot here in Rostock, but just within an hour or two there are many wonderful sites to see. From Mid August to the end and then the first week of October we had  visitors from America  and it was fun to show them all the enchanting places, so I thought it was time to share some of them with you.

Wismar is a nearby coastal village that is a World Heritage site that means it has been declared to be a culturally important site and should be preserved for the world to see.

                                            Just one of the three beautiful churches here

 We were treated to an impromptu short organ recital as we were strolling around the church.

Gentz found this poignant picture of a German soldier he was particularly moved by. He looked into his eyes and felt  sorrow as he realized that this young man was probably going to his death. On his belt buckle it says: "Gott mit uns". That means God with us. He very well may have thought that God was with him and perhaps he was. Not all German soldiers were true Nazis. They were simply soldiers, doing their duty to their country,  and we hope that indeed God was with them in their dying hour. Isn't that what we would wish for everyone?

 My friend Becky and I in front of another old church that isn't open for touring now. 

 There was a downtown street Swedish Festival the day we were there.Sweden ruled Northern Germany for several hundred years it seems. It was great fun with people strolling, bands playing and vendors selling their wares. 

From Wismar, you can go just 30 minutes to Schwerin, the Capital of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the state in which we are located. There is the wonderful castle which is the second most visited castle next to Neuschwanstein in Southern Germany. I'm sure you have heard of it and seen pictures as Walt Disney designed the Disney Castle after it, but this one, you have probably never heard of. It was built in the 15th Century and has been rebuilt and added on to so it is much older than the one in Southern Germany. My sister Julie who has been to Neuschwanstein loved Schwerin and felt it was somehow more impressive. That's what we like to hear:))

The king's room in the castle. Above are all of the town coats of arms from the surrounding areas that make up the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

On the Castle grounds, an artist well known in Europe places these frames in front of natural settings and then you can stand in them and the natural scene behind you looks just like a real painting. True natural art! We were amazed at how much it looked like a painted landscape!

Let's go to Lübeck next about 11/2 hours from Rostock. It has a wonderful medieval downtown section with of course, more amazing churches and also twin gates that once stood at the very outskirts of this city to protect it against marauders. 

Gentz has this terrible (sweet) habit of kissing me in front of many of the sites we visit, so I thought I would just share one with you:))

Lubeck is the Marzipan Capital of the world for those of you who like that almond favored candy. We found a great store where Julie bought some souvenirs. They even had a Twin gate made out of Marzipan!

Lübeck platz (center) and Rathaus (City Hall)

                                    I loved this shot of several church towers all together.

 This was a cool old street we happened upon as we were traveling to the churches. Such old buildings and streets. Even a Puppet Museum! Germans love museums!! I wish it had been opened but the day we were there happened to be Tag Der Einigkeit (Day of Unity). It is the day that Germany was officially reunified with East and West together once again. No stores or museums were open. 

That is about it for Lubeck as we ended up in quite the little, no big rainstorm and had to run for our lives to the car!! It was a terrific time however and we enjoyed touring this wonderful old city. I still want to share Warnemunde and especially Bad Doberan (my favorite) with you but will do so in another blog. Thanks so much for coming along with us on this little trip and we hope that you will be as astonished as we all have been with the beauty and the history here. Rostock area is a well kept secret, but if you ever get to Germany, make sure you travel North to the "Pearl of Northern Germany"! We are so grateful to be here for a time!  Tchüss!

For God So Loved the World

Sept. 9, 2017

As I watched this video published on Lds.Org my heart was overcome with all  the Savior has done for each one of us and why He came to earth so many years ago. As a young child growing up in the Methodist Church, I sang with gusto: "Jesus Loves me, this I know for the Bible tells me so." Now as an adult member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints I still know that Jesus loves me, but the children's songs have advanced to "I'm trying to be like Jesus" and "If the Savior stood beside me" giving a little more accountability to what we are to do with this knowledge of a Savior. He sacrificed so much, loves us  and tells us simply: "If ye love me, Keep my Commandments." (John 14:15) and "As I have loved you, Love one another."

Just this morning, my dear husband said to me on his way to a street display with the young elders,"You know why I came on this mission as hard as it was to leave our comfortable home, our dear friends and our family who we love so much? It is because I can't stand to see people suffer. I want them to have the same peace and joy that I have because of my love for Jesus Christ. I want them to have someone to turn to when loved ones die and they cry out of grief, when they feel alone, when bad things happen as they do often through no fault of their own."

Because of what the Savior suffered in Gethsemane, He can succor us, He knows just how it feels to have cancer, to have a sick child, to be addicted, to lose that which is most dear to us, to feel alone. None of us can cry out that no one understands if we have the knowledge that Jesus Christ lives and He is right there with us and He felt in that sacred Garden,  just what we are now feeling . He came to earth so that we might live more abundantly and joyfully in this life and have eternal life in the world to come. That is why God, our Heavenly Father out of his great, powerful love sent Him here. "For God so loved the world...." (John 3:16.)

I will never forget years ago as a young mother with a critically ill baby I fell to  my knees on a particularly hard day, and cried out, "Oh, Father, I can't stand to see Jakob suffer like this anymore."  My answer? Oh so quietly into my heart and mind came these words: "I know, I saw my Son suffer too." He understood! He had to stand by as His only begotten Son died on the cross..how His heart must have broken as He had to turn away so that even that rejection of the Spirit His Son could understand. The earth broke into two, mountains fell down, the whole world was covered in darkness at the death of His divine son. His heart was breaking.Yet, He, the most powerful being in the universe, reached out to me in my grief and heard me. I knew I could get up from my knees and go on, a little more peaceful, a lot more comforted. "As thy days may demand, so thy succor shall be." (Hymn, How firm a Foundation).

                                         

Our baby did not live to see two years old, but because of what our Heavenly Father did for us in sending His son, I know that we will see Jakob again. We will live forever and be united as a family because of the covenants we made in the Temple. Yes, I know that Jesus loves me. I sang it with fervor when eight years old and now I  sing with fervor the hymn: "I know that My Redeemer Lives." He certainly does and it is He who can be our closest friend. I know that Jesus loves me and you and you and you and you and everyone in the world. Does God love us? Yes, He loved us so much He sent His son. And they live! That is our message. That is our mission.