Warm greetings family and friends!! We're into the "savor every moment" mode now that we've recently passed our one year mark and the days seem to be speeding by. It's been glorious to watch the chill and starkness of winter melt into a profuse blooming of color and new life. Germans love their flowers, gardens and parks and with the cool, moist air and welcomed sunshine, Mother Nature is out in all her glory. It takes your breath away to see cascades and bundles of blooms on every apartment balcony, every store front, along lush walkways, lining freeways and small roads and in every shopping cart at the grocery store. It's a true renewal of life and beauty in this already picturesque part of the world.
My medical calls have changed somewhat with the improving weather and fewer illnesses. Now I'm finding more seasonal problems like allergies, ticks, outdoor and sport injuries from enthusiastic P-day activities. There are more rashes, blisters, dehydration problems, sore feet, sprained ankles, etc.
We've had kidney stones, broken bones, serious nose bleeds and on and on. I love my work and am so relieved to report we haven't had to send a missionary home yet for health reasons. (Knock on wood!)
Lowell's work has been greatly impacted by the historical refugee and immigration events of these past months. We have watched it unfold before our eyes right here in Germany and in our Area as its dramatic images have been seen around the world. The passion and desperation of so many thousands of people to flee unending poverty and war in their homelands have greatly increased our prayers and offerings in their behalf. The varying reactions of rejection and unyielding borders versus open arms and making available food, shelter and jobs have been a stark diversity of how mankind can react under unimaginable and pressing circumstances. We only wish we could do more and help individually but are being carefully guided and instructed by our Church leaders who have moved quickly and in force to bring relief to so many in their quest for freedom and safety. All of a sudden the immigration laws have tightened and become more strict or have literally ground to a stop all together making it difficult to keep our missionaries moving into these countries and insuring their temporary residencies in the countries they're serving in. Lowell and I were in the planning stages of going to Hungary to meet with immigration officers there to work out some developing obstacles when this huge movement began. Our issues quickly dropped dramatically in the country's priorities as they were barraged with thousands of immigrants wanting to cross their borders into safer areas. We're not sure if we'll end up going to Hungary or not while we're here.
At any rate, that gives you a taste of our work and efforts here. In between are sprinkled other rich and wonderful events, travels and times with dear friends and missionaries
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In early Spring we were visited by four BYU doctoral students who had just finished one of their doctoral projects in Africa. Among them was Danise Mok, our dear friend from Hong Kong who we became very close to while we were there. The three girls squeezed into our guestroom and the boy and a brother stayed with some other senior missionaries. They're exceptional young people and have traveled so much of the world already in their young lives.
Here is Danise who we worked with and Alysha, who actually grew up near and knew Bryant and Becca in Georgia. Such a small world!
Fun, adventurous young women!
This is Sister Edmunds who is one of my great partners in crime on little lunch break outing
The Germans love their flowers!
Interesting and unique little bangles in the display windows as we passed by.
Here we go up the mountain of Rudescheim again in the gondola. This time it's warm and green. We're with the Bausmans from Twin Falls who are IT tech missionaries.
It's good to see Elder Castleton so relaxed for a change.
After going up one side of the mountain in a gondola, you go down the other side of the mountain on a ski lift. Incredible views of the Rhine River and the miles and miles of vineyards.
Meet Yvonne and Mitch Bausman. They are a fun and delightful couple. He's a fairly new convert to the Church.
Here's a very unique dish that I don't think America has thought of yet.......macaroni and cheese PIZZA!!!!
Maybe you'd rather have a Hawaiian pizza?
Then again, it's always hard to resist a good old German Brot and Sauerkraut! We do see far too many french fries which have become the go-to potato dish here unfortunately.
In another blog entry I pointed out a castle that I said we were going back to for the opera "Carmen" which was to be performed in the courtyard after dark. Well, the evening we arrived there was a sign saying that the performance would be rained out. What a disappointment! We were guided to an alternate, drab inside venue where we about roasted in the heat and humidity. The opera was enjoyable though and we made it through.
Ruth Ann Hamilton and others from her office in Brussels came to Frankfurt for some training meetings and a couple of sight seeing days with me. Lowell was so busy at the office he could not break away during the day but joined us each evening for dinner. The first day Ruth Ann and I took a walking tour of Frankfurt which she had never seen. I think we walked 20 miles that day!The weather was perfect. Above you see a picture of "the love lock bridge" where couples add their padlock and declare the union of their relationship and the strength of their love. They usually engrave their names and a date on their lock. This is not unique to Frankfurt.
Sister Hamilton was amazed at all the flowers everywhere.
One of many wonderful musicians you run into in the Altstadt.
This was an African drum group who were high energy and very charismatic.
These two shots were taken at a rooftop cafeteria where we had a bite of dinner with Lowell.
After Church we took Sister Hamilton on a 30 minute drive to one of our favorite little towns, Idstein, where we took a relaxed and lovely walk through the cobblestone streets.
You really can't get much more picturesque than this amazing place.
On another day we took an hour train ride out to the Rhine River and hiked up some beautiful mountains trails. We felt like we were miles from everyone when we came upon this lovely hotel tucked in amongst the trees and mountain paths.
I think I would love to stay here.
Our last day with our Brussels guests was spent in Heidelberg at their request.
This was my second trip here so I knew my way around somewhat and we found our bearings pretty handily.
These are all pictures taken from the huge castle. I think I wrote more about it in a previous blog.
Elder and Sister Rochow are from Australia where he was a top level Barrister apparently. Getting their visas from their home country to Belgium was one of the most difficult projects Elder Castleton has had. They're fun people and well suited for the Public Affairs position their serving in.
If you look carefully from the bridge, you can see the castle on the
hill in the background.
On a recent Sunday evening we made about an hour trip to this beautiful cathedral in Wiesbaden to hear an organ concert by none other than Richard Elliott, the head organist of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. He came over exclusively to perform in Germany. Knowing the size of the main hall and the size of the enormous pipe organ inside, you can only imagine what a spectacular sound his music and playing made. It was a real treat!
Brother Elliott
On this Saturday we traveled with 3 other missionary couples on our excursion. The Newman's are the Frankfurt Mission Office couple. The Jarrards spend half their time doing financial work at the Mission Office and the other half working with the Young Single Adults. The Stevens exclusively do Archive and Records Preservation.
This is Sister Newman in a very picturesque cemetery at the base of a beautiful cathedral in the small town of Limburg.
This cathedral was beautifully preserved and the most colorfully painted on the outside. We'd never seen one quite like this before. It almost looked like it had a Spanish influence.
This is Elder Castleton with the Jarrards on a stroll through the delightful Altstadt.
The flowers in Germany are truly spectacular and plentiful.
Our main destination for the day was Cologne to see its world famous cathedral. We were very lucky to quickly find a parking spot but were a little confused about where we were in relationship to the cathedral. When we got out of the car, there was no question where it was. It is so huge and imposing it almost seems unreal. I was really amazed.
You get an idea of its size by comparing it to the five story building beside it ,of course, to the people.
The dark grey color was a little disturbing to me and from a distance made it seem like an enormous space ship.
As we got closer it became very apparent that the entire facade of the structure was covered in the most elaborate and detailed sculptures. The workmanship is stunning.
And the inside........words can't adequately describe. HOW did they construct this edifice way back then?
There are bigger than life-sized sculptures of the various Saints
on every supporting column.
When it came down to the challenge of the day, there were only two of us who chose to climb the very narrow circular stairway to the top of the building, Elder Newman and myself.....almost 600 stairs.This picture was taken from the first of several platforms looking down at the tiny people. I did well as long as there were windows in the stairwell. Towards the top it was just an enclosed climb and very warm because of all the people making the climb. I had to concentrate really hard not to have a panic attack. Me and my claustrophobia!
The above picture is at the top of the climb with only the spires left above. It was such a feeling of accomplishment and awe looking down at what seemed to be the tiny city below.
They make sure no one is going to try to climb the steeple which I'm sure would happen every day.
If you go back to my first picture of the cathedral, you can see some white scaffolding near the top. Behind me you can see that scaffolding.
A true bird's eye view.
The next four pictures were taken at our Family Home Evening activity of "The Book of Mormon Clue Game". I love these activities because you see such a different side to these senior missionaries. This is Barrister Castleton which I'm sure you can tell by his long white wig. This man can surprise you every once in a while by what he's willing to do!
There were attorneys and bankers and maids and secretaries.......all the usual suspects.
This is one of those activities that you dread going to but which you always have a great time at.
This is Elder Smith's hand after cutting his finger and going to a German ER to have it stitched and wrapped. Would you call it "over kill"? The next day he came to work with a medium band aid on it.
Another Saturday drive, this time to the Marksburg Castle.
You can't tour a castle without a healthy hike up the mountainside. This is how we counteract the effects of our weekly desk jobs where we sit much of the time.
I would love a dining hall like this with a knight's table and a huge fireplace.
Even though it might seem mildly romantic to imagine living in a castle like this, we've come to the conclusion it would have been a pretty secluded and lonely life.
This was a luxury of the times, an indoor bathroom. The plumbing was simple......all contents just emptied onto the court yard below to be cleaned up by some unfortunate servant.
Rarely do you find a castle without bouquets of real flowers.
This was the ceiling of the family's private chapel with fresco's painted within the arches.
As you can see, the knightly defenders are not all created equal.
Before heading home, we also visited the lovely town of Bad Ems which is regularly visited by people from all over Europe because of its natural mineral hot springs which are considered a valuable supplement to your regular health regimen. It definitely caters to a more wealthy clientele as you might imagine by the looks of the accommodations that are located on both sides of the river. The cobblestone walkways, the flowered bridges and gardens and many lovely shops and restaurants make it a very delightful destination.
You don't see many of these around anymore but they are up and working in Bad Ems.
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This was taken in one of the lobbies While I was taking this picture, my necklace broke and spilled onto the shiny marble floor.........embarrassing!
These gorgeous flower arrangements were all on one single new grave in our nearby cemetery. We had to take a break from our noon walk to capture them. Their blooms are HUGE and we think they must have steroids in their soil here.
These lilies were at least four times bigger than any I've seen in the states!
I took some other shots along the way. It's such an amazing place.
During a stake Relief Society activity we made these tactile "Dementia" lap quilts for a local nursing home. They say they are mentally stimulating for withdrawn and/or confused residents. Our ward group got three of them completed. They were fun to do and got our creative juices flowing.
There is no limit to the clever ideas that a room full of women can come up with when given such an array of supplies.
This was a great way to spend the day.
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