Senior Couple's Conference in Schwerin

Last week, we had a lovely trip to Schwerin - a city about 140 miles north east of Berlin in what was East Germany. We met there for a couple's conference with the 15 couples serving in our mission.  We were joined by President and Sister Kosak and our special guest speaker - Manfred Schütze and his wife. 

After we arrived and checked into out hotel, we went out for dinner together.

These pictures were taken in front of the restaurant.

Our rather long wait for dinner (a group of our size was a challenge for the restaurant ) gave us a chance to get better acquainted with the other couples and find out how missionary work is going in the cities they serve in.

Ah... food glorious food has arrived!

We were especially hungry because we left Berlin that morning at 8:00 AM and stopped in three cities (Neubrandenburg, Greifswald and Rostock) on our circuitous route to Schewrin.  We made these stops to do apartment checks of the elder's and sister's apartments in these cities.  We checked six apartments and didn't have time to stop for lunch.  We snacked on apples and granola bars on the way and we were ready for our dinners when they finally arrived!

The next morning we went together to the Scherwin Palace located on an island in the Scherwin See (the largest lake in the area).  This beautiful palace has its beginnings dating back to the 10th century and was the residence of the Dukes of Mechlenburg who ruled this part of Germany for centuries.  Today it is the seat of the Landtag State Parliament as well as the showplace for the city.  

 Parts of this huge castle are open to the public for tours.  Our group took the tour and then wandered around the beautifully landscaped grounds.

We saw some beautiful swans.

 This shows a view of one of the many turrets of the castle - this one overlooks the lake with the Orangery (a cultivated garden of exotic plants) in the background.

A view from the balcony into the Orangery.

A view of the lake

After our visit to the palace, we walked to the nearby church meetinghouse and enjoyed a picnic lunch together.  

Group picture time!

Brother Schütze and his wife are on the far left.

Our group with our German hats!

After lunch we had the opportunity to listen to Brother Schütze speak.  He served as Mission President of the Germany Berlin Mission from 1991 - 1994.  He also served as the Church Education System Director over the Europe East Area during the time we served our first mission.  He was also a Patriarch to the Russian speaking people.  He has a remarkable life story which is referenced in a conference talk given by Boyd K. Packer in the October 2001 Conference.  Here is a link to that talk: 

http://www.lds.org/ensign/2001/11/the-book-of-mormon-another-testament-of-jesus-christ?lang=eng

Our conference continued with workshops and opportunities to share ideas and questions with each other.

Then we gathered at a restaurant for dinner that evening.

The next morning we came together again at the meetinghouse for breakfast and the opportunity to hear messages from President and Sister Kosak.

They shared interesting information about growing up in former East Germany and they also gave us a spiritual uplift with their messages and counsel.

The conference was closed and we all left for our home cities.  We drove home on the back roads and we saw a lot of beautiful scenery on our way.  

Germany wins the World Cup!

 It was a late night last night with the game going into overtime and then the one and only point of the game scored by Germany!  The city exploded in shouts, clapping, horns honking and massive fireworks!  When the game was finally over, the celebrations continued throughout the night!  We are so proud of the German team and happy that they won.  It has been exciting to be here in Berlin for this event.

As missionaries, we did not go out and join the crowd so, these photos are courtesy of the internet and Facebook postings.  We certainly heard the crowds and noise and felt the jubilation of the night!

People loaded into their cars and the honking and flag waving began!  

Visit to Potsdam

Earlier on Sunday, we attended church in Potsdam.  This branch meets in an old home that has been modified to accommodate the needs of the branch.  The rooms have lots of fancy molding and decorative work.  We were asked to speak in Sacrament Meeting there.  So far we have visited 5 wards/branches - we have 6 more to attend and then we will begin our return visits to follow up.  It is interesting to go to other cities and suburbs and to see how each unit operates.  This next Sunday we get to attend our own ward - we have missed seeing the members there!

In front of the Potsdam meeting home.

After church, as wer drove home, we saw some interesting sights in Potsdam.  This is a portion of the old Glienicke Bridge that served in the old divided Germany for the location for East Germany to exchange spies with West Germany.

 Potsdam has a rich history dating back to the middle ages.  It is a beautiful city with many castles, parks and lakes.

 This photo shows the Brandenburg Parliament building and the St. Nicholas Church in the background.

  The infamous Potsdam Conference was held at Cecilienhof, the home of Crown Prince Hohenzollern, from 17 July to 2 August 1945. In some older documents it is also referred to as the Berlin Conference of the Three Heads of Government of the USSR, USA and UK.  Participants were the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States. The three powers were represented by Communist Party General Secretary Joseph Stalin, Prime Ministers Winston Churchill and Clement Attlee and President Harry Truman.  Agreements resulting from this conference included the demilitarization of Germany, war reparations, division of Germany and Austria into occupation zones and prosecution of Nazi war criminals.

Attlee, Truman and Stalin

Chapel of Nevski

The trip home took about 30 minutes and we spotted this bear on our return journey.

World Cup, Missionary Meeting, Closing Social and more!

Sometimes we have "down days" (not so much to do) on our mission and then we also have super busy days when everything tries to happen at once.  Last week we had some super busy days.

Thursday

Thursday was the World Cup Soccer match between Germany and the USA.  The World Cup is a very big deal for the Germans - kind of like the Olympics and the Super Bowl rolled into one.  They decorate their cars and apartment windows with German flags, wear silly hats and leis and have big celebrations on game days.  Institute classes were NOT held on Thursday so that the YSA could gather to watch the BIG GAME.  Our Mission President gave the missionaries permission to attend the game so we had a large crowd (nearly 70 people).  Of course, with all the missionaries from the USA, there was a lot of friendly competition.  The game was projected onto the big screen in the Institute room and the excitement of the game filled the air!  When Germany finally scored the one and only point of the game, the room erupted with shouts, cheers and applause ( and of course groans and sighs from the Americans!).  The Germans were thrilled that they won the game.

 Ready for the big game!

Dressed in the colors of Germany

 Watching the game

 

We popped huge batches of popcorn and put out chips, pretzels and candy for game time snacks.

 

 

Busy, busy Friday!

Friday brought a double dose of busy for us.

 We prepared and served lunch for 42 missionaries for the Mission Leadership Training Meeting.

 We served chicken cordon bleu, German scalloped potatoes and green beans for lunch.

Sister Kosak (our Mission President's wife) and I.

 

 

Friday Evening

We held our closing social for the YSA - marking the end of the regular Institute year and the beginning of the Summer Institute Program.

The kids decorated the enclosed patio area at the meetinghouse and we had a barbeque and a dance. 

 Elder Mickelsen was the chief barbeque chef.

 I was his assistant and helper.

 The kids brought salads and desserts and altogether it was a nice buffet.

 Enjoying the food

 After dinner, the dance began.

 We were blessed with perfect weather in the 70's - not too hot and it didn't rain!  This was remarkable because it had rained every evening all week.

 We had great participation at the dance with about 50 in attendance.

 Our new student council president and her boyfriend - we look forward to working with them - they are workers and doers and get things accomplished.

Oliver (also on the student council) provided the music for the dance and did a great job.

 Me, Jenny (one of our YSA) and Sister Stahl (wife of the High Council advisor for YSA)

We helped clean up, danced a little and arrived home just before midnight after a very, very long day!

 

Saturday and Sunday

Saturday found us cleaning our apartment, meeting with a less active we are working with and preparing our talks for the following day.  On Sunday we traveled to Glienike (a suburb of Berlin) and spoke in sacrament meeting. After the meeting block we held a meeting with the YSA Committee.  As we travel to the different wards and branches and hold these meetings, we help the YSA Committee's to identify specific less active YSA they will help during the coming months.  So far our three visits have been productive.  Our only problem is that we are asked to speak in each unit and we are given a different topic each time (too many talks to prepare!).  This Fast Sunday we will have a brief rest from speaking as we visit the Spandau Ward! (Hooray for Testimony Meeting - we can listen to others speak instead of ourselves!)