Preparation Day in Kronberg

This is Friedrichshof Castle built in the years 1889-1894 as a memorial to her late husband Emperor Friedrich of Prussia by Empress Victoria the first child of Queen Victoria of England.
Empress Victoria was known to her family as Vickie, and like her parents was intelligent,liberal in her thinking and inherited an artistic talent from her mother .
We have been assigned to organize a monthly outing for the senior missionaries and this month we organized a brunch at which we showed the movie "The young Victoria" and then took the missionaries to this castle built by Queen Victoria's oldest daughter as a memorial to her late husband Emperor Friedrich of Prussia. Vickie had an ideal childhood and was very influenced by her parents in her social thinking and desires to help the common man. She died after living in this castle for 7 years of breast cancer which had metastasized to her back. The following pictures are an attempt to give you a little taste of the beauty of Europe and it's history. This was our P-day activity.
Friedrichshof was built as a memorial to the Late Emperor Freidrch who was Vickie's husband. They were happily married for 30 years before he died. They were both very intelligent and liberal in their views. Both were interested in improving the lot of the common man and instituted some social reform to that end. They had 8 children,6 lived to adulthood. The castle (now a very exclusive hotel) is now owned by their youngest daughter.
This close up gives you some perspective of the size of the castle.
Part of the front of Friedrichshof Castle. This shows the main entrance into the castle.
This is a typical hall in the castle. All the furnishing and paintings are original.
This is a painting by Vickie of one of her children. She painted a picture of all 8 of her children. They had 4 boys and 4 girls, 2 of the boys died in early childhood.
Susan sitting in the throne chair that was kept for Queen Victoria to sit in when she visited he daughter Vickie here is the castle. Notice the beautiful ceramic tile wall behind Susan, the entire hall is tiled this way.
Enjoying music and the written word. This is the library. Empress Victoria (Vickie) was a very smart and well read lady. She spoke 5 languages and was a very talented painter. This is her library we are in.
I am listening to some beautiful classical music being played by sister Boone on the piano while others listen and take pictures.
This is the back of part of the castle. If you look to either side of the red and white awning you will see the initials F & V, and V & F standing for Friedrich and Victoria
Susan and E/S Wells with the beautiful woodcarving above their heads.

The left side of this house must have been built without a level, yet the house has stood for 100's of years.
Susan standing by one of the streets that comes into the little village market square. The writing on the wall above Susan's head says "To the green forest" which is the name of the restaurant in that building. The restaurant is 100's of years old.
This is a typical old street in the beautiful old village of Kronberg. Notice the cobble stones and the narrowness of the street. Germany has many little villages like this, however the cities were all destroyed in the war.

The past several weeks we have been working on preparing for a conference for our Humanitarian Missionary couples living in 10 of the east European countries. Particularly busy was last week and the next week we'll be likewise. Susan and I are responsible for the whole conference form the conference topics to be presented during the conference, to arranging for speakers and assignments of each couple to make a presentation on an aspect of humanitarian service, to all meals and all catering, plus a P-Day activity. We have arranged with Elder Teixiera of the Area Presidency to open the conference, and also for the Temple President to speak to the missionaries in the temple. We have arranged housing for these couples in the temple hostile housing and will be able to do a temple session together. Last week we were busy making a welcome bag with goodies etc, for each couple when they arrive, and we are trying to organize a trip for 2 couples who arrive early to visit the Gutenberg museum in Mainz which is about the printing press and it's development. Any way to say the least this has been a very busy time because all that needs to be done to prepare for the conference must be done in addition to our normal duties and responsibilities. We will enjoy seeing all the couples and being with them again, but it will also be a relief in a way to have all this work behind us.
Then we'll start preparing for 5 new couples to arrive this summer, and scheduling time to visit each one of them to train and answer questions that inevitably occur.
We hope that the past week has been good for you, and that life is full, but not stressfully so. We love you all,
Oma und Opa

The Story of the Traveling Coat

Here we are in Varazdin, Croatia. I want you you to look closely at the coat I am wearing. This is a very special coat. When I was preparing for this mission, I made a visit to Ellen Smith, a very dear friend in Cheyenne. She and her husband have served several Missions and I went to her with lots of questions and seeking her good council. She gave me good counsel that I have drawn on so many times in the 9 months we have been serving. As our visit was coming to a close we began to talk about clothing and Ellen asked me if I had a good full length raincoat with a lining. I had been searching for one but had not found one as of the week before entering into the MTC. I had just been so busy and it was not my highest priority. There was a pause in our conversation and she excused herself to go to another room. As I was walking to the door to leave. Ellen went to the coat closet and pulled out this beautiful purple coat with a black collar and a hood. She asked me to try it on. It was a perfect fit. She said,"I want you to take my coat and use it on your mission." Would you like it? I was overwhelmed. No One has ever done this kind of thing for me before. I accepted her beautiful gift. It has been a gift that gives each time I put it on Each time I put it on I think of Ellen. I feel her love for me and for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I strive harder to be better, like Ellen Ellen, said, when you return you can return the coat which will have traveled all over Eastern Europe doing humanitarian work. This coat has traveled to Bosnia, Croatia, Moldova, Kosovo, Macedonia, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, and Slovakia. It has kept me warm on some very very cold days. It has been at wheelchair closing, helping at soup kitchens, orphanges, hospitals, pediatric wards, Roma kindergartens, water projects, NRT programs and many more. All places where Ellen would have loved to visit and provide help and council. I think she has been there with me on many occasions. I am so blessed with good friends.
When the coat and I went to Bosnia( John Came as well), we met the Tadic family. They are Serbs who joined the church in May of 2011. Here we are with Sister and Brother Erickson at their home in Banja Luka. Also seated at the Table is the Grandmother, Nada and the six children, Vickie, Victoria, Vedren, Vedrena, Vaunja, and Katia The Parents were unable to attend church that day. There is also an investigator who will be baptised soon. and the interpretor. We had the opportunity to enjoy church with them. Vedren prepared and passed the sacrament. then Vickie and Vedren spoke. We so enjoyed feeling their testimonies and hearing what they had been taught by the Ericksons over the past months. They are the first Bosnians to join the church. They are hungry to learn and will be going to the temple this summer. What a joy to see the gospel going forth amoung all nations and people. How grateful we are to be serving at this time in this place.

This week has been especially busy as we are preparing for the Humanitarian conference to be held in Fredricksdorf on March 22-25th. Friday, March 2, we spent the afternoon and evening in and around Frericksdorf getting information to help our couples. Saturday, March 3rd ,we drove to Braunfels to be sure we had a good handle on the driving directions and to make arrangements for an English Speaking tour of the Castle. This Castle was begun in 1370. It is now privately owned by the family descendants from generations of occupants. Here is Dad consulting with our tour guide, He made a lot of noise but we didn't understand much. We will be taking the missionary couples here for an excursion on Saturday after the conference.
Here is the Castle looking up from the little village which surrounds it. We had a nice drive and enjoyed visiting with the office person who arranged our tour We have has a busy but good week. It seems the days go by so very fast. We are so grateful we can serve a mission. We are having such a wonderful experience seeing the church move forward in the Balkan. We love the couple missionaries we work with as they are such an inspiration to us. I completed the newsletter for the month of March. I wish I could send it to you all so you could see the love and service the church is giving to so many. But it is not allowed. The pictures cannot go out without written permission from each one photographed.
We love all of you and think of you often. Please take good care of yourselves.
Love,
Oma and Opa