Freiberg Tempel - International Temple

Eastern Europe to the South

Some weeks our international flavor is much more apparent than others. Because of the closing of the Frankfurt Temple, Freiberg has become the Temple for a much broader spectrum of Latter-day Saints. And even though the Temple in Kiev is closer for some Eastern European Saints to attend than Freiberg, there are many citizens of far-off countries who come once or twice a year to bring their ancestral family names and sometimes bring newly baptized family members and friends to receive their own ordinances. We have had buses come from Romania and individual cars and small buses from Croatia and Romania.

This is a group of Saints who have been here throughout this week. There was a lovely family – Branch President – and their two young children who drove here by auto. They must stop every 8 hours for safety reasons dictated by law – imagine traveling with those two young (darling) children for 36 hours from Bulgaria.

Smiling and Exhausted Bulgarian Saints

The others came by bus from Bulgaria – only taking 24 hours! Wow! They love the Temple and all the work they can do here for their ancestral family members. Because we were in charge of organizing sessions this week and we always want people to have the ordinances given/received in their own language if possible, we were able to have one of the Temple Matrons and our Temple Recorder work with them using Bulgarian, with its Cyrillic alphabet. They had made great effort to be here, and it was a blessing for us and for them as they were able to receive ordinances in their own language. The Matron who could read Bulgarian did so because she grew up in the time of the DDR – when the Communists/Russians ruled their East German land. She and her fellow students had to study Russian with the same alphabet characters. She lamented that they never really used it as a spoken language, so it wasn’t ever really developed as language, and  it certainly isn’t part of her daily language gift because of that. Her husband, on the other hand, didn’t want to learn Russian and refused to do so. He has continued not wanting to learn any other language other than German much to the loss of his being able to converse with many of those coming to the Temple and also with the main support group here in the Temple, the American, English-speaking Senior Missionaries. He is, however, a very hard-working, formidable leader. It is so fascinating to see our Temple Presidency balance each other. Our President, an Austrian, works at practicing his English often. He and his wonderful wife make this temple a place where countless times I have heard people say "It just feels like being part of a wonderful family at home." That must please our Father in His Holy House! Our other counselor is also an Austrian. He and his wife have gone home for three months to see family and set things in order before they return to become the new Temple President and Matron. He and she speak several languages well and are able to help in ordinances in French, Spanish, Hungarian, Czech, English, German and a bit of Polish. That will be a focus for them, I think.

Probably one of the most spiritual moments I've had in the Temple so far was the blessing of being able to welcome and teach a young woman coming to the Temple for the first time. Both the Temple Matron and her counselor that speak English were not in the Temple for some reason, so I was asked to help the other counselor. The sister is a beautiful young woman from Hungary who speaks beautiful English but no German. Our lovely Matron's assistant speaks German and very little English. The teaching moments of that first visit are so important, that usually it is attempted to be given in the person's native language. Her English is so good, that she was able to be taught in English. I will probably never be a temple matron's assistant, so for me those moments were so precious. She will be leaving for Lyon, France in two weeks. She will be going to Provo just when we won't be in Utah, but she said she's sure we'll meet again! She requested that we have a photo together, and I have sent her what she asked for. What blessings here. What marvelous people.

We had a chance to serve dinner to the greatest young Sister Missionaries last night! They have been phenomenal examples of service! 

One sister in the Branch is married to a wonderful elderly man. One morning she called me about another item, but at the end of the conversation she said to me that the Sisters were so spiritual. She said that they had asked if she would like to join them in a fast for her husband. She was so delighted. In these many years, no one had seemed to reach out in caring in that special way.

Sister Strong and Sister Lewis both speak German beautifully, and they are so diligent. One of them is beginning to learn Persian. They have been able to work together for six months - very unusual - but they are great examples of listening to the Spirit and also listening to each other with their contacts. The Lord has sent some wonderful spirits to work in His vineyard in these Last Days!

And speaking about international moments - this week we worked with a family coming to the Temple to do baptisms for the first time after having been baptized three months ago - they are originally from Iran. He and his wife and two small children left Iran about a year before things became impossible. He is a professor teaching in Poland for a time, but he is considering a move to teach in a German university. They came with a lovely couple serving 

Hansen's with Iranian Family

as Senior Missionaries in Poland, the Hansens. The newly baptized wife mentioned several times that the "atmosphere" was so different and special. I think that's the first time I heard someone refer to the Spirit's presence as atmosphere. However, it was very clear that the moments in the temple were very special for her. As he baptized her, I had very strong feelings about the beauty and power of the Priesthood. He was helping her do something she couldn't do for herself. In addition, of course, they were doing some things for those who have passed on that they can't do for themselves any more. What a beautiful round circle of completion the Lord has planned for His children!

April, 2018

Dietmar and Ilona Harzt with Lyn and Lee

The month of April ushered in with a musical concert at the Nicolaikirche with Ilona and Dietmar Harzt. She is a wonderful friend in the Freiberg Branch who has great interests in music which we share. She is the Music Chairwoman, and so far, we have worked together with all the missionary sisters plus Presidency wives singing "As Sisters in Zion" arranged for the German language, sung a missionary choir piece, and played a four-hand piano duet together in Sacrament Meeting.
                                                                      
We were so delighted as they invited us to attend a concert in the Nikolaikirche in downtown Freiberg.                                                                       

Nicolaikirche - exterior walls

                             


The Church was originally used in 1175. From that early time, its remaining Romanesque style was developed in the 13th century.  During the next centuries, 14th and 15th, the church was rather dramatically altered as  the very different arches of the Gothic style system were incorporated.                                             

Great changes occurred again when the building was given over for use by the city of Freiberg in the later 1900's. Since then it has been dedicated as a concert location. The acoustics and visible interior elements are wonderful. Walking into the building from the outside is like walking through walls from centuries ago right into today's world.

     
As Ilona is the Music Chair, she has scheduled me to conduct Sacrament Meeting music once a month - a pure delight for me. It is so wonderful to look out over all the wonderful Saints as we sing together. I've had a great opportunity to try to encourage other conductors to look up from their music and and actually guide the Branch singers. It is so terrific to actually notice many more people looking up. Sometimes in the past, and especially in our Temple Preparation Meetings where I have been blessed to lead the hymns each morning as we prepare ourselves for reverence and learning for the day, people stare at the hymn books as if they've never seen the words before. Of course, for some of the missionaries I can understand that. However, after a year or so, I think everyone has sung the hymns long enough to be able to look up and return my very happy musical smile! It's a goal. There's a wonderful older Brother, Brother Schmidt, a Sealer, who almost always bears his testimony by starting out: "Being the oldest member of the Branch...," in German, of course, who just beams right back at me. His darling wife does the same. Of course, the Apel Family - Frank and Helga (the senior members from President Monson's book), Angela and Heike, their daughters and their son, Jens, all have the words memorized from years, and they smile and tell me how much they can tell I love the music, too!

Angela Fröbel recently asked me if I would like to teach a Relief Society lesson. I've thought about it since, and after her great lesson today on caring and feeling a great love for all of our sisters and especially for those for whom we've been specifically called to "minister," I might suggest that we team teach a lesson. She has asked me some questions about what to do with people who are always contributing (too much for others to be able to think a minute and add), etc. I think it would be great to work together to show team teaching as a great idea AND, of course, it would be great for me to be able to work with a German!

Italian Sister with Three Temple Friends

This week in the Temple we had a great opportunity - working with a young Italian woman. She luckily spoke very good English and some German. She was converted when she met missionaries several years ago and went to the temple previously in Switzerland. Her work began this week in the Baptistry for ancestors and then other ordinances were completed throughout the Temple. It was great to work with her and try to remember some Italian from 40+ years ago. It has caused me to consider about how much Italian help I could be in the Rome Temple!

Easter Toast in Missionary Room

And, of course, with the Spring coming, we as missionaries and the Temple Presidency celebrated its arrival and the coming of Easter in our typical missionary room gathering style. Here's a great toast being given. President and Sister Erlacher on the left look very happy. They have been serving for many years in their calling - the Temple was closed for a while for renovation, but they were still responsible for its overseeing - and are beginning to feel some of the joy of returning to children and grandchildren in Austria. Their daughter and granddaughter are both living in Mexico now. I know they are going there to visit after they go home. His first counselor, Viktor Wadosch has already been announced as the next President, so their lives will definitely be changing dramatically also.

Viktor and Karin Wadosch and Heike and Peter Schoenherr

They have lived in Freiberg for three years plus - they were able to return to their home in Austria during the renovation - but they have had a nice long training time. He is an amazing linguist addition to the Temple. We have been able to assign him to help in the United Nations' veil sometimes with English, French, German, Czech and some Hungarian. I hope the missionaries will receive more training in being able to help with more of these languages. I was able to help with German and French somewhat. I would love to have learned the basics of the Czech language to help there. Some of the stability of the Temple remains as the Recorder, Peter Schoenherr has been there longer than either of these two presidents.

Lyn in Daffodil Brilliance

As thee early Spring days have come, the Temple grounds have received beautiful plantings all around. The daily daffodils have sprung up with their wonderful bright yellows and then rather quickly been replaced with new colorful pansies (my Grandpa Hocking's favorite flower).

And these pansies are patterned in amazing style - vivid sunrises from one walking direction and from another direction sunsets. It's always wonderful to see the crew arriving in their trucks. They manage to bring outside adornment to the Lord's House no matter the season. It's just another tribute to this particular House of the Lord. Of course, we haven't been to any House of the Lord that is not beautifully cared for inside and out!

Pansy Sunrise or Sunset

Even looking out our apartment window this time of year was beautiful with golden Forsythia bushes everywhere. I wouldn't trim them into this form, but they're still very wonderful reminders that Spring is next! Of course, in this photo we saw that a thundering storm was not far behind the flowering photo. I guess it takes some of that to be able to enjoy "April showers bring May flowers."

Forsythia before Storm

This photo shows a the backyard of a very lively family with children and a grandchild who were very audibly a part of our surrounds.

Lee in Quick Train Shot

Of course with all of these beautiful floral invitations to be outside, Lee and I were often there walking our 10,000 steps not quite completed by a day in the Temple. Friedeberg, a small, newer "village" right next to the Temple grounds was a favorite place to walk. There were several Freiberg Gemeinde members who lived there or very nearby in apartment buildings. I think I mentioned these homes in some of our first adventures outdoors. There were always beautiful rhododendrons, azaleas, hydrangeas, grapes, and many kinds of fruit trees all part of smaller lots which were probably only created within 10 year. Very unusual for us, there was also a train track with a speeding newer passenger train going by nearly always at 3:45 p.m. and then less frequently we'd see older freight trains duirng the weeks.We tried so many times to catch a photo of one of these trains whizzing by under very unguarded railings. One afternoon toward evening I was quick enough. It was very interesting to see these tracks and trains so near many lovely newer homes on the "right" side of the tracks with only a three foot guardrail.

Lyn as Captured Tree Moss Nymph

One day as we progressed along a path which easily took us from these neighborhood homes and yards directly into a forest right next "door," we found ourselves walking through many older trees which showed the moist climate for which Freiberg and the "Erzgebirge" (Ore Mountains) are famous.This particular part of the "Wald" had a mixture of old and newer trees. As we were walking along in the sun-setting afternoon of early Spring, I suddenly noticed standing right in front of me a "forest nymph." A quick photo of that little green one has reminded me of that lovely afternoon turning into evening in a nearby forest - memorialized!