A Year's Ending and a New One Beginning

Dresden Stake Conference, May 5-6, 2018

What a special day to attend again a Stake Conference signalling nearly the end of one year of service in our Freiberg Temple. It was wonderful to walk into a very well attended conference in a spacious remodelled older building. It was previously known that the Stake Presidency would be re-organized, so there were many people seated more than an hour ahead.

Owen's Dark-eyed Twin

Last year when we arrived for this meeting, we could barely keep our eyes open - we had only arrived from home after 14 or so hours of traveling - as we entered this large building in which we knew nearly no one. As previously mentioned in our blog I did met again the woman whom I had worked with in the Salt Lake City Family History Library, International Floor, and helped her find her early German ancestors from the 1600's within this general area of Germany. However, among all the people attending who were unknown to us, I did sit behind and take photos of a darling little boy whose dark, large eyes reminded me so much of Owen Stevens,

Almost Exactly One Year Later

one of our darling grandsons whom we had just left! As I sat down this year it was so amazing - directly in front of us was sitting that same little boy, a grandson of the Kux family - a year older and a little more red-headed.

This year we now know, through many wonderful personal experiences, many of those who are attending. We were part of the musical choir for the Saturday evening session this year. Many of the singers were from our Freiberg Branch and Ward. The conductor and his wife, the Thomas Lehmann's, is a couple we see in the temple as assigned temple workers. Their son, David, is our very young and talented Branch 2nd Counselor. When I translate for the Branch Sacrament Meeting and he is speaking, he always prepares his thoughts and quotes typed ahead for me, because he speaks so quickly and with a distinct dialect from Saxony - very difficult to understand at a mile a minute! Since we have been living in this area, we have found that so many of the very active members stem from just a few names: Lehmann, Dzierzon, Apel, Kux, Siebold and, of course, others. These people have come from some of the earliest convert families who were able to be converted to Christ and to His gospel in a poor and post war-torn Communist country and live their faith in and through very trying times. Those early, strong testimonies were shared within families. The fruits of their labors are wonderful to see!

One of the most touching personal moments I have had since our arrival as we have worked with great German temple workers was to become a close personal friend of Gudrun Kux. She was part of a group of three sisters, two of whom would come to work with their husbands every Friday. The third sister also came along to work all day on Friday without her own husband. He would come at another time as he drove three elderly sisters to attend a session each week on another day. Sister Kux, Sister Lehmann and Sister Jaursch were so dedicated!

Dear Sister Gudrun Kux

We often worked together for months in an assignment which only involved women temple workers, so we came to know each other very well. I remember the day Gudrun Kux said she would only be able to work for a couple of hours because of rather severe back pains. She wasn't able to return for quite a while, and then we were told that she had a return of cancer from which she had recovered six years ago. This time the cancer had spread throughout her body. Lee and I went to visit her in their home - on the fourth floor of a building without an elevator. It was great to visit with her and her husband. He ended our visit with a very tearful prayer. She was often in great pain that day, but her smiling face was a witness of how happy she was for our visit. Within a week, she mercifully died. Because of another good German friend who spoke to the temple presidency for me when they came on the day of funeral, I was allowed to find substitutes for me throughout the day so that I could attend her funeral. What a great  witness of a faithful mother and the blessing she has been to her strong family members. Sons spoke of her personal influence and the gospel's influence in all of their lives. I had also come to know several of the family members including a daughter and a granddaughter as they had come to be in the temple many time as proxies.

Grave site of  Gudrun with Family Members

Standing together at the grave site

with everyone surrounding it where a rose from each had been thrown to her coffin (coffins may only be made of wood as they are removed after 7 years for another burial placement), we sang together "Nearer My God to Thee." What a tribute. I was so blessed to be there! 

Brightly Flowered Rapeseed Plants

As can be seen from the beautiful green everywhere in this cemetery, the season has turned into beautiful Spring everywhere in Germany. As we drive to Dresden from Freiberg, we see fields striped with brilliant yellow rows of rapeseed plants. They are used to make that wonderful Canola oil we have been healthfully using for such a long time. Unfortunately, they are sometimes also used to make fuel. I have never seen fields of them before. I have heard many Germans complain about the terrible misuse of a food crop for fuel instead of it being used to alleviate hunger in so many parts of the world. Many of these good people are  very sensitive about our use or misuse of Mother Earth.

I also have appreciated the way the lush lands all around us are cared for in their seasons. It feels like stepping back in time sometimes as I see smaller farms being cared for by individual farmers who are using mechanical means of planting and harvesting, but on such a lovely smaller scale than I see at home often. The brighter and darker shades of greens fit so beautifully with these stripes of yellow.

Our Temple grounds are regularly maintained with shrubs and trees of green pruned and being added to with seasonal renewed floral plantings.

Lyn with Day Daffodils Dimming at Sunset

It was a big surprise returning one evening to the Temple to see long rows of delightful  daffodils suddenly sprouting and dancing the the Freiberg wind! The many fading heather plants placed all around the Temple during the Fall to Winter months originally adding many colors have also been replaced with pansy patterns and now begonia flowers.

As the evening was setting, the purples, pinks, yellows and blues seemed to be echoing one another in the sky and on the ground. What a beautiful piled-high pansy center of my Grandpa Hocking's favorite flower!

The rising sun painted with plants can also be seen as the setting sun depending on when we happen to be passing by these plantings. It is wonderful to meet our visiting brothers and sisters sitting on the grounds on white benches enjoying a day spent in service to their ancestors. Many Saints come from many miles sometimes traveling together as groups of all ages. Others come with just one or two other passengers to work sometimes for only a many-houred day while others are able to come with their names and remain very busy through a week or two. 

Mid-Singles Conference, 2018

The Herberge - a place where visitors performing temple work may remain - is a great place to meet and eat with friends and family. When the Mid-Singles Conference occurs - watch out - there isn't much space for anyone else to join in. What a great meeting spot! There are so many wonderful young people seeking to find one other who might be interested in so many of the same important life's decisions and desires. Sitting here in the front row is a cousin's daughter of Judith Stewart, a very dear friend and director of a choir with whom I was blessed to sing for more than 30 years!