19 Oct 2011 Greifenstein Castle

On our way to Hamm Germany,, we spied a castle over to the left of the freeway. Read the sign saying Greifenstein Castle 5 km's away, so we took the exit. This castle was built in the early 1200's and is a remarkable place. It is in ruins today but still has the existing bells that were made there. There is a museum that houses 50 of these bells, large and small. We wandered the extensive walk ways, which by the way, has the most unique pattern I have every seen. Within the walls is a Gothic church, a prison with all its torture tools, dual towers that can be reached by a spiral staircase, a horse mill with Royal stables and a Bulwark called "The cake". Here is a staircase that connects downwards between the castle and the village below.

The Castle was owned and rebuilt in the 1600's by Count Wilhelm I. There is a gun turret that leads outside the castle walls. There is also a restaurant today where the wine cellar use to be. Above the stables is the Palas which are ruins of a Medieval Knights Hall. The double towers were built about 1390 with round roofs called the Nassauerturm and the point at the top is called the Bruderturm. This place houses 3 bells. From up here you get a wonderful view of the countryside. The walls of the castle are 7 meters thick and its bulwark could spew flames with its guns, thus it is called, "The Dragon".

In the early days it was the residence of Elisabeth of Solms-Braunfels (who was the sister of William of Netherlands), during the time she was a widow. It took us 1 hour to see this entire castle. Be sure and take special note of the pattern on the walk ways.

15 Oct 2011- Rheinpfals & Mannheim FHC

RHEINPFALS FAMILY HISTORY CENTER














































MANNHEIM FAMILY HISTORY CENTER

















































Got up early today and we headed out to visit two family history libraries, Rheinpfals and Mannheim. We met the director of the Rheinpfals Center, Sister Doris Karp, who took us to two rooms that were filled with readers. Two seemed to be rather old and she said that they had been donated by the City Library. The other three are also old and in need of repair. We talked for a while about the needs of the Library. There is a great need for more computers. We asked about the attendance and she replied that about 20 people use the center and 19 of those are non LDS. It amazes me how dedicated the non members are. I believe the reason behind this is that LDS members have access to European records through on line information. The only reason for going to the FHC would be to view microfilm records. They are open 3-4 hours a day, 4 days a week. The more it is open, the more people will be able to attend. Getting attendance up is a huge goal here.

The LDS members have been commanded to do their genealogy, and more is expected from us, but the non LDS are contributing so much to helping us achieve those expectations. We find that in visiting these centers some are getting more support from the organizations in the church than others. Being invited to Ward Council meetings and giving Genealogy class training really helps the work grow. We were excited to find out that the Missionaries in this Ward are bringing investigators to see the library and get them involved in doing Genealogy. That is what we love to hear. Now that the Missionaries are being trained how to do this work while they are in the MTC, they will be of great help to this most important work for the Salvation of the Dead. We took pictures of the center and then departed for Mannheim.

Upon coming into the center of town we saw a beautiful park that we just had to stop and take pictures of. Mannheim was also a very busy FH center. We found all the equipment neatly put away and looked up. They also had a fairly nice size collection of books that had been donated by families from that area. Sister Ute Zepp was the director and her assistant was Sister Palmer. They were both very enthusiastic and excited that we were there. The Center takes up two big rooms. The average attendance here is about 25 people mostly non members. Sister Zepp was gracious enough to share with us personal experiences that she has had in doing her family research. Her family is from the Baden Wuertenburg area, The same as the Walter's family. We were getting ideas from her as to where Gene's family could have come from and right out of her mouth, without hesitation, came the answer. "The Walter's all came from Karlsruhe". I felt the spirit whisper to me, she is right. Sister Zepp said she has a collection of books that are full of information on her family. She says before she starts her research, she has a prayer and the spirit immediately tells her which book she should look at. Very interesting. I have been asked by the Family History Department to compile all the spiritual experiences that happen to people in Europe.

After taking pictures, Bob and Judy Palmer invited us to go to dinner. It was definitely German food. Gene and I shared a fish dish with the head still on. It was good to be sure., covered with very small crabs. On the side they served a salad and warm potato salad. We had a wonderful conversation with them. They are service oriented people. They told us about the project they were involved in right after the war. They gathered clothes, food, toys and candy as well as farm equipment to take to the people in East Germany . She said it was really difficult to get those things over the border. So now we can add one more couple to our list of good friends in Germany.

After this weekend I am permanately laid up with a ruptured Achilles Tendon problem. Our elevator is being repaired and will be out of commission for 4 weeks. We live on the 5th floor which amounts to 70 big steps. Double that for me, since I do two baby steps for each one. Need to see a doctor but I know I will need an operation to repair it, so my answer is LATER. We want to say hi to all our friends in Vista and we want to see some pictures of the October Fest and we want to know who the winner of the root bear contest was. Sorry we had to miss that, but we will be there next year in full costume. Have a good week.

05 Oct 2011 Sisters Night Out-Humanitarian Project

SISTERS NIGHT OUT-Humanitarian Project




Tonight we were privileged to be a part of one of Helping Hands Humanitarian Projects. Sister Bradley and I, who are in charge of our Sister's Night Out, decided that our missionary sisters would enjoy being involved in a worthy service project and the following was presented to us through Sister Peterson.

This project entailed sewing and assembling Broviac Catheter Bags for children with cancer. These bags hold a permanent catheter that delivers life saving medicine, enabling a child with cancer to move about freely. The bags will be shown at the European Year of Volunteering 2011 exhibit/booth of Mormon Helping Hands projects in Berlin, Germany. Five hundred of these bags will be given to children's hospitals. A total of 23 volunteers were in attendance with a total of 75 donated service hours.

Sister McBride told us that a Sister had to take her small daughter to the hospital for testing and it was determined that her daughter had cancer. All children that are required to under go Chemotherapy are required to have a cath tube that enables them to be treated without having to be poked by a needle each time they go to the hospital. To keep their catheter tube clean and out of the way when not in treatment, they were given a plain bag that was made out of used sheets from the hospital. After her daughter was presented with her catheter bag she was determined to design a bag that any child would be thrilled to have for their very own. She designed it and we are now helping her dream to come true.

Our night of service was a huge success. The ladies were excited to be involved. They brought sewing machines, irons and ironing boards, thread and needles. The material was cut and made into kits that the ladies made into bags. We had a great assembly line going. We had Bro. Jarrett and his wife, who are Humanitarian missionaries here, take pictures of the night as well as bringing each of us a Humanitarian vest to wear.

We really enjoyed ourselves all working together for a common good. I think we will be doing more of these kinds of activities. Sister Bradley was in charge of the refreshments and she made some wonderful Crepes that were served with your choice of nutella (of course-a mainstain in Germany), jams and a combo of lemon juice & puderzuker (powdered sugar). For a list of Humanitarian efforts done by our church throughout the world, you can go to lds.org. The LDS church stays in the backgroud and works through other organizations. We are not doing it for the accolades, we are doing it because the Lord wants us to serve our fellowmen. We love this part of our mission. Everyday we find ways of serving.