02-12-2011 Point Alpha-Hot Spot of History

This morning we started out on our Senior outing at 9:30 AM with Elder & Sister Hermann. They are the couple who we play Phase 10 with at least once a week. We caught up with the other couples at Check Point Alpha. On the way we ran into snow, as you can see from the pictures. It is a little bit North of Frankfurt. I don't know how much history of America during the Cold War you have read about, or have personal knowledge of, but you are about to find out. Brother Walters was put in charge of this blog as there were too many facts for me to keep straight and he is the history buff in the family.

POINT ALPHA
On Saturday the 12th of February 2011 The senior missionaries went to see Point Alpha near Fulda, Germany. Fulda is about 90 miles northeast of Frankfurt. Point Alpha is another 20 miles northeast of Fulda. There the U.S. Army set up an observation tower to watch the East German/Russian Armies. Germany's geography is shaped like a lady's figure. The thinnest part or waist is at Fulda, meaning, East Germany pokes into West Germany at its narrowest point. Fulda is also the center of Germany. It is because of these facts that the Joint Chiefs of Staff concluded that an attack on West Germany would most likely come from that section of the country and allow the enemy to cut the country in half and be in Frankfurt in only a few days.

Point Alpha therefore was set up at that place because it over looked two valleys in the eastern sector of East Germany. Their conclusions proved correct. The East moved hundreds of tanks into that sector several times to see what the West would do. Naturally, we moved even more tanks to counter any surprise like what happened in Pearl Harbor, However, we luckily didn't have to go to war at all during the Cold War period.

Some interesting things you may not be aware of though, is that East Germans cut a wide path through the dorfs (small villages) and forrests soon after WWII. The local farmers with land that fell on both sides of the imaginary lines (patrolled by both east and west Germans) crossed to work or buy food and seed or to see a doctor. The East German guard would say Guten Tage to the west German farmer when he came from the west to work his farm. The west German guard did the same to the east Germans who needed supplies from the west, because the east was pillaged by Russia on Stalins orders. It was difficult to survive in east Germany, but this wonderful relationship lasted until the early sixties. Then the Berlin Wall went up and East Germany built fences through towns and farms. But that only increased the flow of immigrants from the East to the west. Barbed wire electrified fences and land mines stopped many but creative and innovative ways permitted many to escape their prison.

We work with two brothers from east Germany and their testimonies always bring me to tears. Their life was extremely difficult. We have pictures of east Germans watching us thru binoculars as we are watching and photographing them. We toured one museum that had West German history and then drove six hundred yards over to the old East German side and toured their museum, very interesting and educational. The most impressive thing there, was a picture of Helmut Kohl the Prime Minister of Germany, President George Bush senior. and Gorbachov of Russia in 2005, honoring the taking down of the Berlin Wall in 1989. It was truly a historical moment.






















East German uniforms & Propaganda pamphlets



















East German Bike, car and a view from Tower
























Sister Walters and her new friend/Elder Walters in the Tower













Uniforms, old look out tower and Truman, Churchill & Stalin meeting
























Historical Meeting 2005 and Memorial & red line of demarcation East & west GE.
















This is the Missionary group tanks and look out Tower

Feb 09 2011 - Quarterly Missionary Zone Conference

Today we went to Frankfurt for our Second Quarterly Senior Missionary Zone Conference. Our Theme was on Unity. Our Scripture was Ephesians 4:13 "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." Our first speaker was Elder Teixeira, who is our area 70. He commented that Senior Missionary couples as well as Single sister companions don't always get along as they should. It is hard to spend 24-7 with one another, even if it is your husband or wife who you dearly love. He gave some tips on growing closer to our companions. I'm sure that these same things would help any marriage.
1. Pray with your companions night and day.

2. Plan a set time to study scriptures. Don't just read, but actually discuss what you have read.

3. Make friends with other members and missionaries.

4. Search and find out those things which are good in the world. He read Psalms 92:14 "They shall still bring forth fruit in old age, they shall be fat and flourishing." We all found that very amusing, that Senior missionaries would be flourishing and possibly fat. Of course after he said that he also added that our young missionaries are golden but the Senior Missionaries are platinum. They are rare and more valuable.

5. We should dedicated to learning the language and trying to speak to those we meet in their native tongue. It is a great barrier not to know the German language. If you have time to watch TV, you have time to study your German. The Lord will put the power of his word into our mouths but we must first put something into our brains.

6. We must not let little disagreements get between us. That is Satan's tool. He said that during the early days of the church in Christ's time, the apostles did not always agree. He read from Acts, telling us about the problems that Paul and Barnabus had. Even though Paul was loved by the people and was a great missionary he still had problems getting along with Barnabus who was his missionary companion. Things got so bad between them that they actually separated. He did explain that later Paul felt moved upon to set that relationship right even though a long time had lapsed. We must take care of our disagreements as soon as possible. He promised us that because we are serving this mission we will be blessing our children and grandchildren back home and we will be able to bless them after we pass to the other side. That was certainly comforting.

7. He talked about receiving revelation in our lives and he explained that our General Authories receive revelation for us as members of the church. He told us that during this last General Conference he and all the other 70's were in meetings non stop for those three days. He said it was wonderful to sit at the feet of the apostles and to be taught by revelation what they should know. On his last day there he received a call from Elder Christopherson who is one of the 12 apostles. He asked him to come to his office the next morning as he had something to discuss with him. When he got to his office Elder Christopherson said he had been to the temple three times that week and each time he was impressed to call elder Teixeira to help him translate a Temple dedicatory prayer that he was to give in a few months in Angola, Africa. Elder Teixeira asked him how he knew about him and he said that he had received a prompting to call him. He also added that he also wanted it recorded in the Portuguese language as he wanted to review it to make sure that he would be able to give it in Portuguese. He also asked Elder Teixeira if he could have it back to him by that evening? Elder Teixeira said he would be glad to do that. He immediately went back to his Hotel and started typing the prayer in Portuguese. He never stopped until it was finished. He felt good about it but knew that would only be his first draft, so he proof read it and to his surprise there were no mistakes. He reread it three times but each time was the same, no mistakes. He knew that the Lord was with him that night. He had it recorded and took it back to Elder Christopherson as requested. He closed by saying that what seems impossible to us is not impossible to the Lord. He reminded us that the scriptures say "My ways are not thy ways, saith the Lord".

8. Watch that we do not judge one another using competitive comparisons. That is when we compare our callings to others, making judgments as to which callings are more important, making that person more superior than another. He quoted I Cor 12:21 & 23 "And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee, nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of thee......And those members of the body which think to be less honorable, upon these we bestow more abundant honors, and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness ," What he was saying is that as missionaries we should always feel that no matter what we are called to do, it is important to the Lord and needful. He made all positions in the church to work together for our good to accomplish the mission of the church. One is not above the other, they must all come to a unity of Christ.

9. We must remember to always speak well of each other. Eph 4:31-32 "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice... And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted. Forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." He also quoted 3 Nephi 11:29 " For verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me but is of the devil, who is the father of contentions, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another." Avoid all contention as it does not leave room for the Holy Ghost to stay with you whether you are right or wrong. This was a great thing to remember when trying to be united.

The second talk was given by Brother Taylor who is one of the mental health advisors. He talked about a couple who had been together 50 years but they could no stand one another. He read D& C 130:20, "There is a law irrevocably decreded in Heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated, and when we obtain any blessings from God it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated." Likewise if we do not follow the laws of a successful marriage no matter how faithful you are in the church, no matter how much you do good for your family or your friends, you will not have a successful marriage. He also quoted Matt 6:22-23 " The light of the body is the eye: If therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.....But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. Therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness." He wanted us to know that if we are thinking negative thoughts we will speak evil thoughts. Let virtue garnish our thoughts unceasingly. Try to be positive when reacting to our partners. It is only a frame of reference as to who is right and who is wrong. You may be right and so might he.

Sister Windley played an organ solo, "How Great Thou Art" That was beautiful. Another Piano solo was played by Sis Boone, "Oh Divine Redeemer". While she was playing, I had a very strong feeling that my Father was there with us, sitting by me listening to the conference. He loved that song and we had it sung at his funeral. He also loved his mission that my parents went together on to the Oklahoma city, Oklahoma Mission. I want my children to know how much I love the Lord, and how grateful I am to be on a mission here in Germany. The church is true, that is why we have given our time to the Lord. We hope he blesses our family as we are away from them.

The third talk was given by Elder Boone and Bro Swenson. It was on "How to make our Temple service more meaningful." 1. Take a family name with you to have their work done. 2. Take off your watch. Your time in the Temple is timeless, do not think about the world or your daily life. 3. Before you go to the Temple, prepare yourself by reading the scriptures and listening to good music. Did you know that the song most sung in the Temple is? "I Need Thee Every Hour". The workers in the Temple partake of the sacrament as group once a month. This brings unity to the group. After the Prophet Joseph Smith died, he appeared to Brigham Young the next President and told him to tell the Saints that everything would be well with them if they are unified one with another. At the time the Nauvoo Temple was completed they had done 5,000 endowments in those few short months before they were driven out of their homes. That was no easy task, as it took 11 hours to perform one endowment.

The entire conference was a spiritual boost for Elder Walters and myself. We are so blessed to be instructed by a General Authority every three months.

05 Feb 2011 Great Vibes at Ronneburg Castle-Fort

Today we only worked a half day at our fix it house so the rest of the day we went to Ronneburg about 10 miles from Freigerisch. We took a few pictures on the way so you could see some of the houses and old barns which I found interesting. We found some chickens and ducks that thought I was going to feed them so they all came running. As you can see there is no snow left in our part of Germany and the weather is a little warmer, 40 degrees. We saw a church and someones large estate. Lucky dogs!

































When we reached the castle or fortress it was a grand site sitting on a hill above the countryside. We wound around a bit until we reached the entrance. We arrived too late to take the tour but we still had enough light to capture the grandeur of the fortress. As Gene and I walked over the stone bridge we immediately felt a great spirit about the place. It was like we had come home. We didn't know until later why we had that feeling but I will let you figure that out as you read on. The following is a short History of Ronneburg.

This Fortress was built in the 13th century, not as a castle, but as a fortress. The name means a fort built from tree trunks. The town's people in
the surrounding hillsides paid for the upkeep of certain parts of the fort and in turn they received the right to protection in case of invasions or emergencies. The ownership passed from one Lord to another until 1621 when a major portion of the castle burned down. Restoration started in 1750 and the Earls declared it as a sanctuary of religious faith and was opened to the Hugenots who had been driven out of France. During the last of the 18th Century, numerous French families lived in the Castle.

It became again a place of refuse for other religious groups such as the Inspired Sect and the Herrnhuter Brotherhood. In the 1830's there arose a problem with the Custom's boundaries which forced many Ronneburg inhabitants to immigrate to America. You might recall the name Amana which is associated with the Amana freezers and refrigerators. They were part of this group that immigrated to Amana, Iowa. The only people left were poor craftsman and shopkeepers. Today the castle guide lives in part of the castle and loves to tell stories. There is also a great restaurant where they have excellent food along with a wine cellar.

The Castle itself is laid out beautifully with an original ring wall. I hope the pictures do it justice. The tower Dom with its four balconies is a unique piece designed and built by the Welsh mason Jacob Boldonino in 1581. The little dungeon was built between the tower and the well house where the ladies would sit in the sun out of the wind and do their mending, handwork and reading. For your information, the winds here are quite uncomfortable in the winter but I imagine they are a well received reprieve in the hot summers. I got a close up picture of a Peacock that roams freely within the courtyard. There are two of them and we were told that at one time their were other females and they had a bunch of little babies but one day they found that the females and the babies had disappeared. They could never figure out why, but they think it was because someone did not like the sound of the Peacocks when they were trying to attract the females, so they took them to another location. Another interesting building was the Witches Tower or Torture Tower, so named, because this is where they held the witch trials in the late 1500's

We had a great day but we regretted not being able to see the inside of the Courtyard. I guess we will have to wait and go with our girls when they come this summer. That's when the festivals begin. Ronneburg is famous for their little shops and food vendors as well as entertainment. Can't wait.