13 Mar 2011 Valient Class-Lesson on Prayer

Today was one of the highlights of our mission. We taught the Valient boys about prayer. This class is rather challenging as there are some differences in ages, plus we have 10 of them at times. They are all very knowledgeable in the gospel but they do love to talk, as boys normally do, and so we have to sit on them (figuratively speaking) during opening exercises. But I have to say our prayers are being answered. They are all bringing their scriptures, they are participating in finding their scriptures and they have been so attentive, especially this Sunday. We always try to make it interesting, throwing in activities, lots of pictures and really interesting stories so when we lose them, we change up our methods. Bro Walters usually gives the meat of the lesson as he is the expert on the scriptures and I fill in with the fun stuff.

We talked about prayer and what is appropriate to pray about and when. They all agreed that you can pray over everything that is a concern to you. The answers we got were:
1, Pray when you are afraid
2. When you need help on a test (If you studied first)
3. When you are sick (asking for a blessing)
4. So we can do better in school or sports
5. When we want our plants to grow or our animals to get well
6. When we have lost something
7. When we lose our way
8. When we have done something wrong
9. For protection during the day and night
10. When we want to thank Heavenly Father for everything
11. When we are fasting or reading the scriptures
12. When you want to feel the spirit more

I do believe that these boys know their Heavenly Father personally with answers like these. I told them a story that you might be interested in hearing. They were all ears, as it was about something that happened in Germany in 1939 before WWII. Even at that early date, the church knew that the area of Germany and Czechoslovakia and the surrounding areas would not be safe for the Missionaries, so President Wood of the Frankfurt, Germany mission told all missionaries to buy a ticket to the Netherlands and go there until they were told what to do. The problem was, that the German government told all its citizens that if they were traveling they could only carry a small amount of money. The missionaries, trying to obey the laws spent all of their money before they were to travel to the Netherlands. The Mission President got word at the last minute that the borders of the Netherlands had been closed to anyone leaving Germany. He had no way of contacting the missionaries as they were in route. he asked if there was a missionary who could try to find the other 31 missionaries and would be willing to take enough cash to buy tickets for all of them to Denmark. Elder Seibold, a missionary, volunteered to do the job, but he did not know how we would accomplish such a hard task. He was given 500 marks and train tickets to Copenhagen, Denmark. His assignment was to travel the railway lines between Frankfurt and the Netherlands, searching for the stranded missionaries. The only person he could rely on was his Heavenly Father's spirit to guide him.

After 4 hours on the train and a lot of prayers being said, he reached Cologne, Germany. He felt the spirit say to get off of the train and go to the station which was filled with thousands of people trying to flee Germany. He was impressed to whistle the hymn "Do What is Right" which was the song to signal the gathering of missionaries. Eight missionaries heard that tune and Elder Seibold sent them safely to Denmark. When he stopped at other stations he was impressed to stay on the train, and other times he was impressed to walk into town, always singing the same tune. He found 9 more and sent them to safety. The last 14 missionaries had reached the Netherlands before the border was closed but Elder Seibold did not stop searching until he received a spiritual confirmation that his assignment was complete. The story was to show the boys that because Elder Seibold prayed and listened to the spirit, all 31 missionaries were safe.

We did a lot of scripture reading about prayer. Elder Walters told the story of Enos in the Book of Mormon, how he prayed for an entire day and night. The boys said, "Did he say the same thing over and over again?" We could not answer that question but they were thinking. We went over three big words that the boys did not know ,which were hypocrites(appearing to be good when you are bad or appearing to be bad when you are good) vain repetitions( using the same words over and over again in a contrite manner) and heathen (A person that worships Idols). Then he talked about Jesus Christ and his prayer to his Heavenly Father in Gethsemane. It was at this point that Elder Walters could not hold back the tears. He bore a very strong testimony of the sacrifice that Jesus made for each of them and how it was difficult for Jesus to go through what he had to. He prayed to his Father in Heaven to let that cup pass from him but he was willing to do what his Father needed him to do. That was how much he loved us. I can testify to you that those boys felt that testimony and it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. How thankful I am that I have a husband who can share that testimony with others.

I gave each of them a picture of the Savior in Gethsemane and on the back, the Lords prayer. They were told that in this manner they should pray: First address Heavenly Father by his name, thank him for our blessings, ask for things that we need and close in the name of his Son Jesus Christ. Prayer is so important in our lives. We need to let Heavenly Father know that we still love him and appreciate the things that he has given us. We should not be afraid to talk to him as we would our own earthly father. Our concerns are his concerns and he knows all of our needs before we even ask for them. I have included a few pictures of the boys. We love them all and want to remember who they were and how they looked when we were here on our mission. A great ending to a great day.

The boys names are Joseph Milnes, Adriano Demartin, Thibault Francois, Marshall Barlow, Claudio Demartin, James Ninow, Jared Simone and Ethanael Simonet. Pictures were of all boys except Marshal he was not here on this Sunday. I will include his picture later. Love these boys.

03-12-2011 Idar Oberstein & Bernkastle Kues-A Castle Double Hitter

This is the Felsenkirche built in the Mountain and the Schloss on top.








































This is a Jewish monument to families that were deported from 1933-1945












This was a very interesting day. Last night, Bro. Whirthlin, the Director of Physical Facilities in Europe and our boss, invited us to go with him and his beautiful wife plus two other couples, the Gerratts and the Boones on an outing. We were going to the Gem capitol of Germany. Every store in Idar Oberstein sold gems and jewelry in one form or another. The town was interesting, built in 1320, it lies within a deep narrow valley which is cut through volcanic rock. The backdrop for Idar Oberstein is a huge mountain with a church carved into the side of it. There is a very interesting story attached to this church.

In the 1400's two brothers who were Earls and Knights lived in the castle(Schloss Oberstein) which is located on the top of that mountain. One of them found out his brother was in love with Bertha, the same girl he was in love with. To get rid of his competition he pushed his brother out a window and he fell on a cliff below killing him instantly. To make a long story short, he married Bertha, she took off and he was left to grieve the loss of his brother. To repent of his sins, he built a memorial or a church which he called the Felsenkirche on the side of the mountain at the very point where his brother's body landed. They say he knew when God had forgiven him, because a new spring appeared near the church. That is a real Grimm's Fairytale if you ask me. It does make a beautiful backdrop for the town however. I have included a few pictures. I could not hike up this one, it was 240 steps, so me and Sister Gerratt sat at a cafe and had chocolat, which was the best I ever had, lots of whipped cream and cinnamon on top. After sitting for quite a while we decided on pommes frites (French fries). By the time everyone got back we were not hungry for lunch but we went anyway. After lunch we had a spaghetti ice. I don't know if they have them in the states or not but they are outrageous. Shaved ice cream to look like spaghetti, strawberry topping to look like sauce and grated white chocolate to look like cheese. We shared, and it was even better that way. Off to another Castle adventure.















This is a picture of cloths hanging on a line outside the Castle
















After leaving Idar Oberstein we traveled 27 miles to a place called Bernkastle Kues. Now that was a truly beautiful ride along the Mossell River which Elder Walters says originates in France. It is known for its many vineyards. It is also a well known health resort. It is actually Germany's largest town in land mass. It has a very wet climate which makes it an ideal place for growing grapes. The earliest human habitation here was in 3000 BC. The Romans controlled it for a while and then the town of Bernkastle was built in the 1100's.

The castle itself has never been renovated so you see it as it actually was. In the courtyard they have a quaint little restaurant which overlooks the Mossell River and the town of Bernkastle. The vineyards go on and on forever. I could only walk up to the castle, which was a nice little hike but let Elder Walters and part of the group hike the rest of the way up into the tower where he took additional pictures from the top. I can't believe I made it all the way back which was actually going up hill and that was on a cobblestone path. You can't believe how hard it is to walk on cobblestones. Everything is so uneven. Your feet and ankles get tired. Just doing a little griping I guess. Elder Walters does fine however. He makes up for what I can not do.

This town is a must see at Christmas time. On December 4th of this next year, there will be a celebration where swimmers will carry a torch along the Mossell River and pass it to one another until they reach the Marktplatz. I have to see someone crazy enough to dive into the icy waters. We will be going here next Christmas. This town has 41 half timbered houses which are all decorated up and they have things to eat and buy for Christmas. Another interesting fact is that on May 9-11, 2008 Bernkastle hosted the Boy Scouts Intercamp Camporee for Scouting Counsels from the U.S., Canada, Czech Rep, Germany France and other European countries, interesting, as I thought Germany did not have a scouting program. On our way back we stopped for some treats while we traveled for 2 plus hours home. Oh and don't miss seeing the statue of the boy getting his proper spanking. I guess they don't believe in sparing the rod and spoiling the child at this place of business. Early to bed to be ready to teach our class on Sunday.