This afternoon we visited the Hanau Ward and went to Sacrament meeting. Afterwards we talked with the director of the Family History Center, Bro. Peter Pieper. We did a quick inventory of their equipment and they had one working computer as well as two microfilm readers. Don't you all feel a bit guilty with all the equipment we have at our FHC in California? Just kidding, however, we are very blessed in the USA. They are very grateful for what they do have here in Germany. Like the Lord says, the more people that use the Center, the bigger the center will become. We are doing baby steps here but interest is growing among the members. Most of the centers here in Europe are all attended by non-members.
We are trying to do more training with the Young Adults. Since the centers are so close to one another, there is a big need to utilize each others resources which is perspective members of the church. Everyone can do Indexing and we are concentrating on that area in our seminars. Our feeling is that in order to have a strong Family History program there is a need for a Stake that is supportive of the program. Since working in this area of our mission, we have come to appreciate how easy it is for the Saints in the US to do their Genealogy. Take advantage of all the available hours.
We took pictures of the Chapel and the grounds. It is a small ward and some people come from as far away as 100 miles to go to church so getting here to do FH is not convenient. Those people doing research also have the hardship of having to read the old Sutterlin (Old German) handwriting. You know how hard Old English is to read, well old German is way harder. We give the young people booklets full of examples of Sutterlin. We had a meeting recently with the Mission President and he said he needed us to work more closely with the young missionaries. I think we will be going out with them on splits more often now. He said the gathering in Europe has begun and the Lord will help us to bring them into the fold. We love President and sister Schwartz. Their personalities are magnetic and their spirits are so strong. They were on a couples mission in Berlin and when that was finished they called him to be the new President of the Frantfurt Mission. Originally they are from the Bavarian area. It is amazing how one day you ask the Lord for more opportunities to share the gospel and the next day he presents a way to do it. President Schwartz said there are thousands of young people in Germany joining groups to talk about Jesus. We just need to find those groups and teach them the truth.
We enjoyed our day and the new people we were able to meet. Sundays are a special day.
No comments:
Post a Comment