CHRISTMAS GREETING

May you all have a Holy and Peaceful Christmas!

This Christmas in the Year of our Lord, 2013, we feel especially blessed to celebrate this sacred season with new friends.  John and I have made a conscious choice not to decorate our apartment or worry about presents for each other.  In past years, we have loved having a shining Christmas tree and our small displays of Nativity scenes throughout our house.  We loved the shopping, baking, and all the "Drum und Dran" (outer signs of Christmas) of the season.

This year we can honestly say that we have Christmas in our hearts and the joy we feel is so much greater than ever before.  Being called as Disciples of Christ has touched us in many unexpected ways.  We have learned to love more deeply, sacrifice more fully, and feel such a fullness of gratitude for our beloved Savior.  We would sing with the choirs in heaven "Wonderful! Counselor!  The Mighty God!  The Prince of Peace".  

Our love for family and friends at home is peacefully contained within the knowledge that our Father in Heaven will look over you and keep you in the next months to come.

May your joy be full.  May you take a minute to reflect on the greatest Gift of all...the babe in Bethlehem that made it possible for us to return to our heavenly home.   

Frohliche Weihnacten!  Alles Gute zum Neuen Jahr!

Elder and Sister Didenhover

First Presidency Christmas Card 2013

SILENT NIGHT, HOLY NIGHT

Merry Christmas!

The long traditional carol from Austria "Silent Night, Holy Night" is by custom never sung before midnight, Christmas Eve in Austria. 

Sing it by your tree for us.  We are keeping Christmas in our hearts this year and forgoing any holiday decorations. We will think of you, dear friends.


 May your New Year be bright !  


Love, Elder and Sister Didenhover

LINZ NATIVITIES 2013

We found out there are 200 displays throughout Linz this Christmas season.  CHRISTMAS is such a big event all during Advent in Austria. 

The Linz Ward has about 205 displayed this year.  Some years they have had much more.  Most of the the creches are hand made (not the lanterns).  For some this is  a year long project making their own creches and even figures.  

  Right now I am listening to the brass quartet.  I wish I could video tape it.  The sound is so typical Austria and you can almost imagine being in a chalet in the mountains with tons of snow outside and a roaring fire inside. 

The sets were amazing and varied.

Brother Didenhover acted as a guide.

Sister Mayer (center, next to me) is the wonderful lady in charge. She is standing
next to one of the several creches that she made.

She also gives classes on how to create one of these detailed nativity scenes.

Today is the last day and most of the visitors seem to be here today.

Each is offered cake or cookies (bakery quality) and a drink of something hot or room temperature.  They even have little cafe tables set up.   We love the Linz Ward.  The people are warm and friendly and welcoming.  They serve one another so eagerly.  

OBEDIENCE

It always amazes me how thoughtful and insightful our young missionaries are.  

Sister Wunderli and Sister Peterson

We had a district meeting yesterday in which Sister Peterson and Sister Wunderli gave a short, but powerful presentation on "Obedience".  Sister Peterson quoted Elder Uchtdorf:

"Isn't it true that we often get so busy?  And, sad to say, we even wear our busyness as a
badge of honor, as though being busy, by itself, was an accomplishment or sign of a superior life.  Is it?  I think of our Lord and Exemplar, Jesus Christ, and His short life among the people of Galilee and Jerusalem.  I have tried to imagine Him bustling between meetings or multitasking to get a list of urgent things accomplished.  I can't see it.  Instead I see the compassionate and caring Son of God purposefully living each day.  When He interacted with those around Him, they felt important and loved.  He knew the infinite value of the people He met." (Ensign Nov.2012)

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

One of my heroes in life is Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965).  One of his famous quotes is:

"The most good we can do is the good God would have us do".

Albert Schweitzer

 His life was a firm example of that.  He had a doctorate in philosophy and a doctorate in theology. He was a published author, a renowned concert organist, and advanced in music theory.  In 1905 he began medical studies.  He had come to realize that God wanted him to do "His good", which was as a doctor in the Congo.  He spent the rest of his life mostly in Lamberene Congo helping the poor and needy as a physician.
He used all the proceeds from royalties to pay for the building of a hospital there.  When he received the Nobel Peace Prize, he used that money to start a hospital for lepers.  He obeyed God's desire for him to serve in a remote, and dangerous place.

As I think of the multiple examples of great obedience throughout the scriptures, I realize that each day I need to pray to know Heavenly Father's will for me.  What must I do this day?

Only as I study the scriptures, pray earnestly, and avail myself of the Holy Ghost's promptings can I be truly obedient.  Rules are easy to follow.  But to know God's will and do it each day is the greater challenge for missionaries and all covenant people.  This I learned from two sweet missionaries from Texas and Hungary.

Blessings come as we seek to know and do God's will.

Have a good, purposeful day today!

WIE GEHTS*

Hi Everyone!

We are always thinking about you all and hoping that you are well and happy.  Dad really loved all the cards he got and all the Skype conversations.  He had a great birthday!  He even got acknowledged by the YSA.

We had quite the adventure traveling to Ravensburg this past weekend.  The train ride was a direct route from Linz and took 5 1/2 hours to Lindau. We had made reservations, but got seats that had us moving backwards.  I tried to keep my eyes closed so as not to get motion sickness.

On the way home it got lots trickier.  The train in Lindau left 3 minutes later than scheduled and so when we got to Bregenz to get onto the direct train back to Linz with out reserved seats,  we were arguing with a railway attendant that we needed to get on that train.  He said it was too late and the doors were locked.  It was just sitting there and then it was gone.  So, our option was to get on a train to Innsbruck and hope it was on time so that we could change trains to Linz there.

We were counting the minutes as we stopped at every small stop along the way.  We had 3 minutes to change trains and still had to find out which platform to race to.  We did make it, just.
With  no reservations we were able to get seats facing forward.

The Buchanans in Ravensburg picked us up and took us to their apartment.  They have a larger apartment than we do and a more modern kitchen with a large dining area and table that can easily seat 8.  But they have three levels of stairs to go up and no elevator.  We took them to our favorite restaurant in Ravensburg and paid as a thank you for letting us stay with them.  We loved getting  to know them.  Elder Buchanan is the branch president and is doing a superb job.  He has taken it upon himself to find every person on the rolls for the past 25 years.  He has found them all except for 3.  His wife loves to cook for the missionaries and investigators.  She was going to make Thanksgiving dinner for the entire branch with a whole turkey that she was able to get at the commissary in Stuttgart.  We became fast friends.

Elder and Sister Buchanan of Ravensburg

Shopping in Ravensburg

Saturday morning we were able to go to the Ravensburg weekly farmers market.  Dad was thrilled. So Sister Buchanan and I went shopping on our own while Dad had a great time exploring. It was so fun to shop with a lady.  We were able to find Dad a winter coat in Ravensburg (just in time for the snow in Linz)!  We then were dropped off to Lissi's  house for lunch.  After lunch we spent the next 6 hours going over every bit of paperwork she had saved from handling Oma's finances.  We did get some geneology info in the long process.  Then we stepped over to Walters house to visit for the next hour.  We didn't get back to the apartment till almost 10:00 PM

Sunday we had been asked to give talks in Sacrament Meeting.  Dad diligently worked on his whenever he could snatch time.  He had his all printed out nicely.  I had a general idea and got up in the middle of the night to finalize my talk.  We were both nervous.  When it came time to give our talks, I realized that I had left half my talk behind at the apartment.  A young sister talked before us and she was so excited to tell all about going to Utah and attending conference that there was very little time left for us.  I motioned to Elder Buchanan to let Dad go first, but he shook his head.  So,  I had to punt.  I had been praying all weekend for the Spirit to guide me.This was truly a challenge for me.  It was wonderful to feel the Spirit helping me remember what to say.  Dad was not able to give his talk, but gave his testimony instead.  As usual, he started with lots of tears.  The missionaries in Linz take bets how long it will take until Dad starts to cry when talking about Gospel subjects.  All went well.

We then had a lovely lunch with the Buchanans, the two elders, and two young men---one from Nigeria, and the other from China. Sister Buchanan makes a special meal whenever an elder is transferred.  The elder gets to choose what he wants for dinner.  She made two great big dishes of shepard pie and it was all eaten.  Those young men can eat!  Each had three giant helpings.

Then we had to rush to the train station.  Sister Buchanan heard that Dad was looking for a coin purse that zipped and so she made one for him.  She is making Christmas gifts for each member of the branch!   As we said our farewells,  Buchanans invited us back soon.  It was a whirlwind weekend, but very packed full of great experiences.

We  love you all tons and bunches!!!!   Love, MOM and DAD

*It means, 'how are you?', or, literally: 'how goes it with you?'. A typical response to this would be 'es gehts mir gut', which means, 'i'm good', or 'it goes well with me'. You could also replace 'gut' with 'schlect' or 'nicht so gut' for 'bad' or 'not so good'. 

WHAT DO YOU DO ALL DAY?

So many people in the Linz Ward ask us "what do you do all day?"

That is so hard to define because it changes constantly. Even when we think we have nothing specific, soon enough we get a call enlisting us to do some service or help teach a lesson.

Here is sample of a week:

Two hours personal and companion study of the gospel daily,
P-day shopping, cleaning, and laundry,
Weekly district meeting for 2-3 hours,
Monthly zone meetings in Salzburg,
FHE with our YSA group and dinner prepared.
Institute in which we teach 2 times each month (In German and English),
Weekly ward missionary correlation meeting,
Dinner appointments with members and contacts,

Weekly visits to a home bound sister and bring in meals,
Be available at a moments notice to go teaching with the elders or sisters,
Visit the missionaries apartments and inspect for cleanliness and needed repairs,
This week we must find the sisters in Wels a new apartment and get it furnished,
Make contacts on the buses and or trains through inspiration,

Take time weekly to plan,
Contact  less active YSA,
Pray a lot!

Well, does that give you an idea?    We love this work!!!

Bis Spater,  Angie

MUSING

Hi Kathy,

Our days are getting more and more filled with activities. 

 We seem to be working closer with the missionaries.  They ask us to join them when teaching investigators.  We love it! 

 Right now there is a lull with the YSA group.  We only have one person left that comes to FHE and usually she says she has to study.  So, until some new young adults come into the program, we have fewer responsibilities. 

But we do teach Institute twice a month---one lesson in English and one in German.  It challenges us, especially in German.

Our testimonies are growing exponentially to all the tasks before us.  I started a personal record of the requests I make of the Lord and then how He answers them.  I am amazed to discover that He has heard all my requests. 

I started a personal record of the requests I make of the Lord and then how he answers them.

I love the ability we have during this intense service time to feel the Spirit on a much deeper and greater scale. Our mission president, during our last interview,  advised us to consider ourselves as missionaries first.  We are here to spread the gospel.  Our calling with the YSA is a stake calling.  He suggested we prepare just as the sons of Mosiah did with much study, prayer, and fasting.  We are learning how to study harder, listen to the Spirit more closely, and how to love others more deeply.

The very cute sisters asked us to join them Saturday teaching a lady and her two children. It was obvious that the lady understood very little.  She is from Iran and can't quite catch on to the concept of a Savior.  To her Jesus Christ was a prophet.  Her situation is such that she cannot take care of her kids (no work) and so they stay at a group home (separately). 

There is a 13 year old girl very shy and withdrawn and a 6 year old boy, sweet and open.  I was immediately drawn to the girl because I was just as shy at her age.  Her mother told us that she is abused in this group home and that she changed from a happy girl to a very quiet, depressed and sad little girl.  The sisters were trying to teach about the nature of God and Jesus Christ.  I felt impressed to pop in and say quite strongly that God is our Father and loves us as His children.  When I said that, Maria, looked up and actually looked at me.  After the lesson, I felt prompted to give her a Book of Mormon since we had been reading out of it. 

And we invited them to church.  The sisters asked the mother to offer a prayer.   She spoke in Arabic a very long prayer which included singing.  It was actually quite beautiful to hear.  We asked them to come to  church, but she declined.

The next day, they were at church.  We were so happy to see them.  Maria clung to me and I went with her to the youth Sunday school class.  The teacher was positive and friendly and I could see that she understood very little of the topics, but I hope she felt the Spirit.  She had her Book of Mormon in her hand and held it like it was super special to her.  I asked one of the girls to sit with her during Young Women and I went to Relief Society. 

 After church, I exchanged email addresses with Maria.  She said she wanted to come again.  Interestingly,  the sisters had said that they were thinking of dropping the mother as an investigator, but somehow they kept on.  Sister Peterson said that now she understood why they kept hanging onto this lady who was not progressing.  Maria needs the gospel, at the very least our love and attention. It is wonderful to know that Heavenly Father is aware of each of His children no matter how obscure or far flung they may feel.

It is wonderful to know that Heavenly Father is aware of each of His children
 no matter how obscure or far flung they may feel.

I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ!  I know that our Father in Heaven loves each of his children. Jesus Christ came to know each of us as he payed the price for our sins.  What comfort this  thought brings!

Have a wonderful day, Kathy.     Love,  Angie (Sister Didenhover or just Sister D.)

AMAZING FAITH

Hello,

This past week we had a Young Single Adult Tagung (conference).  About 50 were expected for the weekend in Linz, but only 13 came.  Despite few in numbers, a good time was had by all.  

We started Friday evening with games, take out Chinese dinner, and a fireside given by the bishop of Linz. They were up till midnight at the YSA center playing games. The YSA center is on the stage with closed doors.  They have made it homey with sofas, comfy chairs, and bookshelves.  The is a computer and flat screen tv for them to enjoy any church videos.

Saturday all helped to make breakfast, and then it was off to do service projects.  Half the group painted rooms at a needy home and the other half went to Enns to do yard work for a family in the ward that are expecting a baby any minute.  We spent about six hours there and great fun was had by all.  Elder Didenhover was in his element. He loves outdoor physical work.  We were able to winterize, cut down trees and cut into firewood.  Palates of bricks were unloaded for a future project.  After all was done and the other group had joined us, we all went to McDonalds.

Eventually, we wound up back at church for more games and fun.  They played WII, singing hit songs from the 80's and dancing.  Then they went to a sport hall to play volleyball.  The church building doesn't have a large gym.

Sunday we met for services and then had homemade pizza afterwards.  It was important for those who had traveled from Salzburg, Vienna, and Munchen to have a meal before their long train rides.  We closed with prayer and warm hugs in parting.

The mission couple before us did a super job getting kids married off in the temple and sending them on missions.  So, right now our numbers are few.  But the few we do have are amazing people.   Let me tell you about one young lady, Iris, who is leaving next week for her mission to Salt Lake Utah County Mission. 

 A year ago she was at her university when she collapsed.  An ambulance rushed her to the hospital.  She had been shaking uncontrollably and couldn't move her legs. Over a period of weeks, a battery of tests were done to find out what was the cause.  They told her she might have brain cancer, then they thought it might be epilepsy and so on. No diagnosis was ever found.  But she had very little energy and could not walk more than 50 steps without collapsing.  She desperately wanted to go on a mission.  She felt depressed and confused that this would happen to her.  Her doctors refused to sign her mission papers.  Over time she prayed and waited.  After many months of uncertainty, she decided to take her concerns to The Lord again.  This time she prayed until she felt that the Lord really did want her on a mission.  She got up from her prayer, and put on her running shoes. 

She felt she had to show her faith.  As she left her house, her family asked her what in the world did she think she was doing.  She said: "I'm going running".  That day she was able to run for 20 minutes.  Each day thereafter she increased her time.  Her doctors were shocked at her recovery and did sign her mission papers.  What an inspiration she is!

Have a great day, Friends.  Elder and Sister D. ( our official title)

SOBERING MOMENT

This last P-day we took the opportunity to visit the Mauthausen concentration camp.

Entrance gate.
All photos shown are by Jack Hazut, and can be viewed in their entirety here.

We had two of the lady missionaries from Wels with us. The first thing you notice is a huge hill and on top of that hill is a large stone facility. Immediately, you get the feeling you are walking through a cemetery.

It took us about 2 hours to go through the full tour with audio information.We learned that 40 countries were represented by the prisoners that were there.

There were any number of reasons for becoming a prisoner...nationality, prisoner of war, political prisoners, criminals and just for being out of work. 

This complex had over a period of 4 years 200,000 inmates.  There were hundreds of satellite camps all around Austria at the same time. The choice of of location was governed primarily by the presence of granite quarries. 

The quarry.

The inmates were first put to work on the construction of the camp. The political function of the camp was primarily constant persecution and detention of supposed political or ideological opponents of Hitler.

Mauthausen was one of two camps with the harshest conditions of confinement within the concentration camp system in the German Reich. The number of inmates soared from 14,000 in 1943 to 84,000 in 1945.

Thousands of prisoners were beaten to death, shot, murdered by lethal injection, or frozen to death.  About 10,000 were murdered in the gas chambers. It all consisted of a diabolical plan to dehuminize, degrade, and keep inmates complying.

This photo of the 'stairs of death" where prisoners were required to carry blocks of granite came from here

No one had a name, only a number 

The criminal element was allowed to be overseers and got special privileges for their extra cruelty. . They even used boys from ages 12 to 17 as slave labor, with as many as 7000 youths there. There were very few prisoners left alive by the time the US Army came to liberate them May 5, 1945. The SS tried to destroy all records and as many inmates as possible three months before then end of the war.

The contrasting surroundings of the lovely hills and farms are in stark contrast to what went on there.
This photo is from here

I had to ask myself, how could this happen in a civilized world of educated people?  The answer I can come up with is apathy and ignorance.  People become lulled and immune to tyranny as long as things go well for themselves.  The question in my mind:  'Can it happen again?"  As long as good men do nothing and allow evil to prosper, sadly, I think, yes.

After this overwhelming history lesson, we went back to our apartment to partake of more peaceful and  calming spiritual lessons.

We can be so grateful to live in a free nation, to have freedom of religion and thought. We are so truly blessed.

As they say here: Bis Spater.  (until later),   Elder and Sister Didenhover

WONDERFUL DAY

Hi Everyone,

We had a wonderful district meeting with the mission president and his wife.  Pres. Miles has been  traveling all over the mission doing interviews with each missionary.  It takes him and his wife (who always travels with him) three weeks to make all the rounds of the entire mission.

He shared with us that he loves the couple missionaries and requested 6 more couples from Salt Lake, but was told he already has more than any mission in the world (22 couples) and had to be content with us for now.

It was such an interesting experience that Sister Miles basically ran the district meeting while her husband was conducting the interviews.  

She shared her experience going to an area meeting for mission presidents under the direction of Elder Ballard and Elder Oaks.  She just happens to be the daughter of Elder Nelson.   She is a very engaging and down to earth lady.  She and Pres. Miles interviewed us when it came to our turn.  Her main message from the mission presidents meeting was that "nothing is too hard".   The motto for the missionaries should be "I can do hard things".  That has so many interesting implications.  We certainly have to take that to heart.

President and Sister Miles

We have had days when the most mundane things seem to flummux us.  We struggle with the dialect, we get lost all the time, we can't seem to figure out the appliances in our little kitchen, the YSA aren't comfortable with us yet.  We have so much to do and are often lost as to where to start.  But Br. Didenhover reminds me that we have to be patient and remember: "I can do hard things!"

I was able to share our love for the missionaries in our meeting today. They are an inspiration to us with their enthusiasm and faith.  It is so easy to love them...each and every unique one.  We have a lot to learn from them!

Yesterday morning we got a frantic call from one of the elders asking us to help him out. He had dropped his camera and lost his battery.   The elders have a threesome going right now, so two of his companions went to an appointment and we picked this elder up.  He had us go across town to an area we didn't know existed.  He had a large area to look at along a field, but he found it right away.

We can do hard things.

 I mentioned to him that he must have prayed, and he was so glad for his "little miracle" for that day.  He happens to be the district leader from Switzerland.  He has 9 siblings and has lived all over the world.  He said his family is the largest and noisiest family of his small village of 500 people in Switzerland.   His family currently lives in Hungary.  He came to this mission and his first training companion was his older brother.  How often does that happen?   This lanky, tall young man is a ball of energy and full of the Spirit.  What fun he is!

I finally think I might have one of my problems solved.  One of the YSA, a young man, offered to teach me to cook.   His first lesson will be a Thai curry recipe.  He has just recently become more active with  the group.   Maybe I won't scare away any more young people with my cooking.  How humbling.

Thats it for now.   We send all our love.   You are in our thoughts and heart!
                            Love, MOM and DAD

OUR NEW LIFE

This is our lovely living room.  We love the light coming in from the balcony we have.

We are enjoying studying together.  We will be teaching Institute the next two weeks.   One week it will be done in English and another will be in German.


Our days are also busy taking care of the missionaries.  There are 281 in our mission currently, with nine of them in our district.  We have a multicultural group.  We have one sister from Taiwan with the challenge of learning English and German,  another sister is from Hungary, one elder from Germany and another from Switzerland. 


We visit their apartments every six weeks to inspect their housekeeping skills and replace and or repair any item that needs it.  The sisters in Linz (one building away from us) called to say their smoke alarm is going off in the middle of the night and could we help.  We are on our way!


We keep getting lost even with the GPS.  But we have discovered that almost all roads lead to the Hauptbahnhof (main train station) and that is where we usually have to go to help missionaries going and coming. 

Almost all roads lead to the Hauptbahnhof.

 We finally figured out what the "Ding Ding" sound is in our car.  The GPS is telling us that we are going above the speed limit, even if it's just one kilometer over the limit.

We have had so many wonderful learning moments and good people show us the how to do things that are new to us.  We feel  especially  blessed to work with the area CES director who is in our ward.  He came to our apartment for a two hour training session.  He is a young man with quite an amazing commitment being in the stake presidency as well as overseeing seminary and institute in 3 stakes.


We recently received a very fun story and wonderful personal testimony of the Book of Mormon from another couple in Austria just about to go home:


"Dear Friends and Family,

How do I love him? Let me count the ways...[My husband Tracy] posted this publicly on Facebook yesterday, so I will share it with you, too:

Every day the Book of Mormon brings people closer to their Redeemer! Today while I was waiting at the tire store in Klagenfurt for my winter tires to be exchanged for my summer tires (required by law in Austria), an 89-year old veteran of World War II who was there for the same reason struck up a conversation with me. He lost his left elbow to a bullet at Normandy, where he also lost many, many of his friends. I told him that my uncle came ashore at Normandy, and I hoped that it wasn't my uncle who shot him. He was fascinated, actually tickled with the possibility--a delightful, forgiving person. I asked him if he liked to read: he said he reads everything. So I gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon, explaining how it was another witness for Jesus Christ. He opened it and dove right into the middle, fascinated with Abinadi's denunciation of the wicked priests of King Noah. He gave me his name and address and gladly accepted my invitation to have the young elders visit him.

 Question from the Facebook page: How did you gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon?

[Tracy wrote] was about 14, reading the Book of Mormon for the first time as an assignment in Seminary. I was fascinated with the great hero Nephi: gangster-slayer, peacemaker, spirit traveler, visionary, seer, bow and sling hunter, escape artist, metallurgist, subduer of rebellious brothers, ship builder, temple builder, prophet-kin, and civilization-founder. He tested my patience in 2 Nephi with his lengthy quotation from Isaiah, but I persisted and was rewarded with his last words, which reveal the greatness of his soul. As I read how his tears for his people watered his pillow at night, I suddenly felt the overwhelming love of God and began to cry. Nephi had spoken to my soul from the dust by the power of the Holy Ghost, and I knew that I could trust in that same God who had delivered his soul from Hell. I look forward someday to thanking Nephi in person for leading me to the Lord Jesus Christ, my Savior and Redeemer.

Love to all, Sister Helen Hall"