WE LOVE SERVING THE LORD

We have been so very busy lately!  It is such a joy to work with the missionaries when they teach.  It is humbling and exciting to feel the Spirit as we share our thoughts and testimonies.

Working with the members of Linz Ward has been rewarding for us as well.

We just got back from our weekly district meeting in which President and Sister Miles attended in order to interview all the missionaries.  They have a grueling schedule traveling all over our huge mission area of South Germany, Switzerland, and all of Austria.  There are monthly zone meetings (about 8), interviews on a regular basis, new missionary orientations, stake conferences at which to speak, and meetings with General Authorities.  We are so impressed by their amazing dedication and just plain hard work. That they can do this for three years is a testament to their great faith and commitment to The Lord.

A SPECIAL REQUEST FROM PRESIDENT MILES:

"We need more senior couples ASAP!  There are openings in Vienna, Stuttgart, and Basel Switzerland coming up right away and no couples to fill those cities.  He is a true believer in the great work that senior couples do. 

More senior couples are needed.

 So, dear friends, if any of you are thinking about a mission, you can choose to fill these openings.

There are many blessings to be had as senior couples.  Just recently, we experienced one of those blessings in a huge way.  We had just dropped off the elders from our appointment and were heading back to our apartment, when we had a very close call.  We were in an unfamiliar place and looking for the on ramp (slip road) to the freeway.  We were trying to follow the GPS, but sometimes the instructions are a bit vague and we started to turn left when it said left.  At the same time a car honked at us long and hard.  John stopped immediately and then noticed we were turning left into a super fast tram and would have wound up on the freeway off ramp and smashed to pieces.

This car parked just ahead of us and stopped.  We expected to get a tongue lashing about how stupid we were, instead this person opened the drivers door and held up his hand pointing the way we should go. We followed this car to the on ramp.  We never saw the person, but they definitely were inspired and made us realized the Lord is watching out for us. We thought about how unusual it was for an Austrian driver in Linz to be so watchful and helpful.  It truly was our little miracle for the week.

We just had our first snow for the winter.  Fortunately,  the roads cleared up quickly.  Since we do a lot of driving to other cities, it was a relief for us.  The Linz Ward boundaries are really spread out--- clear up north to the Czech Republic and south to the Austrian Alps.  Our mission zone includes Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, Salzburg, and Linz along with Wels and Haag up to Passau (in Germany) but not including.   We are supposed to visit three wards on a regular basis.

Now that most of our adjustment period is over, we are able to truly enjoy our work.  We love serving The Lord!  We love the people we meet.  We are amazed at how much we keep learning each and every day.  It's great to be here!

Bis Später, unser lieben Freunde und Familie.
Elder and Sister Didenhover

ps.

Actually,there is a need for a missionary couple for Singen, Germany and Brixten, Italy and the München Office as well as a mission nurse for München. Husbands are expected to learn medical terms to help.   In November there will be a need for a couple in Ravensburg, Germany (my lovely medieval hometown).  Here German skills would be needed.  Have fun imagining yourselves serving in any of these places.  President Miles would be happy to request you to come to our mission: the Alpen German Speaking Mission.

pss.

More information can be seen at https://www.lds.org/callings/missionary/senior

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM ELDER AND SISTER DIDENHOVER

From Elder D:

Christmas is 3 days here in Austria: Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and 2nd Christmas (26th).

Christmas Eve is generally the biggest event of the season with that evening being usually spent with immediate family members. Christmas Day is spent with extended family and 2nd Christmas (26th) is spent with friends. We were fortunate to be invited to families for all three events. It was very fun and very spiritual at times as well.

The members here treat us very well and have accepted us as part of the ward. I even gave the opening prayer in sacrament meeting last Sunday.

New Years Eve (Silvester) is  a very big deal here in Austria. Everyone buys lots of fireworks and shoots them off that evening. In our neighborhood, we had a fantastic show most of the evening with a very large and loud display for about 25 minutes just before and after midnight. Very cool!

We have a very international mission with missionaries from 24 U S states and 24 countries other than the USA. These "foreign" missionaries speak their own native language, English and German. They are all very dedicated and devoted missionaries. We are constantly amazed by  their energy and faithfulness. They truly inspire us to be better missionaries and better people.

We wish you all the very best in the new year.

From Sister D:

Hope you had a wonderful New Year celebration.   We really enjoyed our first New Year in Linz.

"Guter Rutsch" means a good slide into the new year.  Here they celebrate in style.  Linz was ablaze with fireworks for hours before the strike of midnight.  There are no orchestrated fireworks. Everyone buys an unlimited supply of fireworks.  This is the "ooh and aaaah" kind that shoots into the sky and bursts into blossoms of colors.  Just before midnight, the whole city is a cacophony of noise and lights.  We had some of the missionaries on our balcony on the top floor  to enjoy the view.  They were delighted like little children.  It was hard to know where to look next.  Our heads were pivoting back and forth to soak it all in. 

One sister brought her family's New Year tradition along to share.  We were supposed to stuff as many grapes into our mouths the 30 seconds before midnight (12 total for each month) and the number we could stuff without chewing, is the number of good luck months ahead.

It feels like we have been in Linz forever.  I noticed that my English is starting to sound like German sentence structure...backwards.  We both have a much better handle on the dialect now and even think in Austrian dialect!  We don't get lost as often, except when we have to make visits to Haag (60 miles away) and get turned around on the windy country roads.

We love working with the missionaries every chance we get.  Yesterday I had the opportunity to go visit a referral with our little Hungarian sister.  The lady we visited was a hard nut to crack.  She praised the church in one breath and insulted us in another.  She was convinced that we were all brainwashed.  We spent two hours with her and at the end, my companion got out her planner and asked "when can we come again?".  Now that is diligence!

We have finally been able to find a more suitable apartment for the sisters in Wels (30 miles away).  They have been living in a dark little apartment and we had heard reports that there was gang activity in their housing area.  The Church is very concerned that our missionaries are as safe as possible.  We were thrilled to find an apartment that has a window in each room and in a well lit, safe complex nearer the church building and the train station.  We now have to assess what needs to be done to fix up the place. Here in Europe, the landlord has no responsibility and often you have to install your own appliances and cabinets, light fixtures,and better flooring.You have to sign a contract for a minimum of three years.  We will have to paint, install lights, curtains, and get more furniture.

We are in the process of trying to build up the YSA group in our area.  Most are on missions, married within the last year, or in Vienna studying.  We are trying to find the less active and struggling with incomplete records.  Elder Didenhover's experience as a ward membership clerk is coming in very handy now.

Every day we thank Heavenly Father for being able to be here.  We miss our children and grandchildren very much and even have shed a few tears, but there is something about this Work that propels us forward and compels us to strive harder each day. We love the members, we love the missionaries, and we love The Lord.  We pray each day to be able to make a difference and follow the Spirit.   There is power in this great Cause.  The words from our leaders about missionary work is much more poignant to us now.

We love you all!  We think of you and hope you are well.

          Love, Elder and Sister. Didenhover