SENIOR MISSIONARY CONFERENCE: Switzerland March 2014

We had a wonderful experience attending out first senior conference. 

We traveled by train to Innsbruck and then drove with the Mowers the rest of the way to Switzerland.







We left a few days earlier so we could enjoy some of the sights.  Our first stop was Interlaken.  This is a beautiful town in the setting of the Swiss Alps. 

We took the time to ride a cog wheel train up the mountain to another village.  

The scenic views were absolutely breathtaking!

Our next stop was in Lucerne on the famous Vierwaldstattersee (four lakes that connect with each other). 

The wooden bridge of Lucerne, Switzerland

Lucerne is famous for an old wooden bridge with a long covered walkway. Strolling along the banks of the lakes is a favorite pastime for the Swiss.

The next day we drove to the old city of Bern.  This brought back many memories of  my time there as a missionary. It has definitely changed in the past  40 years...more traffic, more modern elements, very high prices.

A pint of strawberries being sold by a vendor was 7 Euro (about $10)

I took the time to sit in a small park overlooking the river and ancient steeples. My mind traveled to my missionary days...very fond memories.

Elder and Sister Fox playing a duet on the  Alpine Horns.

Our conference began on a Thursday.  We were given workshops, a morsel of entertainment, and spiritual nourishment. It was wonderful to just be able to compare notes and realize we all have unique situations, challenges, and joys. 

                                                                 

We were able to attend a session in the temple. 

I was overwhelmed by emotions remembering that the last time attending the Swiss temple was with my mother. Even though it has just been six months since we last attended our temple in Spokane, it seemed like much more time had passed.   We easily forget what a privilege it is to access the temple on a regular basis.








We enjoyed our dinner...we were fed authentic Swiss food like Raclette, an evening meal of potatoes cooked in their skins with various accompaniments like pearl onions, pickles, etc.  A special over melts cheese in separate small trays to put over the potatoes.  Yum.  The breads in Switzerland are especially flavorful with all the cheeses available.

Besides our workshops, we were given a few tours of our choice. 


We went to a Kaserei (cheese factory) where we were given a demonstration of how cheese was made hundreds of years ago. We were inside a small single room  building dated from 1765.  A gentleman in his traditional Swiss shirt explained the process in his Swiss dialect.   I love the Swiss dialect!  It was so good to hear it again!  

"We must all press on..."

We were invited to participate by stirring the immense copper cauldron that was swung over an open fire.  Then Sister Smith and I were able to take the curds and  being put into a large mold and press all the excess liquid out. Nothing is wasted. The pressed liquid as wells as excess curds are fed to the pigs on the farm.






In our mission, we have couples doing such a variety of tasks.  The couple in Vienna work at the YSA Center (a separate building for the many students in Vienna) and spend most every day there all day.  They prepare meals for 30-50 young single adults.  The Buchanens serve in Ravensburg (my home town) as leadership support to the small branch.  Another couple does genealogy research in one specific town in Germany.  We have office couples, we have couples like us that work with the YSA groups and serve in the wards according to the desire of the local leaders.  Some have large groups to work with, some very few. We have just a few in Linz right now, but with the help of the missionaries we are growing.

Senior couples from the Alpine German Speaking Mission at their annual conference in Bern, Switzerland.

Our mission president, Pres. and Sister Miles are almost at the end of their mission.  They have faithfully spent the last three years presiding over 299 missionaries in three countries.  Just the travel alone is staggering---each zone conference,  interviews,  stake conferences, mission business, etc.  Pres. and Sister Miles have been a source of inspiration, love, and counsel for many missionaries young and old.  We will miss them when they leave in June.

Mission life suits us.  We love the variety of our labors.  We love the missionaries and never cease to be amazed at their level of commitment and spirituality. 

We love the members that are so caring and demonstrative.  In Austria, if the members like you, you are always greeted with a hug.  If they are unsure of you, a handshake is the standard.  I don't think I have ever been hugged so much in my life!  Its simply a wonderful custom!  Elder Didenhover gets lots of hugs from the missionaries. They love his humor and the parental counsel and just knowing that they are loved.  It is warming to see him give complicated handshakes and a then a big bear hug to the elders. 

There is so much joy in the gospel!  We have had trying days, but for the most part we are amazed at how a deeper awareness of the gospel and of Jesus Christ brings so much joy and happiness.

We hope and pray for our family and friends each day that you will partake of this joy with us in spirit.

"YE ARE NO MORE STRANGERS"

These past weeks we have been involved in teaching many men from the Middle East.  Each of these men are refugees from Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, or Pakistan.  Many leave families behind to begin a new life in Austria and hopefully eventually can bring their families here to be reunited.  They all have refugee status in Austria. 

They often have to wait a year to gain a work visa.  In the meantime, they struggle to learn the German language and customs.  Bringing their families here costs thousands of dollars per person and their salaries are usually meagre.  It is amazing to be part of a unique process happening all over the world. One young man, Machoud, was baptized just a few weeks ago.

This pattern repeats itself all throughout Europe

Last conference we heard Bishop Gerald Causse, First Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric,  teach us:

"The world in which we live is going through a period of great upheaval.  Because of the increased availability of transportation, speed of communication, and globalization of economies, the earth is becoming a large village where people and nations meet, connect, and intermingle as never before.  These vast, worldwide changes serve the designs of the Almighty God. The gathering of His elect from the four corners of the earth is taking place no only by sending missionaries to faraway countries but also with the arrival of people from other areas into our own cities and neighborhoods.  Many, without knowing it, are being led by the Lord to places  where they can hear the gospel and come into His fold."

Just last week we had a discussion take place in our apartment with the sister missionaries teaching two gentlemen from Syria.  We felt the Spirit so strongly as we discussed Jesus Christ, who He is and what He has done for us.  They felt accepted for the first time. 

Language is a challenge because sometimes they speak a little English or almost no  German.  Usually Farsi or Arabic is their language.  Did you know the Church provides Books of Mormon in those languages? 

Arabic Book of Mormon

The week before we helped teach two other men who have already converted to Christianity, but are now looking for a church that has the truth.  These men have diligently studied the Bible.  The one, Ali, told us how he and his family were chased from town to  town in Afghanistan because they converted to Christianity.  He said that he never knew from day to day if he would be on a bus or street corner where the Taliban would set off bombs killing as many Christians as possible. 

Finally they fled to Pakistan where it is tolerated as long as you show no outward sign of Christian behavior, speech, or dress.  He left behind his wife and children in a compound and prays for their safety.  He asked us to pray for him so that the Spirit will teach him the truth and that he can understand and know if the Book  of Mormon is true.

One very tall and gentlemanly 30 year old young man, fled Afghanistan with a good career.  He is an educated architect.  Here in Austria he has to start all over.  His credentials have no validity here and he struggles to learn German.  He knows he will not be able to make  a decent living for a long time.  He came to attend Machmoud's baptism and now comes each Sunday.  Our investigator class is filled with such men. 

The ward members are unsure what to do since communication is such a struggle.  But Bishop Causse's words ring in my ear that these men have been sent here by the Lord.  They are humble, teachable, and yearning for meaning in their lives after all the chaos and violence they have experienced in their homelands.  I would love to send pictures of them, but that might endanger their families still in the Middle East.

We are so blessed to have the Gospel in our lives, live freely, and have hope for our future. We feel privileged to be part of teaching these men and others in Austria.  Our work here has become so amazingly varied.  We find ourselves torn trying to meet all the needs before us and to have the sheer energy it takes week to week to serve the Lord unfalteringly.

We love serving the Linz Ward members, the YSA, and now we have an assignment with the older single adults as well.  All is a blessing to us.  Our hearts have opened up with love and charity for those we serve.  We love serving the missionaries.  We know they have families at home that are praying that they are well provided for. We do try to help be an answer to those prayers, even if it's just for the district of 8 missionaries here in the Linz, Wels, and Haag.

May The Lord bless you!  We would love hearing from some of you!

Mit Freundlichen Grussen,   Elder and Sister Didenhover

BAPTISM DAY

Hello!

We are so happy that Sabina and her daughter Ebi are baptized.  We helped teach them over the past few months.  Elder Szvoboda, our super missionary, and his companions have worked very hard to help get this family ready to make the commitment to be baptized.

Sabina, Elder Szvoboda and Ebi

 It was a joyous day for all of us.   We felt the Spirit whenever we were with them.

We are sad to say goodbye to Elder Szvoboda as he is going home today. 

 His family lives in Hungary, but he is a citizen of Switzerland. 

 We get so attached to these wonderful young missionaries.

A NEW LOOK

Hi All,   I got desperate and asked one of the young sisters to cut my hair.  It really is uneven and bad, but I figure it will grow out and eventually look OK.  Dad needs a cut again.  But he will get it done by one of the Elders and then I can watch and buy clippers for him.   Have a great day!  Love, Mom

Grüße aus Linz

We spent all day Tuesday at zone conference in Salzburg. 

President Miles teaching us.

Our favorite Linz Sisters.

Today I spent the whole day visiting teaching.  It took so long because of the distances between the ladies my companion and I teach.  It took us 45 minutes to drive to the first appointment and from there we had to drive to the other end of town and then even farther.

I have a sweet young sister as my companion.  She always brings her darling 18 month daughter.  She speaks perfect English and is the youngest of 8 adult children.  Her parents had just finished serving a mission and were immediately called to serve in the temple presidency of the Freiberg Temple.  Actually, they were called while still on their mission in Brixton, Italy.   A very fun and wonderful family that is totally committed to the gospel---all living in the Linz Ward.

We were just asked Sunday to serve in the ward as the single adult advisors for the 30-50 year old age group.  Our calling with the YSA  group is a stake calling and part of our mission calling.  I thought we already were busy, but obviously not enough.  We both feel like we are working a full time  job with overtime.  But it's been amazing how well my health has held up and how much we are able to do without feeling really overloaded.  The Lord does help us more than we ever thought possible.

Tomorrow is another busy day for us.  We even had to turn down a request to teach with the elders because we had a previous commitment with the YSA group.

Back to our zone conference....at the end our district leader bore his testimony.  His mission is ending in two weeks.  I have never seen a more dedicated missionary.  His companion said it's like trying to go an Olympic race with him.  He makes walking look like a sprint and he keeps his schedule full from morning till night.  Anyway, he shared a story with us when he was a five day old baby:  His grandmother was holding him when she noticed he was turning blue.  An ambulance was called immediately.  Then his grandfather gave him a blessing.  He was promised that he would grow to receive the Melchezidek Priesthood and to serve on a mission.

While at the hospital, the doctors told the family he would not live out the day because he had lungs that were not able to function.  Well, here he is years later our super missionary. He is an inspiration to us all!

We are excited that this elder will have two baptisms this Sunday...a young mother and her 12 year old daughter. We have had the privilege of assisting in teaching them.  I was asked to speak at the baptism.  That reminds me I still have to prepare that talk.

We love this great Work of The Lord!  It's exhausting, crazy busy, joyful, all consuming, and worth every minute.
Be safe, healthy, and happy. 

 Love, Elder and Sister Didenhover

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