Stephen and Elaine Biddulph

8 - 14 Juni 2015

Monday evening we had a devotional at the church to recognize three senior couples who were returning home - mission completed. On Tuesday, we had a lunch-hour floor party on the 3rd floor of office building to say goodbye to the Vassels and the Pfeils. The Vassels served as area directors for PEF and independent living and the Pfeils were public affairs directors for Europe Area. Both have become good friends. Always a little lonely to see couples leave, although two new couples have come in to work in public affairs: Walkers and Galbraiths. Elder Galbraith is a retired Marine like myself.
We met a couple (Jarrards) who just came a month ago. We discovered that we had both come into the mission the same time back in Nov 1964 and had gone to the Language Training Mission together in Provo. He went to Frankfurt and was a companion to Keith Steiner, a friend of mine from Rexburg, Idaho days. We remembered each other and had a nice catch-up visit.

Judith, Jon, and Robert

Wednesday afternoon Elaine and I met with the Offenbach missionaries and the ward mission leader in Offenbach Gemeinde and discussed missionary work and reactivation. We then went across the street and met with Robert and Judith Haungo (Burmese) and had lunch with them. Robert was visiting his family from Norway for a few weeks before having to return for summer work. He speaks some English and Norwegian, but no German. She speaks very little German and no English, so it is fun trying to speak with each other. A sweet family. We hope that Judith can become interested in learning about the church.
Thursday was a really busy day. We went to Landstuhl regional medical center with the Greenwoods, the Smiths (Gordon and June), Greenwood's brother and wife so that Sister Greenwood could have her monthly procedures done. While she was doing that, the rest of us went for a hike in a beautiful narrow gulch with a stream and heavily forested with deciduous trees. We arrived home by 4 p.m. in time for me to change clothes and drive to Offenbach to help the missionaries teach a Book of Mormon lesson to an investigator. Unfortunately, she didn't let them in much and they didn't get to give their lesson. So, I drove back home in time to talk on the telephone with a missionary who had overdosed on

Jewish Holocaust Wall

medication the night before. The mission president asked for my evaluation on him. Unfortunately, he will need to return home. When that phone call was over, I had a website conference call with the other three members of the branch presidency to discuss issues (auf Deutsch). I was still on that call when I got a call from the Area Medical Advisor about yet another missionary who had overdosed on Ibuprofen, and wanted my mental evaluation of his condition. By that time I needed a mental evaluation on myself! I was on the telephone until 10 p.m. handling these two attempted suicide cases. I've been working on these through Friday and Saturday. Both will need to return home for medical attention.

Friday I had straight phone calls with missionaries from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. I was really bushed by that time and my voice had become

Ann Frank Name Plaque

husky from overuse. I was glad when it ended. But it didn't really end. That evening I got more calls about these two missionaries, so, on Saturday morning I called one of the elders again. He was still throwing up and somewhat sick, but stable. Later on Saturday morning, we did go with other couples on the U-bahn down to Konstablerweg in downtown Frankfurt on Zeil for a walking tour of part of that city. It was a very interesting tour helping us understand some of the ancient Medieval history of Frankfurt as well as the Nazi era and the Jews. Ann Frank was born just two blocks from where we live. In the old Jewish quarter of downtown Frankfurt, they have a Medieval Jewish cemetery where the old synagogue stood. Over 11,000 little markers have been laced on the wall for Jews murdered by Nazis. Ann Frank's name, along with her mother and sister are there.
We also walked past the old Ritz Hotel (now Steigenberg Hotel) where 36 passengers of the ill-fated Hindenburg stayed the night before their flight to death. Six are buried in the Frankfurt Hauptfriedhof (cemetery). We saw the Rom Domer Platz and the building where Hitler came and stood on the balcony to herald in

Dom Romer Platz

the Nazi regime, his reign of terror, the public burning of books, and more. He truly was a monster. How the German people as a whole could have been so duped by him and ignorant of what was happening to the Jews is hard for me to believe. How important it is for us to remember history and not allow it to happen again in any shape or form. Yet, we seem to allow it - even right in America. We get duped by social issues that are painted as politically correct or a twisted form of equality, and we forsake the values of right and wrong that are the foundation of our society. We learned that Hitler's grandmother was a Jew -- something he kept well hidden.