Here is a project John and I spent many hours working on. We were asked to create this booklet for the visiting Authorities who will be coming to dedicate the Phoenix Haus.
John gathered all the information, we wrote the copy and I helped with the photography. We’re happy with how it turned out!
When I was studying German in high school, our beloved teacher, Frau Hutchinson always had some German comic books in the room, most featuring Asterix, the fellow above who greeted us to the Book Fair. Seeing this brought back so many happy memories of her classes. I had 5 years of German in my 4 years of high school. I loved it all. I even came to Germany as a foreign exchange student for the summer between my junior and senior years. All those happy memories flooded back when I saw Asterix!
We didn’t take much time to wander through the halls of the other buildings, but we did wander a bit as we went to and from our FamilySearch booth. These photos will give you an idea of what it was like.
This map shows the buildings (with multiple floors) where the book and publisher’s displays where held:
This booth was from the Guttenberg Press. They had an actual old press on display!
The first 3 days were only for people in the industry–authors, publishers, illustrators and agents. Meetings were being held all around us as they negotiated and made plans for their products.
In a previous life, I was a DK (Dorling Kindersley) book distributor. I love these books and sold thousands of them.
After the 3rd day, the public was invited, and they came in swarms!
The food trucks and eating places were kept busy. Look at the lines!
It really was a fun week. I’m already excited to come back next year!
We have just attended the largest Book Fair in the world, held here in Frankfurt. More than 215,000 people from all over the world attended. It was a grand event, made even more so because for the first time ever our Central Europe Area FamilySearch team sponsored a booth.
Almost 4000 people visited with us there, learning more about their family surnames, where in the world their family name is found, what famous people they resemble, or if they had connections in the family tree. We guided them through fun experiences and showed them how to download the free app on their phones.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints funds FamilySearch to help people find strength and support in their family relationships—past, present and future. The FamilySearch database, populated by more than 25 million users worldwide, helps us research, preserve and share our family history with others. If we each add our own family, the tree grows and we connect to each other.
Here is our booth in the calm before the storm:
And then everyone arrived!
I think we were of interest to those passing by because we had something different to offer and it was interactive and fun. We used iPads and big screens to engage our new friends.
We had prizes for those who completed 4 fun tasks:
The first two days of the Book Fair were reserved for professionals involved in the publishing world–authors, illustrators, publishing companies, media people and more. At 2:00 on the 3rd day, the doors were opened to the public. Look at the swarms of people waiting to get in!
Saturday and Sunday our booth was swamped with people wanting to learn more. I loved being there, feeling the excitement when someone discovered something they did not know about their family.
From my journal Sunday:
I had one especially moving experience today with a woman named Monika who was there with her grown son, a large man with a dark beard. They were very interested. I showed them a few things, then he went to sit down and immediately started entering names. He was hooked. Monika showed me photos in her phone of her ancestors. Who has those at their fingertips??
She said early on, “I love what I am feeling right now!” Then when I showed her my tree, she saw that my Grandma Elsa’s mother’s name is Susanne Fritz. She said, “I am getting goosepips!” She said that her great grandfather was also a Fritz, not a common surname. I told her that all I know about Peter Fritz is that he was soldier who passed through the area and Susanne was an illegitimate child. Her face lit up and she said, “My great grandfather was also a soldier!” I said, “Maybe we are cousins!” She hugged me and then said, “I feel like there are angels here, all around us. They brought me here to this place.” She was very moved by what she was feeling.
We visited some more about family and about believing in Jesus. She saw my name tag and again said she felt heavenly angels around us. Then she gave me a big hug and held me tight. She told me in my ear that yesterday she said good bye to her father. I told her I was so sorry. She said he didn’t die, but they’d been estranged and she hadn’t seen him in 2 years and yesterday she went to visit him. He told her “I don’t know why you are coming to see me. What do you want from me?” She was sad and didn’t know if she’d see him again. Then (we were still in a serious hug) I told her that what she was learning here today about gathering her family would heal her family. She and I both had tears filling our eyes. She felt it. It was a sweet and powerful moment.
The biggest miracle for me came towards the end of the busy afternoon. We’d hardly had time to breathe.
Again from my journal:
I noticed a young man, standing outside the booth looking at us, wondering what we were doing. I decided to approach him. I asked him if he’d like to come search for his family name. He was shy, but he came to one of the iPads on a stand. I was looking away as he typed his surname into the iPad, then I looked down at it. It said LAEMMLE. I immediately thought I hadn’t cleared my account from the screen (but I was using a different iPad). Then I realized that that was HIS name. I stared at him in shock and wonder. I said to him, “I am your family!!” I showed him my family tree on the iPad I was holding that was logged in to my account. “Here is my father–Arthur LAEMMLEN.” I showed him my line. I said, “WE ARE COUSINS!!”
Not only did we have the same name, he Knew his ancestors. He had documents and names in his phone. He showed me some of them. I did not recognize the names, but he told me that his family is from the Heilbronn area. I told him mine is too. I was so excited. I told him that I once came to a family reunion in Germany for the LAEMMLE family that was organized by a distant Laemmle relation named Hans Dieterich Laemmel in Vienna. My new cousin said he has corresponded with this same man in Vienna and found his family names in his Laemmle database. I told him that my line is also there in that data base.
I don’t think most people understand what a huge miracle that was. Most family names have thousands of people in common. But not Laemmlen. We are a unique name that is not widespread in Germany. For me, it was an absolute Miracle that out of the 1000s of people who came to the Book Fair and out of the 1000s of people who came by our booth, I was the one who interacted with Simon Laemmle. None of the other volunteers would’ve had any idea that his name was the most important name I heard all week.
Simon was a quiet gentle man. He was shy. He had beautiful eyes and a really big smile. When I looked into his face, I felt something special. I felt like we are family. I really felt it. My heart was in such a flutter after that. I had to just sit down for a minute and process the experience.
I have already received an email from Simon with his family tree. I am so happy to have met him!
Family History is a big grand work. It spans decades and countries and peoples. Doing family history work is my greatest joy. But the real gift of doing family history is discovering family and that’s what happened for me here this week at the Frankfurt Book Fair.
I wonder if we could see each other’s family trees, if we’d be more loving and tolerant and kind to each other. I pray for the day when we will see how we are all connected, every single one of us, cousins and family.
If you want 60+ fabulous instant friends, come to Frankfurt! We all get together every other week or so for some sort of activity or potluck dinner. Often we are welcoming someone new or sending someone home. Tonight we said good bye to the Andruses and the #1 Lewises. Then we welcomed the Woods and the Conlins. We also welcomed the Stokers and Nelsons who recently arrived.
And we enjoyed a wonderful spread of food–enough to feed an army!
In the pic below, the Andruses are the 2 in the blue shirt and green sweater. Here are Elder Andrus’s departing poem for the rest of us:
LEAVING GERMANY
By Mark Andrus (October 2023)
After a year and a half in Germany, you’d think perhaps we’d learn,
That once you’ve stayed awhile, somehow your heart begins to turn.
You begin to understand the folks who do things different than you do;
You find they do some things better than the customs you once knew.
Of course I don’t mean all is better — some is, and some, not so much;
We hold onto the good and let the bad slide out of touch.
Thinking back on life in Germany and reflecting how it’s been,
Some things I will miss very much; others, I’ll leave behind and grin.
For example, putting coins in the handle of a grocery cart.
Whoever thought of doing that must be some clever sort of smart.
But don’t get me wrong, although it’s cute, and surely not a sin,
I won’t be missing any sleep if I don’t do that again.
I know I’ll miss the Wienerschnitzel and the Jägerschnitzel, too;
And potatoes cooked up sixteen ways, like Cafe Klatsch can do;
I’ve loved every brat and wurst I ate from the moment that I bit them,
Although, you’d think German engineers could make a bun that fit them.
I’ll miss the Christmas markets and the magic in the air,
With Christmas music playing, it’s like an answer to a prayer;
And all the different flavors of roasted almond that they make,
The little knick-knacks that they sell, and that lovely funnel cake.
I won’t miss sorting garbage, or hot and humid summer days,
I won’t miss looking for a parking space, or the pigeons or the jays.
I might miss our tiny little kitchen and the way it’s brought us close,
But not the “no disposal” plan, and saving all that’s gross.
I will miss the river cruises and visiting the castles,
But not the an- and ab-meldungs, and all the visa hassles.
I’ll miss prayers in different languages, and Book of Mormon class,
And the cherry jam and strawberries, and – okay, even white asparagus.
I’ll miss getting Ritter Sport bars for a Euro-fifty each,
But not trying to do a Power Point when it’s our turn again to teach.
I’ve loved eating ice cream bars almost every time I’d see one,
And I even liked the zone leaders, especially since I didn’t have to be one.
I’ll miss the group Zoom calls and Team meetings — but not for long;
I’ll miss Microsoft and Outlook — wait — no I won’t; no, I was wrong.
I’ll miss “Keep right, keep left, turn right, now left” in traffic jams at night;
Not really – but I’d like to keep the pretty navigator on my right.
I won’t miss paying for restrooms, nor the lack of chocolate chips;
But I will miss all the bakeries, and all the weekend trips.
I won’t miss tiny elevators that say they hold eleven,
When we’re all crammed in hip-to-hip with less than six or seven.
I won’t miss fretting late at night because a legal matter’s pending;
Nor dozing off the next night before the murder mystery’s ending.
I think that notarizing documents and apostilling is sublime,
But please forgive me if I don’t ever do it one more time.
I’ll miss walks along the river bank and riding on the train;
I’ll miss all the greenery, but not the constant threat of rain.
I’ll miss apfelsaft and traubensaft and other juices, too;
Eating outside at restaurants and the Frankfurt skyline view.
I’ll miss paying for plain water when we go for steak or fancy pie;
And if you believe what I just said, I know a bridge you’ll want to buy.
I’ll miss our dear apartment out in Rödelheim, I think;
And I’ll miss the constant challenge of the work I do – wink, wink.
I won’t miss driving i30 Hyundai cars along the narrow streets,
I will miss pickle ball and FHEs and eating up the treats.
I won’t miss the clothes washer in the kitchen and doing laundry retro,
But I’ll sort of miss the Rewe, Aldi, Lidl, and the Metro.
What I’m sure I’ll miss the most, though, are the people that I know:
The Church employees that I work with, whom I see go to and fro;
The members in our ward who come from everywhere that you might probe,
Including fifty countries from all across the globe.
And senior missionaries, people who have really learned to care,
The ones who, by all rights, should be sitting in a rocking chair;
They don’t recognize how old they are, and they don’t know how to quit,
Their eyes are dim, their hearts are soft, but their souls are made of grit.
I won’t miss their frequent bathroom stops, nor their constant need for eats;
I won’t miss them prattling on about their grandkids’ latest feats.
But I’ll miss the fire in their eyes when they testify of God above
And I’ll miss the way they back it up with their frequent acts of love.
I suppose it won’t really matter, when our mission here is done,
If we miss this or don’t miss that, or even whether we had fun.
We’ll mostly want to be with those with whom we laughed and cried;
With that in mind, we’ll see you at the big reunion on the other side.
These are some of the finest people on this earth. They’ve given up a lot to be here now. They miss their children and grandchildren, but realize there are some things we do that show that love more than words and hugs. These good people are Examples. And I love them.
We had a wonderful Sunday afternoon. After a nice rain storm, the skies cleared. This afternoon we were invited to dinner at the #2 Lewises. (We’re the #3 Lewis couple here.) The Lewises live on the top 11th floor of our building. The views were spectacular! Wow.
Here we are looking down on the old Area Office Building, with the Frankfurt Stake Center behind it and to the left.
Deborah and Geoff Lewis are delightful friends.
By the way, we’ve been assigned to attend and serve in the Offenbach Branch. We’re so happy about that. It’s about 20 away. Today we were asked to teach the youth Sunday School class. All of the kids are in this one class, ages 11 to 18.
Also by the way, today is the anniversary of my very first mission to South Africa in 1981. I entered the Provo MTC on this day oh so many years ago.
Family History windows!
The castle chapel.
The Mill House:
A nice hotel near the castle.
Our Frankfurt Germany Mission 