I’m just going to throw this out here so I never forget my favorite snack. These little pearl pretzels are perfect in every way. Oh, the crunch, oh the perfect amount of salt, and oh, the small little size. Perfection.
You can buy these at a store called METRO.
The sky tonight from our balcony was so beautiful. It stays light here until after 9:30 p.m.
This evening we helped with a special devotional for everyone in the Europe Central Area, age 50 and older, prepared by our Area Presidency. The meeting was translated into 22 European languages and fed to those channels live. (It will be available for viewing online until the end of the year.)
Here is the news release we prepared for this event:
Special Devotional for Senior Couples & Individuals
A wide range of senior missionary opportunities available.
These are the things that were discussed during the meeting:
This slide shows the great need we have for senior missionaries in Europe:
I’ll just add my two bit’s worth: WE LOVE MISSIONARY SERVICE IN EUROPE!! I’d encourage ANYone to come and join this amazing effort.
We had another very fun Saturday outing. This time we went to Felsenmeer, which means “sea of stones.”
The website describes this geological wonder in this way:
Felsenmeer is the one of Geo-Nature parks in Germany with a bed of rocks and boulders on the slope of the Felsberg hill surrounded by forest. It is located in Lautertal (Odenwald) in Hessen which is about 50 kilometers south of Frankfurt am Main and 33 kilometers north of Heidelberg.
You can easily submerge yourself in a million year old geological formation for a rock climbing natural workout and enjoy the beautiful landscape of the Odenwald. It is a popular destination for families with children. You will certainly have fun climbing the boulders.
First we visited the small visitor’s center to learn a bit more about what caused this interesting formation millions of years ago. Here’s more from the website:
Formation of rocks in Felsenmeer
An old story from the legend of Felsenmeer says that there were two giants, one lived in the Felsberg and other lived in the Höhenstein. One day, those two giants had a fight and started throwing huge stones and boulders at each other. The giant of Höhenstein had more boulders and won the fight. The poor defeated Felsenberg giant was buried underneath all the boulders thrown by the Höhenstein one. That’s how the ‘Sea of rocks’ tumbled down the Felsberg and became Felsenmeer as we see today. It is said that if you step hard on the bottom of the Felsberg, you can hear the groaning of the giant lying underneath.
Of course, there is a rational, scientific reason behind the formation of the Sea of rocks.
Felsenmeer is the result of the geological processes that began 340 million years ago. Today’s Odenwald lies where the continental plates collided to form the supercontinent of Pangea. Because of the resulting humongous pressure, the rocks melted and rose to the surface as magma. On the mountains, the magma congealed into a granite-like igneous rocks called quartz diorite. In the upcoming million years, weathering of the crystalline basement rock exposed these large boulders. Over the time, the mountain broke down and further exposed the rocks to the water, ice and soil leaving them in the positions as we see today.
Here are a few of the interesting things we saw in the visitor’s center.
This is a game that was carved into stones and played by Roman soldiers. There is something similar in the pavement stones of the Antonia Fortress in Jerusalem where Jesus was held and tried.
It was really interesting to learn that stone cut here was transported to buildings constructed in Trier. The Romans used this as an important rock quarry for many of their building projects. The town at the base of this mountain has been known for stone work for 100s of years.
How they cut columns:
The site is free to visit, also the Visitor’s Center. It’s a great place to bring kids who love to climb!
You can climb on the rocks, or hike up the trails on either side. All the way you will hear water flowing under the stones.
It was pretty impressive. Interestingly, there is nothing like it anywhere else in the region.
Afterwards we walked into town to find a fun place to eat.
The place we found was near the church, where a wedding was being held. We all ordered Pirrogen, a sort of ravioli filled with meat or spinach and quark. It was really tasty.
Today our Europe Central Area Missionaries held a Zone Conference!
John opened the meeting, we began by singing a favorite German hymn, “Hark, All Ye Nations!” After the opening prayer, we got to hear testimonies from Rob and Terri Wall, who have recently arrived, and then from Brad and Stacey Edgington, who will be departing soon. They beautifully shared hopes and dreams, and lessons learned.
Then after singing a rousing rendition of “Called to Serve,” we got to listen to Elder and Sister De Feo. They spoke to us as parents and grandparents who are living far from our families. Elder De Feo formulated his talk around that theme–leaving family to come serve, and he shared many scriptures (including my favorite in D&C 31) about the blessings given to our families while we are away. There were many teary moms and dads in our group. We are all grateful that our families are being looked after while we serve.
Speaking to Thomas B. Marsh, the Lord said in D&C 31:1-7, 13):
1 Thomas, my son, blessed are you because of your faith in my work.
2 Behold, you have had many afflictions because of your family; nevertheless, I will bless you and your family, yea, your little ones; and the day cometh that they will believe and know the truth and be one with you in my church.
3 Lift up your heart and rejoice, for the hour of your mission is come; and your tongue shall be loosed, and you shall declare glad tidings of great joy unto this generation.
4 You shall declare the things which have been revealed to my servant, Joseph Smith, Jun. You shall begin to preach from this time forth, yea, to reap in the field which is white already to be burned.
5 Therefore, thrust in your sickle with all your soul, and your sins are forgiven you, and you shall be laden with sheaves upon your back, for the laborer is worthy of his hire. Wherefore, your family shall live.
6 Behold, verily I say unto you, go from them only for a little time, and declare my word, and I will prepare a place for them.
7 Yea, I will open the hearts of the people, and they will receive you. And I will establish a church by your hand. . .
13 Be faithful unto the end, and lo, I am with you. These words are not of man nor of men, but of me, even Jesus Christ, your Redeemer, by the will of the Father. Amen.
After the wonderful meeting, we had a really nice catered lunch with desserts made by different missionaries. We enjoyed being together and learning from our fellow missionaries and Area President and his wife.
Here’s our group photo. A few are missing, out on various assignments.
This evening we did something big. We participated in a 5k run that filled downtown Frankfurt like the Macey’s New Year’s Day Parade! Not only did 63,000 employees from 100s of companies participate, thousands more lined every inch of the route to cheer on their friends and co-workers. I’ve never seen anything like it.
Here’s a news article Ralf wrote about the run and a bit of information about it:
On 5 June 2024, administrative employees from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints participated in the 30th annual Frankfurt am Main J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge. With the starting line set on Hochstraße and the finish line near Dantestraße, this 5.6-kilometre race has become a tradition for the European Central Area office. This year, participation reached an all-time high, with 114 Church employees joining – 91 more than the previous race in 2023.
Part of the registration fees will be given to Laureus Sport for Good Foundation and Deutsche Behindertensportjugend as the chosen beneficiaries of the Frankfurt race. These organisations focus on empowering youth struggling with disabilities, chronic illnesses, educational or inclusion challenges, by providing them outlets to engage in sport training and competitions.
We met downstairs in the cafeteria to register and have a sandwich, then we all took public transport downtown.
We arrived at the starting point about an hour early. I had no idea this entire plaza and the streets around it would eventually completely fill with people.
At 7:00 the gates were opened and the first batch of participants were let out. We were in the 3rd wave.
Ella Romney and I stuck together and kept to a brisk walk. We finished in about an hour. Our fastest employee finished in 17 minutes.
We were met at the end by a small crew handing our water and granola bars.
Then after rounding everyone up, we headed back to the office and home. It was a really fun evening. Lots of noise and cheer and all for a good cause.
This week for our German class, those who were able went to a strawberry field where you can pick your own berries. There are many of these fields here and you can pick to your heart’s content.
The Germans sell a sugar mixture that already contains pectin. It’s quick and easy to use, requiring boiling the fruit only 4 minutes on the stove before filling the jars. The sugar content is also much lower than our traditional American “cup to a cup” of sugar and fruit.
This was fun and the jam will be delicious! We love our German class!
Our Frankfurt Germany Mission 
On Sunday, June 9, from 18:00 to 19:30 CEST, the Europe Central Area Presidency will hold a special Area-wide devotional for all Church members aged 50 and over.