Author: Ann Laemmlen Lewis

It’s hard to imagine this place without all of our friends here.  Tonight we had a farewell gathering for 3 more of our couples who will go home in the next week or two–the Garbers, the Hughes and the Argyles.  We have loved serving with them.

Here are a few of the beautiful angels who watch over the gravesites in the Frankfurt Main Cemetery.

And here are some comforting words from Jeffrey R. Holland:

“I testify of angels, both the heavenly and the mortal kind. In doing so I am testifying that God never leaves us alone, never leaves us unaided in the challenges that we face. “[N]or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man [or woman or child] upon the face thereof to be saved.” On occasions, global or personal, we may feel we are distanced from God, shut out from heaven, lost, alone in dark and dreary places. Often enough that distress can be of our own making, but even then the Father of us all is watching and assisting. And always there are those angels who come and go all around us, seen and unseen, known and unknown, mortal and immortal.”

This afternoon after our church meetings, we took a walk in the cemetery near our apartment.  The sun was warm and the shadows grew long.  We were quiet as we walked, taking it all in.  Today we went to the War Section where  we walked among the gravesites of 6,700 men, women, and children from Germany and other countries who lost their lives in both World Wars, including victims of the Nazis.  There was a profound feeling of peace here, peace that “passeth all understanding” (Philippians 4:7).

Nearby is the burial ground for victims of the Nazis near a beautiful bronze statue of Job looking down at the ground. Both lying and standing tablets mark the graves for 1,4000 dead who were relocated to the cemetery after the War, including prisoners of concentration camps, prisons, slave laborers, and Soviet prisoners of war.

There is also a plaque remembering the people with disabilities and mental illness who were murdered by the Nazis.

Dozens and dozens of the gravestones said “Unbekannt,” or “Unknown.”  I wanted to pause by each stone and honor them in some way, but there were just too many.

So many of these victims of the Great Wars were so young, cut down in the prime of their lives.

These are the older WWI headstones:

I reflect often on the gift Jesus Christ gave when He laid down his life for each one of us. And then He rose from the dead on that Easter Morning, giving us each the gift of eternal life. I am So Grateful.  “Oh grave where is thy victory, oh death, where is thy sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55-57.)

Oh my, the food!  This afternoon we enjoyed some Brats and them some pastries and sweets.  Here’s a man making hot waffles:

The farmer’s market is here in the downtown square every Saturday.

Bundles of soup vegetables:

I have no idea what’s in the crate next to the celery root:

I have never seen so much beer in all my life!

This afternoon we and the Romneys went into Frankfurt to the Dominican Kloster not far from the Dom for the Easter Market.  These Easter Markets are scheduled in different towns this month–many of the same vendors travel to multiple markets, where they set up their tables to sell their wares.

I had fun taking pics of the craft items. Most had to do with eggs and most were real eggs. And not just chicken eggs. There were duck eggs, goose eggs, pheasant and pigeon eggs, and even ostrich and emu eggs.

Many eggs were dyed, then the paint scratched off to reveal the white, with detailed patterns. We picked out enough to fill a bowl–8 eggs in different colors. I also picked out a few cute little Easter tree ornaments made with felted wool and felt.  I like supporting these artists.

We bought a few beautiful from this vendor.  His wife made them and he and his daughter sell them.  She works on them in the evenings, sitting by the fire, using a “carpet knife” to scratch the dye off, revealing the patterns.

Ella picked out some of these naturally dyed eggs with leaf patterns on them.  The woman explained how she uses onion skins to dye her eggs.  And she proudly told us that she never wastes the egg she blows out of the shells.  She shares the eggs with her family, neighbors and friends.  She dyes them by the 100s.

These are the names of the plants she uses to make the designs:

The eggs below were made with cut straw glued to the eggs, then painted with clear varnish.

These had copper wire designs on them:

Many, like these, were just painted with beautiful designs.

I bought a few of these little Easter tree decorations to hang on our Easter Tree at home.

It was a really fun afternoon.  We managed to find some Brats and pastries to keep us going, and we enjoyed showing the Romneys around downtown Frankfurt.  We are having so much fun here!

We have the best jobs ever, working with the best people ever.  This week was busy, as we learn about our new responsibilities and say farewell to friends who are leaving.