February 2014

At the beginning of February we were sad to see Elder Evans' time here come to an end--he is one of our amazing missionaries!

 But we were excited to welcome Elder Rahlf--what a great addition to the mission.

We had the wonderful opportunity this month to have a mission tour with Elder Patrick Kearon of the first Quorum of the Seventy.  We had two meetings--the first one was in Switzerland with four of our zones, and the other was in Munich with the other four zones.  Elder Kearon took some time before both of the meetings to greet each of our Sister Training Leaders and Zone Leaders

 Then he met each elder and sister in the meeting.

 It was great for our family to be able to join in this sweet experience.

At the lunch break everyone enjoyed eating and visiting.

Our son Tanner blended right in.

And our daughter Erika easily joined the group as well. 

The whole gang:  Bern, Zürich, St. Gallen & Freiburg Zones.

The next day we had our second meeting.  Again he started by greeting the leaders of the zones.

And then we all got to greet each elder and sister.

The Stuttgart, München, Salzburg and Wien Zones.

 Lunch Break

Elder Kearon enjoyed visiting with the missionaries during lunch.

Thanks for an uplifting Mission Tour, Elder Kearon!

Back in the office, President Kohler and Elder Bauerfeind had "Tons of Good!" working together.

Also in the month we had the quarterly Coordinating Council Meeting:  a gathering of the 7 Stake Presidents in our mission, President Kohler , and our area authority, Elder Fingerle.

 We also welcomed Elder and Sister McOmber to the mission--they joined us from the Berlin Mission to continue their Family History assignment.

Our faithful office couples:  Elder & Sister Gildner and Elder & Sister Thurman.

At transfers we received another transplant from the Berlin Mission:  Our Assistant, Elder Nielson's twin brother!  He came to us so that these two could travel home together.  What a treat!

Transfer Time:  Welcome Goldens!

 Here they are at the airport, ready to head out and start doing the work.

In the evening they gathered in the mission home while they waited to eat and to receive their first companions and areas.

 Here they are the next morning on their way to the Bahnhof to head to their new areas.

Our Going-Home Missionaries gathered for a farewell dinner and testimony meeting

 An amazing group--we are sad to let them go!

And Elder Abbott just kept going--while checking in his luggage for the flight home he got a referral.  Good Work Elder!

A Great Month in the Mission!