A fresh start in England

We have just returned from nine successful days with our two new Self-Reliance missionaries in Birmingham and Manchester England.  We were able to attend 5 self-reliance groups and 2 stake self-reliance committee meetings and met with 2 returned missionaries, 2 PEF participants and 2 stake committee chairmen.  We were also able to attend the Preston, England temple with the two missionary couples.  In the middle of our trip, we took advantage of some open times to visit the birthplaces of William Shakespeare (Stratford upon Avon), the Beatles (Liverpool) and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in England (Liverpool and Preston). 

With Elder and Sister Blumell and Elder and Sister Dudley at the Preston, England Temple

Sunday afternoon, February 12, we took a flight to Birmingham, England.  We were met at the airport by Elder and Sister Blumell, our SR missionaries for the Birmingham Mission and covering part of the London missions.  They are from Magrath, Alberta, Canada and have been serving since the first of November, last year.

We arrived in time to attend the final group meeting of a Finance SR group in Solihull, England.  They have had good participation in this group.  With the Blumells, there were 8 in attendance this evening.  Others that have participated regularly were not able to be there on Sunday.  This group was facilitated superbly by Peter (right most person in the photo).  He diligently followed the steps in the materials.  The interaction between each of the participants was amazing.

At the end of the group session, each of the participants shared their feelings about the benefit of the self-reliance group.  We were able to hear strong testimonies from each of the participants.  They all needed different things and came away with different results, but all were very positive.  From this group other groups will be formed and several are willing to serve as facilitators for other groups.

Those at the last meeting of the Solihull Finance Group

We stayed at a hotel right next to the self-reliance center.  They had a very British breakfast, which we enjoyed.  We have included a few photos of some of the British items.

Porridge with many tasty items to add to it.  I enjoyed this each morning.

Sister Rueckert especially liked the Crumpets, which were quite similar to pancakes

This is black pudding.  We didn't particularly enjoy it.  It was a like a black cookie without much flavor.

We were able to walk to the office on Monday.  We observed some holly and berries that were growing on the path.  These may seem like little things, but it was fun for us to be in the middle of many of the things that we have often heard about but not previously experienced.

Holly and Berries on the walk to the SR Center

Just a photo of the baby changing station.  Once again, we enjoy the different ways that the British have to speak English.

We went with Elder and Sister Blumell to the Wolverhampton ward where they had self-reliance groups going.  They facilitate two groups, one is a Starting and Growing My Business for one individual and then a Job Search group for four individuals.

My Job Search Group facilitated by Elder and Sister Blumell

We were also pleased to see our friend Jimmy Van Tonder again.  Jimmy had participated in our returned missionary group in our ward in Frankfurt and had since moved to Birmingham.  We were able to introduce him and another returned missionary (Eden) to the new My Plan for Returned Missionaries and get them started.  They will continue to be facilitated through this group by Elder Blumell on the upcoming Mondays.

With Eden and Jimmy, both returned from their missions last summer

After finally eating dinner, we returned to our hotel room.  The next day we were scheduled to spend time with our SRS managers in England.  However, they both came up sick, so we had some extra time to work from our hotel room in the morning, including a video conference with the PEF loan group led by our PEF Operations team.  We then went to a My Foundations only group with some older sisters in another ward.  This is another group facilitated by Sister Blumell, who has become a pretty accomplished facilitator.  She included all of the appropriate commitments, reporting, action partners and Ponder times that are needed to have success.  This was the first group meeting for these sisters.  They seemed to really enjoy the time together.

Four older Sisters from a very small ward.  They are the core women leaders in this ward and are the first participants in Self-Reliance groups in their ward

Elder and Sister Blumell took us to a nearby glass factory which is quite old and famous.  We were too late to catch a tour, but we did see the outside of the Red House Glass Cone in Wordsley.  This factory had built most of the glass and crystal that were used in the Titanic.

Outside of the Red House Glass Cone

Since it was Valentines Day and I had not bought anything for my Valentine, I found a nice necklace for her in the Creative Cone jewelry shop.  This jewelry is made on site.

My Valentine Present to Sister Rueckert

That evening we had a Valentine's Dinner with Elder and Sister Blumell.  They were such great hosts to us during the first four days of the week.  We really appreciate them.

Valentine's dinner with Elder and Sister Blumell. Chinese food, including roast duck

Wednesday was an open day for us, except for a Stake Self-Reliance Committee in the evening, so the Blumell's showed us some of the local sights.  We started with a short stop at the Warwick Castle.

Sister Rueckert with the Warwick Castle in the background.  This photo was taken from the bridge over the river

Closer up view of the castle with Sister Blumell and Sister Rueckert

View of the castle behind grass tennis courts.  Quite a picturesque view.

We then headed to the city of Stratford Upon Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare.  There we were able to participate in a walking tour of the city.

Our tour included visits to the birthplace and grave of William Shakespeare and many city sights that are from the 1500s.

Lamp Post donated by Israel.  Depicted is a figure from  A Midsummer's Night's Dream and Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof

The following are found in the Holy Trinity Church which we visited:

Birth and death records of William Shakespeare.  His birth in 1564 was recorded in Latin, while his death in 1616 was recorded in English.

A copy of an original version of the King James Bible.  Some believe that William Shakespeare helped translate part of the Bible.  William Shakespeare would have been 46 years old at the time.  In Psalms 46, the 46th word is "shake" and the 46th word from the end of the chapter is "spear".

Shakespeare's grave.  Also the grave of his wife,  daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter are in this Church.

Along the street we saw buildings from his time, the 1500s:

Original House of Shakespeare's son-in-law and daughter, from the late 1500s

To the far left is the Guild's Church and in the middle is the school where Shakespeare would have studied his High School

It started to rain during the tour, but only towards the end

In front of Shakespeare's birth place, the home owned by his father and mother

Finally we stopped at the cathedral of Lichfield, before going to the self-reliance committee meeting of the Lichfield Stake.

Magnificent Cathedral, even longer than it is wide!

The Lichfield Self-Reliance Committee was well organized with wonderful participation from all members.  This is a committee that we had visited 16 months earlier.  They seem to be making progress.

Litchfield Stake Self-Reliance Committee

Thursday morning we (Elder and Sister Blumell and E/S Rueckert) got up early and began a 2.5 hour drive to the Preston Temple.  There we met Elder and Sister Dudley with whom we would spend the rest of the week.  We were able to do some initiatory work for some of our family names before participating in a wonderful endowment session.

Often I struggle being as alert as I would like during temple sessions.  This time, my mind was extremely alert and I learned so much.  When we go to the temple and listen to the spirit, we see God's plan clearly.  We see it's contrast to the ways of the world, which are clearly identified in our temple ceremony.  This was a wonderful experience for me.  Perhaps it helped that I was representing Sister Rueckert's 5th great grandfather, Johann Georg Sickel.

Together in front of the Preston England temple.  Our first ever visit.

Sister Rueckert in front of the temple

Elder and Sister Dudley are also from Magrath, Alberta, Canada. They are Self-Reliance missionaries serving in the Manchester Mission, just north from the Birmingham Mission.  They have just started their mission a few weeks ago.  They knew Elder and Sister Blumell before their mission.  Now they are serving Self-Reliance missions in neighboring missions.  We took time to have lunch with all six of us and gave them a chance to catch up a little bit.  Then the Blumells returned to Birmingham and we continued onto Liverpool where we had a stake self-reliance committee meeting scheduled.

Our meeting was actually with the Stake Committee Chairman and the Stake Self-Reliance specialist couple who had been recently called.  This stake had not recorded any self-reliance activity on-line since the beginning.  However, we learned that they had held some groups, but that none had been recorded.  Our manager, Les Pointer also attended and recommended an Area Plan fireside be scheduled.  This would address the three points of the Area Plan and would then focus on Self-Reliance. The intent is to include most elements of the My Path Devotional and divide into Self-Reliance Groups.  President Rigby, the stake committee chair agreed to schedule such a fireside for April 23.  That will give them 8 weeks to prepare and follow all of the steps outlined in our "How to Begin the Self-Reliance Process" document.  The first step is setting a date, so that was taken care of.  We were very optimistic about the strong spirit present in the meeting.  The committee is now scheduled to meet on a monthly basis, every third Sunday morning.  We were invited to attend the next meeting that Sunday to take the next steps to prepare for this fireside.

As an extra blessing, we discovered that President Rigby had served his mission in Magrath, Canada and knows many of the people that Elder and Sister Dudley know.  From the very beginning, the Lord has given this fine couple an opportunity to start developing important relationships with this good stake president's counselor.

We made plans to visit the full committee on Sunday morning, attend church in the Liverpool stake and then to have dinner at the home of President Rigby.

Meeting with Liverpool Stake self-reliance leadership

We stayed in a hotel in Liverpool that evening and were able to see a few sights in Liverpool the following morning,  We were able to see the docks where over a hundred thousand Latter Day Saints had departed for the U.S. to join up with the members of the early Church, including several of our own relatives.  It is estimated that 9 million individuals immigrated through this port.  The Church has built a monument, representing the many families that left to go to Zion.

Monument form the Church at the Albert Dock

By the monument, with Sister Dudley.  The family is looking westward for their journey

With Elder and Sister Dudley and Sister Rueckert.  The son in the family is looking backward, playing with a crab, signifying a deep association with the sea

Looking over the docks

Current vessels in the docks of Liverpool

We also took a few moments to visit "The Beatles Story".  This was an enjoyable walk through history of the Beatles music group, which began in Liverpool.  These were the rock stars of our childhood.  The exhibit did a very good job of showing the history of the Beatles from their beginnings in Liverpool until the present day.

In front of "The Beatles Story"

In front of one of the setups where the Beatles had played

An exhibit of the Casbah location where the Beatles had played before becoming famous

We than returned to Preston for a visit with President Ezard of the Preston Stake.  He is the Stake SR committee chairman and also the son of our Self-Reliance missionary which just began her mission in Croatia.  This gave us an opportunity to visit with him and discuss the Self-Reliance initiative in his stake.   He invited us into his home where we met his wife and children and were able to share some of the new materials that are now available.  We tried to understand the goals of his stake and offered our services and the initiative to help the stake reach their goals.  Their primary goal is to focus on reading the Book of Mormon.  He could see how the new My Foundation emphasis on reading the Book of Mormon can help.  He was also especially interested in the My Plan for Returned Missionaries to help the returned missionaries in his stake.

After this meeting we drove to Elder and Sister Dudley's home.  Since it was late, I was asked to do the driving.  This was my first opportunity to drive on the right side of the car and the left side of the street in over 15 years.  I am happy to report that I succeeding in arriving without any damages.

When we arrived home on Friday evening, we found an email that we had not seen earlier from some PEF participants in the Liverpool stake.  They had responded to our request to visit with them.  However, they had been available to visit on Friday.  Unfortunately, we did not connect in time.  We did discuss with them the option of visiting them at Church on Sunday which was arranged.

On Saturday we had some free time, so we drove back up to Preston and visited Church History sites in that city where the Church began in England in 1837.  After arriving in Liverpool, Heber C. Kimball and 6 others immediately went to Preston.  There they first preached the gospel in the Market Square, near the Obelisk.  We were able to visit that very location.  This was also the same location where President Hinckley first preached the gospel on his mission.

Market Square and the Obelisk, where the gospel was first preached in England

When Heber C. Kimball first arrived, they saw a banner that said "Truth will Prevail" that inspired them in their missionary efforts.  As we arrived we saw the words on the building to the side that said  "Everything is going to be alright".  That reminded us of President Hinckley's optimism.

Here Elder and Sister Dudley and Sister Rueckert give their encouragement as they stand on the very same obelisk.

Sister Rueckert at the base of the Obelisk

In their first preaching, the people responded very favorably to their preaching of baptism by immersion for those who are of the age of accountability.  In fact, they had a minister who argued for infant baptism that was led away by the crowd.

In the first week they had 9 individuals to be baptized.  They were staying in a nearby boarding house, which we were also able to visit.

Heber C. Kimball was sleeping in the top floor with his companion with the others on the second floor

The day of the baptisms came and the brethren suffered a significant attack by evil spirits trying to stop the work that was going forth.  This included Heber C. Kimball being knocked unconscious by the evil spirits.  In the end, they prevailed and the evil spirits left.  It was one more example of the devil trying to stop the great work that was about to begin.

On that day, July 30, 1837, the nine individuals went to the river to be baptized.  Two of them ran a foot race to see who could be the first to be baptized in England.  This occurred at the Ribble River.  The photos below are of that river and some monuments that have been put in the park nearby.

In front of the first baptism site.  It occurred on the other side of the bridge in the background

By the marker and tree established in 1987, the hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the first baptism in England.  The Oak tree behind the missionaries was planted at that time.

Near a newer plaque commissioned by President Hinckley after the dedication of the Preston Temple in 1998, giving more recognition to the thousands of members that were baptized in Northwest England and joined the saints in the U.S.  This time a Maple tree was planted.  The Ribble River is in the background.

From that time forward the work of the Lord moved ahead at an amazing rate.  By the end of the year, several branches of the Church was established.  They met in the Cockpit or temperance hall for three years.  This location was the primary meeting spot for the Church for the first 3 years.  The following plaque identifies the location where this hall stood.

Elders Dudley and Rueckert near the site of the former Cockpit meeting hall

On Sunday morning we traveled back to Southport where we met with the Stake Specialists and the Agent bishop of the Liverpool Stake, making plans for the next steps needed for the April 23 fireside.   We then traveled to the Liverpool 1st ward to attend our Sunday meetings.  During Sunday School time we met with Alessandro Ginatto and his wife Isabel Ginatto.  Both are former PEF Loan recipients from Brazil.  Alessandro is now a counselor in the bishopric and his wife is the secretary of the Primary.  We had a delightful visit with them.  They have such a strong self-reliant attitude and have made great progress in 18 months in England.  They are paying diligently on their PEF loan.  We agreed to help them resolve some record keeping errors on the wife's loan and to help them receive the deserved loan incentives. This was one more example of great members from Brazil strengthening the Church in other lands.  There are 29 members of this ward that are from Brazil, including our high priest instructor.

Alessandro and Isabel and their beautiful family

After our meeting we went to the home of President Rigby where we were treated to a hearty lunch, prepared by his wife, Jenny.  As Sister Rueckert and I arrived at their door, their six year old son commented, "I have not seen a boy and a girl together.  We usually have two boys or two girls come"  We explained the concept of couple missionaries.  It is clear that this family often feeds the younger missionaries.    They are a great example of a the hope of this country, self-reliant and dedicated to serving in the gospel.

President Rigby and his wife, Jenny and their four children

We left their home and headed south to the Telford Ward, more than 2 hours away.  There we were able to participate in a Finance Self-Reliance group.  This was a very well run group, facilitated on a rotating basis by members of the group.  This group includes a non member, some new members and some less actives that are returning.  Each person is on a different step in their self-reliant path, but the process works beautifully.

Eleven individuals in the Personal Finance SR Group besides the 4 visiting missionaries

We drove back to the home of Elder and Sister Dudley, finishing a 15 hour day.  It was a holy Sabbath Day, but probably wasn't a day of rest.  We have really enjoyed getting to know Elder and Sister Dudley who have not yet been married a year.

                                            

                                                   Elder and Sister Dudley, Self-Reliance missionaries and newlyweds

We left the next morning to the airport, returning to Frankfurt.  We were pleased to have 9 days full of self-reliance activities, a temple trip and the chance to explore some local sights.  Most of all, we loved the time that we spent with Elder and Sister Blumell and Elder and Sister Dudley.  They are great missionaries that will bless many lives during the course of their missions.  We are so blessed to associate with such special people and with this inspired self-reliance initiative.

Home Sweet Home

After several weeks of traveling it was great to stay home for a week.  We know that home is a relative term, but we sure enjoyed this past week in Germany.  We have a plaque on our wall in our bedroom that defines home perfectly.

Our home travels with us, as long as we are together.  We are not perfect, but we feel like we are perfect for each other.

This week at home was very much needed and we seemed to use it to the fullest.  

Our week began with a devotional with Elder Paul V. Johnson of the Area Presidency addressing us.  He taught us about being employees and missionaries for the Church.  He taught us about Truman Angell, who was an early architect for the Church.  The following are some of the notes from his talk.

"This work is ONE work.  To God, all things are Spiritual.  They are not spiritual first and then temporal.  When Truman was a Seventy and wanted to leave to preach the word of God to others, the prophet Joseph Smith asked him to stay and build a new store.  Staying and building the store was no less important or no less spiritual than he work would have done teaching and preaching.  Maybe what we are doing isn’t the most glamorous, but it is essential."

Monday evening we had our monthly Family Home Evening with the senior missionary couples.  Before the Family Home Evening we had one of our normal Monday night meals, roterisserie chicken from the "chicken man"

This Family Home Evening was a game night, playing Bunko.  This is a dice game that is totally based on luck, which made it more fun.  We moved from table to table depending on if we won or lost the previous round.  Fun was had by all and we were able to get to know many missionaries a little better than we otherwise would.

Tables of four, winners move forward with new partners  from those who lost at the table in the previous round

We are always blessed with wonderful treats at our FHEs and devotionals.  The treats this evening were amazing!

While in Germany, we spend a lot of our time in video meetings with managers and missionaries.  This week we had our monthly managers meeting for two hours on Monday and our weekly meeting with Miguel Adriano, our Operations manager in Portugal, on Wednesday.

We were also blessed to have nine video conference meetings with many of our self-reliance missionaries.  This included one hour meetings with couples from Greece, Romania, Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Scotland, Sweden and 2 different couples from Cape Verde.  We also had telephone conversations with the two couples in England that we will be visiting this next week.   These one on one meetings with other self-reliance missionaries have become highlights of our month. When we see the amazing work that each of them do, their creativity and dedication, we are in awe.  They inspire us and always have something to teach us.  Our role is often to share successes and lessons learned from others.

One of our Video Conferences with Elder and Sister Kimball in Spain.  We caught them right after an exercise session, so Elder Kimball was not yet dressed in his missionary attire.  These are incredible missionaries with perfect capabilities and personalities to serve in Spain.

We have really been impressed with the efforts of Elder and Sister Pettit.  They served incredibly in Ireland for the first year of their mission and now have been reassigned to work in Scandinavia.  They are based in Sweden and in their first month have already visited almost every stake and district in the four countries of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden.  Their efforts are tireless and their ability to inspire and support the priesthood leaders is amazing.  What they are accomplishing in Scandinavian has already surpassed any of our highest expectations.

Our relationships with each of these missionary couples is one of the greatest treasures of our mission.  They have become some of our closest friends.  We are pleased to be able to meet with two of our newest couples in England this next week.  One arrived in November and the other in the past few weeks.  Our goal is always to get to know them in a way that facilitates our working together throughout their mission.

Our week was also full of follow-up items from our previous trips and preparations for the next trips. We standardized our direction in Spain with the unemployed leaders, and got our upcoming filming trip to Cape Verde (in March) better organized.  We also continued our follow-up with the Netherlands Stakes and resumed our efforts with our own ward, preparing to met with our ward council in two weeks.  We have also been invited to help our neighboring German ward to prepare for  their first My Path Devotional in March.

 We also were able to return to most of our German classes.   On Tuesday, Sister Rueckert had her class with Sister Enger and we were able to give her a ride home that evening.  Later that evening we spent an hour with Sister Peterson in Provo, updating her on our recent travels.  Our discussion lasted an hour and was totally in German.  It's not pretty, but it is getting better.  On Wednesday we had our afternoon German class with a member of the Translation team.  Each lesson with her, we learn new phrases and dialogues that help us to be more conversational.  And finally on Saturday, I finished my 12th  level of Rosetta Stone.  That should have been finished in December, according to my goals, but I have gotten behind.  Sister Rueckert has been reading the Book of Mormon in German and is now at Alma 29.

On Wednesday night we had dinner with Elder and Sister Steineckert and shared some of our family history experiences and tried to help them get started in their own family history while on their mission.  Their ancestry comes from the Nürnberg area, same as ours.  We were able to get them started with communication with one of the pastor offices in that region.

On Thursday, we had the opportunity to meet with the Mid Singles of our Stake.  Our manager, Thomas King, and his wife are the Mid Singles representatives and were out of town this week, so we were asked to fill in.  We reviewed the conference talk from President Uchtdorf about Alma and Amulek.  The discussion was very meaningful as these fine single adults shared their experiences and feelings.  One of the sisters was visibly touched by the spirit. As we talked to her after the lesson, we learned that she had recently become active after 19 years away from the Church.  As we read the words of Amulek "I was called many times and I would not hear; therefore I knew concerning these this things, yet I would not believe", she said that it perfectly described her past.  Obviously, with the guidance of the Lord we were able to have a lesson that was perfect for her.  This was a wonderful evening for us.  As is normal, when we serve, we are most blessed.

That night as we went home, Sister Rueckert redid our door wreath and prepared it perfectly for the Valentine season.

On Friday we concentrated on preparing for our visit to England and our Self-Reliance devotional that we will share with the other senior missionaries the day that we return from England. By Saturday we were certainly ready for our first Preparation Day in a month.  It was glorious to just work on the many little things that have been neglected.  This included starting on our 2016 income taxes.

We finished up our day with a zoom conference with our daughter Gina and her family.  Her son is our newest little grandchild and he had a tough week, ending up in the hospital with RSV and bronchulitis.  We were so happy to see him home and doing much better.  He finishes off our weekly theme of being "home".  It is truly wonderful!

Little Hudson on Zoom with his grandparents in Germany

Today we attended church in our "home" ward in Frankfurt, the first time in a month.  The meetings were focused on Repentance and the First Principles of the gospel.  Our ward is full of talented members who share the gospel in a very meaningful way.

We are now in an airport leaving for England where we will finish out our Sabbath Day.  It certainly was nice to be home!

1 week; 2 Countries, 2 Cultures, 2 Cuisines, 2 Climates

We started the week in southern Spain and finished in northern Italy.  Two contrasting but beneficial Self-Reliance experiences.  In Spain our focus was on helping unemployed priesthood leaders in Cadiz, while in Italy we were involved in a seminar for all the Stake Self-Reliance Specialists.  Food tastes are also very different in the two countries.  Even the weather differed, sunny in Cadiz, Spain and rainy in Milan, Italy.  

In front of the Milan Cathedral

View over the bay in Cadiz, Spain; Temperature in the 60s.

We finished our previous week, arriving from the Netherlands in our home just before midnight on Sunday evening.  Monday morning we were on the way to the airport by 10:00 am.  We traveled through Madrid and on to Jerez, Spain.  We were pleased to arrive to warm weather that felt like late spring.  What a delight!  We traveled with our Area SR Manager, Thomas King and were picked up at the airport by our Spain SR Manager, PAco Serrano.  From there we drove to Cadiz which is on the southern end of Spain.  Cadiz overlooks the Atlantic Ocean,   The following photos were taken as we arrived.

Panoramic View from the outside of the shopping mall where we ate dinner that evening

Evening shot of the bay

The purpose of our trip to Spain was to start working with one of the stakes that has very high unemployment.  The Area Presidency has asked us to help unemployed Priesthood leaders in Spain as our top priority.  We started with the Cadiz Stake.  They had identified over 20 priesthood leaders that were unemployed and many more sisters who are part of the ward councils.  We were able to have 11 of them come to a special accelerated job search effort on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings.  PAco asked me on Tuesday morning if I would facilitate the first lesson of the My Job Search Self-Reliance course.

Our name plates for the training

I believe that this worked out well.  With my limited Spanish, it was easy for me to facilitate and let the group members do all of the talking. That is exactly what a facilitator is supposed to do.  We sat around two tables and proceeded with two separate groups.  I asked the sister at the first table to facilitate as I tried to keep track of what was happening in each group.

One of the Job Search tables

I love the way that the materials are organized.  After doing a My Foundations lesson, we moved onto learning how to do a "Me in Thirty Seconds"  statement for each individual.  Following the pattern outlined in the course materials, each individual was to practice their "Me in Thirty Seconds"  with others.  Below shows the two groups sharing with each other on a rotating basis.

The second from the right is the second counselor  in the stake presidency and chairman of the SR Committee.

We than asked them to make a list of contacts and share their "Me in Thirty Seconds" with at least 10 of their contacts before returning the next morning.  PAco than taught them how to start accessing the hidden network of jobs through these contacts and the people that they know.  They also made their first contact that very morning by telephone to start their progress.  Only 9 more contacts to do after leaving the training.

As we were eating dinner that evening, PAco talked to one of the participants as his Action Partner and discovered that in one of his contacts, he was already offered a job teaching French in a school, beginning later in the year.  What a great beginning.

That afternoon PAco and Thomas King visited a company called "Quality People" and introduced the needs of our members.  This company hires 100 to 200 people each month in temporary positions often with potential full-time positions.  This appeared to be a wonderful resource to share the next day with those in our job search group.

That evening we met with the Cadiz Stake Self-Reliance Committee.  Thomas King asked me to share a doctrinal discussion on the spot.  Again in Spanish, I am less comfortable, but we were able discuss D&C 104:14-17 which is full of Self-Reliance doctrine.  The stake president counselor kept saying that he was understanding all of my Portunal (Spanish and Portuguese mixed).  They received overall training on the Self-Reliance initiative by PAco and then we discussed the effort to help the unemployed leaders.  

This committee was so engaged, especially the chairman of the committee and the senior bishop in the stake.  They knew the needs of the stake in detail, name by name.  They decided that they needed to start these job search groups in each of the wards the next week, including the individuals in our training.  To do that we suggested that we take time the next evening to train the ward specialists.  They felt that they could bring these specialists together for that training.

Stake Self-Reliance Committee with Visitors

The next morning we continued on with the second lesson from the My Foundation and My Job Search materials.  9 of the individuals returned, we lost two.  Each reported on his efforts the previous day.  Some exceeded the 10 contacts, others did less.  That is part of the process.  Each that made contacts reported on their experience.  The sister said that one of her contacts told her that if she would have contacted her a few months earlier, that she had a job available.  Others opened the doors to other possibilities. PAco reported on the resources that he had identified the previous day and shared it with each of them.

We then continued with lesson two, which focused on Using Time Wisely (from My Foundations) and preparing Positive Declarations (Power Statements) to use in interviews with employers.  Again, PAco followed with more detailed materials to help as they set up interview opportunities.

The entire group lined up practicing their Positive declarations

More practice of Power Statements 

Pondering and writing down commitments

That evening we met with 5 of the ward specialists and the stake specialist to give additional training.  Once again, the meeting was led by the stake committee chairman, the second counselor in the stake.  He had been with us on Tuesday morning, Tuesday evening and Wednesday evening.  His leadership makes all the difference in this effort.  We felt that, with his leadership, this two day effort could continue in the stake and bless the lives of many more members.  Of course, PAco will continue working closely with this stake as they move forward.

The stake committee chairman sharing his feelings about the importance of the self-reliance efforts.

At times, my Spanish wasn't sufficient and Elder Diaz, a young missionary, helped with translation.  He also helped me understand some of what I was not able to capture.  He also acted as a member of the group. He will be well prepared as his mission finishes in 7 months and he returns to his home in the Canary Islands, off the coast of Spain.  His Companion, Elder Smithson, sat with Sister Rueckert and Thomas King and translated the proceedings of the training to them.  We love working with these young missionaries.  Their attitude is so positive and they are willing to serve in any way.

Elder Diaz (my translator) and Elder Smithson, who translated for Sister Rueckert and Thomas King during the training sessions.

View from the front of the stake center

The next morning we caught an early flight and returned to Frankfurt by noon.  We were able to go to the office and work on a  few priority items and prepare for our trip to Milan, Italy the next day.  We left home on Friday at 7:00 am to go to the airport for our next adventure this week.

We were met at the airport by our SRS manager, Ether Simoncini.  Unlike Spain, we had rain much of our visit in Italy and much lower temperatures.  We spent the rest of the day with Ether and his parents, who are our Self-Reliance missionaries in Italy.  We had hoped to visit with some PEF loan participants that day, but the only one that was able to be scheduled had to cancel due to illness.  We are always able to spend productive time with Ether as we discuss the Self-Reliance initiative in Italy.  We also were able to make final preparations for the specialist seminar the next day, including Elder Simoncini's translation of some of my presentation materials.

By 4:30 pm, we had completed our preparations.  With a little time available, we took the subway to the center of the city and visited the Milan Cathedral.  The following comes from Wikipedia.

Milan's Cathedral, built between 1386 and 1577, is the fifth largest cathedral in the world^[69] and the most important example of Gothic architecture in Italy. The gilt bronze statue of the Virgin Mary, placed in 1774 on the highest pinnacle of the Duomo, soon became one of the most enduring symbols of Milan.

The subway took us right to the Plaza in front of the Cathedral.  

View of People and Pigeons on the Plaza

On the side of the Plaza, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

This area is full of interesting sites, but with limited time available, we focused on visiting the Cathedral.  Some photos while we waited in line to get entrance tickets.

Side view of the cathedral.  It is deeper than it is wide.

Interesting sign before entering with all of the things prohibited in the Cathedral.

We could take photos in the  Cathedral, just no selfie sticks or tripods.  This cathedral is an example of Gothic architecture and is enormous.  The Cathedral has many memorials to previous Arch Bishops, including Pope Paul VI, who came from Milan.  Some of our photos from inside:

Looking across the width of the Cathedral 

Looking diagonally across the Cathedral

From the middle of the cathedral

From the front of the Cathedral

With the length of the Cathedral behind us

Zoomed in version of the front of the Cathedral

We were able to hear someone playing the organ, apparently rehearsing with a choir.  We were pleased to once again experience music inside a cathedral.  As we came out, it was now dark, which gave us a night view.

Close up of the Cathedral with the Bronze Statue of the Virgin Mary

We enjoyed a very Italian meal that evening with Ether and his parents.

Ether, Elder and Sister Simoncini, Elder and Sister Rueckert

Saturday morning we began the Stake Specialist training.  9 of the stakes were in attendance with the remaining stake specialist joining us by Zoom.

Stake Specialists with one joining by video conference

I was able to share an overall view of Self-Reliance activity in Europe and compare it to the 2016 results in Italy.  Ether translated and added valuable content.  Ether also shared a powerful doctrinal discussion on self-reliance as taught by the Savior from Matthew chapter 22 and 25.

Elder and Sister Simoncini prepared a lunch for all.

After lunch, Sister Rueckert shared some European Success Stories and shared the elements of a good success story.  The Area 70 in Italy has asked for more success stories to help the priesthood leaders to be motivated by the successes around them. I was very impressed with the way that Sister Rueckert leads a discussion.   She brings a powerful spirit to our Self-Reliance activities.

Sister Rueckert sharing principles of Success Stories

Sister Simoncini than shared some successes in Italy.  Ether than held a Facilitator training session in group mode for all of the participants. It was wonderful to see all participating.  It appeared to strengthen the bonds between each of them.  At the end I challenged them to each facilitate a group session themselves.  They were also assigned another stake specialist as an Action Partner.

The remainder of the day included Elder Simoncini discussing materials that they should use and Matt Matthias (Our Eastern European SR manager) shared how one on one coaching was working in his area. Ether than finished up establishing next steps with each of the Specialists.

Some of these specialists were the same that we had met a year ago.  Whenever we meet people a second time, the bonds of friendship seem to increase.  We were pleased to participate in this seminar.  We can see the uplift that it gives to the participants.  We pray that this uplift can continue as they confront real challenges in moving this great initiative forward.

After attending Church in Milan, Italy we are on our way back home.  We are finishing this blog from the airport as we await our flight.  As we ponder about the contrasts of both visits this week, we need to share the contrasting foods that we also experienced:

An Italian Pizza, my Friday night dinner, thin crust no tomato sauce

Spain's favorite meal, Paella, Rice, Olive Oil, vegetables, meat