THE CHURCH AND CENTER FOR YOUNG ADULTS

On the way to the church we pass by several Embassies.

Do you know which countries these are?

We walk by these bears (they are our High School colors)...

...across the double street (see the church)...

...to the front door...



...and into the foyer.

To the left is the chapel where we attend Sacrament Meeting with the Tiergarten Ward.

There is a nice gym where the YSA enjoy sports every Friday night.

This is a lovely kitchen to work in.

The Hallway to The Center for Young Adults.
Sister Gill is busy organizing the reception/office area.

She has finished.

We love order.

Looking out from the reception area

The Center Area

A Small Classroom Where Institute Classes are Taught

Brother Gruese's (CES Director) Office

The Large Meeting Room

This is where we meet for opening exercises for Institute (we have 4 classes), Singles Ward ( all YSA meet 4 times a year for Sacrament meeting and testimonies and a dinner), and CES Firesides, Movies and Soccer games are shown on a big screen.

The Library

The Lounge where Family Home Evening and other meeting are held.

VARIOUS AND ASSORTED ACTIVITIES IN BERLIN

Teaching the Gospel

A couple from China whom we helped to teach. They could not speak German or English. It was interesting how we were able to communicate. We showed them "The Restoration" in Chinese. They are coming back for another appointment this week.

Another Adventure in Berlin

One of our favorite Elders, who has been home for awhile, called us Saturday with the unexpected news that he was in Berlin. Since he was on a tight schedule we agreed to meet him at the Hauptbahnhof (Main Train Station). We had to ride the S-Bahn to get there. This was the first we had done it alone.

We Arrived at the Station in Good Time

We had a nice visit with Taylor and were so happy to see him again.

An Interesting thing Happened on the Way Home

Our Bus stopped and we were told to get off. We were tying to figure out what was going on when several other buses pulled up and did the same thing. We checked our map and decided we could walk home. As we got closer to our neighborhood the ground began to rumble and we heard very loud music and drums. As we approached the church we were in shock with what we saw. A very nice man explained to us...in English that this was an event that happened every year when the Gay and Lesbians from San Francisco joined others in Berlin. We took a couple of quick pictures before we averted our eyes, worked our way through the crowd, crossed the street and walked the short block to our apartment. We had no sooner closed our door and windows and curtains when the phone rang. The Sisters were several buses behind us and had walked close enough to hear the noise and feel the rumble. They wondered if we knew what was going on. We let them know what to expect and they were able to get through the crowd and cross the street to get to their apartment without incident, keeping their eyes down.

The Fence in Front of the Church

The Police monitor these events carefully, especially with a crowd this size. When the noise stopped, and we walked back to the church for a scheduled meeting, we found the street and area trashed with bottles and various other things. It was interesting to watch the many city trucks and workers who were washing the streets and cleaning up the debris. In a short time it appeared as if nothing had happened.

The Wold Cup Soccer Games

Sister Gill is Ready for the Game

A Few of Our Spectators

The Large Screen

Missionaries

Sharing Lunch with our Tiergarten Missionaries

Sister Wells, Elder Merrill, Elder Hamilton, Sister Gill, Sister McCall, Sister Bangerter

English Class

This is Christiana a German World Traveler and Lydia from Bulgaria. We are working with them in an advanced English Class. We also have Mohamad from the Middle East, Jerome from Spain, and Maxim a German who plans on doing an internship in Park city for the Sundance Film Festival. None are members and we enjoy sharing our different experiences.

SPORT

Yoga Together on P-Day




OUR SISTERS LOVE US

One day our Sisters came to our apartment, sang us a beautiful song, rubbed our feet and made us happy. We love them too.

A Sign for Roxy

OUR JENA FRIENDS

OUR FARWELL FROM JENA BRANCH

We received another one of those"are you sitting down" calls from Our Mission President the middle of May. More changes were in store for us. Because the Germany Mission boundaries were being changed as of July 1st, Jena would become part of the Frankfurt Mission. Since we would be leaving in July and Frankfurt had a couple ready, would it be possible to bring them in early. Of course, this was an answer to prayer, so we cleaned, packed and told the wonderful friends in Jena, goodbye. We would be serving in Berlin for our last few weeks in Germany.

Our Branch Choir Sings Our Favorite Hymns in German

Sister Jensen and Sister Hadfield sing "Each Life That Touches Ours for Good" in English

Wir haben euch lieb.

Ian Sings 50s and 60s songs with a little adjustment on the lyrics

Eleen, Mirka, Ian and Ralph singing "Heilig ist der Herr"

We were to meet with the sisters to help teach Jasmin on Saturday at 5:00. When we walked into the church there were many people standing around this table to give us hugs. It was a total surprise! We sat down to dessert and visiting.

We had Abendbrot a few hours later and then Ian presented the program. It was a very nice evening and we felt loved. We will miss this wonderful Branch.