We Have Arrived in Germany!

This has been a busy couple of weeks! On Monday, August 17 we received a phone call from President Kopischke of the Europe Area Presidency asking if we would be willing to leave for our mission on the following Saturday, August 22. Of course the answer was a resounding YES! We had a long list of final preparations to make that last week to prepare our home for our friend who will be living there, selling several vehicles, and making all the necessary arrangements. We were also required to take 2 Covid tests apiece within 5 days of leaving. For various reasons we ended up having 4 Covid tests each--an uncomfortable process. But if that was what it took to get us to Germany we were willing to do it! 

First we flew to Budapest, Hungary. We later learned an office elder and others from the Hungary mission had researched and found that visitors from other countries were allowed to enter Hungary providing they had had 2 negative Covid tests within the past 5 days. We entered Hungary on Sunday. We had lots of paperwork in case there were questions, but once we showed our negative Covid tests we entered without any problems. (It was a relief!) 

On Monday we were told we would be flying to Germany on Thursday. Budapest is a beautiful city. We did see a few of the sites but we mainly spent the time in an apartment making final preparations for our mission and also for protection from the virus. On Tuesday evening we celebrated our 39th wedding anniversary by taking a one-hour river cruise along the Danube. With all the buildings lit up along the water it was spectacular. 

We got up at 2am on Thursday morning to make it to the Budapest airport for our 6am flight. We were nervous when we landed in Germany, but since we were coming from a European Union country we did not even go through passport control after landing. What a relief! We walked directly to the area for the Covid testing at the airport and took the tests. We walked outside and were then greeted warmly by the acting mission president, Michael Cziesla, and his wife Marget as well as Steve and Anita Hicken who are the mission office couple. We all followed strict social distancing guidelines. We loaded our own luggage in a car they had brought for us and drove separately, following the Hickens to the mission home. The house is in a beautiful neighborhood and is very very nice. 

That evening we met with the Czieslas, the Hickens and the Assistants to the President in the backyard, again keeping our distance from one another. They gave us an update on the mission. One thing they mentioned was that despite the restrictions the missionaries had had during the early months of Covid restrictions, they were in very good spirits and had great attitudes. There have been a few hiccups. In our first week alone, the first car accident was reported (fortunately it was minor), and we learned that $15,000 worth of damage had been done to an apartment when some elders had set some of their underclothes on fire in the bathtub. Needless to say, President Cziesla seemed very happy to turn over the cell phone and all the responsibilities of the mission to Dan. He said he and his family were going to go on a little vacation this weekend, no doubt to recover from the past eight weeks while he was overseeing the mission. He served as interim mission president while at the same time working full-time as an attorney and serving as an Area Seventy in the church--each huge responsibilities in and of themselves. We are so grateful to him and to his wife and family for their service. 

We are so very grateful to be in Germany with our missionaries! On Thursday night we held a Meet the President zoom broadcast and for the last three days we have started having online chats (via WhatsApp) with each missionary companionship. So far we have been able to meet 50 of our 102 young missionaries in this way. It is so great to be able to talk with them and see their faces. What a great group of young people. We look forward to meeting the other 52 online during the next few days. 

On Sunday afternoon we learned that as of September 1, Hungary is closing its borders to foreigners. We are so grateful that we were able to enter Germany during this window of opportunity. Until our next post, Auf Weidersehen!