Attahöhle

Our missionary district made an excursion to Attahöhle or Atta Cave, about a two hour slow train ride from Dortmund (we changed trains twice). It was spectacular, one of the most beautiful natural creations we have ever seen. (May 26th)

46th Wedding Anniversary

Two couples in the ward invited us to their apartment to help us celebrate our 46th wedding anniversary. Sister Fritz and her husband are the parents of Sister Kube. They made an unbelievable raspberry cream torte as well as other desserts and gave us some beautiful roses. (May 24th)

Romberg Park

Romberg Park is located just a short distance from our apartment and we love to go there when we have time. It is big, and this time of the year it is spectacular, filled with rhododendron of many colors. It also has a beautiful pond, many water fowl, and a special collection of cacti, orchids, and other exotic flowers and plants.

Baptism, etc.

Angelique Meyer was baptized on May 17th 2008. She became acquainted with the church through a family in the Essen Ward, then began attending. She often visited our outreach center with member friends and she participated in the Möhnesee Tagung. She has a beautiful testimony.



The Vocalis Kammerchor (chamber choir) performed in the Dortmund chapel on Sunday evening May 11th. It consists of young LDS members from throughout Germany as well as bordering countries. It was a wonderful concert and we enjoyed it all the more because several of the members are YSA friends of ours. Matthias Bröcker was one of our stalwart Young Single Adults in Kiel.

The Dortmund District, May 20th 2008.
Three elders and one sister were transferred a few days later.

JAE Conference

Our outreach center sponsored a 4-day Young Single Adult Conference (JAE Tagung) 9-12 May 2008. It was fantastic. We had about 140 participants from every stake in Germany and a few from Switzerland. It was held in a large building close to the Möhnesee, a beautiful wooded lake close to the city of Soest. We had a soccer tournament, boating, 3 dances, a rallye, classes, Sunday services, games, and a great deal of fun. We were able to see one of the German missionaries who served in Dortmund (Elder Frank), several of our friends from Kiel, and Elder Enzio Busche's grandson, Julius Busche.

Water Castles/Palaces

Between Dortmund and Münster there are numerous small castles and palaces that are surrounded by water. Some go back to medieval times while some are from the Baroque era. Nordkirchen was built in 1703 and is modeled on Versailles, but a much smaller scale. It has a beautiful garden and grounds. Vischering was built in 1271 and looks very much like something from that period. Both were very interesting to visit. (May 7)

Braunschweig, Wolfenbüttel

Friday, May 2nd, we attended the wedding reception in Braunschweig for Markus Quast and Katja Rucker. We first became acquainted with Markus on January 19th, 2007, the day after we arrived in Kiel. He had been inactive in the church for a few years, but wanted to come back. For the next few months we spent many hours talking and praying together. He gradually came back into full activity, met a young woman from Braunschweig, and moved there to be close to her. They were married in the Frankfurt Temple on May 1st, 2008.
Braunschweig is a beautiful old city with lots of charm in the old town. We also made a side trip to Wolfenbüttel to visit the famous Herzog-August library there. The main attraction is the 12th Century Helmarshausen Gospel, said to be the most valuable book in the world.