Why Serve?

Such a great week, I was reminded more than once why we should all be serving in one way or another. Tuesday, while driving to help the missionaries teach English Class, I said to Sister Jerman, Let's be early so we can help set up and run off lesson copies for the Elders. Although we arrived in plenty of time, everything had already been set up, but we were each able to individually sit across from a student and have a one-on-one conversation in English, albeit a hesitant, choppy exchange. It was so nice to interact with these wonderful people, to understand their struggles and see a little of where they're coming from. They are so eager to succeed and be able to fit in and make a living, escaping from very difficult circumstances from their distant homes and trying to make a go of it here, it felt good to be helping them connect. 

Wednesday we fed the missionaries and had a set of Sisters and Elders come to eat. It is so amazing to be with these wonderful young servants of the Lord. We feel uplifted and blessed every time we're able to rub shoulders with them. We rubbed a little closer when we tried squeezing six people around  the table in our little kitchen. After dinner we just sat and chatted about Jesus Christ. I thought, this is so cool just to be discussing why we love our Savior. One Elder said, Think how Jesus lived his life. He was the Son of God, he was perfect, yes, but we need to give him credit for freely choosing to be obedient every day. He still had his agency, he passed the test of temptation by the devil, which was incredible, but he could have chosen to be less than he was, instead he chose the higher, harder path. So true. And so should we. 

We were invited by the Tongan Sisters to a special Tongan Ward Conference dinner dance. We showed up and NO ONE was there, the cultural hall was empty! Thirty minutes later a few folks trickled in and an hour later it was packed with families decked out in fancy dress. A sister came up to us and gave us a big hug and said she had just returned from her mission in New Zealand and was so glad to have had a senior couple in her area so far away from home, they had helped her feel less homesick!

Then we went over to the Visitor's Center the following night to see a special fireside put on by the Samoan Sisters, among others. It was a celebration of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, including many other cultures. It was just fantastic to see Tongans, Samoans, Cambodians, Chinese, Filipinos, Hawaiians, and Fijians singing, dancing, and shouting - loudly! The floor would shake when the Tongan Elders danced! They would have a speaker bear their testimony, often in a native language we didn't understand. Then a group would come up and dance. Afterwards, we were able to visit with and give hugs to missionaries we hadn't seen in a while. It was so amazingly fun! 

I am trying to write a family history about my ancestors, one great grandpa worked as a coal miner in Wales, Pennsylvania, and then out in Utah. So just yesterday, we went on a tour of a coal mine right here in Antioch, 15 minutes away. Very interesting to learn about the dangerous job of being a miner. There is nothing left of the little town of Somersville CA, right below the mine because scavengers have stolen everything. Except for the lonely cemetery high up on the hill where miners are buried there from dying while working in extremely harsh, sometimes deadly conditions. Made me grateful for our ancestors who sacrificed a lot for us. Think of them and feel the love this Memorial Day weekend, as well as for those who died protecting our freedoms - thanks for all those that serve, it just feels good!

Love, Elder and Sister Jerman

Old cemetery 

The visitor center was inside an old mine shaft where they mined sand for making glass. 

Asian American and Polynesian Islanders Celebration

From Egypt to Greece

 Hello to all our favorite people!

     We love this mission with all its unique sights and cultures.  This week we got to experience a lot of interesting things.

     We started off with our job seeker from Egypt coming into the employment office.  The first time he came in he grabbed my hand (Sister Jerman) and kissed it!  This time, he was so excited about getting a job that he gave me a full on hug, then kissed me on the check, then again, and again, moving closer and closer to the front of my face.  I pulled back and in a startled voice burst out, "You can't kiss me!"   Whoa!

     We attended a Cinco de Mayo Fiesta dinner with other senior couples in our mission, and then a Paella Party (rice and fish dish served in Spain) with local members who also served in Spain.   Elder Jerman got to use his "Spainish" several times at the Employment Center and at the Visitor Center.  

     One day we had a homeless gal walk into our job center asking for water.  She came back later asking for a blanket and food.   I had a muffin in the freezer and told her it would be ready to eat soon and gave her a list of places around town that distribute food.  Much to her disbelief, we didn't have a blanket.  She said she thought we were Mormons and would be able to help her.  She walked away, crumpled up the paper, and tossed it and the muffin in the middle of the parking lot.    Hmm...

     We went to a Greek Festival at the Greek church right below Temple Hill.  We ate some yummy food (mousaka and bougatsa) while listening to fun music and watching folks of all ages hold hands up and dance around a circle.  I forgot my name badge (2nd time ever in 7 months) and felt so lost without it that I put on the extra one I found in the car even though it said Elder Jerman.  I figured the folks at the Greek Festival wouldn't even notice, and it was more important to me to have the name of Jesus Christ over my heart.  

     While delivering some supplies to missionary apartments out in the countryside, we drove past farms selling fresh picked cherries, strawberries and apricots.  We were happy to buy super "fresh" fruit. It was the best we've ever had - so soft, sweet and juicy!  Saturday, we bought more produce at the Farmer's Market in Vallejo where we traveled to participate in a stake Self Reliance Fair with our Employment Service ideas and handouts.  

     Sunday we were happy to meet our Egyptian friend at a local ward. He told us he is a Coptic Christian. This time I got a nice little kiss on the hand which was still quite unexpected at a church meeting. I was so grateful that both speakers were inspired to talk about trials, prayer and working hard to make life better for ourselves and others  - all good things he could relate to.  

     After the meetings, I recognized another one of our job seekers, who is Chinese.  I had seen him a week ago at a YSA event so I told him we were going to the YSA ward next, and asked if he had been there yet.  I learned that he had been meeting with missionaries and coming to this ward for about 5 months. He accepted a ride to go with us and had a wonderful experience. 

     We feel it a privilege to get the opportunity to help some great people in their job search during the week, then help bring them closer to Christ on the Sabbath day.  We are excited for a new week of experiences as we serve. 

 

Love, Elder and Sister Jerman

Bonus, we got to go with another fun senior missionary couple on a catamaran out into the Bay. We even got a turn to steer, and pull the ropes “lines” to tack the sailboat back and forth.  We are having the best of times, and often think that we should just extend!

Greek Fest

Self Reliance Fair

Inspections, Connections & Reflections

Sure hope you all had an enjoyable Mother's Day. Ours was amazing! In fact, the whole week has been a real treat.

Monday, I took Sister Jerman out for an early Mother's Day treat at Harry's Hofbrau with the other senior couples. I had a predilection for Roast Turkey, it was delicious! 

Wednesday we held inspections on the Sister's apartments. Wow, are their apartments ever so much more cleaner, easier, and quicker to inspect than the Elders!

Thursday at the Visitors Center, we treated the Sister Missionaries to Pizza for dinner because both sets of Sisters had been busy with transfers and arrived without any food.  The man who delivered the Pizza, Joseph, was Jewish.  He pulled up in his Dominos truck and stated that "He just had a really good feeling driving up to this beautiful building and he has always wanted to attend a "Mormon" church. I said, "Well you have come to the right place!"  Of course he couldn't take time off during working hours, so I gave him instructions on the 7 different Sacrament Meeting times we have on Temple Hill and the different chapel locations. He was grateful and replied that he would return Sunday. 

Saturday we had a very enjoyable day at Temple Hill, volunteering with the YSA members in the Greater Bay Area.  We assembled dresser drawers, school backpacks, and hygiene kits. I made a fun connection there by running into a missionary who volunteered with me in Africa for a Humanitarian Service Project in Malawi a few years ago. It was so fun to see him, because 3 years ago he was a rather insecure 16 year old, and while talking to him I realized how much he had matured, or perhaps it was me that had changed, probably in retrospection, it was a little of both!

Sister Jerman was able to listen to an excellent talk at the YSA event with Emily Belle Freeman. She remarked to me that after listening to what she was counseled in that talk, it caused her to pause and create some reflection on her life and give herself a little introspection. 

Well, I hope there won't be any objections to this little collection of events in my email.  Instead, let's celebrate our mutual affection!

Love Elder and Sister Jerman

My “connection” came while serving next to these 2 young men. When I mentioned my son just moved from Folsom, the one next to me said he grew up in that ward and the other one said he served his mission in that area and knew Jason and his family!

Beautiful Bay Area

 California is such a beautiful state.  I remember after driving across the Nevada desert, we crossed the state line, and were suddenly surrounded by trees, hills, mountains, and flowers growing all around.  In Utah we have little clusters of flowers while here the geraniums are waist high bushes. We love driving through green hills, tree lined streets and seeing ground cover growing anywhere.  Sometimes we see garbage, even furniture and appliances dumped out by the roadside, so we cheer when we see workers picking up garbage.  The other day we even saw a worker dusting off the top of a public garbage can!  Keep California Clean!

    

 After our 3 days at the Employment Center we got to go on a 3 Hour Tour of the Bay on a catamaran.  It was so cool, and  relaxing, and amazing, and fun!  We sailed under the Oakland Bay Bridge and around the Bay with the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco in the background.  A day to remember!  

     We will miss our weekends with Jason and his family but we are thrilled for them to have moved to Boise this week and they are now in a home with an extra room and a fenced in yard!

    We had friends (Paul and Nancy Nance) visit us this week so we got to walk through a Redwood Forest, visit Alcatraz, eat chowder with sourdough bread, watch the sea lions at Pier 39, spend a little time at the beach, visit Ghirardelli Square, ride a cable car, see the view from Coit Tower, and drive down Lombard Street - the crookedest street in the world.  What a great time!

We went on 2 Ebike rides in our area on great bike paths, 

and we served twice at the Visitor Center.  

     Today we had a record breaking day of visiting 5 wards!  Some members ask if we will be attending their ward from now on and others ask if Roger is the Mission President.    We didn't go to all their meetings as they overlap a bit, but we were able to attend a couple sacrament meetings and introduce ourselves in each of the Sunday School classes. We visited Cantonese, Tongan, Tongan YSA, Spanish and Mandarin wards.  We can't read the Mandarin characters but we can sing along in Spanish and we love singing with the Tongans.  It sounds like we are on the islands with them.  

     The best part about our mission is all the beautiful people we meet here in the Bay area.  We are having so many wonderful experiences. It is such a blessing to be a missionary.

     All our Love,

Elder and Sister Jerman