Faith Precedes Miracles, Ballgame Victories, and Hunting Parties

 For me, this week was a tutorial in faith. I have had my faith in humanity tested, then restored by events that have taken place in our lives over the past few days. We've experienced a variety of highs and lows.   We have had, to say the least, an incredibly diverse and instructionally faith promoting and faith trying week.

Quick recap: One of our children's good friends died in St. George from extended high 110° heat exposure. So heartbreaking for her parents, who from their hospital beds heard the news of their daughter's death. 

Opposite end of the spectrum, It's always a thrill when we have a job seeker/applicant find work after a long period of time, just as it can be very disappointing when a caregiver gets fired over a misunderstanding and inability to communicate, one speaking only English the other speaking Spanglish.

Thursday we had the double treat of seeing Ubaldo, who had just barely been into our Employment Center creating a resume and applying for a job, being baptized that day in a nearby town. We watched from the Visitors Center via zoom, and he bore an amazing testimony of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ! Later that night, a couple of Chinese students came in and began looking around the Center, we asked them to sit down and listen to the Christus Narration, but they declined, looked around the Center, began to leave, and Sister Jerman said, "Wait! Here is someone who speaks Chinese," pointing to a newly returned missionary and also the Chinese Sisters. They said, Hmm, OK. The group of 5 talked for 45 minutes and set up a future teaching lesson! They flipped a 180 degree reversal of a gospel offer from "No Thank You" to "Hmm, Yes, Tell Us More,"

Had some fun, but a little frustration at an A's Baseball game. Oakland lost to Houston, 8-1. Houston played a great game, no wonder they were World Champions in 2022. I was out on my bike ride Saturday, when I came within 10 feet of a small pack of 3 coyotes! They were chasing a stray cat for dinner that scared up a turkey, which eventually flew up into a tree and they both got away. Good thing for those two, that coyotes lack faith.... and wings.

We were fed spiritually on Sunday, because we sang with the Tongan Branch at the ISC (Interstake Center), and we heard a return missionary bear his testimony about healing a 14 month old baby boy who fell down a flight of wooden stairs and cracked his skull. The doctors only gave him two days to live, and if he survived, he would most likely be brain damaged. Elder Xia and his companion gave him a blessing. Three days later, to astounded doctors, he was released from the hospital and given a clean bill of health. The Elders' faith combined with that of the boy's parent's faith were incredible. God's priesthood power and love are nothing short of a miracle! 

Hoping we can each personally experience His Perfect Power, Mighty Miracles, and Tender Mercies this coming week.

Love, Elder and Sister Jerman

9 months down-what!?!

 We celebrated our 36th anniversary by serving at the Employment Center, helping 7 people that came in that day. That is a big day, especially since they could only speak Spanish. Elder Jerman got acquainted with them, then helped write up resumes since they say they don’t know how to type or how to use our keyboards. I did the clerical work in the background. Then we treated ourselves to dinner at The Spaghetti Factory. 

     One morning I needed to go grab a few groceries to feed missionaries later that day. On my way out of the store, I could tell the man walking past me was taking a second look at my missionary tag. I stopped and asked him if he recognized my tag or knew The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He said it was in his Tongan heritage back in Tonga but he now lives in Oakley, CA. Since we visit different wards each week and feed missionaries each week I knew there was a Tongan ward in Oakley, so I invited him to come. He seemed surprised and a bit skeptical, so I showed him the address on my phone andagain invited him to come. He said he knew the location and seemed pleased to know. Now I pray he will feel inclined /inspired to go. 

     We had one night that cooled down and felt good but we have mostly had days over 100 degrees and. . . our air conditioning went on the blink. At first it worked sporadically, but now we don’t get any cool air! 

    Our kids drove to Boise to have their own Jerman Crew Reunion. Fun to be able to FaceTime a couple calls to see them all together having fun. I love that they carry on and enjoy being together.  

   We feel so blessed to be in this mission as we can spend a whole day on Temple Hill, going to the temple, working at the Family Search Center then serving at the Visitor Center. 

     We were invited to a Stake Pioneer Day celebration with breakfast, games, a flag ceremony and the opportunity to say the Pledge of Allegiance. (We don’t get to do that very often anymore.)   We set up a table to share information about our Employment Services alongside the Pathway program, English Connect classes, Family Search services, and Self Reliance classes. 

     Then we got another turn on the sailboat to go with a wonderful senior couple before they leave to go home in a week. It was a beautiful day and just so incredible to be on a boat surrounded by the Oakland Bay Bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge, the landscape of San Francisco and the Oakland Temple shining like a beacon on the hillside. 

     We were given the keys to an empty senior couple apartment near Temple Hill that we can use the next couple of months. This saves us the 45 minute drive home and back again which was so nice this weekend when we served at the Visitor Center Saturday night until after 9:00 p.m., then went to church Sunday morning saving us an hour of travel time. We were able to visit 3 wards in the Bay Area. Then we filled in at the Visitor Center for the evening shift and again chose to stay just down the hill from the temple. Besides being only a 2 minute drive instead of 45 minutes, it’s 20° cooler near the bay compared to back at our apartment with no air conditioning!  

     Have a great week and remember your ancestors this Wednesday for Pioneer Day. Maybe even have some pie for Pioneer Day. 

     Love, Elder and Sister Jerman

Temple with missionaries 

Jerman Crew Family Reunion in Boise 

Amazing outing!

The Spirit Invites Love

Missions are the BEST! I am learning so much about how to be a better human being. Each week we have a training devotional with the other managers in our Western Employment Area. The manager/host of the meeting this week asked us an introspective question that made me think. What did we do the past week that helped us to really invite the spirit? Each of us have busy lives, but we could slow down a little and do things more mindfully and allow the spirit to speak to us in that still small voice, so we can actually hear it and then follow those whisperings. 

This week we helped improve prospects for several job seekers looking for employment, we fed a lot of hungry missionaries and we toured a coal mine and sand mine (used for making glass) with other senior couples, followed by pizza at Skipolini's.  It made for a great week!

On Thursday at our shift at the Visitor's Center, it was fun to see Kaleen's sister and her family. They came to enjoy a short tour around several California sites, and it was so fun to hear about their adventures in person. While they were here, I was pleasantly surprised by an Elder from a different mission coming up and saying "Hey, are you Mr. Jerman? You taught me at Riverton Elementary!" My mind raced over the years, I glanced at his mission tag and it didn't ring a bell - but his face was very familiar. Luckily, he was glad to see me and we had a great little visit and we exchanged contact information. I'm very happy when I meet former students and they enjoy talking to me, because it could be otherwise. It reminded me much like when we get to the end of our lives, how will our old acquaintances come up to us and greet us, I hope we will have a positive memory about our experiences with them.

We had the privilege of eating lunch with an amazing senior couple this week that are true examples of Christ-like love and service. They were called to serve as Government Relation Missionaries. They basically make connections and build bridges with other countries who have offices in San Francisco. Their job is difficult because they don't wear their mission tags and they don't come right out and declare that they represent the church. They create opportunities to serve, build a positive relationship and show their love. That is what I want to do when I grow up. Simply show my love by doing good, without needing recognition. What a great goal. Here's hoping we all can be good examples this week. 

Love,

Elder and Sister Jerman 

Rees Family

Elder Mason Chandler from the Santa Rosa Mission

The Fotheringhams rode BART to join us at Harry's Hofbrau

Fun with senior couples at Black Diamond "coal" Mine 

Hot Time In The Old Town Tonight!

 Hello everyone, 

     We suddenly love the cool morning hours as the days warm up to 106°/107°.  We live in the Greater Bay Area so it is interesting to walk out our front door and feel like we are in an oven, then drive to Temple Hill in Oakland and get out of the car to a 20° drop in temperature and breathe in the cool sea breeze. It drops another 5° or more when going on down to San Francisco. 

     Every 6 weeks (the length of a transfer), we invite all the missionaries in our zone over to eat.  We have 4-6 come for dinner once or twice a week to fit in all 22 missionaries.  We love the opportunity to get better acquainted and let them share a gospel message and sometimes a song on the ukulele or guitar.  

    

    We had a very wonderful and quite unique 4th of July.  We first enjoyed an E bike ride on the great bike paths in our area, and then a swim at our place.  Then we served at the Visitor Center before joining the other senior couples for a BBQ at the mission home.  We got special permission to go up on the rooftop garden of the temple to watch the fireworks going off all over the Bay Area for as far as we could see.  From this view we looked down at fireworks going off in tons of neighborhoods below us.   We stayed overnight at patron housing that has an incredible view of the Bay Area, and fell asleep to the constant rumble of fireworks that sounded like distant white noise in the background.   

    We got up early to go to the temple with the missionaries, then took a ferry to San Francisco to enjoy the Exploratorium Museum where the first PI Day was celebrated in 1988.  Saturday we enjoyed time at the Family Search Center and served again at the Visitor Center.        

  

Ferry Ride

Exploratorium

    

    Sunday we enjoyed visiting 3 new wards about an hour away from our home.  We got to listen to testimonies, including a lot of youth who had just returned from a wonderful stake youth camp.  We then went on to Sunday School class to introduce ourselves and share information about the Employment Center and employment services.  The Samoan ward invited us to stay for their "Linger Longer" meal where they dished up our plates sky high with delicious food.  We enjoyed visiting with many members and missionaries then drove home feeling so happy and blessed to be here.  

   We finished listening to all the recent General Conference talks.  We'll start again as there are so many great messages to discuss and ponder, and we know we can learn something new each time. My favorite thought was by Elder Kearon that "God is in relentless pursuit to bring us home."   We are not alone.  He loves us. He . . .  loves  . . .  us, and we can all return to Him.  I know this to be true. Pres. Nelson promised many blessings as we attend the temple.  We love being here.

 

   With Love,

Elder and Sister Jerman

Mercy and Love - Amazing Grace

 My chains are gone, I've been set free. My God, My Savior's ransomed me. And like a flood his mercy reigns, Unending love, Amazing Grace.

God's love is real. We felt it tonight as we listened to heartfelt praises to what our Savior has done.  He takes each one of us just as we are and floods us with mercy and unending love and Grace. We need to do our part, and sometimes it's a hard thing to do. We were so lucky tonight to hear from a group of recent converts as they expressed how Jesus has made a difference in their lives, and that they have been drastically changed.  One young lady was depressed and on drugs, yet she found the Grace of Jesus Christ and found a reason to live, though she had to work hard and go through rehab. Another was raised by his grandparents who brought him up as Catholic, and his grandparents told him to never join another church. He was changed, by Grace, and accepted the missionaries' challenge. Now he can do his grandparents' temple work, and he knows they will accept it and that he has done the right thing, though it was a hard thing to be baptized. We can do hard things. Jesus will give us His strength, if we ask Him.  Just a fantastic night to cap off a wonderful week. 

Three other things.  Yesterday, we had such a fun day! We were treated to another sailboat ride for almost 6 hours! We had a great time helping to pilot the boat under the Bay Bridge, getting splashed by one big rogue wave, helping to dock the boat and walking right up to the dining area on the wharf and eating a yummy lunch at a wharfside restaurant.  Cool!

The second thing we did was a little hard.  We helped a job seeker go through an application and hopefully he'll receive unemployment compensation. He has been looking the past 6 months for work and was unable to get hired after sending in application after application.  Finally, he will receive some training and government assistance because of a disability he has. The hard thing was wading through all the paperwork to apply for it, but he has reached the light at the end of the tunnel. 

The last thing - we were blessed to attend a double baptism today. Guillermo and Carlos came into the Visitors Center a couple of months ago. I was so excited to get to talk to them about the Book of Mormon and living prophets in Spanish. I felt they could immediately start the lessons. Then they surprised me by saying they were already on date for accepting the gospel. Ohh Okay. It was all good because we got to see them baptized today. They are just another example of finding God's Grace - it's real and ready to flood each of us with so much mercy and love and warm good feelings. Unending love, Amazing Grace!

Love you guys,

Elder and Sister Jerman

“Why I Believe” Fireside where we got to sing “Amazing Grace” with these missionaries. So beautiful!  

 Beautiful boat ride in the Bay. 

Fun lunch at the marina

A new Christus was installed