As I write this, our hearts are drawn out to everyone affected by Hurricane Matthew. And, we’re especially praying for all our family and friends in North Carolina. Hope they are all safe and sheltered from the storm.
We
attended a wonderful dinner last night at our stake center. Our RS put on an
international dinner. We have a lot of people here from other countries, so it
was truly authentic foods from 13 different countries. I helped a sister from
Armenia with some of her food prep and setting up. I also enjoyed getting to
know her. She is Sister Zohrabyan and her mission assignment involves writing
software for the Family History Library that is specific to research in
Armenia.
Sister Zohrabyan with her son (who lives in Orem)
and all the beautiful food she made.
and all the beautiful food she made.
When
I’m not auditing or scanning for the mission, I am often working on my own
family history research. I’ve truly come to appreciate (more than ever) the
work being done by indexers, everywhere. From time to time, in recent years, I
have kind of dabbled with indexing because I thought it was a good thing to do.
Until I came here, though, I really didn’t GET the need, and the urgency, for
doing indexing. Of the millions and millions of records in the Family History
Library, (and more are added every day) only about 30% have been indexed. 30%!!
When
records are indexed they are easily searchable, and it makes the research go
w-a-a-a-y faster. Without the indexing, once you locate a record, you have to
go through the labor-intensive task of scrolling through every single page in
hopes of finding what you’re looking for. I am SO grateful for indexers!!
This
past Wednesday, we had our first “up-close” apostle sighting. We were on our
way to lunch and passed Elder Bednar, in the hall, in conversation with a couple
of other men (who were unknown to us).
Most
days we have our lunch in the cafeteria located in the basement of the Church
Office Building. One nice perk about that is that every day, we are serenaded
by lovely piano tunes. The man who comes in each day to play for us is W.
Herbert Klopfer, president of the Ensign 3rd branch (that’s the
other branch in our mission. We’re in the Salt Lake 2nd branch.)
Pres.
Klopfer has a fascinating story. If any of you listen to the audio
conversations on the Mormon Channel, you may have heard him tell it. He’s an
amazingly accomplished musician and he and his wife co-wrote the hymn, “Home
Can Be a Heaven on Earth.”
He
was born in East Germany in 1935. His family lived in a small town in the
southern part of E. Germany. When it was clear that WWII was about to break
out, the Church pulled all of their American missionaries and personnel out of
Germany, and Pres. Klopfer’s father, though only 28 years old, was made the
mission president for all of East Germany. His father was also drafted into the
German army shortly after that, so, he had to wear two very different hats
during that time. His counselors in the mission presidency were both too old to
be drafted, so, when he was deployed to other areas, he communicated with them
by phone and letter to carry on the business of the mission. (There were
full-time German sister-missionaries still serving.)
Eventually,
as the war progressed, his father was captured, and, the family later learned
that he died in a camp in Russia. In 1950, when he was 15 years old, Pres.
Klopfer, his mother and his younger brother, made a daring escape into West
Berlin (traveling through Checkpoint Charlie.) After they were safely in the
west, their family was sponsored so they could come to the U.S.
At
one time Pres. Klopfer was stake president in the Salt Lake Stake, and was the
stake president to three different prophets — Presidents Benson, Hunter and
Hinckley. He visited each of them as he served in that calling.
And
now, he serves as the branch president for one of our missionary branches — and
he plays the piano for everyone in the COB during lunch. With his talent, he
could command audiences in some of the best concert halls there are, and, yet,
he comes each day — though largely ignored among all the people moving about, the
rattling of dishes, and the hum of many conversations — and he plays the piano
to enrich our day! We are blessed by his service!
And,
we feel blessed to be serving where we are.
1 comment:
Hurricane Matthew didn't pack nearly as powerful a punch as Fran, but it's still a mess in some places. We are one of the lucky ones this time with power and no trees down. The food from Armenia looked amazing! What a sweet gift, to listen to W. Herbert Klopfer play the piano in the cafeteria. His back story was pretty incredible. Hope you have a great week!
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