The ferry that we rode across the Rhein River.There were castles on each bend of the river. This was just one on the right bank. We took the photo from the Rheinfels Castle. The Rheinfels Castle was very large with many levels and many rooms. When the castle was under seige there were about 4000 to 5000 inhabitants, including soldiers. All the levels of this wall had holes from which some of the soldiers defended the castle. The weapon was probably the deadly crossbow.

Another week went by with blistering speed. It's hard to remember all that has happened but I can remember that just about every day was extremely full of things we needed to do. "I was so busy that ....". I know it sounds like a war story but the next line fits too - "This ain't no lie!" It was so busy that I didn't exercise once - not good!

Monday we had a full day of preparing for the Family Home Evening with the Young Single Adults and working on the other major project that is coming up. Tuesday was institute night and Pam makes a big meal for those two nights (Monday and Tuesday) so we have to shop for the needed items and then prepare every thing. I move the tables and set things up and do some cleaning etc, etc.

Wednesday was our last day to have Annie and Kirk (they had left on Saturday to go see some sights out of the mission) here so we went over to the Rhein river and traveled up and down that. We went castle exploring and really found a great one. In peace time it was home to about 300 - 400 people but when they came under siege they would have about 4,000 folks hold up there. It was a city! The bad news was that most of those rascals that lived so well along the river were bandits. I would call them bandits. They had chains across the river and wouldn't let anyone pass without paying a toll. As if they made the river and it was only theirs. Reminds me of some folks with their roads. I have felt a bit held-up by some of them. Perhaps some day some one from the future will tour the toll booths along our roads today and be amazed at how they held us up for money. Or perhaps more likely they will think the fare we had to pay was cheap compared to what they will have to pay five hundred years from now.

Because Annie and Kirk had never crossed any rivers or bodies of water on a ferry, we decided to take the ferry across the Rhein. It was a really cool quick trip. It took a total of about 2 minutes to cross the Rhein! We were the first on and the first to come blasting off the ferry and on to the road. It cost 6 Euro for the 4 of us and the car.

On Thursday Annie and Kirk packed their bags and fled. We prepared for the days ahead.

Friday was our first day to work as volunteers at the Landstuhl hospital. The wounded and sick from Iraq, Afganistan and other places come here before moving on to other places. Normally they arrive with little after being wounded, having clothes cut off them and patched up for movement. We will be working and handing out clothing they might need for the next few days. We thank every one of them for their sacrafice. We thank them for all folks who breath free air.

A side note on that subject. Today I was in a Priesthood class with the LDS chaplain who is leaving in early July. In the class we were talking about being perapared for things by the Lord. I am not sure if the chaplain said over the last year or the last three years that he has worked there at the hospital that he has been with families of about one hundred service members who have died. He said that in a huge number of the cases the family said they had known their last goodbye was coming or that they had said their last goodbye. Or they knew they had embraced their spouse/son/daughter for the last time before they had left. A little while back someone told me that chaplains had a cake job in the military . . . that they had an office that was open limited hours and that they had a quick service on Sunday and that was the extent of their job. After hearing this chaplain speak I couldn't help but think they have one of the hardest jobs in the military. Being so close to heartbreak on an almost daily basis would destroy many people. They have to have faith that there is more than this life or their hearts would break. In my experience in Vietnam, I saw many people that had a premonition or were prepared by the Lord and knew that they would be departing before their scheduled departure. Some were wounded and sent home and others went all the way home to Heavenly Father.Often they would call a friend over and tell them what they wanted sent home to their family and what to divide up among the guys there. They would share with friends that they felt they were going to "get it".

Saturday was another busy day. We started with interviews with the Mission President - he thinks we are doing okay. (Those were our last interviews with this dear man and his wife because they are leaving at the end of the month.) The rest of the day was a big BBQ for the Young Single Adults. It went well but was a lot of work.

Today we went to five meetings and are all done except for a bunch of reports and work to do for the upcoming days ahead. This life is a wonderful life and the nice part is that you don't have to sit around trying to come up with things to do. There is enough and to spare! And we love it! We love being of service to those who need us.

And we love you folks! Thanks for all you do! Thanks for who you are. The world is a better place just because there are friends and family. People who love us. Thank you!

Elder and Sister Karn

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Less than 2 weeks ago one of our young single airmen brought two nonmember friends to the German conversation class held on Wednesday evening at the Institute Outreach Center (IOC). All three work together in security forces at Ramstein Air Base. After the class the missionaries asked if either one of the nonmembers was interested in learning more about the Church. One said yes. He has since been taught by the missionaries on several occasions and a baptismal date is scheduled for a Sunday in June. We are excited about the missionary work and the great elders that work through the IOC.



This is Joshua, our investigator





Tomorrow the missionaries will be teaching three new YSA investigators at the IOC. Miracles are happening and we thank the good Lord for how we have been able to be a part of this.

This past week we have had the excitement of having some family visit! Kirk and Annie Drennan found some cheaper airfares from Utah to Frankfurt. So they quickly took the challenge to find places for their 4 children to stay and threw some stuff in a bag and hopped over here. Thanks to all those sweet souls for helping care for our grandchildren and also supporting the Drennans in their adventure. And even though Annie is a little pregnant (well, one can't be a "little" pregnant, but she is showing a little) she has faired well. We are delighted to have them. For a day and a half we took some driving tours and saw the sights. Right now they are taking side trips outside the mission but we will see them again in 2 days for one last day together. It has been great fun to have company and Germany is so beautiful and welcoming right now.



Annie is Bruce's daughter. Her husband Kirk is an optometrist and often goes on humanitarian trips ("Give the Gift of Sight") to third world countries, sponsored by the Lion's Clubs. The castle in the background is Burg Eltz.


This coming week we will be working with the Air Force and the Army chaplaincy in assessing the possibility of the members of our Church doing a huge service project for Pioneer Day. There is a 40 ton humanitarian clothing contribution given to the Wounded Warriers project. The large medical center here in Landstuhl receives all the wounded military from Afghanistan and Iraq. They come without personal clothing as their uniforms are usually cut off from them. The average stay for most of the wounded is only 72 hours and then they are flown to military hospitals in the USA. But, during that time they need clothing such as shoes and sweats. The 40 tons are not sorted into sizes or types of any kind. The chaplaincy had considered hiring some people to do the inventory and sorting, which might cost upward of several thousand dolloars. Our LDS chaplain, who is leaving very shortly for a PCS (permanent change of station), thought it might be a good idea for the Church to organize a service project. We will be visiting the 40 tons tomorrow with some other people to see if that is possible. It would be a great road "in" for the Church. With all the negative media attention (some people confuse FLDS with LDS, which it is not) we can help people understand we are just good folks. It is possible that other secular and religious communities will want to join in for this day of service. It is tentatively planned for Sat., July 26th. We hope it goes.Since Elder Karn has been designated as the POC (point of contact) for the Kaiserslautern Military Community, this is also a great opportunity for us to work shoulder to shoulder with the chaplains.

Last week we had a zone conference in Heidelberg where Elder Robert C. Oaks and his wife spoke to us. Elder Oaks is the president over the Europe Central Area, comprising many missions (counting just 4 in Germany alone). That zone conference will always be a highlight to us. He is a great speaker and we will remember some of his sayings: "Goal setting without planning is daydreaming"; "Until it is written down it is not a plan, it is just a discussion"; "We boast about not having a professional clergy and then we act like amateurs", and "There is a difference between believing and knowing; the Holy Ghost makes the difference". Elder Oakes retired from the Air Force as a 4 star general. He was in charge of all the US Air Forces in Europe longer than any one has ever been in charge. It was great to listen to him.

With Memorial Day we once again ponder about those sacrifices given by so many who have fought for the cause of freedom. For them, "Freedom will have a flavor the protected will never know". We honor and appreciate all those who give so much.
Sincerely,
Sister and Elder Karn


A C-5 aircraft, one of the largest transport aircraft in the Air Force. These planes come and go many times during the day from Ramstein Air Base, taking troups and equipment to Quwait (for transfer to Iraq) and also bringing back the wounded.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

The above three photos include a family home evening at the IOC with a family and the young single adults playing the "shoe game". The next is of the "Porta Nigra" gate at the city of Trier. It was built by the Romans 2000 years ago without any mortar between the stones. It is massive and impressive. The last is of us, also at Trier, this time at the Roman baths. What a beautiful day!


If you ever doubted the old saying about the sun always shining on some folks let me remove all questions in your mind. For two weeks we have had the best weather Germany has ever seen. It has been 70 to 80 degrees and sunny every day! So that proves that the sun always shines on that girl Pam! Well at least it did for two weeks and that must be some kind of a record in Germany. And just to let you know that we don't spend all of our days basking in the sun and relaxing let me tell you about today. We are invited to attend all of the ward conferences in the stake because of our responsibilities with the Young Single Adults. The ward that was having ward conference today starts their regular block of meetings at 0900. That's not bad but the first meeting today was scheduled for 0700. And the unit is over an hour away. So when you program in the get ready time we set the cell phone alarm for 0438. The super waker-upper alarm was set for 0440. (The object is to wake up on the quiet cell phone alarm and stop the ear shattering killer alarm from ever happening. And I "got 'er done" this morning.) So we bolted out of bed, raced through the bathroom routine, gobbled down a quick breakfast, and rocketed down the road! (Those are all things that Pam hates to hear and even more - hates to do.) And then walked calmly and serenely into the meeting five minutes before it started. How cool was that? Ya' gotta' love it when a plan comes together! Then eight and a half hours after breakfast we were ready for a nice lunch.

The work has been going well with some successes (which are always nice to have). We have met with all three senior chaplains in this area and they have all been very helpful. Some have been reported to have been less than cooperative in the past. But we seem to have found favor in their eyes and so we will try very hard to keep the ship steady on that course.

This past week the attendance of the Young Single Adults has been super. There have been great numbers and they have brought friends with them. The only scarey thing about that is when you have such a high you just hope to keep rolling faster and higher and that seems a little tough to do. We'll keep working hard, praying hard and hopefully it will continue to get even better.

I know this seems like a never ending story with me but I just want to say again what wonderful young people we have out in front defending freedom. The military folks and their families are some of the best folks to be found any where. What a debt of gratitude and respect they are owed. I sincerely hope our nation never holds anything back from caring for these folks. They earn every good thing they could possibly receive. We are humbled to call them our friends and even more humbled to be called their friends. May the Lord bless and keep them!

Best regards, Elder (and Sister) Karn

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Oh no, it is 10 pm here and I need to do the blog! Where has the day gone? Well, it has been a good Mother's Day for me because I got to talk with all my children. It is a little painful to be away from them but talking to them really helps. We hope all of you mothers out there have felt the love of your family today. Family is everything.

Our time is racing by so fast . . .two weeks have just whizzed past. I don't know where to start. Somehow I will try to make some sense and keep this brief . . . .

We had some wonderful success at the Institute Outreach Center (known hereafter as the IOC) this evening. We had a potluck dinner and a rebroadcast of a CES (Church Education System) Young Adult fireside from BYU. We started advertising several weeks ago with flyers in the halls of the church, notices in the bulletins, online web notices and email updates to all the young adults we had addresses for. So tonight we jumped from our average attendance of just a few to 10. That is major progress. And who can say what really made the difference but we will keep up the work of getting the word out. We just want to make sure these young people know they have a place to come and feel loved and comfortable and also a place to have wholesome activities. The speaker for the fireside was Elder Russell M. Nelson and he talked about the good that can come from listening to good music. Then his 9 (NINE) daughters sang a hymn together for the audience. They were good but they weren't fantastic, but the number of them was definitely a statement for teaching good music to your family. We think everyone had a great time tonight.

Tomorrow we have family home evening (hereafter known as FHE) at the center. One of our favorite families, the Nelsons from Baumholder, will be giving the lesson, providing the treat and showing us a new game. I am excited. This family is so awesome. They PCS (permanent change of station) in 3 weeks to Las Vegas. These are people we will miss much like they are our family. And actually, while away from our families, we have adopted them as surrogate children and grandchildren.

Two nights a week we have meals at the center (we cook). Tonight our potluck dinner was an exception. The meals have been free but as our numbers increase we have been advised to charge a small nominal fee. Otherwise our budget will be drained. So far we have had chicken noodle soup, grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup, spaghetti, chicken enchiladas - all good German food as you can see. Tomorrow we are having haystacks. Yes! I hope you know what that is as Elder Karn is still wondering. He will have to wait and see! Being raised on a farm kind of interferes with your imagination at times. We have a saying on the wall in our apartment left by the previous couple. It is on the wall above the doorway going into the dining room and it says,
"Im not, schmeckt die Wurst, auch ohne Brot". It means, in an emergency, eat sausage without bread. And we will do that too.

We have had the most glorious and beautiful weather for the past 10 days than we have had since we arrived. It has been perfectly clear and sunny and blue skies and 70-80 degrees everyday. We have done a lot of walking, and castle-ling, in addition to our very busy schedule. We just don't want the good weather to go. It is energizing.

This past week we had an appointment with the senior garrison Army chaplain here in the Kaiserslautern Military Community (hereafter known as KMC). We had been forewarned (by the LDS Air Force chaplain) that he was not too friendly toward the Mormons. Well, he was wonderful and extremely supportive and friendly. Maybe that was because Bruce is retired Army. Anyway, it was an answer to our prayers. We hope to be able to obtain the Alpha Roster (listing everyone who put "LDS" as their preference on their military paperwork) for the Army in this area. This coming week we have appointments with two other chaplains in the Air Force, one over Landstuhl (huge medical center here) and Ramstein Air Base. 'Wish us well.

Speaking of air bases, the other day we saw from a distance the tarmac of the airbase. There were 12 C-17s lined up. These planes are so huge and then to have 12 of them there at one time is interesting. We are not sure what they transport but we do know they bring the wounded back and take out those being deployed. We were just told that the average length of stay of those wounded in Afghanistan or Iraq is only 72 hours. Then they usually go to the USA military hospitals. That is a lot of coming and going. They also carry heavy equipment and other stuff. It is really fun to be under one as it comes in to land.

On our last castle-ling adventure we took in some castles on the Mosel River. These are included.

Much love to you all.
Sister (and Elder) Karn

April 27, 2008

Another busy week here in Germany and the weather was the best we have seen. I am struggling to sit here and write because the sun is coming through the clouds so it is filtered a bit but it does shine and the temperature is seventy (70) degrees! We have not seen that since we left Utah (seventy that is - we have seen the sun on a number of occasions.)

There are some interesting facts we learned about Germany that we would like to pass along to you. We understand that Germany is number one in recycling in the world; meaning that they recycle a bigger percentage of their used materials than anyone else in the world. It is obvious that they are really into recycling so that is believable to us. The second thing we have been told is that thirty percent of all wind produced electricity is produced in Germany. I have not confirmed these details but they seem like they might be true and accurate because of the electricity producing windmills we see and the great emphasis on recycling. There are of course things we look at and say we sure like our way of doing that better but they do some things wonderfully well here too.

We have had a few good weather days this week so we have enjoyed that but even more we have enjoyed some great times with the Young Single Adults this week. Monday night we had a great Family Home Evening presented by one of the YSAs, Tuesday night we had our Institute class on the Old Testament, and Friday night we had a conversational German class by the Zone Leader Elders. And then yesterday we spent a few hours being trained by the Church Education System coordinator(CES) over this area. What a treat that was! The time we spent with him just flew by. (By the way, he told us we were to make sure we had some time off every week - Preparation Day or "P Day") And he encouraged us to see some of the local sights and enjoy our time in Germany. So we will have some time to travel locally and see the sights.

We also took part of a day this last week and went to Saarbrucken, Germany. It is quite close by and near the French border. It was amazing but the closer we got to the French border Pam just felt better and better! We didn't see any castles but we did go in a big shopping area and sat outside to eat lunch. There was a man there playing a saxophone so she was really doing well. Just down the street we found another fellow playing the accordion. That sounded even more French so Pam felt like she was in France. (Besides people walking by and speaking French!) The day really charged her batteries!

To make you folks feel better back home - we paid $9.40 per gallon for gasoline this past week. The car does get 30 miles per gallon but those prices still make us walk when we can. As soon as the car starts we put it in gear and drive, if we stop for a train we turn the engine off, and when we pull in and park the engine is quickly turned off. Sitting and idling doesn't take a lot of fuel but at those prices we try not to waste any. (The price is back down a little now to about $9.20 a gallon.)

And if anyone has lost track - this past week we passed six months that we have been gone so we have days less than a year to go.

We love you and miss you!

Elder and Sister Karn

Here is a photo of the front of
our new apt. building. There are
2 apts., ours is on the lower
level.














This is a photo of one of our
young single adults teaching
Family Home Evening.














Here we are at a wonderful
sidewalk cafe for lunch
on P-Day in Saarbrucken.

April 20, 2008

We are sorry about the delay but we are just now finally sitting back and catching our breath. The move went well. We have a nice apartment and everything is put away. We have more space but less rooms. Figure that one out. And yesterday the brilliant and patient Elder Karn connected up our Vonage phone (801-476-4206) so we can call home again. It took many many tries to outsmart the German DSL service here (which was also difficult to get going) to allow the connection. We have no "techno geeks" to help us through this stuff. It must have been a techno angel answering a prayer, that is for sure!

Our new assignment keeps us mostly gone from our apartment. We are at the Institute Outreach Center 5 evenings a week. The young single adults, with whom we work, will make us young and energetic however. We have Family Home Evening with a meal (we both will cook) on Mondays, Institute (Old Testament studies) and a meal on Tuesdays, Wednesday night is open for anything, Thursdays we are closed for P-Day (preparation, and "play" for senior couples), Fridays is movies/game night, and Saturdays is BBQ (Summer!) and movies also. Sometimes we have meetings on Thursday evenings. Sundays we will be finding people. This past week has just flown by because we have been busy trying to figure out how to do this job. Our attendance has been low compared to the possible clientel and this is really where our work will be - in the "search and rescue" mode. Sister Karn finally figured out how to get into the official website to update it:
http://www.lds.org/institutes
Go to Germany, then Servicemens Kaiserslautern to see the IOC information.

Elder Karn was called as a high councilman in the Kaiserslautern Military Stake. For those of you unfamiliar with this, he will be responsible in encouraging the wards and branches (parishes or congregations)within the stake (large region covering 7 different parishes) to help find the young single adults (ages 18-30). This is the age when sometimes the young people fall away from the Church as they are usually away from home and family and "rules". They often come back, but not after they have some regrets. We want to help them have no regrets, find good friends, and have wholesome activities for them to enjoy. And also, the largest growth in the Church in central Europe is among this age group. Perhaps you can see the vision in establishing these Institute Outreach Centers. There are 19 in the central Europe area and just 4 in our mission. However, we have the one and only IOC that is strictly English and for the US Military and their dependents in that age range. The small German branch used to meet with us and perhaps they will re-join us. All in all, it is a challenge, believe us. We just found out that the military stake overlays another German stake. That is very different.

We will hit our 6 month mark on Tuesday. Now we have just a year to go. Hang on families! Don't forget us! We think of you every day.

We will take some photos of the center and add them next time. Our new address is:
Bruce R. Karn
Box R
PSC 2 Box 11916
APO AE 09012

Our German address is: (faster but a little more money)
Fabrikstrasse 15A
66849 Landstuhl
GERMANY

Elder Karn is in his 4th meeting this evening. When he comes home we are going to "kick back" for a couple of hours. Tomorrow we have an appointment with a local bank to see if they will let us open an account. We have found that if you don't have your "salary" automatically deposited they don't want your business. Baumholder was much easier. But, that bank doesn't have a branch here. Fortunately our German driver's licenses are good for all of Germany.

Take care all.
Love,
Elder and Sister Karn

April 6, 2008

We have enjoyed the General Conference sessions thus far. The broadcast is 8 hours behind Utah but we feel watching it "live" is a great blessing. It was great to hear Elder Christofferson sustained as a new member of the Quorum of the Twelve. Much to our surprise our former Paraguayan mission president, Eduardo Gavarret (currently in Lima, Peru) was sustained as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. I guess we didn't pick that up from Pres. Uchtdorf's pronunciation. It is a French name but must be pronounded with a Spanish accent! Also from Pam's old stake Elder William R. Walker and Elder Allan F. Packer (little "P" as he was fondly remembered) were also sustained to the First Quorum of the Seventy. We had met and shaken hands with Elder Christofferson when he visited Paraguay. We love the way the Church is organized and also follows order. We also sustain Pres. Thomas S. Monson as the Lord's annointed prophet in our day. For anyone interested you may find more about General Conference at
http://newsroom.lds.org

It is snowing here today! It makes it lighter and brighter though! We have had more snow in the Spring than we had in the Winter. However, the trees are leafing out and we know Summer must be coming. Otherwise, it is a really big joke on us.

Knowing that our schedule will change dramatically this coming week we took off on some adventures. We visited a little town on the Moselle River called Bernkastel-Kues:


It would be pretty hard to find a quainter place. There were lots of half-timbered buildings and a castle and a lazy river. Here are some more photos:



This is a major wine center in Germany and grapevines are seen on the very steep slopes of the hills on each side of the Moselle Valley (Moseltal). We didn't taste the wine but we did have a fine German lunch of Schnitzel mit Sahne, Pommes Frites, und Salat, also Flammkuchen mit Schinken und Tomata! Of course there was Italian Eis for dessert, which we ate first! Shnitzel is merely breaded pork or beef and Sahne is cream - which they eat alot of here. Pommes Frites are French fries. Flammkuchen was a kind of very cheesy pizza.

We also visited a large castle/old church/community at Burg Lichtenberg about an half hour away. This was first constructed in the 1400s and additions and other buldings have been continually added since. It was first owned by earls of Austria, then the dukes and then the French and then back to the Germans. There is a Protestant Church from the 1700s still standing. Right now a youth hostel and a restaurant are in operation. In order to reconstruct parts and maintain the place it should really bring in money. Here are some photos:




















The knaves and the peasants often had picnics and outdoor barbeques:



Sometimes for sport or fun, they threw people into wells. Watch your back!


There's a handsome knave now!


Our moving day is this coming Wednesday. We leave Baumholder with heavy hearts but feel so blessed to have worked here. We will miss the families and the deploying soldiers will be prayed for. Our new home is in Landstuhl:
Fabrikstrasse 15A
66849 Landstuhl

Hopefully the internet and phone will be up and working soon after the move. And we will be getting a new APO box number. Oh, there is a castle at Landstuhl!

Have a happy April 6th! It is our belief that this is the real Christmas, the real Easter, the day the church was restored to the earth, and possible many other great events.

Love,
Sister (and Elder) Karn