Our Quarterly CCM meeting held in Gorlitz Germany

We are on our way to the quarterly CCM (Coordinating Counsel Meeting) being held in Gorlitz Germany. We alternate between Warsaw and Prague, but this time we met half way. Because this city contains some great buildings important to church history, Elder Schutze, our Area Seventy, invited the wives to come along this time!So we headed to Germany. What would a trip be unless there was an interesting bridge to be seen???

Here is a name from the past! Last August I had an opportunity to go with some YSA's to bring some much needed flood relief supplies to the city of Bogatynia. It was on the way to Gorlitz, so we decided see how this little city had recovered from the great floods that hit it last year.

A reminder of what Bogatynia looked like last August.

Today, the streets are clean, houses and roads are rebuilt.....Bogatynia seems to have recovered quite nicely! It is a beautiful little city.

Passing through Bogatynia, we soon came to the Polish/East German Border. It is desolate today, but could probably tell a lot of stories from the past. As we pass through,

we come into Gorlitz, Germany. This city has special meaning to the Church and the German saints who attended it during Communist times.

As we were driving to find our hotel, we looked over and saw a steeple! It looked familiar...

Taking a second look, we thought it HAD to be an LDS building. We made a U-turn and saw this...

..."Church of Jesus Christ"! We were right and we continued to follow the signs that led us to...

...this beautiful little chapel!

This is the chapel. This building was dedicated in 1995 with President Monson and Elder Utchdorf. You need to read "To The Rescue" the biography of President Thomas S. Monson. (The information on the dedication is on pgs 488-89- "To The Rescue") .

In front of the Gorlitz chapel, President Pawlik (Katowice District President), Elder Schutze (pgs 331 & 339 "To The Rescue") and President Dresler (Warsaw District First Counselor).

This is the meetinghouse where the saints met for 65 years during the communist years. Look in "To The Rescue", and the pictures just before page 301 show what this building looked like when the church was renting it.

This is President Lehmann, the current Branch President (in his second term) of the Gorlitz Branch. He is standing at the entrance to the original meeting house in Communist East Germany and pointing to where the church's sign once was. He was our guide through this historic site and you will soon learn why! He was 8 years old when President Monson came to East Germany in 1968 to speak to the saints. At the time the new chapel (shown previously)was dedicated on August 27, 1995, he was the Branch President (1st term). This is the pulpit where President Monson addressed some 250 saints in 1968, and "as he stood at the pulpit, filled with emotion, he felt the inspiration and followed it, departing from his prepared text. The words he spoke were life-changing for him and for the German Saints as he made this promise- If you will remain true and faithful to the commandments of God, every blessing any member of the Church enjoys in any other country will be yours" (To The Rescue pg 291). They would one day have a temple in Freiberg Germany, a miracle to many but something the saints held dear to their hearts. This was in communist East Germany.

The backside of the pulpit. The left side of the pulpit was the Sacrament table. The little desk on the right is where the clerk would sit. It is amazing this pulpit is still there. The original windows (in a stack in the middle of the room) have just been replaced.

With Elder and Sister Schutze in front of the new Gorlitz chapel. Again, in the photos just before page 301 in "To The Rescue", this is the spot where President Monson and Elder Utchdorf greeted German friends. The young man on the far right in that photo is President Lehmann, the Branch President then (and now also). If you have your book, look at the photo below the one with President Monson and Elder Utchdorf. You will see President Monson and Elder Nelson presenting the statue "First Steps" to Erich Honecker, who had lost a grandchild the week before and was grateful to accept this kind gift. In that picture is Elder Schutze. Next to him is the Freiberg Temple President, President Frank Apel, who was so kind to allow President Nielson into the temple last year after he left his recommend in the hotel. It is fun to see this history.

The bridge connecting the city of Gorlitz, Germany (on the left) with Zgorzelec, Poland (on the right). At one time, there was a Branch of the church located in Zgorzelec. The members had to walk across the bridge to the German side to attend church.

As we were leaving Gorlitz to go back to Poland, I kept noticing people with yummy ice cream cones. Realizing that they were buying them on the German side of the bridge, I decided to see if I could talk the ice cream stand into letting me buy some ice cream with zlotys...Polish money!

They took my money!!!! And I was able to bring President Nielson a well-deserved treat! What a great city and a real treat to see where a prophet made a prophetic promise that was fulfilled. This was a wonderful experience to see and hear the entire story. I love this Church!!! (And the ice cream was great, too!)