Blast from the Past - Colombia-style!

'Wowzuhs! Who's that?!' 'Umm, that would be me, sans 60 lbs. and A LOT more hair!' LOL!



An old mission comp of mine, Tavis Bennett, has a website with some pix from the mish on there and he has graciously allowed me to use them.

Danke, I mean, gracias Tavis!



Tavis and I were assigned as missionaries in the town of Sogamoso to ONLY work with less-active members of the Church. The guy in the back/middle came back to Church and baptized his daughters, up front....then they all went inactive! UGH! But why focus on that? So I won't, or I'll try not to.... ;)



A pic with the missionaries from Sogamoso and our AP - the sisters were in the Magdalena ward.












I'm in P-day clothes...so we were either helping somebody or it was P-day. I'm including this just to show how I felt during a lot of the mission - TIRED! I still think when we say that people are lazee, they probably just have the 'TIRED' gene ;) Yeah, that must be what I have...the 'tired' gene ;)

Next I'd like to introduce you to the 'most wonderful place in the world' in my experience. It's called Barbosa. I've thought about it so much and still to this day Barbosa is the most beautiful place I've ever lived! The green hills stretching out in the distance, the weather was sunny and warm...I always felt 'comfortable' temperature-wise there.

Barbosa has a neighbor town where there is a rivalry and an artist from Barbosa made this mural to try to 'unite' the two towns. One day we ran into him and asked him if we could come teach him, he said sure. We showed up and the guy had invited two Reformed 7th-day Adventist preachers also. I think now that he just wanted to see a fight. He started by turning to the preachers and asked something like 'so you're saying that these two young men are going to Hell because...' And the preachers started off saying 'yes' and 'because', etc. My companion leaned forward to say something and I just put my hand on his arm wagged my head (this was NOT inspired in my opinion - probably more like I was SO tired of the WHOLE 'fight, fight religion' thing, I was just like 'let's just sit here') the next thing that happened was HILARIOUS and AMAZING! The artist suddenly 'took up our cause' and started bashing and yelling and saying all sorts of things to these guys that I would have loved to have said, but couldn't as a missionary ;) Anyway, in the end, he ordered them out, told us we could come back - nothing came of it though...he tried to tell me I should convert to Taoism and go visit his 'teacher' in another village, but....lesson learned - conflict and fighting are STUPID!

Barbosa from the surrouding hillside...

Oh Barbosa! How beautiful you are! I have never forgotten you nor will I!

Thanks Tavis for helping me relive some memories...

Funny stuff...

This was on a blog that I was recently introduced to and I thought it was funny!

Here is the 'statement' as to why this is necessary:

Because there's nothing more annoying than when your wife uses your hymn book.

Is THIS REALLY what women want?!!

So I went and watched 'Twilight' and sorry, I'm just left with a 'WHAT?!' This is what women want?! This is what women are craving?! A vampire that's afraid he's going to kill you all the time?! A cold-to-the-touch, 100-year old, glow-in-the-dark eyed, sickly-pale-looking, voyeuristic (just appears in her bedroom and 'watches' her - CREEPY!), befanged.....must I really go on?!

Of course, and I've already been told this by many a 'Twilight' fan, that the movie was lame and that I should read the books....but still the question exists:

WOMEN OF THE WORLD, is this TRULY what you are all looking for in a man?!!

No wonder I'm still single....

Stillen Helden - Silent Heroes...

My dorm brings in speakers and this week we heard from a woman who is Jewish by heritage and managed to 'hide-out' in Berlin for over 2 years during the 'Nazi-Times'. Her story involves this museum dedicated to Otto Weidt and his workshop for blind people...

Our tour had two parts: we'll start with outside first...

We made our way through the neighborhood of 'Grosse Hamburger Strasse' which was known as a very tolerant neighborhood since the late 1800's. This is the site of the old Jewish Seniors' Home that the Gestapo used as a gathering place for Berlin's Jews.

Back in the day, behind the Seniors' home was also the Jewish graveyard. The Nazis apparently destroyed a lot of the stones and then the war made it 'necessary' to remove the remaining Jewish gravestones and put them in an archive.

The only one that they reconstructed is the supposed gravesite of Moses Mendelssohn: Wikipedia says, "Moses Mendelssohn (September 6, 1729 – January 4, 1786) was a German Jewish philosopher to whose ideas the renaissance of European Jews, Haskalah (the Jewish Enlightenment) is indebted. For some he was the third Moses (the other two being the Biblical lawgiver and Moses Maimonides) heralding a new era in the history of the Jewish people. For others, his ideas led towards assimilation, loss of identity for Jews and the dilution of traditional Judaism. He was also the grandfather of the composers Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn."

This is kind of an introduction to some new concepts in me brain....as an American, I don't know where I got this (probably all the WWII movies, etc.), but the Nazis = the Germans. For me, still in some ways, there was no distinction between the two. When I first lived in Germany I saw a plaque and it talked about how it was dedicated to 'the victims of the Nazi regime'. That was the first time when I was like 'hmm..what?! I don't get it...Germans were Nazis and the Nazis were Germans...so who are 'the Germans' and who is 'the Nazi regime'...aren't you one in the same?' Then little by little I realized that in Germany there is a 'belief' that there were the Nazis, hooligans who were in control and did horrible things, and then the German people who might have supported Hitler in the beginning, but were largely forced afterwards to follow his plans....

Anyway, so the lady that came and spoke to us talked about how she and her mother who were Jewish, hid with 20 families in Berlin during the war. I thought about it...and I still feel that Germans at times try to throw these 'heroes' names forward as a way of trying to escape the reality that Hitler enjoyed, for a long time, the support of the majority of the German people, HOWEVER, and this was a SHOCK when I learned it, NOT ALL GERMANS WERE MEMBERS OF THE NAZI PARTY! (I didn't know also that not all Russians were members of the Communist party either, but I digress...) SO, in all fairness....there were 20 families who helped her and in the end about 1700 Berlin Jews were able to survive through the help of the Berliners! That says something to me...it might not be the 'majority against' that some Germans, especially YOUNG Germans, wish had existed, but that is definitely something! (It kills me the way we Americans will judge other countries for what these other countries did, but then....there weren't a whole lot of white Americans willing to hide and take in the Cherokees and save them from 'the Trail of Tears' (instead, it was like war-profiteering during WWII, the white Americans more than likely were happy because then they got the Cherokee farms cheaply(an issue for me, because during our tour they talked about how confiscated furniture from Jewish homes was then sold to the residents of Berlin....but I digress, yet again...)

So now that you're totally lost, that side of the building has names on it and those are names of the 'Stillen Helden'/silent heroes who hid Jews during WWII...

The lady who came and spoke with us also mentioned how she had to wear the Star of David and how sometimes when she was on the bus someone would put a loaf of bread into her sack or something....this woman has a VERY positive opinion of her experiences from that time....she just remembers all of these people helping her....and these are the names of people who hid Jews...

These are called 'Stolpersteine' (stumbling stones) and you find them all over Berlin. This is a movement, started by an artist, which lays these metallic 'reminders' all over the streets of Berlin where Jewish residents used to live.

It has their name; date of birth; when they were deported from Berlin; and where they were killed (they use 'murdered' in German)....(this isn't the photo), but we saw some on one corner of a whole family - 5 total including a 3-month old baby...

NOW we come to the 2nd part of our journey. This is an image of the group at Otto Weidt's shop back in 1942(?). Otto Weidt was almost blind himself and established in the late 1930's a workshop to make brushes/brooms. One of the things I thought was interesting was that our tour guide told he us he had NOTHING to do with the Jewish community before WWII. Then suddenly....the majority of his workers were blind, deaf or both Jews! He literally saved 13 people's lives! ......what a guy!

Here is the workshop where they made the brushes. One day the Gestapo took most of his workers away (deaf, mute Jews = worthless, probably was their thinking). Otto Weidt went down to GESTAPO HEADQUARTERS (and in such a 'Schindler's List' way) said 'I HAVE ORDERS TO FILL FROM THE ARMY! I AM A WAR-NECESSARY BUSINESS! I NEED MY WORKERS BACK!' The Gestapo promised, but Otto didn't trust them, so he went to the Jewish Seniors' home (pictures are up above, by the Jewish graveyard) and he literally stood outside the door apparently until they let him have his workers back!! ('Greater love hath no man than this...') Seriously....no words...no words....

And it's so interesting....these are some of the kinds of brushes they made at his workshop....odd that brushes could save people's lives....

The lady on the right, Inge, came and spoke to us. Her mom is on the left. They hid out for 2 years and 4 months, living in stores, boat houses, etc. (it all started because (I think - I don't know if I understood the German that well) but some people said 'you have to come with us, Fritz (I am guessing their son) was stationed in the East has just told us what they are doing with the Jews they send there...' 'What?' 'Oh...it's so horrible, I can't tell you...Fritz had to sign a paper that said he would never talk about it...' So they 'disappeared', but were in plain sight. They got fake identity papers and Inge went to work at Otto Weidt's workshop.

In a way, you could say this is what 'brought it all down'....I don't know if you can tell, but it looks like a closet, right? Well...if you open the closet and walk through (VERY Lion, Witch and Wardrobey) there is....

A SECRET ROOM! There were 5 people living in this secret room for A LONG time....until...and this is what is so sad....but I can't judge....anyway, the son who lived in this room one day was out on the street and met a fellow Jewish person. They started talking and he told that person about the secret room, etc., THAT SAME DAY the Gestapo came in in a raid and found them all! UGHH!

Here is, the man of the day, Otto Weidt! He went down and spoke with the Gestapo and said 'yes, I've been hiding Jews...' but apparently not much happened to him...apparently he bribed them like crazy. ;) (that's the thing about Nazis - they TRULY were just a bunch of thugs! Goehring was probably the biggest thug, but anyway...)

And to end this, one 'happy' story. One of Otto Weidt's workers was sent to a concentration camp. He went to the outskirts of the camp himself and hid clothes and money for her. He then got a message to her and let her know that there was stuff waiting for her. Towards the end of the war, with all the chaos, etc., she was able to escape, get out and find the things....

I don't know....life is crazee....it seems even crazier at certain times than others, but things like this happen sometimes IN A RUSH and then it's 'what kind of person are you really?....what will you do when the pressure is on?....' Some of us, and I'm not preaching, because I don't know what I would've done, but, some of us look away and ignore our consciences and others act....Otto acted and he's got my respect for having done so! Way to go, Otto!

London School Trip #3: the Barbican

On my last night in London I decided to go visit a place that I never really had much interest in. The Barbican Centre always seemed to have 'weirdo' art shows on, it is VERY ugly and yeah, not much interest. But, I wanted to give it a chance, so I decided to go and watch a documentary about Beethoven. It was good, very interesting and worth my time.

Here is a description per Wikipedia...

Barbican Centre is the largest performing arts centre in Europe.[1] Located in the north of the City of London, England, in the heart of the Barbican Estate, the Centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhibitions. It also houses a library, three restaurants, and a conservatory. The London Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Symphony Orchestra are based in the Barbican Centre's concert hall.
The Barbican Centre is owned, funded, and managed by the City of London Corporation – the third-largest funder of the arts in the United Kingdom. It was built as the City's gift to the nation, and opened in 1982 at a cost of £161 million (the equivalent to almost £400 million in 2007).


This was my FAVORITE part of the Barbican! Not only does it do film, art, etc., but it also has a conservatory! Beautiful, beautiful...













A fish pond....











One of the residents of the fish pond...









Turtles....






I named her Medusa!

The cacti for the desert-babies in

P-hone-ix!

Purdy....

Another pool with fishies...

The Barbican might be ugly, but I just find the whole idea fantastic! You have arts, theatre, etc., then the high-rises are apartments, then there is a school....what a concept!

It's easy to forget that all of this area was OLD town London. Most of what people think of as London, i.e. Big Ben, is actually in Westminster (Westminster NOW being a part of 'Greater London'), but the City of London was pretty much wiped out during 'the Blitz', so it's interesting to see super-new buildings alongside VERY old churches...

Again...just cool concept....seems 'New Age meets Amsterdam/Venice' to me...but in a VERY ugly way :) (it's just the material...reminds me of some of the stuff we've got in Alaska from the same time period...)

With cafes, restaurants, a school...love the concept!

This is the City of London 'crest'...'Domine Dirige Nos'...I say Amen!

London School Trip #2: Off to Cambridge...

So my professor helped put on a historical conference in Cambridge and so we (UCL people) showed up en masse.

Our conference was held at St. John's College (I am still a bit confused, but all of the 'colleges'...I guess the easiest is to say it's like Harry Potter and the different 'houses', but all the houses together are Hogwarts, i.e. Cambridge :)

This is St. John's college's chapel...

During a break we got a tour of St. John's college's library...

Outside in the 'green'/grassy area of St. John's college near the main entrance...

St. John's College entrance from inside...

The entrance to 'The William Wordsworth' room, where we had our conference, is on the bottom right.

William Wordsworth got his first degree from St. John's college....

In the room there were these quotes all over in the windows (from William Wordsworth I'm assuming) ...the LDS in me loved this one! :)

Tschuss St. John's and thanks! I'll have to come back to give Cambridge a proper visit...

London School Trip in March #1

So this is the Royal Opera House in London. I went there because I thought there was a free recital on, but no luck. I looked around and saw that they were doing 'Swan Lake' that night, decided to do it since I'd never seen a ballet before and....

This is the view of Covent Garden (look at earlier posts) from the Royal Opera House. I love seeing things in 'new ways', i.e. new views and enjoyed this...

Inside of the opera house. Very red, very pretty lights, very nice...

Now, I don't know, I'm not just trying to pretend to be manly, but if that is the best of 'old ballet' let's call it (remember I was impressed with dance's ability to tell a story in Edward Scissorhands) I don't think I'd go see it again. Hours and hours of largely the same movements, the same tutu's, etc., it got boring I must admit. HOWEVER, the main 'swan' I guess truly had SKILLZ! I would definitely describe her 'control' as elegant, beautiful and truly talented....but without any dialogue or a song...it gets tiring (because it's largely the same movements over and over again...) - nothing new.

BUT, the music, thanks to Tchaikovsky, was wonderful! :)

Other view of the opera house...

On the bus, ironically near St. Paul's cathedral, there you have Poppin's Court ;)

This is the 'Old Bailey', i.e. Criminal Court house. One of the websites I found said to go visit and watch a court hearing, so I did. Twas interesting to see the lawyers/barristers and judge all wearing those white wigs ;) Oh well...

Apparently what they aim to do at the Old Bailey...








This is "The Monument to the Great Fire of London, more commonly known as The Monument, is a 202 ft (61.57 metre) tall stone Roman doric column in the City of London, near to the northern end of London Bridge. It is located at the junction of Monument Street and Fish Street Hill, 202 ft (61.57 metres) from where the Great Fire of London started in 1666."

Close up....

Interestingly enough you can walk up it....this is the view from one of the bottom windows...

Looks like I'm inside a Nautilus!

View from the top! Tower Bridge and the Thames below....

The VERY top of the Monument...a representation of flames....

'Toppence a bag'....

And a nice surprise at the end, they gave me a certificate for having climbed all 311 steps of the TALLEST, FREE-STANDING STONE COLUMN IN THE WORLD!!

Oh it doesn't take much to make me happy does it ;) haha...