Geoff is working to keep the lights and heat on in the Rome and Paris temples.  The Church has entered into twelve-month energy supply contracts for the Rome and Paris temples.  The contracts expire on December 31st.  Because the war in Ukraine has caused energy costs in Europe to increase many-fold, the energy companies are asking for significant price increases on onerous terms.  They are also requiring assurances of ability to pay and large security deposits.  Geoff is supporting the Purchasing Department of the Church in Europe.  We are scrambling to find providers for the Rome and Paris temples on terms acceptable to the Church.  We need to get contracts reviewed by local counsel and signed by the end of the year.  We are also working on supply contracts for Denmark and Norway.  Although the temple complexes are the biggest single users of light and heat, these contracts also cover all of the meetinghouses in each country.  As you sit in Sacrament Meeting you probably have never thought about all the legal work that went into purchasing, building, maintaining, lighting, and heating Church buildings.  Part of religious freedom is the right to assemble for worship.  For that, we need a structure that protects us from the elements and is lighted and heated. Part of temple worship is having a functioning temple where we can perform sacred ordinances.

The Church has a requirement that every Church employee hold a current temple recommend. The Church has over one thousand employees in Europe.  I have no idea what the worldwide number is.  Imagine the challenge the Church has in hiring the quality and quantity of employees needed in Europe among the available pool of temple recommend holders.  I work with employees who have expertise in utility contracts, materials purchasing, logistics, human resources, real estate, construction, fleet management, building maintenance, IT, communications, finance, treasury, legal, and on and on.  It is one thing to find those areas of expertise in Utah among members who hold temple recommends, but in Europe it is a much greater challenge.  The employees I work with come from all over Europe.  I am routinely working with outstanding employees from the UK, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Italy, France, Finland, and Ukraine.  It is a testimony to me of the Lord’s Church that He provides capable and dedicated employees to administer its temporal affairs.  Not to mention volunteers who administer the spiritual affairs!

The Church faces a challenge when an employee fails to maintain worthiness to hold a temple recommend.  If the situation cannot be remedied quickly, the employee is discharged for violating the terms of his employment.  Geoff is working on a case in Germany where an employee was terminated for this reason.  The employee is now suing the Church claiming that it is unlawful to require a temple recommend as a condition of employment.  The Church faces this challenge in the US and other countries as well.  A tenet of religious freedom is the right of a church to govern its internal affairs.  Requiring adherence to church doctrine and standards flows from this.  The laws of the US, Germany and most other countries support this right as part of religious freedom.  Unfortunately, this right is under increasing attack.  Our legal counsel in Germany tells us that the law is on our side but that activist, secular judges in Germany (just as in the US) are making decisions based on what they think the law should say rather than on what it does say.  So, we are working to settle the case rather than live with the precedential consequences of an adverse ruling.  Please remember to pray every day that our elected and judicial officials will follow the law and uphold the Constitution.  Just like Captain Moroni, we must raise our own personal Title of Liberty and defend our freedom.

Deborah is training to become a facilitator for a group of BYU-Pathway students here in the Europe area. The mission of BYU-Pathway is to develop disciples of Jesus Christ who are leaders in their home, the Church, and their communities. Pathway provides access to spiritually based degrees, completely online, at a significantly reduced cost.  The unique structure of BYU-Pathway allows students to earn certificates of accomplishment that build towards an associate and bachelor degree.  Certificates can be completed in one year or less and teach marketable job skills that can improve employment faster.  Pathway is open to all who desire to earn a degree.  Right now, Deborah’s first group has students from Scotland, Spain, Italy and Ukraine.  One of the requirements for BYU-Pathway is to speak English.  All classes are conducted in English.  For most of the students outside of the United States, English is their second language.  Part of Deborah’s job will be helping students improve their communication and leadership skills.  Her role is to help bridge the gap between the desire to earn a degree and the competency to speak, learn and teach others.  Her students will gather each week for an hour.  They will teach each other the lessons on life and study skills.  All communication will be through texting and Zoom, blessings of the world we live in today!  Deborah’s first class will start in January.

These are the things we do Monday through Friday.  Saturday is our preparation day.  Our work day does not make for very interesting photos, so we like to post photos of the fun things we do outside of the office.  Please don’t think that all we do is fun trips.  They are a small part of our time here serving the Lord.

After three years, COVID caught up to both of us this week.  Fortunately, we have mild cases.  We are experiencing headaches, coughs, fevers, chills, and fatigue similar to a moderate head cold.  Geoff came down with his case the day before Thanksgiving so we were unable to join the other missionaries for Thanksgiving Dinner and bowling or go to the Christmas Market in Strasbourg, France.  Deborah got sick two days after Geoff.  We will always remember our first Thanksgiving in Germany for being sheltered in a small apartment with COVID.  At least now we hope we won’t have to deal with this again.  We look forward to spending Christmas in Paris without having to worry about COVID.

The famous German Weihnachtmarkts (Christmas Markets) have begun!  We are enjoying the lights, decorations, and the food.