GERMANY part. 1

soo.. first off i just need to apologize for my lack of posting

STOP YELLING AT ME

this whole blogging thing is stressful and i know at times my lack

of posts gets some viewers bugged

BUT...

schools out. no more breakouts and i finally have time to sit down and blog.

but the main reason is:

im a firm believer in enjoying the moment. 

i feel so often that we as bloggers, grammers and myspacers 

(whatever floats your boat)

tend to get sooooooo caught up in capturing the moment

rather than enjoying it

we are too busy picking filters. rather than picking flowers

cheesy but true

( thats a tangent of a discussion for another day)

i've tried to document my adventures to the best of my ability but just a warning

im a LDS blogger.

not a fashion or photography blogger

soooooo.

leggo.

Ever since my mission came to an end i have been anxious for the

day i get to return to germany and show my family the sites and killer 

chocolate i ate over those 18 months. 

First stop Amsterdam

duhhhheck. is right i never served in amsterdam

glad your paying attention. 

we just heard it was pretty so we stopped there

amsterdam.

Amsterdam was such a beautiful city full of canals and little boats

( which made for a great jet lag nap )

this little treasure of an old man rows around the river playing 

" what a wonderful world"

bless him.

i'd say amsterdam was a dang good time

did you see what i did there?

#mormon

hamburg.

 i never had a change to serve in hamburg either lol.

but i did go on a few exchanges there back in the day

which is kiiiinda the same thing.

my family managed to crash a wedding.. which was VERY

entertaining and fortunate for us.. because we got to take some killer

pics of these pretty flowers

after doing the whole american tourist shhaaabang

 I FINALLY SAW A FAMILIAR SIGHT.. 

a beautiful. perfect. 

german bakery 

i can honest honest honest say i had one of everything in this bakery.

it makes SO much sense to me where those few extra mission pounds came from

this guy. 

oh my heck.

just posssinnnng for my pictures. he was loving the camera.

off tune. perhaps tone deaf. but look at that smile.

incase you haven't met. 

this is big how. my dad. 

mitchell. the soon to be elder diederich

and baby j the... no words

this about sums them 3 up preeetttyyyy nicely.

on top of a beautiful city all around. every block there are fresh flowers.

my sister olivia cried. no truly truly cried every time we passed them.

bremen.

our next stop was BREMEN.

Bremen was one of my most favorite cities i served in.

perhaps it was due to my companion sister madsen. 

i laughed so hard i managed to burn them calories.

our unique experience in bremen little did i know would not be the last.

i picked up my sweet new little missionary from the mission office.

caught a train to our area.

bought a map at the train station.

and together found our apartment. ward. and opened up an area together.

bremen is just b.e.a.u.t.i.f.u.l 

a city located on the river and known for its music and street artists

sure made for an exciting stop on our trip. 

look familiar ??

well if your anything like me all that your thinking is 

ya. ya. ya.

art. music <<  coolstorybro.

well. what if i told you Bremen had the BEST

gelato in the world.

can you hear me now?

good.   - verizon wireless. 

one more for big how

dancing to Beyonce or something..

kassel.

a.k.a my favorite place i served in of all time

ill tell you why in a minute

we had a blast touring a typical kassel street fair.

beautiful scenery. local artists. great music

HAHAHAHHAHA gotcha again.

we love the food.

Now.. for all of those of you who read my blog. you'll remember this story

&&  for those of you who pretended to read my blog while i was away

i'll bring you up to speed. thxx to copy and paste from an old post of mine

"" Many many years ago in Hamburg, Germany lived a young man by the name of Helmuth Hubener

Being wise beyond his years for a 16 year old. Helmuth was also a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.. Helmuth had a very broad outlook on life and talent for overseeing certain current circumstances one faced during the reign of Hitler in Germany.

Helmuth grew concerned with the power of the rising political party and was disgraced at how they treated foreigners ESP. Jews. Helmuth knew God viewed all his children equally and that such a political group would poison and destroy many lives.

He acquired a small radio ( very illegal during this time to own in Germany ) and every night when his grandmother went to sleep would listen to foreign news reports from the BBC for updates on the war.

His speculations were true! He saw right through the lies that Hitler was telling the citizens in Germany

For example: 

German broadcasts: Germany proves successful with the bombing of British air craft carrier. No survivors for Britain

The truthful BBC report:

Ship still afloat, noone injured.

Becoming more concerned as time went on and as the political group grew stronger. He became determined to expose Hitler for the liar he truly was.

Although only 16 years of age Helmuth began to print VERY bold messages degrading the political party in hopes to help his fellow Germans learn the truth..

Helmuth later let two of his best friends in on his plans as hope for reinforcement .. One young man being Rudi Wobbe.. Only 15 years old at the time.

Together these 3 young men printed red leaflets and painted the city of Hamburg red late at night hanging the bulletins along all the streets

 A crime that at that the time was viewed to be the most SERIOUS of sins for a German to commit.

A popular known saying was " he who fights for his country may die, but he who betrays his country must die"

Noone dared even whisper anything but pleasing thoughts about Hitler.

One day while at his Sunday church services Rudi Wobbe noticed his friend Helmuth..did not show up..

Their nightmare had happened.. Helmuth had been caught by the police and arrested.

Weeks later.. Rudi too was caught and arrested.

The story goes on that all 3 young men faced weeks of interrogation, beatings, and imprisonment in hopes to get them to admit their crimes.

Not allowed to communicate one with another or to recover in-between beatings.. They endured the harsh punishments and were later all brought before the dreaded " blood court" in Berlin.

The Blood Court in Berlin was where only the most serious of criminals were taken..

Here stood 3 young LDS young men to fight for their freedom as well as their lives. 

The first called to the stand was Helmuth Hubener. Witness reports on the trial explained Helmuths performance to be "unforgettable". 

Just a young boy he stood confident, and held his own openly and confidently degrading Hitler before his own judges.

Helmuth denied the help of his two friends, stating they were innocent and had nothing to do with what had happened.

Later that night after the trial, Rudi was able to speak one more time with his friend Helmuth. He asked him WHY he would do that!?

Why would he take all of the blame when all 3 were obviously guilty.

Helmuth answered:

 " I have faith enough to know that whatever happens to me.. God knows what I did was right.. and I need not fear"

A report the next day was delivered to Rudi Wobbe's Prison cell stating

Helmuth Hubener

Beheaded... 

Total time of execution: 11 seconds

Helmuths last words were found in a note he wrote home just minutes before killed.. Stating that he regretted NOTHING...only that before he is to be killed, that he will be forced to break the word of wisdom

( before execution, the victims are given wine to relax them )

The story of these 3 young men is a famous tale in Germany for War heroes. Hitler feared and was so threatened by the intelligence and testimony in these 3 LDS teens, one faced the most cruel punishment executed during the war.

There are to this day many books, monuments and people thankful to these 3 young men.

Including a film now available at Deseret book.. " Three against Hitler"

Rudi Wobbe lived on by the grace of God and spent the remainder of the War in concentration camps and imprisonment. Rudi later was later freed by British soldiers and returned home to Hamburg.

Just months later, he was called to serve and labor in the KASSEL, Germany Mission..

Serving in Kassel, Rudi Wobbe met and baptized my grandpa Wilford Diederich.

Helmuth Hubener had such a testimony of Gods plan for us he will willing to save his best friends life..

Although Helmuth Hubener never personally got to serve a mission, 

Because of his FAITH and TESTIMONY... His best friend lived on and brought my dad's family to the gospel.

If only Helmuth knew...

Now, in 2013

The granddaughter of Wilford Diederich would be called to serve and labor in

KASSEL GERMANY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ""

PHEW. if you fell asleep start reading here -->

So. yes Kassel is a city very VERY near and dear to the hearts of the diederich

family. these members in the Kassel branch fed and kept my family alive during 

ww2 after they had lost everything they owned.

a quick turn of events on our vacation was group of 8 tourists

became 10.

My grandpa Wilford Diederich was not with us the first half of our tour

of Germany. My dad called him late Friday night and said

" dad you have to get over here.. its about time you come back"

sooooo... my grandpa and grandma took the next flight 

out and drove to meet us in kassel.

Revisiting the city that he lived during the most devastating time of his life

was quite difficult for my grandpa. The trials he faced were big factors

as to WHY he never really returned until now.

The first night we were there he woke up in a cold sweat crying.

this man right here is amazing. 

he is why we are where we are today in the church.

i previously visited these sites while i served there.. but

i can honestly consider the moments shared with him once again as he walked up his old

driveway, entered in the old bomb shelter, and passed the same parks

he would go to to beg for food to be without a doubt one of the most

AMAZING 

unforgettable experiences of my life. 

his stories were so touching. even mitchell set down his cell phone for a minute to listen.

the ward in Kassel prepared a wonderful meal for my family. 

All of my favorite members and children attended and made me

feel so so special. 

^^^ CAN YOU STAND HOW CUTE THEY ARE ^^^

HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO REMAIN CALM SEEING A FACE LIKE THAT

<33333333

this man right here is why we are where we are today.

he is why i was born into the church

he is why i stayed in the church

he is what makes Germany so special for me

the city that saved his life. ended up changing mine.

until next week peeps!

STAY TUNED FOR PART 2.

oh.. and up and coming posts to look forward to:

i took some readers suggestions and will be blogging 

1. whats in my purse. my favorite tips and products i use

2. my missionary friendly recipe book i used while serving

3. and many many many more missionary tips