HAMBURG & HOHENZOLLERN

We spent the first part of the week in the office preparing projects for approval.

Meals for Vulnerable- Frankfurt, Germany

YSA from our church in Frankfurt will serve a festival holiday meal at our church in December to people referred by the local food bank. Through a month-long food drive, they will also send them home with non-perishable food items.

Clothing for Vulnerable Children- Kaiserslautern, Germany

One of our US military stakes will join with Lichtblick to host a Christmas Market at our chapel for 400 vulnerable children in the community. Many activities will be provided. Humanitarian funds will be used to purchase winter gloves, socks and hats for the children.

Painting Senior Centers- Rome, Italy

As part of a New Year’s Conference, YSA in Rome will be involved in multiple service projects. One of which will be painting four senior citizens centers.

Essential NFI’s (Non-food items)- Refugees- Crete

Over 7,000 refugees arrived on the island of Crete during the first six months of 2025. Poor hygiene and safety concerns are present in these temporary shelters stretched far beyond capacity. This project will provide funds to establish a warehouse on the island to distribute essential NFIs (clothing, hygiene kits, blankets, footwear)

WASH (Water, Sanitation, Hygiene) Laundry Service- Refugees- Lesvos

The humanitarian situation in Lesvos remains critical, with thousands of displaced individuals living in overcrowded conditions. Access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene services is severely limited, exposing vulnerable populations to waterborne diseases and poor hygiene practices. This project will provide funds to maintain washing machines, buy detergent and promote hygiene with health partners.

Mapping- Refugees- Greece

There is a lack of comprehensive up-to-date data on WASH and NFI conditions across refugee and migrant facilities in Greece and gaps in coordination among humanitarian actors and government authorities for NFI and WASH provision. This project will provide funding to conduct a county-wide study to gather facts so NGOs can work with the government in providing these necessities to refugees throughout the country of Greece

Shared meals this week brought us fellowship and comfort. The Johnsons invited the humanitarian team to their home on Tuesday evening for a delicious meal. Coming home to a warm meal after a long day at the office was a wonderful gift.

On Wednesday afternoon we took the train north to Hamburg and on Thursday we met with Caritas- one of the humanitarian arms of the Catholic Church. We were joined by our manager, Florian Titze, our in-field couple Elder & Sister Waldal, the stake Communications Director and the Relief Society humanitarian service representative. We had a wonderful discussion about the possibilities of future collaboration for humanitarian projects in northern Germany. That evening, a delicious dinner in the Muller home was so appreciated. We felt a comforting spirit as we entered this beautiful home decorated for the holidays with so much evidence of their love for Savior and for their children and grandchildren.

On Saturday morning we drove to Stuttgart to attend a Service Saturday sponsored by the Stuttgart Stake Relief Society. 75 females ages 8 to 80 were in attendance as the Primary girls joined the Young Women and Relief Society sisters for a day of service.

Seven service activities were available to participate in

Singing at an elderly home
Making Christmas cards & cookie bags for the elderly for a holiday dinner that the mayor’s wife sponsors each year
Making pop up advent calendars for seniors in the stake

Humanitarian funding was used for four of the projects.

Red Cross Stuttgart has a ‘Cold Bus’ that goes out into the community during cold winter months to find people in need. Donation: 200 sleeping bags, 200 blankets, & ready to eat non-perishable food items. Red Cross was on site with the ‘Cold Bus’ to explain the various ways in which they serve the community. Warm winter clothing collected during the past several months was also donated.

Schlupfwinkel Stuttgart is a counseling center for youth whose current living situation has become unbearable. It is a place where visitors can shower, have breakfast, do laundry, have access to the internet and a computer, and set up a mailing address. Support is offered to connect the youth with the services they need such as doctors, police, or school opportunities. Schlpfsinkel does street work to tell homeless youth where they can go to find help. Donation: 30 hygiene kits. that include shampoo, deodorant, shower gel, toothbrush & toothpaste.

Viel Farbe im Grau Foundation supports seriously ill children and their families during and after therapy. Donation: 50 homemade stuffed toys.

Donation of 75 crocheted baby hats for vulnerable newborns. They will be distributed by local midwives.

On Saturday afternoon after the conference, we drove to the Hohenzollern Castle to attend their Royal Winter Magic exhibition. Instead of a Christmas Market we were transported into an enchanting Christmas atmosphere in a historical setting.

The castle chapel contained an exhibition on the history of glass Christmas decorations.

The history of these Christmas tree ornaments began in 1597 in southern Thuringia. It was the ideal place for glass production because all the raw materials were at hand, a large quantity of firewood as well as quartz and lime deposits. The custom of decorating Christmas trees with glass ornaments slowly spread through Thuringia and eventually reached the castles of the House of Saxe-Coburg. When Queen Victoria and Prince Albert (of Saxe-Coburg) visited Rosenau Castle for Christmas in 1846 Queen Victoria brought the custom back to Britain.

German glass blowers faced a great challenge in the 1960’s when the first machine produced glass baubles came on the market. And as global trade increased at the turn of the millennium and Chinese products flooded the market most self-employed German glass blowers went out of business. Just a handful are left today including Inge’s Christmas décor where Maria Muller-Blech, a 15^th generation descendant of Christoph Muller leads the business today. They offer 10 apprenticeships each year to those interested in the trade.